Protesters injured in Madagascar

Madagascar has seen six consecutive days of protest against the new leader

At least 30 people have been injured - some from gunshot wounds - at an anti-government rally in Madagascar.

Some 15,000 supporters of ousted President Marc Ravalomanana clashed with police in the capital.

They have been demanding the return of their leader, who was ousted by an army-backed coup last week.

Tear gas was used against demonstrators who turned out in record numbers to protest for a sixth consecutive day against new leader Andry Rajoelina.

Protesters - who have called for a general strike to start on Monday - are trying to move closer to government offices now occupied by supporters of Mr Rajoelina, the former opposition leader.

The BBC's Jonny Hogg, in Antananarivo, says it remains unclear whether the security forces have been shooting in the air or at the protesters themselves.

The gunfire is now coming from various different points within the centre of the capital, our correspondent adds.

There have been several injuries and unconfirmed reports of possibly eight people dead, says our correspondent.

International backlash

Mr Ravalomanana is in Swaziland ahead of next week's meeting by regional leaders to discuss possible sanctions against Madagascar.

In a message to his supporters earlier in the week, he described his removal from power as a coup.

Mr Rajoelina's military-backed government has offered reconciliation talks with allies of the ousted leader.

Marc Ravalomanana quit last week after soldiers stormed his offices

The new leader has said reconciliation talks were scheduled for 2-3 April, but members of Mr Ravalomanana's political party have not confirmed whether they would join the proposed dialogue.

The new government has come under increasing pressure from the daily protests and a growing international backlash against his rise to power.

The African Union has already announced Madagascar's suspension, while the United States and European Union have described Mr Rajoelina's accession as a coup.

Mr Ravalomanana, 59, resigned as president on 17 March, clearing the way for Mr Rajoelina to take power after a bitter three-month power struggle during which around 100 civilians died.

The former disc jockey, 34, who spent nearly two years as Antananarivo mayor, is Africa's youngest president.

Still six years too young to be president under the current constitution, he has promised new elections within two years after a new charter is adopted, but this has failed to satisfy donors.

Philippines in hostage compromise

The Philippines have relaxed a security cordon around Abu Sayyaf rebels who have threatened to behead one of three Red Cross hostages seized in January.

At least 800 soldiers have pulled back on the southern island of Jolo.

"We are giving them a breathing space where they feel they're safe to negotiate," said Philippine Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno.

The rebels said they would kill one of the hostages if the cordon around them was not fully removed by 31 March.

Humanitarian workers

In rare public appeal, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross Jakob Kellenberger asked Philippine officials to consider the demands made by the Islamist militants.

He also called on the kidnappers not to harm the hostages - Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba - who were seized on 15 January.

Guide to the Philippines conflict

Mr Kellenberger said Red Cross staff were in the Philippines to do humanitarian work, and that nothing whatsoever could be achieved by hurting them.

The Abu Sayyaf has a history of beheading captives.

In 2001, American Guillermo Sobero was killed after the government turned down attempts by the rebels to negotiate for hostages on the nearby island of Basilan.

Zimbabwe 'to arrest land thieves'

Morgan Tsvangirai has long criticised the land invasions

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said that anyone invading farms will be arrested - in an apparent challenge to Robert Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai said the recent land invasions "are actually acts of theft".

President Mugabe has said that the government would continue to seize white-owned farms as part of his land reform policy.

Veteran opposition leader Mr Tsvangirai joined Mr Mugabe in a power-sharing government last month.

The seizure of white-owned land is one of Mr Mugabe's defining policies but his critics say it has destroyed the economy.

The occupation of farms resumed shortly after the power-sharing government was sworn in, with some accusing hard-line allies of Mr Mugabe of trying to scupper the deal.

I have tasked the minister of home affairs to ensure that all crimes are acted upon and the perpetrators arrested and charged Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai Farmer: 'I'm not giving up' Land question unresolved

"This government is aware that most of the ongoing disruptions of agricultural production, which are being done in the name of the land reform process, are actually acts of theft," Mr Tsvangirai told a meeting of diplomats, civic society and business leaders, in one of his first public appearances since the death of his wife in a car crash earlier this month.

"Those continuing to undertake these activities will be arrested and face justice in the courts.

"I have tasked the minister of home affairs to ensure that all crimes are acted upon and the perpetrators arrested and charged."

However, there are two home affairs ministers in the unity administration, as neither side would cede control of the ministry which is responsible for the police.

Last month, Mr Mugabe said there would be "no going back" on land reform, despite a ruling from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) tribunal last year that the seizures were illegal.

The government's seizure of white-owned land since 2000 was often accompanied by violent invasions by supporters of Mr Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai has long criticised the way land reform was carried out.

But a commitment to continue the policy was a key part of the power-sharing agreement.

Jury goes out in Spector retrial

Phil Spector has always denied murdering Lana Clarkson in 2003

The jury in the murder retrial of music producer Phil Spector has retired to consider its verdict.

He is accused of killing actress Lana Clarkson, a charge he denies. She died of single gunshot wound while at Mr Spector's Los Angeles mansion in 2003.

In closing arguments, Mr Spector's lawyer said Ms Clarkson killed herself. Prosecutors allege he fired the shot.

The jury must decide whether to acquit Mr Spector or find him guilty of murder or a lesser charge of manslaughter.

If convicted of second degree murder, the 69-year-old faces 15 years to life in prison. The jury may also consider involuntary manslaughter, which would mean up to four years of jail time.

The music producer's first trial ended in September 2007 with the jury split 10-2 - with most in favour of convicting him of second-degree murder. Under California law, a unanimous verdict is required.

Forensic evidence

The jurors in the retrial have heard five months of testimony.

In closing arguments on Tuesday, Mr Spector's lawyer, Doron Weinberg, listed 14 pieces of forensic evidence to back up the claim that Lana Clarkson's wounds were self-inflicted.

Lana Clarkson appeared in the cult sci-fi movie Barbarian Queen

"Mr Spector did not kill Lana Clarkson. That's what the evidence shows," he said.

The prosecution, who made their closing arguments before the defence, accused Mr Spector of demonstrating a "conscious disregard for human life".

The court had earlier heard five women from Mr Spector's past give evidence. They all claimed the star had confronted them with guns when they tried to leave his mansion in unrelated incidents.

Ms Clarkson, 40, had gone home with Mr Spector on 3 February 2003, after meeting him in a Hollywood nightclub where she was working as a hostess.

A couple of hours later, she was dead of a gunshot to the mouth.

Mr Spector, who became famous for inventing the Wall of Sound recording technique in the 1960s, was in court during the closing arguments, as were a number of his relatives and friends.

Serial sex offender found guilty

Kirk Reid evaded capture for more than six years

A serial sex attacker who targeted lone women in south London over a six-year period has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Kirk Reid, 44, of Colliers Wood, was convicted of two rapes and 24 sexual assaults but police believe he was behind at least 71 attacks on women.

He targeted women late at night in the Balham, Clapham and Tooting areas.

Scotland Yard apologised for mistakes which meant he was not arrested until four years after he was made a suspect.

The case has been sent to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for a full review.

BBC home affairs correspondent Andy Tighe said lengthy delays in apprehending Reid had raised serious concerns among senior Metropolitan officers about the performance of the force's dedicated Sapphire unit that investigates sex crimes.

Late night attacks

DNA was twice recovered from crime scenes but, despite being known to police as a potential sexual attacker following a 1995 charge of indecent assault, no DNA sample was collected from Reid.

The children's football coach was acquitted of the charge in 1995, but remained on the police database.

Reid's victims ranged in age from late teens to their early 60s and all of his victims were strangers who were walking alone, late at night.

In most cases, the victims were grabbed from behind and forced to the ground.

These attacks took place between August 2001 and October 2007.

Previous reporting bans on the case were lifted with his convictions.

He also admitted two further charges of indecent assault and was found not guilty of one charge of indecent assault.

Iran accepts US Afghan invitation

Iran and the US share an interest in a stable Afghanistan

Iran has confirmed it will attend a US-backed international conference on the future of Afghanistan next week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Tehran had not yet decided who it will send to the summit in The Hague next Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this month that Iran should attend the high-level meeting.

While the US and Iran are at odds over Tehran's nuclear plans, the two share an interest in a stable Afghanistan.

Clinton in Mexico for drug talks

Hillary Clinton will meet Mexico's president and foreign minister

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Mexico for talks set to be dominated by rising drug violence in America's southern neighbour.

Mrs Clinton's visit comes a day after the Obama administration announced new measures to boost border security.

Some 8,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico over the past two years and there are fears the violence could spill over the border.

Trade and immigration issues will also be high on Mrs Clinton's agenda.

'Co-responsibility'

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," Mrs Clinton said upon arrival in Mexico.

We need to do more to make sure that illegal guns and cash aren't flowing back to the cartels US President Barack Obama Mexico arrests 'top drugs hitman'

"Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.

"I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility."

Mexico and the US are currently locked in a trade dispute, after the US government stopped a pilot scheme earlier this month which allowed Mexican trucks to use roads in the US.

Mexico said the decision violated a free-trade deal between the countries and retaliated by imposing higher tariffs on some 90 American exports.

In signs of movement on the issue, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and other Obama administration officials have reportedly been working on plans to revive the scheme.

Mexico's Economy Minister Gerardo Ruiz Mateos said on Tuesday that his country would lift its tariffs as soon as the US returned to its "agreed commitments" on access for its trucks.

Illegal guns

But it is the drugs-related violence in Mexico that is likely to be the focus of Mrs Clinton's discussions.

On Tuesday, the White House unveiled a $700m (

UK 'concern' over Bangladesh arms

Many people are educated by madrassas across Bangladesh

The British body responsible for overseeing charities says that it is "seriously concerned" over alleged UK links to an arms haul in Bangladesh.

The weapons cache was found in the south of the country at an Islamic school, or madrassa, allegedly run by a UK-based charity.

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said they were investigating the "very serious" allegations.

Bangladeshi police say the arms were found in the coastal district of Bhola.

'Mini-ordnance factory'

They say that the arms cache - discovered earlier this week - included weapons, bomb-making equipment and bullets.

Police say that the madrassa is run by the Green Crescent charity based in England. No-one at the charity - based near Manchester - was available for comment on Wednesday.

"These reported activities said to be run under the auspices of a UK charity, Green Crescent Bangladesh UK, raise very serious concerns," the Charities Commission spokesman said.

"Terrorist activity is clearly under no circumstances acceptable for a charity. We are actively examining the information available."

The commission's website said that in 2008, Green crescent had a turnover approaching

Naked taoiseach paintings removed

The painting was removed from display at the Royal Hibernian Academy

It could be described as oil on canvas featuring taoiseach, but the appearance of nude paintings of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in two Dublin galleries has seen the police called in.

A painting of Mr Cowen holding his underpants appeared in the Royal Hibernian Academy and one of him pictured on the toilet ended up in the National Gallery.

Whether it was political subversion or artistic expression if the painter behind them comes to light they could find themselves answering questions from Irish police.

The National Gallery said they had called in the police and were reluctant to comment further on the matter, other than to say the painting had been up for no more than 20 minutes before it was removed.

"It was not authorised to be on display and garda are investigating," the gallery said.

The academy is also deciding whether or not to call in the police to investigate its mysterious appearance, but a spokeswoman did not want to go further.

"We don't want to make more of it than it is," she said.

The painting of Mr Cowen is still on the premises, but in one of the offices instead of on public view.

One woman who saw the painting reportedly offered to buy it.

Irish police are in possession of the other work, and have said that an investigation into the matter is under way.

Malawi ex-leader fights poll ban

Bakili Muluzi is also battling $12m corruption allegations

Malawi's former President Bakili Muluzi has mounted a legal challenge to the electoral commission's decision to bar him from running again in May's polls.

The commission said on Friday Mr Muluzi - who headed the southern African nation from 1994 to 2004 - had already had his limit of two terms.

But Mr Muluzi's lawyers say it is for the courts to rule whether he can stand again, not the electoral commission.

They argue that he can stand again, after a period out of office.

The former president says the decision is a "breach of political rights".

Fergus Lipenga, of the Malawi Electoral Commission, told the BBC News website they had received a high court summons on Monday from Mr Muluzi's legal team to explain their decision.

Malawian commentators say the constitution is not clear as to whether a citizen who has had two terms as president can, after a gap, run again.

Bingu wa Mutharika fell out with Mr Muluzi after becoming president

In an affidavit seen by AFP news agency, Mr Muluzi wrote: "I am eligible to stand as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections, after a lapse of one term in office when another person occupied the office of the president."

He was succeeded by the incumbent, President Bingu wa Mutharika, who is seeking re-election.

Mr Muluzi is also battling a corruption case after he was charged in February with a number of counts of graft over the alleged theft of $12m in aid money.

In the country's first multi-party poll in 1994, Mr Muluzi defeated Kamuzu Banda, who had ruled Malawi with an iron fist for three decades.

After serving two terms, Mr Muluzi handpicked Mr Mutharika to succeed him in 2004.

But the pair fell out soon afterwards and the president formed his own party.

Mr Mutharika said his former political associates were opposed to his anti-corruption drive.

Palestinian dies in Lebanon blast

A senior representative of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been killed in a bombing, security officials say.

Officials say Kamal Medhat of the Fatah faction was killed in a bombing outside Mieh Mieh refugee camp near Lebanon's southern port city of Sidon.

Lebanon's crowded and poorly-developed camps, housing families expelled from what became Israel in 1948, are prone to violent unrest and insecurity.

Two people were killed in a gun battle in Mieh Mieh camp on Saturday.

Details of Monday's incident are still coming in.

Conservative leads Macedonia poll

Gjorgje Ivanov will contest a run-off on 5 April

The candidate for Macedonia's ruling conservative party has taken the lead in presidential elections praised for their lack of violence.

But partial results showed Gjorgje Ivanov, of the governing VMRO-DPMNE party, had not win enough votes to avoid a 5 April run-off.

The presidential and local polls were seen as crucial to Macedonia's hopes for joining the EU and Nato.

There was tight security, with thousands of extra police deployed.

The electoral commission said voting went well during the day.

There were no reports of the kind of violence between rival ethnic Albanian parties that marred last June's parliamentary election.

"It seems that everything was in order," said EU envoy Erwan Fouere. "It was a calm and positive atmosphere."

A dispute with Greece over its name has also threatened its EU and Nato bids.

Snow

Partial results showed Mr Ivanov - the candidate of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party - to be ahead with more than 35% of the vote.

The race for second place was between Ljubomir Frckoski, who is backed by the Social Democratic SDSM, and former Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski, who was acquitted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague last year.

This is probably the last opportunity for quite some time for the country to show that it has not only the capacity, but also the political will, to organise elections in line with international standards Erwan FouereEU envoy to Macedonia

Five other candidates are also running for the largely ceremonial presidency.

Final results were expected later on Monday.

Current President Branko Crvenkovski is not running for a second term.

Heavy snowfall prevented 134 of almost 3,000 polling stations from opening.

But Aleksandar Novakovski, head of the state electoral commission, said the affected polling stations had 12,556 voters registered - less than 1% of the total 1.8 million eligible voters.

It is expected that voting there will be repeated in two weeks.

Local polls were also being held simultaneously to elect mayors for 85 communities.

Name squabble

The three weeks of campaigning passed off mostly peacefully, with a few claims of voter intimidation.

One person was killed and several injured in ethnic Albanian areas of Macedonia during parliamentary elections in June 2008 that monitors said fell short of international standards.

More than 500 international and around 7,000 local observers have been on hand to monitor Sunday's vote.

"So far so good," US Ambassador Philip Reeker said in an initial assessment of the poll.

Mr Fouere said the vote was "the last chance not to miss the train again to EU" membership.

"This is probably the last opportunity for quite some time for the country to show that it has not only the capacity, but also the political will, to organise elections in line with international standards," he said.

Last year, Greece said it would block Macedonia from joining Nato and the EU unless it compromises over its official name.

Macedonia is also the name of a northern region of Greece.

In December 2008, Macedonia decided to take the issue of its name to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

Liverpool 5-0 Aston Villa

By Phil McNulty Chief football writer at Anfield

Gerrard was in inspirational form for Liverpool

Liverpool turned up the pressure on faltering Premier League leaders Manchester United as they swept Aston Villa aside with another goal spree at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard inevitably provided the inspiration with a hat-trick - two from the spot - as Liverpool sent out another emphatic statement of intent about their renewed title ambitions.

Rafael Benitez celebrated signing a new five-year contract by watching his side seal victory by half-time as they established a three-goal lead - building the platform for a win that leaves Liverpool in second place and just a point behind United after their shock defeat at Fulham.

Liverpool then racked up two more crucial strikes after the interval to extend their goal difference beyond United's, a factor that could become decisive in the coming weeks.

United may still have that crucial game in hand, but the huge shift in momentum since Liverpool's crushing victory at Old Trafford has all at Anfield seriously believing they can overhaul their fierce rivals in the run-in.

Dirk Kuyt started the rout early on with a close-range finish after Gerrard's free-kick was headed on to the crossbar by Xabi Alonso.

606: DEBATE What are your thoughts on the game?

Albert Riera half-volleyed home the second from keeper Pepe Reina's long clearance and Gerrard added the third before the interval.

He beat Brad Friedel with ease from the spot after Nigel Reo-Coker had fouled Riera.

With Villa despondent, Gerrard struck again from a well-worked free-kick five minutes after half-time and he sealed his treble on 65 minutes.

It was again a penalty, awarded after Friedel brought down Fernando Torres, an offence that earned Villa's unfortunate keeper a red card.

Defeats for United and Chelsea opened the door for Liverpool to really start breathing down the necks of the pace-setters, and this display was exactly what Benitez would have demanded.

Liverpool's title race looked all-but run after defeat at Middlesbrough at the end of last month, but a series of blistering displays have sent confidence surging through the ranks and re-ignited their hopes of claiming the Premier League and the Champions League.

Real Madrid and United were on the end of four-goal beatings - and here they went one better against a Villa side whose main aim of qualifying for the Champions League appears to be receding on a weekly basis.

Kuyt's goal set Liverpool on the way to victory

Liverpool, in contrast, have found a high tempo to their game that has eluded them too often this season, and despite a good Villa spell midway through the first half that saw Reina twice save well from John Carew, they were always in command.

And it was a victory that did not even require any real flashes of trademark brilliance from Torres, who was kept relatively quiet, such was Liverpool's dominance in all parts of the pitch.

Buoyed by United's setback at Craven Cottage on Saturday, Liverpool opened in the manner of a team who had seen the title come back into their sights in dramatic fashion.

It took only seven minutes for Liverpool to take the lead - and inevitably captain Gerrard was heavily involved.

Alonso glanced his swerving free-kick against the bar and Kuyt was on hand to slam the rebound past Friedel.

Villa needed to survive the predictable early assault from Liverpool, and once they did they had success with their attempts to give Carew the ammunition to cause havoc in the penalty area.

He was twice denied by important saves from Reina, first from a shot at the near post as he got on the end of Ashley Young's cross and then with a header that was turned away superbly by Liverpool's keeper.

Reina was then instrumental in Liverpool's second goal after 33 minutes that broke Villa's resolve and effectively sealed the points.

He launched a long clearance that was allowed to make its way into the Villa penalty area, where Riera lashed a half-volley high past Friedel.

And if Villa harboured any hopes of a revival they were snuffed out six minutes before the interval when Gerrard added Liverpool's third from the penalty spot.

Reo-Coker, pressed into service as an emergency right-back, was having a miserable time and he was lured into a challenge on Riera in the area that was never going to end in anything other than a spot-kick, which Gerrard duly dispatched.

Gerrard scored his second, and Liverpool's fourth, after 50 minutes when he slid a wonderfully-precise low finish beyond Friedel from Xabi Alonso's tapped free-kick.

With goal difference emerging as a real factor, The Kop urged Liverpool forward and their rampant side obliged.

Liverpool made it five after 65 minutes in a moment that summed up Villa's afternoon.

Torres raced clear and was hauled down by Friedel - although there seemed little malice in the keeper's challenge.

Referee Martin Atkinson produced the red card and substitute keeper Brad Guzan's first task was to pick Gerrard's penalty out of the net as the Liverpool captain completed his hat-trick.

Liverpool then played out time and conserved energy for battles ahead - safe in the knowledge that they had sent out another warning signal to United.

---

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa (Agger 76), Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Mascherano, Alonso (Lucas 66), Gerrard (Ngog 80), Kuyt, Riera, Torres. Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, El Zhar.

Booked: Gerrard.

Goals: Kuyt 8, Riera 33, Gerrard 39 pen, 50, 65 pen.

Aston Villa: Friedel, Reo-Coker (Guzan 64), Cuellar, Davies, Luke Young, Milner, Petrov, Barry, Ashley Young, Heskey (Agbonlahor 58), Carew (Gardner 88). Subs Not Used: Delfouneso, Knight, Salifou, Shorey.

Sent Off: Friedel (64).

Booked: Luke Young, Gardner.

Att: 44,131

Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

Tibetan monks 'held after riot'

Some 93 monks have been held by Chinese police after a riot in an ethnically Tibetan town, state-run media report.

The monks were held after a crowd of at least 100 attacked a police station in Gyala township in Qinghai province on Saturday, Xinhua news agency said.

The agency quoted officials as saying policemen and government staff had been assaulted and "slightly injured".

The protest was apparently sparked after a monk detained for advocating Tibetan independence escaped from jail.

Chinese authorities said the monk fled on Saturday and was still missing.

But a Tibetan website said the monk had killed himself by jumping into a river.

Security tight for Macedonia vote

Heavy snowfall in parts of the country could disrupt the vote

Security has been tightened in Macedonia ahead of presidential and local polls seen as critical to the country's EU and Nato membership bids.

About 8,500 extra police are being deployed to avoid a repeat of violence that marred elections last year.

The EU's envoy to Macedonia said the vote was the last chance in a long time for the country to prove it could hold elections to international standards.

A dispute with Greece over its name has also threatened its EU and Nato bids.

Heavy snowfall over the weekend, especially in the north and west of the country, could disrupt the voting.

Run-off expected

According to opinion polls, Gjorgje Ivanov, of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's governing conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, has about a 10-point lead over Ljubomir Frckoski, who is backed by the Social Democratic SDSM.

Five other candidates are also running for the largely ceremonial presidency, including former Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski, who was acquitted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague last year.

This is probably the last opportunity for quite some time for the country to show that it has not only the capacity, but also the political will, to organise elections in line with international standards Erwan FouereEU envoy to Macedonia

Current President Branko Crvenkovski is not running for a second term.

Neither of the frontrunners is expected to gain the absolute majority needed to avoid a run-off vote on 5 April.

The 1.8 million eligible voters in the former Yugoslav republic will also elect the mayors of 85 communities.

The three weeks of campaigning passed off mostly peacefully, with a few claims of voter intimidation.

One person was killed and several injured in ethnic Albanian areas of Macedonia during parliamentary elections in June 2008 that monitors said fell short of international standards.

More than 500 international and around 7,000 local observers are on hand to monitor Sunday's vote.

Macedonian and European officials urged voters to carry off a peaceful election.

"We will do everything in our power in line with the law and police authority to enable the citizens to vote peacefully and without pressure," Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska said.

The EU's envoy in Skopje, Erwan Fouere, said the vote was "the last chance not to miss the train again to EU" membership.

"This is probably the last opportunity for quite some time for the country to show that it has not only the capacity, but also the political will, to organise elections in line with international standards," he said.

Last year, Greece said it would block Macedonia from joining Nato and the EU unless it compromises over its official name.

Macedonia is also the name of a northern region of Greece.

In December 2008, Macedonia decided to take the issue of its name to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

Iran demands change in US policy

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would 'observe and judge' the US

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has demanded concrete policy changes from the US as the price for new relations between the two states.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had seen no change in America's attitude or policy, singling out US support for Israel and sanctions against Iran.

But he also said that if President Barack Obama altered the US position, Iran was prepared to follow suit.

President Obama on Thursday offered "a new beginning" in relations with Iran.

He made the offer in a video message to Iran's leaders and people seen as a dramatic break with the approach of George W Bush's administration.

Relations between Iran and the US have been strained over Tehran's nuclear activities.

BBC Iranian affairs analyst Sadeq Saba says that a minimum requirement for Iran would be a move by Washington to ease US sanctions.

'Words not enough'

Speaking to a large crowd in the holy city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran had "no experience with the new American government and the new American president".

One gesture the US administration could make would be to ease some of the sanctions on passenger aeroplanes and spare parts Cyrus, Tehran Iran views: Obama message

"We will observe them and we will judge," he said.

"If you change your attitude, we will change our attitude."

In the speech, which was carried live by Iranian television, he said Iran was yet to see such a change.

"What is the change in your policy?" he asked.

"Did you remove the sanctions? Did you stop supporting the Zionist regime? Tell us what you have changed. Change only in words is not enough."

The BBC's Sadeq Saba says the Iranian supreme leader may be acting to prevent any internal division between moderates and hardliners over how to react to President Obama's offer.

The demand for the US to withdraw support for Israel is clearly unrealistic, he says.

But any easing of bilateral sanctions or a freeze on Iranian assets could signal to Iran that the US is serious, he adds.

'Mutual respect'

Mr Obama's offer came in a direct video address to mark the Iranian New Year.

In the message, Mr Obama said he was seeking engagement with Iran that was "honest and based on mutual respect".

"My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us," he said.

The address was distributed to news outlets in Iran with subtitles in Farsi, and posted on the White House website.

Mr Obama's approach - prefigured in his inauguration speech - was seen as a clear departure from the approach of the Bush administration, which described Iran as part of the "axis of evil".

In another possible move towards engagement, the state department is said to be considering an overture in the form of a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei before the Iranian elections this summer.

Even so, a week ago Mr Obama extended sanctions against Iran for one year, saying it continued to pose a threat to US national security.

The US fears Iran's uranium enrichment programme is a cover to build atomic weapons, a charge Iranian officials deny.

Pontiff celebrates mass in Angola

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Crowds greet the Pope in Angola

Pope Benedict XVI is due to attend mass in Angola's capital Luanda, on the last stop of his week-long African tour.

The pontiff, who arrived in Angola on Friday from Cameroon, will later meet youths at a city football stadium.

On Friday, he made an emphatic appeal to Africans to rid the continent of corruption once and for all.

The 81-year-old said in a televised address in Luanda that Africans could transform their continent with integrity, magnanimity and compassion.

Thousands of people welcomed the Pope at Luanda's airport, the BBC's Louise Redvers says.

Pope's visit raises hopes Can Catholicism help Africa?

The Pope said in his address that Africans needed "a firm determination to change hearts and finally put a stop, once and for all, to corruption".

Benedict's speech was echoed by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been Angola's leader for the past three decades and through a civil war which has left hundreds of thousands dead.

He said Angolans were "looking for the best ways to rebuild what was destroyed in the recent past, and to build a modern society that will integrate all the people without discrimination or exclusion".

Mr dos Santos' party won elections last year that critics said were marred by fraud and corruption.

Angola, a former Portuguese colony, is rich in diamonds and oil, but war has left most of its people in poverty.

The Pope sparked controversy earlier on his tour for remarks refusing to advocate condoms as a way to help stop HIV/Aids, prompting France, Holland and even the pontiff's native Germany expressed concern.

Austria frees 'murder pits guard'

Josias Kumpf left Austria in 1956 to settle in the US

A former SS man alleged to have taken part in the extermination of 8,000 Jews in one day has been freed by Austria, a day after being extradited from the US.

The Austrian justice ministry said the former guard, 83-year-old Josias Kumpf, could not be put on trial because the statute of limitations had expired.

The US says he acted in the killing and burial in pits of Jewish interns at the Trawniki camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

He left Austria in 1956 to settle in the US, and became a citizen in 1964.

The US justice department sued to strip Mr Kumpf, who lived in Wisconsin, of his citizenship in 2003.

Austrian justice ministry spokeswoman Katharina Swoboda said Vienna had warned the US that Mr Kumpf would not be prosecuted in Austria because the statute of limitations relating to his crimes had expired in 1965.

"We have always pointed out to the United States that he cannot be charged here with the crimes of which he is accused," she said.

'Orders to shoot'

The justice ministry also said Mr Kumpf had been a teenager at the time of the alleged offences and had never been an Austrian citizen.

The opposition Greens have called on the government to amend the law to allow for the prosecution of alleged Nazi war criminals regardless of the time elapsed.

The US justice department said on Thursday that Mr Kumpf had admitted that he stood guard over a pit where prisoners were being gunned down and "finished off" the wounded.

Mr Kumpf was found to have served as a guard at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany and Trawniki in Nazi-occupied Poland, where the mass shooting took place in 1943.

His assignment had been to watch for victims who were still "halfway alive" or "convulsing" and prevent their escape, the US justice department said.

There was no immediate comment from Mr Kumpf or his lawyer, Peter Rogers. They have in the past denied that Mr Kumpf had a role in any atrocities.

Obama promotes reforms on TV show

Mr Obama was also asked about his personal life in the White House

US President Barack Obama has appeared on a popular TV chat show to promote moves to resolve the economic crisis.

He told NBC's Tonight Show he was taking full responsibility "to fix" the economy, in the first-ever appearance on the show by a serving US president.

Mr Obama said he was "stunned" by the huge bonuses that bailed-out insurance firm AIG was paying its employees.

The bonuses - totalling $165m (