Fort Hood Shooting: Major Nidal Hasan Guilty

Major Nidal Hasan has been found guilty of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others at the Fort Hood military base.

The army psychiatrist could face the death penalty after military jurors reached unanimous verdicts on 13 counts of premeditated murder and also found him guilty of 32 counts of premeditated attempted murder.

Hasan gave no visible reaction as the verdict was read out.

The jury will begin hearing the "penalty phase" of the court martial on Monday and make a recommendation to the judge, who will determine the sentence.

If the death penalty is approved, Hasan would face death by lethal injection for the 2009 shooting spree on the Texas base.

The 42-year-old defended himself during the 13-day trial but chose not to call witnesses or testify and questioned only three of prosecutors' nearly 90 witnesses.

In statements to the judge the American-born Muslim suggested that he believed the attack was justified as a jihad against the US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kim Munley, who helped take down Hasan, tweeted her "joy" at the verdict

Sergeant Kim Munley, a member of Fort Hood's SWAT team who was shot three times as she took down the shooter, tweeted her delight at the verdict.

She wrote: "So overwhelmed with joy and tears!!!! I sure hope those 14 angels and dancing with joy from above!!! God Bless the victims in their strength."

Hasan never denied opening fire in a crowded waiting room at Fort Hood, where unarmed troops were making final preparations to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.

All but one of the dead were soldiers, including a pregnant private who curled on the floor and pleaded for her baby's life.

The sentencing phase is expected to begin with more testimony from survivors of the attack in a medical center where soldiers were waiting in long lines for immunizations and medical clearance.

About 50 soldiers and civilians testified of hearing someone scream "Allahu akbar!" - Arabic for "God is great!" - and seeing a man in Army camouflage open fire.

Hasan, pictured in his uniform, carefully planned the attack at Fort Hood

Many identified Hasan as the shooter and recalled his handgun's red and green laser sights piercing a room made dark with gun smoke.

Hasan spent weeks planning the November 5, 2009, attack. His preparation included buying the handgun and videotaping a sales clerk showing him how to change the magazine.

He later offered $10 at a gun range outside Austin for pointers on how to reload with speed and precision.

An instructor said he told Hasan to practise while watching TV or sitting on his couch with the lights off.

Soldiers testified that Hasan's rapid reloading made it all but impossible to stop the shooting.

Investigators recovered 146 shell casings inside the medical building and dozens more outside, where Hasan shot at the backs of soldiers fleeing toward the parking lot.

The military's death row has just five other prisoners and no other soldier has been executed since 1961.

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Syria: US Moves Warship As Strike Calls Grow

US defence officials said an additional warship has been moved into the Mediterranean Sea as calls for military action against the Syrian regime grow following an alleged chemical attack.

The US Sixth Fleet has decided to keep the USS Mahan in the region instead of letting it return to its home port in Norfolk, Virginia.

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

Survivors of the alleged gas attack rest inside a Damascus mosque

All four warships are equipped with several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles which would allow the Pentagon to act rapidly if a military strike was ordered against Syria.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel suggested commanders have prepared a range of "options" for President Barack Obama if he chose to launch a strike against Bashar al Assad's regime.

He said: "The president has asked the Defence Department for options. Like always, the Defence Department is prepared and has been prepared to provide all options for all contingencies to the president of the US."

Dead animals lie in the street in the suburb of Zamalka

Mr Hagel said he expected US intelligence to "swiftly" assess whether the Syrian government did use chemical weapons in two Damascus suburbs.

Mr Obama last year threatened to punish Assad's regime if it resorted to using chemical weapons during the conflict, saying the use of weapons of mass destruction constituted a "red line" being crossed.

Russia on Friday joined calls for a swift probe into the alleged chemical weapon attack.

Syrian refugees in the Quru Gusik camp in Iraq

Britain and France have pressed for a team of UN inspectors already in Syria to be granted immediate access to the sites of the gas attack that activists say killed more than 130 people.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Friday 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."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent his disarmament chief to Damascus to press Assad's regime to agree to an investigation.

Immediate access would allow inspectors to collect blood and soil samples to detect what chemicals - if any - were used.

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

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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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Syria: One Million Children Have Fled Conflict

One million children have fled war-torn Syria and another two million have been displaced by the civil war, according to the UN.

Children make up half of all refugees from more than two years of conflict in the country, the latest figures show.

Most have found a haven in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq or Egypt, but they are increasingly fleeing to North Africa and Europe.

Anthony Lake, head of UN children's agency Unicef, said in a statement: "This one millionth child refugee is not just another number.

"This is a real child ripped from home, maybe even from a family, facing horrors we can only begin to comprehend."

A girl carries a baby boy in a refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

The UN's most recent figures show that some 740,000 Syrian refugees are under the age of 11.

Antonio Guterres, UN high commissioner for refugees, said: "What is at stake is nothing less than the survival and wellbeing of a generation of innocents.

"The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures.

"Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatised, depressed and in need of a reason for hope."

More than two million children have been driven from their homes in the face of the civil war.

The UN said more than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which started as a crackdown on protests against the regime of President Bashar al Assad in March 2011.

According to the organisation's human rights division, some 7,000 of the dead were youngsters.

The UN also warned the refugee children face the threat of child labour, early marriage and the potential for sexual exploitation and trafficking.

More than 3,500 children in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq have crossed Syria's borders unaccompanied or separated from their families.

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Syria: Ban Ki-Moon Warns Of 'Consequences'

Time Ticking To Prove Gas Attack

Updated: 12:24pm UK, Thursday 22 August 2013

By Alex Rossi, Sky Correspondent

The video evidence is compelling.

The pictures are horrific.

Hours of footage has now emerged on YouTube of children and adults suffering from what appear to be the after-effects of a chemical attack.

Many of the images are too distressing to show.

They would also be phenomenally difficult to stage.

Directing children to appear to be choking to death in such detail would take the budget and expertise of a Hollywood director - most experts say that this is clearly not the case.

There is now a weight of agreement that the pictures show - incontrovertibly - the aftermath of a deadly chemical assault.

The numbers of dead also suggest that that analysis is the correct one - the death toll just keeps on rising.

On Wednesday there were many questions as to why medical staff and first aiders had not been affected by secondary contamination?

Twenty four hours on and that question has been answered - they are; it just took time.

Many of the people who treated the victims are suffering the deadly consequences of exposure to a lethal nerve agent.

Experts say the timescale is similar to what was seen in the Tokyo subway attack in 1995 when sarin gas was used.

The former head of the British Army's chemical weapons unit, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, said while video can never be 100% conclusive the evidence it presents is overwhelming.

"It very much looks like a chemical agent has been used, perhaps a nerve agent - the fact that staff have now died as well is revealing. It is disturbingly similar to what was seen in Halabja in Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

But nonetheless without investigation on the ground there are too many questions as to what really happened and who is responsible.

The Russians for instance claim what we are witnessing is an attempt to discredit the Assad regime.

YouTube after all has been used extensively by both sides to spread propaganda throughout the conflict.

The opposition, for example, knows that the widespread use of chemical weapons would be a 'Red Line' issue for the White House and the international community and could trigger Western intervention.

President Assad certainly has the capability to carry out such an assault - it is believed the regime has one of the biggest stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in the world -  but the only way to know for certain is to get a an expert UN inspection team out on the ground.  

That though is easier said than done.

Although the attacks have taken place just 20 minutes outside central Damascus the area is unsafe.

The UN is unlikely to allow the inspectors, who are already in place, to go there without a guaranteed cessation in the violence.

President Assad is also unlikely to give them permission to travel to the district of eastern Ghouta.

And there lies the problem - if a nerve agent like sarin has been used it would be a race against the clock as the evidence at the crime scene will evaporate in the coming days and weeks.

Without the on the ground analysis then, there cannot be a 100% certainty of what really happened, or who carried out the attack. 

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Egypt: Hosni Mubarak Released From Prison

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been released from prison and flown by helicopter to a military hospital.

Television pictures showed him leaving Tora prison on the southern outskirts of Cairo and landing minutes later in the nearby suburb of Maadi.

It comes after a court ordered his release in relation to charges of receiving gifts from a state-owned newspaper.

He is expected to be placed under house arrest at the hospital on the orders of Egyptian prime minister Hazem el Beblawi - a decision made under a month-long state of emergency declared when police stormed protest camps in Cairo.

Mubarak could not be seen as his stretcher was taken from the helicopter and loaded into an ambulance, which was heavily guarded as it made the short journey to the military hospital.

Mubarak's supporters celebrate his release from Cairo's Tora prison

His supporters, many of whom gathered outside the prison where he was detained, celebrated the release of their former leader.

"We love Mubarak," said Mohamed Hussein.

His sister Fatheya added: "Isn't it enough that for 30 years he did not drag us into a war and let us live in dignity?"

However, some Egyptians expressed their disappointment at his release.

"He should stay in prison," said Hoda Saleh, whose brother is an inmate at Tora.

"The country is facing obstacles so people are turning back to Mubarak. They don't know what they are doing."

Mubarak, 85, is believed to be suffering from a heart condition, although the severity of his health problems is disputed by critics who claim he is trying to gain public sympathy and court leniency.

He was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall.

However, a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial, which is expected to resume next week.

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Hosni Mubarak To Be Placed Under House Arrest

An Egyptian court has ordered the release of ousted 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 the maximum amount of pretrial detention permitted in that case.

Egypt's prime minister said the former leader would be placed under house arrest when he is released from prison following more than two years in detention.

Hazem el-Beblawi said in a statement on Wednesday that he had ordered the move as part of the emergency measures put in place this month.

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."

Egypt's prosecutor will not appeal against the court ruling.

"The decision to release Mubarak issued today ... is final and the prosecution cannot appeal against it," Judge Ahmed el-Bahrawi said.

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.

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Bo Xilai Corruption Trial Begins In China

Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has gone on trial accused of abuse of power and netting more than (£2.5m) in bribery and embezzlement.

Once the powerful party boss in the megacity of Chongqing, the charismatic Bo became the most senior leader to fall from power in years after revelations emerged last year that his wife had killed a British businessman.

Bo entered the courthouse in the eastern city of Jinan under police escort with nearby roads sealed off with red and yellow barriers.

Some of his supporters gathered outside the perimeter shouting "He served the people!" and "He was a good cadre!"

Police at the courthouse in Jinan

The Weibo account of Jinan Intermediate People's Court released the first pictures of him in front of the judge flanked by two police officers.

It also quoted Bo, who said: "I hope the judge will try this case fairly and reasonably, and try this problem according to our country's lawful process."

Weibo is the Chinese version of Twitter and has over 500 million users in the country.

Supporters behind the barriers at the courthouse

This measure, unseen in previous high level court cases in China, was understood to be an attempt by the authorities to make proceedings more transparent.

The scandal was triggered last year when Bo's police chief, a top aide, fled to a US consulate in a neighbouring city, an event that embarrassed the party's leadership ahead of a key political transition.

It would later emerge that the police chief had evidence of the Briton's murder, making the Bo family an international diplomatic liability for the leadership.

Prosecutors accused Bo of accepting bribes amounting to more than 20 million yuan (£2.1m) when he was posted to the eastern city of Dalian from 1999 to 2012.

Gu Kailai and Neil Heywood

He also was accused of embezzling five million yuan (£526,000) from a public construction project in a transaction that also involved his wife.

Bo denies a charge of accepting a bribe of 1.1 million yuan (£115,000) from Tang Xiaolin, General Manager of Dalian International Development Corporation - a company directly associated with Dalian government when Bo was the mayor and Party Secretary of the city.

He is additionally charged with abuse of power related to his alleged attempts in Chongqing to block an investigation into Mr Heywood's murder in late 2011, the court said.

A verdict of guilt is all but assured, because the outcome of such trials involving high-profile politicians in China are usually decided by backroom negotiations by politicians and handed down by the court.

Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, confessed to killing Neil Heywood and was handed a suspended death sentence last year that will likely be commuted to life imprisonment.

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

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.

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 "all red lines" have been crossed.

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".

But Iran, the country'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.

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.

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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.

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, a spokesman for the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), 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".

The 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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Georgia School Shooting: Clerk Thwarts Gunman

A clerk has said she stalled a gunman at an elementary school in Georgia, giving police time to intervene before he could make his way into packed classrooms.

Clerk Antoinette Tuff described how she watched the suspect enter the school.

Ms Tuff said she saw "a young man ready to kill anybody that he could and take any lives he wanted to".

When law enforcement officials arrived at the scene, she said, the suspect "went outside several times and shot at police officers".

He ordered Ms Tuff to call local television WSB-TV, and request that a camera crew record him "killing police", according to WSB.

"He told me he was sorry for what he was doing. He was willing to die," Ms Tuff recalled.

Parents wait for their children behind a police line near the school

She said she initially sought to calm down the gunman by asking his name, but he wouldn't give it to her. At that point, she started telling him her life story.

"I told him, 'OK, we all have situations in our lives. I went through a tragedy myself,'" she said, telling him how her marriage had fallen apart after more than 30 years.

"It was going to be OK. If I could recover, he could too."

Then she asked Hill to put his weapons down, empty his pockets and backpack and lay on the floor.

"I told the police he was giving himself up. I just talked him through it," Ms Tuff told ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer.

The suspect, 20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill, has been apprehended, and nobody was hurt.

Children were escorted out of the school as shots were heard

He was carrying an AK-47 and other weapons when he entered the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, a few miles east of Atlanta, police officials said.

He may have slipped inside the secure school behind someone authorised to be there, officials said.

The suspect, who had no clear ties to the school, never got past the front office, where he held one or two employees captive for a time.

As the standoff was going on, more than 800 students in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade were evacuated.

Television footage captured the young students racing out of the building, being escorted by teachers and police to safety.

Chief Cedric Alexander of the Dekalb Police talks to the parents

The scene was reminiscent of shootings in American schools, including the massacre at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary, where 20 first-graders and six teachers were killed in December.

Hill did not resist arrest. said Chief Cedric Alexander of the Dekalb Police. His motive remains unclear, and police were questioning Hill.

He is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, terroristic threats and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

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Syria: Hundreds Killed In 'Gas Attack'

Syria Aid Workers 'Overwhelmed'

Updated: 8:07am UK, Wednesday 21 August 2013

Thousands of Syrian refugees have been streaming over the border into Iraqi Kurdistan, the UN refugee agency has said.

Up to 10,000 people - mainly women, children and the elderly - crossed on Saturday, days after 7,000 fled a deteriorating security situation in north eastern parts of Syria.

The latest refugees have been taking advantage of a new pontoon bridge over the River Tigris - with Save the Children claiming the aid effort has been "overwhelmed" by the sheer numbers.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says the movement is one of the single biggest waves of refugees it has faced since the uprising against President Bashar al Assad started in March 2011.

The agency's Iraq representative Claire Bourgeois said: "UNHCR is witnessing a major exodus from Syria over the past few days unlike anything we have witnessed entering Iraq previously."

Abdulkarim Brendar, who trekked to the border with his five children, told AFP: "There was war and looting and problems. We did not find a morsel (of food), so with our children we came here."

Save the Children said around 7,000 refugees have been taken to an emergency camp, but thousands are still waiting to be registered at the border in temperatures of up to 40C.

The charity has launched an emergency response to deal with the stranded families and expects to distribute more than 40 litres of water in the coming days.

Save the Children's emergency team leader Alan Paul said: "This is an unprecedented influx of refugees, and the main concern is that so many of them are stuck out in the open at the border or in emergency reception areas with limited, if any, access to basic services.

"The refugee response in Iraq is already thinly stretched, and close to half of the refugees are children who have experienced things no child should. We urgently need to cover their basic needs- food, water and shelter."

The flood of refugees came as UN chemical weapons inspectors arrived in Damascus to start a mission that has been delayed several times.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad vowed that Syria will "fully cooperate" with the team led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, who were flanked by a 20-strong security team as they arrived at their five star hotel.

The UN team's mission will be limited to investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in three areas, in particular the March 19 attack in the Aleppo suburb of Khan al Assal, which Mr Assad blames on rebels.

Mr Assad's government and the rebels each say the other side has used chemical weapons during the 28 month conflict.

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Egypt: Brotherhood's Supreme Leader Arrested

The supreme leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been arrested on charges of "inciting the murder of protesters".

The development comes as authorities continue a crackdown on the Brotherhood, the party of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, which has sparked deadly protests and international condemnation.

Mohammed Badie was arrested in an apartment near Rabaa al Adawiya square, where hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed last Wednesday as police cleared their protest camp.

Senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, including Mr Badie, are wanted for questioning, accused of inciting the deaths of protesters.

The arrest comes days after his son was killed.

The arrest could spark further violence

Egypt's interior ministry has said it has arrested more than 1,000 Muslim Brotherhood "elements" during the unrest.

Mr Morsi was deposed by the military on July 3 in what his supporters call a coup.

His opponents say the military had no choice but to intervene after the start of another popular uprising like the one that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Mubarak's lawyer said on Monday that he expects the deposed dictator to be freed from jail after being cleared of corruption charges.

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

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

Sinai has been witnessing near daily attacks by suspected militants since July 3.

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Pakistan: Musharraf Charged In Bhutto Death

Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been charged over the 2007 murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

"He was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy for murder and facilitation for murder," said public prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar.

Musharraf appeared briefly at the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, where he denied the charges.

He has been under house arrest near Islamabad since April 19, but appeared before the court in person.

"The charges were read out to him in the court. He denied the charges," said Mr Azhar.

Musharraf's legal team has dismissed the indictment.

"These charges are baseless. We are not afraid of the proceedings. We will follow legal procedures in the court," his lawyer Syeda Afshan Adil said.

Scores of security forces guarded the area around the court in Rawalpindi, the city where Bhutto was killed on December 27, 2007, and roads were sealed off for Musharraf's appearance.

The indictment follows lingering speculation about the possibility of a behind-the-scenes deal that could allow Musharraf to leave Pakistan without facing the courts and embarrassing the military.

Bhutto, twice elected prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack after campaigning for elections that were won by her Pakistan People's Party in February 2008.

There was no public claim of responsibility for her murder.

Musharraf's government blamed the assassination on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement.

He was killed in a US drone attack in 2009.

The Bhutto case is one in a series of court battles that Musharraf has faced over allegations dating back to his 1999-2008 rule, since he returned in March from four years of self-imposed exile.

The new government headed by Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf deposed in 1999, has said he should stand trial for treason for subverting the constitution and has appointed a committee to investigate him.

The offence carries the death penalty or life imprisonment.

The case has been adjourned until August 27.

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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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India: Express Train Kills Dozens Of Pilgrims

A speeding train ploughed through a red signal and hit a group of pilgrims crossing the tracks, killing at least 35, Indian authorities have said.

The Hindu pilgrims had been returning from morning prayers on Monday at the end of a month of prayer ceremonies at the Katyaynani temple near Dhamara Ghat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site.

The deaths sparked riots and a 5,000-strong crowd gathered around the scene of the accident in the Saharsa district in the state of Bihar. People pulled the driver from the stricken train and badly beat him before ransacking the nearby Dhamara Ghat station.

They then helped the remaining passengers from the carriages before setting some of them on fire, according to the local chief Arun Malik.

Mr Malik said: "Six carriages have been set on fire and the station has been ransacked by the mob. Our staff have fled the station fearing attacks."

Kumar Ashutosh, a passenger on the train, said that within a few seconds of hitting people on the track, the driver slammed on the emergency brakes and the train ground to a halt.

He said: "Soon, groups of people began running toward the engine. They asked us to get down from the train. Some of them pulled out the driver and his assistant and began beating them."

The accident happened in the Saharsa district of northeastern India

District magistrate Syed Pervez Alam said the dismembered bodies of passengers who had been killed were lying on the track. The angry mob has chased away policemen and officials who tried to reach the station.

"I had woken up and was sitting near the window, when all this happened. There were crowds of people on the platform and some on the track. It all happened so fast," he said.

Railways spokesman Amitabh Prabhakar said that the pilgrims were killed "by an express train while they were crossing the tracks despite the red signal".

PN Raid, a Bihar Railway official said that 35 people had been killed in the accident.

However, the chairman of the national railway board, Arunendra Kumar, who is based in New Delhi, said that the Rajya Rani Express had been given permission to pass.

He said: "The accident occurred because some people left the platform of the station and came on the tracks." 

India has the largest railway network in the world but has a poor safety record.

Figures released by the railways minister in 2011 show that between January 2007 and September 2011 some 2,000 died in 738 accident.

Deaths at the country's 50,000 crossings were significantly greater with 2012 government figures showing 15,000 people were killed every year.

There have been continued promises from the government to improve the safety records of India's overcrowded and often unsafe trains.

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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

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."

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Gibraltar: HMS Westminster Arrives At Rock

HMS Westminster has arrived in Gibraltar a day after Spanish fishermen were involved in a stand-off with UK military and police boats.

The Royal Navy warship sailed in as tensions between Spain and the British territory were described as their worst for 40 years.

The type 23 frigate, which left Portsmouth naval base six days ago, is due to spend three days on the Rock, before joining several other vessels taking part in a pre-planned international training exercise called Cougar 13 in the Mediterranean and Gulf.

Its visit was described by the Ministry of Defence as "long-planned".

But Sky's David Bowden, in Gibraltar, said given the growing diplomatic spat, the warship's presence will be seen as a "strong symbol" of Britain's desire to defend its territory.

Spanish fishing boats were intercepted as they entered UK waters

Yesterday, a flotilla of more than 30 fishing boats was "corralled" by Royal Navy vessels after protesting near the spot where Gibraltar's government placed 70 concrete blocks in disputed waters next to the Rock.

Gibraltar says it has created the concrete artificial reef there to protect local fish stocks from trawling, but Madrid says it restricts their right to fish.

The Spanish government has accused Gibraltar of laying the blocks "without the necessary authorisation" in "waters that are not theirs".

It responded by introducing additional checks at the fenced border, and suggesting a 50 euro (£43.30) fee could be imposed on every vehicle entering or leaving Gibraltar.

Yesterday's protest prompted calls for renewed efforts from the European Union to solve the dispute.

Gibraltar border checks have led to long queues that take hours to clear

Julie Girling, a Conservative MEP for Gibraltar, called the flotilla a "provocative attempt to stir things up yet again" by a government in Madrid facing allegations of corruption.

Afterwards, Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar's chief minister, thanked the British authorities for their help.

Mr Picardo, who has reportedly received death threats and been targeted by Spanish internet trolls, wrote on Twitter: "Big thank you also to Royal Navy, Gib Defence Police, HM Customs and Port Authority for their deployment too.

"Cool, professional and calm!"

He said "hell will freeze over" before Gibraltar removes the concrete reef and accused Spain of behaving like North Korea.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he will take all legal measures to defend his country's interests.

HMS Illustrious is also due to take part in the Cougar 13 wargames

On Friday, Prime Minister David Cameron raised the dispute with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

He said the checks - which have seen huge delays at the border in recent weeks - were "politically motivated and disproportionate" and therefore contrary to the EU right of free movement.

The row has set relations between Spain and the territory back 40 years, according to Edward Macquisten, chief executive of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce.

He said it was also having an impact on Gibraltar's high season tourist trade, which usually sees hordes of British visitors from Spanish resorts.

Spain ceded sovereignty of Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, but has persistently sought to regain the tiny enclave.

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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.

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.

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.

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

"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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