Golden Dawn head to appear in court

2 October 2013 Last updated at 05:14 ET

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MP Ilias Kassidiaris punched a camera outside court

The head of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikos Mihaloliakos, is to appear in court to answer charges of organising a criminal group.

He was one of six MPs arrested over the weekend amid outrage over the recent murder of an anti-racist musician.

Three of the detained MPs have been freed pending trial while a fourth was remanded in custody.

All four denied the charges against them during a marathon court hearing in Athens.

The fact that three were freed pending trial will raise questions over how watertight the government's case against them actually is, the BBC's Mark Lowen reports from the Greek capital.

In all, 22 people were detained following the 18 September murder of Pavlos Fyssas.

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

Chanting supporters

Mr Mihaloliakos faces charges including murder, assault and money-laundering.

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Watch: Mark Lowen on how Greek newspapers are reporting the trial

According to Greek law, he will set out a preliminary defence argument when he appears before an investigative judge on Wednesday.

The judge will then decide - on the basis of the charges and the defence statement - whether to grant bail or remand Mr Mihaloliakos in custody pending his full trial, which the authorities are keen to conclude swiftly.

MP and party spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris was freed on Wednesday on bail of 50,000 euros (£42,000; $68,000) and banned from leaving the country. Fellow MPs Ilias Panagiotaros and Nikos Michos were freed under travel bans but with no bail set.

A fourth MP, Yannis Lagos, was remanded in custody.

The plea session lasted 18 hours, Reuters news agency reports.

Mr Mihaloliakos's deputy, Christos Pappas, is set to appear in court in the coming days.

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

Any MPs finally convicted would lose their seats in parliament, prompting by-elections and - the government hopes - leading to the destruction of Greece's neo-Nazi party, says the BBC's Mark Lowen, in Athens.

During Tuesday's court appearances, there was a heavy presence of riot police - a reminder that despite falling popularity in the opinion polls, the party still commands significant support, our correspondent says.

Supporters outside court chanted slogans, including "You are heroes!"

Details from witness testimony have been emerging about the way in which the party operated.

Nazi paraphernalia

The testimony speaks of a strict hierarchical structure - or "'Fuehrer principle" as the indictment calls it - as well as assault squads and military-style training, our correspondent says.

Searches of the homes of some MPs have found Nazi paraphernalia as well as unlicensed weapons, ammunition and bundles of cash.

The crackdown has was sparked by outrage at the murder of rapper Pavlos Fyssas, 34, whose stage name was Killah P.

George Roupakias, 45, who said he was a supporter of Golden Dawn, was arrested in connection with the killing.

On Friday, Golden Dawn - which won nearly 7% of the vote in 2012 elections - threatened to pull its 18 MPs out of the 300-strong parliament.

The governing coalition headed by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, which has 155 seats, would then face by-elections.

Speaking on a visit to the US on Monday, Mr Samaras vowed to eradicate the "shame of neo-Nazism".

In recent months, Golden Dawn has been accused of perpetrating attacks on migrants and political opponents.

Golden Dawn officially denies being a neo-Nazi movement, despite its swastika-like insignia.

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ICC orders Kenyan journalist arrest

2 October 2013 Last updated at 06:33 ET

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a Kenyan journalist suspected of offering bribes to prosecution witnesses in the trial of Deputy President William Ruto.

There were reasonable grounds to believe that Walter Osapiri Barasa was "corruptly influencing" or trying to influence witnesses, a judge ruled.

This is the first time the ICC has issued such an arrest warrant.

Mr Barasa, 41, told the BBC he was ready to prove his innocence.

Mr Ruto is on trial for alleged crimes of humanity and his case resumed at The Hague on Wednesday morning.

He denies the charges, which stem from allegations that he orchestrated violence after disputed elections in 2007.

Continue reading the main story

• Then-President Mwai Kibaki declared the winner of December 2007 elections - Raila Odinga cries foul
• Opposition protests lead to clashes with police and degenerate into ethnic violence across the country
• More than 1,000 killed and 600,000 flee homes
• Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was in the Kibaki camp; accused of orchestrating violence against ethnic groups seen as pro-Odinga
• Incumbent Deputy President William Ruto was in the Odinga camp; accused of targeting pro-Kibaki communities
• Power-sharing deal signed in April 2008 after mediation by ex-UN chief Kofi Annan
• Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto form alliance and win March 2013 election
• Mr Ruto's trial started in September; Mr Kenyatta's due in November

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta is due to stand trial on similar charges in November. He, too, denies the allegations.

Mr Barasa was allegedly "acting in furtherance of a criminal scheme devised by a circle of officials within the Kenyan administration", the ICC said in a statement.

The Kenyan government have not yet commented on the allegation.

In court papers, prosecutors said Mr Barasa had offered bribes amounting to $16,200 (£10,000).

Judge Cuno Tarfusser ruled that Mr Barasa should be arrested and tried to ensure that he did not "endanger the investigation or the proceedings, and to prevent him from continuing with the commission of the crime", the ICC said.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda called on Kenya to immediately arrest and transfer Mr Barasa to The Hague.

There was "compelling evidence" that he tried to bribe someone he thought was a witness in Mr Ruto's trial, she said.

Mr Barasa was part of a network trying to "sabotage" the case, Ms Bensouda alleged.

The arrest warrant was issued in August but made public only on Wednesday, partly to act as a warning to others that they could not get away with interfering with witnesses, reports the BBC's Anna Holligan from The Hague.

If found guilty Mr Barasa could face up to five years in jail.

At Mr Ruto's trial, the first witness, an alleged survivor of an attack on a church, continued giving evidence.

The court was in closed session, with extra protection for the female witness after unprecedented attempts to expose her identity, our correspondent says.

The trial resumed on Wednesday after it was adjourned last week to allow Mr Ruto to return to Kenya to deal with the 21 September attack on the Westgate shopping centre in the capital, Nairobi.

The Somali Islamist group, al-Shabab, said it carried out the four-day siege, which left 67 people dead while a further 39 are still missing.

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Anna Holligan explains why William Ruto is in court, in 60 seconds

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Obama cuts Asia trip over shutdown

2 October 2013 Last updated at 06:59 ET

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Obama accused Republicans of demanding ransom over Obamacare

President Barack Obama has postponed two stops on his four-nation Asian tour because of the government shutdown.

The White House said it was "logistically... not possible" to go ahead with the trips to Malaysia and the Philippines at the end of his tour.

But he would still be attending regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei, the White House added.

The US government has partially shut down after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.

More than 700,000 federal employees face unpaid leave, and national parks, museums and many buildings are closed.

Mr Obama earlier vowed not to allow Republicans to undermine his signature healthcare legislation as a condition to restart the US government.

"They demanded ransom," Mr Obama said.

Four-nation trip

Mr Obama had been scheduled to begin his four-nation Asian trip on Saturday, heading to Bali for an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit and Brunei for the East Asia summit before travelling on to Malaysia and the Philippines.

The White House said that "logistically, it was not possible to go ahead" with the trips to Malaysia and the Philippines.

"Because they are on the back end of the president's upcoming trip, our personnel was not yet in place and we were not able to go forward with planning," the White House said in a statement.

"Unlike the Apec and East Asia Summits, these trips can also be rescheduled, and President Obama looks forward to visiting Malaysia and the Philippines later in his term."

Earlier, the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Mr Obama had called him to inform him that Secretary of State John Kerry would address an entrepreneurship conference in Kuala Lumpur on 11 October in his place.

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A group of military veterans who flew in from Mississippi as part of an arranged tour were given special access to the World War II memorial.

Mr Obama has been forced to call off trips to Asia before because of issues at home.

In 2010, a vote on healthcare and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill forced separate cancellations in March and June, though he did make it to India, South Korea, Japan and Indonesia in November of that year.

'A lot of anxiety'

The US government ceased operations deemed non-essential at midnight on Tuesday, when the previous budget expired.

National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums are closed, pension and veterans' benefit cheques will be delayed, and visa and passport applications will go unprocessed.

However, members of the military will be paid.

One group of elderly military veterans managed to bypass the shutdown when the WWII Memorial in Washington DC - that they had travelled from Mississippi to see - was opened for them.

Treasury department employee Peter Gamba told the BBC he was worried by the turn of events.

"For whatever reason I cannot fathom, you're asking me to again give up my pay and give up service to the American public," he said.

"It's a nightmare for me financially, it causes me a lot of anxiety and stress and I don't sleep well at night."

Continue reading the main story

• Department of State will be able to operate for limited time
• Department of Defense will continue military operations
• Department of Education will still distribute $22bn (£13.6bn) to public schools, but staffing is expected to be severely hit
• Department of Energy - 12,700 staff expected to be sent home, with 1,113 remaining to oversee nuclear arsenal
• Department of Health and Human Services expected to send home more than half of staff
• The Federal Reserve, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice will see little or no disruption
• US Postal Services continue as normal
• Smithsonian institutions, museums, zoos and many national parks closed

President Obama has blamed conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives for the government shutdown, saying "one faction of one party" was responsible because "they didn't like one law".

"They've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans," Mr Obama said.

The White House rejected a Republican plan to fund only a few portions of the government - national parks, veterans' programmes and the budget of the District of Columbia.

The Republicans have called for more negotiations.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner called the White House's position "unsustainably hypocritical".

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What does shutdown mean for two million federal employees, agencies and tourist destinations?

Rory Cooper, a spokesman for Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, accused Mr Obama of "hyper-partisan speeches".

An opinion poll released on Tuesday suggested the American public disagreed with the Republican strategy.

An estimated 72% of voters oppose Congress shutting down the federal government in order to block the health law, according a poll by Quinnipiac University.

The healthcare law passed in 2010, was subsequently validated by the US Supreme Court, and was a major issue in the 2012 presidential election.

The next key deadline in the US is 17 October, when the government reaches the limit at which it can borrow money to pay its bills, the so-called debt ceiling.

House Republicans have demanded a series of policy concessions - including on the health law and on financial and environmental regulations - in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

President Obama is due to meet the heads of some of Wall Street's biggest banks - including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America - to discuss the debt ceiling and other economic issues.

The bankers are members of the Financial Services Forum, a lobbying group which has, along with 250 other businesses, sent a letter to Congress urging it to raise the debt ceiling.

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Italy PM Letta faces confidence vote

2 October 2013 Last updated at 07:15 ET

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The BBC's Alan Johnston reports: "When Silvio Berlusconi is in the thick of the drama, almost anything is possible"

Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta has been addressing parliament ahead of a crucial vote of confidence in his governing coalition.

Mr Letta told the Senate the collapse of his government could be fatal for the country.

The vote was called after Silvio Berlusconi ordered ministers in his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) to leave the government.

But some key PDL figures have defied him, saying they will back Mr Letta.

Mr Letta earlier rejected the resignations of the five PDL ministers.

Italian media now report that up to 25 PDL lawmakers will break away to vote with the government and also to form a new group called Popolo della Liberta.

'Moderate force'

Berlusconi, a former prime minister, has accused Mr Letta of allowing his "political assassination through judicial means" - a reference to Berlusconi's criminal conviction for tax fraud in August.

"Even though I understand the risks that I am taking on, I have decided to put an end to the Letta government," Berlusconi said in a letter to the weekly magazine Tempi.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Berlusconi wasn't in the chamber at the start of the prime minister's speech. But he came in half way through in what looked very much like a black mood.

The body language wasn't good. At one point he sat with his head down and his hands in front of him as if in prayer. None of this was surprising. There was mutiny in his camp.

He said that his party would listen to what the prime minister had to say, then decide. It seemed that he just might be preparing the ground for some sort of humiliating accommodation with the government that he had just tried to destroy.

However, he appeared more circumspect on arrival at the Senate on Wednesday, saying: "We'll see what happens. We'll listen to Letta's speech and then we'll decide."

Addressing the Senate, Mr Letta defended his government's performance and said Italy "runs a risk, a fatal risk" if it were to fall.

He said: "Give us your confidence to realise [our] objectives. Give us your confidence for all that has been accomplished... a confidence vote for Italy and Italians.''

In an apparent break with Berlusconi, his deputy and party secretary Angelino Alfano said PDL MPs should back Mr Letta in the confidence vote.

"I am firmly convinced that our party as a whole should vote confidence in Letta," said Mr Alfano, who is also Italy's interior minister.

The BBC's Alan Johnston, outside parliament, says the mood has been that the PM will get the support that he needs by finding enough dissidents in the Berlusconi ranks.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

This day will decide whether Silvio Berlusconi's grip on his own party has been broken and whether we are entering a new era in Italian politics"

End Quote

The first vote on Wednesday is in Senate and is expected in the early afternoon. This will be the crucial moment, as it is where Berlusconi's allies have a narrow majority. The chamber of deputies will vote later.

Mr Letta needs 161 votes in the Senate but can only count on the support of about 137 members, meaning he will need about 25 votes from others.

There had been rumours circulating that Berlusconi himself would change tack and support the government, but Italian media now say a meeting of PDL senators voted narrowly in favour of opposing the government and that this would represent the party line.

Mr Alfano's comments had caused the Italian stock market to jump on Tuesday as investors appeared increasingly confident that the government would not fall.

Carlo Giovanardi, a senator from Berlusconi's party, indicated he would support the government, adding: "We want to remain a moderate force."

Fabrizio Cicchitto, a PDL deputy, said: "Making the government fall would be a mistake."

Mr Cicchitto said any new government would be "hostile to the PDL" and would be a boon for Mr Letta's centre-left Democratic Party.

On Tuesday, Mr Letta refused to accept the resignations of five ministers from the PDL, Italy's Ansa news agency reported, citing a government source.

Mr Letta called the vote of confidence after Berlusconi ordered his ministers to leave the government in protest at a rise in VAT (sales tax).

The prime minister accused Berlusconi of using the issue as an "alibi" for his own personal concerns.

Analysts say the crisis threatens to hamper badly needed reforms to tackle Italy's economic problems that include debt, recession and high youth unemployment.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that political tensions are a risk to the Italian economy.

Mr Letta's cross-party alliance was formed in April after two months of political deadlock following an inconclusive election.

Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for nearly two decades before resigning in November 2011, in the midst of a storm over the failing economy.

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US wakes up to government shutdown

1 October 2013 Last updated at 06:17 ET

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What does shutdown mean for two million federal employees, agencies and tourist destinations?

The US government has begun a partial shutdown after the two houses of Congress failed to agree a new budget.

The Republican-led House of Representatives insisted on delaying President Barack Obama's healthcare reform - dubbed Obamacare - as a condition for passing a bill.

More than 800,000 federal employees face unpaid leave with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is over.

It is the first shutdown in 17 years and the dollar fell early on Tuesday.

Goldman Sachs estimates a three-week shutdown could shave as much as 0.9% from US GDP this quarter.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The Republican leadership looks and feels trapped - they made demands that they knew wouldn't be met rather than be accused of weakness and betrayal by their own hardliners"

End Quote

The White House's budget office began notifying federal agencies to begin an "orderly shutdown" as the midnight deadline approached.

Shortly after midnight, President Obama tweeted: "They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the House just forced a government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real budget."

House Speaker John Boehner told reporters he hoped the Senate would agree to a bipartisan committee known as a conference "so we can resolve this for the American people".

"The House has voted to keep the government open but we also want basic fairness for all Americans under Obamacare," he said.

The Senate is to meet again at 09:30 (13:30 GMT) on Tuesday.

The BBC's Mark Mardell in Washington says the divide in US politics has grown so bitter that government itself cannot function.

Who is affected?

Continue reading the main story

• State department will be able to operate for limited time
• Department of defence will continue military operations
• Department of education will still distribute $22bn (£13.6bn) to public schools, but staffing is expected to be severely hit
• Department of energy - 12,700 staff expected to be sent home, with 1,113 remaining to oversee nuclear arsenal
• Department of health and human services expected to send home more than half of staff
• The Federal Reserve, dept of homeland security, and justice dept will see little or no disruption
• US Postal Services continue as normal
• Smithsonian institutions, museums, zoos and many national parks will close

Democrats were never likely to make concessions on healthcare reform - Mr Obama's signature achievement and a central issue in last year's presidential election, our correspondent says.

Continue reading the main story

Timeline: US budget crisis

• 20 September: House votes to scrap funding for Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")
• 30 September: Congress passes two budget bills coupled to Obamacare, both rejected by Senate
• 1 October: Key provisions of Obamacare come into force despite shutdown
• 17 October: Deadline for extending government borrowing limit, or debt ceiling

But Republicans have made demands that they knew would not be met rather than be accused of weakness and betrayal by their own hardliners, he adds.

On Monday afternoon, the Democratic-led Senate voted 54-46 against a bill from House Republicans that would have funded the government only if President Obama's healthcare law was delayed for a year.

Major portions of the healthcare law, which passed in 2010 and has been validated by the US Supreme Court, are due to take effect on Tuesday regardless of whether there is a shutdown.

President Obama went on national television to criticise Republicans for trying to refight the last election.

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Engineers with the US Navy talk to the BBC about what they will do during a shutdown: Make skis

A shutdown would have "a very real economic impact on real people, right away," he said, adding it would "throw a wrench" into the US recovery.

"The idea of putting the American people's hard-earned progress at risk is the height of irresponsibility, and it doesn't have to happen."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

For all the talk of the rise and rise of China, the US remains the biggest and most important economy in the world."

End Quote

After the Senate vote, the chamber's Democratic majority leader blamed Republicans for the imminent halt to all non-essential government operations.

"It will be a Republican government shutdown, pure and simple," said Harry Reid, referring to the Republicans as "bullies".

Mr Obama has signed legislation ensuring that military personnel would be paid. The defence department had advised employees that uniformed members of the military would continue on normal duty, but that large numbers of civilian workers would be told to stay home.

Under the shutdown, national parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums will close, pension and veterans' benefit cheques will be delayed, and visa and passport applications will go unprocessed.

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John Boehner: "I hope the Senate accept our offer"

Programmes deemed essential, such as air traffic control and food inspections, will continue.

The US government has not undergone a shutdown since 1995-96, when services were suspended for a record 21 days.

Republicans demanded then-President Bill Clinton agree to their version of a balanced budget.

As lawmakers grappled with the latest shutdown, the 17 October deadline for extending the government's borrowing limit looms even larger.

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Democrat Jim McGovern to Republicans: "You own this"

On that date, the US government will reach the limit at which it can borrow money to pay its bills, the so-called debt ceiling.

House Republicans have also demanded a series of policy concessions - including on the president's health law and on financial and environmental regulations - in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

"I'm thoroughly disgusted with our politicians," Ken Griffith from Kentucky told the Associated Press news agency.

"They're acting like a bunch of three year old children. It's who can hold their breath the longest."

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Syria disarmament team to begin work

1 October 2013 Last updated at 02:41 ET

A team of international disarmament experts is due to arrive in Damascus to begin work on dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.

Syria says it will co-operate with the mission set up after a US-Russia deal endorsed by the UN Security Council.

It is the first time the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been asked to destroy a country's chemical arms during a war.

Correspondents say the OPCW inspectors face a daunting task.

Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, has said that seven out of 19 declared chemical weapons sites are in combat zones.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says it could be complicated for the inspectors to gain access to these areas; local truces may be needed to allow the work to proceed.

Continue reading the main story

• "Geneva II" talks proposed in Switzerland
• Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans November date
• Diplomats want to build on UN consensus over chemical arms
• Syria says Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar should stop backing rebels
• War with conventional weapons continues

The OPCW experts filed an interim report last month confirming that the nerve agent sarin had been used in attacks on 21 August near Damascus.

Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and other banned chemicals stored at dozens of sites.

Last month, it handed the OPCW a full account of its arsenal, as part of the US-Russian plan.

An official for the organisation told the AFP news agency on Sunday: "At this point, we have absolutely no reason to doubt the information provided by the Syrian regime."

Logistics talks

The OPCW inspectors - based in The Hague - stayed overnight in Beirut, Lebanon, before crossing into Syria on Tuesday.

They will first discuss operation logistics at the Foreign Ministry in Damascus before verifying the sites and making assessments.

The arms monitors are then expected to destroy the equipment used for mixing and preparing chemical weapons, as well as the munitions used to deliver them.

Under the agreement between the United States and Russia, this work should be finished by November. Some chemical stocks will be removed safely and destroyed outside Syria, while others will be collected up for destruction inside the country.

All this material is supposed to have been disposed of by the target date of the middle of next year.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has promised to comply with the disarmament deal. "History proves that we have always honoured all treaties we have signed," he said in an interview with Italian television on Sunday.

Russia and America are in the process of destroying their own chemical arsenals. This process has taken years longer than expected.

Washington, Moscow and others are hoping to build on the rare consensus achieved over the chemical weapons issue, to push for peace settlement talks in Geneva. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has proposed a date in mid-November for the discussions.

But correspondents say many obstacles remain to be overcome before credible and serious negotiations can take place.

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Kenya holds inter-faith mall prayers

1 October 2013 Last updated at 06:08 ET

Kenya's top Christian, Hindu and Muslim clerics are leading a multi-faith prayer service for the victims of the Westgate mall attack.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga are attending the prayers.

Officials say 67 people died after militants from Somalia's al-Shabab stormed the mall on 21 September.

On Monday, Kenyan MPs called for camps for Somali refugees in the country to close in the wake of the siege.

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Nairobi's Asian Muslim community join hands for a human chain around the Westgate mall

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

Kenya is host to the largest refugee camp in the world, Dadaab - home to about half a million people - near the Somali border, while it is believed that more than 30,000 Somali refugees live in Nairobi alone.

'United in prayer'

The prayers are being hosted by Kenya's Inter-Religious Council with clerics from different faiths, who are sitting together on a stage facing the congregation, calling for national unity, reconciliation and healing.

During the service in the capital, Nairobi, Bishop Gerry Kibarabara asked the congregation to stand, shake hands and say "peace".

Continue reading the main story

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

The prayers are being broadcast live on all national television stations, with private broadcaster NTV labelling the transmission "United in Prayer" along with the hashtag #WeAreOne, which some Kenyans have been using on social media in response to the attack.

Children from different religious and ethnic groups have read messages of peace to the congregation.

Adan Wachu, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims, said: "Islam is not terrorism and terrorism is not Islam. Islam is peace."

Another religious leader said that religion had been "misused" and the intention of the clerics on the Inter-Religious Council was to eliminate such "misconceptions".

Five militants were killed by security forces during the four-day siege, while nine people are in custody after being arrested in connection with the attacks, the authorities say.

On Monday, the Kenyan Red Cross said the number of missing after the Westgate shopping centre attack had dropped to 39 from an initial figure of 61.

Fourteen of the missing have been found alive and seven bodies have been identified, it said.

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

About 4,000 Kenyan troops have been sent to Somalia to help pro-government forces end two decades of violence, with clan-based warlords and Islamist militants all battling for control of the country.

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

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

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Bangladesh MP sentenced to death

1 October 2013 Last updated at 07:05 ET

An MP for Bangladesh's main opposition party has been sentenced to death by a war crimes court for charges including murder and genocide during the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.

Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, the first member of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) to be tried by the court, was found guilty of nine out of 23 charges.

The BNP and his lawyers argue that the trial was politically motivated.

Previous verdicts against Islamist leaders have been followed by protests.

The war crimes tribunal was set up by the Awami League-led government in 2010 and opposition parties have accused it of pursuing a political vendetta against its opponents.

Tribunal's Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir said: "We are of the unanimous view that the accused deserves the highest punishment for committing such crimes that troubled the collective conscience of mankind."

But human rights groups and the BNP have both said that the tribunal falls short of international standards.

Continue reading the main story

• Civil war erupts in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding autonomy and later independence
• Fighting forces an estimated 10 million East Pakistani civilians to flee to India
• In December, India invades East Pakistan in support of the East Pakistani people
• Pakistani army surrenders at Dhaka and its army of more than 90,000 become Indian prisoners of war
• East Pakistan becomes the independent country of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971
• The war was devastating in its brutality but there are a range of estimates for the exact number of people killed - government figures estimate as many as three million died. Other studies suggest 300-500,000 perished.

"We will do whatever we need to do to show the world that this is a farce," the Reuters news agency quoted Chowdhury's wife, Farhat Quader Chowdhury, as saying immediately afterwards.

Mr Chowdhury's lawyers say that they will appeal against the conviction at the Supreme Court.

The BBC's Mahfuz Sadique - who was in court - says that Mr Chowdhury repeatedly interrupted the tribunal chairman as he delivered his two-and-a-half hour verdict.

"This judgement came from the [law] ministry. A copy of the verdict has been available on the internet since yesterday," Mr Chowhury cried out after the announcement of his conviction and sentencing had been finally completed.

Our correspondent says that Mr Chowdury's lawyer also claimed that the verdict was a foregone conclusion - but allegations that it was available online beforehand are impossible to substantiate.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has dismissed the allegations as "out of the question, incorrect... and merely an assumption".

Lawyers sympathetic to the BNP meanwhile are reported to have threatened to "try everyone connected" with the war crimes tribunal once the party returns to power.

Senior BNP official Khandker Mahabub Hossain said: "Everyone related with the trial will be tried some day on this soil."

Security was tight in Dhaka where the verdict was heard in a packed courtroom.

But troops were also deployed to Chittagong, the home district of Chowdhury where he has been re-elected six times - and where there is likely to be anger at the verdict.

Trauma of independence

Analysts say the tribunal's verdicts have exposed profound divisions in Bangladeshi society.

Last month when the Supreme Court gave the death penalty to a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Abdul Kader Mullah, there were demonstrations both for and against the decision.

The sentences handed down to its leaders over the last few months have unleashed a wave of unrest, pitting supporters of Jamaat against pro-government groups.

But this rupture goes back to the very origins of Bangladesh when some groups, including Islamist groups like Jamaat, opposed the struggle for independence from Pakistan.

The special court was set up in 2010 by the government to deal with those accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces who attempted to stop East Pakistan (as Bangladesh was then) from becoming an independent country.

It is trying nine Jamaat leaders and two members of the BNP - they have always denied any role in war crimes committed by pro-Pakistan militias.

Chowdhury is the first of those BNP members - and the first sitting MP - to be sentenced.

Prosecutors accused him of genocide, abduction, committing atrocities against Hindus and forcefully converting a number of Hindus to Islam.

During the war his father was an influential politician who worked to prevent Bangladesh breaking away. The prosecution also said that his father's residence in Chittagong was turned into a torture cell at that time.

Bangladesh government figures estimate more than three million people were killed during the war. Other researchers put the figure at between 300,000 and 500,000.

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Kenya Westgate missing drops to 39

30 September 2013 Last updated at 05:54 ET

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The BBC's Karen Allen: How the siege unfolded

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading the main story

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

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

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

'Lapses'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Westgate is partly Israeli-owned.

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

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

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

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

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

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Deadly car bombs strike Baghdad

30 September 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

War goes on

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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