Zimbabwe's Elections Were 'Free and Credible'

Zimbabwe's elections have been declared "free and credible" by the African Union, despite observers noting a number of practises that suggested heavy rigging.

Despite an admission by the head of the African Union mission, Olsegun Obasanjo, that his monitors noted some apparent irregularities, he said they did not constitute evidence of systematic tampering.

Officials say 89-year-old Robert Mugabe has been returned to power with a two-thirds majority.

Robert Mugabe casts his vote with wife, Grace

However, while declaring the elections to be free, the Union did not go so far as to declare them fair.

Mr Obasanjo, said: "Yes, the election is free," and he described the vote as credible unless any evidence to the contrary emerged

Significantly he asked election authorities to investigate reports that tens of thousands of eligible voters were turned away from the vote which marks an unbroken run of 33 years in power for Mr Mugabe.

Another poll monitoring group in Zimbabwe said as many as a million of the more than six million eligible voters were prevented from casting ballots.

Mr Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president, said: "If 25% were not allowed, then, yes, the election is fatally flawed."

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe's main opponent in the presidential vote, has declared the election "null and void".

Official results announced by the election commission on Friday morning showed Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF capturing 54 of the 210 parliament seats and Mr Tsvangirai's party winning 19 seats so far.

Voters queue to get into polling stations

Full results on the presidential and parliament votes have been promised by Monday.

Among the irregularities, the African Union found the electoral commission printed 8.7 million ballot papers for 6.4 million voters – 35% above the number of registered voters. This is against the international standard of 5%-10%.

The late publicity on the location of voting stations just 48 hours before stations opened also contributed to the high number of voters who were turned away because they were not at correct polling sites.

Life goes on as normal as a two-thirds majority declared for Mr Mugabe

Monitors also reported a high number of disabled, elderly or other "assisted voters" being helped to cast their ballots by polling officers who may have influenced them against their free will.

Speaking from Harare, Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "At the moment the people we are seeing and speaking to are all very disgruntled members of the electorate who say they were unable to vote for one reason or another.

"When they turned up at the voting stations the polling stations they were told their names were not on the voting lists that they had been registered to vote in polling stations which were many, many kilometres away so they felt that they were disenfranchised."

She said she had heard evidence of dead people's names being used to vote and of a number of procedural irregularities.

Morgan Tsvangirai declares the election 'null and void'

She said the Southern African Development Community, a regional body, "were very much holding back from saying it was a fair election. They said it was definitely free, people appeared to be able to vote and it was very peaceful but they stopped short of saying it was fair or credible."

The head of the observer mission for the Southern African Development Community described the election as "very free" and "very peaceful".

He also noted that there were some violations and a full analysis was still under way.

"The question of fairness is broad and you cannot answer it within one day," said Bernard Membe, who is also Tanzania's foreign minister.

"And so be sure that within 30 days, through our main report, the question of fairness may come."

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Zawahiri Claims US Plotted Morsi's Downfall

Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri has accused the United States of "plotting" to overthrow Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

In an audio recording posted to militant Islamist forums, he said the US colluded with the Egyptian military, secularists and Christians to force out Mr Morsi.

Zawahiri, himself an Egyptian, said: "Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi's government."

He accused Egypt's Coptic Christian minority of supporting the Islamist president's ouster to attain "a Coptic state stripped from Egypt's south".

Protests have been taking place in Egypt

They are the militant leader's first public comments on Mr Morsi's ousting.

The comments came as backers of Mr Morsi staged defiant rallies after the government ordered their protest camps to be broken up.

Supporters of Mr Morsi began to march after Friday prayers, pouring out of several Cairo mosques.

The afternoon rallies passed off peacefully, with demonstrators marching along main thoroughfares in the capital.

Mohamed Morsi was ousted in a military coup

By early evening, they held several smaller demonstrations, including by Cairo's Media Production City in the city's outskirts, where security forces fired tear gas after an alleged attempt by protesters to storm the building.

Protesters reportedly tore up the pavement to make barriers as police in armoured vehicles fired barrages of tear gas.

The marches came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry angered Morsi loyalists by saying Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it deposed the Islamist leader.

In an interview he said: "The military did not take over, to the best of our judgement - so far. To run the country, there's a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy."

A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood denounced the comments, accusing Washington of being "complicit" in the coup.

"Is it the job of the army to restore democracy?" asked Gehad al Haddad in a statement.

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US Issues Travel Alert Over Al Qaeda Threat

"All appropriate steps" must be taken to protect Americans from a possible al Qaeda attack, US President Barack Obama has said.

The US has issued a worldwide travel alert, citing an al Qaeda threat that also led to a decision to close US embassies around the Muslim world.

The alert came just hours before a car bomb exploded near the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday morning.

The US embassy in Abu Dhabi will be shut on Sunday

Eight children were killed and 21 other people were wounded in the attack, according to Sky sources. The youngsters were believed to have been attending a religious lesson in a nearby mosque.

The US State Department has warned American citizens of the potential for terrorism particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The president is being updated on a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," said a White House statement.

"Current information suggests that al Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the statement said.

Four Americans were killed in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi

The alert was posted a day after the US announced it would close diplomatic facilities on Sunday because of an unspecified threat.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the department acted out of an "abundance of caution" and that some missions may stay closed for longer than a day. Sunday is a business day in Muslim countries.

Representative Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Friday the embassy threat was linked to al Qaeda and focused on the Middle East and Central Asia.

"We've had a series of threats," Mr Royce told reporters. "In this instance, we can take a step to better protect our personnel and, out of an abundance of caution, we should."

Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Panel, described the threat as "not the regular chit chat" picked up from would-be militants on the internet or elsewhere.

The State Department issued a major warning last year informing American diplomatic facilities across the Muslim world about potential violence connected to the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The State Department warned US citizens of the potential for terrorism

In Benghazi, Libya, four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in an attack on the US consulate. 

The deadly assault has prompted several calls for investigations from House Republicans who have accused the Obama administration of misleading Americans about the attack.

Sky News US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua said the latest moves by the State Department are not based on the politics surrounding the Benghazi fallout.

"The latest closure announcement of the US embassies and today's alert for potential al Qaeda terrorist attacks seem to be driven by real information and not over cautious individuals with political motives," he said.

Friday's alert warned that al Qaeda or its allies may target US government or private American interests.

It cited dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists, noting that previous terrorist attacks have centred on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats.

Meanwhile, Britain announced it also will close its embassy in Yemen on Sunday and Monday amid "increased security concerns".

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Ohio Kidnapper Ariel Castro: I'm Not A Monster

Ohio kidnapper Ariel Castro said he is "not a monster" after one of his victims confronted him during his sentencing hearing to describe her "11 years in hell".

Castro said he knows what he did was wrong, but that he is not a violent person and that his captives asked for sex and were not tortured.

"These people are trying to paint me as a monster. I'm not a monster. I'm sick," he said during his sentencing hearing on Thursday.

Castro also claimed the women lived a happy life with him.

"We had a lot of harmony that went on in that home," he said.

The former school bus driver, who pleaded guilty to 937 charges, including kidnapping, rape, assault and aggravated murder, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole plus 1,000 years.

From left: Gina DeJesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight

Before the sentence was handed down, victim Michelle Knight addressed the court and her former captor.

"You took 11 years of my life away and I have got it back," she said.

"I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this that happened, but you will face hell for eternity."

The 32-year-old Knight did not face Castro as she read her prepared statement, but he glanced toward her several times after she entered the courtroom.

Ms Knight was the first woman abducted by Castro in 2002 after he lured her into his house with the promise of a puppy for her two-year-old son.

"I missed my son every day. I wondered if I was ever going to see him again," she told the court.

A model of Ariel Castro's home is displayed in court

Castro later made a rambling statement in which he blamed his sex addiction, his former wife and even the FBI for not thoroughly investigating the abductions.

He apologised to his victims but also claimed most of the sex was consensual.

"I just hope they find it in their hearts to forgive me and do some research on people who have addictions, and see how addictions take over their lives," he said.

Judge Michael Russo dismissed Castro's claims that the women lived a happy life with him.

"I'm not sure there's anyone in America that would agree with you," he said.

A deputy reacts as Castro says the FBI failed to rescue the women years ago

The judge also told Castro that there was no place in the world for people who enslave others.

"These women never gave up hope," he said. "In fact, they prevailed."

Earlier, prosecutors called several witnesses to detail Castro's daily assaults on the women, recounted in diaries that compared the women's experience to that of prisoners of war.

The women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old - and were held captive for a decade.

The three, Ms Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23, escaped in May, and Castro was arrested within hours.

For years, Castro chained his captives by their ankles, fed them only one meal a day and provided plastic toilets in their bedrooms that were infrequently emptied, prosecutors said.

A police photo shows chains used to restrain the women inside the home

He locked all of them in a vehicle in his garage for three days when someone visited him, prosecutors said.

Castro said he did not have an exit strategy from his complicated double life and finally gave the women a chance to escape by leaving a door unlocked, court documents showed.

Witnesses, including a police officer who was among the first ones to arrive at the scene, described the desperate condition of the three victims.

Cleveland Police Officer Barbara Johnson said the three were "thin, pale, scared" and were asking what had happened to them.

Ms Knight was "very, very scared", and was having a hard time breathing, the officer testified.

Throughout the hearing, Castro listened and frequently talked to his lawyers.

Ms Knight sent police a handwritten letter thanking them for their help collecting cards and gifts for the women.

In the note, she wrote: "Life is tough, but I'm tougher!"

:: Ariel Castro Sentencing In Court: Live Updates

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Sanjeev Chada: Father Charged With Murder

The father of two boys found dead in the boot of his car in Ireland has been charged with their murder.

Sanjeev Chada, 43, was brought before a special sitting of Swinford District Court in County Mayo on Thursday where he was accused of killing 10-year-old Eoghan and Ruairi, five.

They went missing with Chada after leaving the family home on Sunday evening.

Their bodies were discovered the next day in the boot of Chada's crashed car, four miles from Westport, County Mayo.

Chada, of Ballinkillen, Bagenalstown, County Carlow, was arrested after being treated in hospital for injuries from the crash.

He stood with his head bowed and hands clasped during the five-minute hearing.

Throughout the proceedings, bearded, ponytailed Chada appeared distraught.

Chada arriving at Swinford District Court where he was charged

Solicitor James Hanley applied for legal aid, stating that effectively Chada had no income.

Mr Hanley said Chada was living with his wife Kathleen, who was in employment, and asked that he be checked on regularly while in prison and kept apart from other inmates.

When asked if he was suggesting this meant a suicide watch, the solicitor replied that it was.

A crowd of about 50 people gathered outside the court but there were no incidents.

Chada will appear before Harristown District Court later this morning.

His wife stayed with the bodies of her children on the night before their funeral.

Family friend and parish priest Father Declan Foley will preside at their funeral Mass in Saint Lazerian's Church, Ballinkillen.

The schoolboys will then be buried in the adjoining cemetery.

On Thursday, detectives sealed off a second crime scene close to Ballintubber Abbey in Mayo, where it is believed the boys died of asphyxiation, which can be caused by strangling or suffocation.

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Spain Rail Driver 'Can't Explain' His Speeding

The driver of the train that derailed in Spain, killing 79 people, has admitted that he was travelling at twice the speed limit when he approached a tight turn.

But Francisco Jose Garzon Amo told a judge he "can't explain" why he did not try to slow down during the approach to the corner, footage of a recent court session shows.

"I still don't understand how I didn't see ... mentally, or whatever, I just don't know."

He said the journey was "going fine" until the train reached the curve.

When the danger became clear, he said he thought: "Oh my God, the curve, the curve, the curve, I won't make it."

In Sunday night's testimony, Garzon said he was going far over the speed limit and should have started to slow down several miles before he reached the notorious curve.

Garzon pictured after the crash

He was asked what was going through his mind when he went through the last tunnel before the curve.

"Sincerely I don't know," he replied.

"I'm not so crazy that I wouldn't put the brakes on."

The train careered off the tracks, killing scores of people.

An edited video of Garzon's appearance at Sunday night's court session in Santiago de Compostela, where the accident happened, was released on Thursday by Spain's ABC newspaper.

In it, Garzon, 52, appears shaken and at times hesitant. He is seen sitting in a chair in front of the judge, with four rows of chairs behind him in the small courtroom.

The crash happened on July 24, when the high-speed train carrying 218 people in eight carriages approached the capital of Spain's northwestern Galician region.

The train was carrying 218 people when it crashed

The train had been going as fast as 119mph (192kph) shortly before the derailment.

Garzon activated the brakes "seconds before the crash", reducing the speed to 95mph (153kph), according to the court's preliminary findings based on black box data recorders.

The speed limit on the section of track where the crash happened was 50mph (80kph).

The investigating judge is trying to establish whether human error or a technical failure caused the country's worst rail accident in decades, and Garzon is at the centre of the investigation.

The judge provisionally charged Garzon on Sunday with multiple counts of negligent homicide.

National rail company Renfe said Garzon was an employee with 30 years of experience who became an assistant driver in 2000 and a fully qualified driver in 2003.

Health authorities say 57 people from the crash are still in the hospital, 11 of them are in a critical condition.

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Zimbabwe Poll: Mugabe's Party Claims Victory

A senior Zanu-PF source has claimed a resounding victory for Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The unnamed senior official said the outcome was already clear and told Reuters news agency: "We've taken this election. We've buried the MDC. We never had any doubt that we were going to win."

The opposition, Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), immediately claimed the elections had been "a monumental fraud" and said it would be holding an emergency meeting later.

"Zimbabweans have been taken for a ride by Zanu-PF and Mugabe, we do not accept it," a senior source told Reuters.

A woman with a child casts her vote in Domboshava, north of Harare

Releasing results early is illegal, and the police had warned they would arrest anybody making premature claims before the official five days the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had said it could take to announce the result.

Riot police took up positions outside the Zanu-PF party's headquarters in central Harare and other key locations in the capital.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) - the country's leading domestic election monitoring agency - said the credibility of the vote was "seriously compromised" by irregularities on polling day.

Officials said urban voters, who mainly favour Mr Tsvangirai, had been turned away from polling stations in their thousands.

Conversely, only a small number had been prevented from voting in the countryside, where President Mugabe has most support.

A police officer keeps watch as Zimbabweans queue to cast their votes

Separate reports claimed key MDC members had lost their seats, even in the capital.

The dispute erupted as polling stations closed and counting got under way amid fears of a repeat of the violence that marred the 2008 election.

To win an outright victory, one of the candidates has to secure more than 50% of the vote.

Half the country's 12.9 million population was eligible to vote at the more than 9,000 polling stations nationwide.

Turnout was high, particularly in urban areas where the polling stations stayed open late into the evening to allow everyone in the queues to cast their votes.

Polling rivals Robert Mugabe (L) and Morgan Tsvangirai cast their votes

The presidential contest pit the incumbent President Mugabe against his main rival Mr Tsvangirai, who his supporters believed a big turnout would favour, blunting the impact of any manipulation of the vote.

Zimbabweans voted in large numbers despite concerns about the credibility of the electoral process, and the vote was relatively peaceful compared to disputed and violent polls in 2008.

However, the fiercely contested election was dogged by claims of intimidation and vote rigging, despite assurances by official poll monitors of "a peaceful, orderly and free and fair vote".

Despite claims of voters being turned away at polling stations and alleged irregularities across several districts, including changes to voters' lists and ballot papers, Mr Tsvangirai's supporters were confident he could win the election.

A ballot paper with the images of all the presidential candidates

It is the third time he has tried to unseat President Mugabe, who denies vote rigging and said he would step down if he failed to extend his 33-year grip on power for another five years.

After voting in Harare's western Highfield township, the 89-year-old, who still has significant support in the country, said he expected to be re-elected.

"We will have lots of things to do to get our economy back on its feet," he said.

Mr Tsvangirai, who has been in an uneasy power-sharing arrangement with President Mugabe for the last four years, cast his ballot in northern Harare.

"We have come to complete the change we have always fought for," he said.

"It is an emotional moment for me but I am filled with a sense of calmness."

In 2005, the contest went to a run-off, and widespread violence forced Mr Tsvangarai to withdraw.

More follows...

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Ohio Kidnap Victims Kept Sexual Abuse Diaries

Three women held captive in a run-down home for a decade kept diaries documenting the horrific physical and sexual abuse they suffered, it has emerged.

The entries speak of sexual abuse, of being locked in a dark room and of dreams of some day escaping and being reunited with their families.

The women - Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23 - also reflected on being chained to a wall and of being held like "prisoners of war," according to court documents.

The women's kidnapper, Ariel Castro, lured one of them into his Cleveland home with the promise of a puppy for her son and later locked all of them in a vehicle in his garage for three days when someone visited him, prosecutors said.

Castro's home, where the women were held captive for a decade

Castro repeatedly starved and beat one of the victims each time she became pregnant, forcing her to miscarry five times.

One of the women broke free in May and called for help, frantically telling an emergency dispatcher: "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years, and I'm here. I'm free now."

Castro claimed he did not have an exit strategy from his complicated double life and finally gave the women a chance to escape by leaving a door unlocked, they said in a court document.

Prosecutor Tim McGinty said in a sentencing statement that Castro, who chained his captives by their ankles and fed them only one meal a day, "admits his disgusting and inhuman conduct" but "remains remorseless for his actions".

Castro is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison

Castro has pleaded guilty to 937 charges, including kidnapping, rape, assault and aggravated murder. He will be sentenced later.

The former bus driver agreed to spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole in a plea deal that will see him escape the death penalty.

While his guilty plea spared his victims from having to testify, more details of their ordeal are expected to be revealed when prosecutors present evidence of their abuse.

It is unlikely Castro's victims will attend the hearing.

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Nursing Home Arsonist Killer Jailed For Life

A man convicted of deliberately lighting a blaze that ripped through a Sydney nursing home, killing 11 elderly residents, has been sentenced to life in jail with no chance of parole.

Roger Dean, who worked there as a nurse, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder, telling police after the fire in 2011 that he had been "corrupted with evil thoughts".

"You won't believe it, but it was like Satan saying to me that it's the right thing to do," he said.

He also admitted eight counts of causing grievous bodily harm to residents of the home, some of whom suffered from dementia or were blind.

The Supreme Court heard that Dean started the blaze at two separate points in the building as part of a "considered plan" to distract police officers and hospital management from his theft of more than 200 prescription pills.

Police believe the fire was started to stop them investigating drug theft

Judge Megan Latham described the 37-year-old's crimes as "heinous" and "atrocious".

"The pain and terror suffered by all of the victims must have been horrific," she said.

"For those who were unable to move independently and who faced the prospect of being burnt alive or suffocated by smoke, a worse fate is difficult to imagine."

Three residents perished during the inferno and eight others died later from their injuries.

At the time, Dean was described by locals as a friendly but quiet man who kept to himself, and he was initially hailed a hero after talking to media outside the home as firefighters battled to contain the flames.

He told reporters then that he "just quickly did what I could to get everyone out".

Dean was addicted to prescription painkillers and suffered from a personality disorder, but there was no evidence he was suffering from a significant mental illness at the time of the fire, the court was told.

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Brazil: Child Dies After Water Main Bursts

A child has died and 17 people have been injured after a burst water main flooded a residential area near Rio de Janeiro.

Three-year-old Isabela Severo dos Santos was taken to the hospital but did not survive after swallowing large amounts of water. 

Firefighters wade across the water dragging a dinghy

According to Brazilian authorities seven people remain in hospital.

Local television showed images of a giant fountain of water crashing down on buildings, destroying homes and sweeping away cars in the ensuing current.

Water crashed down onto nearby homes and swept away cars

People could be seen wading through the floodwaters trying to climb on to a roof.

Some 20 houses were destroyed in the resulting floods

The burst pipeline, operated by State Company for Water and Wastewater, has now been shut down but large volumes of water are still leaking and continue to flood the neighbourhood.

The cause of the accident is still unknown. Firefighters are using boats to rescue residents who have been trapped by the flooding.

Officials say some people are still missing and suspect some may have been buried or submerged by the high pressure water as it burst out of the ruptured pipeline.

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Zimbabwe Presidential Election: Voting Begins

Voting has begun in Zimbabwe's election as Robert Mugabe looks to extend his 33-year-rule amid suspicions of vote rigging.

The 89-year-old has said he will stand down as president if he loses and claims the army will respect any victory for his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.

But many have dismissed the president's words and Mr Tsvangirai himself has said he takes the promise "with a pinch of salt".

Fresh suspicions of vote rigging were sparked by a Research and Advocacy Unit study which said the electoral roll includes one million dead voters or people who have emigrated.

Voters appear keen to have their say, with some queuing up wrapped in blankets fours hours before polling stations opened.

Several hundred people waited to vote in green tents in Mbare, the oldest township in the capital, Harare.

"I am happy to have cast my vote," said  Ellen Zhakata, 66.

Queues formed as Zimbabweans waited for the polls to open

"I just want an end to the problems in our country.

"All my children are outside the country because of the economic troubles here. I am so lonely. How I wish they could be working here."

Zimbabwe's economic problems have seen millions leave the country to find work in recent years.

Hyperinflation reached 231,000,000% five years ago but a scarcity of US dollars - now the country's main currency - means the economy has stabilised and inflation is back in single digits.

Violence marred the last election in 2008, with Morgan Tsvangirai pulling out of a second round run-off against Mr Mugabe after 200 of his supporters were killed.

Mr Tsvangirai has based his latest campaign on a plan to lure back foreign investors, create a million jobs in five years and improve public services.

Mr Mugabe has focused his promises on expanding the redistribution of wealth to poor black Zimbabweans, as well as making threats of violence against homosexuals.

Some 6.4 million people are eligible to vote before polling stations close at 7pm local time on Wednesday. Final results are expected in about five days.

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Israeli-Palestinian Talks Set Nine-Month Goal

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have set a nine-month goal for reaching a so-far elusive peace deal.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden met with the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the sides agreed to meet again within two weeks to continue negotiations on reaching a pact.

Speaking as the two sides wrapped up an initial round of talks on Tuesday, Mr Kerry said they were committed to "sustained, continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues" that divided them.

Mr Kerry opposite Tzipi Livni and her Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat

He said the next round of negotiations would take place in either Israel or the Palestinian territories.

"The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation," Mr Kerry said.

"And they are on the table with one simple goal - a view to ending the conflict. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months."

Shuafat refugee camp is seen behind the Israeli barrier in the West Bank

Earlier, President Barack Obama invited the negotiators to the White House to give a boost to his administration's third bid to relaunch the stalled Middle East peace talks.

Mr Kerry said he was aware of the deep scepticism surrounding the new push for peace and acknowledged the road ahead would be difficult.

However, he said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached.

Refugee camps are a key area of contention - this one is in the Gaza Strip

"While I understand the scepticism, I don't share it. And I don't think we have time for it," he said.

Mr Kerry said the negotiations, to be mediated on a day-to-day basis by his new Middle East peace envoy Martin Indyk, would be cloaked in secrecy and the parties had agreed he would be the only person to comment on them.

Israel and the Palestinians remain deeply divided over so-called "final status issues" - such as the fate of Jerusalem, claimed by both as a capital, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the borders of a future Palestinian state complicated by dozens of Jewish settlements scattered across the occupied West Bank.

At the State Department ceremony, Mr Kerry was flanked Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, who each spoke briefly about the need to resolve the long-standing conflict.

"It's time for the Palestinian people to have an independent sovereign state of their own," said Mr Erekat, who spoke first.

"It's time for the Palestinians to live in peace, freedom and dignity within their own independent, sovereign state."

Ms Livni allowed that she and Mr Erekat had been involved in failed negotiations before, notably the Annapolis Process that former president George W Bush initiated in 2008, but she said this time could be different.

"You know, Saeb," she said to Mr Erekat, "we all spent some time in the negotiations room ... but we didn't complete our mission.

"And this is something that we need to do now, in these negotiations that we will launch today. And the opportunity has been created for us, for all of us, and we cannot afford to waste it.

"I believe that history is not made by cynics; it is made by realists who are not afraid to dream. Let us be these people."

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David Tebbutt: Death Sentence Over Kenya Murder

A Kenyan who led a gang of pirates to a holiday resort where they murdered a British tourist has been sentenced to death for his part in the attack.

Ali Babitu Kololo was found guilty of robbery with violence, two years after the gang burst into David Tebbutt's villa in the remote Kiwayu Safari Village, shooting him dead before kidnapping his wife Judith.

She was held hostage in Somalia for more than six months before eventually being released.

Kololo, who was sacked from his job at the resort several months before Mr Tebbutt was killed, was convicted following an investigation by the Kenyan authorities and SO15, the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

In addition to the death penalty, Kololo was given seven years in jail for his part in Mrs Tebbutt's abduction.

"I am innocent," he said after the sentence was announced. "Let the court do what it wants to do. I have been victimised in this, since I was also kidnapped."

Judith Tebbutt was staying with her husband David in a grass-woven hut

Commander Richard Walton, head of SO15, said: "Kololo played a key role in this murder and kidnap, bringing the attackers to the resort and helping them search for victims.

"The Kenyan investigation remains ongoing and we are committed to helping them bring David's killers and those who put Judith through such a long ordeal to justice.

"I'd like to pay tribute to Judith, her son Oliver and their family who have all shown extraordinary courage and dignity.

"The investigation team have also shown great skill and tenacity in assisting this Kenyan investigation."

The Tebbutts, from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, travelled to Kiwayu Safari Village after visiting the Masai Mara game reserve in September 2011.

The beach at Kiwayu Safari Village resort where Mr Tebbutt was killed

Mrs Tebbutt, who is believed to have been freed after her family paid an £800,000 ransom, is said to have felt nervous about security after arriving to find no other guests were staying at the resort.

She was allegedly forced to run along the beach and was hit on the back of the head with a rifle before being bundled into a boat.

She was only told of her husband's death two weeks after she was kidnapped.

Kenya has not carried out the death penalty for 26 years and most sentences for death row prisoners are commuted to life imprisonment.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We welcome efforts by the Kenyan authorities to bring those responsible for the kidnap of Judith Tebbutt and the murder of her husband, David, to justice.

"Today's news that Ali Babitu Kololo has been found guilty of robbery with violence is a positive development, but the wider Kenya investigations continue."

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Switzerland Crash: Driver's Body Recovered

A driver's body has been recovered following a train crash in Switzerland that left at least 35 passengers injured.

The Swiss accident investigation authority has launched an investigation

Five of the injured are in a serious condition following the head-on collision just outside a station in Vaud canton, western Switzerland.

Pictures showed the two trains still on the tracks with the cabs crumpled into each other and broken glass on the floor of the carriages.

The injured are taken away from the crash site

Ambulances, fire engines and a helicopter are on the scene of the crash at Granges-pres-Marnand, around 31 miles southwest of the capital, Bern.

The helicopter and ambulances took the five seriously injured to a hospital in the nearby town of Payerne and south to the city of Lausanne.

The collision happened at Granges-pres-Marnand

Their injuries were not life-threatening however, police said.

Rescue teams deployed a heavy-lifting crane to remove the rest of the wreckage and clear the line.

As night fell on Monday, they set up arc-lights to help operations continue.

Rescue teams work into the night

The collision happened around 100m from a station at 7pm (local time) when one train bound for Lausanne left the station as another, travelling from Lausanne, arrived.

Police said the northbound train was from the faster regional service, which generally stops at fewer destinations than the slower service that covers more local communities along the line.

Heavy lifting equipment was used to clear the tracks

Police experts, along with members of the Swiss accident investigation authority SESA, have launched an investigation into the likely cause of the crash, officials said.

A CFF spokeswoman said the two trains should have crossed at the station, thanks to a track system that allows them to pass one another.

Switzerland's rail system is considered among the safest in the world

It was not clear whether the collision could have been sparked by a delay to one of the trains, or one of them setting off too soon.

Switzerland's rail system is considered among the safest in the world, but three years ago the Glacier Express tourist train derailed in the Alps, killing one person and injuring 42.

Seventy-nine people were killed in a train crash in Spain last Thursday, one of the worst in decades.

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Florida Gas Plant Explosions: Workers Found

All workers at a gas plant rocked by explosions have been accounted for after officials initially feared as many as 15 people had been killed.

At least 24 people were working the night shift at the plant in Tavares, Lake County, when a series of blasts happened just before 11pm local time.

The missing employees were found hours later as firefighters began to contain the flames. Details of any of their injuries are not yet known.

The roof was blown off the plant. Pic: Tyler Mackenzie Photography

Seven workers had initially been taken to hospital, some in a critical condition, after emergency crews were called to the Blue Rhino propane processing plant.

The explosions were strong enough to blow the roof off and were felt by residents living up to 10 miles away from the scene, although no neighbours were injured.

Firefighters' efforts were hampered when more fuel containers exploded as the flames spread. They are starting to contain the flames and the cause of the explosions is being investigated.

"I heard a loud bomb sound," resident Lisa Garner told the Orlando Sentinel.

Residents, many of them elderly, were evacuated

Local businessman Jim Mamula told Sky News: "We could see the flames and the initial explosion knocked us off our feet. We could see the heat from the flames and it was light like daytime."

"There were two short explosions larger than anything we've seen since. The secondary explosions immediately followed.

"There are at least three large holding tanks about 30,000 gallons each of propane. They're intact and only about 40ft from the flames. The heat is pretty intense."

Resident Norman Hope said: "We're a retirement area mainly and a lot of people have difficulty breathing."

Fox News reporter Tracy Jasem, in Tavares, told Sky News: "Everybody thought there would be fatalities - it was such a massive fire.

"Although there were other containers that could have exploded, it seems we've escaped that possibility."

Lake County Sheriff Department spokesman Lt John Herrell later said the evacuation zone around the scene had been reduced from a mile to half a mile.

Several of the evacuated residents were taken in by a local church.

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Spain Train Crash Driver Charged And Released

The driver of a train that crashed in northern Spain, killing 79 people, has been charged with multiple cases of negligent homicide.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo was charged on Sunday night after appearing for two hours before Judge Luis Alaez.

The 52-year-old is suspected of driving too fast on a dangerous section of the line near the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Reports suggest the train was travelling at around 190km per hour (120mph), more than twice the 80km per hour (50mph) speed limit when it entered the bend.

Garzon, who was pictured staggering from the wreckage with blood pouring from a head wound, has refused to make a statement or answer questions about the crash.

His court appearance was closed and the judge decided to release him without bail.

The injured driver is led away from the crash site

He was not sent to jail or required to post bail as none of the parties involved felt there was a risk of him attempting to flee or destroy evidence.

Garzon will be required to appear before the court once a week and surrender his passport, and is banned from driving trains for six months, a statement from the court said.

The hearing came as the number of dead from the crash rose to 79 when an injured passenger died in hospital.

Authorities said forensic experts have identified the last three bodies among those killed when the intercity train derailed and smashed into a concrete wall.

They did not reveal the victims' names but said their families had been informed.

Investigating judge Luis Alaez questioned the train driver

A large funeral mass is planned for this afternoon, with the prime minister and members of the Spanish royal family expected to attend.

Meanwhile, a resident of the town where the train crashed has claimed Garzon admitted going fast and said he "wanted to die" in the aftermath of the crash.

In a television interview broadcast on Spain's Antena 3, Evaristo Iglesias said he and another person accompanied Garzon to a stretch of flat ground where other injured people were being laid out, waiting for emergency services to arrive.

Mr Iglesias said: "He told us that he wanted to die."

He added that Garzon said he "had been going fast" and "he said he had needed to brake but couldn't".

An American passenger, Stephen Ward, said he was watching the train's speed on a screen in the carriage, which indicated it was going at 194km per hour (121mph) moments before derailing.

The train wreckage remains at the crash scene near Santiago de Compostela

Officials have so far not said how fast the train was going when it derailed and it is not clear whether the brakes failed or were never used.

The "black box" that records journey data is with the investigating judge.

All eight carriages of the train, packed with 218 passengers, careered off the track on the express route between Madrid and Ferrol on the Galician coast.

The train cut through electricity lines and leaking diesel fuel burst into flames in some carriages.

At least 130 people were taken to hospital after the crash, with 70 still in hospital and 22 remaining in a critical condition.

Five US citizens and one Briton were among the injured and one American was among the dead.

Two separate investigations are being carried out into the catastrophe - one to look into possible failings by the driver and the other to examine the train's in-built speed regulation systems and see if it was a technical malfunction that meant the driver was not warned of the reduced speed limit around the bend.

The train crash is the worst Spain has experienced since a three-train accident in a tunnel in the northern Leon province in 1944.

Due to heavy censorship at the time, the exact death toll for the Torre del Bierzo disaster has never been established.

The official figure was given as 78 dead, but it is thought that as many as 250 could have been killed.

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Egypt Violence: Government Under Pressure

Negotiations are continuing in Egypt after defiant pro-Morsi supporters vowed to sacrifice their "blood and souls" for the ousted president.

After a weekend of violence, several thousand of Mohamed Morsi's supporters marched towards Cairo's military intelligence HQ on Sunday night - despite army warnings to stay away.

They chanted "Our blood and souls we sacrifice for Morsi" as they made their way towards the military HQ from the site of a peaceful vigil outside a mosque in northern Cairo.

Eventually the group turned back, but the march raises fears over what will happen next in the stand-off between the army and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Protesters from the Anti-Coup Alliance of Islamist groups, which has organised the protests, has now called for a "million-person march" on Tuesday. They also called for marches on "security administration buildings" on Monday night.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has flown into Egypt for talks as international pressure increases on the new regime over the weekend's bloodshed, which claimed more than 80 lives.

More than 70 died in street killings of Morsi supporters during a demonstration on Saturday, which followed a day of rival mass rallies. Government officials have rejected witness accounts that police fired on crowds and an investigation is under way. 

A Morsi supporter runs from tear gas

There were further deaths on Sunday, including a 17-year-old who was killed in fighting between pro and anti-Morsi groups.

The country's new rulers warned they would take "decisive and firm" action against protesters if they went beyond their right to peaceful demonstration.

Egypt's vice presidency said Ms Ashton would meet interim president Adly Mansour and Mohamed ElBaradei, who is vice president for international affairs. Mr ElBaradei has denounced the "excessive use of force" against protesters.

State news agency Mena said Ms Ashton would also hold talks with members of the deposed president's Muslim Brotherhood and the Tamarod group, which organised protests that led to Mr Morsi being overthrown by the army.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon warned Egypt's interim leadership on Sunday that every death made it harder to drag the country out of its crisis.

Mr Ban "expressed his profound concern about the direction in which the transition in Egypt is moving" and condemned the heightened violence, said UN spokeswoman Morana Song.

But tensions remained high after Saturday's killings, the bloodiest incident since Mr Morsi was overthrown on July 3.

Mr Mansour's adviser Moustafa Hegazy told reporters the deaths were "saddening", but he dubbed the protest area where the deaths occurred a "terror-originating spot" and said: "We cannot decouple this from context of terrorism."

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Italy Coach Crash: 38 People Dead After Fall

At least 38 people have been killed in southern Italy after a coach plunged 100ft off a motorway flyover and split in half.

The tour bus hit several cars that were slowed by heavy traffic before smashing through a guardrail and concrete barriers.

Witnesses said that the coach, which crashed near Avellino, appeared to suddenly lose control before smashing into the cars.

Many of the dead were discovered lying outside of the vehicle, while others were found inside the mangled wreckage.

Two people later died in hospital. A number of children were also on the coach but so far they are not believed to be among the dead.

The wreckage was recovered from site on Monday morning

An investigation into possible manslaughter charges has begun, according to Italian media.

Rescuers with electric saws had worked through the night to cut through the twisted metal of the coach, stopping occasionally to listen for any cries for help.

The bodies of the dead were laid out on the roadside, covered in white sheets as emergency crews attended to the injured.

A number of wooden coffins were also brought to the scene.

It is not known if anyone in the cars was injured

The coach had been warned of heavy traffic ahead near Avellino, outside Naples, along a stretch of the A116 motorway, highway officials said.

Flashing signs near the flyover also warned vehicles to slow down.

Officials said the driver, for reasons not yet clear, appeared to have lost control of his vehicle.

Some witnesses told local media the coach was travelling at "normal speed" before suddenly veering off course, and describe hearing a noise as if the vehicle had blown a tyre.

However, journalist Tom Kington, who is at the scene, said there were some conflicting repots.

Coffins were lined up at the scene of the crash

"Others are talking about it arriving on the flyover way too fast," said Kington.

"There were signs apparently warning vehicles to slow down, there was thick traffic on the flyover.

"Some have said the bus came in too fast, didn't have enough time to slow down, hence the smashing into the other vehicles."

It is understood the driver of the coach is among the dead, a fire service spokesman said.

Reports said as many as 49 people had been aboard the coach when it ripped through barriers and fell 100ft (30m) into a ravine near a wooded area.

Despite the carnage, some passengers managed to walk away from the crash, said members of the emergency services.

The coach crashed in a rural area anout 30 miles inland from Naples

"They're talking also about the miraculous escape of 10 people from the wreckage of this bus," said Tom Kington at  the scene.

"They're saying 'we can't explain it'.

"People just got up and walked out of the wreckage, including, miraculously, a whole family of four."

One car involved in the incident had its rear completely crumpled, while another was smashed on its side. It was not immediately known if anyone in those cars had been injured.

The A116 highway links western and eastern Italy across the south.

Early reports said the passengers had spent the day in Puglia, an area near the Adriatic on the east coast famed for religious shrines.

But later it was reported that the coach had been bringing the passengers home after an outing to a thermal spa near the town of Benevento, not far from Avellino.

Most of the passengers were from the Campania area around Naples, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

The coach came off the highway in a largely agricultural area about 30 miles inland from Naples and 150 miles south of Rome.

A local magistrate has arrived at the crash scene to begin an investigation into the cause of the crash.

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