Kenya Westgate missing drops to 39

30 September 2013 Last updated at 05:54 ET

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The BBC's Karen Allen: How the siege unfolded

The Kenyan Red Cross has said the number of missing in the Westgate shopping centre attack has gone down to 39 from an earlier figure of 61.

Fourteen of the missing have been found alive and seven bodies were in the morgue, it said.

The government has said 67 people were killed after al-Shabab militants stormed the Westgate centre in the capital, Nairobi, on 21 September.

MPs have started a probe into alleged intelligence failings over the attack.

The Red Cross says some relatives were not updating them when they found people who had been reported as missing.

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• 1998: US embassy in Nairobi bombed, killing 224 people - one of al-Qaeda's first international attacks
• 2002: Attack on Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa kills 10 Kenyans. Simultaneous rocket attack on an Israeli airliner fails
• 2011: Suspected al-Shabab militants raid Kenyan coastal resorts and a refugee camp, targeting and kidnapping foreigners
• 2011: Kenya sends troops into Somalia to tackle al-Shabab
• 2011-13: Numerous grenade attacks near Somali border and in Nairobi

A Red Cross tracing manager has told the BBC that "some were reports from people who could not get through to their relatives on the phone and thought they might have been at the mall".

The organisation has been calling those who reported people missing for updates.

'Lapses'

Five militants were killed by the security forces during the four-day siege and 10 people have since been arrested, the authorities say.

Al-Shabab, a Somali Islamist group, said the attack was in retaliation for Kenya's military involvement in Somalia.

Security sources have told the BBC that the militants rented a shop at Westgate in the weeks leading up to the siege.

Kenya's joint parliamentary defence and national security committees met briefly on Monday morning to begin their investigation into possible lapses in the country's security system.

They have now adjourned and plan to visit Westgate later on Monday. They will start calling people on Tuesday to testify before the joint committees.

Committee head Ndung'u Gethenji had said the questioning of the security chiefs, including the head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Michael Gichangi, would begin on Monday.

He told the BBC last week that "people need to know the exact lapses in the security system that possibly allowed this event to take place".

He also said they needed to understand "the anatomy of the entire rescue operation" amid allegations of confusion over who was in charge.

Kenyan newspapers have reported that the NIS warned a year ago of the presence of suspected al-Shabab militants in the capital and that they were planning suicide attacks, including on the Westgate shopping centre.

Briefings were given to the ministers "informing them of increasing threat of terrorism and of plans to launch simultaneous attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa around September 13 and 20, 2013", Kenya's Daily Nation had quoted counter-terrorism reports as saying.

A dossier from the NIS - amounting to more than 8,000 pages according to Kenya's Standard newspaper - also suggests the Israelis issued warnings that buildings owned by its citizens could be attacked between 4 and 28 September.

Westgate is partly Israeli-owned.

The Daily Nation has reported that Kenyan intelligence had established that al-Shabab leaders had begun singling out Westgate and the Holy Family Basilica for attack early this year.

Government figures said to have received the intelligence briefings include Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku, Treasury Minister Julius Rotich, Foreign Affairs Minister Amina Mohammed, Defence Minister Raychelle Omamo and Kenya Defence Forces chief Julius Karangi.

On Sunday, Mr Lenku refused to answer questions on the issue, saying the information was confidential and would not be discussed in public.

However, a senior interior ministry official earlier denied that ministers had ignored intelligence warnings.

The official - who was speaking on condition of anonymity - told the BBC the government received intelligence daily, that action was taken and that many attacks had been averted.

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Deadly car bombs strike Baghdad

30 September 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

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Footage shows the aftermath of the 13 rush hour blasts, as the BBC's Rafid Jabboori reports from Baghdad

A series of car bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed at least 42 people and injured many more, officials say.

The blasts targeted markets and car parks in mainly Shia Muslim districts of the city.

There has been a recent upsurge in sectarian violence, sparking fears of a return to the bloodletting of 2008.

More than 5,000 people have been killed so far this year, according to United Nations data.

Monday's blasts struck during Baghdad's morning rush hour, with reports of 13 bombs, most of them in Shia neighbourhoods.

Groups of labourers gathering ahead of the working day were among the bombers' targets.

One of the deadliest attacks was reported from the eastern Sadr City district where seven people were killed and 75 injured in a crowded vegetable market.

Another six were reported killed in Shuala, a mainly Shia area of north Baghdad.

The city neighbourhoods affected also included New Baghdad, Habibiya, Sabaa al-Bour, Kazimiya, Shaab and Ur, as well as the Sunni districts of Jamiaa and Ghazaliya, the Associated Press news agency reports.

War goes on

No-one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but Sunni Muslim insurgents have been blamed for much of the most recent violence.

The interior ministry accused rebels linked to al-Qaeda of exploiting political divisions and regional conflicts to sow violence.

"Our war with terrorism goes on," interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan told AP.

The recent upsurge in violence was triggered in April by an army raid on a Sunni Muslim anti-government protest camp near Hawija, north of Baghdad.

Many in the country's Sunni Muslim minority complain of being excluded from decision-making and of abuses by the security forces. Recent raids in Baghdad on suspected al-Qaeda hideouts in mainly Sunni districts are thought to have worsened grievances.

One of the bloodiest attacks over the past few weeks was a double bombing in a funeral marquee in Sadr City on 21 September, which left more than 60 people dead.

Several dozen people died in a wave of attacks on Sunday, including another explosion at a funeral.

A suicide bomber attacked a Shia Muslim mosque south of the city, causing the roof to collapse. More than 40 people are now known to have been killed in that incident.

Irbil, the normally stable capital of Iraq's autonomous province of Kurdistan, was hit by a series of bombings on the same day, killing six members of the security services. Officials said that violence could be linked to fighting between jihadists and Kurds in Syria.

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Popes to be declared saints in April

30 September 2013 Last updated at 06:23 ET

Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints on 27 April 2014, Pope Francis has announced.

The Pope said in July that he would canonise his two predecessors, after approving a second miracle attributed to John Paul.

Polish John Paul, the first non-Italian pope for more than 400 years, led the Catholic Church from 1978-2005.

Pope John was pontiff from 1958-1963, calling the Second Vatican Council that transformed the Church.

The decision to canonise the two at the same time appears designed to unify Catholics, correspondents say.

John Paul II is a favourite of conservative Catholics, while John XXIII is widely admired by the Church's progressive wing.

'The good pope'

John Paul stood out for his media-friendly, globetrotting style. He was a fierce critic of communism, and is credited with helping inspire opposition to communist rule in eastern Europe.

John Paul has been on a fast track to sainthood since his death, when crowds in St Peter's Square chanted "santo subito" ("sainthood now").

During his own papacy he simplified the process by which people are made saints, and created more of them than all previous popes combined.

John XXIII is remembered for introducing the vernacular to replace Latin in church masses and for creating warmer ties between the Catholic Church and the Jewish faith.

He has a big following in Italy, where he is known as Il Papa Buono, the good pope.

The BBC's David Willey reports from Rome that Pope John was in many ways similar to Pope Francis, a humble, down-to-earth man with a fine sense of humour.

Two living popes are expected to be present at the canonisation ceremony: Francis, who will officiate, and Pope Benedict, who retired earlier this year.

The double canonisation will be the first in the Church's history.

Pope Francis approved John XXIII's canonisation despite the fact that no second miracle had been attributed to him - usually a requirement for sainthood.

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Erdogan announces Kurdish reforms

30 September 2013 Last updated at 07:00 ET

Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced major political reforms, including new Kurdish rights and a reversal of the headscarf ban.

He has proposed lowering the 10% electoral threshold, which currently prevents Kurdish and other smaller parties from entering parliament.

He says towns will be allowed to take Kurdish rather than Turkish names.

He also plans to end the ban on women wearing headscarves in public service - a longstanding goal of his party.

The ban has been one of the most contentious laws in Turkey - pitting supporters of Turkey's secular constitution against those who favour Islamic rights.

Mr Erdogan and his governing AK Party have been accused of rolling back the secular state and trying to promote Islamic values.

The headscarf ban will be removed for public servants, but remains for judges, prosecutors, police officers and members of the armed forces.

"This is a historic moment, an important stage," Mr Erdogan said.

Kurdish language

The reforms are a long-awaited move to improve the rights of Turkey's Kurds, who are thought to make up about 20% of the population.

They are seen as a vital part of efforts to end the three-decade conflict between the government and Kurdish rebels, which has cost more than 40,000 lives.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) armed rebel group recently suspended its withdrawal from Turkey, which was a measure agreed with the government, because of a perceived failure by the government to make political concessions to the Kurds.

Mr Erdogan said the law under which only parties which get 10% of the national vote can take up parliamentary seats could be replaced by a 5% threshold, or even abolished completely.

The law has in the past prevented the main Kurdish party, Peace and Democracy (BDP), from campaigning for parliament - though its members have often run as independents and clubbed together as MPs.

Mr Erdogan also said teaching in Kurdish - and other non-Turkish languages - will be allowed in non-state schools.

And he said towns would be allowed officially to take their native-language names. This is thought likely to lead to the Turkish-named city of Tunceli being given its Kurdish name, Dersim.

Other measures in the "democratisation package" included:

• An ultra-nationalist oath recited by students at schools will be removed
• An anti-discrimination commission will be established to combat hate crimes

Mr Erdogan also announced concessions to other minority groups, including Christians.

He announced plans to return land belonging to the Syriac Christian Mor Gabriel Monastery, which had been seized by the state.

The prime minister did not announce some expected measures, like concessions to the Alevi Muslim minority and the Greek Orthodox Church, but he declared: "This package is not a first and will not be the last of such reforms."

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Deadly blast hits Pakistan market

29 September 2013 Last updated at 05:21 ET

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People rushed to help those injured in the blast

An explosion has ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, leaving at least 33 dead and dozens wounded, officials say.

Police said a bomb had exploded in the Kissa Khwani market, with shops and vehicles set alight.

The blast comes a week after a double suicide bombing that killed at least 80 people at a church in the city.

On Friday, at least 17 people were killed in the bombing of a bus carrying government employees near Peshawar.

Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by numerous bomb and gun attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents in recent years.

Hospital emergency

Police said they suspected the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper quoted the health minister as saying that the main Peshawar police station may have been the main target.

However, bomb disposal chief Shafqat Malik said it appeared the blast had taken place some way from the station.

He told Agence France-Presse that a parked car had been "converted into a remote controlled bomb".

One shop owner, Nazar Ali, told Associated Press: "It was a huge blast that was followed by fire in vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the air and splinters spread all over. I saw people lying dead and bleeding."

An emergency situation was declared at the Lady Reading Hospital as it received the injured, many of them badly burned. Officials said 76 people had been hurt.

Anxious relatives gathered outside the hospital for news.

Rising violence has hindered new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's overtures to end the insurgency through peace talks with the Taliban.

On 21 September, Pakistan released from the jail the co-founder of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

But the Pakistan Taliban have consistently rejected the country's constitution and demand the imposition of Sharia law.

Mr Sharif is in New York at the UN and is to meet Indian PM Manmohan Singh later on Sunday.

Mr Sharif strongly condemned the Peshawar bombing in a message from New York, saying: "Those involved in the killing of innocent people are devoid of humanity and all religions."

Ahead of the talks, Mr Singh said Pakistan must stop being "the epicentre of terrorism".

Last Sunday's attack on the historic All Saints church - thought to be the deadliest attack against Christians in Pakistan - sparked angry protests nationwide.

Two Islamist militant groups with Taliban links said they had ordered the attack to hit back at US drone strikes.

More than 120 people were wounded.

Friday's bus bomb targeted government employees returning home in the Gulbela area, some 15km (9 miles) north-east of the city.

In addition to those killed, at least 34 people were injured.

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Shanghai free-trade zone launched

29 September 2013 Last updated at 05:47 ET

A free-trade zone in Shanghai, China's economic hub, has been launched as the world's second-biggest economy prepares to test long-awaited economic reforms.

Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng attended the opening ceremony for the zone, which covers 29 sq km (11 sq miles).

Mr Gao said the zone would help "implement a more active opening-up strategy".

Restrictions on foreign investment will be eased inside the area and interest rates will be set by markets.

Among other measures to be trialled inside the zone are allowing China's heavily-regulated currency, the yuan, to be swapped freely for other currencies, China's State Council said on Friday.

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Liberal economists both inside and outside China have long feared that China's three-decade-long experiment in opening up its economy has recently stalled, rolled back even, because of powerful vested interests.

Now the country's premier, Li Keqiang, has signalled that he is preparing to experiment with ways to take on those interests by loosening the government's tight grip on foreign investment, the currency market and the banking system.

It has invited comparisons between Mr Li and China's great architect of economic opening, Deng Xiaoping, who also started small before extending his reforms country-wide. But some observers are urging caution because the detailed rules about exactly what will and won't be permitted inside the zone won't be published until later this year.

Eighteen sectors, ranging from finance to shipping, will have regulations loosened in the zone.

'Significant'

"The establishment of the Shanghai free-trade zone is a significant move for China to conform to new trends in the global economy and trade," Mr Gao said.

The new zone "shows that the new government is keen on making reforms", said Stefan Sack of the European Chamber of Commerce in China but he added that "a free-trade zone in Shanghai alone will not change how business is done in China".

The new Shanghai zone, which includes four existing bonded zones, has been backed by Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who took office in March.

The architect of China's transformation to a market economy in the late 1970s and 1980s, Deng Xiaoping, used free-trade zones near Hong Kong to test out ideas about how to transform China's state-run economy.

China's economy expanded 7.7% last year, its slowest pace in 13 years.

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Gunmen attack college in Nigeria

29 September 2013 Last updated at 07:00 ET

Many students are feared dead after suspected Islamist gunmen struck a college in north-eastern Nigeria.

The students were shot dead as they slept in their dormitory at the College of Agriculture in Yobe state.

North-eastern Nigeria is under a state of emergency amid an Islamic insurgency by the Boko Haram group.

Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's government to create an Islamist state, and has launched a number of attacks on schools.

Classrooms burned

The number of casualties in the latest attack is unclear but there are fears the death toll could be high.

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• Founded in 2002
• Official Arabic name, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad"
• Initially focused on opposing Western education
• Nicknamed Boko Haram, a phrase in the local Hausa language meaning, "Western education is forbidden"
• Launches military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state across Nigeria
• Founding leader Mohammed Yusuf killed in same year in police custody
• Succeeded by Abubakar Shekau, who the military wrongly claimed in 2009 had been killed
• Suspected to have split into rival factions in 2012
• Military claims in August 2013 that Mr Shekau and his second-in-command Momodu Bama have been killed in separate attacks; no independent confirmation

One hospital source told Reuters news agency that 26 people had been killed.

College provost Molima Idi Mato told Associated Press it could be as many as 50, adding that security forces were still recovering the bodies and that about 1,000 students had fled the campus.

A military spokesman in Yobe state, Lazarus Eli, told Agence France-Presse the gunmen had also set fire to classrooms.

The college is in the rural Gujba district.

In June, Boko Haram carried out two attacks on schools in the region.

At least nine children were killed in a school on the outskirts of Maiduguri, while 13 students and teachers were killed in a school in Damaturu.

In July in the village of Mamudo in Yobe state, Islamist militants attacked dormitories with guns and explosives, killing at least 42 people, mostly students.

Boko Haram regards schools as a symbol of Western culture. Its name translates as "Western education is forbidden".

President Goodluck Jonathan ordered an operation in May against Boko Haram.

Many of the Islamist militants left their bases in the north-east and violence initially fell, but revenge attacks quickly followed.

Boko Haram is led by Abubakar Shekau. The Nigerian military said in August that it might have killed him in a shoot-out.

However, a video released last week purportedly showed him alive.

Other previous reports of his death later proved to be unfounded.

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Flame lit ahead of Sochi Olympics

29 September 2013 Last updated at 07:06 ET

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The Sun's rays were used to light the Olympic flame during the ceremony

The Olympic flame-lighting ceremony for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi has been held in Greece.

At the ceremony, Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach urged Russia to uphold the values of the Games.

He said the torch was a symbol of friendship, excellence and respect "without any form of discrimination".

Russia's preparations for the February 2014 Games have recently been overshadowed by a controversial new legislation seen as anti-gay.

Women dressed in flowing white robes performed an elaborate dance before igniting the Olympic flame in the ruins of the Temple of Hera, in Olympus, using reflected sun rays.

The flames were then used to light the first Olympic torch, which was carried by Russian ice hockey player Aleksandr Ovechkin.

The torch is expected to arrive in complete a 65,000-km journey (40,000-mile) before arriving for the opening ceremony of the Games in 123 days' time.

Space trip

Its journey will take in the International Space Station, the bottom of Russia's Lake Baikal, and Europe's highest mountain, as 14,000 torch-bearers visit all corners of Russia.

Mr Ovechkin, wearing a white and red ski hat despite hot autumn sunshine, held the torch aloft and carried an olive branch as he ran the first leg of the relay from Olympus.

Before the ceremony, Mr Ovechkin declined to answer questions about Russia's new legislation which outlaws "homosexual propaganda among minors".

"I am just a hockey player. This is something for the politicians," he told Reuters.

Bach, who was recently elected to succeed Jacques Rogge as Olympic president, said the Games should not be used for political ends.

"Just as in ancient Greece, the Olympic Games cannot settle political problems or secure lasting peace between peoples," he said in his speech.

"The Olympic flame thus reminds us to be aware of our own Olympic limits."

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UN adopts Syria chemical resolution

28 September 2013 Last updated at 01:29 ET

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John Kerry: "Diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war"

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a binding resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons.

At a session in New York, the 15-member body backed the draft document agreed earlier by Russia and the US.

The deal breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria, where fighting between government forces and rebels rages on.

The vote came after the international chemical watchdog agreed on a plan to destroy Syria's stockpile by mid-2014.

'Powerful diplomacy'

Speaking after the vote in New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the decision as "historic".

"Tonight the international community has delivered."

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Only a few weeks ago, this landmark vote would have seemed highly improbable, if not unimaginable: a Security Council deadlocked for two-and-half years on Syria agreeing, with every hand raised, to a binding resolution.

After the 21 August attack in the suburbs of Damascus, its members could not even agree on a press statement condemning the killings.

The resolution has two key demands: that Syria abandon its chemical weapons stockpile and for weapons experts to be given unfettered access to make sure it is dismantled by the middle of next year.

But the resolution doesn't authorise the automatic use of force if Syria is held in violation, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov determinedly pointed out.

Punitive measures, like military action or sanctions, would require a second resolution, and then Moscow would likely wield its veto.

Nor does the resolution attribute guilt for the 21 August attack, the massacre that ended up transforming the diplomatic dynamic. Despite the agreement reached in Geneva two weeks ago which this resolution enshrines, Russia and America remain at odds over who was to blame.

For the first time, though, the Security Council has endorsed a roadmap for a political transition in Syria and the UN has also set a target date for a new peace conference in mid-November.

He urged the Syrian government to implement the resolution "faithfully and without delay", and also announced a tentative date of mid-November for a new peace conference in Geneva.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the UN demonstrated that "diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war".

He said the resolution would for the first time seek to eliminate entirely a nation's chemical weapons capability.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also hailed the move, saying Moscow was ready to take part in "all operations" in Syria.

However, he stressed that the success of international efforts was "not only on Damascus' shoulders" and that Syrian opposition must co-operate.

The UN resolution condemns the use of chemical weapons but does not attribute blame.

The text has two legally binding demands: that Syria abandon its weapons stockpile and that the chemical weapons experts be given unfettered access.

Although the draft refers to Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the use of military force, a second resolution authorising such a move would be needed.

US President Barack Obama earlier said agreement on the issue by council members would be a "potentially huge victory for the international community".

Previous attempts at a resolution stumbled amid disagreements between Russia and the US on how to deal with the crisis in Syria.

The US - backed by France and the UK - had pushed for a resolution carrying the threat of military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces. Russia had opposed this.

Reacting to the vote, Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said the resolution covered most of Damascus' concerns.

But he stressed that countries supporting Syrian rebels should also abide by the adopted document.

'Unmistakable message'

The UN vote came just hours after the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted what it called "a historic decision on the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons".

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UK Foreign Secretary William Hague: "It is a ground-breaking resolution"

In a statement after a late-night meeting in The Hague, the watchdog said its executive council "agreed on an accelerated programme for achieving the complete elimination of Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014. The decision requires inspections in Syria to commence from 1 October 2013".

"The decision also calls for ambitious milestones for destruction which will be set by the (executive) council by 15 November."

OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said the move "sends an unmistakable message that the international community is coming together to work for peace in Syria".

These are uncharted waters for the OPCW, a small organisation that has never undertaken a job of this size or complexity, says the BBC's world affairs correspondent Paul Adams.

It will need a lot of help and is expected to ask for urgent funding and additional personnel, he adds.

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• Syria believed to possess more than 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and pre-cursor chemicals, including blister agent, sulphur mustard, and sarin nerve agent; also thought to have produced most potent nerve agent, VX
• US believes Syria's arsenal can be "delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
• Syria acceded to Chemical Weapons Convention on 14 September; it signed Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in 1972 but never ratified

The UK is to contribute $3m (£1.85m) to the OPCW's Syria fund, Foreign Secretary William Hague announced on Friday.

The OPCW document now forms part of the UN resolution which sets out to govern the whole process.

Meanwhile. violence continued in Syria. Activists said a car bomb killed at least 20 people near a mosque in Rankus, a town north of Damascus, just after Friday prayers.

Earlier, the UN said its team of inspectors currently in Syria are investigating three chemical weapons attacks alleged to have happened after the 21 August attack in Damascus that left hundreds dead and sparked a threat of US military action.

The three attacks are among seven alleged incidents the UN said its team were investigating.

The UN said its team, led by Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Syria for its second visit on 25 September and hopes to finish its work by Monday.

It is working on a "comprehensive report" that it expects to have finished by late October.

The UN listed the alleged attacks, which all took place this year, as Khan al-Assal on 19 March; Sheikh Maqsoud on 13 April; Saraqeb on 29 April; Ghouta on 21 August; Bahhariya on 22 August; Jobar on 24 August and Ashrafieh Sahnaya on 25 August.

Damascus pushed for the investigation of the three post-21 August incidents, accusing "militants" of using chemical gas against the army in Bahhariya, Jobar and Ashrafieh Sahnaya.

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Pakistani quake area struck again

28 September 2013 Last updated at 06:29 ET

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck south-west Pakistan, in a region where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week.

There were no initial reports of casualties from the quake, centred in the remote province of Balochistan.

Reports said already damaged buildings collapsed in the new tremor which sent people running into the streets.

Efforts to help thousands left homeless by last Tuesday's quake have struggled against poor roads and separatists.

Local media reported that the quake affected Balochistan and Sindh regions and was also felt in Quetta, close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, and Karachi.

Pakistan's Meteorological Department measured the quake at 7.2 magnitude.

Chief Pakistani meteorologist Arif Mahmood told Pakistani television that it was an aftershock from this week's earthquake and similar tremors could continue for weeks, Associated Press reported.

"We are checking but no reports of losses have yet been received," Jan Mohammad Buledi, a spokesman for the provincial government of Balochistan told AFP.

Officials have estimated that about 300,000 people were affected by the earlier, 7.7 magnitude quake which levelled mud and homemade brick homes, injuring hundreds.

Many have survivors have been sleeping in the open air or in tents.

Abdur Rasheed, the deputy commissioner of Awaran district where both quakes were centred, told AP that the latest seismic activity caused further damage to structures already affected.

Rescue and relief efforts after the earlier quake have been hampered by the region's poor road network.

Officials have appealed to separatist military groups operating in the area following attacks on army units involved in providing assistance.

Pakistan's official paramilitary force, the Frontier Corps, has been leading rescue and relief operations.

It already had thousands of soldiers deployed in the area because it is fighting a long-running separatist insurgency by Baloch nationalist rebels.

The violent force of Tuesday's 7.7-magnitude quake caused the creation of a new 200m (656ft) long island off the coast of Pakistan near the port of Gwadar.

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Protests greet returning Rouhani

28 September 2013 Last updated at 06:32 ET

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been met by hardline protesters chanting "Death to America" on his return from the UN forum in New York.

During his trip, President Rouhani had suggested a shift in tone on Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

This culminated in a phone call with US President Barack Obama - the first such top-level conversation in 30 years.

Hundreds of people gathered at Tehran airport, with supporters hailing the trip and opponents throwing shoes.

'US initiative'

An Agence France-Presse journalist said some 200-300 supporters gathered outside the airport to thank Mr Rouhani for his efforts.

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US President Barack Obama: "The test will be meaningful, transparent and verifiable actions"

But opposite them were about 60 people shouting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".

Mr Rouhani raised his hand to the crowds as he was driven off.

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Analysis

The hardline protesters are angry at the prospect of a detente between Tehran and Washington, which they see as contrary to the principles of the Islamic Revolution.

Although a minority in number, the hardliners have always spoken out loudly against any rapprochement with the US. Their presence, with or without the support of the higher echelons of the regime, will serve to keep Mr Rouhani in check, reminding him that he cannot go too far in this on his own.

On the other hand, social media in Iran is awash with messages supporting the phone call between the two presidents. It may be that social media can now give Iranians in favour of change the kind of voice their hardline rivals have enjoyed in the past.

A New York Times reporter described the scene as chaotic, with dozens of hardliners hurling eggs and shoes at the president's convoy.

The Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), said: "A crowd of young people and students gathered at Mehrabad airport to show support for the president's remarks and his stance during the trip to New York."

It said Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a number of cabinet members also welcomed the president.

The call with Mr Obama was made just before Mr Rouhani left New York.

Mr Rouhani, quoted by the Fars news agency, said it was the US that had initiated the call, contradicting some reports in the US.

"Yesterday, as we were getting ready to head to the airport, the White House called and expressed willingness to set up a phone call between the American president and me," Fars quoted Mr Rouhani as saying upon arrival in Tehran.

"On our way a call was made to our ambassador's cell phone. The conversation mostly focused on the nuclear issue," he was quoted as saying.

After the call, Mr Obama said: "While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution."

Mr Rouhani, who is regarded as a moderate and was elected in June, has said he wants to reach a deal over the nuclear issue in three to six months.

He has also asserted that Iran does not seek a nuclear bomb, as Western powers have long suspected.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

If Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani can deliver what he has been saying in New York - and if the world's big powers can reciprocate - then there's a real chance to make progress"

End Quote

Mr Rouhani said initial discussions had taken place in an environment that was "quite different" from the past.

The US and China have said they expect Iran to respond to an existing offer by the US, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany, who form a negotiating group known as the P5+1.

The group has asked Iran to halt production and stockpiling of uranium enriched to 20% - a step away from achieving a nuclear weapons capability.

It also demanded Iran shut down the Fordo underground enrichment facility, near Qom.

Substantive talks between Iran and the P5+1 are due to take place on 15 October, and Mr Rouhani said Iran would bring a plan to that meeting, though he did not give details.

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Crackdown on Greek far-right party

28 September 2013 Last updated at 07:11 ET

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The BBC's Mark Lowen: "It is really an extraordinary crackdown"

Greek police have arrested the leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, on charges of forming a criminal organisation.

Three more Golden Dawn MPs, a party leader in an Athens suburb and 12 other people have also been arrested.

The arrests come amid anger over the murder on 18 September of anti-racist musician, Pavlos Fyssas.

A man held for the stabbing told police he was a Golden Dawn supporter, though the party strongly denies any link.

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Analysis

Not since the end of Greece's military dictatorship in 1974 has there been a mass arrest of MPs. It is an extraordinary clampdown by a government long accused of taking a soft touch towards Golden Dawn.

Some 154 racist attacks were recorded here last year and 104 so far this year - most attributed to Golden Dawn members. Two immigrants have been killed, again blamed on the party. But only now, after the killing of the hip hop artist Pavlos Fyssas, have authorities moved in hard and fast.

The government says it is this crime that has definitively exposed a direct chain of command to the party leadership, providing the basis for Golden Dawn to be classified as a criminal group.

The party has already had the immunity provided for Greek MPs lifted and one of those arrested on Saturday was tried earlier in the year in a separate incident. But with these arrests and several suspensions of police officers accused of links to Golden Dawn, the government has done more against the party this week than it has in the past year.

One of the MPs arrested on Saturday was party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris.

Another, Ilias Panayiotaros, told reporters before giving himself up: "Shame on them, the people will lift Golden Dawn higher."

A number of other warrants are believed to have been issued. The arrests were made by the anti-terrorism unit.

Golden Dawn has called on its supporters to rally outside the police headquarters in Athens and has vowed to fight back.

A text message read: "We call upon everyone to support our moral and just struggle against the corrupt system!"

Some 200 Golden Dawn members later rallied at the police HQ in the capital.

'Bodyguard' held

The killing of Pavlos Fyssas, 34 - whose stage name was Killah P - has sparked protests in Athens and across Greece.

George Roupakias, 45, who said he was a supporter of Golden Dawn, was arrested. He was charged with voluntary manslaughter and illegal possession of a weapon.

The government launched a crackdown, including raids on Golden Dawn premises.

Two senior police officials resigned for "personal reasons" after the killing and another two were suspended. Seven other police officers were suspended.

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Golden Dawn - key dates

• Began 1980 but more formally established 1985
• Party banner is a Greek decorative border, often compared with Nazi insignia
• In 1996 elections, won just 4,487 votes - 0.07%. European election performance in 2004 was 0.17%, in 2009 0.46%
• Nikolaos Michaloliakos wins place on Athens Municipal Council in 2010 with 5.29%
• Breakthrough in May 2012 election with 441,018 votes and 21 deputies, cut to 18 MPs in June re-run
• June 2012 - Party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris throws water and slaps rival politician on TV
• Sept 2013 - George Roupakias (above), self-proclaimed supporter, arrested for murder of musician Pavlos Fyssas
• Sept 2013 - Leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos and other party members arrested

Greek police also arrested one of their own colleagues who was reportedly working as a bodyguard for the party, during a raid on its offices in the western town of Agrinio on Tuesday.

The government also began an inquiry into the activities of Golden Dawn, which won nearly 7% of the vote in 2012 elections.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has vowed not to let the party "undermine" democracy, and government officials say it must now be treated as a "criminal organisation".

Golden Dawn, Greece's third most popular party, has accused the government of carrying out a witch-hunt over the Fyssas killing.

Mr Michaloliakos, 56, said last week: "We will exhaust any means within our legal constitutional rights to defend our political honour. If the country enters a cycle of instability, it is those who demonise Golden Dawn who will be responsible."

On Friday, Golden Dawn threatened to pull its 18 MPs out of the 300-strong Hellenic Parliament.

Mr Samaras's coalition, which has 155 seats, would then face by-elections.

On Saturday, Mr Samaras ruled out the possibility of early elections, adding that the Golden Dawn case was "now in the hands of the justice system".

In recent months, Golden Dawn has been accused of perpetrating attacks on migrants and political opponents - including an attack on Communist Party members earlier this month which is said to have left nine people in hospital.

Golden Dawn officially denies being a neo-Nazi movement, though its badge resembles a swastika, some senior members have praised Adolf Hitler, and its members wear black T-shirts and combat trousers at anti-immigrant demonstrations.

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UN '95% sure' humans cause warming

27 September 2013 Last updated at 05:12 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News, Stockholm

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Michel Jarraud from the World Meteorological Organization issued stark warnings about the impact of global climate change

A landmark report says scientists are 95% certain that humans are the "dominant cause" of global warming since the 1950s.

The report by the UN's climate panel details the physical evidence behind climate change.

On the ground, in the air, in the oceans, global warming is "unequivocal", it explained.

It adds that a pause in warming over the past 15 years is too short to reflect long-term trends.

The panel warns that continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all aspects of the climate system.

To contain these changes will require "substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions".

After a week of intense negotiations in the Swedish capital, the summary for policymakers on the physical science of global warming has finally been released.

The first part of an IPCC trilogy, due over the next 12 months, this dense, 36-page document is considered the most comprehensive statement on our understanding of the mechanics of a warming planet.

It states baldly that, since the 1950s, many of the observed changes in the climate system are "unprecedented over decades to millennia".

Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth's surface, and warmer than any period since 1850, and probably warmer than any time in the past 1,400 years.

"Our assessment of the science finds that the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amount of snow and ice has diminished, the global mean sea level has risen and that concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased," said Qin Dahe, co-chair of IPCC working group one, who produced the report.

Speaking at a news conference in the Swedish capital, Prof Thomas Stocker, another co-chair, said that climate change "challenges the two primary resources of humans and ecosystems, land and water. In short, it threatens our planet, our only home".

Since 1950, the report's authors say, humanity is clearly responsible for more than half of the observed increase in temperatures.

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PDF download IPCC Summary for Policymakers_[3MB]

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But a so-called pause in the increase in temperatures in the period since 1998 is downplayed in the report. The scientists point out that this period began with a very hot El Nino year.

"Trends based on short records are very sensitive to the beginning and end dates and do not in general reflect long-term climate trends," the report says.

Prof Stocker, added: "I'm afraid there is not a lot of public literature that allows us to delve deeper at the required depth of this emerging scientific question.

"For example, there are not sufficient observations of the uptake of heat, particularly into the deep ocean, that would be one of the possible mechanisms to explain this warming hiatus."

"Likewise we have insufficient data to adequately assess the forcing over the last 10-15 years to establish a relationship between the causes of the warming."

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What is the IPCC?

In its own words, the IPCC is there "to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts".

The offspring of two UN bodies, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, it has issued four heavyweight assessment reports to date on the state of the climate.

These are commissioned by the governments of 195 countries, essentially the entire world. These reports are critical in informing the climate policies adopted by these governments.

The IPCC itself is a small organisation, run from Geneva with a full time staff of 12. All the scientists who are involved with it do so on a voluntary basis.

However, the report does alter a key figure from the 2007 study. The temperature range given for a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere, called equilibrium climate sensitivity, was 2.0C to 4.5C in that report.

In the latest document, the range has been changed to 1.5C to 4.5C. The scientists say this reflects improved understanding, better temperature records and new estimates for the factors driving up temperatures.

In the summary for policymakers, the scientists say that sea level rise will proceed at a faster rate than we have experienced over the past 40 years. Waters are expected to rise, the document says, by between 26cm (at the low end) and 82cm (at the high end), depending on the greenhouse emissions path this century.

The scientists say ocean warming dominates the increase in energy stored in the climate system, accounting for 90% of energy accumulated between 1971 and 2010.

For the future, the report states that warming is projected to continue under all scenarios and is likely to exceed 1.5C by 2100.

"We have found in our assessment analysing these model simulation[s] that global surface temperature change for the end of the 21st Century is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius relative to 1850 for all scenarios. This is a statement that is adopted by the governments of the world," Prof Stocker told reporters.

Prof Sir Brian Hoskins, from Imperial College London, told BBC News: "We are performing a very dangerous experiment with our planet, and I don't want my grandchildren to suffer the consequences of that experiment."

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At least 17 die in Pakistan bus bomb

27 September 2013 Last updated at 05:36 ET

At least 17 people have been killed in a bus bombing near the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials say.

The vehicle was carrying government employees back home in the Gulbela area, some 15km north-east of the city.

More than 70 passengers were on board, police said.

Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by numerous bomb and gun attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents in recent years.

Initial reports say the bomb was planted in the back of the bus.

Officials told the BBC that at least 34 people had been injured in Friday's blast. No group has so far claimed responsibility.

Police say that the bomb was planted specifically to kill government employees.

The head of Peshawar's bomb disposal unit said that between 10kg and 15kg (22lb to 33lb) of explosives were used in the device.

On Sunday a twin-suicide bombing outside a church in Peshawar in Pakistan killed at least 81 people.

It was one of the worst attacks on Christians in the country. Militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the bombing.

At least 20 people were killed and nearly 40 were injured when another bus carrying government workers was bombed in the same area in June 2012.

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Messi in Spain tax fraud hearing

27 September 2013 Last updated at 06:13 ET

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Lionel Messi and his father deny the allegations, as Tom Burridge reports

Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi and his father have arrived at a Spanish court to face tax fraud allegations.

The 26-year-old Argentine, four times Fifa World Player of the Year, and his father Jorge Messi are accused of defrauding the authorities of more than 4m euros ($5.4m; £3.4m).

They are suspected of using companies abroad - in Belize and Uruguay - to sell the rights to use Messi's image.

They both deny the allegations, which date back to 2007-09.

'Tougher line'

The striker gave a thumbs up as he arrived at the court in Gava - the affluent Barcelona district where he lives.

Messi and his father are being questioned in a closed-court session. They are accused of three counts of defrauding the Spanish state of taxes.

The income related to Messi's image rights included contracts with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Proctor and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company.

In August, Jorge Messi made a payment of 5m euros to the tax authorities - the 4.16m euros of the alleged unpaid tax plus interest.

But state prosecutors are still pursuing the case - as the tax authorities are taking a much tougher line as a result of Spain's economic crisis, reports the BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid.

Earlier, Messi stated that he and and his father "have never committed any infringement. We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations".

'Humble'

Messi's net salary from Barcelona is said to be about 16m euros a year, making him one of the world's most highly-paid sportspeople.

He has also signed multi-million-dollar endorsements with commercial sponsors around the world.

Messi's achievements on the field have made him one of the most marketable in the business.

He came from a modest background and has overcome a serious health issue, joining Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000 and making his first-team debut only three years later.

But the allegations are a big blow to the prestige of the player, who has long been seen as a more humble figure than most top-class footballers.

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Syria inspections 'begin next week'

27 September 2013 Last updated at 06:21 ET

Experts from the world's chemical weapons watchdog will begin inspecting Syria's stockpile by Tuesday, a draft agreement says.

The draft also unusually authorises the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate sites not declared by Damascus.

The text is due to be voted on at a meeting in The Hague later on Friday.

It will then be incorporated into a UN Security Council resolution calling on Syria to give up its chemical weapons.

The resolution will condemn the use of chemical weapons in an attack on the outskirts of Damascus last month which killed hundreds of people, but will not attribute blame.

If Syria fails to comply, a second resolution would be required to impose measures under Chapter VII of the UN charter, including the use of force.

Appeal for funding

Earlier this month, the US and Russia asked the OPCW to decide how to ensure the "complete elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment" in Syria by the first half of 2014.

After two weeks of discussions, the OPCW's 41-nation executive council is scheduled to vote at 20:00 GMT on the organisation's plans for meeting that deadline. They need a simple majority to be passed, but decisions are normally agreed upon by consensus.

The draft agreement calls for inspections of Syria's chemical arsenal to begin by Tuesday. An advance team would probably arrive on Monday.

The text also authorises the OPCW to inspect "any other site identified by a State Party as having been involved in the Syrian chemical weapons programme, unless deemed unwarranted by the director general".

The OPCW usually only inspects sites that have been declared by states which have acceded to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

The draft agreement calls for urgent funding to hire inspectors and technical experts to destroy an estimated 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and pre-cursor chemicals, including the blister agent, sulphur mustard, and the nerve agents, sarin and VX.

Established to enforce the CWC, the OPCW has an annual budget of less than $100m (£62m) and fewer than 500 staff. Experts say the disarmament operation in Syria could cost billions of dollars.

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India troops die in Kashmir attacks

26 September 2013 Last updated at 03:13 ET

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The BBC's Andrew North says this is one of the worst attacks in some time

At least eight people, including four policemen and two soldiers, have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir after suspected militants attacked a police post and an army camp.

The attacks took place in Kathua and Samba districts, close to the de facto border with Pakistan.

Two militants have also been killed in the attacks, police said.

Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989.

India has a large security presence in Kashmir with tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces deployed in the region.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh said Thursday's attacks were "one more in a series of provocations and barbaric actions by the enemies of peace".

They come days before the meeting this weekend between Mr Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Peace talks between the two countries have been stalled for the past two years, and dialogue is expected to ease recent tensions along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the two countries.

On Thursday morning, "three to four men" in army uniforms arrived at a police station in Hiranagar in Kathua and opened fire.

Four policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack, police said.

'Barbaric'

After attacking the police station, the militants hijacked a truck and fled, senior Kashmir police official Rajesh Kumar told Reuters news agency.

"They abandoned the truck on the national highway and perhaps took another vehicle and carried out an attack on the army camp in Samba," he said.

An army officer and a soldier are reported to have been killed in the clash in Samba. Two militants were also killed in the gunbattle, police said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told reporters that the attackers had crossed over from Pakistan on Wednesday.

"Given the history, timing and location, the aim is to derail the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart," Mr Abdullah said.

"There are forces that are inimical to peace and want to derail any peace process."

Earlier this week, a paramilitary soldier was killed when suspected militants fired at two soldiers in a busy market in Srinagar.

In recent years violence in Kashmir has abated from its peak in the 1990s, but the causes of the insurgency are still far from resolved.

And the hanging earlier this year of a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, on charges of plotting the 2001 attack on India's parliament, has triggered a fresh spate of violence.

In May, four soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected militants in Pulwama district.

In March, two armed militants disguised as cricket players attacked a paramilitary camp and killed five troops.

The militants were killed in retaliatory fire. Two people were arrested in connection with the attack.

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Europe's key animals 'recovering'

26 September 2013 Last updated at 05:29 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service

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Frans Schepers and Davor Krmpotic from Rewilding Europe explain why bears are doing well in Croatia

Some of Europe's key animals have made a comeback over the past 50 years, a report suggests.

Conservationists say species such as bears, wolves, lynx, eagles and vultures have increased in numbers.

They believe that protection, curbs on hunting and people moving away from rural areas and into cities have helped Europe's wildlife to recover.

The analysis was carried out by the Zoological Society of London, Birdlife and the European Bird Census Council.

The report was commissioned by the conservation group Rewilding Europe.

Frans Schepers, the organisation's director, said: "People have this general picture of Europe that we've lost all our nature and our wildlife.

"And I think what the rest of the world can learn from this is that conservation actually works. If we have the resources, a proper strategy, if we use our efforts, it actually works."

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Over the past few centuries, animals in Europe have not fared well. Hunting, habitat loss, and pollution have sent animals into decline.

But this report marks a reversal in fortunes.

The researchers looked at 18 mammals and 19 bird species found across Europe.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

People are leaving the countryside, which leaves more space for wildlife"

End Quote Frans Schepers Rewilding Europe

They found that all, apart from the Iberian lynx, had increased in abundance from the 1960s.

The largest increases were for the European bison, the Eurasian beaver, the white-headed duck, some populations of the pink-footed goose and the barnacle goose. These had all increased by more than 3,000% during the past five decades.

For top predators such as the brown bear, numbers have doubled. And for the grey wolf, which saw serious losses in the past, populations have climbed by 30%.

For mammals, the comeback was largest in the south and west of Europe, and their range had increased on average by about 30%. The average range of the birds remained stable.

Mr Schepers said: "The wildlife comeback actually started after World War II in the 1950s and 1960s. Compared to the numbers in the 1600s and 1700s, it's still at a very low level, but it's coming back."

Global view

The researchers believe a combination of factors have been driving this return.

Legal protection in the European Union, such as the birds directive and habitats directive, had helped to revive the fortunes of species, as had dedicated conservation schemes, said Mr Schepers.

And while some animals are still hunted in parts of Europe, there are often limits on the number that can be killed.

"It is also because people are leaving the countryside, which leaves more space for wildlife," said Mr Schepers.

The recovery of some species, particularly large predators, has raised concerns. In France, for example, where wolves have recently returned, farmers are concerned that their livestock is at risk.

The report warns that this could be a growing problem, but suggests that governments should put in place compensation schemes to offset any losses for farmers. It also says that rural communities could benefit from more animals, as ecotourism could offer a boost to local economies.

The finding is surprising when seen in the global context, where biodiversity is in continuing decline.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

For a lot of these species, where we have seen the gains, we might lose them again if we are not careful"

End Quote Prof Jonathan Baillie Zoological Society of London

Prof Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation at the Zoological Society of London, said: "We're trying to find success stories so we can learn from them, so we can see what works and scale that up across the conservation movement globally.

"And it is really important that we focus on success and where we are winning.

"But there are massive challenges out there globally. And we have to realise that the threats that Europe creates are not just within our borders, it's internationally, and that we are having an impact on the 60% decline we're seeing in low income countries around the world."

He also warned that Europe's wildlife was at a pivotal moment.

"We just have to be aware that into the future there will be increasing pressure for food production and so on within Europe," he said.

"And for a lot of these species, where we have seen the gains, we might lose them again if we are not careful. So it's our job to keep our eye on the ball."

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Nairobi mall searched for bodies

26 September 2013 Last updated at 06:41 ET

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Footage has emerged which shows the extent of destruction to Nairobi's Westgate mall

Kenyan and foreign forensics teams are searching the Westgate shopping complex in Nairobi amid uncertainty over how many bodies they may find following the four-day siege by Islamist militants.

Sixty-seven people are so far known to have died.

Kenya's interior minister has said he does not expect the toll to rise significantly, and believes only the bodies of militants will be found.

But Kenya's Red Cross has said 61 people remain unaccounted for.

Meanwhile Kenya is continuing three days of official mourning for both the civilian and military victims of the siege.

The funeral of pregnant television and radio star Ruhila Adatia was one of many being held on Thursday.

Flags are flying at half past amid visibly tighter security around the Kenyan capital. Security guards were scanning passengers with metal detectors before they boarded buses.

Amid rising concern among Kenyans over the authorities' preparedness for such an attack, reports are emerging that the country's counter-terrorism strategy and its disaster response coordination will now be reviewed.

Kenyan investigators have been joined by experts from the US, UK, Germany, Canada and Interpol to comb the sprawling shopping complex for DNA, fingerprints and ballistic clues.

"We have moved to the next phase," Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku told a news briefing on Wednesday, saying that he expected the forensic audit to take at least seven days.

He confirmed that five militants were dead and said he expected "insignificant numbers of bodies" would be found amid the rubble after three floors of the building collapsed.

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Analysis

It is likely to be a slow process, as forensic experts from Britain, America, Israel, Germany and Canada search for clues to reveal the identity and nationalities of the gunmen.

The Kenyan government says their work has begun inside the battered and bloodied walls of the Westgate mall. Following the collapse of part of the building it is believed that that there are still bodies under the rubble - possibly some of the militants.

The global policing body, Interpol, is also involved in piecing together how this devastating attack took place.

At other high profile institutions in Nairobi, also considered potential targets, security has been stepped up and searches are more thorough. But much more is needed to ensure another large-scale attack cannot happen. A radical overhaul of Kenya's security apparatus is needed.

But this runs contrary to the Kenyan Red Cross which says that currently 61 people are missing.

The BBC's Bashkas Jugsodaay says that in Uhuru Park, in central Nairobi, many organisations have set up tents for counselling and taking blood donations, including the Red Cross which has a centre for those looking for missing relatives.

Our reporter says he was there for several hours on Thursday, but did not find anyone looking for a missing person.

Most have already registered the names and left phone numbers to be contacted if there is any news, he says.

The Red Cross said its tracing services closed 15 files on Wednesday; six missing persons were found and re-united with families, and nine bodies were positively identified by their close families, it said.

Work is continuing to establish the identities of the deceased militants, including whether one was a woman.

But Mr Lenku urged reporters to "allow the forensic experts to determine whether that is true".

He said he was unable to confirm whether any Britons or Americans were involved, but said that 10 people were being held in connection with the attack.

Somali Islamist group al-Shabab has said it had carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenyan army operations in Somalia.

The militants stormed the Westgate centre on Saturday, throwing grenades and firing indiscriminately at shoppers and staff.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

I never realised how loud a gun was and how scary"

End Quote Zachary Yach, survivor

Twitter posts on an al-Shabab account said the group's militants had held 137 people hostage, and claimed the hostages had died after security forces fired chemical agents to end the siege.

The posts could not be verified. A government spokesman denied any chemical agents were used, and authorities called on Kenyans to ignore militant propaganda.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi did not pull its troops out of Somalia.

About 4,000 Kenyan troops have been serving in the south of Somalia since October 2011 as part of an African Union force supporting Somali government forces.

Scores of people have been killed in Kenya since the incursion in a string of bomb and grenade attacks blamed on - and some claimed by - al-Shabab.

The group is banned as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK and is believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters.

Its members are fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia.

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Charles Taylor's conviction upheld

26 September 2013 Last updated at 07:10 ET

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Judge George King said Taylor fuelled a conflict that became "a threat to international peace and security"

A UN-backed special court in The Hague has rejected an appeal against war crimes convictions by lawyers representing former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

It ruled that his convictions had been proved beyond doubt.

Taylor appeared impassive in court as the judge upheld his convictions and 50-year sentence.

He was sentenced in May 2012 for aiding rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone during its civil war.

His lawyers had argued that there were legal errors during his trial.

Taylor, 65, was found to have supplied weapons to the Revolutionary United Front rebels in exchange for a constant flow of so-called blood diamonds.

He was found guilty at his trial of 11 crimes including terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers by rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone during the vicious civil war of 1991-2002.

Judge Richard Lussick said at his trial that they were "some of the most heinous crimes in human history".

Taylor has always insisted he is innocent and his only contact with the rebels was to urge them to stop fighting.

He became the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.

'Campaign of terror'

"The appeals chamber... affirms the sentence of 50 years in prison and orders that the sentence be imposed immediately," Judge George King told the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) on Thursday.

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• 1989: Launches rebellion in Liberia

• 1991: RUF rebellion starts in Sierra Leone

• 1997: Elected president after a 1995 peace deal

• 1999: Liberia's Lurd rebels start an insurrection to oust Mr Taylor

• June 2003: Arrest warrant issued; two months later he steps down and goes into exile to Nigeria

• March 2006: Arrested after a failed escape bid and sent to Sierra Leone

• June 2007: His trial opens - hosted in The Hague for security reasons

• April 2012: Convicted of aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes

• May 2012: Sentenced to 50 years in jail

• September 2013: Conviction and sentence upheld by the SCSL

The BBC's Chris Morris in The Hague says the court's decision has been closely watched because the guilty verdict was hailed as a landmark, proving that even people at the highest level of power can be held to account.

In its ruling, the special court said that Mr Taylor's personal conduct had a "significant effect on the commission of crimes in Sierra Leone".

It said that he unleashed a campaign of terror against the Sierra Leonean opposition "using terror as its modus operandi".

"The Appeals Chamber is of the opinion that the sentence imposed by the trial chamber is fair in the light of the totality of the crimes committed," Judge King said.

He said that Taylor's lawyers had "failed to demonstrate any errors in the trial chamber's reasoning."

Correspondents say that Taylor is now expected immediately to serve his sentence in a foreign jail. The UK has offered to accept him at a British prison - other possible destinations include Sweden or Rwanda.

It is likely to take about a week to organise his transfer from The Hague.

Human rights groups have welcomed the outcome of the appeal.

In a statement Amnesty International said that it sent a clear message to leaders across the world that no-one is immune from justice.

"The conviction of those responsible for crimes committed during Sierra Leone's conflict has brought some measure of justice for the tens of thousands of victims," said Stephanie Barbour, head of Amnesty's Centre for International Justice in The Hague.

"The conviction of Charles Taylor must pave the way for further prosecutions."

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China to execute toddler thrower

25 September 2013 Last updated at 04:38 ET

A court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing a two-year-old girl in Beijing over a parking space row, state media report.

Han Lei, 39, pulled the toddler out of her pram and threw her to the ground after her mother refused to make way for his car in July.

He fled the scene but was captured. The girl later died from her injuries.

He said the killing was unintentional, as he was drunk and had thought the pram was a shopping trolley.

"I did not know there was an infant inside," he previously said.

The case has provoked an outcry in China, with many people expressing their anger online, state media reported.

Many in China were shocked that an argument over a parking space could come to such a violent end, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.

The trial started on 16 September at the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court.

Prosecutors had recommended the death sentence for Han, who committed the crime within a year of being released from prison, the Xinhua news agency said.

Han also beat the girl's mother during the altercation in Beijing's Daxing district.

Another man, Li Ming, who drove Han away from the scene, has been jailed for five years.

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Hundreds dead in Pakistan earthquake

25 September 2013 Last updated at 06:05 ET

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Footage from Pakistan TV shows the aftermath of the 7.7-magnitude quake

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 250 people in Pakistan's remote south-west province of Balochistan.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran, the US Geological Survey said.

Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open.

After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar.

People gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is reported to be about 200m (656ft) long, 100m (328ft) wide and 20m (65m) high.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province.

The region is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April.

Mud houses

The latest quake was so powerful it was felt as far away as Karachi, Hyderabad, and India's capital, Delhi.

Entire villages are reported to have been flattened in the impoverished and sparsely-populated district of Awaran.

Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi said most of the fatalities were in Awaran town and the surrounding villages, and he warned that the death toll could rise. At least 340 people have been injured.

"We are seriously lacking medical facilities and there is no space to treat injured people in the local hospitals," Mr Buledi said.

He said helicopters were airlifting the most seriously injured to Karachi while others were being cared for in neighbouring districts.

Pakistan's military was among the first to respond to the crisis, having a heavy presence in the area already because it is fighting a long-running separatist Baloch insurgency.

The army said it had sent more than 200 soldiers, medical teams and tents from the regional capital Quetta, but the mountainous terrain is said to be hampering the rescue operation.

Awaran local government official Abdul Rasheed Baluch said around 90% of houses in the district had been destroyed.

"Almost all the mud houses have collapsed. We have been busy in rescue efforts for the whole night and fear we will recover more dead bodies from under the rubble during daylight," he said.

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• April 2013: 7.8-magnitude quake in neighbouring Iran causes 35 deaths and widespread damage in Balochistan
• Jan 2011: 7.2-magnitude quake in south-west, but struck deep underground so damage was minimal
• Oct 2008: 6.4-magnitude quake in Balochistan kills 300
• Oct 2005: Some 73,000 people killed in 7.6-magnitude quake in northern Pakistan and disputed Kashmir region

Many of the casualties are said to be from Labach, on the northern outskirts of Awaran town.

Houses are also reported to have caved in in the district of Khuzdar.

People in the region mostly live in mud houses as opposed to multi-storey concrete structures, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani.

The few concrete buildings in the area mostly house government offices, he adds.

An emergency has been declared in Awaran and another earthquake-affected district, Chagai.

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Islamists reject Syria coalition

25 September 2013 Last updated at 06:37 ET

Eleven Islamist rebel groups in Syria have announced they do not recognise the authority of the main opposition alliance, the National Coalition.

A joint statement says: "All groups formed abroad without having returned to the country do not represent us."

They also call for the opposition to unite under an "Islamic framework".

Islamist rebel forces have become increasing prominent in the conflict in Syria, and they are believed to command tens of thousands of fighters.

The signatories include members of the Free Syrian Army as well as more radical Islamists - among them the powerful al-Nusra Front, which has links to al-Qaeda.

It comes amid fighting on the ground between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda, and more moderate rebel forces, especially in areas along Syria's northern and eastern borders.

'Unite under Sharia'

In a video statement published online on Tuesday, 11 of the most powerful Islamist groups declared that they rejected the idea that opposition leadership could come from any organisation based outside Syria that was not working closely with those on the inside.

The Istanbul-based Western-backed National Coalition was formed in November 2012 and is recognised by more than 100 countries as a legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition.

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• Al-Nusra Front
• Ahrar al-Sham
• Liwa al-Tawhid
• Liwa al-Islam
• Suqur al-Sham
• Harakat Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiya
• Harakat al-Nour al-Islamiya
• Kataib Nour al-Din al-Zinki
• Liwa al-Ansar
• Tajammu Fastaqim Kama Ummirat - Aleppo
• 19th Division

"These forces believe that it they are most legitimately represented by those who have lived the same experience and shared in the same sacrifice of their honest sons."

"Therefore the National Coalition and its transitional government led by Ahmed Tomeh do not represent it and will not be recognised."

Mr Tomeh was appointed last month to form an administration to govern rebel-held areas of Syria and co-ordinate the provision basic services and supplies.

The statement also called on "all military and civilian forces to unite under a clear Islamic framework based on Sharia [Islamic law], which should be the sole source of legislation".

It urged members of the opposition to "reject division" and put "the interest of the Ummah [Islamic nation] over the interest of each group".

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Beirut says the declaration reflects two growing trends.

One is the increasing influence of Islamist rebel movements within the coalition fighting President Bashar al-Assad; the other is the "Islamisation" of some of the other groups, including members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), our correspondent says.

The statement is an attempt to shift the political balance of power in favour of those doing the fighting on the ground and is also an indication that jihadist groups like the al-Nusra Front are very much centre stage in the conflict, an awkward reality for Western powers, he adds.

Charles Lister of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre said the three moderate Islamist groups which signed the statement - Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Islam and Suqur al-Sham - had represented the National Coalition's main rebel presence on the ground in Syria.

"The inclusion of the core of [the National Coalition's] force... effectively depletes [its] armed wing, the Supreme Military Council," he told the Reuters news agency. "It is likely that the moderate Islamist coalition has ceased to exist as a single organisation structure."

In a separate development on Wednesday, United Nations inspectors returned to Syria to continue their investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons during the conflict.

Last week, they confirmed that the nerve agent sarin was used in an attack on several suburbs of Damascus on 21 August, in which hundreds of people were killed.

They plan to visit three further sites - Khan al-Assal, Sheikh Maqsoud and Saraqeb - where smaller scale chemical attacks are alleged to have taken place earlier this year.

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Kenya mourns mall attack victims

25 September 2013 Last updated at 07:02 ET

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Armoured troops have moved in to clear the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, from where Mike Wooldridge reports

Kenya has begun three days of national mourning following the end of the four-day siege by Islamist militants on Nairobi's Westgate shopping centre.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said 67 people had died, including six security personnel.

Five militants were killed and 11 suspects arrested, he added.

Al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said 137 hostages had died. But the statement cannot be verified.

As the clearing of the mall continues, the death toll is expected to rise.

Several bodies, including those of some attackers, are thought to be trapped under rubble after three floors of the building collapsed following a blaze.

Kenya's Standard newspaper reported that dozens of bodies were removed from the building on Tuesday evening.

The building has been sealed off as forensic experts collect evidence.

'Cowards will meet justice'

Continue reading the main story

I never realised how loud a gun was and how scary and threatening they are, because every time a shot went off, you flinch and grab something"

End Quote Zachary Yach, survivor

Journalists and onlookers were kept behind a security cordon but police let some people retrieve cars from the scene.

In his address, the president praised the response of ordinary Kenyans, calling it exemplary and overwhelming.

"We have ashamed and defeated our attackers," he said. "Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed."

He did not confirm earlier reports that several of the attackers were American and British.

"Intelligence reports had suggested that a British woman and two or three American citizens may have been involved in the attack," said Mr Kenyatta.

"We cannot confirm the details at present. Forensic experts are working to ascertain the nationalities of the terrorists."

He added: "These cowards will meet justice, as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are."

The UK Foreign Office said that one British national had been arrested in Nairobi, without giving further details.

The BBC's Will Ross reports from Nairobi that one of the people arrested is understood to have been in the shopping centre, though it is not clear whether they were armed, or among the 10-15 attackers that Kenyan authorities have spoken of.

At least 18 foreigners are among the dead. They include six Britons as well as citizens from France, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, India, Ghana, South Africa and China.

About 175 people were wounded, including 62 who remain in hospital.

"Now it is for the forensic and criminal experts," said police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi.

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Survivor Lynsey Khatau: "I want to take my family home"

Somali Islamist group al-Shabab said it had carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenyan army operations in Somalia.

The militants stormed the Westgate centre on Saturday, throwing grenades and firing indiscriminately on shoppers and staff.

Twitter posts on an al-Shabab account said the group's militants had held 137 people hostage, and claimed the hostages had died after security forces fired chemical agents to end the siege.

The posts could not be verified. A government spokesman denied any chemical agents were used, and authorities called on Kenyans to ignore militant propaganda.

Both sides blamed the other for causing part of the shopping centre to collapse.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi did not pull its troops out of Somalia.

There are about 4,000 Kenyan troops in the south of Somalia as part of an African Union force supporting Somali government forces.

Al-Shabab is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia.

Despite being pushed out of key cities in the past two years, it remains in control of smaller towns and large swathes of the countryside.

UN special representative for Somalia Nicholas Kay called on Tuesday for a fresh surge in African troops to Somalia to counter an estimated 5,000 al-Shabab fighters.

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Delhi gang rape convicts to appeal

24 September 2013 Last updated at 04:19 ET

Lawyers for four men sentenced to death for the gang rape and murder of a student in the capital Delhi say they will challenge their guilty verdicts.

Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta were convicted earlier this month.

The trial court said the case fell in the "rarest of rare category" and rejected pleas for a lighter sentence.

The woman, 23, was attacked on a bus in December and died two weeks later.

The four men were produced before the Delhi High Court on Tuesday amid tight security.

Lawyer AP Singh, who has defended all four men at various times, said he would be challenging the verdict.

The court said it would begin hearing arguments "on a day-to-day basis" from Wednesday, while the defence lawyers file their appeals against the convictions and sentences.

Continue reading the main story

• 16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus
• 17 December: Bus driver Ram Singh and three others arrested
• 21-22 December: Two more arrests, including a minor
• 29 December: Victim dies in Singapore hospital
• 21 January: Trial of five of the accused begins in special fast-track court - they later plead not guilty
• 28 February: Sixth accused charged in juvenile court
• 11 March: Ram Singh found dead in Tihar jail
• 31 August: Juvenile found guilty and given three-year term in reform facility
• 10 September: Four men found guilty by a Delhi court
• 13 September: Death penalty verdicts issued

"We have to deal with this as expeditiously as possible because the sword of death is hanging over them [the convicted men]," Judge Pratibha Rani said.

They convicted men denied all the charges. They could take their appeal all the way to the Supreme Court and also ask the president for clemency - a process that could take years.

In August, a teenager who was found guilty of taking part in the rape was sentenced to three years in a reform facility, the maximum term possible because the crime was committed when he was 17. He also denied all the charges.

Another suspect, Ram Singh, was found dead in his cell in March. Prison officials said they believed he hanged himself but his family allege he was murdered.

The December attack sparked a national debate on the treatment of women.

Tough new laws were introduced in March which allowed the death penalty - carried out very rarely in India - to be handed down in the most serious cases of rape.

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Russia probes Greenpeace 'piracy'

24 September 2013 Last updated at 05:46 ET

Russian prosecutors have accused around 30 Greenpeace activists of piracy and say they will prosecute all of them for trying to board an Arctic oil platform.

Russia's Investigative Committee, modelled on the FBI, will question the activists. Six Britons are among them.

Their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, is being towed to the port of Murmansk.

Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said "all those who assaulted the platform, regardless of nationality, will be prosecuted".

The campaigners were detained on Thursday along with their ship after two Greenpeace activists tried to climb onto a Gazprom offshore platform, in a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.

The ship was raided by armed Russian men in balaclavas who abseiled down from helicopters. The ship was seized in the Pechora Sea, near the rig.

Greenpeace said the Russian authorities "are holding 30 of our activists", though that figure was not confirmed by Russian officials.

Legal dispute

In a statement on Tuesday, Greenpeace said its ship had arrived in a fjord near Murmansk accompanied by a tug boat and the Russian Coast Guard vessel Ladoga.

"Greenpeace International lawyers are demanding immediate access to the 30 activists who have been held for over four days without legal or consular assistance. It is still not known whether Russia intends to lay formal charges and Greenpeace has not received any formal contact from the authorities," it said.

The environmental organisation said its protest against "dangerous Arctic oil drilling" was peaceful and in line with its "strong principles".

"Our activists did nothing to warrant the reaction we've seen from the Russian authorities," it said.

The campaigners on the ship are from 18 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Russia, the UK and the US, Greenpeace said.

Mr Markin described the protest as "an attempt to seize a drilling platform by storm" and said it raised "legitimate doubts about their intentions". The ship "was loaded with electronics whose purpose was not clear", he said.

"It's hard to believe that the so-called activists did not know that the platform is an installation with a high hazard level, and any unauthorised actions on it can lead to an accident, which would not only endanger the people aboard it but also the ecology, which is being protected zealously," he said.

Article 227 of Russia's penal code defines piracy as "an attack on a ship at sea or on a river, with the aim of seizing someone else's property, using violence or the threat of violence". It can be punished with a jail term of up to 15 years, depending on the gravity of the offence, and a fine of up to 500,000 roubles (£10,000; $15,000).

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