Russia concern at Israeli 'strike'

31 January 2013 Last updated at 03:21 ET

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Israel has not commented on reports of an attack on Wednesday

Russia has expressed concern at an alleged Israeli attack on Syria, saying such a strike would be an unacceptable violation of the UN Charter.

Syria's army said Israeli jets had targeted a military research centre north-west of Damascus on Wednesday.

It denied reports that lorries carrying weapons bound for Lebanon were hit.

Russia has steadfastly refused to denounce Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the 22-month conflict that has killed more than 60,000 people.

The Syrian army statement, carried on state media, said Israeli fighter jets had carried out a direct strike on a scientific research centre in Jamraya, killing two people and injuring five.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said: "If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it."

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• Jamraya Centre: Reported scientific research centre responsible for developing chemical weapons
• Weapons convoy: Lorries carrying Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah bases in Lebanon

Relations between Russia and Israel have been improving in recent years as trade and economic ties have grown stronger, says the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

But Moscow is a close ally of President Assad, which would explains its concern at the reports, our correspondent adds.

Missiles heading for border?

The attack came as Israel voiced fears that Syrian missiles and chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militants such as the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah.

Israel and the US have declined to comment on the reported incident.

Lebanese security sources, Western diplomats and Syrian rebels say the target was an arms convoy near Lebanon's border. The Associated Press quoted a US official as saying the lorries were carrying Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles.

The Lebanese military and internal security forces have not confirmed the reports, but say there has been increased activity by Israeli warplanes over Lebanon in the past week, and particularly in recent hours.

Correspondents say Israel fears Hezbollah could obtain anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, thus strengthening its ability to respond to Israeli air strikes.

Israel believes Syria received a battery of SA-17s from Russia after an alleged Israeli air strike in 2007 that destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor near Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria, analysts say.

The US government said in 2008 that the reactor was "not intended for peaceful purposes".

Hezbollah said Wednesday's target was the Jamraya centre, condemning it as "an attempt to thwart Arab military capabilities" and pledging to stand by its ally Mr Assad.

Iron Dome move

BBC Middle East correspondent Wyre Davies says that while none of the reports can be verified, some well-placed diplomats and military sources say they would not be surprised if Israel had acted, given the recent instability in Syria.

The Syrian army statement said the Jamraya centre - which was focused on "raising our level of resistance and self-defence" - was damaged in the attack, and specifically denied reports that an arms convoy had been hit.

It said "armed terrorist gangs", a term the government uses to describe rebel groups, had tried and failed repeatedly to capture the same facility in recent months.

Some reports suggest the facility could be Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Centre, believed to be the state organisation responsible for developing biological and chemical weapons.

Any Israeli attack on Syria side could cause a major diplomatic incident, analysts say, as Iran has said it will treat any Israeli attack on Syria as an attack on itself.

The reported attack came days after Israel moved its Iron Dome defence system to the north of the country.

Israel has also joined the US in expressing concern that Syria's presumed chemical weapons stockpile could be taken over by militant groups.

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French forces take key Mali town

31 January 2013 Last updated at 03:57 ET

French forces have secured the northern Malian town of Kidal, the last main stronghold of Islamist rebels in the region, military officials say.

Militant Islamist fighters had already left the town, near the Algerian border, and are believed to be hiding in the surrounding mountains.

The capture of Kidal came days after French and Malian forces retook the provincial capitals Gao and Timbuktu.

Kidal official Haminy Maiga said the French troops had met no resistance.

"The French arrived aboard four planes," said, Mr Maiga, who heads the regional assembly.

"They took the airport and then entered the town, and there was no combat. The French are patrolling the town and two helicopters are patrolling overhead."

Earlier, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said a sandstorm had delayed the troops from leaving the airport and entering the town.

Islamist militants extended their control of the vast north of Mali in April 2012, taking advantage of a military coup.

France - the former colonial power in Mali - launched a military operation this month after the militants appeared to be threatening the south.

The BBC's Thomas Fessy in Timbuktu says the capture of Kidal marks the end of the first phase of the military operation to oust militants from northern Mali.

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Mali crisis timeline

• October 2011: Ethnic Tuaregs launch new rebellion after returning with weapons from Libya, where they had fought for Gaddafi
• March 2012: Military officers depose President Amadou Toumani Toure over handling of rebellion
• April 2012: Tuareg and Islamist fighters seize control of northern Mali, declare independence
• June 2012: Islamist groups capture Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao from Tuaregs, start to destroy Muslim shrines that offend their puritan views
• September 2012: Islamist rebels seize town of Douentza, crossing into central Mali and threatening government-held south
• January 2013: Islamist fighters capture central town of Konna, raising fears they could march on capital. President Dioncounda Traore asks France for help. French intervention begins.

France is now expecting the deployment of thousands of African forces to support the second phase - driving the al-Qaeda-linked fighters from their desert hideouts.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday that France intended to leave Mali "quickly", and it was up to African countries to take over.

Several hundred soldiers from West African countries - including Niger and Chad - are already in Mali.

Our correspondent says French forces who entered Kidal found members of the secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) there.

The Tuareg rebels launched the insurgency last year before breaking away from the militants.

Their presence in Kidal explains why government troops have not yet been sent to the town, our correspondent adds.

The MNLA says it will support the French but will not allow the return of the Malian army, which it accused of "crimes against the civilian population".

Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of targeting ethnic Tuareg and Arab civilians.

An MNLA spokesman told the BBC its fighters had entered Kidal on Saturday and found no Islamist militants there.

Kidal was until recently under the control of the Ansar Dine Islamist group, which has strong ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The Islamic Movement of Azawad (IMA), which recently split from Ansar Dine, recently said that it was in control of Kidal.

The IMA has also said it rejects "extremism and terrorism" and wants a peaceful solution.

Continue reading the main story

Enigmatic leader

The radical Islamist group Ansar Dine was founded by Tuareg rebel Iyad Ag Ghaly

Some reports say Ansar Dine leader Iyad Ag Ghaly and Abou Zeid of AQIM have now moved to the mountainous region north of Kidal.

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday are expected to reaffirm support for the French intervention in Mali and discuss practical details of an EU military training mission which is due to begin there next month.

On Tuesday, international donors meeting in Ethiopia pledged $455.53m (£289m) for the African Union-backed force (Afisma) and for other projects.

African leaders say the overall budget could be around $950m.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has also said credible elections in Mali would be vital to achieving peace in the country.

Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday he wanted to hold "transparent and credible" elections by 31 July.

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Iran 'plans enrichment upgrade'

31 January 2013 Last updated at 05:14 ET

Iran has told the UN nuclear agency it plans to upgrade uranium enrichment centrifuges at its Natanz plant, reports citing diplomats say.

The move would allow the country to refine uranium at a faster rate, increasing fears among western states about Iran's intentions.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful in purpose. The US and its allies fear it seeks nuclear weapons.

The plan was set out in a letter to the IAEA dated 23 January, reports said.

The letter is said to mention a model of centrifuge, called IR2m, which can enrich two or three times faster than the present equipment being used by Tehran, according to the Associated Press.

The International Atomic Energy Agency sent a letter to member states saying Iran had informed the agency of its plans to use the improved machines at its fuel enrichment plant in Natanz, according to a document seen by Reuters.

"The Secretariat of the Agency received a letter from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) dated 23 January 2013 informing the Agency that 'centrifuge machines type IR2m will be used in Unit A-22' at the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz," the IAEA communication is reported to say.

The Natanz facility, in central Iran, is at the heart of the country's dispute with the United Nations Security Council.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the European Union's top foreign policy official said she believed that negotiations on the country's nuclear programme would resume shortly.

Catherine Ashton said she was "confident" that there would be a meeting soon.

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'China hackers' attack NY Times

31 January 2013 Last updated at 05:47 ET

Hackers from China have "persistently" infiltrated the New York Times for the last four months, the US paper says.

It said the attacks coincided with its report into claims that the family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune.

The hackers used methods which have been "associated with the Chinese military" to target the emails of the report's writer, the paper said.

China's foreign ministry dismissed the accusations as "groundless".

"To arbitrarily assert and to conclude without hard evidence that China participated in such hacking attacks is totally irresponsible," said spokesman Hong Lei.

"China is also a victim of hacking attacks. Chinese laws clearly forbid hacking attacks, and we hope relevant parties takes a responsible attitude on this issue."

Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organisations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China's image.

'China-based subterfuge'

According to the Times, the hackers first broke into their computer system in September, as the report on Mr Wen was nearing completion.

The report, which was dismissed as a "smear" by the Chinese government, said Mr Wen's relatives had amassed assets worth at least $2.7bn (£1.7bn) through business dealings. It did not accuse the Chinese premier of wrongdoing.

China is sensitive about reports on its leaders, particularly when it comes to their wealth.

Continue reading the main story

• China was widely believed to be the source of major cyber attacks between 2006 and 2011 targeting 72 organisations including the International Olympic Committee, the UN and security firms
• In 2011, Google said hackers based in Jinan province had compromised personal email accounts of hundreds of top US officials, military personnel and journalists
• South Korea blamed Chinese hackers for stealing data from 35 million accounts on a popular social network in July last year
• Chinese-based computers seized "full functional control" of computers at Nasa in 2011, the US body said
• In 2009 US media reported that Chinese-based hackers were suspected of a "significant" cyber attack on defence firm Lockheed Martin in May 2011
• Coca-cola says its systems were breached in 2009 by Beijing-backed hackers, while it was trying to buy China's Huiyuan Juice Group
• The US Pentagon said it was hacked by the Chinese military in 2007
• China says hacking is illegal under its laws and that it is a victim of such attacks itself

The New York Times said the hacking initially focussed on the computers of David Barboza, the paper's bureau chief in Shanghai who wrote the report, and one of his predecessors, Jim Yardley.

Internet security firm Mandiant, which was hired by the Times to trace the attack, followed the hackers' movements for four months, to try to establish a pattern and block them.

The hackers installed malware which enabled them to access any computer using the New York Times network, steal the password of every employee, and access 53 personal computers, mostly outside the Times offices.

They found the hackers began working for the most part at 08:00 Beijing time. They have not been able to establish how exactly the hackers broke into the system, but believe it may have been through a so-called spear-phishing attack, where an employee clicked on an email or link containing malicious code.

The security firm found that in an attempt to hide the origin of the attack, it had been routed through computers in US universities which, the paper said, "matches the subterfuge used in many other attacks that Mandiant has tracked to China".

The Times said experts had found that the attacks "started from the same university computers used by the Chinese military to attack United States military contractors in the past".

Mandiant's chief security officer, Richard Bejtlich, said that "if you look at each attack in isolation, you can't say, 'This is the Chinese military'," but that the similar patterns and targets of the attacks indicated a connection.

"When you see the same group steal data on Chinese dissidents and Tibetan activists, then attack an aerospace company, it starts to push you in the right direction," he said.

The paper said no personal data of staff or customers was stolen and that no attempt was made to shut down its website.

"They could have wreaked havoc on our systems," said chief information officer Marc Frons. But he said what they appeared to be looking for were "the names of people who might have provided information to Mr Barboza".

There was also no evidence that sensitive emails or files on the Wen family had been accessed, or that the intruders had sought information unrelated to the Wen family, the paper said.

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South Korea launches space rocket

30 January 2013 Last updated at 04:50 ET

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The BBC's Lucy Williamson says the launch will be met with relief in Seoul

South Korea says its third attempt at launching a rocket to put a satellite in space has been a success.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) blasted off from the Naro Space Center at 16:00 (07:00 GMT).

Science Minister Lee Ju-ho said the satellite, which will collect climate data, was in its correct orbit.

The launch comes weeks after North Korea used its own three-stage rocket to place a satellite into orbit, sparking international criticism.

South Korea's 140-tonne rocket, known as Naro, was built in partnership with Russia, which had agreed to work with Seoul for three launch attempts.

Continue reading the main story

If the North is determined to test, there is at best a slim possibility that it can be deterred"

End Quote Dr John Swenson-Wright Chatham House

Previous launches in 2009 and 2010 failed, and this attempt had been postponed twice for technical reasons.

But officials said Wednesday's launch from the site 480km (298 miles) south of Seoul had gone as planned and that the rocket had reached its target altitude and deployed its satellite.

"After analysing various data, the Naro rocket successfully put the science satellite into designated orbit," Mr Lee told reporters. He said the satellite had detached 540 seconds after launch.

"We now have leapt up a step to become a space-power nation," he said, adding that South Korea would use this "overwhelming moment as a strong, dynamic force" to help drive an independent space programme.

North fears

The satellite, called Science and Technology Satellite-2C, is designed to collect climate data. The Yonhap news said it was expected to make contact with its ground station at 05:00 on Thursday, at which point its operators will be able to make the final judgement on whether the launch achieved its goals.

South Korea does already have satellites in space, but they were launched from other countries.

On its first attempt to carry out a launch on its own soil, in 2009, the satellite failed to detach from the rocket in orbit. In 2010, the rocket exploded seconds after take-off.

Pressure for success has increased since North Korea launched a rocket that placed a satellite in orbit on 12 December. It followed the launch by announcing plans for a "high-level nuclear test" and more long-range rocket launches.

The UN said the North Korean launch constituted a banned test of missile technology and voted to extend sanctions against Pyongyang. There have been international calls for Pyongyang not to carry out the nuclear test.

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French 'enter Mali rebel town'

30 January 2013 Last updated at 04:51 ET

French forces say they have entered Kidal in the north of Mali, the last major town they have yet to secure in their drive against Islamist militants.

French forces now control Kidal airport after a number of aircraft, including helicopters, landed there overnight.

Islamist militants were reported to have already left the town and it was unclear who was in charge.

French and Malian forces have been sweeping north, earlier taking Gao and Timbuktu with almost no resistance.

France - the former colonial power in Mali - launched a military operation this month after Islamist militants appeared to be threatening the south.

French army spokesman Col Thierry Burkhard confirmed that "French elements were deployed overnight in Kidal".

Haminy Maiga, the interim president of the Kidal regional assembly, told the Associated Press news agency: "The French arrived at 9:30pm [Tuesday] aboard four planes. Afterwards they took the airport and then entered the town and there was no combat.

"The French are patrolling the town and two helicopters are patrolling overhead," he said.

'Eradicate terrorism'

Kidal, 1,500km (930 miles) north-east of the capital Bamako, was until recently under the control of the Ansar Dine Islamist group, which has strong ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Continue reading the main story

The Islamist militants fled Timbuktu in haste, but they took the time to commit one last act of vengeance"

End Quote

The Islamist militants had taken advantage of a military coup in March last year to impose Sharia in a number of cities in the north.

However, the Islamic Movement of Azawad (IMA), which recently split from Ansar Dine, says it is now in charge in Kidal.

The IMA has said it rejects "extremism and terrorism" and wants a peaceful solution.

An IMA spokesman confirmed the French arrival in Kidal and said that its leader was in talks with them.

However, another rebel group, the secular National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), is also influential in the area. It is ethnically driven, fighting mostly for the rights of Mali's minority Tuareg community.

An MNLA spokesman told the BBC its fighters had entered Kidal on Saturday and found no Islamist militants there.

The MNLA has also said it is prepared to work with the French "to eradicate terrorist groups" in the north but that it would not allow the return of the Malian army, which it accused of "crimes against the civilian population".

Some reports say Ansar Dine leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly, and Abou Zeid of AQIM have now moved to the mountainous region north of Kidal.

The BBC's Thomas Fessy, in Timbuktu, says that taking Kidal will mark the end of the first phase of the French military intervention, but that there will remain the difficult task of chasing the fighters down across the vast desert.

The French arrival at Kidal came only 24 hours after securing Timbuktu with Malian forces.

The troops had to secure the streets after hundreds of people looted shops they said had belonged to militant sympathisers.

France has been pushing for the swift deployment of an African Union-backed force, the International Support Mission to Mali (Afisma), to take control of Malian towns.

On Tuesday, international donors meeting in Ethiopia pledged $455.53m (£289m) for Afisma and for other projects.

African leaders say the overall budget could be around $950m.

France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the meeting impressive progress had been made but that this did not mean the danger was over.

Mr Fabius also said credible elections in Mali would be vital to achieving sustainable peace in the country.

Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday that he wanted to hold "transparent and credible" elections by 31 July.

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Donors pledge $600m for Syria aid

30 January 2013 Last updated at 06:01 ET

Kuwait and the UAE have pledged $600m (£380m) to help civilians affected by the conflict in Syria at the start of a conference of international donors.

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said the "horrifying reports" of violence in Syria had raised questions about the future of the country.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon meanwhile appealed to all sides to stop fighting "in the name of humanity".

As they spoke, state media blamed a rebel group for a massacre in Aleppo.

The bodies of more than 70 men and teenaged boys were found on Tuesday on the banks of the River Quwaiq in the second city's rebel-held western district of Bustan al-Qasr.

Most of the dead had their hands tied behind their backs and gunshots wounds to their heads, suggesting they were executed summarily.

On Wednesday, the state news agency Sana reported that the families of the victims had "identified a number of the killed, stressing that the al-Nusra Front abducted them because of their refusal to co-operate".

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The BBC's Jim Muir: "I counted on just one video, about 48 bodies"

Sana's reporter said the water level in the river was too low to carry the bodies any distance suggesting they had been killed in Bustan al-Qasr.

However, locals said several of those killed were from rebel-held districts and had disappeared after crossing into those under government control. Some had been detained by security forces, the added.

The main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, called for an investigation and warned that "ongoing global inaction towards human rights violations encourages the killers to continue their crimes".

'Resources exhausted'

Continue reading the main story

We are watching a human tragedy unfold before our eyes"

End Quote Valerie Amos UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs

Addressing the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait City on Wednesday, Ban Ki-moon described the situation in Syria as "catastrophic".

"I appeal to all sides, and particularly the Syrian government, to stop the killing... in the name of humanity, stop the killing, stop the violence," the UN chief said.

He also called for urgent financial aid to ease the suffering of civilians, warning that if funds were not forthcoming "more Syrians will die".

The UN has set a funding target of $1.5bn, which it says it needs to provide food, shelter and other aid to the some four million people inside Syria and 700,000 others who have fled to neighbouring countries.

The money will fund operations during the next six months, but before Wednesday the UN had received pledges for only 18% of the target.

Kuwait's emir opened the conference by calling for humanitarian efforts in Syria to be redoubled and announcing a donation of $300m.

Shortly afterwards, the pledge was matched by the United Arab Emirates, which was represented by Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nuhayyan, according to the UAE state news agency, Wam.

King Abdullah of Jordan, which is hosting more than 185,000 Syrian refugees, warned his country's resources had been "exhausted", adding: "We have reached the end of the line."

UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said the winter weather had made matters worse, particularly for women and children, with many struggling without suitable clothes, blankets or fuel.

"We are watching a human tragedy unfold before our eyes," she added.

On Tuesday evening, the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said international aid was not being distributed equally within Syria, with government-controlled areas receiving nearly all of it.

"The current aid system is unable to address the worsening living conditions facing people inside Syria," MSF president Dr Marie-Pierre Allie said in a statement.

MSF said rebels controlled areas where at least a third of the country's population - about seven million people - were currently living.

The UN said 49% of the food aid it was distributing to 1.5 million people in co-operation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other aid agencies was delivered to areas either rebel-held or contested areas.

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Shell 'happy' over Dutch verdict

30 January 2013 Last updated at 06:06 ET

A Dutch court has rejected four out of five allegations against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell over oil pollution in Nigeria's Niger Delta region.

But it found a subsidiary of the firm, Shell Nigeria, responsible for one case of pollution, ordering it to pay compensation to a Nigerian farmer.

Shell said it was "happy" with the verdict in the landmark case.

The case was brought by four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth, which says it is "flabbergasted".

The campaign group says it intends to appeal.

It launched the case in 2008 in the Netherlands, where Shell has its global headquarters, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta region.

'Fish ponds poisoned'

It is the first time a Dutch-registered company has been sued in a domestic court for offences allegedly carried out by a foreign subsidiary.

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• 1958: Oil struck in Ogoniland. It lies in what is now one of Nigeria's wealthiest states. Most Nigerians live on less than $2 a day
• 1993: Large-scale protests by Ogoni people over neglect by government and Shell, led by Mosop group co-founded by activist Ken Saro-Wiwa
• 1993: Shell pulls out of Ogoniland
• 1994: Four community leaders killed. Mosop leaders including Ken Saro-Wiwa arrested
• 1995: Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others executed by military government, sparking international outrage
• 2009: Shell reaches $15.5m (£9.7m) settlement with families to stop case accusing it of complicity in Saro-Wiwa's death and other human rights abuses
• 2008-09: Shell accepts liability for two spills in Ogoniland
• 2011: UN report says it could take Ogoniland 30 years to recover fully from damage caused by years of oil spills

"We are very pleased with the verdict," Allard Castelein, of Shell, said after the verdict was announced.

"First of all I should say that we were never pleased with the court case in its own right but we are very pleased that the parent company is not liable under any of the complaints issued."

The case was linked to spills in four areas of the Niger Delta - Goi, Ogoniland, Oruma in Bayelsa State and a third in Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State.

The farmers had alleged that oil spills had poisoned their fish ponds and farmland with leaking pipelines.

The court found that the spills were not the result of a lack of security or upkeep but due to sabotage.

"The district court has established that four oil spills were not caused by defective maintenance by Shell but by sabotage from third parties," the court said in its judgement.

It said that, according to Nigerian law, the parent company was not responsible for damage caused in this way.

However, in one case, it found subsidiary Shell Nigeria culpable of neglecting its duty of care and ruled that: "Shell could and should have prevented this sabotage in an easy way".

The level of damages in that case will be established at a later hearing.

The Shell Petroleum Development Co is the largest oil and gas company in Nigeria - Africa's top energy producer - with an output of more than one million barrels of oil or equivalent per day.

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Rare pygmy elephants 'poisoned'

29 January 2013 Last updated at 03:08 ET

Ten endangered pygmy elephants have been found dead in a reserve in Malaysia, with officials saying they may have been poisoned.

The animals, which had all suffered internal bleeding, were found near each other over the space of three weeks.

In one instance, a three-month-old calf was found alongside the body of its mother, apparently trying to wake her.

Sabah Environmental Minister Masidi Manjun said it was "a sad day for conservation and Sabah".

Sen Nathan, head veterinarian at the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve in Malaysia's Sabah state on the island of Borneo, said the elephants were all thought to be part of the same family group, and were aged between four and 20.

The bodies of four were found last week but then officials found another four animals dead or dying two days later.

Laurentius Ambu, Sabah's wildlife department director, said two "highly decomposed elephant carcasses" had been found earlier in the year.

"We believe that all the deaths of these elephants are related," he said.

The animals still had their tusks, indicating that they had not been killed by poachers, and none had gunshot wounds.

Samples have been sent for testing, but Mr Nathan said the damage evident in the elephants' digestive systems had led officials to "highly suspect" acute poisoning. Tests will confirm whether they could have been deliberately poisoned.

"It was actually a very sad sight to see all those dead elephants, especially one of the dead females who had a very young calf of about three months old. The calf was trying to wake the dead mother up," he said.

The WWF estimates that there are fewer than 1,500 Borneo pygmy elephants in the wild, most of them in Sabah state.

They are the smallest elephant subspecies, with babyish faces, long tails and straight tusks. They are threatened by logging, hunting and increasing contact with humans.

Mr Masidi said the death of "these majestic and severely endangered Bornean elephants is a great loss to the state".

"If indeed these poor elephants were maliciously poisoned, I would personally make sure that the culprits would be brought to justice and pay for their crime," he said.

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Deadly attack at Somali compound

29 January 2013 Last updated at 04:15 ET

At least two people have died in a suicide attack at a compound housing the offices of Somalia's president and prime minister, officials say.

Dozens were also wounded when the bomber blew himself at a checkpoint near the office of Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon in the capital Mogadishu.

The prime minister and president are said to be unharmed.

Both men took office following elections last September deemed to be the first fair such vote for 42 years.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, an academic and civic activist, beat the incumbent in a run-off vote by MPs to become president.

He then appointed his close associate, former businessman Abdi Farah Shirdon as prime minister.

Continued threat

The attacker detonated his explosives when he was questioned at a checkpoint into the Villa Somalia, a sprawling compound that houses both the president's and prime minister's offices, officials said.

The target was Mr Shirdon's office, they said.

One report on Somali radio said that the dead included one of Mr Shirdon's bodyguards and the suicide bomber. Other reports have put the death toll as high as six.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The new government is trying to rebuild the country after 20 years of conflict.

One of its biggest challenges is the al-Qaeda-aligned Islamist group, al-Shabab, which still controls large areas of rural southern and central Somalia.

The BBC's Abdullahi Abdi, reporting from Kenya, says that suicide attacks have decreased in Mogadishu since the withdrawal of al-Shabab from the city in August 2011.

But the latest attack shows that the Islamist militants still pose a threat to the city's security, he adds.

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Troops secure hold on Timbuktu

29 January 2013 Last updated at 05:06 ET

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The BBC's Thomas Fessy: "French troops are making sure no militants are hiding in the population"

French-led troops are consolidating their position in the historic Malian city of Timbuktu after seizing it from Islamist extremists.

French military commanders say soldiers are patrolling the streets looking to flush out any remaining militants.

The troops are then expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold, Kidal.

An international donors' conference has opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, hoping to fund a budget for the campaign set at $950m (£605m).

Also on Tuesday, a conference in Brussels is due to decide on troops for an EU military training mission for Mali. The UK has already said it will contribute to the mission.

'No shots fired'

Life appeared to be returning closer to normal in Timbuktu on Tuesday, with French and Malian troops in control of the streets, although electricity and phone lines were still cut.

On Monday, about 1,000 French soldiers - including paratroopers - and 200 Malian troops had seized Timbuktu airport and entered the city.

Col Frederic Gout, head of French helicopter operations at Timbuktu, told Agence France-Presse: "There were no shots fired, no blood spilt. Not even passive resistance with traps."

Continue reading the main story

Residents were still cheering French and Malian troops when we entered the city late in the afternoon.

Both national flags can be seen all over town. The feeling that people are coming back to life after nearly a year of occupation by extremist militants is simply incredible.

There are still some reminders of the Islamist rule with banners declaring Sharia here and there.

But we have also seen people looting houses allegedly held by al-Qaeda militants. A young man was walking with a huge wooden door on his back while others fought for iron sheets and all sorts of lamps and cables.

A French commander said troops were still sweeping the town for mines, booby traps and more importantly for potential militants hiding within the population.

There is no electricity here nor phone network. The two main hotels, which have been closed for so long, have reopened to accommodate incoming journalists. Staff are delighted to welcome us and are moving heaven and earth to resume normal service.

Welcoming the French and Malian force, residents said that the Islamists had left several days earlier, following French air strikes on their bases.

As they withdrew into the desert, the Islamist fighters set fire to several buildings including a library containing priceless manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th Century.

The Ahmed Baba institute held about 30,000 manuscripts and includes documents about centuries of life in the city, Mali and neighbouring countries.

Ali Baba, a worker at the institute, told Sky News that more than 3,000 manuscripts had been destroyed.

The recovery of Timbuktu followed the swift capture by French and Malian forces of Gao on Saturday, another major northern population centre occupied by militant groups.

Islamists took advantage of a coup last year to seize the vast north of Mali and impose strict Sharia law on its inhabitants.

France - the former colonial power in Mali - launched a military operation this month after militants looked to be threatening the south.

Meanwhile, reports from Kidal - home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali - suggest that the group may have already lost control there.

The secular Tuareg rebel group MNLA said it had taken charge.

On Tuesday, the MNLA said on its website that it had taken control of six other towns, including Lere.

It said it was prepared to work with the French "to eradicate terrorist groups" in the north but that it would not allow the return of the Malian army, which it accused of "crimes against the civilian population".

In Paris, French President Francois Hollande said that African forces would now be in the forefront of securing the north.

"We know that this is the most difficult part because the terrorists are hidden there and can still carry out extremely dangerous operations, for neighbouring countries and Mali," he said.

France has 2,900 soldiers in Mali, with almost 8,000 African troops expected to take over, although the deployment has been slow.

The BBC's Mark Doyle, in Bandiagara, some 320km (200 miles) south of Timbuktu, says there is still great fear among the people outside of the main population centres.

No-one is sure where the Islamists have gone, he says, and there are concerns that another phase of the war could now begin - one of hit-and-run attacks or suicide bombings.

'Solidarity'

At the opening of the donor conference in Addis Ababa, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said the budget for the multinational force's operation would be $950m - more than double the African Union's initial estimate.

The AU pledged $50m at its summit at the same venue on Monday, and it was hoped the UN and some of the 60 to 70 donors invited to the conference would increase the funding.

In a list of donations carried on the AU's Twitter account on Tuesday, Japan had pledged $120m, the US $96m and Germany $20m.

India and China pledged $1m each, the AU said.

AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told delegates that they had gathered "to express solidarity with the Republic of Mali and its people".

She said: "We all know the gravity of the crisis. It is a situation that requires a swift and effective international response, for it threatens Mali, the region, the continent and even beyond."

Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn said money would also be needed to fund post-conflict projects.

The BBC's James Copnall, in the Ethiopian capital, says there is a general recognition that Mali will not become peaceful again without a democratic transformation, but that for the moment the focus is firmly on finding the money needed by the military force.

On Monday, the International Monetary Fund agreed an $18.4m emergency loan to Mali.

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Army warns of Egypt's 'collapse'

29 January 2013 Last updated at 06:12 ET

Egypt's army chief has warned that the current political crisis "could lead to a collapse of the state".

General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, in comments posted on his Facebook page, said such a collapse could "threaten future generations".

He made his statement following a large military deployment in three cities along the Suez Canal where a state of emergency has been declared.

More than 50 people have died in days of protests and violence.

Overnight, thousands of people in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where some of the worst violence has been - ignored the curfew and temporary state of emergency to take to the streets.

Gen Sisi's lengthy statement appears to be a veiled threat to protesters and opposition forces as well as an appeal for calm and an attempt to reassure Egyptians about the role of the military, the BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says.

Veiled threat

"The continuing conflict between political forces and their differences concerning the management of the country could lead to a collapse of the state and threaten future generations," Mr Sisi, who is also Egypt's defence minister, said.

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• 490,000 active soldiers
• Military governed between February 2011 until June 2012
• Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (pictured above) is head of army and minister of defence
• Military's budget not made public or scrutinised by parliament. It is overseen by National Defence Committee made up of military chiefs and cabinet members
• US military aid to Egypt 1.3bn
• According to some estimates army controls 40% of economy

He said the economic, political and social challenges facing Egypt represented "a real threat to the security of Egypt and the cohesiveness of the Egyptian state".

He said the military deployment along the Suez Canal was meant only to protect the key shipping route, one of Egypt's main sources of foreign revenue, and described the army as "a pillar of the state's foundations".

His comments were made in an address to army cadets which were subsequently posted on the military's official Facebook page.

Mr Sisi was appointed by President Mohammed Morsi after the army handed over power to him following his election in June.

He replaced Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi who had been former President Hosni Mubarak's long-time defence minister and was in charge of the army following his fall from power in February 2011.

Thousands continued to protest after dark in the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez on Monday, in spite of the curfew and temporary state of emergency imposed in an attempt to end the unrest.

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President Morsi announced the curfews on Sunday evening

They have been angered by death sentences handed down by a Port Said court on 21 local football fans involved in deadly riots at a football match in the city almost a year ago.

Protesters elsewhere have been marching in opposition to Mr Morsi's authority in the wake of the Egyptian revolution's second anniversary.

Mohammed Morsi, of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt's first freely-elected president in last year's election.

Despite promising to form a government "for all Egyptians", he has been accused by the opposition of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that does not adequately protect freedom of expression or religion.

His recent call for national dialogue has been rejected by his political opponents.

He had urged opposition leaders to attend a meeting on Sunday evening in an effort to calm the situation, but only Islamists already aligned with the president turned up.

Meanwhile, protesters in cities along the Suez Canal accuse the authorities of making scapegoats of the football fans now facing death sentences.

They say officials for security at the game between Port Said club al-Masry and Cairo club al-Ahly nearly a year ago should have been held accountable for the fact that 74 people died in violence following the match.

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Brazil mourns nightclub fire dead

28 January 2013 Last updated at 02:21 ET

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The BBC's Gary Duffy says there is a sense of national shock in Brazil

Brazil has declared three days of national mourning for 231 people killed in a nightclub fire in the southern city of Santa Maria.

The fire reportedly started after a member of a band playing at the Kiss nightclub lit a flare on stage.

Authorities say most of the victims were students who died of smoke inhalation. The first funerals are expected on Monday morning.

It is the deadliest fire in Brazil in five decades.

The BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Sao Paulo that the national sense of loss is profound.

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Eyewitness - Fernanda Bona

"I am the official photographer at the club and I was taking photos of people. I was watching a band on stage and the fireworks.

I was in the VIP area and I could see the whole club. The area was close to the exit. I saw the fire going through the club.

People were screaming 'fire, fire' and to run. People were scared and were running everywhere.

I ran as quickly as I could to the door of the street. But it was hard to get out because there were so many people.

It took a few minutes for me to get out of the club. I know people who are in hospital or who are missing. A lot of people died from not so much the fire but the toxic smoke."

Brazil postponed a ceremony due on Monday in the capital, Brasilia, to mark 500 days to the 2014 football World Cup. In Santa Maria, 30 days of mourning were declared.

President Dilma Rousseff, who cut short a visit to Chile, has been visiting survivors at the city's Caridade hospital along with government ministers.

"It is a tragedy for all of us," she said.

Authorities have released the names of the victims, after revising down the death toll from 245.

More than 100 people were being treated in hospital, mostly for smoke inhalation.

Officials will now investigate reports that a flare was lit on stage, igniting foam insulation material on the ceiling and releasing toxic smoke.

They will also look at claims that many of those who died were unable to escape as only one emergency exit was available.

'Dark, heavy smoke'

The fire broke out as students from the city's federal university (UFSM) were holding a freshers' ball, the Diario de Santa Maria, a local newspaper, reported.

A local journalist, Marcelo Gonzatto, told the BBC that the flare had "started a huge and fast fire that grew quickly and made a very dark and heavy smoke."

Continue reading the main story

Deadly nightclub fires

• 2009: Santika Club, Bangkok, Thailand - sparked by fireworks; 66 killed
• 2009: Lame Horse Club, Perm, Russia - sparked by fireworks; 150 killed
• 2004: Cromagnon Republic Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina - flare starts fire which kills 194
• 2003: The Station, Rhode Island, US - sparked by fireworks; 100 killed
• 2000: Luoyang dance hall fire, China - fire blamed on welders kills 309
• 1996: Ozone Disco Club, Quezon City, Philippines - 160 killed
• 1990: Happy Land, New York, US - arson kills 89 at unlicensed club
• 1977: Beverly Hills Supper Club, Southgate, Kentucky - 165 killed
• 1970: Club 5-7, Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France - 146 killed;
• 1942: Cocoanut Grove, Boston, US - 492 killed.

"Lots of people couldn't get out and died mainly because of the smoke not the fire," he said.

Witnesses spoke of scenes of panic after the fire started, and a stampede as people tried to escape.

One, Mattheus Bortolotto, told local television: "It was sheer horror. The emergency exits did not work, and then I lost my friend in the confusion. Then a girl died in my arms. I felt her heart stop beating."

A large number of victims were trapped in the club's toilets, they said, possibly after mistaking them for an exit.

Survivors and police inspector Marcelo Arigony said security guards briefly tried to block people from leaving the club, the Associated Press news agency reported. Bars in Brazil commonly make customers pay their whole tab at the end of an evening before they are allowed to leave.

One of the owners of the club is reported to have confirmed that they were in the process of renewing its license to operate, and that its fire safety certificate had expired last year.

He is said to have received threats on the internet - in addition to surviving members of the band that was performing on stage when the blaze started.

Its guitarist, Rodrigo Martins, told local radio: "It might have happened because of the Sputnik, the machine we use to create a luminous effect with sparks.

"It's harmless; we never had any trouble with it. When the fire started, a guard passed us a fire extinguisher. The singer tried to use it but it wasn't working."

He said the band's accordion player had died in the fire.

Brazilian broadcaster Globo said most of the victims were aged between 16 and 20.

A temporary morgue was set up in a local gym as the city's main morgue was unable to cope.

Family members came to identify the dead, led in one by one to see the bodies, Diario de Santa Maria reported.

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Egypt's Morsi calls crisis talks

28 January 2013 Last updated at 05:39 ET

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has urged leading opposition figures to attend a "national dialogue" meeting following four days of deadly violence.

Dozens of people have died since a court sentenced 21 people to death over football riots. Anger over Mr Morsi's rule has fuelled unrest elsewhere.

Mr Morsi declared a state of emergency in Port Said, Suez and Ismalia, and a 21:00 to 06:00 curfew from Monday.

The opposition has yet to announce whether it will attend the talks.

It says the president must address its demands over the recently adopted constitution.

Violence continued on Monday morning, with one man killed by gunfire near Cairo's Tahrir Square.

'Waste of time'

Mr Morsi has called the meeting for 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

The BBC's Yolande Knell, in Cairo, says Mr Morsi is hoping that political dialogue can restore national unity amid growing concern about the scale of the latest unrest.

She says he has invited representatives from 11 political forces - Islamists, liberals and leftists - to come to the presidential palace for talks but so far it is unclear who will accept his invitation.

Egypt's main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, said it would meet on Monday to discuss the initiative.

Continue reading the main story

Port Said 2012 football deaths

• 74 people killed in Port Said stadium on 2 February 2012
• Clashes broke out between rival fans of clubs al-Masry and al-Ahly
• Fans flooded on to pitch attacking Ahly players and fans as match ended
• Most died of concussion, cuts and suffocation
• The largest death toll in Egypt's football history

Hussein Gohar, of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, which is part of the Front, told Agence France-Presse news agency the coalition would meet "in the early afternoon to determine its position".

Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud earlier told Reuters news agency: "[Mr Morsi's] call to implement emergency law was a right move given what is going on, namely thuggery and criminal actions."

However, he said that Mr Morsi was "missing the real problem on the ground, which is his own polices".

Mr Dawoud said the invitation to talks was meaningless unless the opposition's demands for amendments to the constitution were met.

The opposition accuses Mr Morsi of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that does not protect adequately freedom of expression or religion.

The constitution was approved in a national referendum in December.

Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy said he would not attend Monday's meeting "unless the bloodshed stops and the people's demands are met".

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President Morsi's speech was "very tough", says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool

On his Twitter account, leading Front politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote: "Unless the president takes responsibility for the bloody events and pledges to form a government of national salvation and a balanced committee to amend the constitution, any dialogue will be a waste of time."

Another anti-Morsi rally is scheduled for Cairo for Monday afternoon.

Mr Morsi announced the state of emergency in the three cities in a national televised address on Sunday evening.

He said he might take further steps "for the sake of Egypt" as it was his "duty" as president.

"I have said I am against any emergency measures but I have said that if I must stop bloodshed and protect the people, then I will act," the president said.

"If I must, I will do much more for the sake of Egypt. This is my duty and I will not hesitate."

Cairo protests

Violence continued overnight, with anti-Morsi protesters in Ismalia clashing with police, who responded with tear gas.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We will not allow our children to be scapegoats for Morsi"

End Quote Amr Mubarak Port Said resident

About 30 people were killed in unrest in Port Said on Saturday, with a further three dying at a mass funeral on Sunday.

The protests had begun in Port Said after a court sentenced 21 local people to death over riots that killed 74 people after a football game last February.

The violence began when fans of Port Said side al-Masry attacked visiting supporters from Cairo club al-Ahly.

Fans flooded on to the pitch, attacking Ahly players and fans as the match ended.

Most of the victims died of concussion, cuts and suffocation.

Early on Monday, protesters and riot police also clashed for a fifth consecutive day in Cairo, where the anger focuses more heavily on the constitution and on what Mr Morsi's opponents say is a betrayal of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

Protests last week marking the second anniversary of the uprising left five people dead in Suez.

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Troops 'take Timbuktu airport'

28 January 2013 Last updated at 06:05 ET

French-led troops in Mali have taken control of the airport in the key city of Timbuktu, officials say.

The troops encountered no resistance as they headed towards the city, however the city's mayor reports that a building housing thousands of ancient manuscripts has been set on fire.

French and Malian troops have been pushing north in their offensive against Islamist rebels.

On Saturday, they seized Gao, the most populous city in northern Mali.

Thousands of people in Gao poured out into the streets to celebrate the arrival of the troops.

Chadian forces have been deployed to the city to help Malian troops hold on to it.

Islamists seized the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month.

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Analysis

French troops seem to have been very successful in retaking the major towns that had been occupied by Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda for months.

Gao was reconquered over the weekend and Timbuktu should be falling within hours. Kidal will be next.

But this rapid advance has mainly been made possible by the fact that most rebel fighters had left their positions in the few days preceding the French-led operations.

Islamist combatants melted away with all their vehicles and weapons into desert hideouts. Hunting them down in this vast region they know better than any army will be much harder.

The French are hoping for a quick deployment of thousands more African forces but without the experience of the terrain and the equipment, these troops will achieve nothing.

This second phase is likely to last months and the French may well be on the frontline longer than they have said in public.

Most militants appear to have fled into desert hideouts, says the BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Bamako.

The advance comes as African Union (AU) leaders are meeting to discuss sending more troops to Mali.

'Killed for celebrating'

"We control the airport at Timbuktu," a senior Malian army officer told AFP. "We did not encounter any resistance."

French army spokesman Col Thierry Burkhard told the BBC that "substantial airpower" had been used to support about 1,000 French and 2,00 Malian forces in their offensive against the militants in Timbuktu.

"Overnight, the French have retaken access points to Timbuktu," he said.

"The terrorist forces have refused all contact with us. We think they have either gone back into Timbuktu to blend in with the local population or they have fled the city into the north of the country."

Our correspondent says ground forces units and paratroopers have been despatched around Timbuktu and it is believed that these troops are cautiously trying to find a way into the city.

Timbuktu Mayor Halle Ousmane Cisse, currently in Bamako, told the BBC that he had very credible accounts of Islamist militants burning ancient manuscripts that have been kept in the desert city for centuries.

He said that the homes of several civil servants had been burnt down during the last week and a young man killed for celebrating the approach of the French-led forces.

Once Timbuktu is secured, the French-led troops are expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold, Kidal, near the border with Algeria.

Kidal - home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali - was bombed overnight by French forces, Malian officials say.

Continue reading the main story

Treasures of Timbuktu

• Timbuktu was a centre of Islamic learning from the 13th to the 17th Centuries
• 700,000 manuscripts survive in public libraries and private collections
• Books on religion, law, literature and science
• Added to Unesco world heritage list in 1988 for its three mosques and 16 cemeteries and mausoleums
• They played a major role in spreading Islam in West Africa; the oldest dates from 1329
• Islamists destroyed mausoleums after seizing the city

Once Kidal is taken, the first phase of the French operation will be over, our correspondent says.

The second phase will be to track down the militants to their desert hideouts, which could prove a much more difficult task, he adds.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that the militants had adopted a "strategy of evasion and some of them could return in the north".

Col Burkhard told the BBC that Malian and other African troops - not French forces - would be in charge of holding on to cities after they had been recaptured from militant forces.

He said a contingent of African troops was expected to make their way soon to Mali from Niger's capital, Niamey.

Some troops from Chad have already entered Gao.

French officials said they now had 2,900 troops in Mali, backed by 2,700 African forces in Mali and neighbouring Chad.

The African contingent is expected to be bolstered to 7,900, including 2,200 troops promised by Chad, AP news agency quotes a Nigerian military official, Col Shehu Usman Abdulkadir, as saying.

At an AU meeting in Ethiopia on Sunday, which is continuing on Monday, outgoing AU chairman and Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi criticised the slow response of African states to the Malian conflict.

France's intervention was something "we should have done a long time ago to defend a member country", he said.

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Delhi rape accused 'is a minor'

28 January 2013 Last updated at 06:13 ET

One of the suspects in last month's fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student in the Indian capital, Delhi, is a minor, a court has ruled.

The Juvenile Justice Board said it accepted the accused's date of birth as 4 June 1995, making him 17 years old. He will be tried in a juvenile court.

Five other accused are on trial for the crime at a specially convened fast-track court and face the death penalty.

The case has shocked India and sparked a debate about its treatment of women.

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N Korea vows 'important' measures

26 January 2013 Last updated at 23:29 ET

North Korea has warned of "substantial and high-profile important state measures", days after announcing plans for a third nuclear test.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the statement during a meeting with top security officials, state media said.

The reports did not give details of what the measures might entail.

North Korea has issued a series of warnings since the UN tightened sanctions against the country this week over a recent rocket test.

On Thursday, the North said it would proceed with a "high-level" nuclear test in a move aimed at the US, its "arch-enemy".

A day later, it promised "physical counter-measures" against South Korea if it participated in the UN sanctions regime.

Continue reading the main story

• Two underground nuclear tests have been carried out by North Korea, in 2006 and 2009
• They were believed to have used plutonium, but experts believe the planned test could use highly-enriched uranium as the fissile material
• Analysts say a new test tunnel has been prepared in Punggye-ri, the site of the previous tests
• North Korea is thought to have enough nuclear material for a small number of bombs, but not the technology to make a nuclear warhead
• Multiple rounds of multi-national talks have failed to convince Pyongyang give up nuclear ambitions

North Korean state media reported on Sunday that Mr Kim had "advanced specific tasks to the officials concerned".

The latest warning came after Rodong Sinmun, a state newspaper, carried an essay on Saturday saying that a nuclear test was "the demand of the people".

"It is the people's demand that we should do something, not just a nuclear test, but something even greater. The UN Security Council has left us no room for choice."

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests in the past, in 2006 and 2009. It has given no time-frame for its third test.

The UN resolution, passed on Tuesday, was proposed by the US and backed by China, North Korea's closest ally and biggest trading partner.

It was a response to a rocket launch in December that the US, Japan and South Korea say was a test of banned long-range missile technology.

The three-stage rocket put a satellite into space in what was Pyongyang's first successful test of such technology.

The UN resolution pledged "significant action" if North Korea carried out a third nuclear test.

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Queensland braces for flooding

27 January 2013 Last updated at 00:50 ET

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BBC's Nick Bryant: "They're saying now in Bundaberg they're going to get worse flooding than they had two years ago"

The Australian state of Queensland is on alert for flooding in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated as heavy rain continued to fall on Sunday, with the towns of Gladstone and Bundaberg preparing for the possibility of major floods.

The bad weather is forecast to move towards the state capital, Brisbane, and the state of New South Wales.

Two years ago, flooding in Queensland left 35 people dead.

On Sunday, Australian media reported that authorities had pulled the body of an elderly man from the water at Burnett Heads, north-east of Bundaberg.

Two other people were reported missing, including a man who disappeared after trying to cross a creek in Gympie, north of Brisbane.

Six tornadoes have already hit the Bundaberg region, tearing off roofs and injuring 17 people.

The BBC's Nick Bryant reports from Sydney that the river in Bundaberg is already above the flood levels witnessed in 2010, and meteorologists fear it could rise another metre, reaching levels not seen in 70 years.

The council is expecting some 300 homes and businesses to be inundated.

In Gladstone, to the north, 400 properties have already been evacuated.

Sandbags are also being handed out in the state capital Brisbane, where bay areas are especially vulnerable from tidal surges.

Severe weather warnings are in place from central Queensland to the New South Wales border.

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French-led troops target Timbuktu

27 January 2013 Last updated at 05:48 ET

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The BBC's Mark Doyle visits the remains of the mayor's house in Konna after fighting in the town

French-led forces in Mali are advancing on the key northern city of Timbuktu, as they press on with their offensive against Islamist rebels.

On Saturday Malian and French forces seized Gao, another key northern city.

The advance comes as African Union leaders are meeting to discuss sending more troops to Mali.

Islamists seized the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month.

Late on Saturday French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Malian and French troops would arrive "near Timbuktu soon".

Overnight they secured Gao - northern Mali's most populous city- after special forces captured the airport and a strategic bridge to the south.

Most militants appear to have fled into desert hide-outs and the hunt for them may prove more difficult once all major towns are secure, says the BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Bamako.

Continue reading the main story

• Timbuktu was a centre of Islamic learning from the 13th to the 17th Centuries
• 700,000 manuscripts survive in public libraries and private collections
• Books on religion, law, literature and science
• Added to Unesco world heritage list in 1988 for its three mosques and 16 cemeteries and mausoleums
• They played a major role in spreading Islam in West Africa; the oldest dates from 1329
• Islamists destroyed mausoleums after seizing the city

Troops from Niger and Chad are to assist Malian forces in further securing the town.

Also overnight, French forces bombed Islamist position in Kidal, Malian officials say.

An army source told AFP news agency that the home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali, had been destroyed in a raid.

US refuelling

African Union leaders are holding a summit in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, as members move to deploy troops to help the French-led operation there.

Outgoing AU chairman Boni Yayi on Sunday hailed France for its military intervention, saying it was something "we should have done a long time ago to defend a member country".

In a statement on Saturday, the AU said it wanted to make "an African Standby Force" operational in Mali soon.

African states have pledged nearly 5,700 troops to support French and Malian forces in their campaign. Only a small part of the African force has so far deployed.

Meanwhile, the US said it would provide mid-air refuelling for French warplanes. The Pentagon said it had also discussed plans for the US to transport troops to Mali from countries including Chad and Togo.

Some 3,700 French troops are engaged in Operation Serval, 2,500 of them on Malian soil.

France intervened in its former colony after Islamist launched a push to the south earlier this month. Paris said the whole of Africa, and even Europe, was under threat if the Islamist offensive succeeded.

As French and Malian troops moved into Gao, Malian officials spoke of scenes of joy, but also some looting.

Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said ahead of the summit in Addis Ababa: "This terrorist group intends to spread its criminal purpose over the whole of Mali, and eventually target other countries."

The AU has recommended civilian observers monitor the human rights situation in the areas which have come back under the control of the Malian government.

Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of committing serious abuses.

Islamist groups and secular Tuareg rebels took advantage of chaos following a military coup to seize northern Mali in April 2012. But the Islamists soon took control of the region's major towns, sidelining the Tuaregs.

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'Dozens die' in south Brazil fire

27 January 2013 Last updated at 06:16 ET

At least 90 people have died after a fire swept through a nightclub in southern Brazil, local media say.

They say the fire began when a performing band started a fireworks display at the Kiss nightclub in the town of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

Thick smoke engulfed the venue after acoustic insulation caught fire, officials say. Many victims reportedly died after inhaling toxic fumes.

Brazil's Globo TV says bodies are being removed from the scene.

"Fire services are looking for other victims. We can't give an exact number of victims. People started panicking and ended up treading on each other," fire chief Guido de Melo told local media.

A reporter at the scene told local radio that the nightclub had a capacity for up to 2,000 people and was believed to be full on a Saturday night.

The night club allegedly had only one exit, and fire services knocked through a wall to help those trapped inside escape.

The death toll could be as high as 130, the reporter said.

Hundreds of people have been taken to hospital.

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Iraq Sunnis threaten army attacks

25 January 2013 Last updated at 21:08 ET By Ahmed Maher BBC News, Baghdad

Sunni leaders in Anbar have threatened to launch attacks against the army in the western Iraqi province after five protesters were shot dead in Fallujah.

The anti-government demonstrators were killed and 60 others injured in clashes with soldiers after Friday prayers.

Tribal leaders say they have given the government one week to arrest those soldiers responsible for opening fire on the crowd.

They say they will then attack army units and posts across the province.

Friday's protest was the first such confrontation with the army since mass protests against the Shia-led government began five weeks ago in Baghdad and western Iraq.

The protesters accuse the government of discrimination against Sunni Arabs, saying they are treated as second-class citizens, and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia Arab.

'Jihad'

Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, who chairs the Sahwa or Awakening Council in Anbar - a group which has proved vital in fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent years - said the tribal leaders had given the central government a week to bring the soldiers responsible for Friday's deaths "to justice" before Sunni fighters started "targeting the army".

"If the government has not heeded our demand, we will launch jihad against army units and posts in Anbar," warned Mr Risha, who was reading a statement from a podium in Fallujah's main square - the sight of a sit-in protest.

"There is no excuse whatsoever to shoot at demonstrators. And we will target army posts in all cities and towns across the province if the government ignores our demand," he told the BBC.

Sheikh Abu Risha said the soldiers must stand trial in Anbar, because the judiciary in the capital, Baghdad, was over-politicised.

The demonstration in Fallujah was one of several held in the mainly Sunni province on Friday.

Friday's violence in Fallujah broke out after after army units in the west of the city stropped protesters from joining up with the main demonstration in the city centre.

The protesters retaliated by throwing bottles of water and stones at the troops, who then opened fire.

It was not immediately clear whether the soldiers had fired directly into the crowd or into the air.

The army said the protesters were trying to cut off an international road linking Iraq with neighbouring Jordan and Syria.

Hours after Friday's shootings, police told the BBC that gunmen had attacked an army checkpoint in the district of al-Setcher, in northern Fallujah.

The Associated Press cited a police official as saying two soldiers were killed.

'Hidden agendas'

The anti-government protests began in mid-December shortly after the arrest of several bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, the most high-profile Sunni Arab in the cabinet.

But the campaign against Mr Maliki has since broadened.

Sunnis believe they are disadvantaged when trying to find work, that the laws are unequally applied and that the government is in the sway of Shia Iran.

Demonstrators say anti-terrorism laws are being used as an excuse to detain members of the Sunni community.

Mr Maliki has urged both the security forces and demonstrators to show restraint, warning that Iraq may be pushed towards sectarian conflict.

"The government has already started implementing some of the [protesters'] demands, like the release of hundreds of prisoners," government spokesman Ali al-Mousawi told the BBC.

"The prime minister suggested dissolving parliament and holding early elections to defuse the crisis. But unfortunately there are some protesters who have hidden political and sectarian agendas."

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Deadly prison riot in Venezuela

26 January 2013 Last updated at 02:23 ET

More than 50 people have been killed in a prison riot in western Venezuela, hospital staff say.

The riot was triggered when local media broadcast news that soldiers had been sent to Uribana prison in Barquisimeto to search for weapons, Prisons Minister Iris Varela said.

Hospital director Ruy Medina told AFP news agency that some 90 people were injured, mostly from gunshot wounds.

The dead are thought to include inmates, guards and prison workers.

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BBC's Sarah Grainger: "We often have prison riots here but more than 50 people is an extreme situation"

The director of Barquisimeto hospital, Ruy Medina, put the death toll at 54, Venezuela's Clarin newspaper reported.

Venezuelan Human rights activist Carlos Nieto Palma told BBC Mundo: "What should have been a normal procedure in any prison ended in a clash between National Guard [soldiers] and inmates."

He added that Uribana prison was among the most dangerous in the country.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles blamed the violence on "incompetent and irresponsible government".

Venezuela's prisons are blighted by overcrowding and the proliferation of weapons and drugs.

The BBC's Sarah Grainger in Caracas says it appears that prisoners who had heard about the search in advance from news reports were waiting for the National Guard when they arrived.

It is thought that the search was aimed at disarming gangs within the prison and had been planned for some time, she reports.

There has been no official account of the incident or confirmation of the number of casualties, but the government says it will carry out a full investigation.

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Mali troops 'take northern town'

26 January 2013 Last updated at 02:38 ET

Malian and French troops have retaken the town of Hombori, officials say, as they continue their campaign to regain control of northern Mali from rebels.

Hombori lies about 160km (100 miles) from the Islamist stronghold of Gao.

Earlier, French warplanes reportedly bombed rebel positions, fuel stores and ammunition dumps near Gao.

But there were also reports that rebels had blown up a bridge linking the east of the country with Niger, from where African troops plan to open a front.

The bridge is situated in the town of Tassiga, which lies on the quickest route from Niger to Gao, and spans a canyon.

However, Ibrahim Ag Idbaltanate, a former deputy in Mali's parliament, said the bridge was not the only way to cross the canyon.

Continue reading the main story

Mark Doyle BBC News, Sevare

---

We drove through the town of Sevare, a place I'd only seen on maps and which I had described in my reports as "strategically important".

At first, I thought guiltily that I had been exaggerating. Severe looked like any other African town - markets, metalworkers on the roadside, mobile phone shops everywhere.

Then the sound of a military helicopter shattered the normality.

It flew overhead and crossed the road in front of me flying so low it almost skimmed the treetops.

"You can make a detour of three to six miles (5-10km) and find another way to continue on the Niger-Gao road," he said, quoted by AP news agency.

Forces from Niger and Chad had been expected to use the road to join the advance against the rebels.

Several African countries have pledged military aid to help the Malian government win back control of the north.

On Friday the African Union asked the UN Security Council to authorise immediate logistical help to allow the 6,000-strong force to deploy quickly.

It also recommended civilian observers to monitor the human rights situation in the areas which have come back under the control of the Malian government. Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of committing serious abuses.

International build-up

Islamists seized a vast area of northern Mali last year and have imposed strict Sharia, or Islamic law, on its inhabitants. France intervened militarily on 11 January to stop them advancing further south.

The UN refugee agency says more than 7,000 civilians have fled to neighbouring countries since 10 January to escape the fighting.

As fighting continued on Friday, French TV carried grainy images of air strikes which the military said had been carried out near the city of Gao.

Malian and Nigerien security sources also reported the strikes, saying two Islamist bases with fuel stocks and weapon dumps near Gao had been destroyed.

French and Malian troops also staged joint patrols for the first time, in the town of Douentza west of Gao, the AFP news agency said, quoting Malian sources.

The BBC's Mark Doyle in Mali says a big international troop build-up is continuing ahead of a probable French-led air and ground offensive on Gao and other desert cities.

There are currently about 2,000 French troops in Mali.

An armed column of Chadian soldiers is making its way to Mali overland and more than 1,000 Nigerian soldiers are expected there too.

The UK defence ministry said on Friday it was deploying its Sentinel R1 spy plane to support French troops in Mali.

The hi-tech plane - which has radar equipment that can scan thousands of square miles in minutes - flew missions over Libya in 2011 as rebels fought to oust Col Gaddafi.

In Egypt, President Mohammed Morsi unveiled a proposal for a peaceful resolution to the Mali conflict.

The five-point plan includes political negotiations, economic and development initiatives and co-ordinated relief efforts. Mr Morsi has spoken against military intervention in Mali.

Earlier, the US military commander in Africa said the Pentagon had made mistakes when training Malian troops in recent years.

Gen Carter Ham of United States Africa Command (Africom) said its forces had failed to teach "values, ethics and a military ethos".

He was speaking after reports of abuses by Mali government troops taking part in the counter-offensive.

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Death sentences for Egypt fans

26 January 2013 Last updated at 06:02 ET

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Supporters of the victims celebrated the verdict in Cairo

An Egyptian court has sentenced 21 people to death over football riots that killed 74 last year, with the verdict sparking fresh deadly violence.

The riots - Egypt's worst-ever football disaster - began after a top-league game at Port Said stadium.

The ruling caused anger in Port Said, where eight people died as supporters of the defendants clashed with police.

The new violence comes after a day of unrest on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday to voice their opposition to Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, accusing him of betraying the revolution.

At least seven people were killed and more than 450 wounded in unrest across Egypt.

Last year's football riots led to the suspension of the league.

Continue reading the main story

• 74 people killed in Port Said stadium on 2 February 2012
• Clashes broke out between rival fans of clubs al-Masry and al-Ahly
• Fans flooded on to pitch attacking Ahly players and fans as match ended
• Most died of concussion, cuts and suffocation
• The largest death toll in Egypt's football history

They began minutes after the game in Port Said. Fans of local side al-Masry invaded the pitch, hurling stones and fireworks at visiting supporters from Cairo club al-Ahly.

The violence in Port Said sparked riots in Cairo during which a further 16 people died.

A section of al-Ahly supporters, known as the "ultras", played a prominent role in the protests against ex-President Mubarak.

Some accused supporters of the toppled leader of instigating the Port Said violence. They also accused them of doing little to prevent it.

All 21 defendants sentenced to death on Saturday were al-Masry fans. When the verdicts were announced by a judge in the Cairo court, relatives of victims cheered.

However, the ruling sparked violence in Port Said, Supporters and relatives of those sentenced tried to storm the prison where the defendants are held.

The eight people who died in the clash included two policemen, officials say. Army units were deployed on the city's streets following the violence.

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Families of those give death sentences were seen weeping and fleeing tear gas outside Port Said jail

Seventy-three people, including nine policemen, were tried over the stadium clashes. None are al-Ahly fans.

The judge said he would announce verdicts for the remaining defendants on 9 March.

Economic 'collapse'

Friday saw a big anti-government rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square, with opposition supporters clashing with police.

There was also unrest in 12 out of 27 of Egypt's provinces. At least six of the deaths occurred in Suez.

In Ismailia, protesters set fire to the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. The city's governorate headquarters was later also stormed.

The liberal opposition accuses Mr Morsi of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that does not protect adequately freedom of expression or religion.

The government is also being blamed for a deepening economic crisis.

One of the demonstrators at Cairo's Tahrir Square, Momen Asour, said he had come to demand an end to President Morsi's rule.

"We have not seen anything, Neither freedom, nor social justice, or any solution to unemployment, or any investment," he said. "On the contrary, the economy has collapsed."

President Morsi and his allies have dismissed the claim, saying they have a democratic mandate following recent elections. The constitution, drawn up by an Islamist-dominated body, was approved by referendum last month.

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Egyptians rally to mark uprising

25 January 2013 Last updated at 06:03 ET

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Police used tear gas on protesters overnight

Police have clashed with protesters gathering in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, ahead of the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power.

President Mohammed Morsi's opponents plan a rally, accusing the Islamist leader of betraying the revolution.

Mr Morsi denies the claim, and has called for "peaceful" celebrations.

An appeals court recently overturned Mr Mubarak's life sentence over the deaths of protesters and ordered a retrial.

The 84-year-old former leader remains in detention at a military hospital.

On Thursday evening, police clashed with protesters who tried to remove barriers blocking a road to Tahrir Square.

The clashes continued overnight, as police fired tear gas at demonstrators camping on the square. At least eight people were wounded, officials said.

Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party has not officially called for its own street rallies. It plans to mark the revolution by launching charitable and social initiatives.

'Bread and freedom'

Opposition supporters began converging on Tahrir Square on Friday morning. Some protesters have erected barricades and checkpoints to verify the identities of people passing through.

Demonstrators have also set up an exhibition of photos of those who have been killed in protests over the past two years.

The roads leading from Tahrir Square to several government buildings and embassies have been blocked by concrete walls since last November.

Demonstrators tried to dismantle one of them on Thursday night, but a new wall was built to block entry to the Cabinet building.

Continue reading the main story

• 25 January 2011: Campaign of mass protests against Hosni Mubarak launched
• 11 February 2011: Mubarak steps down as president, handing over to the military
• November 2011-January 2012: Parliamentary elections held; Islamists emerge as winners
• 2 June 2012: Mubarak convicted over killing of protesters and given life sentence
• 17 June 2012: Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi narrowly wins presidential election
• 15 December 2012: Constitution drafted by Islamist-led body approved in referendum
• 13 January 2013: Appeals court orders Mubarak retrial

One of the demonstrators at Tahrir Square, Hanna Abu el-Ghar, told the BBC: "We are protesting against the fact that after two years of the revolution, where we asked for bread, freedom and social justice, none of our dreams have come true."

The liberal opposition accuses Mr Morsi of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that favours Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians.

Ahead of the planned rally Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition figure and former head of the UN atomic agency, said is a statement: "I call on everyone to take part and go out to every place in Egypt to show that the revolution must be completed."

The government is also being blamed for a deepening economic crisis.

The president has dismissed the opposition's claims as unfair, instead calling for a national dialogue.

Mr Morsi and his supporters accuse their opponents of undermining democracy by failing to respect the Islamists' victory in elections a year ago.

In a speech on Thursday marking the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, President Morsi called on Egyptians to celebrate the anniversary "in a civilised, peaceful way that safeguards our nation, our institutions, our lives".

Last month, he described the new constitution as "historic" and also said that boosting Egypt's economy was his priority.

He also admitted that mistakes had been made but insisted he would never make a decision except in the interests of the country.

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US military admits Mali mistakes

25 January 2013 Last updated at 05:41 ET

The commander of US forces in Africa says the Pentagon made mistakes in its training of Malian troops now trying to oust Islamists from the north.

Gen Carter Ham, of US Africom, said American forces had failed to train Malian troops on "values, ethics and a military ethos".

He was speaking after reports of abuses by Mali government troops taking part in the French-led counter-offensive.

Meanwhile, air strikes have been reported near the northern city of Gao.

The militant stronghold came under fire as the military operation entered its third week.

Islamists seized the north of the country last year and have imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia law on its inhabitants.

France intervened militarily on 11 January to stop them advancing further south.

'Military ethos'

However, human rights groups have since accused Malian troops of killing Arabs and ethnic Tuaregs as they advance north.

The claims caused alarm in the West, particularly in the US which has been training troops in Mali and neighbouring countries to tackle the militant threat for several years.

Gen Ham said Malian troops were given plenty of tactical training, but not enough ethics training.

"We were focusing our training almost exclusively on tactical or technical matters," he told a forum at Washington's Howard University.

"We didn't spend probably the requisite time focusing on values, ethics and a military ethos."

The general said not enough was done to convince Malian recruits that "when you put on the uniform of your nation, you accept the responsibility to defend and protect that nation, to abide by the legitimate civilian authority that has been established, to conduct yourselves according to the rule of law".

"We didn't do that to the degree that we needed to," he added

Mali's army staged a coup in March 2012.

In the chaos which followed, Islamist militants and secular rebels extended their control of the whole of the north - an area of the Sahara Desert larger than France - while the army hardly put up any resistance.

Meanwhile, French TV has been carrying grainy images of air strikes which the military said was near the city of Gao.

Malian and Niger security sources also reported the strikes, saying two Islamist bases with fuel stocks and weapons dumps near Gao had been destroyed.

French and Malian troops also staged joint patrols for the first time, in the town of Douentza west of Gao, the French AFP news agency said, quoting Malian sources.

The BBC's Mark Doyle in Mali says a big international troop build-up is continuing ahead of a probable French-led air and ground offensive against Gao and other desert cities.

There are currently about 2,000 French troops in Mali.

An armed column of Chadian soldiers is making its way to Mali overland and more than 1,000 Nigerian soldiers are expected there too.

The UN refugee agency says more than 7,000 civilians have fled to neighbouring countries since 10 January to escape the fighting.

In another development, Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has unveiled a proposal for a peaceful resolution to the Mali conflict.

The five-point plan includes political negotiations, economic and development initiatives and co-ordinated relief efforts. President Morsi has spoken against military intervention in Mali.

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