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 (