Pakistani Taliban chief Mehsud buried - state TV

There are fresh claims that the Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is dead, after state TV reported that he had been buried.

But within hours of the report the Taliban again denied Mehsud had been killed and challenged reporters to provide proof of it.

Pakistan's army said it could not confirm the death and said its agents were seeking clarification.

Reports of Mehsud's death first began after a drone strike on 14 January.

US drones have mounted numerous missile strikes in recent years, and killed the Taliban's former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, last August.

North and South Waziristan - where the Mehsud tribe comes from - are major sanctuaries for militants.

The army launched an offensive against the militants in South Waziristan in October and is under US pressure to do the same in North Waziristan.

'Alive and safe'

The state broadcaster reported the burial without giving any sources.

A tribal elder told the news agency on Sunday that he had attended Mehsud's funeral in the Mamuzai area of Orakzai on Thursday.

He was speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the Taliban.

But the chief Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq, dismissed the reports.

"Hakimullah is alive and safe," he told AFP news agency by telephone from an unknown location.

"The purpose of stories regarding his death is to create differences among Taliban ranks but such people will never succeed."

He stressed that the Taliban had released two audio tapes of Hakimullah Mehsud speaking since the 14 January attack on a compound in the Shaktoi area, in which 10 suspected militants died.

"People who are saying that Hakimullah has died should provide proof of it," the Taliban spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani army's chief spokesman, Maj Gen Athar Abbas, said that his sources had no information either to confirm or deny Mehsud's death.

In another development, Reuters news agency quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying that Mehsud may have been targeted in a follow-up drone strike on 17 January.

The officials said they had received unconfirmed reports that he may have died of wounds sustained when a drone fired on two vehicles carrying militants in North Waziristan.

Drone contrvoversy

Hakimullah Mehsud recently appeared in a video alongside a Jordanian man alleged to have killed seven CIA agents in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

He has led the Pakistani Taliban since Baitullah Mehsud's death last summer.

It took the Taliban a number of weeks to admit that its previous leader had been hit in a missile strike.

Pakistan has publicly criticised drone attacks, saying they fuel support for the militants. But observers say in private the authorities have given the go-ahead for the strikes.

The US military does not routinely confirm such attacks, but analysts say the US armed forces and CIA in Afghanistan are the only forces capable of deploying drones in the region.

US defends $6.4bn weapons sale to Taiwan

The US has defended a proposed weapons sale to Taiwan following a furious response from China.

The US State Department said on Saturday that the sale contributed to "security and stability" between Taiwan and China, Reuters reported.

Beijing announced a series of moves against the US in retaliation for the proposed $6.4bn (£4bn) sale.

Ties between the two countries are already strained by rows over trade and internet censorship.

"Such sales contribute to maintaining security and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said US State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler, quoted by Reuters.

The US is the leading arms supplier to Taiwan and has a treaty obligation to provide it with defensive arms.

'Severe harm'

Beijing said it would suspend military exchanges with the US, review co-operation on major issues and impose sanctions on companies selling arms.

However, the US - like the EU - has banned its companies selling arms to China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, so it was not clear what effect Chinese sanctions would have.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said the measures reflected the "severe harm" posed by the deal.

A foreign ministry spokesman said the arms deal would have "repercussions that neither side wishes to see".

Difficult ties

Taiwan and China have been ruled by separate governments since the end of a civil war in 1949.

Beijing has hundreds of missiles pointed at the island and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control if Taiwan moved towards formal independence.

Defence ties between Washington and Beijing have been on ice for several years because of differences over Taiwan, though the two countries' leaders pledged to improve them in 2009.

Taiwan, meanwhile, welcomed the US move.

"It will let Taiwan feel more confident and secure so we can have more interactions with China," the Central News Agency quoted President Ma Ying-jeou as saying.

The Pentagon earlier notified the US Congress of the proposed arms sale, which forms part of a package first pledged by the Bush administration.

Friday's notification to Congress by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) was required by law. It does not mean the sale has been concluded.

US lawmakers have 30 days to comment on the proposed sale, Associated Press reported. If there are no objections, it would proceed.

The arms package includes 114 Patriot missiles, 60 Black Hawk helicopters and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet, the agency said in a statement.

It does not include F-16 fighter jets, which Taiwan's military has been seeking.

Last week US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angered Beijing with a call to China to investigate cyber attacks on search giant Google, after the company said email accounts of human rights activists had been hacked.

Afghan interpreter shoots dead two US soldiers

Two US soldiers who died in eastern Afghanistan on Friday were shot dead by an Afghan interpreter, it has emerged.

A Nato official said the translator gunned down the US soldiers before other soldiers shot him dead at an outpost in Wardak province.

A US military official told Reuters news agency the attacker seemed to be a "disgruntled employee", not a militant.

Also in Wardak province, four Afghan soldiers died in an apparently bungled coalition air strike.

Afghanistan's defence ministry demanded punishment for those behind the air strike; Nato said the deaths were "regrettable" and announced an investigation.

The shootings involving the translator and the air strike were not thought to be related.

An Afghan provincial official told Reuters the interpreter had argued with the soldiers over pay and treatment, before opening fire.

S African minister's wife Sheryl Cwele on drug charges

The wife of South Africa's intelligence minister has been arrested on drug-dealing charges.

Sheryl Cwele, the 50-year-old wife of Siyabonga Cwele, appeared in court charged with conspiring to bring cocaine into the country.

Mrs Cwele was charged with procuring a woman to collect drugs in Turkey and of getting another woman to smuggle cocaine from Brazil.

She remains in custody until her bail application is heard in a week.

Mrs Cwele is facing the charges with Frank Nabolis, a Nigerian national arrested in South Africa in December.

She told local media she was innocent.

Husband unaware

Sheryl Cwele's arrest followed that of Tessa Beetge, a South African woman arrested in Brazil in 2008 9.2kg (22lb) of cocaine inside her luggage.

Beetge was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Newspaper reports linked Mrs Cwele to Beetge, before she took leave in December from her job as director for health and community services at the Hibiscus Coast Municipality.

She returned to work on Thursday, and was arrested at her office on Friday before appearing at Pietermaritzburg High Court.

The National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa said Mrs Cwele faced one count of dealing in dangerous dependency-producing drugs and two counts of incitement to dealing in dangerous dependency-producing drugs, dating back to May and June 2008.

Her husband told a local newspaper he had no knowledge of his wife's alleged drug dealings.

Russia unveils its first stealth fighter jet

Russia has unveiled its new stealth fighter jet, meant to boost the country's ageing arsenal of weaponry and be a rival to the US F-22 Raptor.

The Sukhoi T-50, also called the PAK FA, made its maiden flight in Russia's far east. Test pilot Sergei Bogdan said it was "easy and comfortable to pilot".

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said much work needed to be done before mass production began in 2015.

Stealth technology is meant to nearly eliminate a plane's radar signature.

The plane is being developed by the Sukhoi company at its Komsomolsk-on-Amur production plant.

The new jet has been developed in partnership with India. It is seen as a significant milestone in Russia's efforts to modernise its Soviet-era military hardware.

Sukhoi's director Mikhail Pogosyan said he was convinced that the project would "excel its Western rivals in cost-effectiveness and will not only allow strengthening of the defence power of the Russian and Indian air forces, but also gain a significant share of the world market".

The company says the jet's stealth features considerably enhance its combat effectiveness in all weathers.

Its features include: all-weather capability, ability to use a take-off strip of just 300-400 metres, capacity for sustained supersonic flight including repeated in-flight refuelling, advanced avionics, simultaneous attacks on air and ground targets.

But analysts have denied the jet is a leap forward.

"It's just a prototype lacking new engines and a new radar," military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told the Associated Press news agency.

Originally scheduled for 2007, the T-50's maiden flight was repeatedly postponed because of technical problems.

Observers of Russia's recent military modernisation drive say it has been plagued by delays and quality problems.

US pressed to move 9/11 trial from New York

The US administration is considering moving the trial of the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks out of New York City, officials have said.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is due to be tried with four other suspects. On Thursday Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had asked the attorney general not to hold the trial in Manhattan, near the site of the attacks. The mayor had strongly backed the trial but changed his mind this week citing cost and disruption. Several other senior politicians including Governor David Paterson and both state senators have expressed opposition to or doubts about the proposal.

The suspects are currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, but will be moved as part of President Barack Obama's efforts to close the prison. Some relatives of 9/11 victims say they oppose a federal court trial, and many Republicans in Congress favour military tribunals over civilian trials. New York Congressman Peter King has introduced a bill to block Justice Department financing for federal court trials of Guantanamo detainees. However, White House officials say Mr Obama remains committed to the civilian option.

'Too disruptive'

Last month officials said the trial would be held at a federal court in lower Manhattan, after announcing the move in November. Mr Bloomberg initially said it would be fitting that the suspects should face trial near the site of the World Trade Center. But on Thursday he called Attorney General Eric Holder to ask for the trial to be moved. Several lawmakers from around the country have made similar requests. "There are places that would be less expensive for the taxpayers and less disruptive for New York City," he told journalists. "For example, military bases away from central cities where it is easier to provide security at much less cost." However, Mr Bloomberg said that if necessary "we will do what we're supposed to do".

'Number three'

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been described by US investigators as "one of history's most infamous terrorists". They say he has admitted being responsible "from A to Z" for the 9/11 attacks. Believed to be the number three al-Qaeda leader, he was captured in Pakistan in March 2003. He told a pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo in December 2008 that he wanted to plead guilty to all charges against him. But intelligence memos released last year revealed he had been subjected to harsh interrogation techniques including water-boarding on multiple occasions since his capture - potentially rendering some evidence inadmissible. The other four men - the two Yemenis, a Saudi and a Pakistani-born Kuwaiti who have shared hearings with Mr Mohammed at Guantanamo Bay - are also accused of helping plan and finance the attacks.

Burma jails journalist Ngwe Soe Lin for 13 years

A military court in Burma has sentenced a journalist to 13 years in prison for working illegally for foreign media organisations, his lawyer has said.

Ngwe Soe Lin, who reported for the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma, was convicted of violating immigration laws and the Electronics Act.

His lawyer, Aung Thein, said there was no proof he had broken any law and would appeal against the conviction.

Most foreign journalists are banned in Burma and the state censors all media.

Ngwe Soe Lin was arrested as he left an internet cafe in the Rangoon area of Kyaukmyaung in June 2009. After being interrogated for two months, he was sent to the city's notorious Insein prison, where his sentence was handed down on Wednesday.

According to the Burma Media Association, which is based in neighbouring Thailand, 14 reporters were arrested in Burma in 2009.

Correspondents say the detentions were part of a continued crackdown by the military authorities on those involved in the mass anti-government protests in September 2007.

In December, freelance journalist Hla Hla Win was jailed for 20 years on similar charges to Ngwe Soe Lin after a military court found she had provided video for the Democratic Voice of Burma.

Dubai to execute boatman for child mosque murder

A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a four-year-old boy in Dubai.

The man, identified only as a fishing boat captain named as RR, was found guilty of raping and murdering Moosa Mukhtiar Ahmed last year.

He was convicted of killing the boy, originally from Pakistan, in a mosque toilet during the festival of Eid-al Adha in November.

The man is expected to appeal against the sentence in the next few days.

In Dubai death sentences are carried out by firing squad.

The court ruled the man must serve six months in prison for consuming alcohol before he is executed, reported The National, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.

"The killer showed no mercy to the child and so the court will show him no mercy," the newspaper reported Judge Fahmy Mounir Fahmy as saying.

Sri Lanka police 'raid Fonseka campaign HQ'

The Colombo campaign office of defeated Sri Lankan presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka has been raided by 40 policemen, his supporters say.

The say that Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel arrested 13 people in the raid. The government has given almost no information on the operation, which saw a street in Colombo cordoned off. The military excluded all journalists from the leafy street where the general's campaign office is situated. Gen Fonseka has refused to accept his defeat in the elections. He argues that his supporters were intimidated and the result was fixed.

'Coup plan'

Correspondent in Colombo says that dozens of security forces were seen arriving in the street where Gen Fonseka ran his office from his home. "They want to take all [my] people into custody and take them to the police station, saying that we had been planning a coup from that office," Gen Fonseka told the BBC Tamil service. "All nonsense. Right now they are packing up all our computers, all our equipment, and they are trying to take all the staff to police station." On Thursday the general said that he wanted to leave the country because of death threats. As votes were being counted on Wednesday, troops surrounded him inside the hotel, where his campaign was based, on suspicion he was plotting a coup.

'Falsified'

Opposition lawyer Shiral Lakthilaka said that dozens of CID officers escorted by commandos arrested 13 men who had been involved in the general's election campaign, all of them retired soldiers or officers.

He said they were now being held incommunicado even though police found none of the weapons or explosives that they said they were looking for. No senior police officials were able to provide information, one said he knew nothing, others were unavailable by telephone. A defence official would only say an investigation was going on.

The government had earlier accused the general of planning to assassinate his victorious rival, President Mahinda Rajapaksa. On Thursday Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of President Rajapaksa, said the government was considering taking action against Gen Fonseka. He denied that the opposition leader was being investigated because of his decision to stand in the acrimoniously fought elections.

Mr Rajapaksa said Gen Fonseka had wrongly accused him of ordering the killings of three senior Tamil Tiger rebels as they had tried to surrender in the final stages of the conflict last May. President Rajapaksa won six million votes compared with the four million cast for Gen Fonseka in the vote held earlier this week. The independent Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said there were reports of irregularities but no evidence to suggest large-scale fraud.

Japan deflation hits a record pace to threaten recovery

Japanese consumer prices fell at a record pace in December, according to the latest official figures.

Prices fell by 1.2% in the month, the biggest drop since the current consumer price index began in 1970. Japan's finance minister has urged the Bank of Japan to move in step with the government to fight the problem of deflation. But the governor of the Bank of Japan, Masaaki Shirakawa, said his current strategy was appropriate for now. mThe price falls are measured by the so-called "core-core" consumer price index, which strips out the effect of volatile food and energy costs. Separately, data showed that the unemployment rate in Japan fell from 5.2% to 5.1%.

Debt concerns

Japan's Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama , also called for co-operation from the central bank. He told parliament that the government will work with it to overcome falls in prices. "I expect the BOJ to support the economy by guiding monetary policy appropriately and flexibly, while keeping close contact with the government, in a way that is consistent with government efforts," he said.

Japan's national debt is now about twice as big as the country's annual overall economic output, according to the IMF, and the credit ratings agency Standard and Poor's this week warned that it may cut the country's rating. Deflation encourages people to hang on to their money because it will grow in value, rather than be eroded by inflation. It also makes sense for people to delay buying goods because they expect future falls in prices. These factors depress demand. Cutting interest rates is a standard way of getting people to spend more, but the Bank of Japan has held rates at almost rock bottom for years and has little room for manoeuvre.

Tony Blair defends UK involvement in Iraq war

Tony Blair struck a defiant note in a six hour grilling by the Iraq inquiry insisting it was right to remove Saddam Hussein and said he would do it again.

He rejected claims he manipulated intelligence to justify the invasion.And he denied making a "covert" deal with George Bush to invade Iraq in April 2002 a year before the war began. The former prime minister said he had been open about what had been discussed the US president's ranch - which was that Saddam needed to be "dealt with". "This isn't about a lie or a conspiracy or a deceit or a deception," he told the panel. "It's a decision. And the decision I had to take was, given Saddam's history, given his use of chemical weapons, given the over one million people whose deaths he had caused, given 10 years of breaking UN resolutions, could we take the risk of this man reconstituting his weapons programmes or is that a risk that it would be irresponsible to take?" Sometimes it is important not to ask the "March 2003 question" but the "2010 question", said Mr Blair, arguing that if Saddam had been left in power the UK and its allies would have "lost our nerve" to act.

He said that if Saddam had not been removed "today we would have a situation where Iraq was competing with Iran" both in terms of nuclear capability and "in respect of support of terrorist groups". "The decision I took - and frankly would take again - was if there was any possibility that he could develop weapons of mass destruction we should stop him." Quoting frequently from his own speeches and statements, Mr Blair faced a sometimes tense session, with family members of service personnel killed in Iraq sat behind him in the public gallery reacting with dismay to some of his answers. Earlier witnesses to the inquiry have suggested he told Mr Bush at their April 2002 meeting at the ranch in Crawford, Texas, that the UK would join the Americans in a war with Iraq. But Mr Blair said: "What I was saying - I was not saying this privately incidentally, I was saying it in public - was 'we are going to be with you in confronting and dealing with this threat'.

"The one thing I was not doing was dissembling in that position. How we proceed in this is a matter that was open. The position was not a covert position, it was an open position." Pressed on what he thought Mr Bush took from the meeting, he went further, saying: "I think what he took from that was exactly what he should have taken, which was if it came to military action because there was no way of dealing with this diplomatically, we would be with him." But he also confirmed that a year later, on the eve of war, the Americans had offered Britain a "way out" of military action, which he had turned down.

Goldsmith decision

"I think President Bush at one point said, before the [Commons] debate, 'Look if it's too difficult for Britain, we understand'. "I took the view very strongly then - and do now - that it was right for us to be with America, since we believed in this too." On the issue of whether or not military action would be legal, Mr Blair said Mr Bush decided the UN Security Council's support "wasn't necessary". He said it was "correct" to say that he shared that view, although it would have been "preferable politically". But he told the inquiry he would not have backed military action if Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had said it "could not be justified legally". Asked why Lord Goldsmith, after initially saying he thought it would be illegal, in line with all government lawyers at the time, made a statement saying it would be legal a week before the invasion began, Mr Blair said the attorney general "had to come to a conclusion".

He said he had not had any discussions with Lord Goldsmith in the week before he gave his statement but he believed the attorney general had come to his view because weapons inspectors had "indicated that Saddam Hussein had not taken a final opportunity to comply" with UN demands. Mr Blair was also quizzed about the controversial claim in a September 2002 dossier that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) at 45 minutes notice. Mr Blair said it "assumed a vastly greater significance" afterwards than it did at the time. He said it "would have been better if (newspaper) headlines about the '45-minute claim' had been corrected" in light of the significance it later took on.

'Beyond doubt'

Looking back, he would have made it clearer the claim referred to battlefield munitions, not missiles, and would have preferred to publish the intelligence assessments by themselves as they were "absolutely strong enough". But Mr Blair insisted that, on the basis of the intelligence available at the time, he stood by his claim at the time that it was "beyond doubt" Iraq was continuing to develop its weapons capability.

However he acknowledged "things obviously look quite different" now given the failure to discover any weapons after the invasion. Even up to the last minute Mr Blair said he was "desperately" trying to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis but France and Russia "changed their position" and were not going to allow a second UN resolution. Saddam Hussein had "no intention" of allowing his scientists to co-operate with UN weapons inspectors, he said, with the regime concealing key material.

Giving the inspectors more time would have made little difference, he added. He also said Iraq had the "intent" and technical knowhow to rebuild its weapons programme and would have done so if the international community had not acted. Mr Blair also denied he would have supported the invasion of Iraq even if he had thought Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction, as he appeared to suggest last year in a BBC interview with Fern Brittan. What he had been trying to say, he explained to the inquiry, was that "you would not describe the nature of the threat in the same way if you knew then what you knew now, that the intelligence on WMD had been shown to be wrong". He said his position had not changed, despite what reports of the interview had suggested.

Mr Blair was at pains to point out that he believed weapons of mass destruction and regime change could not be treated as separate issues but were "conjoined". He said "brutal and oppressive" regimes with WMD were a "bigger threat" than a benign states with WMD. He also stressed the British and American attitude towards the threat posed by Saddam Hussein "changed dramatically" after the terror attacks on 11 September 2001, saying: "I never regarded 11 September as an attack on America, I regarded it as an attack on us." Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot began the six hour question session by stressing that Mr Blair was not "on trial" but said he could be recalled to give further evidence if necessary.

Afghanistan: Security transition 'by end of 2010'

Afghan forces could take control of security in some provinces by the end of 2010, delegates at a key summit about the country have said.

A statement at the end of the one-day meeting in London said the process could be complete within five years. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said 2010 was a decisive year as a new government was in place and there was a "refreshed counter-insurgency" plan. World leaders pledged $140m (£87m) to win over low-level Taliban fighters. Meanwhile, UN sources have told news agencies that the UN representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, secretly met Taliban members this month. They said meeting was held on 8 January in Dubai at the militants' request. Mr Eide denied that the meeting took place on 8 January but refused to comment on any other dates.

'Mutual responsibility'

Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently announced plans to encourage Taliban members to renounce violence and join in peace talks. "We must reach out to all of our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers, who are not part of al-Qaeda, or other terrorist networks, who accept the Afghan constitution," he told delegates.

Mr Miliband, restating Britain's support of the plan, said the summit participants were also behind it. "Today alone there have been over $140m worth of commitments for the first year of the national reintegration programme and we are committed to seeing that through." Mr Miliband said: "The aim of the conference was to align the military and civilian resources of every coalition partner behind a clear political strategy, to help President Karzai and his government deliver the ambitious agenda that he set out in his inaugural speech last November.

"The themes of mutual responsibility - Afghan and international - and of unity behind a clear plan came through very strongly indeed." The final communique from the summit in London said it welcomed Afghanistan's goal of taking charge of the "majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years and taking responsibility for physical security within five years". It said the international community would continue to improve the capabilities of the Afghan security forces, boosting the army to 171,600 and the police to 134,000 personnel by October 2011. The summit said the Afghan government had acknowledged that it had to tackle corruption.

'No exit strategy'

The High Office of Oversight would investigate and sanction corrupt officials, and once conditions for aid delivery were met, the proportion of aid channelled through the government would rise to 50%, Mr Miliband said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said reforms planned by President Karzai, such as tackling corruption and effectively managing aid, were important and the US would be watching them carefully. The security transition from international forces to Afghan forces would also enable the US to start withdrawing its troops from the country in mid-2011. But Mrs Clinton said: "This is not an exit strategy. It is about assisting and partnering with the Afghans."

The summit said the Afghan government had made progress on economic development, and it hoped it would continue to boost agriculture, human resources and infrastructure. Correspondent said the theme of the conference was unity and coherence, but also an acknowledgement that there was no military solution to Afghanistan's problems.

MMR scare doctor 'acted unethically', panel finds

The doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and autism acted unethically, the official medical regulator has found.

Dr Andrew Wakefield's 1998 Lancet study caused vaccination rates to plummet, resulting in a rise in measles - but the findings were later discredited.

The General Medical Council ruled he had acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in doing his research.

Afterwards, Dr Wakefield said the claims were "unfounded and unjust".

The GMC case did not investigate whether Dr Wakefield's findings were right or wrong, instead it was focused on the methods of research.

During the two-and-a-half years of hearings - one of the longest in the regulator's history - he was accused of a series of charges.

'Invasive tests'

It was alleged he carried out invasive tests on children which were against their best clinical interests and paid children £5 for blood samples at his son's birthday party.

The panel looking into the allegations said the case was proven on both counts.

In regards to the blood tests it ruled he had acted with "callous disregard for the pain they might suffer".

After the hearing Dr Wakefield said: "I am extremely disappointed by the outcome.

"The allegations against me and my colleagues are unfounded and unjust."

The GMC now has to consider whether Dr Wakefield's behaviour amounts to serious professional misconduct and then if any sanctions should be imposed, such as striking him off the medical register.

However, that ruling is not expected for some months.

Iran 'executes two over post-election unrest'

Iran has executed two men arrested during the period of widespread unrest that erupted after June's disputed presidential election, reports say.

They had been convicted of being "enemies of God", members of armed groups and trying to topple the Islamic establishment, Isna news agency said.

The executions are believed to be the first related to last year's protests.

Millions demanded a re-run of June's poll at the largest demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Opposition groups said it had been rigged to ensure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a charge the government denied.

At least 30 protesters have been killed in clashes since the elections, although the opposition says more than 70 have died. Thousands have been detained and some 200 activists remain behind bars.

Last month, eight people were killed in clashes at demonstrations on Ashura, one of the holiest days in the Shia Muslim calendar.

"Following the riots and anti-revolutionary measures in recent months, particularly on the day of Ashura, a Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court branch considered the cases of a number of accused and handed down death sentences against 11 of those," Isna said, quoting a statement from the Tehran prosecutor's office.

"The sentences against two of these people... were carried out today at dawn and the accused were hanged," the semi-official agency said, adding the sentences had been confirmed by an appeal court.

It named them as Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour.

"The sentences for the other nine of the accused in recent months' riots are at the appeal stage... upon confirmation, measures will be undertaken to implement the sentences," Isna added.

'Show trial'

There has been no independent confirmation of the executions or the names, but opposition groups had previously said Mr Ali-Zamani was sentenced to death in October.

He and one other person were believed to have been convicted for ties with the Kingdom Assembly of Iran (Anjoman-e Padeshahi-e Iran), a banned monarchist group.

At his trial in August, prosecutors accused Mr Ali-Zamani of plotting political assassinations with US military officials in Iraq before returning to Iran "aiming at causing disruption during and after the election". He is said to have admitted his guilt in court.

The Kingdom Assembly of Iran confirmed it had worked with Mr Ali-Zamani, but dismissed the allegations and insisted he had been forced to confess. The group said he had played no role in the post-election protests and had merely passed on news to its radio station.

Human rights activists also noted the indictment stated that Mr Ali-Zamani had been arrested before engaging in any actions relating to the protests.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer for Mr Rahmanipour, also denied he had played any role in the unrest and dismissed his "show trial" in July.

"He was arrested in Farvardin [the Iranian month covering March-April] - before the election - and charged with co-operation with the Kingdom Assembly," she told the news agency.

Ms Sotoudeh said her client had been 19 when he was arrested, and that many of the charges related to the time when he was a minor.

"He confessed because of threats against his family," she said, adding that his family had not known the appeal had failed.

In 2008, the Iranian authorities blamed the Kingdom Assembly of Iran for an explosion at mosque in the south-western city of Shiraz which killed 12 people and wounded more than 200.

Correspondents say the executions may further increase tension in Iran ahead of possible new anti-government protests next month.

Messages have been circulating on the internet about demonstrations on 11 February, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

On Wednesday, Iran's state media reported that two German diplomats had been detained and accused of playing a role in last month's anti-government protests.

A deputy interior minister was quoted as saying they were detained on 27 December, the day after the demonstrations. He also said a close aide to the opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was being held for alleged contacts with German intelligence agents.

Germany's foreign ministry said it had no knowledge of the detentions and categorically rejected the accusations.

US man 'detained' in North Korea

North Korea says it has detained a US citizen for illegally entering its territory across the border from China.

The official news agency KCNA said the man, who has not been identified, had been arrested on Monday and was now being questioned.

North Korea is currently holding another US citizen, Robert Park.

Mr Park crossed a frozen border river from China on 25 December, to make a protest against repression in the hard-line Communist North.

The US has been seeking access to Mr Park through the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which represents American interests in North Korea.

Last year two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were also arrested on the border with China.

They were sentenced to 12 years' hard labour but freed after four months in captivity, as part of a diplomatic mission spearheaded by former US President Bill Clinton in August.

Obama in Florida to test State of the Union opinion Obama in Florida to test State of the Union opinion

US President Barack Obama is to travel to Florida for a "town hall" meeting that will be the first test of opinion since his State of the Union address.

Mr Obama made job creation the main focus of Wednesday's speech, and will announce $8bn (£5bn) for a national high-speed rail system while in Tampa.

He also said Americans were "hurting" and admitted he had not yet delivered on his election pledge of change.

But Mr Obama defended his healthcare reform efforts and bailout of banks.

Giving the Republican response, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said Democratic policies were resulting in unsustainable levels of debt.

Creating jobs

On Thursday, the day after his first State of the Union address, Mr Obama will fly with Vice-President Joe Biden to Tampa where they will tour MacDill Air Force Base, which has been used for aid flights to Haiti.

After that the two men will attend a town hall-style meeting at the University of Tampa, where they are expected to be questioned about the economy.

Mr Obama will also use the meeting to announce the $8bn in grants for nationwide high-speed rail projects, which the White House says will create or save thousands of jobs in engineering, manufacturing, planning and maintenance.

Except for the line between Boston and Washington, there are no high-speed rail routes in the US. Thirteen rail corridors in 31 states are to receive funds, but only California's plans call for trains with maximum speeds exceeding 200mph (322km/h).

Congress set aside funding for the rail projects, which Mr Obama said in April would "change the way we travel in America", as part of the $787bn economic stimulus package approved in 2009.

In the State of the Union speech Mr Obama called for new spending and tax cuts that he said would build on the stimulus package and easily push the cost of all stimulus measures since he took office to over $1 trillion.

Mr Obama said he had taken office a year ago "amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt".

"The devastation remains," he added. "One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder."

The president said creating jobs had to be his administration's "number one focus in 2010" and said he wanted Congress to pass a jobs bill "without delay".

Mr Obama also defended the controversial series of bank bailouts, saying that although it was "about as popular as root canal... unemployment might be double what it is today" if the government had allowed the meltdown of the financial system.

But he said the budget deficit had to be tackled, and proposed a three-year freeze on spending on part of the domestic budget, excluding Medicare and social security, which would contribute towards $20bn in savings.

"Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt."

Republicans said they welcomed the proposed freeze on domestic spending, but warned against the expansion of government.

"The circumstances of our time demand that we reconsider and restore the proper, limited role of government at every level," said Gov McDonnell.

Correspondent in Washington, says it was a sober speech for serious times, primarily devoted to domestic issues.

He says the president talked optimistically about the capacity of the American people to endure hardships, and come through stronger, but at times he also sounded defensive, saying he never suggested he could bring the change he promised all by himself.

Mr Obama's address follows the Democratic Party's loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts last week. The result has deprived them of their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate and means the Republicans can effectively block Democratic legislation.

Gordon Brown says 'tide must turn'

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said mid-2011 should be the deadline for "turning the tide" in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan.

Speaking at a 70-nation London summit on the future of Afghanistan, he said the nations faced "a decisive time".

Before the talks began, President Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan could need foreign support for its security forces for up to 15 years.

He later announced plans to reintegrate some Taliban fighters into society.

The Taliban have ruled out talks until foreign forces leave Afghanistan.

Foreign ministers from around the world are expected to give renewed momentum to nation-building in Afghanistan during the one-day summit.

"We must reach out to all our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers who are not part of al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks," Mr Karzai told the meeting.

Opening the conference, Mr Brown said it marked the "beginning of the transition process".

"By the middle of next year, we have to turn the tide in the fight against the insurgency," he said.

Pledging support for the expansion of the Afghan security forces, Mr Brown said: "We will agree today that the Afghan National Army will number 134,000 by October 2010, and 171,600 by October 2011.

"And similarly today we will commit to supporting a police reform plan, with Afghan national police numbers reaching 109,000 by October this year, and 134,000 by October 2011."

This would bring Afghan national security forces to 300,000, a presence far bigger than the coalition forces, Mr Brown said.

'Financially able'

The talks are being hosted by the UK, UN and the Afghan government.

In his address, Mr Karzai reiterated a long-standing call for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to "kindly play a role to guide peace and assist the process".

Senior Taliban figures have good contacts with Saudi Arabia and have been engaged in a series of secret peace talks there over the years since they lost power in Afghanistan in 2001.

Correspondent says that in calling for Saudi involvement in an Afghan loya jirga (tribal council) in the spring, the first major tribal meeting for eight years, Mr Karzai is signalling that there may be a wider peace deal involving more key Taliban figures.

Speaking to the BBC before the talks got under way, Mr Karzai said that five to 10 years would be enough time to train and equip the Afghan security forces.

But he added: "With regard to sustaining them until Afghanistan is financially able to provide for our forces, the time may be extended to 10 to 15 years."

Donor countries are expected to set up a fund to help lure Taliban members back into Afghan society.

But Mr Brown told that any effort to reintegrate insurgents could work only if Afghanistan's own army and police were strong enough to take charge of security from international forces.

"The first thing is to strengthen the Afghan forces, and then to weaken the Taliban by dividing them," he said.

"You cannot have a situation where you are making advances to those people who are prepared to renounce violence and join the democratic process and say they will have nothing more to do with the activities they have been involved with in the past unless you have a strong Afghan army and police."

Mr Karzai has won general support for his reintegration plan, but Western nations are expected to ask for more details on the strategy at the summit.

The proposed fund would help reintegrate defecting foot soldiers with the promises of jobs, cash and protection.

Anti-corruption drive

Mr Karzai outlined a six-point plan to take his country forward, saying in his address he was deeply grateful for the international support his country had been given and Afghan people would not forget the sacrifices that had been made.

He said good governance and fighting corruption would be the key focus of his action plan.

Corruption is seen by ordinary Afghans as one of the biggest problems in the country, surveys have found. It has also been a long-standing concern among Afghanistan's Western backers.

One of Mr Karzai's most significant proposals is the creation of an external watchdog composed of anti-corruption experts from around the world.

Hard fighting ahead

Correspondent says the timing of the London conference is critical.

According to most military analysts the Taliban is riding high, but the US surge in forces is under way and weeks and months of hard fighting lie ahead, our correspondent says.

More work will be done on bolstering Afghanistan's own security forces, as well as setting goals on development and governance and a renewed emphasis on setting Afghanistan's problems in a wider regional framework.

A follow-up conference will be held in Kabul in a few months.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named a long-serving UN diplomat, Staffan de Mistura, as his new representative in Afghanistan.

Mr De Mistura, who holds Swedish and Italian nationalities, will replace the outgoing head of the UN mission in Kabul, Kai Eide, when he steps down in March.

Mr Eide was accused by a colleague of being too close to President Karzai and his government, and of downplaying fraud during presidential elections last year. Mr Eide always denied the allegations.

UN eases sanctions on five Taliban leaders

The United Nations has removed five former Afghan Taliban officials from its sanctions list which was imposed because of alleged links to al-Qaeda.

The UN said the five would no longer be subject to international travel bans and a freeze on their assets. Separately, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a fixed date to pull troops from Afghanistan would be a mistake. She was speaking with Afghan President Hamid Karzai ahead of Thursday's London conference on Afghanistan.

The UN Security Council sanctions panel "approved the deletion (de-listing) of the five entries" from its blacklist of individuals subjected to a travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo, the UN said in a statement. The five men are former members of the Taliban government, and were put on the UN blacklist in 2001. They were not active insurgents and there had already been debate within the UN sanctions committee on whether to remove them from the list. The men include Abdul Wakil Mutawakil, who was a foreign minister when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan.

The others are:

• Faiz Mohammad Faizan, a former deputy commerce minister
• Shams-us-Safa, a former foreign ministry official
• Mohammad Musa, a deputy planning minister
• Abdul Hakim, a former deputy frontier affairs minister.

Mr Mutawakil said the move was a good start but did not go far enough. "I consider it as restoration of my human rights," the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press quoted him as saying. "The UN should have removed a noticeable number of the Taliban names from the blacklist so a positive step would be taken to end [the] war in Afghanistan." There are more than 140 names of suspected Taliban members with alleged links to al-Qaeda on the UN sanctions list.

US timetable

Support has been growing for the notion of reconciliation with elements of the Taliban. President Karzai is hoping to gain backing at the London conference for a plan to offer low- and medium-level Taliban fighters money, jobs and support to lay down their weapons. Representatives of 60 nations are gathering in the UK capital to discuss strengthening Afghanistan's army and to push Mr Karzai to increase efforts to fight corruption. Speaking in Berlin after discussions with Mr Karzai, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said she agreed with his goal of having Afghan troops fully responsible for security in Afghanistan by 2014. But she said it would be a mistake to set a fixed date for the withdrawal of German troops from the country because it would encourage the Taliban.

"We don't want to give the Taliban an excuse to go quiet and then launch a big attack," she said. On Tuesday, she said she planned to send 500 more troops to join the 4,300 already there. US President Barack Obama has said he wants to start withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan in July 2011. This year, however, the US is sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, to reinforce the approximately 70,000 already there. Other nations in the Nato-led coalition have contributed about 30,000 troops to provide what the Nato commander, US General Stanley McChrystal, calls "time and space" to build up the Afghan security forces. He told, he saw "no major problems" to meeting President Obama's timetable.

'Militarised aid'

Mrs Merkel also said Berlin would put 50m euros ($70m; £44m) into an international fund to win over more moderate insurgents, and increase its development aid to 430m euros per year - nearly double the current level.

Meanwhile, a group of aid agencies with long experience of operating in Afghanistan has warned of a danger of growing militarisation of the aid effort there. The eight agencies, including Oxfam and Christian Aid, said the pressure to achieve quick results had led to aid going through the international forces in Afghanistan rather than civilian channels. Their report said foreign military projects designed to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan population were often inappropriate and exposed civilians to Taliban attacks.

Yemen 'promises reform' ahead of London terror meeting

Yemen's government has promised urgent political and economic reform to help fight al-Qaeda, in a statement drawn up ahead of international talks.

Gordon Brown called the London meeting to galvanise support for the Gulf state after the alleged bid to blow up a US airliner on 25 December 2009. Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen claimed responsibility amid fears the country is becoming a haven for terrorists. The statement says Yemen's stability is at risk, Reuters news agency reports. It reports the draft statement as saying: "The challenges in Yemen are growing and, if not addressed, risk threatening the stability of the country and broader region. "The government of Yemen recognises the urgent need to address these issues, which will take sustained and focused engagement."

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the alleged bomb plot, is said to have told investigators that he was supplied with explosives in Yemen. The London conference aims to find ways to address the long-term ills that have fed extremism within Yemen's borders. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world leaders are to discuss how to stabilise the poverty-stricken nation. Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar is also attending the talks, chaired by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, which involve representatives of the European Union, United Nations, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Yemen has indicated it will pursue talks with the IMF as part of its reform programme. Security correspondent said the state's problems were both complex and profound. "The poorest Arab country, its population is ballooning, oil revenues are dwindling, the water tables are sinking and its fighting a bloody insurgency that has already embroiled the Saudi army on its northern border," he said. "Into that unhappy mix comes a resurgent al-Qaeda that has chosen Yemen for its new base in the Middle East, and is now threatening to use it as a springboard to attack the West and its allies."

'No US bases'

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis said the meeting was important because Yemen was "not a failed state, but it is an incredibly fragile state".

He added: "We want to see Yemen's neighbours make a more significant contribution and we want the international community to come together and recognise that supporting the government of Yemen is crucial to the stability of that country but it is also crucial to the stability of the world." Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said that his country wanted "international support to build infrastructure, combat poverty and create jobs, as well as support in combating terrorism".

But he told that the idea of US military bases on Yemeni soil was "inconceivable". Arab League secretary general Amre Moussa told he questioned how effective the meeting could be. "I don't know how a conference like that can decide something useful, something reasonable for Yemen... in a couple of hours," he said. He added it was "strange" and a "very dangerous sign" that his organisation had not been invited to the talks. Mr Moussa said the Arab League was concerned not solely about al-Qaeda but about Yemen's problems as a whole and that community reconciliation was required.

North and South Korea exchange fire near sea border

North and South Korea have exchanged fire close to their disputed maritime border, say reports.

North Korea twice fired artillery shells into the sea off the South's western coast, said South Korean media. South Korean coastal bases responded to the first volley with warning shots, but no injuries were reported. The North said the firing had been part of an annual military drill and firing would continue, but Seoul said the action was "provocative". It came after North Korea declared a no-sail zone in waters off its coast on Tuesday, media reports say.

The North fired into waters near the border just after 0900 local time (2400 GMT), a spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told the news agency. "Our military immediately fired back in response," a Seoul presidential official said, on condition of anonymity. He said the North's initial artillery rounds landed north of the sea border, while Seoul's forces fired at the rounds while they were in the air. A statement carried by the official North Korean Central News Agency says its drills "will go on in the same waters in the future, too".

Constant tension

Just hours after the initial exchange, reports from South Korea said that the North had fired more shells in the direction of the disputed border. It is not clear where they landed. South Korea officials said the exchange caused no casualties or damage. The defence ministry in Seoul said the North had "committed a gravely provocative act" by declaring the no-sail zones in the region.

"We expressed grave concerns over the North's threatening behaviour and demanded an immediate halt to all such activities,". "The military will strongly react to any provocative acts by the North and all the responsibility for consequences will rest with the Northern side." The western sea border is a constant source of military tension between the two Koreas. There have been three deadly exchanges between the two Koreas along the sea border in the past decade. In the most recent incident, last November, their navies fought a brief gun battle that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded.

Correspondent in Seoul says the latest incident is being seen as an attempt by North Korea to increase tension in order to gain diplomatic concessions. South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally to by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the seas border at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The line has never been accepted by North Korea. Relations between the two Koreas have fluctuated in recent months. Talks about their jointly-run Kaesong industrial estate closed without agreement on 21 January.

The attempt at dialogue took place amid fresh tensions apparently provoked by a South Korean think tank's analysis of a likely military coup or mass uprising in the North when the North's leader Kim Jong-il dies. North Korea did recently accept a small amount of aid from South Korea however. The US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea speak regularly of their hopes that North Korea will rejoin international talks about ending its nuclear programme.

Iata says airlines suffered 'worst year' in 2009

The year 2009 saw the biggest decline in air passenger traffic in the post-war era, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

"In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen," said the group's boss Giovanni Bisignani. Passenger traffic dropped by 3.5% from a year earlier, while freight traffic fell 10.1% as the downturn hit demand. However, figures for December showed a rise in traffic of 1.6% on a year ago.

'Spartan year'

Despite the improvement at the end of 2009, Iata said 2010 would be a tough year for airlines the world over. "The industry starts 2010 with some enormous challenges," Mr Bisignani said. "The worst is behind us, but it's not time to celebrate. Adjusting to 2.5 to 3.5 years of lost growth means that airlines face another spartan year, focused on matching capacity carefully to demand and controlling costs." African airlines suffered the most in 2009, with passenger demand down 6.8%. Asia-Pacific and North American carriers saw demand fall by 5.8%, while European airlines suffered a 5% fall in demand. But Middle Eastern carriers saw passenger demand climb 11.3%, while Latin American airlines experienced a 0.3% rise.

Price wars

Iata has estimated that airlines collectively lost $11bn (£6.8bn) last year, and stand to lose a further $5.6bn this year. Analysts said that price cuts designed to attract customers would continue to eat into airlines' profits. "Continued fare wars between airlines mean that yields and profitability will be low. Airlines are struggling to fill their airplanes and discounted ticketing has done little to alleviate the pressures on their costs," said independent airline analyst Saj Ahmad. "Capacity has come out of the global airline system, but until a few airlines perhaps exit the industry through bankruptcy or mergers, there is still a very long road until we see serious stability, let alone growth."

Fonseka rejects Sri Lanka election win for Rajapaksa

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been declared the winner of Sri Lanka's presidential poll but the outcome was immediately rejected by his challenger.

Gen Sarath Fonseka promised a legal challenge to the outcome of the ballot, the first since Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated after 25 years of civil war. The Elections Commission declared Mr Rajapaksa the victor with 57.8% of votes cast, to 40% for his main rival. Troops earlier surrounded the Colombo hotel where Gen Fonseka is staying.

A government spokesman told that it did not intend to hold Gen Fonseka but were looking for army deserters. A military spokesman said the troops' deployment was a "protective measure". Our correspondent, who is in the same hotel as Gen Fonseka and other opposition leaders, says the troops' presence has created a very tense atmosphere. An opposition spokesman, Rauf Hakeem, said opposition members had appealed to the government over what he said were "high-handed tactics" intended to intimidate them.

He told reporters there were no deserters inside the hotel. Gen Fonseka has alleged vote-rigging and has lodged several objections with Sri Lanka's electoral commission. He has also accused the government of wanting to kill him and said it had removed his personal security from the hotel, leaving him vulnerable. "There is no democracy here. The government is behaving like murderers, not taking responsibility for security of the people," Gen Fonseka said at a press conference. "I have sacrificed a lot, I have continued to bring victory of the war to this country. And therefore I have the threat from the terrorists.

"So now they are exposing me without any security. They are hoping that they will do something to me and put the blame on the terrorists," he said. One of the reasons behind Gen Fonseka's challenge to the election outcome may be that he fears for his own safety in Sri Lanka now he has lost, Correspondent from Colombo says. Defence Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of the president-elect, has previously expressed concern about Gen Fonseka's allegations that at the end of the war he ordered surrendering Tamil Tiger rebels to be shot. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denied the claims.

Since he left the army the higher ranks have very much rallied behind Mr Rajapaksa, our correspondent adds. Gen Fonseka also does not have his own party base, having stood for election backed by a disparate group of opposition parties. Independent election observers have been perturbed by two main elements, our correspondent says, one of which is the amount of violence in the run-up to the election - with most complaints about the perpetration of violence laid at the door of the president's side.

The other is what monitors say is the misuse of public resources and state media, particularly state-run TV, which provided blanket coverage of the incumbent president's campaign. Some 70% of Sri Lanka's 14 million-strong electorate turned out to vote. However, turn-out in the Tamil areas in the north-east, where the fiercest fighting occurred during the conflict, was less than 30%. Lucien Rajakarunanayake, a spokesman for Mr Rajapaksa, told the news agency that the president had "won a historic and resounding victory in the first free and fair elections held throughout the country since the defeat of terrorism". Supporters of Mr Rajapaksa celebrated in the streets of Colombo, waving Sri Lankan flags and setting off fireworks.

Bitter fight

After a violent and acrimonious campaign, during which four people died and hundreds were wounded, Tuesday's election was largely peaceful. But there were serious exceptions, especially in the Tamil-populated north. In the city of Jaffna, the private Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said there were at least six explosions before and just after voting began. Later there were two blasts in Vavuniya, the town near the huge camps for people displaced by the war. The organisation said it feared this was a systematic attempt to scare people away from voting. There were also grenade attacks in the Sinhala-dominated centre and south. It later turned out that Gen Fonseka had not been able to vote because his name was not on the register.

The two men were closely associated with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but fell out soon afterwards. Gen Fonseka quit the military, complaining that he had been sidelined after the war. The president's side accuses the general of courting separatists. The general has accused the president of plotting vote-rigging and violence, something his rival denies. Both main candidates have promised voters costly subsidies and public sector pay rises. However, economists say this will make it hard for the country to meet cost-cutting obligations imposed under the terms of a $2.6bn (£1.6bn) International Monetary Fund loan.

$2m file-sharing fine slashed to $54,000

An American woman told to pay $2m (£1.23m) for sharing 24 songs over the internet has had her fine slashed.

Following an appeal, Jammie Thomas-Rasset has now been ordered to pay the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) $54,000 (£33,420).

The judge who reduced the fine said the original multi-million dollar claim by the industry body was "monstrous".

Ms Thomas said her legal team was looking at ways to get the fine reduced even more.

"Whether it's $2m or $54,000, I'm a mom with four kids and one income and we're not exactly rolling in that kind of dough right now," she said.

Shocking

The RIAA first took legal action against Ms Thomas in 2007. She was accused of pirating almost 2,000 tracks but the record companies sought damages for only 24 of them.

The pirated songs included tracks by Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Green Day and Gloria Estefan. Found guilty, Ms Thomas was ordered to pay damages of $200,000.

Ms Thomas was re-tried in 2009 following mistakes made during the initial case. She was found guilty again and told to pay $1.92m.

Ms Thomas appealed against the damages claim resulting in a reduced fine.

"The need for deterrence cannot justify a $2m verdict for stealing and illegally distributing 24 songs for the sole purpose of obtaining free music," wrote Judge Michael Davis who heard the appeal.

US law allows recording companies to ask for damages of between $750 and $30,000 for each song illegally downloaded. This can be raised by a jury to as much as $150,000 if it believes the piracy was wilful.

"It was the jury's province to determine the award ...and this Court has merely reduced that award to the maximum amount that is no longer monstrous and shocking," he added.

Judge Davis denied Ms Thomas' request for a re-trial and told the RIAA it had seven days in which to accept the change or ask for a new trial to set new damages.

The RIAA said it was "analysing" the Judge's decision and would respond in due course.

US supreme court rules in favour of Noriega extradition

The US Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from Panama's ex-leader Manuel Noriega against his extradition to France on money laundering charges.

Noriega wanted to be sent back to his country after completing a drug sentence at a jail in Florida.

In April, a US court ruled the former dictator could be extradited to France.

The US convicted Noriega of laundering illicit drugs money in 1990 and he was sentenced to 30 years, later reduced to 17 years for good behaviour.

France convicted him in his absence in 1999 for laundering money through French banks, though it says he will be granted a new trial.

His lawyers had argued international law required he be returned to Panama.

As a former prisoner of war following the US invasion of Panama in 1989, they said, the Geneva Conventions precluded his extradition to a third country.

He also faces a 20-year sentence at home imposed by a Panamanian court in his absence for ordering the murder in 1985 of Hugo Spadafora, a prominent opponent.

Noriega, who is in his 70s, led Panama in the mid- to late 1980s and was a key American ally in the region before being captured by invading US forces.

He has remained in US custody ever since the completion of his 17-year US prison term, pending his appeal against extradition.

Ethiopian jet crash bodies pulled from sea off Beirut

At least 24 bodies of people killed in an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash off Beirut have been pulled from the sea.

Addis Ababa-bound Flight ET409 burst into flames and crashed into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off from Beirut airport in stormy weather.

Rescuers are continuing to search for bodies and wreckage, but officials say it is very unlikely that any of the 90 people on board will be found alive.

A Lebanese minister said "bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash".

"We have ruled out foul play so far," Defence Minister Elias Murr told reporters.

The plane took off in a heavy rainstorm and there has been speculation that it was struck by lightning.

Some relatives of those on board have been asking why the plane was allowed to take off in such poor conditions, North in Beirut reports.

Officials said that 83 passengers and seven crew were on board the Boeing 737-800. This model can seat 189 passengers. Most were Lebanese or Ethiopian.

The UK Foreign Office said there was one British national and one person of dual nationality.

The other passengers included citizens of Turkey, France, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq, Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement on its website.

Among them was the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut, Marla Pietton.

Some of the foreign passengers are reported to be of Lebanese origin.

Debris washed up

The plane disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off in stormy weather at about 0200 local time, near the village of Naameh, about 3.5km (2 miles) from the coast.

Helicopters and naval ships are searching the crash site. It is still being described as a rescue operation, although officials say that in such bad weather it is unlikely anyone will be found so long after the crash.

The United Nations peacekeeping operation in Lebanon has sent three ships and two helicopters, and a British RAF helicopter is also involved.

Lebanese soldiers are also combing nearby beaches, where pieces of the plane and debris including passenger seats, a fire extinguisher and bottles of medicine have washed up.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said foul play was not suspected.

"As of now, a sabotage act is unlikely. The investigation will uncover the cause," he said. "The weather conditions are terrible, but rescue efforts are still under way."

One witness, Abdel Mahdi Salaneh, told he saw the plane fall into the sea in flames.

"We saw a flash in the sky," he said. "We saw a flash over the sea and it was the plane falling. The weather was really bad, it was all thunder and rain."

Correspondent in Nairobi says the crash is likely to invite comparisons with the Kenya Airways crash in Cameroon in 2007, in which 114 people died.

Both incidents involved Boeing 737-800 aircraft taking off in bad weather.

Relatives of the passengers, some of them sobbing, gathered in the airport's VIP lounge.

A tearful Andree Qusayfi told that his brother, 35-year-old Ziadh, had left for Ethiopia to work for a computer company.

"We begged him to postpone his flight because of the storm," he said. "But he insisted on going because he had work appointments."

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and other officials went to comfort families.

Mr Hariri declared a day of mourning, and closed schools and government offices.

Ethiopia and Lebanon share close business ties, and thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon.

Many of the Lebanese passengers are believed to have been planning to take connecting flights to West Africa.

Fleet expanding

Ethiopian Airlines operates a regular flight between Addis Ababa and Beirut.

Our correspondent says that along with South African and Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines is widely considered to be among sub-Saharan Africa's best operators.

And on a continent with a history of national airlines folding often due to reckless financial mismanagement, he says, Ethiopian Airlines is expanding its fleet and was the first African airline to order the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

It has also just announced the purchase of another 10 737-800s, at a cost of $750m.

Its last major crash was in 1996, when a hijacked Nairobi-Addis Ababa plane ditched into the sea off the Comoros Islands after running out of fuel. Of the 175 people on board, 123 were killed.

'Chemical Ali' executed in Iraq

Ali Hassan al-Majid, a former Iraqi official known as "Chemical Ali", has been executed by hanging, a government spokesman has announced.

Majid, an enforcer in Saddam Hussein's regime and his cousin, had earlier been sentenced to death four times for genocide and crimes against humanity. Earlier this month, he was sentenced to death for ordering the gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988. It is believed that about 5,000 people died in the attack. Iraqi jets swooped over Halabja and for five hours sprayed it with a lethal cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX.

Brutality

Majid was "executed by hanging until death," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement."The execution happened without any violations, shouting or cries of joy," he added, in sharp contrast to Saddam's death on the gallows in 2006.

News of the hanging came shortly after three suicide car bombs struck in central Baghdad. It was not immediately clear whether the attacks were linked to his execution. Majid was first sentenced to hang in June 2007 for his role in a military campaign against ethnic Kurds, codenamed Anfal, that lasted from February to August of 1988.

In December 2008 he also received a death sentence for his role in crushing a Shia revolt after the 1991 Gulf War. In March 2009 he was sentenced to death, along with others, for the 1999 killings of Shia Muslims in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Correspondent says Majid could have been hanged earlier - after his first death sentence for the Anfal campaign. But it was important to Iraqi Kurds to see him convicted of the Halabja attack, seen as one of the worst atrocities of Saddam Hussein's regime.

No remorse

Our correspondent says there will be great rejoicing or, at the very least, quiet relief among both Iraq's Shia and Kurdish communities, which have suffered greatly at his hands. There was a mixed reaction from ordinary Iraqis to news of the execution.

"I give my condolences to the Iraqi people on the death of Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was killed by traitors and hooligans," said a resident of Majid's home town, Tikrit. But Baghdad resident Ali Suhail said the execution was just: ''He had executed so many people. So he deserves to be executed." A resident of Halabja also said he was pleased: ''We, the families of those killed in the attack on Halabja, are very pleased to hear that Ali Hassan al-Majid was executed. "Once again we call upon the Iraqi people and government to be united and serve the Iraqi people and families of those killed in poison gas attack."

Majid - the King of Spades in the US military's pack of cards of most-wanted Iraqis - was arrested in August 2003. He has refused to express remorse at any of his trials, insisting that he was acting in the interests of Iraqi security. The Iraqi High Tribunal was set up to try former members of Saddam Hussein's mainly Sunni government and was the same one that sentenced the former president to death. Footage of Saddam's execution in December 2006 was posted on the internet. It showed the dictator being confronted by opponents who jeered and clapped as he was being hanged.