US holds 750 in drug cartel raids

Eric Holder said 52 suspects were arrested in raids on Wednesday

US federal agents have arrested some 750 people across the country in a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels, US Attorney General Eric Holder has said.

Among them were 52 people arrested on Wednesday in California, Minnesota and Maryland in raids targeting the powerful Sinaloa cartel, he said.

Agents also seized 23 tonnes of drugs in the 21-month operation.

A 2008 justice department report found Mexican traffickers were the biggest organised crime threat to the US.

Most of the cocaine available in the US is smuggled via the US-Mexican border, while Mexican drug traffickers control most of the US drug market.

Mexican smugglers are also increasingly working with US gangs, the report found.

The Sinaloa cartel is one of four main Mexican drug-trafficking groups, the others being the Gulf cartel, the Tijuana cartel and the Juarez cartel.

The US Congress has authorised the spending of $1.6bn (

Detainees split Zimbabwe cabinet

Mr Tsvangirai says the detentions threaten power-sharing

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said the country's attorney general is blocking the release of political detainees.

About 30 activists are currently being held, including a senior member of Mr Tsvangirai's MDC party, Roy Bennett.

Mr Tsvangirai said President Robert Mugabe had agreed a deal that would see the release of the detainees.

But he has now accused the attorney general's office of "wilfully obstructing" the process.

Mr Tsvangirai said the continuing detention of President Mugabe's political opponents was only one issue threatening the power-sharing agreement that has brought him and his MDC party into government.

Challenges

He also expressed concern about the latest wave of disruptions on white-owned farms in Zimbabwe, which he said was undermining efforts to revive the agricultural sector and restore investor confidence.

"As long as these matters remain unresolved," said Mr Tsvangirai, "it will be impossible for the transitional government to move forward."

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who has been visiting South Africa, said the UN stood ready to help Zimbabwe with its economic and humanitarian challenges.

But Mr Ban said there would be more support if there was political reconciliation.

He said he hoped, therefore, that the detainees would be released as soon as possible.

Mumbai attacks suspect is charged

Mr Qasab is alleged to have opened fire on commuters

Indian police have filed charges against the man identified as the sole surviving gunman from last November's deadly Mumbai (Bombay) attacks.

It is believed the charge sheet against Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab and others runs into thousands of pages.

Police say Mr Qasab and nine other gunmen attacked sites in the financial capital. More than 170 people died.

India accused Pakistan-based militants of the attacks. Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil.

Call for Guatemala war justice

Amnesty International has called on the Guatemalan authorities to do more to provide justice for thousands of victims of the country's civil war.

More than 200,000 people - most of them civilians - were killed or disappeared between 1960 and 1996.

The group said that tens of thousands of cases have yet to be heard by the commission established to probe cases.

They said that without justice, Guatemala would not be able to "move forward from its dark past".

Amnesty called on the Guatemalan government to approve a law for a National Search Commission for the Disappeared.

Legal duty

Kerrie Howard, of the group's America's programme, said this commission was "essential to implementing the recommendations made by the country's Historical Clarification Commission 10 years ago".

A 1999 report by that commission found evidence of widespread human rights abuses and 669 massacres, many in indigenous villages, said Amnesty.

Ms Howard said its recommendations had been a "massive landmark for human rights in Guatemala" but it was now time "for the government to deliver some justice".

Amnesty said no high-ranking officials or officers have yet been brought to justice over the atrocities and the few investigations which have taken place have been "deplorably slow and inadequate".

"The Guatemalan authorities have the legal and moral duty to ensure that the crimes committed during the country's internal armed conflict, many of which constitute crimes against humanity, are investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice," said Ms Howard.

"The best way for the Guatemalan authorities to remember and honour the victims of abuse committed during the armed conflict is by ensuring that those who committed, authorised or planned those crimes are not able to evade justice."

Zimbabwe teachers to end strike

The government promised to appeal for overseas aid for schools

Teachers in Zimbabwe have agreed to end their strike after the government promised to review salaries, and to appeal for substantial aid for schools.

The teachers had been demanding their salaries in foreign currency to get around Zimbabwe's massive inflation.

But they said the new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had been willing to listen to their grievances.

New Education Minister David Coltart said he had asked for more than $450m (

Spain may take Guantanamo inmates

Spain's foreign minister has said his country is prepared "in principle" to take in some inmates released from the Guantanamo Bay US military camp.

Miguel Angel Moratinos was speaking after a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington.

He said Spain would consider taking prisoners on a case by case basis and only under acceptable legal conditions.

About 250 people are still held in the camp, which President Barack Obama has ordered to be shut down within a year.

US soldiers 'shot dead in Iraq'

At least four US soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter have been shot dead by gunmen wearing Iraqi police uniforms, unconfirmed reports say.

Interior ministry officials said the shooting - which has not been independently verified - took place in the northern city of Mosul.

One report says the incident involved one policeman and the translator alone.

The US military says it is investigating the reports, but said it has no information of such an incident.

Iraqi police in Mosul told the BBC two Iraqi policemen reportedly opened fire on US troops in the city, killing between four and six of them. ABC News quoted an interior ministry official as saying an Iraqi interpreter was also killed in the shooting.

However, an Iraqi interior ministry spokesman, Brig Gen Abdul-Karim al-Khalaf, said one Iraqi policeman had shot dead an interpreter, and that no US troops were in the area at the time.

Lord Carter defends digital plan

Lord Carter said the debate about broadband was ongoing

Lord Carter has been defending his report into the state of digital Britain and in particular his decision to set a 2Mbps (megabits per second) baseline speed for UK broadband.

His interim report was published at the end of January and has drawn criticism.

The decision to offer a minimum of 2Mbps was necessary to kickstart the movement of government services online, said Lord Carter.

It was "not an option" to leave people out of the digital revolution, he said.

Ludicrously low

Speaking at a meeting organised by Nesta, (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), Lord Carter hit back at his critics.

"Those who say that a Universal Service Obligation of 2Mbps is a ludicrously low ambition miss the point," he said.

"There is going to be 30% of the country not covered by traditional markets and I'm not prepared to leave them behind. It is not an option to say that we will find a mop-up solution in 10 years' time," he said.

Setting a baseline of 2Mbps, which the government is hoping to be able to offer to all UK homes by 2012, was vital for what Lord Carter described as the "digital switchover of government services".

"In our judgement two megabits is a base level that means people can access government services and have an acceptable user experience," he said.

Bandwidth-hungry

READ THE FULL INTERIM REPORT Digital Britain interim report(2MB) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here

Making services available digitally could be one of the "biggest prizes" of the digital age, he said.

Already some key government services are available online and most accept that making others available will save a huge amount of money as well as putting citizens back in control of their relationship with government.

Lord Carter revealed that he was in talks with European ministers to make amendments to the European Telecommunications Directive which, if implemented, would see a 2Mbps Universal Service Obligation offered in all member states.

Critics have pointed out that 2Mbps may not be enough to support the bandwidth-hungry applications such as the iPlayer which are increasingly becoming must-have applications for consumers.

Virgin Media has just begun to migrate customers using its 2Mbps service up to a 10Mbps service, as part of its policy to upgrade its network to support speeds of up to 50Mbps.

Lord Carter was keen to point out that the interim report was in no way the end of the line on government strategy for broadband, saying the point of publishing it was "to draw people into the debate."

Some think he is just being realistic with his 2Mbps strategy.

"He has had a taste of how difficult it is to get everyone up to 2Mbps," said Alex Salter, co-founder of SamKnows, a broadband website.

"There are issues with mobile broadband and there are still plenty of "notspots" in places you wouldn't expect them, such as Kent. He might want speeds of up to 100Mbps but he also has to be realistic," he said.

Lord Carter also used the meeting to criticise what he described as a "superficial misunderstanding" of how the UK would roll out next-generation networks (offering speeds of up to 100Mbps).

"It is not a question of either the government provides the funding or let the market decide. This is about how we marry public policy and the market," he said.

Personal data

The wide-ranging Digital Britain report, the full version of which is due to be published in May, will also look at how the government regulates content in the internet age.

Lord Carter described it a "turning point for the creative industries", in which the UK is a world leader.

Peter Bazalgette, media expert and ex-head of Endemol UK, was at the Nesta debate and questioned how media companies would make money in future.

"The truth is that not a single media company knows what its model will be in ten year's time," he said.

But he offered his own insight into how users will pay for content.

"In future all content will be paid for either by people's attention spans or their personal data," he said.

India media hails Oscar glories

Indian papers have specially praised AR Rahman's success

Newspapers in India have hailed the success of Slumdog Millionaire, its composer AR Rahman and the documentary Smile Pinki at the Oscars on Monday.

Rahman won two Oscars, best original score and best original song - Jai Ho - with fellow Indian Gulzar.

Resul Pookutty bagged another award for sound mixing of the rags-to-riches Mumbai movie, which also won best picture and best director.

Smile Pinki, about an Indian cleft-lip girl, won best short documentary.

The success of Slumdog sparked massive celebrations back in India.

The Oscar wins made front page headline news in all newspapers, with special praise for AR Rahman, who is a cult music composer in India.

The film has brought willy-nilly the 'Bollywood' language into mainstream world cinema Hindustan Times

Slumgod, headlined The Indian Express.

"Like it or not, you have to have been swayed by its anthem song, Jai Ho. And whether or not this prepares the ground for an Indian original to cross over, there had to have been misty eyed moments when AR Rahman took his bow," the newspaper said in an editorial.

Writing in the same paper, critic Sandipan Deb said that though India should "really rejoice for the six children" who acted in Slumdog and for composer AR Rahman, "it's a bit too much if we take this as a victory for Indian cinema".

"It's a non-Indian film which happened to have an all-Indian cast. We shoot entire films abroad nowadays, especially in the US, remember?".

'Triumph of hope'

India Breaks Sound Barrier headlined The Times of India, alluding to the success of Rahman's music and Resul Pookuty's sound mixing awards.

"You know India has arrived when everybody in Hollywood's Kodak Theatre - from Brad Pitt to Kate Winslet, Steven Spielberg to Meryl Streep- move to the beat of Jai Ho," the newspaper wrote.

There was widespread celebrations in India over the film's win

The newspaper said that India "justifiably has much to celebrate about Slumdog's night of Oscar glory".

"Three Indians have won individual Academy honours this year, and that's a tremendous achievement".

The newspaper said that "for all its problems, India is a multicultural experiment that works".

"Just take a look at the Indians who won Oscar accolades this year -they follow different religions. But they accepted the honours as Indians, on our behalf, and dedicated their wins to us".

The Hindu newspaper called the film's success as a "triumph of hope".

The newspaper said that though Slumdog was made by a British director and funded by a European company, "it is seen by many at home as an Indian film".

'Curious amalgam'

The newspaper pointed out that unlike Richard Attenborough's Gandhi - the film won eight Oscars - the cast of Slumdog was "almost entirely Indian".

Also, it said, "the style that permeates the film is a curious amalgam - one that represents a true cinematic union between Hollywood and Bollywood".

The Hindu said that "India impacted on this year's Oscars in another way, and one that deserves special mention: the best documentary award to Smile Pinki".

Hindustan Times said that Slumdog was a "great exhilarating film that has brought willy-nilly the 'Bollywood' language into mainstream world cinema".

"What better way for us to be flattered than when a foreign film hits Oscar gold by going down our 'filmy' path?"

Smile Pinki is the story of a girl with a cleft lip

But, in an editorial page piece in the same newspaper, critic Indrajit Hazra wondered whether Slumdog was really an 'Indian' film.

"If there's any 'national' aspect to the Slumdog Millionaire mega-haul it is that of AR Rahman winning two Oscars - not because he is an Indian national, but because, through the score of the movie and the two songs he has been able to bring the contemporary Hindi film sound into the international mainstream," he wrote.

"The rest, as they don't say enough, is nationalistic poppycock."

Slumdog Is Top Dog, headlined Mail Today

The newspaper said Rahman's awards proved that the composer's music has "gone beyond India, and is part of the global mainstream, something incredibly creative and human, and something very personal, linked to his genius".

The Economic Times said it was a "Bollywood show at the Oscars, as a group of kids walked the red carpet and won a million hearts".

AR Rahman told DNA newspaper that the Oscars would help Indian talent.

"I think it's a great bridge .. it is the starting point for Bollywood and Indian talent. Americans [earlier] had an aversion to any other culture."

"Now we are probably making our culture more acceptable, we are setting a trend .. I loved the way the kids came in [the Slumdog child actors walking the ramp].. it was so moving."

US shares at nearly 12-year low

The Dow Jones is at its lowest since 28 October 1997

US shares have fallen sharply on concerns about the government's latest attempts to shore up the banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 251.4 points, or 3.41%, at 7,114.3, its lowest since October 1997.

But shares in the banks themselves rose sharply, with Citigroup up more than 11% and Bank of America rising over 5%.

The US government reiterated its determination to keep banks operating, but added it wanted the banks themselves to stay in private hands.

There had earlier been reports that the government was planning to take a bigger stake in Citigroup and could even nationalise it.

"People left and right are throwing in the towel," said Keith Springer from Capital Financial Advisory Services.

"The biggest thing I see here is the incredible pessimism - the government is doing a lousy job of alleviating fears."

Technology shares also fell on reports that a reorganisation is planned at Yahoo.

The technology-based Nasdaq index fell 53.5 points, or 3.71%, to close at 1,387.7.

The falls pick up from a tough week last week, when all the major indices fell by more than 6%.

Pakistan Taleban in Bajaur truce

Pakistani soldiers launched an operation in Bajaur in August

A senior Taleban figure in Pakistan's Bajaur district has announced a unilateral ceasefire.

Faqir Mohammad made the announcement in a radio speech.

Faqir Mohammad is thought to be the deputy of Baitullah Mehsud, who the Pakistani authorities say is the main Taleban commander in the region.

The military says it has seized the strategic Bachina heights in Bajaur and it remains to be seen whether it will agree to a ceasefire.

The military began its operation in Bajaur last August and has used it as proof of its commitment to tackle the Taleban in the restive north-west.

The truce move comes a week after a deal was signed between Pakistani officials and Taleban representatives to end an insurgency in the Swat region in return for the imposition of Sharia law.

Alliances

Faqir Mohammad said in his 30-minute speech: "We made this announcement of a unilateral ceasefire in the interest of Pakistan and our region.

"We advise our people not to take action against security forces."

He stressed that "Pakistan is our country and the Pakistan army is our army".

Faqir Mohammad said: "We don't want to fight the army, but some elements have been creating misunderstandings between us."

He said there were no foreign fighters in Bajaur.

"However, if we found any foreigners here, the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) would take action against them."

He warned that if drone attacks in Pakistani tribal areas continued "we will avenge them by attacking Western troops inside Afghanistan".

The announcement comes a day after the security troops dislodged militants from the strategic Bachina heights.

Military action has been lessening in Bajaur with the capture of several strategic points by the military.

It also came two days after the head of the TTP, Baitullah Mehsud, announced a new strategic alliance with two important non-TTP groups in Waziristan.

One is led by Mullah Nazir in South Waziristan and the other by Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan.

The announcement did not specifically mention the militants of Swat, Bajaur and Mohmand as forming a part of the new alliance.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says many observers take this to mean that the Waziristan groups have decided to fend for themselves.

The Swat chapter of the TTP has already called a truce and the cleric, Sufi Muhammad, is brokering the peace talks between the Taleban and the government.

Our correspondent says observers believe some militants are on the retreat due to people's war fatigue, the recent realignments within different groups in anticipation of the new US strategy in the region and increasing international pressure on Pakistan to eliminate militant sanctuaries.

US 'must rethink Cuban embargo'

Leadership changes in Cuba could bring opportunities, the report suggests

The US economic embargo on Cuba "has failed" and should be re-evaluated, senior Republican Senator Richard Lugar argues in a report.

"We must recognise the ineffectiveness of our current policy and deal with the Cuba regime in a way that enhances US interests," Senator Lugar says.

President Barack Obama has promised a new look at US policy towards Cuba, including easing travel restrictions.

But he has said he believes the embargo is an "inducement" for change in Cuba.

Senator Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a hugely influential figure in US politics, says Washington's policies towards Havana have been ineffective.

"After 47 years... the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose of 'brining democracy to the Cuban people'," he says.

"It may have been used as a foil by the regime to demand further sacrifices from Cuba's impoverished people."

Senator Lugar's views are contained in a report that was drawn up by a member of his staff and was due to be released on Monday.

"By directing policy toward an unlikely scenario of a short-term democratic transition on the island and rejecting most tools of diplomatic engagement, the US is left as a powerless bystander, watching events unfold at a distance," the report says.

It stops short of calling for the trade embargo to be lifted but does urge:

• an end to restrictions imposed during the Bush administration on travel and remittances to Cuba
• reinstituting formal co-operation on migration and tackling drug-trafficking
• allowing Cuba to buy US agricultural products on credit.

The report, which comes a year after Fidel Castro officially handed over power to his brother, Raul, suggests leadership changes provide an opportunity to rethink policy.

Growing consensus

Washington's long-standing economic isolation of Cuba is one of the most ideological and controversial elements of US foreign policy, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

But this report points to growing cross-party consensus that this policy has to change, he says.

Sales of US farming goods have been allowed since 2000 but on a cash basis

President Obama has indicated that he would be open to dialogue with Cuba's leaders. He also supports easing restrictions on the number of visits Cuban-Americans can make to the island and the amount of money they can send.

During last year's presiddential election campaign, Mr Obama said the embargo had not helped bring democracy to Cuba but he added that it did provide an "inducement" to change.

The Obama administration has so far not devoted much attention to Cuba and Latin America, given more pressing issues at home and abroad.

But an administration official told the Washington Post newspaper that it was "not unreasonable" to expect that Mr Obama would ease the limits on family travel and remittances to Cuba before he attends the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April.

In a separate development, a bipartisan bill to restore the right of US citizens to travel to Cuba was presented in the US House of Representatives earlier this month.

Israel-Hamas arms embargo urged

Israel has denied allegations of illegal use of white phosphorus rounds

Campaign group Amnesty International has called for an arms embargo against Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups after fighting last month.

The human rights group said it had evidence both Israel and Hamas had used weapons sourced from overseas to carry out attacks on civilians.

It called for the UN Security Council to impose the embargo on all parties.

Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the conclusions of the report, in which Amnesty accuses each of war crimes.

'War crimes'

In the Amnesty report, Israel is accused of illegal use of white phosphorus and other armaments supplied by the US in Gaza, while Hamas is condemned for launching unguided rockets into Israel.

Israel has denied any illegal use of white phosphorus munitions.

[Israeli] attacks resulted in the death of hundreds of children and other civilians and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International Israel defends use of phosphorus

The weapon, which is used to lay smokescreens, can stick to human skin and burn its way to the bone. It is legal for use on open ground but its use in built-up areas is banned under the Geneva Convention.

Donatella Rovera, the head of an Amnesty fact-finding mission to southern Israel and Gaza, said: "Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes.

"Their attacks resulted in the death of hundreds of children and other civilians and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure.

"At the same time, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets that had been smuggled in or made of components from abroad at civilian areas in Israel.

"Though far less lethal than the weaponry used by Israel, such rocket firing also constitutes a war crime and caused several civilian deaths."

The charity's report said it had found fragments and components of artillery, tank shells, fins from mortar rounds and aircraft-launched missiles and bombs in school playgrounds, hospitals and homes in Gaza.

In southern Israel, meanwhile, the remains of rockets fired indiscriminately at civilian areas by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups were also recovered, the report said.

Report 'tainted'

Mark Regev, spokesman for outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told Reuters news agency the Amnesty report was "fundamentally flawed" and "tainted" because it used data provided by Hamas.

He said Israel only uses weapons that are legal under international law and that every effort was made to avoid civilian casualties.

"The report ignores the fact Hamas deliberately used the Palestinian civilian population as a human shield," he told Reuters.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the report "unfair", telling Reuters there was no comparison between the Israeli forces' weaponry and Palestinian "people who defend themselves with some rifles and other primitive means".

He denied that Hamas had acquired weapons from other countries.

US cobblers cash in on recession

By Andy Gallacher BBC News, Miami

The Star shoes and boots repair shop on Miami's Washington Avenue has the kind of back room that looks like it belongs in a museum.

Miami cobblers are benefitting from the economic downturn

Huge metal machines that spin on leather belts and look like parts of an old steam train are labouring more than they have in years.

Business here and at cobblers across the United States is good.

"If you compare this year with last year, it's a lot better," says Robert Suarez, who helps run the shop.

"People are appreciating what we can do. I think its going to get better every month."

The recession has rapidly changed how people are spending and saving their money and Kelly Watson is a typical customer.

She came into the shop clutching her favourite boots.

When she bought them new they were $1,000 (

Goody 'nervous' ahead of wedding

Goody and her fiance, Jack Tweed, kiss for the cameras In pictures: Jade Goody's wedding

Terminally ill reality TV star Jade Goody is said to be excited and nervous as she prepares for her wedding.

The 27-year-old, who has cancer, had been unwell ahead of the ceremony, but is expected to go ahead with the event, said publicist Max Clifford.

There is a sizeable police and media presence outside the Down Hall country house hotel in Essex, where Goody arrived by helicopter on Saturday.

She has pledged to walk down the aisle unaided to meet her fiance, Jack Tweed.

The former Big Brother contestant will be wearing her "dream dress", a

Australia mourns bushfire victims

Australia is observing a day of mourning for the victims of bushfires which swept across the state of Victoria, claiming more than 200 lives.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is leading a ceremony of remembrance in the state's capital, Melbourne.

Many had to be bussed into the city from small towns and villages stricken by the fires, having lost their cars as well as their homes to the flames.

Firemen continue to battle fresh blazes and some bodies are still to be found.

Tokyo flight turbulence hurts 30

Ambulances took injured passengers to hospital in Tokyo

About 30 people have been injured after a passenger jet was hit by severe turbulence as it neared the end of a flight from Manila to Tokyo.

At least two passengers on the Northwest Airlines jet were seriously injured, officials say.

Turbulence struck while the plane was circling off the coast of Chiba, east of Tokyo, an airline spokesman said.

Ambulances met the plane at Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, and ferried the injured to hospital.

The Boeing 747-400 plane had been carrying more than 400 passengers plus 14 crew when the incident happened on Friday.

All those injured were passengers, said Northwest Airlines spokesman Masashi Takahashi.

"The turbulence occurred 25 to 30 minutes before landing, when the seatbelt light was on," he said.

"During the flight, we received a message from the pilot saying two or three people were injured. But (the pilot) probably assessed that an emergency landing was not necessary.

"It is possible that the people injured did not have their seatbelts on, otherwise all of the 422 passengers would have been injured as well."

Japanese media quoted witnesses saying that those who had not fastened their seatbelts had been sent crashing into the ceiling as the plane shook violently.

US concern over 'unclear' N Korea

South Korea wants US help to restart denuclearisation talks with North

Hillary Clinton voiced concern over North Korea's "unclear" leadership situation as she arrived in South Korea on the third leg of her regional tour.

The situation meant the US had to find a better strategy to influence the North, the US secretary of state said.

Her comments follow speculation over the health of leader Kim-Jong-il, after reports he had a stroke last year.

Mrs Clinton will discuss North Korea and its nuclear ambitions in talks with top leaders in Seoul on Friday.

South Korea is hopeful that the new US administration will be able to restart denuclearisation talks with Pyongyang, which stalled late last year.

But hours before Mrs Clinton arrived in Seoul, North Korea issued the latest in a series of warnings to its southern neighbour, stating that its troops were "fully ready" for war.

Her visit also comes amid speculation the North may be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile, something Mrs Clinton has called "extremely unhelpful".

Sabre-rattling

As she flew into Seoul, Mrs Clinton told journalists that it was important to get the six-party nuclear talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions back on track.

North Korea maintains one of the world's biggest standing armies

Mr Kim is not known to have named his successor and Western diplomats fear any leadership crisis could further raise tensions on the peninsula.

"Everybody is trying to sort of read the tea leaves as to what is happening and what is likely to occur, and there is a lot of guessing going on," Mrs Clinton said.

"Our goal is to try to come up with a strategy that is effective in influencing the behaviour of the North Koreans at a time when the whole leadership situation is somewhat unclear."

The BBC's state department correspondent, Kim Ghattas, says that the North's sabre-rattling over the past few weeks is seen as an attempt to grab the attention of the Obama administration and improve its bargaining position when the talks eventually resume.

The North Koreans will be watching Mrs Clinton's every statement to determine their next move, our correspondent says.

Mrs Clinton arrived in Seoul from Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim country - where she said the US was seeking a new kind of dialogue with the Muslim world.

In addition to talks with Indonesian leaders, Mrs Clinton appeared on a youth music TV show.

She joked about her poor singing abilities - but she also used her appearance to stress that Washington wants to address concerns over its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere.

US faces fresh Afghan obstacles

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Top US commander in Afghanistan wants a 'persistent' presence of troops

Kyrgyz MPs have voted to close a key US base supplying troops in Afghanistan, hours before Nato chiefs meet to study a US plea to boost troop levels.

The Manas base in Kyrgyzstan is used by thousands of US soldiers every month on their way to and from Afghanistan.

The US is extremely concerned about a resurgence of the Taleban, and said this week it would send an additional 17,000 troops there.

It will ask Nato to provide more troops ahead of general elections in August.

There clearly will be expectations that the allies must do more Robert GatesUS defence secretary Kyrgyz MPs vote to shut US base Vital role of US Kyrgyz base UK backs US Nato troops call

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates will present the request to Nato allies in Krakow on Thursday.

He said the message was that the new US administration was prepared to make additional commitments to Afghanistan, but that it expected other allies to do more too.

The 17,000 increase will bring the number of US forces in Afghanistan to more than 50,000.

The US currently has about 14,000 troops serving with a Nato-led mission. There are also 19,000 US troops under sole US command charged with fighting Taleban and al-Qaeda insurgents.

'Tough year'

The Kyrgyz parliament voted in favour of closing the Manas air base by 78 votes to one.

If President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signs the bill, the US will have 180 days to leave the base - its only one in Central Asia.

With supply lines to Afghanistan via Pakistan increasingly threatened by militant attacks, Washington has intensified talks with other countries in the region to find an alternative to Manas.

Graph: US troop numbers in Afghanistan since 2001

America's top commander in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, has predicted that the coming year will be "tough".

Some countries have indicated that they may be able to offer more help over the spring and summer to improve security ahead of the poll.

The UK's defence minister John Hutton told the BBC that Nato's European allies needed to do more to ensure a fairer burden-sharing of responsibilities in Afghanistan.

Britain is the second biggest contributor to the Nato-led mission, with more than 8,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan.

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME

However, there is a growing realisation in the US and UK that allies such as Germany, France and Italy are unlikely to offer significant numbers of extra combat forces, or change the nature of their missions, says the BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Krakow.

But those countries unwilling or unable to send more combat troops will also be pushed for extra help and funding on the civil side, focussing on governance, police training and the fight against drugs, our correspondent says.

Speaking on board a US military plane en route to the two-day Nato meeting, Mr Gates said the new US administration was "prepared... to make additional commitments to Afghanistan, but there clearly will be expectations that the allies must do more as well".

He said the response so far to requests for allies to supply extra troops ahead of elections had been "disappointing".

'Unfair' claims

Meanwhile, UK Defence Secretary John Hutton rejected claims that some US military commanders were unhappy with the performance of the British troops in Afghanistan.

In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Hutton said: "I do not think that is fair, nor do I think that reflects the real view in the Pentagon and elsewhere.

"There is a very high level of regard for the contribution that UK forces have made in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We will not change our tactics in Afghanistan on the basis of uncorroborated and unsourced gossip from people who don't have the courage to put their names to their remarks," Mr Hutton said.

* Allocation of new deployment between Operation Enduring Freedom and Nato ISAF to be confirmed.

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Man Utd 3-0 Fulham

By Mandeep Sanghera

Scholes volley to give United the lead against Fulham

Premier League leaders Manchester United stretched their lead to five points after disposing of Fulham.

Cottagers goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was at fault for the opener as he let Paul Scholes's 25-yard shot spin into the net having saved his initial volley.

An imperious passing move from the home side then allowed Dimitar Berbatov to slot in a second.

Wayne Rooney came off the bench to sidefoot home at the far post and round off a one-sided victory.

The result provided United with the ideal launch pad for a spell of eight games in 25 days, including a Champions League tie against Inter Milan, the Carling Cup final against Tottenham and ending with the Premier League visit of Liverpool.

United all but confirmed the three points within the first half hour, enabling their players to preserve themselves for the tougher tests ahead, with Fulham barely providing a challenge to the Old Trafford side.

606: DEBATE What were your thoughts on the game?

The visitors were not helped by keeper Schwarzer's poor performance, not least his early mistake that kick-started the home side's cruise to victory.

Carrick floated a precise corner to Scholes and, although the midfielder struck a sweetly timed volley, Schwarzer got down to save the effort only to see it spin into his goal.

United had won their last eight Premier League games without conceding a goal and, despite Bobby Zamora glancing a header wide for Fulham, there was already an air of resignation about the visitors.

Schwarzer was proving more of a hindrance than a help to his side and, after fumbling a Cristiano Ronaldo cross, was fortunate Aaron Hughes cleared off the line from Berbatov.

Berbatov did not have to wait long before getting on the scoresheet and eventually slotted in by ending a passing move of about 20-30 passes.

The move ended with Scholes lofting a ball to John O'Shea, whose volley across goal was missed by Schwarzer leaving Berbatov to tap in.

United's two goalscorers each went close to extending Sir Alex Ferguson's side's lead as the match turned into a damage limitation exercise for a Cottagers team who are one of only two top-flight clubs without an away win this season.

It was the perfect scenario to bring back Rooney after his injury lay-off and the striker marked his comeback by tapping in Ji-Sung Park's cross at the far post.

United's play resembled more of a training exercise but they had the motivation of keeping a 14th-consecutive league clean sheet.

The British record twice came close to being ended when Zamora poked an angled shot narrowly wide and Nemanja Vidic escaped being penalised for handball in the area.

But United comfortably closed out the win and made full use of their game in hand over their title rivals.

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BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Manchester United's Paul Scholes on 8.03 (on 90 minutes).

Please note that you can still give the players marks out of 10 on BBC Sport's Player Rater after the match has finished.

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Egypt's Nour released from jail

Mr Nour made an unprecedented bid to replace the long-serving Hosni Mubarak

Egyptian authorities have released opposition figure Ayman Nour after three years in jail on what he said were politically motivated charges.

The US, Egypt's close ally and major aid donor, took great interest in the Nour case and described his conviction as a miscarriage of justice.

Mr Nour came a distant second to the incumbent Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election.

The following year he was jailed for five years for electoral forgery.

Speaking to AFP news agency, a judiciary official said Egypt's public prosecutor had decided to free Mr Nour on health grounds.

Mr Nour told Reuters news agency by telephone from his home: "I am going to practise my role as a politician through the Ghad party and through my previous role."

Sweden accepts ex-Guantanamo man

Mr Hakimjan says he was sold to US authorities by Pakistani farmers

Sweden has agreed to give asylum to a Chinese Muslim man who was held at Guantanamo Bay for almost five years.

The migration court accepted that Adel Hakimjan, from China's Uighur minority, was not a terrorist and granted him permanent residency as a refugee.

There are still 17 Uighurs being held at Guantanamo Bay. They refuse to return to China because they fear persecution there.

Activists welcomed Sweden's move and urged other countries to follow suit.

Zachary Katznelson, legal director of UK-based rights group Reprieve, said Britain and Sweden had led the way in accepting former detainees.

"We hope this is the first step for countries across Europe in accepting the men from Guantanamo who cannot be returned to their home countries," he said.

Humanitarian concerns

The 17 Uighurs still being held at Guantanamo have all been cleared for release, but the US cannot find any country willing to take them.

Beijing has labelled them "terror suspects" and said it "strongly opposes" any country taking them in.

Mr Hakimjan's sister Kauser had not seen her brother in a decade

The authorities in China accuse some of them of being members of the East Turkestan Independence Movement - a Muslim separatist organisation Beijing says uses terrorist tactics.

Mr Hakimjan says he fled persecution in China in 1999 intending to travel to Turkey to find work.

But after the US invasion of Afghanistan, he claims he was sold to the US authorities by Pakistani farmers for about $5,000 (

Obama and the limits of liberalism

By Paul Reynolds World affairs correspondent BBC News website

There are already about 34,000 US troops serving in Afghanistan

After only a month in office, President Barack Obama has bumped up against the realities of war-and-peace decisions that face any American president.

The president's order not to withdraw from Afghanistan but to get further into it shows that there are limits to the liberalism he has espoused, even though he foreshadowed this move during his election campaign.

He is not the first US president to come into office promising change and then finding that more of the same is part of the policy mix.

The Carter experience

Jimmy Carter proclaimed an "ethical" foreign policy but then ran into the reality of the Soviet move into Afghanistan in 1979.

This led to a freezing of relations with Moscow, including a boycott of the Moscow Olympic games.

The danger for a liberal president is that he is seen to be weak if he does not take action

Worse was to follow for Mr Carter with the Islamic revolution in Iran and the seizure of the hostages at the US embassy in Tehran. President Carter tried to get their release through ineffective sanctions and then a rescue operation that came to grief in the desert outside Tehran.

It was an event that doomed his presidency, though he would probably have lost to Ronald Reagan anyway, because the US was then, as now, in an economic recession and, at that time, thoroughly demoralised.

Iran

Jimmy Carter chose not to go to war with Iran, something that George W Bush might have at least threatened.

A huge decision about war or peace potentially looming over the horizon for President Obama also concerns Iran.

It is curious how the same places crop up again and again in differing circumstances and never with an easy answer.

Bill Clinton found his own approach to conflict such as the strikes in Serbia

That potential crisis is of course over Iran's nuclear activities.

Defying the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Security Council, which want it to halt the enrichment of uranium, Iran is continuing to enrich, though it says it has no intention of using this expertise to build a nuclear device.

Mr Obama has promised new contacts with Iran and everyone is waiting to see if this will include an offer to agree to some enrichment at least by Iran - or whether this confrontation becomes a crisis and even a war.

Iran might prove to be the crucial test of what kind of President Obama will be internationally.

Mr Obama has not developed the concept of an ethical foreign policy as Jimmy Carter did. He has not made that kind of commitment. But even presidents who want to avoid war sometimes find that war is, in their opinion, thrust upon them.

Bill Clinton managed to find his own solution, by limiting the kinds of wars he fought, turning them into campaigns instead.

He bombed but did not invade Iraq; he bombed and did not invade Serbia, resisting the pressure of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for ground operations as well.

Truman and Korea

US President Harry Truman did go to war in 1950, when he opposed the invasion of South Korea by the North.

Closing Guantanamo Bay presents more issues for President Obama

The Korean war was unpopular and Truman left office with his head high and his polls low. But history has revived his reputation.

If President Obama can avoid an attack on Iran yet resolve the argument with Iran, his reputation could be made in a different way.

But the danger for a liberal president is that he is seen to be weak if he does not take action.

Guantanamo prisoners

Another problem down the line will raise acute dilemmas for a liberal-minded lawyer president.

It concerns those prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay who might not face trial but who will not be released.

When the camp closes, which the president has ordered inside a year, there could a small number of these prisoners.

The question then will be whether to hold them in some form of preventive detention on US soil, perhaps after a ruling by a new national security court, which would give a legal veneer to detention without proper trial.

It would not be pretty in the eyes of the powerful element of legal, public and political opinion that has forced the promise of Guantanamo's closure.

And for a president with his legal background, it would not be easy to justify on constitutional grounds.

It might well go all the way up to the Supreme Court - but it might be a decision that a liberal president would feel he had to take.

Paul.Reynolds-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk