Race to find India landslide missing

31 July 2014 Last updated at 07:46

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Rescue teams had difficulty reaching the village due to damaged roads and heavy rain

Rescue workers in western India are working to locate survivors of a landslide that has claimed at least 30 lives and buried up to 200 people.

Eight people have been rescued from the wreckage in Malin village, near the city of Pune in Maharashtra state.

Teams worked through the night but rain was hampering efforts to search for scores of people presumed trapped under the mud and debris.

The landslide hit the village early on Wednesday while people were sleeping.

Landslides are common in some parts of India during the monsoon, which runs from June to September.

A large part of a nearby hill collapsed on Malin, and its population of 150 to 200 tribal people were covered with tonnes of loose earth, mud and rocks.

"Everything on the mountain came down," said Suresh Jadhav, a district official, describing how a cascade of mud, rocks and uprooted trees swamped the area.

Rescue operations were disrupted on Thursday morning after "very heavy rainfall" in the area, Tripti Parule, a spokesperson for India's National Disaster Response Force said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told the Press Trust of India news agency that more than 160 people were believed to be trapped in 44 houses buried under the rubble.

It was raining when I reached Malin village. The roads leading to it were clogged with ambulances and earth-moving vehicles.

What was once a thriving village ringed by mountains and hills has now turned into a dump of red mud and soil. The only temple here - 35ft (11m) tall - is buried in the sludge.

Rescue workers were hard at work trying to find survivors. Medics were treating the injured. As earth-movers cleared the debris, I could see the top of many homes buried in the mud.

A local villager said it had taken a lot of time for the rescue workers and their vehicles to reach the village on Wednesday.

Since most of the homes were buried with their occupants inside, there were no people at the site to claim the bodies that were being taken out.

At a local hospital, I heard doctors talking about a mass cremation of the bodies after the autopsies were completed.

The Indian Express newspaper reported that a 25-year-old woman and her six-month-old baby were among the 10 people who had been rescued from the site.

"The woman and her baby were trapped in their house under the thatched roof... The mother was tightly holding the baby in her arms," Baban Kokane, the driver of the rescue vehicle, told the newspaper.

"We found them while removing the mud with the earth mover. Their house was wrapped in a thick layer of mud."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the loss of lives in the landslide as "saddening". Home Minister Rajnath Singh is travelling to Pune on Thursday to assess the situation.

More than 500 people died and several thousand people were listed as missing after floods and landslides hit the northern state of Uttarakhand in June last year.

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S Leone declares Ebola emergency

31 July 2014 Last updated at 11:20

Sierra Leone's president has declared a public health emergency to curb the deadly Ebola outbreak.

Ernest Bai Koroma said the epicentres of the outbreak in the east would be quarantined and asked the security forces to enforce the measures.

The UN says more than 670 people in West Africa have died of Ebola since February - 224 of them in Sierra Leone.

This includes Dr Sheik Umar Khan who led Sierra Leone's fight against the virus. His funeral is on Thursday.

Airport screening

As part of the new measures to contain the viral haemorrhagic fever, travellers at airports will have to wash their hands with disinfectant and have their temperatures checked, President Koroma said in a statement.

His measures follow tough anti-Ebola policies introduced this week in neighbouring Liberia, where schools have been closed and some communities are to be quarantined.

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Ebola explained in 60 seconds

Both President Koroma and his Liberian counterpart Ellen Johnson Sirleaf have cancelled visits to Washington for the US-Africa summit next week because of the crisis.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia and Kenya are to begin screening all passengers arriving from West Africa.

In a statement, Ethiopian Airlines said ground and on-board staff would have also been sensitised on how to handle suspected cases of the virus.

However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday that it was not recommending any travel restrictions or border closures after consulting the World Health Organisation, according to Reuters.

Any risks would be low in the rare event of an Ebola sufferer travelling by air, it adds.

Earlier this week, two airlines - Asky, a regional carrier, and Nigeria's Arik Air - suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone Ebola doctor: "National hero"

Sheik Umar Khan, 39, was a leading doctor specialising in viral haemorrhagic fever who died after contracting Ebola while treating patients. When it was announced that he had been infected, the health minister called him a "national hero" for his tireless work.

"He'd become a real figurehead for the Ebola response so there's a sense of deep sadness in what's a very small community here in Freetown," his colleague Dr Oliver Johnson said.

"When the news first broke that he was sick, I think it added to fears amongst the many doctors and nurses about treating Ebola patients. People thought, if even Dr Khan can get sick, then any of us can get sick."

Profile: Dr Sheik Umar Khan

The outbreak - the world's deadliest to date - was first reported in Guinea in February. It then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and a person who travelled from Liberia to Nigeria died of the virus shortly after arriving in Lagos last week.

Initial flu-like symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat, and spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.

Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Fatality rate can reach 90%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats are considered to be virus' natural host

Profile: Dr Sheik Umar Khan

Are you in West Africa? Do you have family or friends there who are affected by the outbreak? You can send your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line 'Ebola Outbreak'.

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Israel 'to destroy Gaza tunnels'

31 July 2014 Last updated at 11:38

Israel will not stop its operation in Gaza until the tunnels constructed by Hamas have been destroyed, PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, he said Israel was determined to destroy the tunnels - used to attack troops and towns - "with or without a ceasefire".

Earlier Israel called up 16,000 reservists, bringing the total mobilised so far to 86,000.

Some 425,000 people in Gaza have been displaced by fighting, the UN says.

That is as much as 25% of the population of the territory.

Continue reading the main story

• 225,178 living in UN or public buildings

• 200,000 may be sheltering with families

• 299,000 children need psychosocial help

More detail: Life in the Gaza Strip

Israel began Operation Protective Edge on 8 July. Since then at least 1,360 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians.

Some 58 Israelis have been killed, of which 56 were soldiers and two civilians. A Thai worker in Israel has also died.

Tunnel threat

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: ''We are determined to finish this mission''

The operation began with a focus on Hamas' rocket-launching capability, but has since expanded to take in the threat from tunnels.

After air strikes began, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) discovered an extensive network of tunnels leading from Gaza into Israel.

Hamas militants have launched several attacks from the tunnels, killing a number of Israeli soldiers.

Reports from Israel suggest the discovery of the tunnels - and the reality that infiltrators have used them to kill Israelis inside their own country - has shocked many Israelis and bolstered support for the operation.

It launched a ground operation to destroy the tunnels on the night of 17 July, and insists that any ceasefire deal includes the right to continue that mission.

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The BBC's Orla Guerin was given access by the Israeli military to a tunnel they say was used by Palestinian militants

"I won't agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security," Mr Netanyahu said.

The tunnels would allow Hamas to "abduct and murder civilians and IDF soldiers while simultaneously attacking from the tunnels penetrating our territory," he added.

Gaza 'desperate'

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The BBC's Martin Patience on the latest situation in Gaza

In Gaza, Israeli shelling continued on Thursday morning, the BBC's Jon Donnison reports.

Meanwhile, a series of rocket alert sirens sounded across southern Israel. Sirens in the town of Sderot sounded several times as Mr Netanyahu spoke.

Civilians in Gaza are braced for more strikes after a deadly day on Wednesday that saw more than 100 people die.

In the most controversial incident at least 16 people were killed when shells hit a UN-run school in the Jabaliya district of Gaza City.

The US and UN condemned the strike, with the UN secretary general saying "all available evidence" suggested Israeli artillery was the cause.

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Families of the victims of the attack on a UN-run school have been grieving at a hospital that received the injured, as Ian Pannell reports

Spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC Israel would apologise if it discovered it was responsible.

"We have a policy - we don't target civilians," he said.

"It's not clear to us that it was our fire but we know for a fact there was hostile fire on our people from the vicinity of the school."

Later on Wednesday at least 17 were killed in a strike on a busy market in Shejaiya - a district already badly damaged by Israel artillery.

Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war and only pulled its troops and settlers out in 2005.

Israel considered this the end of the occupation, but it still exercises control over most of Gaza's borders, water and airspace. Egypt controls Gaza's southern border.

Hamas says it will not stop fighting until a blockade, maintained by both Israel and Egypt, is lifted.

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Experts reach site of MH17 jet crash

31 July 2014 Last updated at 12:13

International experts have reached the site of the flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine after the government halted military operations for a day.

A convoy of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitors arrived along with four Australian and Dutch police experts.

Fighting between government and rebel forces had prevented them getting there for nearly a week.

Russian aviation experts are also in Ukraine, hoping to visit the site.

The Malaysia Airlines plane crashed on 17 July in eastern Ukraine, with the deaths of all 298 people on board.

The rebels deny that they shot it down with a missile by mistake.

Officials in Russia, which has been accused by the US and others of supplying the rebels with advanced weaponry, suggest that Ukraine's own armed forces downed the jet - a charge rejected by Kiev.

A team of 68 Malaysian police has arrived in Kiev to help with the investigation, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on a visit to the Netherlands to meet his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte. The Netherlands lost 193 of its citizens in the crash.

Russia has come under increased pressure to end its support for the rebels despite having continually denied claims that it is arming and training them.

In other developments

• A new round of EU sanctions was revealed on Thursday following similar action by the US. Billionaire tycoon Arkady Rotenberg, a former judo sparring partner of President Vladimir Putin, is among those affected by EU travel bans and asset freezes
• Ukraine's parliament rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk after the recent collapse of the coalition he led

• Separatist rebels are reportedly due to meet a Ukrainian delegation on Friday in Minsk, as Belarus hosts talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE

'All the materials'

OSCE monitors on the ground said in a tweet that they had reached the crash site after using a new access route.

A Russian delegation led by Oleg Storchevoy, deputy head of Russia's federal air transport agency Rosaviatsia, arrived in Kiev earlier.

"Russian experts intend to meet the head of the investigative commission... and hand over all the materials that the chairman of the commission had previously asked for," Rosaviatsia said in a statement.

"Today, the Russian representatives will also try to reach the crash area of the Boeing 777 and together with specialists from the international investigative commission examine the state of parts of the aircraft at the site."

The press service for Ukraine's "anti-terrorist operation" said troops would refrain from combat operations in the Donetsk region, except in self-defence, in order to allow investigators to do their work on Thursday.

Well over 1,000 civilians and combatants have been killed since the new Ukrainian government sent troops into east Ukraine in mid-April to quell the insurgency.

The rebels have been forced back towards their strongholds in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have come under heavy bombardment.

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US: Russia 'violated missile treaty'

29 July 2014 Last updated at 07:46

Russia has violated a key arms control treaty by testing a nuclear cruise missile, the US government says.

Russia tested a ground-launched cruise missile, breaking the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987 during the Cold War, the US said.

A senior US official did not provide further details on the alleged breach, but described it as "very serious".

The bilateral agreement banned medium-range missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (300 to 3,400 miles).

Analysis: BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was a landmark Cold War agreement. It essentially eliminated an entire, and highly controversial, class of nuclear weapons. For that reason, it still has resonance.

There have been questions dating back at least to 2008 over whether Russia was developing a weapon that might breach the treaty. So one issue is why Washington has decided to make its declaration now. Is it a reflection of the general deterioration in US-Russian relations, and in particular the fallout from the Ukraine crisis?

Russia has said little. It might argue the Americans are simply wrong, that the missile falls below the range limit. But the widespread suspicion is that it does breach the limits of the treaty. Moscow might also argue the treaty has been overtaken by world events, that other countries are developing similar missiles, and - after all - the Americans pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty when it suited them.

But there is also the argument that such an iconic treaty should actually be expanded beyond the US and Russia, rather than falling into disuse.

The US claims come at a time of heightened tensions between the two sides, with the US criticising Russia for its alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

'Prohibited items'

A senior US official, who was not named, said in a statement that the testing of the missile was "a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now".

"We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable matter," the official added.

US President Barack Obama has written to Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the matter, officials say.

This is the first time the US government has made its accusations public, though the issue has simmered for years, the BBC's Paul Blake in Washington reports.

In January, the New York Times reported that US officials believed Russia had begun testing ground-launched cruise missiles as early as 2008.

The US State Department had said at the time that the issue was under review.

The 1987 treaty is at the heart of American-Russian arms control efforts, and was signed by then-Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the final years of the Cold War, our correspondent says.

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EU set to widen Russia sanctions

29 July 2014 Last updated at 11:42

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Tom Burridge on the fighting near the MH17 crash site

The European Union is set to agree new sanctions against Russia, targeting its finance, energy and defence sectors over the conflict in Ukraine.

Top Russian individuals and bodies are already the subject of EU sanctions for their alleged role in Ukraine's crisis.

Calls for the EU to act have been fuelled by the downing of flight MH17.

An international team has again failed to access the crash site in eastern Ukraine, amid heavy fighting between government forces and rebels there.

The team, which includes Dutch and Australian police officers, has twice had to abandon attempts to reach the site in the past two days.

A third mission, on Tuesday, also failed to proceed because of the fighting. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has asked Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to "halt hostilities" around the crash site, according to a spokesman for Mr Rutte, quoted by AFP news agency.

Many of the 298 people travelling aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were Dutch or Australian.

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Families of MH17 victims are waiting to hear which bodies have been identified, as Anna Holligan reports

Ukraine's army said on Monday that it had managed to capture two towns near the wreckage of the plane, in its drive to encircle pro-Russian rebels in the Donetsk region.

In the latest developments:

• Ukraine says its troops have entered the towns of Shakhtarsk and Torez in Donetsk region, and Lutuhyne in Luhansk region
• Ten Ukrainian soldiers and 17 civilians have reportedly been killed in the last 24 hours
• A group of hackers sympathetic to the rebels says it has disabled the website of the Ukrainian president.

Analysis by the BBC's Gavin Hewitt

Europe's leaders did not want to move to economic sanctions but they were moved by two considerations: the outrage at the way investigators have been blocked from access to the crash site of the downed plane and, secondly, the fact that Russia, since the incident, has been allowing heavy weapons across the border into Ukraine.

The calculation in Europe is that it had to act for its own credibility and that it may have to go further to ensure that President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle understand that their actions carry consequences.

How will Russia respond? Hard to say, although Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would not retaliate or "fall into hysterics".

But - if all goes as expected - the EU will today take a significant step; that it has to risk some damage to its own economic interests in order to put pressure on President Putin and Russia.

Ukraine conflict: EU squeezes Russia

'Further costs'

EU ambassadors in Brussels have begun a meeting that is expected to lead to fresh sanctions. The meeting ends on Tuesday afternoon.

The fresh measures under discussion include restrictions on Russian banks accessing European markets, an arms embargo and curbs on dealings with the energy sector.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain and the US already discussed possible sanctions in a conference call on Monday.

A spokeswoman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron later said that he and fellow European leaders had agreed to "impose further costs on Russia" for supporting the rebels in Ukraine.

A German government spokeswoman, quoted by Associated Press, said her country was pressing for a "substantial, sector-specific package of measures" against Russia.

Western nations have accused Russia of equipping the uprising in Ukraine with heavy weapons - including the missile that brought down flight MH17.

Russia has denied the charge. Russia and the rebels blame Ukrainian government forces for the attack on the airliner.

Any new EU sanctions could come into force within 24 hours of a deal being reached between the bloc's 28 member states.

Sanctions warning

Last weekend, the EU subjected a further 15 Russian individuals and 18 entities to asset freezes and visa bans for their alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

The list of 87 targets of EU sanctions now includes the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and foreign intelligence, the president of Chechnya, as well as two Crimean energy firms.

However, UK company British Petroleum, which owns nearly 20% of Russian state oil giant Rosneft, has warned that further sanctions against Russia could "adversely impact" its performance.

Meanwhile, Russia's foreign ministry has dismissed a UN human rights report on the Ukraine conflict as "unobjective and even hypocritical".

The UN's human rights chief warned on Monday that the downing of MH17 may be a "war crime".

The world body's latest report says at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in the fighting in Ukraine since mid-April. The violence has displaced more than 200,000 people, many of them fleeing east to neighbouring Russia.

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Israel steps up bombardment of Gaza

29 July 2014 Last updated at 11:45

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Martin Patience reports on Gaza "under siege", after a fuel depot supplying its only power station was hit

Gaza has seen one of its heaviest nights of bombardment in three weeks, after Israel's prime minister warned of a long conflict ahead.

Gaza's only power plant was damaged as Israel carried out 60 air strikes, also targeting sites associated with Hamas, the group which controls Gaza.

At least 60 people died in Gaza, possibly including UN staff members.

An Israeli military spokesman said the strikes signalled a "gradual increase in the pressure" on Hamas.

In a televised address on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the need to destroy tunnels dug under the Gaza-Israel border, to prevent militants infiltrating Israel.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern that Israel was reported to be dropping leaflets warning residents in northern Gaza to leave.

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Israeli soldiers evacuate a "brother in arms" from Operation Protective Edge, as Orla Guerin reports

He said UN agencies there did not have the resources to help an extra influx of people. Israel says it issues such warnings to try to avoid civilian casualties.

Palestinian officials say 1,115 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting since 8 July while Israel has lost 53 soldiers and three civilians - two Israelis and a Thai worker.

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An Israeli airstrike hit the house of former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh overnight, as Nick Childs reports

UN Relief and Works Agency spokesman Chris Gunness said in a tweet that a number of staff members had reportedly been killed. The UN is currently caring for 182,604 Palestinians in its 82 shelters in Gaza, he said.

In another development, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused Israel of acting like a "rabid dog" and called on Muslims to arm Palestinians to enable them to fight back against "genocide".

'Buried under rubble'

Israeli forces struck by air, sea and land, lighting up the night sky with flare bursts and leaving long plumes of smoke trailing over Gaza City in the morning.

A fuel tank supplying the strip's only power station caught fire after reportedly being hit by Israeli tank shells, and the plant was forced to shut down.

For the past three weeks, most Gazans have been living with just a few hours of electrical supplies and now the situation will almost certainly get worse, the BBC's Martin Patience reports from Gaza. Gaza also receives some power supplies from Israel and Egypt.

Fifty-five houses were destroyed in the bombing, with people buried under rubble in at least three of them, Palestinian security sources told the BBC.

The unoccupied house of former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was destroyed.

"The destruction of stones will not break our will and we will continue our resistance until we gain freedom." he was quoted as saying on a Hamas website afterwards.

A neighbour, Um Hani Abu Ryalah, told AP news agency the experience had terrified her family: "Our children were so scared and they were screaming. Now they can't hear because of the loud explosions and they are shaking."

Nine other buildings were targeted, and three mosques and four factories were also destroyed.

As well as Hamas TV and radio stations, government buildings, including the finance ministry and a compound belonging to the interior ministry, were attacked.

Gaza's port was also destroyed, Palestinian security sources told the BBC, and two schools and a kindergarten were on fire after being hit.

According to the health ministry, in the past 24 hours 110 people were killed, 60 of them since midnight local time (21:00 GMT Monday).

Seven families were "wiped out" during the night, the ministry said.

The military wing of Hamas said it had fired 14 rockets.

Targeting tunnels

Five Israeli soldiers were killed on Monday when militants infiltrated the border, while a mortar bomb killed four earlier and a tenth died in a clash in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Lt-Col Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, told AP pressure was being increased on Hamas.

"Israel is determined to strike this organisation and relieve us of this threat," he said.

In his address on Monday night, Mr Netanyahu said Gaza had to be demilitarised in order to protect Israel.

"We will not finish the operation without neutralising the tunnels, which have the sole purpose of destroying our citizens, killing our children," he said.

Israel's Operation Protective Edge began on 8 July after a surge in militant rocket attacks.

A rally in support of the operation is planned for Tuesday evening in Tel Aviv.

Are you in Israel or Gaza? How are you affected by the situation? Email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject 'Israel Gaza'.

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China investigates ex-security chief

29 July 2014 Last updated at 11:56

China's former security chief Zhou Yongkang is being investigated for suspected "serious disciplinary violation", state media say.

The news confirms rumours about the hugely powerful former minister, who has not been seen in public for months.

Mr Zhou headed China's Ministry of Public Security and was a member of the top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee.

The move to target him will send shockwaves through the political elite.

He is the most senior Chinese official to be investigated since the Gang of Four - which included the wife of late leader Mao Zedong - in the early 1980s.

In a brief statement, state-run Xinhua news agency said the investigation would be conducted by the Communist Party's corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

No timescale was given for the probe, which has been widely expected in recent months.

Several individuals believed to have had close ties to Mr Zhou have also been targeted in corruption investigations in recent months.

Mr Zhou retired in late 2012 after a career that saw him head both the ministry charged with overseeing domestic security and China's largest energy company, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Only a handful of people serve on the Politburo Standing Committee (in Mr Zhou's time nine, currently the number is seven) and they are seen as the most powerful individuals in China.

Zhou Yongkang was also an ally of Bo Xilai, the one-time high-flying former Chongqing party chief who was jailed last year.

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Ferry students 'floated from cabins'

28 July 2014 Last updated at 08:50

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Students who survived the Sewol disaster described being "swept off their feet" as the ship began to sink, reports Lucy Williamson

Students who survived South Korea's ferry disaster have described escaping from flooded cabins as the ship sank.

The students had obeyed the crew's orders to stay put, even as water started coming in as the Sewol listed.

Students floated up to cabin doors - by now overhead - and were pulled out by their classmates.

The Sewol ferry sank on 16 April off Jeju island, killing 304 people. The students were testifying at the trial of the ship's crew.

"We were waiting and, when the water started coming in, the class rep told everyone to put on the life vests," Reuters news agency quoted one student as saying.

"The door was above our heads, so she said, 'We'll float and go through the door' and that's how we came out.

"Other kids who got out before us pulled us out."

Most of those who died on the Sewol were teenagers from the same high school who were on a school trip.

The crew are charged with negligence and abandoning ship. The captain and three officers are also charged with "homicide through wilful negligence".

Investigators say the ferry had been illegally modified to carry more passengers and cargo, and was overloaded.

But prosecutors say the actions of the captain and crew - including instructing passengers to stay in their cabins as the ship listed - led to more deaths.

Swept back

Monday marked the first time students had given evidence at the trial.

They are testifying at a district court near their homes near Seoul, rather than at the actual trial in the southern city of Gwangju.

One witness told the court passengers received multiple instructions to stay put.

"They kept saying the same thing over and over," AFP quoted the student as saying.

Another student described escaping through a stairwell to a hatch and jumping into the sea, as a swell hit.

"There were many classmates in the corridor and most of them were swept back into the ship," she said.

The disaster caused shock and outrage in South Korea, including harsh criticism of both bureaucrats and business officials whose alleged failings or corruption led to the tragedy.

Officials from ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine are also the subject of separate legal proceedings.

Earlier this month, police identified a body found on 12 June as company owner Yoo Byung-eun, who had been the subject of a man-hunt since the disaster.

His son, Yoo Dae-kyun, was arrested on Friday.

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Uneasy calm in Gaza after UN call

28 July 2014 Last updated at 11:28

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Martin Patience in Gaza: "Many Palestinians will think there isn't a great deal to celebrate"

There have been sporadic attacks by both Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza amid a relative lull in the violence of recent weeks.

There were no Israeli air strikes overnight, though the military fired at targets in Gaza after a rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Earlier the UN Security Council urged a halt to hostilities to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Israel launched its offensive three weeks ago after a surge in rocket fire.

More than 1,030 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 43 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed. A Thai national in Israel has also died.

The Security Council called on Sunday night for an "immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza over and beyond the holiday period.

Both the Palestinian and Israeli envoys to the UN criticised the statement, for different reasons.

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Ian Pannell reports on the intense bombardment in Gaza

At the scene: Martin Patience, BBC News, Gaza

I think the big hope here is that the patchwork of ceasefires we have seen in the past couple of days will become more sustainable and durable, that through international pressure we will see the ceasefires hold and hostilities end.

This was perhaps the quietest night in the Gaza Strip that we've seen in the three weeks since this operation began. Today marks the start of Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, and it is a festival which is supposed to last three days, so people here will certainly welcome the quiet.

But the reality is that there is not a great deal to celebrate in Gaza. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, most of them civilians. More than 100,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes. So people will welcome this respite but there is still uncertainty.

'Night of prayers'

Israel's military said a rocket had hit an open area in southern Israel on Monday, and it had returned fire. It was quoted by AP as saying three air strikes were also conducted against two rocket positions and a rocket workshop.

In a statement, the Israeli military said "Quiet will be met with quiet".

The military wing of Hamas, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it had "clashed" with Israeli infantry in northern Gaza during the morning, and accused the Israelis of shelling residential areas along Gaza's eastern border "sporadically".

After its quietest night for weeks, Gazans have been praying and visiting the graves of relatives and friends killed during the 21-day conflict.

"Eid here is limited to religious activities, some of the displaced people have returned to inspect their destroyed homes," the BBC's Rushdi Abualouf in Gaza said in a tweet.

On a normal Eid, he added, "Palestinians visit their relatives, kids play in the streets".

Traffic on Gaza's roads and foot traffic in its markets was sparse, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports. "Those that weren't hit and still left their homes only looked for basic needs, perhaps for their children, all we did tonight was pray for a lull in the fighting and pray for better days," a Gaza resident told the paper.

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Orla Guerin reports on Israel's response to rocket attacks

A spokesman for the Israeli military, Lt Col Peter Lerner, confirmed there had been a lull in fighting overnight.

"The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] has been on, I would say, a remission of our activities overnight," he told the BBC.

The UN Security Council called for a "durable" truce based on an Egyptian initiative, under which a pause in hostilities would lead to substantive talks on the future of Gaza, including the opening of Gaza's border crossings.

The Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the statement did not go far enough and that a formal resolution was needed demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from Gaza.

Israel's ambassador Ron Prosor accused the Security Council statement of bias for not mentioning Hamas and the firing of rockets at Israel.

Opinion polls published at the weekend suggest there is still widespread support among Israelis for the military operation.

At the scene: Bethany Bell, BBC News, Jerusalem

While Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing increasing international pressure for a long-term ceasefire with Hamas, at home there is strong public support for the army's offensive in Gaza. A poll published by Israel's Channel 10 television on Sunday suggested 87% of Israelis were in favour of continuing the Gaza operation - and just 7% wanted a full ceasefire.

There are concerns about the rising number of casualties among Israeli soldiers but people here want the rocket fire on Israel to stop. The sound of sirens over central and southern Israel has become part of everyday life. And many are very concerned about the new threat posed by the network of cross-border tunnels from Gaza.

At her home on a kibbutz close to the Gaza border, one woman said she was afraid. Rockets can be intercepted by Iron Dome, she told me, referring to Israel's missile defence system. "But there's no Iron Dome protection against Hamas fighters coming up through the tunnels to kidnap and kill us," she added.

Pressure on Obama

US President Barack Obama called for an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

A long-term solution, he added, would have to allow "Palestinians in Gaza to lead normal lives" and "must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarisation of Gaza".

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza, firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.

On 18 July, it extended operations with a ground offensive, saying it was necessary to destroy tunnels dug by militants to infiltrate Israel.

Are you in Israel or Gaza? How are you affected by the situation? Email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject 'Israel Gaza'.

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MH17 downing 'may be war crime'

28 July 2014 Last updated at 11:42

The downing of Malaysia Airlines jet MH17 in eastern Ukraine may constitute a "war crime", the UN human rights chief Navi Pillay says.

Ukraine and Western governments believe pro-Russian rebels shot down MH17, using a Russia-supplied missile system.

Moscow and the rebels have blamed Ukrainian forces for the plane crash.

All 298 people on board - mostly Dutch - died on 17 July. Heavy fighting has again prevented an international police force from reaching the crash site.

The Ukrainian military said it was battling separatists for control of several towns near the site in eastern Ukraine.

The international police want to help secure the huge site so that plane wreckage and human remains can be examined by international crash experts.

Most of the bodies have been removed, many of them repatriated to the Netherlands.

Heavy fighting

"This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime," Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said of the downing of MH17.

"Every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice, no matter who they are," Ms Pillay said.

At least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in the Ukraine conflict since mid-April, the UN said.

The conflict has displaced more than 200,000 people, many of whom have fled east to neighbouring Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday he hoped that monitors from the OSCE international security body would be able to deploy on the Ukraine-Russia border in the next few days.

In a statement on Monday, the Ukrainian military said it had "entered" the towns of Shakhtarsk and Torez and was working to seize control of Pervomaysk and Snizhne - all close to the crash site of MH17.

A team of Australian and Dutch police and forensic experts was forced to abandon attempts to reach the site on Monday due to the security situation in the area. It was the second failed attempt in as many days.

The army is also trying to take control of two main roads in eastern Ukraine, which the government in Kiev believes to be vital supply lines from Russia for rebel forces in Donetsk.

In the past 24 hours there has been heavy artillery fire at the city of Horlivka, where several civilians were killed.

In the city of Donetsk at least three people died in shelling too, the municipal authorities say. And there are reports of civilian casualties as a result of the shelling of Luhansk, which is also held by the rebels.

Last week, the US-based Human Rights Watch said both sides in the conflict were using unguided Grad rockets against civilian areas, in violation of human rights norms, and urged them to stop doing so. It documented several attacks in which, it said, the rockets were apparently fired by government forces.

The US has produced what it calls satellite evidence that rockets have been fired at Ukrainian forces from Russian soil.

Russia denies that any of its forces are helping the rebels.

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Yukos shareholders win $50bn payout

28 July 2014 Last updated at 12:08

A court in the Hague has awarded shareholders in the defunct Russian oil company Yukos the largest compensation package to date.

The Court of Arbitration said Russia should pay $50bn (£29.5bn) in damages.

It said Russian officials, under President Putin, had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss, Mikhail Khodorkovsky for fraud and tax evasion.

Russia's Foreign Minister said Russia would most likely appeal the decision.

Yukos was once the country's largest oil producer.

'Major step'

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "The Russian side, those agencies which represent Russia in this process, will no doubt use all available legal possibilities to defend its position."

The claim was filed by a subsidiary for the financial holding company GML, once the biggest shareholder in Yukos Oil Co.

GML Executive Director Tim Osborne said: "The majority shareholders of Yukos Oil were left without compensation for the loss of their investment when Russia illegally expropriated Yukos."

"It is a major step forward for the majority shareholders, who have been battling for over 10 years for this decision."

'Historic'

In addition to forcing the company into bankruptcy, Russia also sold Yukos' assets to state-owned businesses for political purposes, according to the claimant's lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard.

Mr Gaillard said: "This is an historic award. It is now judicially established that the Russian Federation's actions were not a legitimate exercise in tax collection but, rather, were aimed at destroying Yukos and illegally expropriating its assets for the benefit of State instrumentalities Rosneft and Gazprom."

Yukos was disbanded in 2007 after filing for bankruptcy in 2006.

The company was formerly controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was at one point Russia's richest man. Responding to the news, Mr Khordorkovsky said it was "fantastic" that shareholders were "being given chance to recover assets".

Mr Khodorkovsky built Yukos into Russia's largest investor-owned oil company after the fall of the Soviet Union.

He was arrested in 2003 and spent ten years in jail after being convicted of fraud and tax evasion but was pardoned last December.

The state-owned Rosneft bought the bulk of Yukos assets though auctions after the company was declared bankrupt. It says all the deals were legal.

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Hamas announces new Gaza ceasefire

27 July 2014 Last updated at 12:19

Palestinian militant group Hamas has announced a 24-hour ceasefire after Israel ended an earlier truce amid continuing rocket fire from Gaza.

A spokesman for Hamas, which controls Gaza, said its ceasefire would start from 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

Israel earlier resumed its military offensive in Gaza after a short pause, as Palestinian militants continued to launch rockets at Israel.

Some 1,060 Palestinians and 46 Israelis have died in recent hostilities.

Most of those killed in Gaza are civilians, Palestinian health officials say, while 43 soldiers and three civilians have died on the Israeli side.

'Incessant rocket fire'

On Saturday, Israel accepted a UN request for a 24-hour ceasefire until the end of Sunday. It followed a 12-hour truce, observed by both sides on Saturday, which enabled Gaza residents to gather supplies and retrieve bodies buried under the rubble.

However, the Israeli military announced on Sunday morning it had decided to resume its air, ground and naval raids on Gaza in response to "incessant rocket fire" from Hamas.

The militant group had initially rejected the Israeli offer, saying it would only halt rocket attacks once Israeli troops left Gaza and the displaced were allowed to return home.

But shortly after Israeli raids resumed, Hamas said it had decided to agree to a humanitarian truce.

"As a preparation for the end of Ramadan and in response to the UN mediation and also regarding our people's living circumstances, we have agreed with all Palestinian factions to give a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire starting from 14:00 on Sunday," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

Correspondents in Gaza said heavy explosions could be heard in several districts as Israeli forces resumed their air strikes. Palestinian eyewitnesses reported heavy shelling to the east of Gaza City.

At least 8 Palestinians have died in Sunday's attacks, according to Gazan health officials.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier said at least 20 rockets had been launched toward Israel since Saturday night, despite the truce.

It added that a soldier was killed by mortar shell fired from Gaza early on Sunday morning.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping Hamas firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.

On 18 July, it extended operations with a ground offensive, saying it was necessary to destroy tunnels dug by militants to infiltrate Israel.

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Benghazi clashes kill 'at least 36'

27 July 2014 Last updated at 11:52

At least 36 people have been killed in clashes between Libyan government troops and Islamist militants in the city of Benghazi, reports say.

The attack came as the militants attacked troops in the city centre.

Intense fighting near Tripoli airport killed another 23 people, reports say.

Militias controlling large parts of the country are responsible for Libya's worst violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi, correspondents say.

On Saturday, the US evacuated its embassy in the capital, Tripoli.

The UN and Turkey have also withdrawn their diplomatic staff.

With no army, Libya's central government has increasingly lost control over the country to rogue and powerful militias in the last two years, says the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli.

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Costa Concordia ends final voyage

27 July 2014 Last updated at 10:55

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The operation to recover the Costa Concordia is ending at a specially constructed wharf near Genoa, as Alan Johnston reports

The wrecked Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, has entered the port of Genoa for scrapping after a two-year salvage operation.

Its removal was one of the biggest ever maritime salvage operations.

The Concordia struck a reef off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people.

Captain Francesco Schettino has denied charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is expected in Genoa in the afternoon to see the end of the complex docking procedure, which is expected to take several hours.

Genoa is where the Costa Concordia was built and launched amid fanfare and celebration nine years ago but now she is limping home to be scrapped, says the BBC's Alan Johnston.

"The operation to recover the Concordia was not easy. Italy carried it out, the Italy that, when it sets out to, is capable of doing anything, even of surprising us," Mr Renzi said.

Antonio Benvenuti, the head of Genoa's harbour workers' union, told AP that there was no "precise schedule" for each stage of dealing with the wreck.

Tests will be carried out first to monitor for potential pollution problems, Mr Benvenuti said, before the first stage of the operation would begin, reducing the weight of the ship in order to lift it.

The Costa Concordia was re-floated nine days ago and was kept above the surface by giant buoyancy chambers. More than a dozen vessels helped to tow the ship after it was pulled away from Giglio on Wednesday.

A huge net was dragged behind the vessel aimed at catching things that might spill out of the wreck, such as furniture or passengers' belongings, our correspondent says.

The wreck was hauled upright in September last year but was still partially submerged, resting on six steel platforms.

Investigators are still looking for the body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello, whose body is the only one not to have been found.

The Costa Concordia's owners, Costa Crociere, estimate the operation to remove the wreck from the reef and tow it for scrapping will cost 1.5bn euros (£1.2bn; $2bn) in total.

Are you in the area? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk adding 'Costa Concordia' in the subject heading and including your contact details.

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Dutch cancel MH17 crash site visit

27 July 2014 Last updated at 12:15

Dutch experts have cancelled plans to head to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, international officials say.

Fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government troops in the area has prevented access to the site, they add.

Earlier, Malaysia said it had struck a deal with the rebels to allow international police at the site.

MH17 crashed on 17 July, killing all 298 people on board. The rebels have been accused of shooting it down.

Russia has suggested the plane could have been shot down by the Ukrainian military - an allegation Ukraine denies.

'Unacceptable risk'

The investigators, who are currently in Donetsk, have struggled to gain access to the rebel-controlled crash site, despite a truce between Ukrainian troops and separatist forces.

"There is fighting going on. We can't take the risk," said Alexander Hug, of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

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Jan Tuinder, leader of the Dutch investigation team: "We need Ukrainian support"

"The security situation on the way to the site and on the site itself is unacceptable for our unarmed observer mission," he added.

Shelling was reported close to the MH17 crash site, near the town of Grabove, on Sunday.

Rebels have prevented journalists going to the site and Ukrainian government forces are said to be nearby, says the BBC's Tom Burridge, in eastern Ukraine.

The Dutch authorities say the first of the 298 people killed in the MH17 disaster has been identified, without revealing any details.

A total of 227 coffins containing the remains of the victims have been sent for identification to the Netherlands, which is leading the crash investigation.

Officials say the exact number of bodies already collected will be determined only after forensic experts have completed their examination.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday that he had reached an agreement with Ukrainian separatist leader Aleksander Borodai to allow international police access to the site in order to "provide protection for international crash investigators".

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that Australian police officers would also be deployed as part of the Dutch-led mission.

"Our objective is to get in, get cracking and to get out... This is a risky mission, no doubt about that," he added.

The US says it believes rebels shot down the passenger jet with a Russian-provided SA-11 Buk surface-to-air missile, probably by mistake.

Russia has frequently denied sending heavy weapons into Ukraine but rebel leaders have given conflicting accounts of whether they had control of a Buk launcher at the time the plane was downed.

In a new development, Russia says it has set up its own team of experts to investigate the plane crash, according to RIA Novosti agency.

Malaysia Airlines commercial director Hugh Dunleavy has called for the formation of "one body to be the arbiter of where we can fly" in the wake of the MH17 disaster.

Writing for the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Dunleavy says "this tragedy has taught us that despite following the guidelines and advice set out by the governing bodies, the skies above certain territories are simply not safe".

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Russia angry at US 'smear campaign'

26 July 2014 Last updated at 02:00

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The US has toughened its rhetoric towards Russia since flight MH17 was downed

Russia has accused the US of launching a "smear campaign" over its alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

The foreign ministry in Moscow said on Friday it rejects "unfounded public insinuations" from the US government.

But the Pentagon says it believes the movement of Russian heavy-calibre artillery systems across the border into Ukraine is "imminent."

The row comes as more bodies of victims from flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine, arrived in the Netherlands.

Separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine have been accused of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines plane.

The US says it believes rebels shot down the passenger jet with a Russian-provided SA-11 Buk surface-to-air missile, probably by mistake.

Russia has frequently denied sending heavy weapons into Ukraine but rebel leaders have given conflicting accounts of whether they had control of a Buk launcher at the time the plane was downed.

'Anti-Russian cliches'

The Pentagon said on Friday that it had evidence to suggest Russia is preparing to transfer more rocket launcher systems to the rebels.

"We have indications that the Russians intend to supply heavier and more sophisticated multiple-launch rocket systems in the very near future," Col Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday.

On Thursday, a US state department spokesperson said there was also evidence Russian troops were firing on Ukrainian soldiers from within Russia.

But in a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said the US was pushing "anti-Russian cliches" to protect their allies in Kiev by obscuring the "real reasons for events in Ukraine".

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow says that amid all the accusations of war-mongering, it seems Russia is keen to stress that so far, it has actually shown restraint.

Meanwhile, the EU has formally announced that it is strengthening sanctions against Russia, adding "15 further persons and 18 entities" to an asset freeze and a visa ban.

A statement released on Friday said that those targeted are "responsible for action against Ukraine's territorial integrity".

The Russian officials targeted include Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov and foreign intelligence head Mikhail Fradkov.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine erupted in April and is believed to have claimed more than 1,000 lives.

On Friday, the Ukrainian army said its troops had come under artillery fire from the Russian side of the border overnight and were attacked by rebels in several areas in the east.

The US has repeatedly accused Russia of fuelling separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine and has toughened its rhetoric since flight MH17 was downed.

'Spy or a big one?'

Ukraine officials published the latest in a series of audio recordings on Friday that appears to be a conversation between rebels, minutes before MH17 crashed.

In the recording, which has not been independently verified, a rebel tells a commander that a "bird had flown" in his direction.

When the commander asks if it was a "spy or a big one?" the rebel says that he cannot tell because it is flying too high.

All 298 people on board the flight died in the crash on 17 July, including 193 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians and 27 Australians.

About 200 bodies were recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine and are being flown to the Netherlands, where forensic experts are working on identifying them.

The Dutch and Australian foreign ministers are negotiating with Ukrainian officials in Kiev to send police to the crash site, which is controlled by the rebels.

They hope that such a deployment would allow experts, who have faced difficulties gaining access to the site, to proceed with the investigation amid continuing fighting in the region.

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US 'will send migrant youths home'

26 July 2014 Last updated at 04:12

President Barack Obama has told Central American leaders that migrant children flooding into the US without legitimate legal claims will be sent home.

The presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador met Mr Obama at the White House on Friday to discuss the crisis at the US southern border.

More than 50,000 children, many unaccompanied, have been detained at the border since October.

Mr Obama said they must deter more children from attempting the journey.

"All of us recognise that we have a shared responsibility to address this problem," Mr Obama told reporters at the White House on Friday, flanked by Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and El Salvador President Salvador Sanchez Ceren.

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"The only thing he said was that he was scared" - Rajini Vaidyanathan reports on America's illegal child migrants

He praised his Central American counterparts for their ongoing efforts within their own nations to deter children from travelling illegally to the US, but said more work must be done to combat the "significant challenge" and alleviate the conditions that move parents to send them on the perilous trip.

"We have to deter a continuing influx of children putting themselves at great risk," he said. But he said, "Children who do not have proper claims and families with children who do not have proper claims at some point will be subject to repatriation to their home countries."

The Guatemalan president, Otto Perez Molina, told the BBC that he felt frustrated and distressed by the situation. He called for the root of the problem to be addressed.

"At the heart of this are issues of extreme poverty and a lack of employment opportunities" he said.

"These are the real reasons for immigration and, as a country, we have to work hard to ensure Guatemalans don't look towards the US, but rather find decent living conditions in Guatemala", he added.

The migrants - mostly from Central America - have been driven north by a spike in gang violence in their home countries, by extreme poverty, and amid incorrect rumours children will be allowed to stay if they make it across the border.

Also at issue is a 2008 US law that grants unaccompanied children from countries that do not border the US an automatic asylum hearing, thereby preventing their immediate removal from the country.

In his remarks, Mr Obama called on Republicans in Congress to postpone their upcoming August recess until they can approve legislation increasing funding to ease the crisis.

Earlier this month, his administration requested $3.7bn (£2.2bn) in emergency funds for tighter border security, care for the children, detention and removal programmes, and immigration courts.

Where the $3.7bn would go

• $1.8bn to provide the appropriate care for unaccompanied children
• $1.1bn on detention and removal programmes
• $433m on border patrol and security
• $300m to Central American countries to repatriate and tackle root causes
• $64m on immigration courts, including hiring 40 additional judge teams

Source: White House

But Republican lawmakers said they would not give Mr Obama a "blank cheque" without changes to US immigration policy.

Conservative politicians have blamed Mr Obama's immigration policy for the crisis, and some in the Congress have called for the repeal of the 2008 asylum law.

Meanwhile, House Republicans are developing an immigration proposal not to exceed $1.5bn, while Senate Democrats are floating one for $3.6bn to meet increased immigration and security needs.

"We need action and less talk," Mr Obama said of Congressional politicians, naming Republican House Speaker John Boehner in particular.

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Isis 'may be on UN war crimes list'

26 July 2014 Last updated at 09:36

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) may be added to a list of war crimes suspects in Syria, the chief UN investigator says.

"They are good candidates for the list," Paulo Pinheiro said, referring to public executions and crucifixions carried out by the militant group.

The confidential list was revealed to the UN Security Council and reporters for the first time on Friday.

People from both sides of the three-year Syria conflict are to be included.

Isis militants, who control vast swathes of territory in northern Syria and neighbouring Iraq, have been engaged in fierce fighting with Syrian government forces in Raqqa province in recent days.

'No accountability'

"I can assure you that we are collecting information on perpetrators from all sides including non-state armed groups and Isis," Mr Pinheiro, the head of the independent UN commission on Syrian war crimes, told reporters.

"I am not in a position to say who is winning the World Cup of human rights violations. Both sides are doing horrific things and they will continue if there is no accountability," he added.

As well as Isis, Mr Pinheiro specified the heads of Syrian intelligence branches and detention facilities, military commanders who target civilians, airports where bombing attacks are launched and armed groups and individuals involved in "attacking and forcibly displacing civilians".

UN human rights investigator Karen Koning Abu Zayd has also warned that more and more Syrian rebels are defecting from their own groups to join the hardline Isis insurgency.

Meanwhile, Isis rebels said on Friday they had seized control of a large military base on the outskirts of the northern city of Raqqa.

They released images of captured soldiers being beheaded after the battle for the base, the largest of its kind in the north-east of Syria.

At least 170,000 people have been killed, a third of them civilians, since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.

Some nine million people, or a third of Syria's pre-war population, have fled their homes.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria was set up in September 2011 in order to collect witness accounts, satellite photographs and other information documenting human rights violations throughout the conflict.

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Truce as deaths in Gaza pass 900

26 July 2014 Last updated at 11:40

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Chris Morris reports from Shejaiya, where people are using the truce to dash back to their homes to gather what they can

Residents in Gaza are using a 12-hour humanitarian truce to return to their homes, gather essential supplies and search for those trapped in the rubble.

At least 60 bodies have been recovered and taken to the Shifa Hospital morgue, with more thought to remain buried.

Some 940 Palestinians have died since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on 8 July, with 5,870 injured, officials say. Thirty-eight Israelis have died.

International talks on a longer truce are resuming in Paris.

Correspondents reported a tense situation in areas hardest-hit by air strikes and tank shelling, but some semblance of normal life returning.

Israel said it would continue to "locate and neutralise" Hamas tunnels during the pause, which began at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

Israeli strikes killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight at a family home near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Two Israeli soldiers were also killed, Israel's military confirmed. The Iron Dome defence system intercepted three rockets fired towards the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon overnight.

'Astonishing scene': Ian Pannell, BBC News, Gaza City

In the district of Shejaiya, residents started flooding back from 08:00, despite warnings not to do so.

The scene here is just astonishing - the most widespread destruction: buildings completely pulverised, cars thrown 50m (160ft) into the air on top of buildings, the facades of some block of flats completely ripped off.

The air is pretty thick with the stench of death as people try to recover bodies and belongings.

In the background I can hear a crackle of gunfire. Although a humanitarian ceasefire is in place, clearly people are still shooting. There is an Israeli drone flying overhead, and we've heard the sound of fighter jets.

I think people feel they have a brief window of opportunity to do as much as they can and then frankly get out of here.

Follow Ian Pannell's tweets from Gaza

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In the hours before the truce was declared, a baby was delivered alive after her mother was killed

'Confident of ceasefire'

US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting the foreign ministers of Turkey, Qatar and some European countries in Paris in the hopes of agreeing a longer ceasefire.

Mr Kerry spent a week in the Middle East attempting to broker a deal before leaving Egypt on Friday.

"The goal is to bring together international efforts so that as quickly as possible conditions for a cease-fire in Gaza emerge," said a French foreign ministry spokesman.

Hamas insists that any ceasefire should include a lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt since 2007.

Israel is reported to want to continue operations against Hamas infiltration tunnels once direct conflict ends.

In the meantime, the 12-hour truce was agreed overnight, although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) vowed to respond if attacked. "We will respond if terrorists choose to exploit this time to attack IDF personnel or fire at Israeli civilians," it said in a statement.

The announcement of the humanitarian truce came shortly after Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon warned that ground operations in Gaza could soon be broadened "significantly".

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Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, as Orla Guerin reports

The British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said he was disappointed at the failure to reach a longer-term truce.

But he welcomed Saturday's 12-hour pause, saying it could "open up a little bit of space to work on a more sustainable ceasefire".

Separately, the UK confirmed it would send £2m ($3.39m) of additional assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) in Gaza.

West Bank clashes

There were also clashes during protests in the West Bank on Friday which left at least five Palestinians dead.

Palestinians in the West Bank had declared a "Day of Rage" against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile Israel's military said its Iron Dome defence system had intercepted several rockets fired across the border by Hamas.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping Hamas firing rockets into Israel.

It has since extended its operation to destroy tunnels dug by militants to infiltrate Israel.

Are you in the West Bank, Gaza or Israel? How has the ceasefire affected you? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Israel Gaza'.

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UN warns of 'dire' Gaza situation

24 July 2014 Last updated at 10:36

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has expressed extreme concern at the situation in Gaza, describing a ceasefire as "vital".

She said the conflict meant 44% of Gaza was a no-go area for Palestinians, and residents were running out of food.

More than 710 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed in the past 16 days of fighting, officials say.

Israel's ground operations and air strikes have continued, and more Hamas rockets have been fired into Israel.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping rocket fire from Gaza.

'Terrible'

Speaking on Thursday, Valerie Amos said: "We have over 118,000 people now who are sheltering in UN schools... people are running out of food. Water is also a serious concern."

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Baroness Amos: "People are running out of food, water is also a serious concern"

The situation in Gaza was "terrible" and "dire", she added.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says a 1.9 mile (3km) wide strip, encompassing 44% of Gaza, has been designated as a no-go zone by the Israeli military.

While no-one denied Israel the right to defend itself, there was serious concern for the repercussions for civilians on the ground, said Baroness Amos.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Authority lifted a ban on US airlines flying into Tel Aviv, which came into force on Tuesday after a rocket landed about a mile (1.6km) away from Ben Gurion airport

However, several European airlines have continued to avoid landing in Tel Aviv.

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Benjamin Netanyahu said UN criticism of Israeli action was a "travesty of justice, fairness and common sense"

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he regretted each Palestinian civilian death, but said they were "the responsibility of Hamas".

He was standing beside UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who said the cycle of violence had been triggered by Hamas "firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns and cities indiscriminately". Mr Hammond also emphasised that the UK was "gravely concerned by the ongoing heavy level of civilian casualties."

The Israeli leader was deeply critical of a vote by the UN Human Rights Council for an official investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza, describing the decision as "grotesque" and "a travesty of justice".

'Lift the blockade'

Meanwhile, Khaled Meshaal, leader of Islamist militant group Hamas, said there could be no ceasefire to ease the conflict in Gaza without an end to Israel's blockade.

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Paul Adams saw a Red Cross mission attacked by civilians in Gaza

"We will not accept any initiative that does not lift the blockade on our people and that does not respect their sacrifices," he said.

Israel imposed restrictions on the Gaza Strip in 2006 after Hamas abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The measures were tightened by Israel and Egypt in 2007 after Hamas ousted rival Fatah and forcibly took control in Gaza after winning elections the year before.

Hamas and Fatah announced a reconciliation deal in April, but the move was condemned by Israel which regards Hamas as a terrorist group.

Israel's Science Minister Yaakov Peri told Israeli web portal Walla that he did not see a ceasefire in the coming days, as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) needed more time to dismantle Hamas' underground tunnel network.

There have been hundreds of rocket attacks on Israel, and Israeli air strikes on Gaza, since the Israeli offensive began.

Palestinian medical sources say the death toll rose to more than 710 on Thursday.

Israel says 32 soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed since 8 July.

A Thai worker was also killed when a rocket fired from Gaza landed near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed "outrage and regret" at rockets which were placed inside a UN-run school in Gaza.

"Those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children," Mr Ban's spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Are you in Israel or Gaza? How has the violence affected you? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Israel Gaza'.

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