US And Iran Leaders In Historic Conversation

The leaders of the US and Iran have spoken on the telephone - the first conversation between presidents of the two countries in more than 30 years.

The exchange between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani could reflect a major step in resolving global concerns over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Mr Obama said he had a constructive conversation, adding: "While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution."

The fact it had been so long since American and Iranian presidents had spoken to each other reflected the "deep mistrust between our countries", the US leader said.

But it also indicated the opportunity for moving forward, he went on. "I do believe there is a basis for a resolution," he said.

Both leaders will now direct their teams to work quickly to find an agreement after the first direct verbal communication between the nations' presidents since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Earlier, Mr Rouhani said he hoped talks with the US and other world powers over its nuclear programme will lead to results in "a short period of time".

He said Iran would present its plan for a resolution to the nuclear issue at discussions with the six countries scheduled for Geneva on October 15 and 16.

The six are the five permanent UN Security Council members - Britain, China, France, the United States and Russia - and Germany, known as P5+1.

Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is a peaceful attempt to generate electricity but America and its allies including Israel have long demanded a halt to Tehran's uranium enrichment, fearing it could secretly build nuclear warheads.

Mr Rouhani addressed the UN General Assembly

Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel for nuclear energy but at higher levels it can be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Mr Rouhani vowed his country would not build a nuclear bomb, adding his government would be transparent and had the backing of authorities at home to handle the nuclear issue.

And earlier this week, he said he would like to see a deal with world powers in three to six months.

In his latest comments, he said: "We say explicitly that we will be transparent; we say explicitly that we will not build a bomb. Through the P5+1 we want to provide even more assurances."

He added: "I think that any result this government reaches, it will have the support of other powers (power centres) in Iran. On the nuclear issue, the government has total discretion."

It comes after the highest-level talks between Iran and the US in a generation, and Mr Rouhani said the atmosphere was "quite different from the past".

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met US Secretary of State John Kerry along with representatives from the other P5+1 powers. That was followed by a brief bilateral meeting between Mr Zarif and Mr Kerry.

The two sides said the tone was positive but they remained cautious about resolving the long-running stand-off over Tehran's nuclear programme.

John Kerry of the US meets Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

The Iranian president, who came to power last month, said he hoped nuclear talks "will yield, in a short period of time, tangible results".

But he also slammed "illegal" sanctions crippling his country's economy, saying they were just a means by some nations to pursue a "short-sighted" foreign policy.

Mr Rouhani and Mr Zarif, both in New York this week to attend the UN General Assembly, have said they are eager to clinch an agreement quickly that could bring relief from sanctions.

The sanctions have slashed Iran's vital oil exports by more than half, restricted its international bank transfers, devalued its currency and sent inflation surging.

On Friday in separate talks, Iran and the UN nuclear agency IAEA held "constructive" discussions and made plans to meet again on October 28, adding to momentum for a negotiated end to the nuclear standoff.

The talks would be nearly two weeks after the P5+1 discussions, as European Union foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton called it an "ambitious timetable" to address Western concerns.

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Greece: Far-Right Golden Dawn Boss Arrested

The leader of Greece's Golden Dawn party has been arrested in a crackdown on the group launched after the murder of a leftist musician.

Nikos Michaloliakos, 56, was arrested along with Golden Dawn MP and spokesman Ilias Kassidiairis and two other party members on charges of founding to a "criminal organisation".

It is the first time since 1974 that sitting members of parliament have been arrested.

Two police officials said an operation by the counterterrorism unit is still ongoing, with a total of about 35 arrest warrants for Golden Dawn members issued. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

The arrests come 11 days after the killing of left-wing activist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by an alleged Golden Dawn member.

Though the party has vehemently denied any role in the killing, it has appeared to dent its appeal among Greeks and the government has worked to crackdown on the party.

Golden Dawn expressed outrage at the arrests in a text message to journalists.

The killing of Mr Fyssas sparked protests in Athens earlier in September

"We call upon everyone to support our moral and just struggle against the corrupt system! Everyone come to our offices!" it said.

Mr Mihaloliakos warned on Friday that the party may pull its 18 politicians from parliament if the crackdown does not stop.

The move would prompt by-elections that could hurt the coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, which has a slim majority of 155 MPs in the 300-seat parliament.

A formerly marginal organisation, Golden Dawn entered the Greek Parliament for the first time in May 2012, capitalising on Greece's deep financial crisis, rising crime and anti-immigrant sentiment, polling just under 7%. It has 18 deputies.

A government spokesman refused to comment on the details of the operation.

"Democracy can protect itself. Justice will do its job," Simos Kedikoglou told reporters.

Authorities also said they arrested a local Golden Dawn leader in an Athens suburb, as well as nine other unnamed party members.

In addition to Mr Michaloliakos and Mr Kassidiris, Golden Dawn deputy, Ilias Panayiotaros, gave himself up at police headquarters, telling police they were looking for him at a wrong address.

Another lawmaker, Yannis Lagos, has also been arrested.

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Syria Chemical Weapons: UN Resolution Passed

A "historic" resolution to destroy Syria's chemical weapons has been passed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council.

All 15 members of the council voted in favour of the resolution, which was widely seen as a compromise between the US and Syria's key ally, Russia.

The vote after two weeks of intense negotiations marks a major breakthrough following two and a half years of paralysis that has gripped the council since the Syrian uprising began.

More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed during that time while millions have been displaced.

Russia's Sergei Lavrov votes in favour of the resolution

Russia and China previously vetoed three Western-backed resolutions pressuring President Bashar Assad's regime to end the violence.

Speaking immediately after the vote, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council: "Today's historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time."

Foreign Secretary William Hague described the development as "ground-breaking".

"The failure of the council to tackle the crimes committed on a daily basis has resulted in a culture of impunity in which a brutal regime believed it could get away with murdering its own men, women and children," he said.

"So it is vital that the council now builds on the consensus we have reached today to make progress today towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis.

UN chemical weapons experts carried out inspections in Syria

"With renewed purpose and resolve, we need to achieve a political transition."

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the "strong, enforceable, precedent-setting" resolution showed diplomacy can be so powerful "that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war."

He said the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile would begin in November and be completed by the middle of next year.

For the first time, the council endorsed the roadmap for a political transition in Syria adopted by key nations in June 2012 and called for an international conference to be convened "as soon as possible" to implement it.

Mr Ban said the target date for a new peace conference in Geneva was mid-November.

The resolution calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance.

That will give Assad ally Russia the means to stop any punishment from being imposed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the resolution does not automatically impose sanctions on Syria.

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Iran And US Agree To New Nuclear Talks

UN Leaders Make Nice In New York

Updated: 6:52am UK, Wednesday 25 September 2013

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

It's that time of year when the world's leaders descend on Manhattan for their annual get together.

The UN General Assembly, best known for diplomatic dustups and theatrical posturing by flamboyant dictators.

Nikita Khruschev comes to mind, probably bashing the podium with a shoe and Yasser Arafat brandishing a pistol.

If that's your thing, this year will be a disappointment.

I almost walked into Robert Mugabe just now. The Zimbabwean dictator and entourage swept into an elevator barely noticed, not pursued by a single camera. 

Was it my imagination or did he seem almost lonely? The last of a dying breed.

Fellow demagogues like Muammar Gaddafi deposed and killed, Hugo Chavez dead, this year's UN panto villain, Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir a no show, chickening out apparently, afraid of war crime charges.

And as for the Iranians who can normally be relied on to stick it to Great Satan and provoke at least a walkout?  This year quite the opposite. Making nicey nicey instead with the Americans with what looks like a historic thaw in the offing. Whatever next?

Barack Obama swept into the UN in his normal black limo looking like a man on a date.

For weeks he's been exchanging increasingly flirtatious letters with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.

Friends of both had been talking up chances of the two men meeting briefly in a corridor somewhere. Nothing too serious you understand but a completely casual yet completely choreographed handshake.

In the end, the pair did not meet - US officials said a meeting proved to be too complicated for the Iranians.

At the UN, the US leader talked about "taking a major step down a long road towards a different relationship - one based on mutual interests and mutual respect".

Hassan Rouhani said his country was prepared to engage in stalled negotiations over its disputed nuclear programme and was open to talks with the US "to manage differences".

Enough to make some of America's friends worry things are moving too fast, along with plenty of America's enemies in Tehran, if for different reasons.

This is just the beginning, there are plenty of reasons to be sceptical and it may all come to nothing.

But there's no doubt something has shifted and this year's story here is not about confrontation but rapprochement instead.

They certainly don't make UN General Assemblies like they used to.

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Mumbai Building Collapse: Dozens Trapped

A multi-storey building has collapsed in the Indian city of Mumbai, killing at least two people and leaving up to 90 people trapped.

Rescuers are trying to reach the dozens feared to be under the rubble, having already pulled out 12 people alive who were immediately rushed to hospital by waiting ambulances.

The residential building in India's financial capital, which is said to be home to up to 22 families, crumbled to the ground shortly after dawn.

Rescue workers pull out a survivor from underneath the rubble

Several diggers were immediately called into action to lift some of the larger slabs of concrete, allowing teams of rescuers to begin the task of searching for survivors, some of whom could be heard calling for help.

"Approximately 80 to 90 people are believed to be left behind in the building and trapped," said Alok Awasthi, local commander of the National Disaster Response Force.

Relatives gathered around the flattened site waiting for news about their loved ones.

"My son is inside. I'm waiting for them to get him out," said 62-year-old Mithi Solakani.

Neha Jagdale, a receptionist, rushed to the scene after hearing the news on TV.

"My uncle and aunt have been staying here for years," she said. "The police are not telling us anything. We are just waiting."

Firefighters at the scene look through a gap in the collapsed structure

The building is owned by the city's civic administrative body, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

It said the building was for employees and their families who had been asked to leave earlier this year - but did not say why.

Spokesman Vijay Khabale-Patil said: "The building was around 30 years old. We had issued a notice to them in April to vacate the building, but they did not act."

Five other apartment blocks have collapsed in or around Mumbai in recent months, including one illegally constructed building in April that killed 72 people.

A few weeks later a section of a hospital collapsed, injuring at least eight people.

And in June, 10 people, including five children, died when a three-storey building crumbled.

Building collapses have become relatively common across India.

Massive demand for housing around India's fast-growing cities combined with corruption often result in builders using substandard materials or adding extra floors without permission.

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Syria Chemical Weapons: UN Resolution Agreed

Syria: Text Of Draft UN Resolution

Updated: 9:47am UK, Friday 27 September 2013

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have agreed a draft resolution to rid Syria of its chemical weapons arsenal. Here is the text.

The Security Council,

PP1. Recalling the Statements of its President of 3 August 2011, 21 March 2012, 5 April 2012, and its resolutions 1540 (2004), 2042 (2012) and 2043 (2012),

PP2. Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP3. Reaffirming that the proliferation of chemical weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security,

PP4. Recalling that the Syrian Arab Republic on 22 November 1968 acceded to the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925,

PP5. Noting that on 14 September 2013, Syria deposited with the Secretary-General its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Convention) and declared that it shall comply with its stipulations and observe them faithfully and sincerely, applying the Convention provisionally pending its entry into force for the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP6. Welcoming the establishment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic ("the Mission") pursuant to General Assembly resolution 42/37 C (1987) of 30 November 1987, and reaffirmed by resolution 620 (1988) of 26 August 1988, and expressing appreciation for the work of the Mission,

PP7. Acknowledging the report of 16 September 2013(S/2013/553) by the Mission, underscoring the need for the Mission to fulfill its mandate, and emphasizing that future credible allegations of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic should be investigated,

PP8. Deeply outraged by the use of chemical weapons on 21 August 2013 in Rif Damascus, as concluded in the Mission's report, condemning the killing of civilians that resulted from it, affirming that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious violation of international law, and stressing that those responsible for any use of chemical weapons must be held accountable,

PP9. Recalling the obligation under resolution 1540 (2004)that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, and their means of delivery,

PP10. Welcoming the Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons dated 14 September 2013, in Geneva, between the Russian Federation and the United States of America (S/2013/565), with a view to ensuring the destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program in the soonest and safest manner, and expressing its commitment to the immediate international control over chemical weapons and their components in the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP11. Welcoming the decision of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of establishing special procedures for the expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program and stringent verification thereof, and expressing its determination to ensure the destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program according to the timetable contained in the OPCW Executive Council decision of,

PP12. Stressing that the only solution to the current crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process based on the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, and emphasising the need to convene the international conference on Syria as soon as possible,

PP13. Determining that the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic constitutes a threat to international peace and security,

PP14. Underscoring that Member States are obligated under Article 25 of the Charter of the United Nations to accept and carry out the Council's decisions,

1. Determines that the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security;

2. Condemns in the strongest terms any use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular the attack on 21 August 2013, in violation of international law;

3. Endorses the decision of the OPCW Executive Council, which contains special procedures for the expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program and stringent verification thereof and calls for its full implementation in the most expedient and safest manner;

4. Decides that the Syrian Arab Republic shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to other States or non-State actors;

5. Underscores that no party in Syria should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer chemical weapons;

6. Decides that the Syrian Arab Republic shall comply with all aspects of the decision of the OPCW Executive Council of (Annex I);

7. Decides that the Syrian Arab Republic shall cooperate fully with the OPCW and the United Nations, including by complying with their relevant recommendations, by accepting personnel designated by the OPCW or the United Nations, by providing for and ensuring the security of activities undertaken by these personnel, by providing these personnel with immediate and unfettered access to and the right to inspect, in discharging their functions, any and all sites, and by allowing immediate and unfettered access to individuals that the OPCW has grounds to believe to be of importance for the purpose of its mandate, and decides that all parties in Syria shall cooperate fully in this regard;

8. Decides to authorize an advance team of United Nations personnel to provide early assistance to OPCW activities in Syria, requests the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General to closely cooperate in the implementation of the Executive Council decision of and this resolution, including through their operational activities on the ground, and further requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Director-General of the OPCW and, where appropriate, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, to submit to the Council within 10 days of the adoption of this resolution recommendations regarding the role of the United Nations in eliminating the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program;

9. Notes that the Syrian Arab Republic is a party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, decides that OPCW-designated personnel undertaking activities provided for in this resolution or the decision of the OPCW Executive Council of shall enjoy the privileges and immunities contained in the Verification Annex, Part II(B) of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and calls on the Syrian Arab Republic to conclude modalities agreements with the United Nations and the OPCW;

10. Encourages Member States to provide support, including personnel, technical expertise, information, equipment, and financial and other resources and assistance, in coordination with the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General, to enable the OPCW and the United Nations to implement the elimination of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program, and decides to authorize Member States to acquire, control, transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons identified by the Director-General of the OPCW, consistent with the objective of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to ensure the elimination of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program in the soonest and safest manner;

11. Urges all Syrian parties and interested Member States with relevant capabilities to work closely together and with the OPCW and the United Nations to arrange for the security of the monitoring and destruction mission, recognizing the primary responsibility of the Syrian government in this regard;

12. Decides to review on a regular basis the implementation in the Syrian Arab Republic of the decision of the OPCW Executive Council and this resolution, and requests the Director-General of the OPCW to report to the Security Council, through the Secretary-General, who shall include relevant information on United Nations activities related to the implementation of this resolution, within 30 days and every month thereafter, and requests further the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General to report in a coordinated manner, as needed, to the Security Council, non-compliance with this resolution or the OPCW Executive Council decision of;

13. Reaffirms its readiness to consider promptly any reports of the OPCW under Article VIII of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which provides for the referral of cases of non-compliance to the United Nations Security Council;

14. Decides that Member States shall inform immediately the Security Council of any violation of resolution 1540 (2004), including acquisition by non-State actors of chemical weapons, their means of delivery and related materials in order to take necessary measures therefore;

Accountability

15. Expresses its strong conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic should be held accountable;

Political transition

16. Endorses fully the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 (Annex II), which sets out a number of key steps beginning with the establishment of a transitional governing body exercising full executive powers, which could include members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent;

17. Calls for the convening, as soon as possible, of an international conference on Syria to implement the Geneva Communiqué, and calls upon all Syrian parties to engage seriously and constructively at the Geneva Conference on Syria, and underscores that they should be fully representative of the Syrian people and committed to the implementation of the Geneva Communiqué and to the achievement of stability and reconciliation;

Non-Proliferation

18. Reaffirms that all Member States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, and calls upon all Member States, in particular Member States neighbouring the Syrian Arab Republic, to report any violations of this paragraph to the Security Council immediately;

19. Demands that non-State actors not develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer, or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, and calls upon all Member States, in particular Member States neighbouring the Syrian Arab Republic, to report any actions inconsistent with this paragraph to the Security Council immediately;

20. Decides that all Member States shall prohibit the procurement of chemical weapons, related equipment, goods and technology or assistance from the Syrian Arab Republic by their nationals, or using their flagged vessels or aircraft, whether or not originating in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic;

Compliance

21. Decides, in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter;

22. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

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Battle To Save US Youth From 'Jihadi Pipeline'

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Authorities in the American city regarded as the 'jihadi pipeline' for terror group al Shabaab say they are winning the battle to prevent young men being recruited.

The FBI says the group, which has admitted being behind the Nairobi mall massacre, has persuaded dozens of young men from within the Somalian community in Minneapolis to join them.

Police and community leaders in the city, the largest Somalian population in the United States, have waged a war to win the hearts and minds of young men and keep them out of al Shabaab's clutches.

And, they say, what was a steady flow of recruits has slowed to a trickle.

US Attorney General Eric Holder has said he has seen no evidence to suggest that any Americans were involved in the Nairobi operation.

But events in Kenya have sent a shudder through families in the Minneapolis Riverside area known as "Little Mogadishu" - they fear that some of those young men who have disappeared will be caught up in al Shabaab attacks on Western targets.

Al Shabaab militants train on the outskirts of Mogadishu in 2008

Last month the group posted a YouTube video featuring the so-called Minnesota Martyrs, three young inner-city Americans appealing for others to join them on "the path to paradise".

One, speaking directly to camera, says: "If you guys only knew how much fun we have over here, this is the real Disneyland, come here and join us, take pleasure in this fun."

And Sky News understands that two more young men disappeared from Minneapolis earlier this month - with their families fearing the worst.

Despite this, the authorities say they are making progress in the face of what the FBI says is one of the largest efforts to recruit Americans to a foreign terrorist organisation.

Sergeant Derwin Ellis, who leads the outreach effort for the sheriff's department, told Sky News: "We're moving in a positive direction.

A campaign is under way in Minneapolis to keep youths away from al Shabaab

"How that is measured as far as the battle overall is hard to say. Until al Shabaab ceases to exist I won't say that battle is over with."

Mohamed Farah is the executive director of a non-profit organisation called Ka Joog, which translates as "stay away". He told Sky News the outreach efforts are working.

He said: "The only way to combat such an organisation is education, making sure our young people understand and are educated not only in their religion, but socially, so they're aware of the good and the bad.

"It is working, it is definitely working. There will always be bad apples, but we must be positive."

They hope the example of young, smart, media-savvy role models in the community will be inspirational.

One of them, student Abdul Mohamed, told Sky News: "I'm very confident in the notion that this will end, that the youth will snap out of it, will realise this is not the right way to go, that nothing positive that can come out of it.

"There is hope in the future."

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Rouhani: Iran Wants Nuclear Deal 'In Months'

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani has said he wants to reach an agreement over the country's nuclear programme within three months.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Dr Rouhani said he was keen to set a three or six-month timetable to seal a nuclear deal.

He emphasised that Iran envisioned a process lasting "months, not years", and added that he had the backing to broker a deal from the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

"If we are on the issue of the nuclear file, we need resolution in a reasonable time," he told the newspaper.

"The only way forward is for a timeline to be inserted into the negotiations that's short - and wrap it up. That is a decision of my government, that short is necessary to settle the nuclear file.

"If it's three months that would be Iran's choice, if it's six months that's still good. It's a question of months, not years."

Dr Rouhani balked at meeting President Obama in New York

The United States, other Western powers and Israel suspect Tehran is using its nuclear programme as a cover to develop an atomic bomb, a claim Iran denies.

Dr Rouhani's comments come after signs of improving relations between the US and the Islamic Republic following his election earlier this year.

The Iranian leader, however, opted against meeting US President Barack Obama at the United Nations on Tuesday.

His latest comments came ahead of discussions on Iran's nuclear activities between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and their counterparts from the UK, China, France, Germany and Russia at the UN headquarters in New York.

In a separate interview, Dr Rouhani said the nuclear issue had "turned into an issue of national pride" for his country.

He told Charlie Rose on US public television that Iranians wanted no more than what is allowed under international law, adding: "Once we abide by that, I think everything else is settled."

Earlier, Dr Rouhani told the UN General Assembly that Iran was willing to make its nuclear programme "transparent" to assure the international community it was not seeking to build a bomb.

"If the West recognises Iran's legal rights then there's really no hurdle in creating full transparency that's necessary to settle this case," he said.

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Kenya Survivor 'Smeared Herself In Blood'

A survivor of the Nairobi mall attacks has described how she smeared herself with a victim's blood to play dead and fool the terrorists.

Radio presenter Sneha Kothari Mashru said a teenage boy lying next to her died of his wounds as they hid from the gunmen at the Westgate shopping centre in the Kenyan capital.

"I realised he was shot, because he was bleeding," she said.

"So I pulled out (his) phone slowly and I tried to switch it off, it was all full of blood, and I tried to switch off the phone so that it could stop ringing (in case it alerted the attackers).

"So I took a lot of his blood, (as) much (as) I could and I tried to put it on myself. I put it on my arm, a lot of the teenager's blood, and while I was trying to put it on my hand I just realised that he had stopped breathing at that time.

"So I put it on my arm, as much as I could, and I covered my face with my hair, because my hair was let loose even then, just to pretend that I'm dead or probably badly injured.

"I would still love to know who he is and everything, because his blood probably protected me from getting probably more injured or attacked."

Niall Saville and his wife Moon Hee Kang who died in the attack

Meanwhile, the family of a British man Niall Saville who was injured in the attack have paid tribute to his South Korean wife, Moon Hee Kang, who was killed.

"The Saville and Kang families are devastated and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Moon Hee.

"She was very close to the Saville family and brought so much joy to all of their lives. She and Niall had lived in numerous locations around the world together, but they always had time for both families," the statement said.

"Moon Hee was a bright, loving, kind and genuine person who will be greatly missed."

Terror group al Shabaab has claimed its militants carried out a "meticulous vetting process" to separate Muslims from non-Muslims before killing dozens of men, women and children in the mall.

Witnesses had described how the gunmen rounded up those inside centre before asking them questions about Islam.

In an email exchange with the Associated Press, the al Qaeda-affiliated terror group confirmed its fighters specifically targeted foreigners during the attack.

Security officials enter the mall to search for more evidence

"The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken every possible precaution to separate the Muslims from the Kuffar (disbelievers) before carrying out their attack," the group said.

It added: "Our targets have always been disbelievers, invaders and the apostate governments officials/troops who are allied with them."

The number killed in the attack is expected to rise from the current figure of 67, with speculation there could be additions to the six British dead.

Five terrorists were also killed in the four-day siege at the shopping centre, while 10 suspects remain in custody in relation to the incident.

Former prime minister Tony Blair told Sky News that terrorists are a "cancer" who will only be defeated by better education.

Speaking outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, the current envoy to the Middle East said Islamist ideology had created an enemy that was "insidious and venomous, but also difficult to beat".

"Unless we are educating people to a tolerant and respectful and open-minded approach to the world, then this cancer of these terrorist groups will continue," he said.

Miraculous tales of survival have emerged since the attack

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has warned that such attacks may become more frequent as al Shabaab tries to reassert its dwindling power base.

"Some people sometimes mix the issues that Shabaab want an Islamic state in Somalia - that's not true. Shabaab want a unified state all over the world," he told Channel 4 News.

"They do not believe in borders, they do not believe in sovereignty, so their theme is global, it's not even regional. They may do this act again and again."

On Wednesday the group threatened that if Kenyan troops remain in Somalia, they must "be prepared for an abundance of blood".

Experts from countries including the UK, the US and Israel are helping Kenyan authorities with the forensic investigation at the mall. Explosives experts and sniffer dogs are searching for booby traps in the wreckage.

Newly-released pictures show a gaping hole in the mall's roof and mounds of rubble.

The devastation was caused after soldiers fired rocket-propelled grenades and knocked out a support column.

A Kenyan government official said the soldiers fired to distract a sniper so that hostages could be evacuated.

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Kenya Siege Survivors Tell Of Brush With Death

Survivors of the Nairobi shopping centre terrorist attack have spoken of their attempts to hide from the gunmen as they fired indiscriminately at shoppers.

The attack at the Westgate Shopping Mall, which began on Saturday, has so far killed at least 67 people.

Eleven suspects are in custody and five of the attackers - thought to be members of Somalia's al Shabaab group - have been killed, but it is still unclear whether the four-day siege has been ended.

Ben Mulwa had just got out of his car after arriving at the mall for lunch with a friend.

He described running from his vehicle into the mall to escape the shooting when he saw four men armed with automatic weapons.

"There was a security guard who came to seek safety right next to where I was," he told Sky News after returning to hospital.

"He was the first to be shot dead because I remember they shot him right through the head.

"Before I could come to terms with that, that's when I saw the second gunman pointing a gun in my direction. All I remember is I heard a very loud bang.

"I think I almost passed out for a couple of seconds. A bullet grazed over my forehead - how he was able to miss me - and he was only three or four metres away from me - is a miracle somehow."

Kenyan security forces outside the Westgate mall

Mr Mulwa was also hit in the knee, and hid in a flowerbed before he was rescued.

Syed Ibrahim was shot by the gunmen and pleaded for his life, before the terrorists let him go.

He said: "I just told them to leave me alone, I've been injured, so they let me go and said we won't do anything to you because you have been shot already.

"The memory, you can't forget, you usually see it on TV or in movies. You wouldn't expect to see it in reality.

"It's not yet over, let's pray for the best."

Meanwhile, a five-year-old bravely confronted one of the gunman in the mall, telling him: "You're a very bad man, let us leave."

The Sun newspaper reported the little boy stood up to one of the terrorists after he shot his mother Amber in the leg.

The gunman then gave the boy and his six-year-old sister Mars bars, before letting them escape from the mall.

The children's father, Dan Prior, said: "I am very relieved that my family have survived and my thoughts go out to those families that are not as fortunate as my own. 

"My children are traumatised and my wife is very unwell as a result of this senseless atrocity."

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Pakistan Earthquake Leaves More Than 200 Dead

At least 210 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck southwestern Pakistan, causing hundreds of homes to collapse.

The earthquake, which centred on the thinly populated province of Balochistan, was felt across south Asia.

It destroyed around 90% of homes, many of them built from mud, and damaged communications.

The 7.7 magnitude quake was so strong it caused a small island to emerge just off the coastline in the Arabian Sea.

There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties, as rescue workers tried to reach those trapped beneath the rubble.

The rubble of a collapsed house in Awaran

Zahid bin Maqsood, the additional home secretary of Balochistan, said 210 people were confirmed dead and 375 injured.

However, officials speaking to the AFP news agency said 238 deaths had been confirmed so far, with 208 in the worst affected district of Awaran alone.

Deputy commissioner Abdul Rasheed Gogazai said at least 370 people had been injured in the region.

The Pakistan army deployed helicopters and 1,000 soldiers to help with the rescue effort in the huge, earthquake-prone province of deserts and rugged mountains bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

A survivor sips tea as he contemplates the damage

The area has only minimal infrastructure, making the evacuation and treatment of those injured by the earthquake more difficult.

Jan Muhammad Buledi, a spokesman for the Balochistan government, said: "We are seriously lacking medical facilities and there is no space to treat injured people in the local hospitals."

A convoy of 60 vehicles carrying food, medicines, tents and paramedics is due to arrive in Balochistan after leaving the city of Karachi.

The aid will be distributed among the 300,000 people thought to have been affected by the earthquake.

They include around 60,000 who live within 50km (31 miles) of the epicentre, southwest of Khuzdar, according to the UN disaster agency.

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Kenya: Days Of Mourning For Terror Victims

Kenya has begun three days of mourning for the victims of Nairobi's shopping centre attack, as authorities prepare to retrieve the bodies of victims still trapped inside.

At least 67 people have been confirmed dead in the attack, including 61 civilians and six security officials.

Kenyan authorities say the number of dead may rise further, as bodies are feared to be trapped beneath rubble in the mall after three levels collapsed.

Six Britons - including an eight-year-old girl - are among the dead, and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned there may be further British victims.

A Western embassy official said the number of additional dead could reach as high as 100. Morgue workers are preparing to receive further victims.

Smoke rises from the Westgate mall in Nairobi

"They're just seeing dead bodies. They've found no survivors, no live hostages," a Nairobi resident, who did not wish to be named, told The Associated Press.

About 175 people were also wounded when al Shabaab militants stormed the Nairobi mall on Saturday afternoon.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta announced in a televised address that troops had "shamed and defeated" the militants following a four-day siege.

"Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. These cowards will meet justice as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are," Mr Kenyatta said.

Some 11 suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, and a further five died during the siege at the complex.

Kenyan troops stormed the shopping complex

Police have confirmed that the attackers are either dead or in custody.

The Foreign Office has confirmed the arrest of a Briton, and say they are making contact to offer standard consular assistance.

"Now it is for the forensic and criminal experts," said police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi.

Explosives experts are searching for booby traps in the wreckage.

"They are checking for any potential explosive devices left behind," a security source told the AFP news agency, adding that specialist remote-controlled demining robots were on hand.

Teams of sniffer dogs have been taken into the building to check for explosives and to find bodies.

Workers wore face masks and some soldiers wrapped scarves around their mouths to cover what they said was an overpowering stench inside the centre.

Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said that police have come across a large number of booby traps, and a large explosion was heard at the centre on Wednesday morning.

"Any suspicious objects they'll blow up," he said. "There's a security fear here still that maybe some of the gunmen are still alive."

The attackers marched into the four-storey, part Israeli-owned mall at midday on Saturday, shooting dead shoppers with machine guns and tossing grenades.

Al Shabaab has claimed it carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

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US 'Concerned' Over Al Shabaab Recruiters

The White House has said it is concerned about attempts by Somalia's al Shabaab to recruit in the US, but has no confirmation that any American citizens were involved in the deadly siege at a shopping mall in Kenya.

The Somali militant group with ties to al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the three-day stand-off in Nairobi in which at least 62 people have died.

Kenya Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said "two or three Americans" were involved in the attack, along with one British woman.

Ms Mohamed said the Americans were 18 or 19 years old, of Somali and Arab origin, and lived "in Minnesota and one other place".

"That just goes to underline the global nature of the war that we're fighting," she said.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the department had "no definitive evidence of the nationalities or identities of the perpetrators at this time".

An armoured military vehicle leaves the shopping centre in Nairobi

White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes said US officials had seen "reports coming out of al Shabaab that indicate information along those lines".

"We do monitor very carefully and have for some time been concerned about efforts by al Shabaab to recruit Americans or US persons to come to Somalia.

"So this is an issue that has been tracked very closely by the US government and it's one that we'll be looking into in the days ahead."

US Representative from New York, Pete King, said al Shabaab has recruited up to 50 people from Somali-American communities in the US.

Mr King, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in an ABC interview on Sunday that between 15 and 20 Somali-Americans remain active in the group.

He said the concern is that some may return and "use their abilities on the US".

Meanwhile, as Kenya security forces attempted to bring the deadly three-day siege to a conclusion, President Barack Obama said it was a "terrible outrage" and offered to provide law enforcement support to Kenya.

Smoke billows from a section of the shopping centre

"I want to express personally my condolences not only to (Kenya's) President Kenyatta, who lost some family members in the attack, but to the Kenyan people," he said.

"We stand with them against this terrible outrage that's occurred."

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Ohio's Somali-American community that the Islamist group presents a threat not just to Africa.

"Today there are clear evidences that Shabaab is not a threat to Somalia and Somali people only," he said in a speech at Ohio State University.

"They are a threat to the continent of Africa, and the world at large."

Mr Mohamud called on people from Somalia who are living in Ohio to consider coming home to help rebuilding efforts.

Central Ohio has the second-largest number of Somalis in the US after the Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, area.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said al Shabaab is a global threat

Members of Minnesota's Somali community have condemned the attack.

Several groups called a news conference in solidarity with the victims and to warn about the dangers of extremism.

One Somali woman in Minnesota, Hodan Hassan, said her 17-year-old and 16-year-old nieces were injured in the attacks.

She said the older one is in critical condition with severe leg injuries, while the other was not as seriously hurt. They are Canadian citizens who moved to Nairobi three years ago.

Ms Hassan said it would be sad if Somali-Americans were responsible but she doubts it is true.

Meanwhile, three alleged members of al Shabaab appeared in New York accused of being part of an "elite suicide unit".

The three had links to al Qaeda operatives in East Africa "who sought to carry out attacks against the United States and Western interests in that region", prosecutors wrote in a letter filed on September 18.

They were captured in Africa allegedly trying to reach Yemen, where they were planning to meet up with al Qaeda operatives.

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Gisele Bundchen Bodyguards Face Shooting Trial

Three former bodyguards of Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen and NFL star Tom Brady have gone on trial for allegedly opening fire at photographers trying to get snaps of the couple's wedding.

According to a lawsuit filed by two photographers, the three bodyguards confronted them outside the seaside home in Costa Rica where Bundchen and Brady were holding a wedding celebration in April 2009.

They demanded Yuri Cortez, a Salvadorean who works for the AFP agency, and Costa Rican colleague Carlos Aviles hand over the memory cards from their cameras, but the pair refused.

As the photographers drove away, at least one of the bodyguards opened fire, shattering the rear window of their car, according to the complaint.

Neither photographer was hurt.

The suspects will not be photographed during the trial

The three bodyguards, two of them from Costa Rica and the third from Colombia, are charged with attempted homicide.

They have decided to exercise their right not to testify at the trial.

The judge on Monday granted the defendants' request that no pictures of them be taken during proceedings.

Last month, Cortez said he was looking forward to seeing the men finally face trial "after four years of waiting".

"They tried to kill me and I think we have enough evidence to prove it," he said.

Bundchen and New England Patriots quarterback Brady were staging a second ceremony in Costa Rica after two months earlier marrying in a small ceremony in California.

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Kenya Siege: Heavy Gunfire Heard Inside Mall

Heavy bursts of gunfire have been heard from inside a Nairobi shopping centre where gunmen have killed at least 62 people.

It comes only hours after Kenya's interior ministry said security forces were "in control" of the Westgate mall following a three-day siege.

All hostages trapped by the attackers have been evacuated from the Nairobi complex, according to government spokesman Manoah Esipisu.

But he cautioned that some of the insurgents could still be hiding after up to 15 of them stormed the building on Saturday in a grenade and gun attack targeting shoppers.

Troops have been combing the building overnight, going from floor to floor looking for "anyone left behind", said the interior ministry.

Kenya's Citizen TV was suggesting that troops had killed six of the remaining attackers.

Victims: Ross Langdon, Eliv Yavus and eight-year-old Jenah Bawa

According to Sky News sources the British military is now giving assistance to Kenyan forces at the mall and has offered further assistance.

On Monday, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, said: "As the Prime Minister made clear, we have said we will provide them with any assistance which they request. We haven't yet been asked to provide any assistance beyond broad background advice."

The gunmen were believed to be members of al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al Shabaab which said the assault was in retaliation for Kenya's military helping the government in Mogadishu.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said a British woman and "two or three Americans" were among the militants.

Six British nationals are believed to have been killed in the terror attack. Among the dead were eight-year-old Jenah Bawa and 33-year-old Ross Langdon.

Smoke is seen rising from the shopping centre

Almost 200 people were hurt in the attack, and 63 others had been recorded missing by the Red Cross - a figure thought to include hostages as well as those possibly killed.

Mr Esipisu said: "Our special forces are inside the building checking the rooms. Obviously it's a very, very big building.

"We think that everyone, the hostages, have been evacuated but we don't want to take any chances. The special forces are doing their job and yes, I think we are near the end."

He also told AFP: "The special forces call this sanitising. It's a very complex and very delicate operation.

"At the moment they have not met any resistance, but of course we are not ruling out the possibility that there are a couple of them hiding in a remote room or corner."

Earlier, Islamist militants were reported to be "running and hiding" in stores as security forces closed in.

Kenyan police said three terrorists had been killed and others were hurt after the military launched a major assault.

Police and volunteers react after hearing gunshots

Eleven soldiers from the Kenyan Defence Force were wounded in the fighting, and more than 10 people have been arrested over Saturday's attack.

Interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said there was "no way out" for the militants and "no room for escape".

Around lunchtime on Monday, four huge explosions were heard followed by a barrage of gunfire at the shopping complex in the Kenyan capital.

Black smoke poured from the top of the building as troops lay siege to the mall while military and police helicopters circled above.

Security officials at the scene said the explosions had been caused by Kenyan forces who set off blasts to get in through the roof.

However, Mr Lenku said the smoke had been down to the al Shabaab fighters setting fire to mattresses as a decoy.

US President Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, said the United States stood with Kenyans against "this terrible outrage."

"We will provide them with whatever law enforcement support that is necessary. And we are confident that Kenya will continue to be a pillar of stability in eastern Africa."

The atrocity is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bomb attack on the US embassy in 1998 that killed more than 200 people.

The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

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Merkel Romps To Victory In German Election

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

Angela Merkel has joined her jubilant supporters in song and dance after winning a third term as German Chancellor.

Speaking at a post-election party to chants of "Angie, Angie, Angie", she hailed a "superb result" for her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Together with sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), it saw its combined share of the vote rise by 8%.

Ms Merkel will have to forge alliances with traditional opponents

German newspaper Der Spiegel said the country was now a "Merkel republic", such was the returning Chancellor's dominance at the polls.

However, Ms Merkel's celebrations are unlikely to continue for long, as she begins the task of securing new coalition partners to govern Europe's largest economy.

The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) her coalition partner since 2009, saw its support plummet by nearly a tenth to 4.8%.

It slumped beneath the 5% threshold of national support and is now barred from the Bundestag, the national parliament.

"The party leadership will discuss everything when we have a final result but we can celebrate tonight," Ms Merkel said.

"I see the next four years in front of me and I can promise that we will face many tasks, at home, in Europe and in the world."

Officials results show the CDU/CSU won 41.5% of the vote, seeing off the main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) who managed 25.7%.

The humiliation of the FDP almost handed Ms Merkel an absolute majority, as its exclusion lowered the number of seats the CSU would have needed to control the chamber.

But she fell just five seats short of that total and will need to forge alliances in order to govern.

It seems most likely she will seek a "grand alliance" with the SDP, which will be expected to seek promises in return for its support.

They could include a greater emphasis on growth across the eurozone, rather than austerity, and the introduction of a minimum national wage.

But Ms Merkel's support from the electorate is so strong, it will strengthen her hand in any negotiation.

It is unlikely there would be an obvious sea-change in the government's political trajectory.

That will be welcomed by many in the EU and leaders around the world who know that a change of direction might spook the markets and raise borrowing costs for indebted nations.

It will also cheer Prime Minister David Cameron, as Ms Merkel appears to share his conviction that the EU could be strengthened if power flows from Brussels back to member states.

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Kenya: 'White Widow' Briton Linked To Attack

The Foreign Office is investigating claims that a female British terror suspect known as the White Widow could be linked to the shopping centre massacre in Kenya.

A white woman wearing a veil was reportedly spotted shouting orders to gunmen in Arabic during the attack on the Westgate complex in Nairobi.

Some reports have suggested that it is Samantha Lewthwaite, the English widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay.

She is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell.

In March 2012 it was reported that Lewthwaite, 29, who is originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled across the border from Kenya to Somalia.

Soldiers are moving in on the terrorists at the shopping centre

Sky News' Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "I saw a picture of a white woman wearing a balaclava and carrying a weapon.

"We know that she'd been in the area. She has been linked to a number of attacks in east Africa and they have been trying to capture her.

"It is difficult to know whether or not it is her."

However a commander of the group believed to be behind the attack has reportedly denied that any of militants are from the UK or US.

Some 68 people were killed in the attack, including three Britons.

The Foreign Office has said it expects the number of British fatalities to rise.

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Kenya Stand-Off: Explosions In Renewed Assault

Kenyan troops are carrying out a major assault in an attempt to end the stand-off with al Shabaab gunmen inside the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

At least three loud explosions and heavy gunfire have been heard coming from the complex where 69 people, including three Britons, have died since the siege began on Saturday.

There have also been reports of ambulances being driven at high speed from the scene.

One of the Britons killed in the attack, which was launched on Saturday, has been named in reports as Ross Langdon, who had dual nationality with Australia.

An architect, he apparently died alongside his girlfriend who was heavily pregnant, according to Australian media.

Ross Langdon is feared to be among those killed

The Kenyan Defence Force said on its Twitter feed it was making every effort to bring the situation "to a speedy conclusion".

It said it has secured most of the shopping centre, and many of the hostages have been rescued.

Officials say up to 15 al Shabaab militants may still be inside the centre. They have threatened to kill the remaining hostages.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay, at the scene, said the operation to end the stand-off was complicated and could take some time.

"We have been told that some of the hostage-takers are in a section of the building with bullet-proof glass … so it's obviously very difficult (for the Kenyan forces)," he said.

Ramsay said he had seen soldiers moving along the perimeter of the centre and heard the sound of guns being fired inside.

Kenyan soldiers enter the main gate of the shopping centre

"A few minutes later an ambulance came out and the driver gave us a thumbs- up. There's obviously a battle of sorts taking place inside."

Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna told Sky News: "We do not negotiate with terrorists and that position has not changed. Everyone who has been rescued is being checked to make sure none of the terrorists escaped during the dragnet."

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said there have been "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries" to help end the stand-off, but that for now it remains a Kenyan operation.

However, a Kenyan security source has confirmed that Israeli agents "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Westgate shopping complex is part Israeli-owned.

Britain's SAS is also reportedly helping out in an advisory role.

A Kenyan army soldier takes cover behind a wall near the centre

The Kenyan Red Cross says 69 people have been killed, at least 63 remain missing and around 200 have been injured. Five of these are said to be from the US.

Police have conceded the number of dead could be "much, much higher", after reports emerged that there are multiple fatalities still inside the shopping centre.

The Foreign Office confirmed three Britons were among those killed and warned that number was likely to rise.

Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short a visit to Balmoral to chair a meeting of the emergency response committee Cobra in London later today. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will chair a meeting of Cobra this morning.

Mr Cameron has described the attack on the shopping complex as "despicable" and an act of "appalling brutality".

Onlookers watch as the stand-off continues at the Westgate complex

Also killed were two Canadians, two French citizens, two Indian citizens, a South Korean, a South African, a Dutch woman and the former UN envoy Kofi Awoonor.

The Foreign Office is investigating claims that a female British terror suspect nicknamed the "White Widow" could be linked to the plot.

Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell

In March 2012 it was reported that Lewthwaite, 29, who is originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled across the border from Kenya to Somalia.

Ramsay said: "We know that she'd been in the area. She has been linked to a number of attack in east Africa and they have been trying to capture her.

Briton Samantha Lewthwaite: Is she involved?

"Interestingly she has been used in the past with planning and propaganda, not actual assaults, although there is some evidence she has been linked to at least one.

"It is difficult to know whether or not it is her. The government have said there have been reports of more than one woman involved.

"Al Shabaab is thought to consist of foreign nationals as well as people from Somalia. I've heard reports of one Briton being involved and someone from Canada as well."

Security forces have taken control of the upper and lower levels of the shopping complex, and an army spokesman told Sky News they were trying to secure the second floor where the terrorists may be hiding.

Other reports suggested the attackers were holed up in a toilet block next to a supermarket on the ground floor of the complex.

The Somalia-based al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility and warned of further attacks.

Mr Kenyatta said one of his nephews and his nephew's fiancee were among the people confirmed killed.

"They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts," the president said in an emotional speech to the nation. "We will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully."

The attack is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bombing at the US embassy killed more than 200 people in 1998.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have adjourned the trial of Kenyan vice president William Ruto for a week to allow him to return home and help deal with the hostage crisis.

Ruto and Mr Kenyatta face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to their role in coordinating a wave of violence that swept Kenya in the aftermath of the country's contested 2007 elections.

The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

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Kenya: 'If You Were Muslim They Let You Go'

A witness to the attack by al Shabaab militants on a shopping centre in Nairobi has told Sky News the gunmen killed anyone who was not Muslim.

Saadia Ahmed, a radio presenter from Nairobi, said: "We heard three explosions outside the building then all of a sudden we heard gunshots and people ducked down.

"A lot of people were shot while they were trying to escape. I saw one of the gunmen with an AK-47 and later two of them were talking and it sounded like Somali or Arabic."

Ms Ahmed said the attackers released people who were able to prove they could speak Arabic.

Armed police search customers taking cover in a washroom

"I witnessed a few people get up and say something in Arabic and the gunmen let them go. A colleague of mine said he was Muslim and recited something in Arabic and they let him go as well.

"I saw a lot of children and elderly people being shot dead. I don't understand why you would shoot a five-year-old child. They were firing at random at anyone who tried to escape."

Hannah Chisholm, a Briton visiting Nairobi, said she and 60 others barricaded themselves into a large storeroom.

"We kept running to different places but the shots were getting louder so we barricaded ourselves along with about 60 others into a large storeroom," she said.

"There were children hiding with us as well as someone who had been shot. The gunfire was loud and we were scared but at that point we thought the gunmen were thieves so we assumed they wouldn't try to reach the storeroom."

Satpal Singh, who was in a cafe when the attackers struck, said he ran downstairs before he was shot near the exit.

"A Somali guy shot at me," he said. "He was carrying a rifle, an AK-47."

A witness, who gave only his first name, Jay, said: "They were not speaking Swahili. They spoke something that seemed like Arabic or Somali."

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Kenya Attack: Hostages Held In Terror Strike

Gunmen are holding hostages inside a Nairobi shopping centre where dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a terrorist attack.

Several children were among those massacred by al Qaeda-linked terrorists armed with guns and grenades at the Westgate shopping centre in Kenya's capital.

At least 59 people were killed, a government minister was quoted as telling the Reuters news agency.

Earlier, the Kenyan Red Cross said more than 200 people were injured.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said British nationals were caught up in the "callous and cowardly and brutal" attack.

Hundreds of shoppers were caught up in the attack

The Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre said the number of hostages still being held by al Shabaab gunmen inside the complex remains unknown.

The lower and upper floors of the centre have been secured but witnesses reported hearing fierce gunfire and explosions on Sunday morning, more than 20 hours after the siege began.

A Kenyan security officer at the scene said: "We will free all those inside and stop this.

"We cannot give details of the operations except to say that everything that can be done is being done."

Security staff rescued those unable to walk

Gunmen wearing bullet-proof vests opened fire and detonated grenades inside the shopping centre, which is popular with expatriates and wealthy Kenyans.

Some of those killed were executed after failing to recite a Muslim prayer at gunpoint. Others were shot at the entrance to the mall as they tried to escape.

Two Canadians have been confirmed dead in the attack, while two French citizens are understood to be among those killed.

The US State Department said American citizens have reportedly been injured but not killed.

The Westgate shopping centre is located in the centre of Nairobi

The Somalia-based al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack and warned of more attacks.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has spoken to the nation in a televised address, saying Kenya had "overcome terrorist attacks before, and we will defeat them again".

"Our security forces are in the process of neutralising the attackers and securing the mall," he added.

"Terrorism is a philosophy of cowards. They want to cause fear and despondency in our country, but we will not be cowed.

Armed security staff went from shop to shop looking for the attackers

"I ask God to give you comfort. My government will provide the support needed in the days to come."

Saadia Ahmed, a radio presenter from Nairobi caught up in the attack, told Sky News how the attack began.

"We heard three explosions outside the building then all of a sudden we heard gunshots and people ducked down," she said.

"A lot of people were shot while they were trying to escape. I saw one of the gunmen with an AK-47 and later two of them were talking and it sounded like Somali or Arabic."

Police rescued hostages as they searched for the gunmen

Ms Ahmed said the attackers released people who were able to prove they were Muslim.

"I witnessed a few people get up and say something in Arabic and the gunmen let them go. A colleague of mine said he was Muslim and recited something in Arabic and they let him go as well.

"I saw a lot of children and elderly people being shot dead. I don't understand why you would shoot a five-year-old child. They were firing at random at anyone who tried to escape."

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

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Pakistan: Suicide Bombing At Peshawar Church

At least 52 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a church in northwest Pakistan, officials say.

Another 100 people were wounded in the explosion as they left the church in Peshwar city, which had been offering a free meal of rice.

It was not immediately clear whether one or two suicide bombers carried out the attack.

Peshawar's commissioner Sahibzada Anees told reporters the bombers struck when the service had just ended.

"Most of the wounded are in critical condition," he said, adding that special security had been in force to protect the church.

"We are in an area which is a target of terrorism and within that area there was a special security arrangement for the church. We are in a rescue phase and once it is over we will investigate what went wrong," 

Witnesses said they heard two blasts, the second more powerful than the first. One police officer, Zahir Shah, said he believed both blasts were caused by suicide bombers.

Schoolteacher Nazir Khan, 50, said at least 400 worshippers were greeting each other when there was a huge explosion.

"A huge blast threw me on the floor and as soon as I regained my senses, a second blast took place and I saw wounded people everywhere," she said.

Sher Ali Khan, a doctor at a hospital in Peshawar where the victims were being treated, said the dead included several women and children.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on one of the country's many Islamic militant groups.

Islamic militants have been blamed for previous attacks on the Muslim country's Christian minority, and other Muslim groups they consider heretics.

More follows ...

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