California Wildfire Threatens Yosemite Park

A giant wildfire has spread into Yosemite National Park as authorities urged more evacuations in communities where thousands fled during the week.

The fire, which started a week ago, closed hiking in the park but is not currently threatening the popular Yosemite Valley region.

It grew from 99 square miles to more than 165 square miles overnight and was only 2% contained.

Smoke billowing across the Sierra Nevada forced officials in several counties to cancel outdoor school activities and issue health warnings for people with respiratory problems.

Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said: "Most of the fire activity is pushing to the east right into Yosemite."

The fire is threatening around 4,500 homes, according to the US Forest Service.

Officials issued voluntary evacuation advisories for two new towns on Friday.

A mandatory evacuation order remained in effect for part of Pine Mountain Lake.

Already, the blaze has destroyed four homes and 12 outbuildings in several different areas, according to US Forest Service spokesman Jerry Snyder.

One firefighter has been injured tackling the blaze.

The Hetch Hetchy reservoir supplies San Francisco with 85% of its water, but the city's Public Utilities Commission said in a statement that water quality has not been affected by the fire.

Two of three hydroelectric power plants in the area have been shut down because of the fire and a four-mile section of State Route 120 has been closed.

The spectacular Yosemite Valley offers visitors iconic sights including the Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations, as well as Bridalveil and Yosemite falls.

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China's Bo Xilai Admits 'Some Responsibility'

The disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has admitted "some responsibility" for 5m yuan (£514,000) of embezzled public funds.

Bo denies embezzling the money, intended for a local government construction project, but said: "I feel I should take some responsibility" for the money ending up in his wife Gu Kailai's bank account and for failing to investigate.

"I feel ashamed. I was too careless, because these are state funds," he said, according to transcripts that the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan, in eastern China, is providing on its account on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

The courtroom scenes come after a lurid scandal triggered by the death of British businessman Neil Heywood - for which Bo's wife Gu was convicted of murder - that rocked the ruling Communist Party.

The trial has gripped millions.

Until the admission Bo's performance had been defiant, denying charges of bribe-taking and embezzlement totalling 26.8m yuan (£2.8m).

He also faces accusations of abuse of power in connection with the investigation into Mr Heywood's death, and Wang Lijun, his police chief and right-hand man in Chongqing, appeared in court to testify against him.

Earlier, Bo launched a scathing attack on a key witness, saying even the most stupid official knew not to discuss bribery where they could be overheard.

Wang Zhenggang, a former planning official in Dalian, where Bo was the mayor in the 1990s, told the court the politician had telephoned Gu in front of him in connection with the 5m yuan.

The claim did not make sense, Bo argued.

"It is not even what the most stupid corruption offender would do. Corrupt offenders with even the lowest IQ would ask who else in Dalian was aware of the money," he said.

He added: "All those who know me know that I ask them to switch off their mobile phones before I speak. I am quite cautious."

The court is posting regular but delayed transcripts of the hearings, and no live audio or video is available, nor are any foreign media or independent observers present in the room.

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Mandela Shows 'Great Resilience' In Hospital

Nelson Mandela is showing "great resilience" as he remains in hospital in a critical condition, South Africa's presidency has said.

The former South African president's condition "becomes unstable" at times, the presidency added, noting that so far his health has stabilised again with treatment.

"Former President Nelson Mandela still remains in hospital in Pretoria and his condition is still critical but stable," the presidency said in a statement.

"While at times, his condition becomes unstable, the doctors indicate that the former President has demonstrated great resilience and his condition tends to stabilise as a result of medical interventions.

"Doctors are still working hard to affect a turnaround and a further improvement in his health and to keep the former President comfortable."

The ailing 95-year-old leader was hospitalised on June 8 with a lung infection.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans "to continue praying for Madiba and to keep him in their thoughts at all times". Madiba is Mr Mandela's clan name.

Mr Zuma will travel to Malaysia today to collect peace award on Mr Mandela's behalf.

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Syria: Iran Warns West Against Military Action

Iran has warned against "military intervention" in Syria as Bashar al Assad's regime was accused by Western leaders of massacring 1,300 people with chemical weapons.

Tehran also said it believes the alleged gas attack in Ghouta, an eastern suburb of Damascus, was carried out by rebel forces.

Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, said: "There is evidence that this action was carried out by terrorist groups.

"The concurrence of the use of these weapons with the presence of UN inspectors is itself an indication that there are hands at work to accuse the Syrian government of using these weapons and help the conflict and crisis to continue."

The UN's disarmament chief Angela Kane has arrived in the capital to push the Assad regime to allow weapons inspectors to visit the area to assess whether a chemical atrocity has been carried out.

Her visit comes as America boosted its military capacity in the region to give what the US has called "a range of options available".

Survivors of the alleged gas attack rest inside a Damascus mosque

President Barack Obama is meeting his national security team today to discuss the crisis.

The New York Times quoted a senior US administration official as saying Washington was looking at NATO's aerial strikes in Kosovo in 1999 as a blueprint for action against Syria without a UN mandate.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Mr Obama had asked the Pentagon to prepare military options for Syria.

Dead animals lie in the street in the suburb of Zamalka

He declined to give details on specific force movements, but the AP news agency said a fourth warship has been sent to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Three other destroyers are currently deployed there - the USS Gravely, USS Barry and USS Ramage.

All four warships are equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles allowing the Pentagon to act rapidly if a military strike is ordered against Syria.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius piled pressure on Damascus, saying the regime carried out a "chemical massacre".

Syrian refugees in the Quru Gusik camp in Iraq

On Friday, Russia, a major ally of the Syrian government, joined calls for a swift probe into the alleged chemical attack.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said there was little chance the attack had been carried out by rebels.

He said: "The only possible explanation of what we have been able to see is that it was a chemical attack and clearly many, many hundreds of people have been killed, some of the estimates are well over 1,000.

"I know some people in the world would like to say this is some kind of conspiracy brought about by the opposition in Syria - I think the chances of that are vanishingly small."

The Assad regime has denied it has used chemical weapons, calling the allegations "absolutely baseless".

The UN says more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011, and millions have fled the country.

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FBI Director Fears 9/11-Style Attack On US

The outgoing head of the FBI fears another 9/11-style attack on the US, saying the fallout from the Arab Spring has bred a number of "violent extremists".

Robert Mueller, who leaves his post on September 4, said that he fears terrorists will target planes, or attack America using a weapon of mass destruction.

He warned that the US does not have the capability to defend a cyberattack on the country's energy sector.

Mr Mueller said: "I always say my biggest worry is ... an attack on a plane. And secondly, it's a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist and that includes a cyber capability that trumps the defences that we have."

The underpants bomber's plot was foiled during Mr Mueller's tenure

The FBI director said terrorism has shifted from Osama bin Laden's global brand in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks to splintering threats arising in the fallout from Middle East uprisings.

He said: "Every one of these countries now has cadres of individuals who you would put in the category of extremists, violent extremists, and that will present threats down the road."

Mr Mueller, who started as FBI head a week before 9/11, has been credited as the architect of the bureau's transformation into a terrorism-fighting agency in his 12 years at the helm.

He said: "I had in my own mind some ideas about where the bureau needed to go and then a week later we had September 11.

"I did not expect I would be spending my time preventing terrorist attacks." 

During Mr Mueller's time at the bureau US authorities have had dealt with significant terror threats and attacks, including the underpants flight bomber in 2009 and the cargo plane printer bomb threat in 2010.

Authorities capture a suspect after the Boston Marathon bombings

He has also dealt with the Boston Marathon bombing, and the 2009 shooting that killed 13 and injured more than 30 at Fort Hood, Texas.

Speaking to reporters at the FBI headquarters, Mr Mueller also defended the National Security Agency's classified surveillance programmes, exposed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

He said it was "tremendously important to the protection, not only from terrorist attacks, but from other threats to the United States".

Mr Mueller made the comments on the same day that a new round of revelations about the surveillance showed that the NSA scooped up as many as 56,000 emails and other communications annually over three years by Americans not connected to terrorism.

The director's last day on the job is September 4. His successor, former Justice Department official James Comey, will be on hand next week for the transition.

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India: Photojournalist Gang-Raped In Mumbai

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Producer

A photojournalist has been gang-raped by five men while out on assignment with a male colleague in south Mumbai.

The woman, 22, is now in intensive care with reports suggesting she suffered multiple injuries, both internal and external.

Her condition is described as critical, but stable.

The man the victim was with - in an area known as Lower Parel - was tied up and assaulted.

The victims' statements have been recorded and sketches of suspects have been released by the police.

Two of the attackers reportedly called each other by name - Rupesh and Saijid.

Police said they have arrested five people over the gang-rape.

The scene of the gang-rape in Mumbai

The latest attack comes after the gang-rape and death of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus in Delhi last December.

That incident caused nationwide protests and demands for stringent laws against rape.

Under pressure, the government instituted fast-track courts for crimes against women and six men were subsequently charged with rape and murder.

The case is in its final stages at the Saket fast-track court in Delhi and a verdict is expected soon. 

Suspected ringleader Ram Singh killed himself at the Tihar jail earlier this year.

A juvenile is being tried at a separate court as he was under 18 years old when he allegedly committed the crime.

The other four await their fate when the court delivers its verdict.

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Hague: Syria Massacre 'Was A Chemical Attack'

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said for the first time that the "atrocity" in Syria "was a chemical attack" by Assad forces.

Mr Hague said that the chances of the attack being a conspiracy by opposition forces was "vanishingly small" and that the only "plausible explanation" for the mass deaths were an attack by the regime.

He said it was essential to get UN inspectors already in the country to the site of the attacks outside Damascus and that "time was of the essence".

If inspectors were not allowed on the site then the evidence, he said, would deteriorate.

Girls who survived the apparent attack take refuge in a mosque

Already forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad have been carrying out air strikes on the area, which could already have considerably damaged any proof of the use of nerve gas.

And Mr Hague warned the Assad regime that if they did not comply with the UN request to carry out inspections at the scene of the "atrocity" then Britain would be prepared to go back to the UN Security Council for a mandate "for the world to speak more forcefully about this".

He stressed that inspectors were just 20 minutes away from the site where 1,300, including scores of children, are said to have perished in a horrific gas attack on Tuesday.

A child received treatment in a make-shift hospital

Mr Hague said: "The only possible explanation of what we have been able to see is that it was a chemical attack and clearly many, many hundreds of people have been killed, some of the estimates are well over 1,000.

"There is no other plausible explanation for casualties so intense in such a small area on this scale.

"I know some people in the world would like to say this is some kind of conspiracy brought about by the opposition in Syria - I think the chances of that are vanishingly small. So we do believe this is a chemical attack by the Assad regime on a large scale but we would like the United Nations to be able to assess that so those who don't believe that, those who doubt that, the evidence can be gathered.

"But that is certainly our opinion."

Activists inspect the bodies of the victims of the alleged gas attack

He said it "seems the Assad regime has something to hide" and questioned why it had refused to allow the UN inspectors, who are staying in a hotel in Damascus, to investigate.

Footage and images released by the opposition has showed scores of children lying dead, some seemingly gassed as they slept in their beds.

Other pictures have shown adults foaming at the mouths from the effects of the apparent gas attack and row upon row of corpses, some being loaded into vans.

A map showing the area targeted in the apparent chemical attack

The images, Mr Hague said, were "something that a humane or civilised world cannot ignore".

The apparent atrocity happened right under the noses of the UN chemical weapons inspectors, who have been in the country since Sunday on a mission to investigate sites where previous gas attacks are alleged to have been carried out.

Activists said on Friday they were smuggling body tissue samples from victims to the UN inspectors in their hotels but that it had been a struggle because they were heavily guarded by government forces.

Abu Nidal said: "The UN team spoke with us and since then we prepared samples of hair, skin and blood and smuggled them back to Damascus with trusted couriers."

The chemical weapons inspectors arrive in Damascus

In his first comments since the footage of the attacks emerged, US President Barack Obama said it was a "big event of grave concern" and that " this is something that is going to require America's attention".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the use of chemical weapons would constitute "a crime against humanity".

Significantly, Syria's key ally Russia has joined international calls for the inspectors to be given access to the site of the alleged massacre.

Moscow suggested the attack could be a "premeditated provocation" by opposition forces but urged Assad and the UN to agree to a visit to the site in the Damascus suburbs of Ein Tarma and Zamalka.

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Lebanon: Tripoli Explosions 'Kill At Least 20'

At least 20 people are believed to have been killed and hundreds injured in two powerful explosions in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

The blasts occurred outside two mosques on the Muslim day of prayer, when the buildings are likely to have been packed.

The first explosion happened near Taqwa mosque, close to the home of outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, although his office said he was not in the city at the time.

It was followed minutes later by a second blast outside Salam mosque, near the home of former police chief Ashraf Rifi.

Television pictures showed a column of thick, grey smoke rising over the city, with reports suggesting the blasts caused significant damage.

Speaking to local TV channel Al Jadeed, Lebanese health minister Ali Hassan Khalil said 27 people were killed and another 352 injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions, which come a week after a suicide car bombing in Beirut killed 27 people.

The bomb ripped through a stronghold of the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbollah, which is fighting in Syria alongside forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad.

In July, another car bomb exploded in the nearby Beir al Abed district, wounding more than 50 people.

Tripoli, a mostly Sunni Muslim city, has seen frequent clashes between Sunnis and Alawites, a Shiite group to which Mr Assad belongs, although explosions are relatively rare.

More follows...

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Syria: Call For 'Force' If Chemicals Proven

France is seeking a reaction with "force" if a massacre in Syria involving chemical weapons is confirmed, its foreign minister has said.

"If it is proven, France's position is that there must be a reaction, a reaction that could take the form of a reaction with force," Laurent Fabius told BFM-TV.

"There are possibilities for responding," he said without elaborating.

He added that if the UN Security Council could not make a decision, one would have to be taken "in other ways".

The Syrian government has been urged to allow UN inspectors to visit the site where it is claimed more than 1,300 people died in a chemical weapons attack.

The National Coalition claims toxic gas was used by President Bashar al Assad's forces during a bombardment of rebel-held areas outside Damascus.

It said the death toll was likely to rise after a neighbourhood with many casualties was discovered in Zamalka.

Government officials said the claims were "totally false" and the international news organisations reporting them were "implicated in the shedding of Syrian blood and support terrorism".

The attacks are alleged to have taken place in Ein Tarma and Zamalka

A spokesperson from the British Foreign Office said: "Our immediate priority is to verify the facts and ensure the UN  team is granted access to investigate these latest reports.

"We believe a political solution is the best way to end the bloodshed. However, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have said many times we cannot rule out any option, in accordance with international law, that might save innocent lives in Syria."

But Turkey's deputy prime minister has said only the government is in possession of the type of chemical weapons the opposition claim were used in the attack.

Its foreign minister said "a red line" had been crossed.

Iran, Syria's chief regional ally, has rejected claims that the regime was responsible, saying if such an attack was proven it would be down to the rebels, IRNA news agency said.

The incident comes just days after a 20-strong team of UN weapons inspectors arrived in the capital to investigate whether chemical weapons have been used in the conflict.

A survivor rests inside a mosque near Damascus

And following an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, said: "We very much hope that we will be able to conduct the investigation.

"Dr Sellstrom and his team are in place in Damascus.  We hope that they will be given access to the area by the government  - it's a requirement of consent in situations like this.

"And that also the security situation will allow them to enter the area.

"The Secretary-General has already expressed his preparedness to conduct the investigation.

"We are in contact with the Syrian government - we hope that all other parties will co-operate so that we conduct the investigation and we hope that everybody realises the importance of ceasing hostilities."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged international supporters of the Syrian regime to "wake up to ... its murderous and barbaric nature" ahead of the UN meeting.

However Russia, which has supported the regime and vetoed past attempts to secure a tough UN resolution, suggested the attack could be a "premeditated provocation" by opposition forces.

Officials from Russia and China are reported to have blocked a stronger press statement supported by Britain, France, the US and others.

Earlier, Mr Hague said that if verified, the attack "would mark a shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria".

He added: "Those who order the use of chemical weapons, and those who use them, should be in no doubt that we will work in every way we can to hold them to account."

Unverified footage of casualties, including children, in makeshift hospitals suffering convulsions and breathing difficulties was circulated on YouTube.

Syria is thought to have some of the world's largest stocks of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin, but the government in Damascus refuses to confirm this is the case.

On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed government forces carried out air raids and shelling in an area near where the alleged chemical attack was launched.

"Warplanes carried out several raids this morning on Khan al Sheikh and Zamalka, wounding several people" and sparking fierce clashes, the monitoring group said.

Their claims have not been independently verified.

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Thailand: Iranians Jailed Over Failed Bombing

Two Iranian men have been jailed for their part in a botched bomb plot which ended with one of them having his legs blown off.

Saeid Moradi and Mohammad Khazaei also blew off the roof of the house they rented in Bangkok, when one of four bombs Thai authorities believe was designed to harm Israeli diplomats exploded accidentally.

Moradi, who claimed the blast happened when he stumbled across the bombs in a cupboard, grabbed two of the devices and ran into the street.

One of them exploded as he threw it towards a taxi, while the second detonated as he tried to throw it at police, blowing off his limbs and injuring four other people.

He was arrested at the scene, while Khazaei was stopped as he tried to board a flight from Bangkok airport.

The plot has been linked to a car bomb attack on the wife of an Israeli official in India and a third, unsuccessful attack in Georgia.

"This sentence proves once again that Iran is engaged and in proliferation of terror all around the world," Israeli ambassador Simon Roded said.

"I hope that other countries will join Thailand in fighting this terror and bringing terrorists to justice."

Moradi, 29, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, was found guilty of attempted murder and possession of explosive devices and sentenced to life in prison.

Khazaei, 43, was convicted of the latter offence and given 15 years in jail.

Defence lawyer Kittipong Kiattanapoom said neither had indicated whether they would appeal.

"They will initially serve their sentences in Thailand," he said.

"But Thailand and Iran have a prisoner exchange treaty so they could seek to serve their remaining terms in their homeland after a period of time."

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Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe Sworn In As President

Robert Mugabe, Africa's oldest and one of its longest-serving leaders, has been sworn in for a new five-year term as Zimbabwean President.

The ceremony was performed at a stadium packed with thousands of jubilant supporters.

The 89-year-old pledged "to observe, uphold and defend the constitution of Zimbabwe" in an oath administered by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku.

Political opponents and leaders of other countries mostly stayed away from the event amid claims that July's election was deeply flawed.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has given up his legal challenge

Last week, the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change, dropped a court challenge against the election result because of doubts it would receive a fair hearing.

Britain - the country's former colonial ruler - expressed its disappointment at the MDC's decision.

"I strongly believe that an independent investigation of any allegations of election irregularities would be required for the election result to be deemed credible," Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.

A Mugabe supporter

But Mr Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, remains defiant.

He has told critics of his re-election to "go hang" and has vowed to press ahead with nationalist policies forcing foreign companies to turn over majority stakes to black Zimbabweans.

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Manning Says He Wants To Live As Woman

Bradley Manning, the US soldier sentenced for leaking classified documents, has said he wants to live the rest of his life as a woman.

"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me.

"I am Chelsea Manning. I am female," Manning said in a statement to NBC.

"Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible.

Manning will serve his sentence in a military prison

"I hope that you will support me in this transition.

"I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility)," the statement read.

Manning, 25, signed the letter "Chelsea E. Manning".

The confession came a day after Manning was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison for turning over classified files to WikiLeaks in the biggest breach of secret data in US history.

He had been found guilty of 20 charges ranging from espionage to theft for leaking more than 700,000 documents to the whistle-blowing website while working in Iraq in 2010.

The prosecution had sought to portray him as a traitor, asking for at least a 60-year term.

But he was not convicted of the more serious crime of aiding the enemy, which could have carried a life sentence without parole.

Julian Assange has called the sentence a 'tactical victory'

Manning will be eligible for parole within nine years.

His lawyers argued during the trial that Manning suffered extreme inner turmoil over his gender identity - his feeling that he was a woman trapped in a man's body - while serving in the macho military, which at the time barred gays from serving openly.

Among the evidence was a photo of him in a blonde wig and lipstick.

The defence team also maintained he was an idealistic soldier who wanted to expose brutal truths about America's military and diplomatic corps, and generate debate over the wars and US policy.

During the sentencing phase, he apologised for the damage he caused, saying: "When I made these decisions, I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people."

Manning supporters have called for his release

His lawyer said after the sentencing that Manning plans to send a letter to Barack Obama to request a presidential pardon.

"If you deny my request for a pardon, I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society," said the text of the letter.

"I will gladly pay that price if it means we could have a country that is truly conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all women and men are created equal."

Manning is to serve his sentence in Fort Leavenworth, home to the American military's most famous prison.

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Fukushima Toxic Leak Alert Set To Be Hiked

Efforts are continuing to contain a major toxic leak from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant with plans to heighten the alert level.

The operator of the site said about 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water has leaked from one of hundreds of steel tanks around the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which lies 130 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Amid the deepening crisis, Japan is to raise the severity to a level three "serious incident".

The international severity scale goes from 0-7, with seven being the worst.

Workers were pumping out the remaining contaminated water in the tank and moving it to other containers, in a desperate effort to prevent it from escaping into the sea.

Masayuki Ono, general manager of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) which runs the plant, said: "We found a radiation level strong enough to give someone a five-year dose of radiation within one hour."

Japan's nuclear watchdog has said it is concerned that more storage tanks at the wrecked nuclear plant will spring leaks.

It also said it feared the disaster exceeded the ability of Tepco to cope "in some respects".

Four other tanks of the same design have had similar leaks since last year. The incidents have shaken confidence in the reliability of hundreds of tanks that are crucial for storing what has been a continuous flow of contaminated water.

Hideka Morimoto, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, said: "We are extremely concerned."

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "Any way you look at it, this is deplorable. The government will make every effort to halt the leak of contaminated water as soon as possible."

China said it was 'shocked' to hear that Fukushima was still leaking contaminated water two years after the disaster and urged Japan to provide information "in a timely, thorough and relevant way".

Professor Andrew Sherry from the University of Manchester, said: "Though serious, this leak is a long way from the Level Seven incident we were facing in 2011."

He said the action being taken by Tepco was "entirely sensible", but added the incident highlighted the need for an inspection programme for the storage tanks.

"Openness and transparency of the nuclear industry was a key lesson from Fukushima and maintaining this principle during the current situation is critical," said Prof Sherry.

The Fukushima plant suffered multiple meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 - a level 7 "major accident" and the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.

Hundreds of tanks were built around the plant to store massive amounts of contaminated water coming from the three melted reactors, as well as underground water running into reactor and turbine basements.

However, contaminated water that the operator has been unable to contain continues to enter the Pacific Ocean at a rate of hundreds of tonnes per day. Much of that is groundwater that has mixed with untreated radioactive water at the plant.

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North Korea Prisoner Forced To Kill Her Baby

A mother in a North Korean prison was forced to kill her own baby, according to a former inmate giving evidence to a UN commission hearing.

Jee Heon-a, 34, told the UN Commission of Inquiry that a guard ordered the mother to drown her newborn.

Speaking softly, she took a deep breath before telling a retired Australian judge and other commission panel members: "It was the first time I had seen a newborn baby and I felt happy.

"But suddenly there were footsteps and a security guard came in and told the mother to turn the baby upside down into a bowl of water," she said.

"The mother begged the guard to spare her, but he kept beating her. So the mother, her hands shaking, put the baby face down in the water.

Former prisoner Shin Dong-hyuk

"The crying stopped and a bubble rose up as it died. A grandmother who had delivered the baby quietly took it out."

Ms Jee was one of a number of past prisoners who have been addressing the commission in South Korea's capital Seoul.

It is the first time North Korea's human rights record has been examined by an expert panel.

The North, now ruled by a third generation of the founding Kim family, denies it abuses human rights.

It refuses to recognise the commission and has denied access to investigators.

Harrowing accounts from defectors now living in South Korea told how guards committed torture and brutality.

Ms Jee added that there was so little to eat in the prison that she, like many of the others, was forced to survive on salted frogs.

The commission panel has heard evidence of prison torture

She said: "Everyone's eyes were sunken. They all looked like animals. Frogs were hung from the buttons of their clothes, put in a plastic bag and their skins peeled off. They ate salted frogs and so did I."

Another witness, Shin Dong-hyuk, said he was forced to watch the execution of his mother and his brother who had both attempted to escape.

He said he was also punished for dropping a sewing machine, adding: "I thought my whole hand was going to be cut off at the wrist, so I felt thankful and grateful that only my finger was cut off."

The ex-inmates giving evidence are among a handful to have escaped and fled South Korea, where they have claimed asylum.

There are estimated to be 150,000-200,000 people in North Korean prison camps and defectors say many inmates are malnourished or worked to death.

After more than a year and a half ruling North Korea, 30-year-old Kim Jong Un has shown few signs of changing the rigid rule of his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung.

Few experts expect the commission to have an immediate impact but say they hope it will serve to raise awareness of what has been happening in the country.

Bill Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University, said: "There would need to be profound political changes in North Korea to make headway in the field of human rights."

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Dolphins Washing Up Dead On US East Coast

Dozens of dead dolphins have been washing up on the East Coast, as worried scientists try to find out why.

Since early July, seven times the usual number of bottlenose dolphins have been found stranded on the shores in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

"All age classes of bottlenose dolphins are involved and strandings range from a few live animals to mostly dead animals with many very decomposed," the agency said in an Unusual Mortality Event note on its website.

A chart published by NOAA showed that there have been 299 cases so far this year - compared to 111 in all of last year.

In Virginia alone, 80 animals were stranded this month, compared to less than 10 in August 2012.

Dozens of marine biologists along the Atlantic are examining stranded dolphin carcasses for clues.

NOAA said some of the dead animals had pulmonary lesions.

Bottlenose dolphins live in groups

One animal might have contracted morbillivirus infection, preliminary testing of tissues suggests.

In 1987, more than 700 animals died, with morbillivirus identified as the main culprit.

The agency said it was evaluating all potential causes, but it added that "an infectious pathogen is at the top of the list".

"Work is underway to determine whether an infectious agent affecting these dolphins is present in collected tissue samples," it said.

Charles Potter, a marine mammal expert with the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, said there might be underlying causes.

He said on the Smithsonian's blog that heavy metals, pesticides and hydrocarbons might play a role.

Other stresses attributable to human activity, such as increased noise and competition for space and food with humans, might make the animals more susceptible to infectious pathogens, he said.

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Hosni Mubarak Release Ordered By Court

An Egyptian court has ordered the release of former president Hosni Mubarak, according to security sources.

The 85-year-old is being retried on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall.

However, he has already served out the maximum amount of pretrial detention permitted in that case.

Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial.

A lawyer told Reuters he could be freed on Thursday.

Leaving the Cairo prison where the court convened, Fareed El-Deeb said: "The court decided to release him." Asked when, he said: "Maybe tomorrow."

The ailing former president probably has no political future. But many Egyptians would see his release as the rehabilitation of an old order that endured through six decades of military-backed rule - and even a reversal of the pro-democracy revolt that toppled him.

At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and police, have been killed in a crackdown on Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in the past week, making it Egypt's bloodiest civil episode in decades.

More follows ...

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96-Stone Man: Saudi King Orders Airlift

A Saudi man weighing 96st (610kg) has been airlifted to hospital after being unable to leave his bedroom for two-and-a-half years.

Khalid Mohsin Shaeri, 20, was flown from the southern city of Jazan to a hospital in Riyadh on King Abdullah's orders.

The "rescue" plan had to wait for six months until a specially-made bed was delivered from the US.

Saudi Arabia's health ministry worked with civil defence and the Saudi Red Cross to organise his evacuation after part of his home was demolished so he could be brought down from the second floor.

A forklift truck was used to carry Mr Shaeri to an ambulance and on to a waiting aircraft.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Minister of Health Dr Abdullah al Rabeeah called the king's efforts a "humanitarian gesture".

Mr Shaeri, who weighs the same as two baby elephants or eight average-sized men, was reported to have a brother and sister who are also overweight, but able to walk.

Local media said the Saudi health ministry had dealt with other morbidly obese patients this year, including two siblings who weighed 47st (298kg) and 55st (349kg).

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Prison Hunger Strikers 'Can Be Force Fed'

Prisoners on hunger strike in California could be force-fed if they are in imminent danger of dying, under a new federal court ruling.

Corrections officials made the legal request, fearing for the welfare of nearly 70 inmates who have refused all meals since July 8 - the start of the mass protest against the state's solitary confinement policies for gang leaders and other violent inmates.

Among the concerns is the belief that some of the prisoners may have been coerced into taking part in the strike.

Some 130 people in six prisons are still refusing meals. When the strike began it included nearly 30,000 of the 133,000 inmates in California.

Prison policy usually allows inmates to starve to death if they have signed a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) request. But Monday's decision gives a blanket authority to feed inmates in failing health - including those who only recently signed a DNR request.

Protesters against the use of solitary confinement in California prisons

The process, which prison officials call "refeeding", could include giving fluids intravenously or snaking feeding tubes through inmates' noses and into their stomachs.

A lawyer for some of the hunger strikers said she was not aware of inmates being coerced.

"They're exaggerating this," said Carol Strickman. "As much as I don't want to see anybody die, some people were choosing to sign those requests and some were not."

Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the department responsible for prison medical care, said officials were merely trying to be proactive.

"Inmates can deteriorate rather quickly when they have starved themselves for this long period of time so we wanted to make sure we had the order in place ... for us to be able to save their lives," she said.

One of the solitary confinement cells at Pelican Bay

California incarcerates about 3,600 inmates in what are known as Security Housing Units, some because of crimes they committed in prison and others because they are confirmed gang leaders.

The highest-ranking among them are held at Pelican Bay, where the heads of four rival white supremacist, black and Latino gangs have formed an unlikely alliance to force an end to the isolation units.

The hunger strike is the latest problem to plague California's prison system, which is currently operating under a federal court order to reduce crowding by the end of the year, possibly by releasing up to 10,000 inmates early.

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Pakistan: Musharraf Charged In Bhutto Death

Timeline: Musharraf And Ms Bhutto

Updated: 11:45am UK, Tuesday 20 August 2013

More than five years after Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, Pervez Musharraf has been charged over her death. These are the key moments in the case:

:: December 2, 1988 - Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party, is sworn into office, becoming the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country.

:: August 6, 1990 - Ms Bhutto's government is dismissed by the president of Pakistan after just 20 months in power. She blames the military for her dismissal, which is later upheld.

:: October 7, 1993 - Ms Bhutto's party wins parliamentary elections. She is elected for a second term as prime minister.

:: November 5, 1996 - Ms Bhutto is again dismissed by Pakistan's president and placed under house arrest.

:: April 15, 1999 - Ms Bhutto is convicted while in exile in London of corruption charges. She is sentenced to five years in prison and barred from holding political office.

:: October 1999 - Army chief Musharraf leads a military coup against prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

:: April 6, 2001 - Pakistan's Supreme Court overturns Ms Bhutto's conviction and orders a retrial.

:: June 20 - Musharraf appoints himself president of Pakistan.

:: July 27, 2007 - Ms Bhutto meets Musharraf in Abu Dhabi. She demands he stand down as army chief before any power-sharing agreement can be reached.

:: October 4, 2007 - Musharraf's government clears the way for Ms Bhutto to return to Pakistan and to run for re-election as president.

:: October 18 - Ms Bhutto survives two explosions at a homecoming rally in Karachi. More than 100 people are killed and hundreds more are injured.

:: November 13 - Ms Bhutto is stopped from leaving her home by riot police, while Musharraf declares a state of emergency as he attempts to assert his authority.

:: November 29 - Musharraf steps down as army chief and is sworn in as a civilian president, ending eight years of military rule in Pakistan.

:: December 27 - Ms Bhutto is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi. Musharraf's government claims Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is responsible but Ms Bhutto's supporters accuse the president of not doing enough to ensure her protection.

:: February 18, 2008 - Ms Bhutto's widower, Ali Asif Zardari, and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif form a new government.

:: August 7 - Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif call for Musharaff's impeachment.

:: August 18 - Musharraf resigns as Pakistani president.

:: April 16, 2010 - UN investigators say Pakistan deliberately failed to thoroughly investigate Ms Bhutto's murder and claim intelligence agencies and government officials "severely hampered" their own probe.

:: February 12, 2011 - A court in Pakistan issues an arrest warrant for Musharraf, now living in London, over the assassination of Ms Bhutto.

:: April 19, 2013 - Musharraf is placed under house arrest near Islamabad.

:: August 20 - Musharraf is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and facilitation for murder over Ms Bhutto's death.

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Costa Rica: Man Posts Photos Of Dead Wife

A man in Costa Rica allegedly killed his wife and confessed by sending relatives a photo of her body via the smartphone application WhatsApp, according to news reports.

The incident is reported to have happened on Saturday in the village of Huacas, 120 miles northwest of the capital San Jose.

The 29-year-old man led relatives to the woman's body and then sent messages telling people where he himself could be found, TV television station Repretel said.

He was later arrested without a struggle.

The woman may have been strangled, police said later. The motive for the killing is not known.

The death is seen by many in the normally peaceful Central American country as a copycat killing, following a similar case recently in Miami.

There, a man allegedly killed his wife and then posted a photo and confession on Facebook.

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Australian Student 'Shot For Fun' By US Teens

An Australian student on a baseball scholarship in the US has been gunned down for "the fun of it", in an alleged random shooting by three teenagers.

Chris Lane, 23, was jogging in the small town of Duncan in Oklahoma last Friday, after visiting his girlfriend Sarah Harper, when he was shot in the back and left to die.

"He went by a residence where these three boys were, they picked him as a target, they went out and got in a vehicle and followed him," said Danny Ford, chief of Duncan Police Department.

"(They) came up from behind and basically shot him in the back with a small calibre weapon, then sped away."

Chris Lane was on a baseball scholarship

Witnesses saw him stumble across the road and collapse in the gutter.

A woman tried CPR, and paramedics were quickly on the scene, but the student was pronounced dead an hour later.

The young couple had only been back in the US for three days after visiting Chris' family in Melbourne.

Sarah posted an emotional tribute on Facebook, calling their four years together "the most amazing of my life".

"I love you so much babe," she wrote.

"From 2009 until forever you will always be mine and in a very special and protected place in my heart."

The student's devastated father, Peter Lane, said his son's death was so pointless.

"There's not going to be any good come out of this because it was just so senseless," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"There wasn't anything he did or could have done. He was an athlete going for a jog like he would do five or six days a week in terms of his training schedule. To try and understand it is a short way to insanity."

Police at the murder scene. Pic: KOCO-TV

Police in Oklahoma said it appeared the 15, 16 and 17-year-olds were on a "killing spree", after leaving a chilling message on Facebook.

"They wanted to be Billy Bob Badasses," Chief Ford said.

"I think they were on a killing spree. We would have had more bodies that night if we didn't get them."

On one of the alleged killer's Facebook pages, investigators said they found the message: "Bang. Two drops in two hours."

The boys were arrested, with the 16-year-old allegedly confessing to the killing, saying it was done "for the fun of it".

The three are due to face first degree murder charges, which carry a potential death penalty in Oklahoma.

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Egypt's Ex-Dictator Mubarak 'To Be Freed'

Deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak is expecting to be freed from jail after being cleared of corruption charges, his lawyer claims.

Mubarak was toppled from power in February 2011 following an uprising and has been held by authorities since.

He has made numerous appearances at Cairo's courthouse since on charges relating to the death of protesters during the revolution and of corruption.

However, according to his lawyer Fareed El Deeb, judicial authorities ordered that 85-year-old Mubarak should be released on one of the remaining corruption charges against him.

He said that the only legal grounds for the former leader's detention would be another corruption case, which is expected to be concluded later this week.

He said: "All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week."

Mubarak still faces charges of complicity in the murder of protesters during the 2011 revolution. His trial has been adjourned until August 25.

The development came after Egyptian authorities disclosed that suspected militants had attacked two police minibuses with rocket-propelled grenades, killing 24 officers in Sinai.

The ambush, condemned by Egypt's interior ministry as the work of "armed terrorist groups", took place as the two vehicles were driving through a village near the border town of Rafah in the volatile Sinai Peninsula.

The van was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades

Two officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said that three officers had also been injured.

Sinai has been witnessing near daily attacks by suspected militants since the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted on July 3.

It is estimated nearly 50 security officials have been killed in the region since then, and the army claims to have killed nearly 70 "terrorists" in the same time.

In response to the attack Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The latest attack follows the suppression of Mr Morsi's supporters in Cairo in scenes of bloodshed over the last five days, which have left at least 750 people dead.

A police officer in hospital after violent clashes in Cairo

The military, which assumed control of the country from Mr Morsi, has been rounding up the former president's Muslim Brotherhood supporters and there have been more than 1,000 arrests.

The Brotherhood has vowed to continue its demonstrations.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that the continued unrest across the Middle East represented one of the most significant events of the 21st century so far.

He told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that events in Egypt and surrounding countries could echo for decades and that the international community should expect significant "setbacks".

European Union ambassadors are discussing the crisis in Egypt amid international alarm.

Demonstrators inside the al Fath mosque in Cairo

Meanwhile, the family of four Irish siblings caught up in violence have said their relatives are being held by Egyptian authorities.

Omaima Halawa, 20, her two sisters Fatima, 22, Somaia, 27, and their younger brother Ibrihim, 17, were among hundreds of people cleared out of the al Fath mosque when security forces stormed the building on Saturday.

They were forced to seek sanctuary in the mosque on Friday after violent clashes between supporters of Mr Morsi and the security forces killed more than 80 people.

Speaking from the family home in Dublin, their sister Nasaybi Halawa said that her 17-year-old brother could have been beaten in the mosque.

Security forces arrive at the Cairo mosque

Miss Halawa said: "The person I'm speaking to told me they were beating men to hell. She doesn't know how my brother looks but she told me 'I can guarantee for you, all the men were beaten there. They didn't exclude anyone from hitting them'."

However, Sky sources understand that the four have been visited in Tora Prison by a Turkish diplomat who reported they were "all well".

Irish diplomats have said they are due to be brought to the prosecutor's office at 2pm on Monday and they were "confident" they would be released.

Hundreds of Morsi supporters also fled to the building in the Ramses area of Cairo, shoving furniture against the doors to stop police from breaking their way in.

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Oscar Pistorius Formally Charged With Murder

Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has now left court after a judge told him he will go on trial in March over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius returned to Pretoria Magistrates' Court this morning for the short hearing, in which a judge set his trial date for March 3 next year.

The judge asked him if he was well, to which he replied: "Under the circumstances, your honour."

He was formally charged and told that his bail conditions remained the same.

Court documents show that more than 100 witnesses will be called to give evidence at the trial, including one of Pistorius' ex-girlfriends.

Sky's Alex Crawford said that Pistorius was "very emotional", and appeared to be praying with his brother and sister before the proceedings started.

The three siblings held hands in a small circle, and at one point Pistorius wiped his face with a tissue.

Ms Steenkamp was shot dead at Pistorius' home in February

His brother Carl later tweeted a photograph of Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp, adding: "Remembered like yesterday. My life was impacted by u @reevasteenkamp & the lady u were! Always close to our hearts."

The 26-year-old double amputee is accused of killing Ms Steenkamp, who would have turned 30 today, in a shooting incident at Pistorius' home in February.

Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

The case was sent to the High Court in Pretoria.

A judge will preside over the trial and ultimately pronounce the world-famous athlete innocent or guilty. South Africa does not have trial by jury.

The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Ms Steenkamp's uncle has said he has already forgiven Pistorius for killing her.

Mike Steenkamp said the family have coped with her death by concentrating on her life rather than how she died.

In an interview on ITV's Daybreak, Mr Steenkamp said: "I think from the beginning and onset that we decided that we could never be sidetracked from Reeva's life, and I think that's helped us tremendously."

The family have gathered in Port Elizabeth for a family event to mark Ms Steenkamp's birthday.

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German City Hall Hostage Crisis: People Held

An armed man has taken several people hostage in the historic city hall of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt and is making demands to police over the telephone.

Police spokesman Guenther Beck said that the man had taken the hostages shortly before 9am (7am GMT) on Monday but that it was not clear what weapons he had.

He said there were "several" hostages but that he couldn't be specific about the number. He did not disclose what demands the hostage-taker had made.

Special forces police arrive at the hostage situation

The scenes unfolded just hours before the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was due in the city, home to car manufacturer Audi, for a rally which has since been cancelled.

The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann arrived at the city hall and had joined negotiators.

Mayor Alfred Lehmann told BILD.de: "I was in my office when suddenly the secretary came in and said there was a hostage situation. This was at 9am . Then we left the building."

Emergency vehicles line up outside the Old City Hall

He said the hostages were being held on the second floor of the building.

The German media were suggesting that Sepp Misslbeck, the third Mayor, was among the hostages.

The Old City Hall is home to the mayor's office, the tourist information office and a number of other administrative departments, and is one of two city halls in the Ingolstadt.

More follows...

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Mexico: 23 Bodies Found In Drugs 'Hot Land'

At least 23 bodies with gunshot wounds and hands bound have been found in western Mexico where drug cartels, vigilantes and and security forces have been fighting for much of the year.

The bodies were discovered on an abandoned property near the town of Buenavista Tomatlan in Michoacan state along with a sign indicating they may have been members of the Knights Templar cartel, state prosecutor's spokesman Alejandro Arellano said.

The area near the Jalisco state border has suffered a wave of violence for most of this year, as vigilante groups have risen up against the Knights Templar cartel which has controlled the area through violence and extortion.

Authorities believe some vigilante groups are supported by a rival cartel, Jalisco New Generation, which is fighting for the Knights Templar territory. The groups deny the claims.

Mr Arellano said the sign found alongside the bodies read: "For those who continue to support the Knights Templar, we are here, united."

He said the note was signed with the initials of the New Generation, as well as the initials G C, indicating another vigilante group.

Thousands of police were sent into the area in May to battle the cartels

President Enrique Pena Nieto's government sent thousands of troops and police to the area in May to try to regain control of the state.

While residents initially welcomed their arrival and some vigilante groups agreed to put down their arms, the calm was short-lived.

Although the government claims that killings across Mexico are down, it has struggled to come up with an effective strategy for Michoacan and neighboring Guerrero states - an area known as the Tierra Caliente, or Hot Land, for its climate.

The Knights Templar launched a co-ordinated attack on police last month, killing at least four officers and wounding a number of others.

They also killed one of Mexico's highest-ranking navy officers and a bodyguard last month when they ventured on to a local road in Michoacan to get around a roadblock.

Around the same time, residents in Guerrero were forced to flee their villages because of drug violence.

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Diana's Death: Police Handed New Information

New information that alleges Princess Diana was murdered has been passed to Scotland Yard through military sources, it has emerged.

The information, thought to include the allegation that the Princess of Wales, Dodi al Fayed and their driver were killed by a member of the British military, will be assessed by officers from the Specialist Crime and Operations Command.

According to Sky sources it was given to the police by the former parents-in-law of a former soldier.

The deaths of Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed in Paris in 1997 were investigated and examined during a 90-day inquest led by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the Royal Court of Justice in 2007.

On April 7, 2008, the jury concluded their verdict as "unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes".

Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed leaving the Ritz Hotel on August 31, 1997

The Metropolitan Police said its assessment was not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget, the inquiry led by Lord Stevens into conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed's deaths.

A royal spokeswoman said there will be no comment on the matter from Prince William or Prince Harry, or from Clarence House.

After the inquest, the Metropolitan Police said it had spent £8m on services arising from it and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006.

Former Met Police commissioner Lord Stevens published his report in December 2006, rejecting claims that Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed had been murdered.

The wreckage of the Mercedes the pair were travelling in when it crashed

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "We understand this information includes an allegation that Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed and the driver of their car were killed by a member of the British military.

"The information we're told was passed to Scotland Yard quite recently. It also includes, we understand, references to something known as Diana's diary.

"These are very early days, the information has just come in, and Scotland Yard is adamant in saying that this is not a reopening of its investigation from 2004 when it spent three years looking into the circumstances of the Princess' death.

"But it is taking the information seriously and it is considering and it is possible that a new investigation may open."

Princess Diana, Mr al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died after the Mercedes crashed in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997.

Diana was 36 at the time of her death and Mr al Fayed, the son of former Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed, 42.

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Egypt: EU To Review Relations Amid Violence

The European Union has said it will "urgently" review its relations with Egypt in the coming days as the violence shows no sign of ending.

In a statement, the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso called on all sides to show restraint and prevent further escalation of the violence.

"To this effect, together with its member states, the EU will urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt and adopt measures aimed at pursuing these goals," the statement said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told his Egyptian counterpart that the "disproportionate use of force" by security forces over recent days must stop.

Mr Hague made the comments in a phone call with Nabil Fahmy after security forces stormed the al Fath mosque in Cairo while Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been blamed for attacks on Coptic Christian churches.

Brotherhood supporters had barricaded themselves inside

At one point, troops exchanged gunfire with men shooting from a minaret of the mosque on Ramses Square, where hundreds of supporters of Mohamed Morsi had fled overnight after violent clashes killed 173 people.

The interior ministry said 385 people inside the mosque had been arrested.

Four Irish citizens, the children of the imam of Dublin's largest mosque, who were besieged in the mosque were released.

It is understood the Irish ambassador to Egypt has now requested a meeting with the siblings.

A statement by the Anti-Coup Alliance said several marches would take place in the capital this afternoon, continuing the daily campaign of protests in defiance of an intensifying crackdown.

State TV ran an English 'Egypt fights terrorism' caption as the PM spoke

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The foreign secretary and the Egyptian foreign minister spoke about the tragic violence and loss of life over recent days.

"The foreign secretary emphasised UK condemnation of all acts of violence, whether disproportionate use of force by the security forces or violent actions by some demonstrators.

"They also discussed the recent attacks on places of worship and the foreign secretary stressed that attacks on mosques and churches were unacceptable and that places of worship must be protected."

Mr Hague also underlined the need for urgent steps by all sides "to end the violence and enable a return to dialogue", the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, the interim army-backed government announced it had begun deliberations on whether to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, a long-outlawed organisation that swept to power in Egypt's first democratic elections a year ago.

Egyptian presidential adviser Mostafa Hegazy said: "When you talk about a difference or a divide that's happening in Egyptian society, I think it's either wrongful thinking or wishful thinking.

"Egyptians today are more united than ever before. We are not only united towards a common dream, but we're united against a common enemy."

Last night, Islamist marchers clashed with civilians in the port city of Alexandria during the funeral of politician Khalid Mohsen, who was shot on Friday.

A few hours later Alexandria's streets were deserted, as night fell and a dusk to dawn curfew began.

The curfew was imposed when Egypt's military rulers declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, and is set to remain in place for at least a month.

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China's Bo Xilai Goes On Trial On Thursday

Disgraced senior Chinese politician Bo Xilai will stand trial later this week for bribery, corruption and abuse of power, it has been announced.

Bo, once one of the country's most powerful leaders, will face the charges on Thursday at Jinan Intermediate People's Court in the eastern province of Shandong, Xinhua news agency said.

"The open trial will start at 8:30 am (0030 GMT) on August 22 at its 5th courtroom," Xinhua said.

Bo's wife Gu Kailai has been jailed for the 2011 murder of British businessman Neil Heywood in Chongqing, where Bo was Communist Party chief.

The scandal emerged last year, ahead of a once-a-decade leadership transition in which Bo had been considered a candidate for the Politburo Standing Committee, China's most powerful body.

Gu has been jailed for Mr Heywood's murder

But his glittering career came crashing down amid the allegations his wife - later convicted of murder - was involved in Mr Heywood's death and Bo had sought to block the police investigation.

The case has also seen Bo's police chief Wang Lijun jailed for 15 years.

Bo, who has been in custody since his dramatic downfall, was indicted on the charges last month.

It is almost certain 64-year-old Bo, a "princeling" son of a late vice premier, will be convicted as China's prosecutors and judges are controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

Mr Heywood was found dead in his hotel room in 2011

President Xi Jinping came to power in March vowing rid the country of corrupt officials - from the high-ranking "tigers" to low-level "flies".

How Bo's case is handled will be a test of Mr Xi's battle against corruption and also show his authority over the party.

During Gu's trial, she admitted to poisoning Mr Heywood, claiming that she had acted after he threatened her son, Bo Guagua, when a business deal turned sour.

Before he was found dead in a Chongqing hotel room in November 2011, Mr Heywood had been a long-time friend of Bo and Gu and helped their son settle into Britain.

Last week, Mr Heywood's Chinese wife and British mother announced they were seeking compensation for his death.

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