Arrested Paris gun suspect named

21 November 2013 Last updated at 04:41 ET

French authorities have named a man arrested on suspicion of carrying out recent gun attacks in Paris as Abdelhakim Dekhar.

He was taken into custody at about 18:00 GMT from a vehicle in a car park in Bois-Colombes, north-west of Paris.

Authorities said Dekhar had been jailed in 1998 for his role in a string of fatal shootings in Paris.

Last Friday a gunman threatened a Paris TV station and on Monday attacked a newspaper office and bank HQ.

Prosecutors said late on Wednesday that samples of Dekhar's DNA matched that from the crime scenes.

They said he was not yet in a position to be questioned and the reading of his rights had been postponed.

Third man

Dekhar was arrested in a stationary car in an underground car park following a tip-off from a member of the public.

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• Former officer in the Algerian army
• Sentenced to four years in prison in 1998 for buying a gun used in a shooting attack by Florence Rey and Audry Maupin
• Witnesses at the trial described him as a mentor to the couple
• He denied involvement, claiming he had been recruited by the Algerian secret service to infiltrate the French far-left
• He was released soon after the trial and officials believe he went abroad for several years

Police union official Christophe Crepin said: "My colleagues noticed he was not very lucid. They deduced that he had taken medicines, because of the capsules nearby."

Some media sources have suggested he may have attempted suicide.

The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says Dekhar is believed to have been the third man in the so-called Rey-Maupin affair, named after a young couple with links to anarchist groups who bungled an attempt to steal weapons from guards and then hijacked a taxi in 1994.

In the subsequent chase and shootout, three policemen and the taxi driver were killed, as well as Audry Maupin.

Maupin's girlfriend, Florence Rey, was released from jail a few years ago.

Their story was compared to the controversial American film, Natural Born Killers.

At his trial in 1998, Dekhar protested his innocence, claiming he had been recruited by the Algerian secret service to infiltrate the French far-left.

He was sentenced to four years in jail but released soon after the verdict, having already served his time in pre-trial detention.

Hundreds of police were involved in a huge manhunt that began on Monday, and security was stepped up at all media outlets.

An appeal for information generated almost 700 calls.

'I will not miss'

The first incident - last Friday - was at the offices of the BFMTV television channel.

The intruder emptied the chamber of his gun in the reception area without firing, saying: "Next time, I will not miss you."

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The BBC's Christian Fraser: "For three days... police have been on high alert"

CCTV showed that he spent only a few seconds in reception, before hurrying out.

On Monday, the suspect attacked the offices of the Liberation newspaper, firing twice and critically injuring a 23-year-old photography assistant.

Two hours later, the same man fired shots outside the headquarters of the bank Societe Generale, in the western business district of La Defense. No-one was hurt.

A car was then hijacked and the driver was forced to drop the suspect off near the Avenue des Champs Elysees, where he disappeared.

The attacks shocked French newspapers.

The publisher of Liberation, Nicolas Demorand, wrote a commentary on Tuesday promising to continue to operate.

"Opening fire in a newspaper is an attack on the lives of men and women who are only doing their jobs. And on an idea, a set of values, which we call the Republic," he said.

The gunshot victim is said to have improved in hospital, is now conscious and no longer needs an artificial respirator.

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Loya Jirga debates US-Afghan pact

21 November 2013 Last updated at 04:48 ET

Up to 15,000 foreign troops could remain in Afghanistan after 2014 if a security pact is agreed with the US, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said.

He was speaking at the opening of a Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, of more than 2,000 Afghan elders, who have gathered to discuss the deal.

One of the key sticking points has been the circumstances under which US troops could enter Afghan homes.

Another is whether US troops will be subject to US or Afghan justice.

But a draft of the deal, released by Kabul before the meeting started, appeared to show that Mr Karzai had conceded that US troops would not be tried in local courts.

"Afghanistan authorises the United States to hold trial in such cases, or take other disciplinary action, as appropriate, in the territory of Afghanistan," the document says.

According to the draft, the deal will remain in force "until the end of 2024 and beyond".

Currently the multinational Nato force is due to pull out of Afghanistan from 2014.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday his team had agreed the text of the agreement with Afghan officials, but it was not clear if the draft published by Kabul was the one to which he was referring.

'Exceptional circumstances'

Opening the four-day Loya Jirga, President Hamid Karzai said the only issue on the table was whether the security agreement would be signed.

"I hope that no other agenda will be discussed," he said.

He read from a letter he said had received from President Barack Obama, explaining why US forces should be allowed to enter Afghan homes under "exceptional circumstances" to save American lives.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The last-minute wrangling over the text was a surprise even to seasoned Karzai watchers as he pushes the talks beyond the brink, perhaps not realising that the US would have walked away"

End Quote

A woman delegate shouted from the floor that US troops had spilt too much Afghan blood and should be stopped.

Mr Karzai acknowledged there were difficult issues involved in the deal, but according to the BBC's Kabul correspondent David Loyn, the tenor of the president's speech was to advise delegates to accept the agreement.

Mr Karzai said that a number of world leaders - including from Russia, China, and India - were backing the deal, and that it would provide the security Afghanistan needed, as well as the foundation for forces from other Nato countries who were assisting Afghan troops.

The delegates will now meet in smaller closed-door groups to look at the deal in detail.

If the assembly approves the bilateral security agreement, it will still have to be passed by the Afghan parliament.

Last-minute changes

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Security deal - main points

• Jurisdiction: US forces remaining after 2014 reportedly to receive immunity from Afghan courts
• Sovereignty: In October 2013 President Karzai appeared to have secured US agreement not to carry out attacks on Afghan soil without first consulting the Afghan authorities
• Security: The US in October 2013 said that it would not protect Afghanistan from external attack because it could get mired in a war with Pakistan

Earlier this week, there had been little hope that a deal could be reached, because President Karzai had disagreed with certain US demands.

But on Wednesday Mr Kerry said the terms had been agreed.

"There were some people who may have questioned or doubted whether that was going to happen. Well, it's happening tomorrow," he told reporters at the state department.

"We have agreed on the language that would be submitted to the Loya Jirga, but they have to pass it."

But he emphasised that even if the deal was passed, the role of the US military after 2014 would be "limited".

"It is entirely train, equip and assist. There is no combat role for United States forces, and the bilateral security agreement is a way to try to clarify for Afghans and for United States military forces exactly what the rules are with respect to that ongoing relationship," he said.

The agreement has been the subject of months of tense negotiations and both sides have refused to budge on certain issues.

The Afghans have long opposed US raids on Afghan homes, particularly night raids because they are perceived to violate the sanctity of women in the home.

The US insistence on immunity from prosecution for troops remaining in Afghanistan after 2014 has been central to Washington's demands.

The failure to resolve a similar legal issue in Iraq led to a total withdrawal of US forces.

Security is tight for the meeting after a suicide bombing last weekend near the huge tent where it is being held.

The Taliban has branded the meeting a US-designed plot, and has vowed to pursue and punish its delegates as traitors if they approve the deal.

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Tymoshenko bill rejected in Ukraine

21 November 2013 Last updated at 05:27 ET

Ukrainian MPs have rejected a bill that would have allowed the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, dealing a blow to Kiev's hopes of a trade deal with the EU.

They threw out six drafts of the bill which would have allowed Tymoshenko to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The EU made her release a condition for signing a historic deal on closer ties with Ukraine next week.

But Ukraine came under intense pressure from Russia not to sign.

Blocking

Russia wants Ukraine to join its own customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus, which it sees as a prototype rival to the European Union.

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• 1960 - Born in Dnipropetrovsk, industrial city in eastern Ukraine
• Trained as engineer and economist
• 1990s - runs United Energy Systems of Ukraine and becomes very rich
• 1999-2001 serves in energy ministry but falls out with government of Leonid Kuchma
• 2004 - Kuchma candidate Viktor Yanukovych elected president, but result widely condemned as rigged
• Huge "Orange Revolution" street protests led by Tymoshenko and ally Viktor Yushchenko defeat Yanukovych, in a blow to Russia
• 2005 - Tymoshenko becomes PM but relations sour with President Yushchenko
• 2010 - Yanukovych beats her in presidential election
• 2011 - Jailed for seven years for abuse of power, over gas deal with Russia

The bill failed to pass after MPs from President Viktor Yanukovych's ruling Regions Party refused to cast their votes on any of the six proposed drafts.

"It is President Viktor Yanukovych who is personally blocking Ukraine's movement toward the European Union," Arseniy Yatsenyuk, parliamentary leader of Tymoshenko's opposition Fatherland group, told parliament after the vote failed.

The drafts all fell short of the 226 votes needed.

Opposition MPs responded by shouting "shame" as the bill was thrown out.

The legislation was put forward on the treatment of convicts abroad.

Back pain

Tymoshenko, 52, is serving seven years in jail after a controversial conviction on charges of abuse of power over a gas deal with Russia.

The EU has made clear it believes the judicial campaign against Tymoshenko has been politically motivated.

She has been urging the authorities to transfer her to a German hospital so that doctors there can treat her chronic back pain.

The EU is demanding her release as one of the conditions for signing an EU-Ukraine trade and partnership agreement in Vilnius, Lithuania, which starts on 28 November.

It has been attempting to build closer relations with neighbours that were once part of the Soviet Union, and is expected to initial but not yet formally sign association agreements with Georgia and Moldova.

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Dozens killed in Iraq car bombing

21 November 2013 Last updated at 05:39 ET

At least 25 people have been killed in a car bomb attack north-east of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials say.

The blast happened in a market in the town of Saadiya, in the religiously mixed province of Diyala.

The attack comes a day after at least 29 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of bombings across the capital.

Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008.

The bomb went off at about midday (0900 GMT) in a neighbourhood populated mostly by Shia Kurds, officials told the French news agency AFP.

Witnesses told police that the bomb was on board a truck of vegetables.

According to figures released by the UN at the beginning of this month, a total of 979 Iraqis were killed and another 1,902 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in October.

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Egyptian troops die in Sinai attack

20 November 2013 Last updated at 05:06 ET

Ten people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a car bomb attack on Egyptian soldiers near the North Sinai city of el-Arish.

Al-Masri al-Youm newspaper said a convoy of buses carrying infantry soldiers was hit by a roadside bomb as it moved through the Kharouba area.

The death toll was likely to rise, a security source said.

Attacks on security forces in the Sinai have increased since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted in July.

No group has admitted carrying out Wednesday's bombing, but the peninsula has grown increasingly unstable in recent years, triggered by the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

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• 19 August - 24 policemen killed in attack on convoy in Rafah
• 11 September - Six soldiers dead in double suicide bombing at military targets in Rafah
• 30 September - Three killed in attacks on checkpoints
• 7 October - Three police killed by car bomb in south Sinai
• 10 October - Four members of security forces dead in suicide car bomb attack near el-Arish
• Dozens of militants have also died

His overthrow in February 2011 left the northern Sinai prone to groups of jihadists, some with links to the Gaza Strip.

In September security forces launched an offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai, but have suffered a spate of deadly bombings. In recent months some 100 members of the security forces have been killed.

Wednesday's attack, which took place at around 07:45 local time (05:45 GMT) on the road from Rafah to el-Arish, is thought to be the bloodiest against the military since Mr Morsi was deposed.

Among the 10 who died were six soldiers, three security officers and the driver, the military said.

Another 35 soldiers were wounded in the explosion which was said to have hit one of the two buses in the convoy.

The attack is reported to have targeted Egypt's Second Field Army, which has been deployed in Sinai and has been involved in an operation to destroy tunnels along Egypt's border with Gaza.

The soldiers were on their way back to Cairo on leave, reports said. Some of the most seriously wounded victims were being airlifted to hospital in the capital.

Communications with the area were cut as military helicopters circled over the area, searching for the attackers, BBC Cairo correspondent Orla Guerin reports.

'Black terrorism'

Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi condemned the attack and said the government was looking at "all the alternatives to deal with the ongoing terrorist incidents".

Egypt's military spokesman expressed his condolences and said the armed forces would continue to fight "black terrorism".

Meanwhile, a Sinai-based jihadist group linked to al-Qaeda has admitted killing a high-ranking member of Egypt's National Security Agency outside his home in eastern Cairo earlier this week.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis said it had shot dead Col Mohammed Mabruk, who had been due to testify against ex-President Morsi.

The colonel was believed to have helped uncover a network of Muslim Brotherhood members that had tried to help leaders of the movement flee the country after Mr Morsi was ousted. The former president is part of the Brotherhood.

The army deposed Mohammed Morsi on 3 July after days of mass protests and a military ultimatum to resolve the political crisis that had evolved between his Islamist supporters and opponents.

Mr Morsi and thousands of Brotherhood leaders and members have since been arrested. Hundreds of Morsi supporters died when two protest camps were violently broken up by the military in August.

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South Africa mall rescue suspended

20 November 2013 Last updated at 05:28 ET

Rescue efforts in South Africa have been briefly suspended at the site a collapsed half-built mall, police say.

Police spokesperson Thulani Zwane told the BBC that the search for survivors would resume after some of the concrete blocks has been cleared.

One person has died and there are fears that some construction workers, possibly 40, are trapped in the rubble at the site in Tongaat town.

About 30 people have been rescued, some with traumatic injuries, medics say.

Capt Zwane said 11 of those taken to hospitals in the area are critically injured.

The deputy mayor of the municipality told South African media that authorities had obtained an injunction a month ago to halt construction at the site in Tongaat, which is a small town about 40km (25 miles) north of Durban.

"There are areas of the law that they [construction firms] did not follow in terms of building," Nomvuzo Shabalala told broadcaster ENCA.

"We were not aware that they were continuing building," she added.

On Wednesday morning, engineers from the department of labour arrived and are now using heavy machinery to remove concrete blocks.

Medics say the collapsed roof is about the size of a rugby field.

Overnight six different rescue teams alternated shifts, working in the dark and using sniffer dogs and fibre-optic cameras to try to find survivors.

Neil Powell, a member of the rescue team, said eyewitnesses had given their account of how the accident happened at the construction site, which is in the town's centre, near a railway.

"They're saying that apparently scaffolding underneath the concrete slabs fell and collapsed, which caused the concrete slabs to fall and trap the workers," Mr Powell of Crisis Medical, an emergency service provider in Durban, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

Fiona Moonean, who lives across from the building site, was washing dishes when she heard a "thunderous noise" coming from outside.

"There was this sound, it was too huge, that I picked my head up - at that point I just saw the whole slab - that just came down and all you could hear was the guys screaming," she told the AFP news agency.

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Baghdad struck by deadly bomb blasts

20 November 2013 Last updated at 05:30 ET

At least 24 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of bomb attacks in mostly Shia areas of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials say.

The deadliest attack was in the central Sadriya district, where a car bomb was detonated at an crowded market.

Bombs exploded at around the same time on busy streets in the Shaab, Tobchi, Karrada, Azamiya and Amil areas.

Sectarian violence has surged across the country in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008.

The UN says 979 people - including 158 police and 127 military personnel - were killed in violent attacks in October. More than 6,500 civilians have died since January.

The Iraqi government has blamed extremist Sunni militants linked to al-Qaeda for the violence, which has mainly targeted Shia civilians.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki asked US President Barack Obama for help curbing the bloodshed through greater intelligence sharing and new weapons systems.

But diplomats say Mr Maliki has not done enough to address the causes of the unrest, which was sparked by an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in April.

The protesters had called for the resignation of Mr Maliki, a Shia, and accused the authorities of targeting the minority Sunni community.

Iraq has also seen a spill-over of violence from the conflict in Syria, where jihadist rebels linked to the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda, have risen to prominence.

Officials fear militants will try to further destabilise Iraq before the parliamentary elections on 30 April, when Mr Maliki will seek a third term.

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Iran warning ahead of nuclear talks

20 November 2013 Last updated at 05:39 ET

Iran's Supreme Leader has warned his country will not step back "one iota" from its nuclear rights, as it resumes talks with world powers in Geneva.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would not intervene directly in the negotiations, but that he had set "red lines" for Iran's representatives.

President Barack Obama meanwhile urged US senators not to impose new sanctions on Iran to allow time for diplomacy.

He said it was unclear whether it would be possible to reach an agreement soon.

"We don't know if we'll be able to close a deal with Iran this week or next week," he told a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) forum in Washington on Tuesday.

Iran stresses that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only, but world powers suspect it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

'Way forward'

In a televised speech on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran's negotiators had been set clear limits before they travelled to Switzerland for two days of meetings with representatives of the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China and Russia, plus Germany.

They failed to agree a deal at a previous round of talks earlier this month mainly because of what diplomats said was Iran's insistence on formal recognition of its "right" to enrich uranium and France's concerns about the heavy-water reactor being built at Arak.

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Javid Zarif's YouTube message: "Nuclear energy is not about joining club or threatening others"

"We do insist that we will not step back one iota from our rights," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

But he added: "We do not intervene in the details of these talks. There are certain red lines and limits. These have to be observed. They are instructed to abide by those limits."

The Supreme Leader, who has final say in Iran's nuclear matters, warned the P5+1 not to "ratchet up the pressure".

"They should know that the Iranian nation respects all nations of the world, but we will slap aggressors in the face in such a way they will never forget it."

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We are not doing anything around the most powerful sanctions"

End Quote Barack Obama US President

The talks in Geneva will be led in the first instance by the EU's foreign policy chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In a video message posted on YouTube on Tuesday, Mr Zarif urged the P5+1 to deal with Iran on an "equal footing" and stressed that for his country nuclear energy was "about securing the future of our children, about diversifying our economy, about stopping the burning of our oil, and about generating clean power".

"There is a way forward, a constructive path towards determining our destiny," he said.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani by telephone. It was the first such conversation between British and Iranian leaders for more than a decade.

'Open the spigot'

Mr Obama told the WSJ forum that any interim agreement would see the bulk of international and US sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme remain in place.

"We are not doing anything around the most powerful sanctions. The oil sanctions, the banking sanctions, the financial services sanctions, those are the ones that have really taken a big chunk out of the Iranian economy," he added.

Mr Obama explained that the "essence of the deal" would be that Iran would halt advances of its nuclear programme - including rolling back elements that might "get them closer to what we call breakout capacity, where they can run for a weapon before the international community has a chance to react", and agreeing to "more vigorous inspections".

"In return, what we would do would be to open up the spigot a little bit for a very modest amount of relief that is entirely subject to reinstatement if, in fact, they violated any part of this early agreement. And it would purchase a period of time," he said.

On Sunday, French President Francois Hollande said Iran would have to agree to halting its enrichment of uranium to a medium level of purity, or 20%; reducing its existing stockpile of enriched uranium, and stopping the construction of the Arak heavy-water reactor.

Experts say Iran's 20%-enriched uranium could be enriched to weapons-grade, or 90%, in a relatively short time, while spent fuel from the Arak reactor will contain plutonium suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

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Indonesia anger at Australia spy row

19 November 2013 Last updated at 02:25 ET

Indonesia's president says ties with Australia have been "damaged" by reports that Canberra spied on his phone calls and those of his ministers.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said it was a "hurtful action" and that Australia had "belittled" the row. Jakarta would review co-operation, he said.

Australian PM Tony Abbott expressed regret but said he would not apologise.

The allegations published by Australian media came from documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Mr Abbott said he regretted "any embarrassment" caused by the reports.

"I regard President Yudhoyono as a good friend of Australia, indeed as one of the very best friends that we have anywhere in the world," he said, speaking in parliament on Tuesday.

However, he added: "I don't believe that Australia should be expected to apologise for reasonable intelligence-gathering operations, just as I don't expect other countries or other governments to apologise for their reasonable intelligence-gathering operations."

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Indonesia, The Jakarta Globe, editorial

There is no doubt that if Australia wishes to limit the damage from the fallout of the spying scandal, it needs to apologise to the Indonesian government and the Indonesian people.

Indonesia, The Jakarta Post, commentary

The argument that such tapping is normal practice is but an excuse, not a justification. The true inherent reason is that Australia is stuck in a mind-set of mistrust toward its northern neighbour.

Australia, Sydney Morning Herald, article

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's furious and direct attack on the Australian prime minister shows just how deep the diplomatic schism between the two countries is, and how Tony Abbott has badly mishandled the crisis.

Australia, The Australian, article

Recalling its ambassador to Canberra represents a serious deterioration in the relationship and may well presage further real trouble, as more revelations from the rogue US consultant, Edward Snowden, are almost certain to follow.

Indonesia recalled its ambassador on Monday, after the latest allegations emerged, and said it was summoning Australia's ambassador for questioning.

The leaked document showed that Australian spy agencies named Mr Yudhoyono, the first lady, the vice-president and other senior ministers as targets for telephone monitoring, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Guardian said.

The presentation from the Defence Signals Directorate (now known as the Australian Signals Directorate) showed that agencies attempted to listen to Mr Yudhoyono's calls at least once, and tracked calls made to and from his mobile phone, in August 2009, they added.

It is the latest in a series of spying allegations that have strained relations between the two allies.

Earlier this month, Indonesia expressed anger over reports that Australia's Jakarta embassy was used as part of a US-led spying network in Asia.

'Without remorse'

On Tuesday, in a series of strong tweets, Mr Yudhoyono said: "These US & Australian actions have certainly damaged the strategic partnerships with Indonesia, as fellow democracies."

He said that Indonesia would review its "bilateral co-operation agenda" with Australia.

He also expressed "regret" at Mr Abbott's response to the allegations, saying that he had "belittled this tapping matter on Indonesia, without any remorse".

Speaking in parliament on Monday, Mr Abbott had said: "The Australian government never comments on specific intelligence matters."

"All governments gather information and all governments know that every other government gathers information," he said.

"I will never say or do anything that might damage the strong relationship and the close co-operation that we have with Indonesia, which is all in all our most important relationship."

The alleged spying took place in 2009, under the previous government.

Australia and Indonesia are key allies and trading partners.

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Tony Abbott said he was determined to foster a good relationship with Indonesia

Australia requires Indonesia's co-operation on asylum, as many asylum seekers travel via Indonesia to Australia by boat, but there are tensions on the issue.

Earlier this month, Indonesia declined an Australian request to receive a boat of asylum seekers whose vessel, bound for Australia's Christmas Island, had got into trouble after it departed from Indonesia.

Monday's leaked document, a slideshow presentation, appeared to show a list of Indonesian "leadership targets" and the handset models used by each target, as well as a diagram of "voice events" of the Indonesian president in August 2009.

One slide entitled "Indonesian President voice intercept (August '09)" appeared to show an attempt to listen to the content of a phone call to Mr Yudhoyono.

It is amongst a series of documents leaked by ex-US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who has been granted temporary asylum in Russia and is wanted in the US in connection with the unauthorised disclosures.

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Toronto mayor stripped of powers

19 November 2013 Last updated at 02:38 ET

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The BBC's David Willis: "At one point the mayor charged towards the public gallery"

The Toronto city council has voted to strip Mayor Rob Ford of most of his authority, as the embattled city leader resists growing pressure to step down.

On Monday, the council transferred most of Mr Ford's budget and many of his powers to the deputy mayor.

Mr Ford, 44, who has promised to fight the council's decisions, criticised the vote as a "coup d'etat".

The mayor of Canada's largest city has faced intense pressure to resign after admitting to smoking crack cocaine

In recent weeks he has also acknowledged buying illegal drugs while serving as mayor.

Mr Ford abstained from Monday's vote, but promised "outright war" in the next election against the councillors who opposed him.

"What's happening here today is not a democratic process, this is a dictatorship," he told the city councillors.

"You are absolutely telling everybody that voted in the last municipal election that their vote does not count."

And Mr Ford refused to apologise, saying he had done enough apologising already.

"I've admitted my mistakes," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and go on and on and on."

Earlier in the heated council meeting, Mr Ford ran through the gallery, accidentally knocking over city councillor Pam McConnell before catching her.

Ms McConnell was later seen holding ice to her lip.

'The worst spokesman'

Monday's motion reduces Mr Ford's office budget by 60%, and allows mayoral staff to join deputy mayor Norm Kelly, largely making Mr Ford mayor in name only.

Continue reading the main story

Yes, one day I do want to run for prime minister"

End Quote Rob Ford Toronto Mayor

The council does not have the power to remove Mr Ford from office unless he has a criminal conviction.

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, once a Ford ally but now one of his most outspoken critics, said the mayor's conduct was embarrassing the city.

"He's the worst spokesman for the city of Toronto right now," he said.

The Toronto council began stripping away his powers on Friday, voting 39 to 3 to prevent him from being able to dismiss the deputy mayor and taking away his emergency powers.

Despite the scandal, Mr Ford does not seem inclined to shun the spotlight.

He gave interviews to US media organisations at the weekend and appeared at a Toronto Argonauts game, despite the Canadian Football League commissioner suggesting he not.

Mr Ford and his brother Doug Ford, a city councillor, launched their own current events television programme on Monday evening.

The show, Ford Nation, is named after the bloc of conservative, suburban voters who put Mr Ford in office in 2010.

On Sunday, Mr Ford told US broadcaster Fox News he had "admitted to drinking too much", but said he was dealing with it, including going to the gym two hours every day.

"I'm seeking professional help, I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not a drug addict," he said. "Have I had my outbursts in the past? Absolutely.

"But you know what, I'm only human. I've made mistakes. I've apologised."

He added: "Yes, one day I do want to run for prime minister."

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford: In his own words

The Toronto mayor apologised again on Thursday for making an obscene outburst on live television while denying he had offered oral sex to a female staff member.

He had been responding to allegations in court papers that he had also driven drunk, used racially abusive language, threatened staff and consorted with an alleged prostitute.

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