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Doubts over Egypt PM appointment

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 07 Juli 2013 | 19.12

6 July 2013 Last updated at 18:32 ET

Egypt's new president says pro-reform leader Mohamed Elbaradei has not yet been appointed as interim prime minister despite earlier reports.

A spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour said consultations were continuing.

Officials had earlier named Mr ElBaradei - a former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog - for the post.

News of his appointment had been criticised by the Salafist Nour Party, which said it would not work with him.

It came three days after the army removed Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi following growing public unrest.

The appointment of Mr ElBaradei caused anger among supporters of Mr Morsi, who want to see him returned to power.

"Interim President Adly Mansour met today with Dr ElBaradei but so far there has been no official appointment," Agence France-Presse news agency quoted presidential advisor Ahmed al-Muslimani as saying.

But he added that Mr ElBaradei was "the logical choice" among a list of names being considered, the news agency said.

Mr ElBaradei and other party leaders attended a meeting called by Mr Mansour on Saturday.

He leads an alliance of liberal and left-wing parties, the National Salvation Front.

In a BBC interview on Thursday, Mr ElBaradei defended the army's intervention, saying: "We were between a rock and a hard place."

"It is a painful measure, nobody wanted that," he said. "But Mr Morsi unfortunately undermined his own legitimacy by declaring himself a few months ago as a pharaoh and then we got into a fist fight, and not a democratic process."

Polarised nation
Mohamed ElBaradei

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Mohamed ElBaradei: "We were between a rock and a hard place"

Earlier, news of Mr ElBaradei's appointment was greeted with cheers in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the main focus of anti-Morsi demonstrations.

People there set off firecrackers, honked car horns and waved flags when they heard the news, AFP news agency reports.

However Egypt's second-biggest Islamist group, the Salafist hard-line Nour party - which had initially backed the army-led "roadmap" to new elections - criticised the nomination.

Nour deputy leader Ahmed Khalil told the state news website Al-Ahram that the appointment "violates the roadmap that the political and national powers had agreed on". He added that the party would withdraw from the transition process if Mr ElBaradei was sworn in.

The move comes a day after more than 30 people died and about 1,000 were wounded in protests staged by Islamist supporters of the deposed president.

The Muslim Brotherhood - to which Mr Morsi belongs - has said its followers would remain on the streets until he is restored to office.

On Saturday funerals were held for those who died. Outside Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque - where the Islamists have camped for the past 10 days - an imam told mourners to pray for the "martyrs of legitimacy".

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Cairo says Egypt remains sharply divided between Islamist supporters of Mr Morsi and rival demonstrators who helped force him from office.

The latter have called for demonstrations against the Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday.

Mr Morsi is in detention, along with some senior Brotherhood figures.

He was replaced on Thursday by Mr Mansour - the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court - who promised to hold elections soon but gave no date.

The Tamarod [Rebellion] movement - which organised recent anti-Morsi protests - had accused the ousted president of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes of most Egyptians, and of failing to tackle economic problems.

The US and other Western countries have expressed concern over the Mr Morsi's removal, and have called for reconciliation and speedy elections.


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Canada train death toll set to rise

7 July 2013 Last updated at 03:49 ET
Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac Megantic

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Eyewitnesses say the streets "were filled with fire"

Police have said they expect more people to be found dead after a runaway train carrying light crude oil exploded in the Canadian town of Lac-Megantic.

The blast sent a fireball and black smoke into the air, killing one and forcing the evacuation of 1,000 people.

Dozens of buildings were destroyed in the town, about 250km (155 miles) east of Montreal.

They include a bar full of customers. Police are trying to account for dozens of missing people.

The train's cars reportedly uncoupled from a parked engine and derailed early on Saturday.

Rail company officials said the train had been immobilised in a neighbouring village before a scheduled crew change, but for an unknown reason had then started rolling downhill into Lac-Megantic.

Eyewitnesses said that by the time the driverless train reached the town it was travelling at considerable speed.

'Like a movie'

The search for more bodies is expected to continue at dawn.

Local media have reported up to 100 people missing.

"We have already confirmed one death and we expect there will be others," said police spokesman Guy Lapointe.

"We also expect that the number of people reported missing will be greater than the final death toll."

He said some people had been reported missing several times by different family members.

Some 120 firefighters have been fighting the blaze, which has continued for more than 24 hours.

Firefighters from across the border in the US are assisting.

Eyewitnesses reported that the town centre - where there are a number of bars - was crowded at the time of the blast, and that "chaos" ensued.

Bernard Theberge, who was on the patio of the Musi-Cafe at the time, said he was lucky to escape and feared for those inside the bar.

"It was like a movie," he said, quoted by the Associated Press news agency. "Explosions as if it were scripted - but this was live."

A woman described how close she was to one of the wagons.

"There were some sparks, and the car lifted and came to lie on its side in front of me, but I turned around and ran without stopping," she told the CBC TV.

Brakes 'tight'

The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train had five locomotive engines and 73 cars filled with light crude oil, and was parked in the village of Nantes - about 7km (four miles) from Lac-Megantic - during an overnight driver shift-change, a company spokesman told Canada's La Presse newspaper.

The railway's chairman, Edward Burhardt, quoted by CBC, said an engineer had parked the train and put the brakes on "properly" before going to a local hotel for the night.

The cars filled with fuel somehow became uncoupled, causing them to roll downhill into the town and derail, said the spokesman, Joe McGonigle.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

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Canadian PM Stephen Harper: "What has happened is shocking and truly devastating"

"It seems that the brakes were tight on locomotives," Mr McGonigle told La Presse. "We found the locomotives higher up, half a mile (800m) away."

Some of the cars exploded, creating a massive fireball and setting fire to nearby homes and businesses.

A one-kilometre exclusion zone was set up amid fears of more pressurised containers exploding.

"When you see the centre of your town almost destroyed, you'll understand that we're asking ourselves how we are going to get through this event," an emotional Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche told a televised news briefing.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those affected by this morning's tragic train derailment and subsequent fires in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

Some of the train's cargo spilled into the nearby Chaudiere river, said Environment Quebec spokesman Christian Blanchette, adding that communities downstream of Lac-Megantic had been warned to take care if using river water.

A mobile laboratory had been set up to monitor the quality of the air, he added.

The train was carrying the crude oil from the Bakken Field in North Dakota. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic owns more than 800km (500 miles) of track serving Maine, Vermont, Quebec and New Brunswick.

A lakeside town that is home to some 6,000 people, Lac-Megantic is close to the US border with Vermont and 210 km (130 miles) north of Maine's capital, Augusta.

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Footballers held over 'sex attack'

7 July 2013 Last updated at 04:01 ET

Six Crewe Alexandra footballers have been arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault in Cornwall.

It is understood a squad of more than 20 players were in the county at a pre-season training camp.

Police investigating the alleged assault of a woman in her early 20s in the early hours of Saturday arrested five players in Redruth. A man was also arrested in Cheshire.

The club said it was not appropriate to comment during a police investigation.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they had received a complaint of sexual assault at 04:30 BST on Saturday over an incident alleged to have happened in a property in Redruth.

Police said the five men arrested in Cornwall were being held at custody centres in Camborne and Newquay.

The man arrested in Cheshire was due to be taken back to Cornwall to be formally interviewed, officers added.

Crewe finished 13th in League One last season and won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and are due to start the 2013-14 campaign at home to Rotherham on 3 August.


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US air crash: 'No mechanical cause'

7 July 2013 Last updated at 07:11 ET
Plane crash

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Passenger Ben Levy: "It happened in a flash, nobody was worried about anything"

A Boeing 777 aircraft that crash-landed at San Francisco airport killing two people did not have mechanical problems, an airline official has said.

The head of the South Korean airline Asiana, Yoon Young-doo, did not rule out human error but said the pilots were experienced veterans.

Most of the 307 people on board were injured, 49 of them seriously.

The plane came down short of the runway, ripping off its tail, after apparently hitting a sea wall.

One survivor said the plane came in to land too fast and too low, but there was no warning of problems.

Passengers and crew escaped down emergency slides as it burst into flames.

Good record

Mr Yoon apologised "deeply" for the effect the accident had had on all those involved, bowing in front of TV cameras at a Seoul news conference.

He said there was no emergency alarm and the crew had made the usual requests to passengers to fasten their seatbelts to prepare for landing.

Wreckage of plane

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Eyewitness Ki Siadatan: "[The plane] seemed like it was out of control"

"Currently we understand that there were no engine or mechanical problems," he said.

The pilots were veterans, he added, and one had more than 10,000 flying hours.

Asiana confirmed that two female Chinese teenagers died in the crash. They had been seated at the back of the aircraft.

They are believed to be the first-ever fatalities in a Boeing 777 crash.

The twin-engine aircraft has a good safety record for long-haul and is used by many major carriers.

The only previous notable crash occurred when a British Airways plane landed short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport in 2008.

Continue reading the main story

Boeing said in a statement it would provide technical assistance to the investigation.

Five people are in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, hospital spokesperson Rachael Kagan said. Three others are being treated at Stanford Hospital.

Altogether 181 people were taken to hospital, mostly with minor injuries.

There were 291 passengers and 16 crew on board, Asiana said.

Nationalities on board included 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans and 61 US citizens, the airline said.

All of the passengers have been accounted for.

Continue reading the main story
  • Twin-engine jet launched in June 1995
  • One of the world's most popular long-distance planes
  • Seats between 300 and 380 passengers
  • Has flown around five million flights
  • Often used for nonstop flights of 16 hours or more
  • Prior to Asiana crash, only one fatal accident when a crew member died during a re-fuelling fire at Denver International Airport in September 2001

Footage of the scene showed debris strewn on the runway and smoke pouring from the jet, as fire crews sprayed a white fire retardant into gaping holes in the craft's roof.

One engine and the tail fin were broken away from the main wreckage.

Quick evacuation

Passenger Ben Levy said there had been no warning of problems, although the plane appeared to be coming in too fast and too low.

"It happened in a flash, nobody was worried about anything," he said.

But once the aircraft crashed, "there was chaos, disbelief, screaming".

"My seat had been pushed to the floor, it was a mess everywhere," Mr Levy recalled.

Nevertheless, people "calmed down pretty quickly" and evacuated the plane without pushing or stepping on each other.

Meanwhile another passenger, David Eun, tweeted a picture of people evacuating down the plane's emergency inflatable slides and wrote: "I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal..."

A witness to the crash, Ki Siadatan, said the plane "looked out of control" as it descended over San Francisco Bay to land just before 11:30 (18:30 GMT).

"We heard a 'boom' and saw the plane disappear into a cloud of dust and smoke," he told the BBC. "There was then a second explosion."

Arrivals and departures at the airport have been suspended since the incident.

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Abu Qatada deported from Britain

7 July 2013 Last updated at 07:38 ET
Abu Qatada arrives in Jordan from UK

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The BBC's Yolande Knell in Amman: "He was rushed very quickly to the state security court"

Radical cleric Abu Qatada has appeared in court in Jordan after being deported from the UK.

His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:46 BST for his home country, where he was formally charged with terror offences.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "delighted" that his removal had been achieved.

Abu Qatada was first arrested over alleged terror connections in 2001. He was rearrested in 2005, when attempts to deport him began.

The Palestinian-Jordanian cleric's deportation was finally able to proceed after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty agreeing that evidence obtained through torture would not be used against him.

Radical cleric Abu Qatada looks out the window of the plane

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The BBC's Dominic Casciani describes the scene at RAF Northolt as the flight takes off

Home Secretary Theresa May said she was glad that the government's determination to remove him had been "vindicated".

"This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country," she said.

She added that she wanted to streamline such deportation processes in future.

"I am also clear that we need to make sense of our human rights laws and remove the many layers of appeals available to foreign nationals we want to deport.

"We are taking steps - including through the new Immigration Bill - to put this right."

Abu Qatada was accompanied on the flight of around five hours by six people from Jordan, comprising three security officials, a psychologist, a medical examiner and his Jordanian lawyer, the BBC understands.

Continue reading the main story

There was tight security as Abu Qatada arrived back in Jordan - where he grew up - for the first time in more than 20 years. He was immediately driven from Marka airbase to the state security court - a journey that would have taken just a few minutes.

While the cleric has become a household name in the UK, when I did an informal survey in Amman remarkably few people had heard of him. Some people who had thought he should not have been sent back here.

"I'm a Muslim but I don't like extremists. I wish he hadn't come," an old man said. "Why should the UK export its problems to us? He was resident in London for so many years, you should have tried him if he's guilty of anything," added another.

One woman believed Abu Qatada was misunderstood. She told me the preacher was "very good for Islam" and that "his followers will be very glad for him to be back."

The 53-year-old had been held at Belmarsh prison in south-east London, from where a convoy of three police vehicles left at midnight.

After arriving at Jordan's Marka military airport he was driven in a green SUV, escorted by a 12-car convoy, to the sealed off state security court in Amman.

His father Mahmoud, who was not admitted to the court building, told the AP news agency: "I have nothing to say, except my son is innocent and I hope the court will set him free."

Military prosecutors charged him the conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts - relating to a plot to bomb American and Israeli tourists during Jordan's millennium celebrations.

The cleric - who did not get to see his family - was remanded in custody and taken to eastern Jordan's Muwaqqar prison, a judicial official said.

BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said Home Office officials were "incredibly relieved" after "one of the most tense weeks in the department's recent history".

"They were so concerned about the possibility that the cleric could change his mind at the last minute that they were leaving nothing to chance."

Speaking on BBC Breakfast later, Mrs May said she had been provided with updates on the deportation throughout the night.

She said she had been "as frustrated as the public" about the estimated £1.7m cost and length of time it had taken to remove Abu Qatada, but that people would welcome the end result.

She said she did not have any concerns about the treatment Abu Qatada would face when he arrived in Jordan.

She said: "The treaty we've signed ensures that there are proper processes of exchange of evidence and will insure the treatment of Abu Qatada and others deported to Jordan."

Home Secretary Theresa May

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Home Secretary Theresa May: "I was deeply frustrated how long it took"

Mrs May said she hoped to reduce the number of appeals open to people fighting to stay in the country and to look at Britain's relationship with the European Court of Human Rights.

She said "nothing is off the table" when it comes to negotiating with Europe.

Asked on Sky News whether Abu Qatada's wife and children would have the right to stay in the UK, Mrs May said they would have to decide what they want their future to be before the government gets involved.

Mr Cameron criticised a "caravan of lawyers" over the case, adding that it had "made my blood boil that this man who has no right to be in our country, who is a threat to our country and that it took so long and it was so difficult to deport him, but we've done it, he is back in Jordan that is excellent news."

Continue reading the main story

At exactly 2.46 this morning, the battle to banish Abu Qatada ended with the roar of jet engines over north-west London, as his deportation flight left over our heads.

When it came finally to leave, there was no fuss. There was no last minute legal appeal, no hitch. Nobody had to call another crisis meeting at the Home Office. In fact, Abu Qatada looked relaxed and calm. He walked freely to the plane and boarded with British officials and the door was closed.

As the plane began to taxi, the preacher glanced out of the window towards the terminal building and that was it.

For Abu Qatada, this was the start of his uncertain journey home after 20 years in the UK. But the deportation was also an enormous victory for the British government. There has never been a legal battle like this - and no one in politics ever wants to have it again.

Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman, was granted asylum in the UK in 1994 but the Security Service came to view him as a threat as his views hardened.

Richard Reid, the would-be mid-Atlantic shoe bomber, and Zacarias Moussaoui, both jailed for involvement in terrorism, are said to have sought religious advice from him.

The cleric's sermons were also found in a flat in the German city of Hamburg used by some of those involved in 9/11.

He vowed to fight the UK's 2005 decision to deport him to Jordan to face retrial over bomb plot allegations - setting in motion an eight-year legal battle.

The dispute continued until May this year, when the cleric accepted that his right to a fair trial there was protected by the new treaty between Jordan and the UK.

Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper welcomed the deportation and backed Mrs May's call for a more streamlined process in future.

She said: "The home secretary has been right to get further guarantees from Jordan and we should welcome the series of agreements from the Jordanian government too.

"We must ensure that delays like this do not last for so long in future and that the system is reformed to make it faster."

Keith Vaz, chairman of Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee, questioned why the government had not started work on a treaty with Jordan at an earlier stage in the process.

"The home secretary's legal advisers will have questions to answer as to why they didn't conceive of this scheme earlier which would have prevented a cost to the taxpayer of £1.7m."

Profile: Abu Qatada

The security problem Jordan doesn't need?

Abu Qatada case has cost UK £1.7m


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World concern over Egypt clashes

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 06 Juli 2013 | 19.12

6 July 2013 Last updated at 07:53 ET
Clashes on 6th October Bridge in Cairo, Egypt, on 5 July 2013

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The BBC's Ben Brown reports on clashes between pro and anti-Morsi demonstrators on the fringes of Tahrir Square

The United States and United Nations have expressed concern about Friday's violence in Egypt following the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, in which 30 people died.

The US state department urged Egypt's leaders to put a stop to the violence. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for demonstrators to be protected.

More than 30 people died and hundreds were hurt in the clashes, it emerged.

The army removed Mr Morsi on Wednesday following protests by millions.

He is in detention, along with some senior figures of his Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Early on Saturday, state media reported the Brotherhood's deputy leader Khairat el-Shater had been arrested at his Cairo home on suspicion of incitement to violence.

Middle East analyst Sakhr al-Makhadhi

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Middle East analyst Sakhr al-Makhadhi: "Morsi's removal was in some ways a democratic coup"

Meanwhile the army issued a statement on its Facebook page denying that some of its field commanders were putting pressure on the commander-in-chief to reinstate President Morsi.

"These rumours... come within the context of the continued attempts to spread rumours and lies as one of the methods of the systematic information warfare being waged against the armed forces with the aim of dividing its ranks and striking at its strong cohesion...," the statement said.

In a separate development, former president Hosni Mubarak appeared in court on charges of corruption and involvement in the deaths of protesters during the 2011 revolution that ousted him and ultimately brought Mr Morsi to power.

The trial was adjourned until 17 August.

'Horrifying reports'

The US state department issued a condemnation of Friday's violence.

"We call on all Egyptian leaders to condemn the use of force and to prevent further violence among their supporters," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Mr Ban's spokesman Farhan Haq said that it was for the people of Egypt to determine the way forward - and all people, including women, needed to be part of that process.

He referred to "horrifying reports of sexual violence".

"The Secretary-General believes strongly that this is a critical juncture in which it is imperative for Egyptians to work together to chart a peaceful return to civilian control, constitutional order, and democratic governance," Mr Haq said.

"Egypt's political leaders have a responsibility to signal, by their words and their actions, their commitment to a peaceful and democratic dialogue which includes all of Egypt's constituencies, including women."

The comments came as at least 12 people died and 200 were injured in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, mostly from gunshot wounds. Eight died in two separate clashes in the capital Cairo.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen was hit by shot gun pellets above the ear

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Jeremy Bowen witnessed the shooting, and was also hit by shotgun pellets above the ear

Four of those were killed after troops opened fire on crowds as they advanced on the headquarters of the Republican Guard, where Mr Morsi is believed to be held.

In the evening, another four died when Brotherhood supporters surged across the 6th October Bridge over the Nile river, towards Tahrir Square where anti-Morsi protesters were gathered.

Late on Friday, tanks arrived at the bridge to separate the clashing protesters and the violence died down.

'No arbitrary measures'

There were clashes in other parts of Egypt on Friday.

Islamist attacks on the Sinai peninsula left five police and one soldier dead, security officials said.

The Health Ministry said one protester was killed in the central city of Assiut, and one in Suez. Another three people died in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya.

Ahead of Friday's protests, the army command said it would not take "arbitrary measures against any faction or political current" and would guarantee the right to protest, as long as demonstrations did not threaten national security.

On Thursday the head of Egypt's constitutional court, Adly Mahmud Mansour, was sworn in as interim head of state, and he promised to hold elections soon.

The next day Mr Mansour dissolved the upper house - or Shura Council - which had been dominated by Morsi supporters and had served as the sole legislative body after the lower house was dissolved last year.

The Tamarod [Rebel] movement - which organised recent anti-Morsi protests - had accused the ousted president of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes of most Egyptians, and of failing to tackle economic problems.

Bowen: Egypt's failed democratic experiment

Two years in the life of Tahrir Square

Gardner: Dangerous moment for the Middle East

Optimism for Egypt economy

Key players in the Egyptian crisis

Q&A: Crisis explained

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Snowden receives asylum offers

6 July 2013 Last updated at 02:02 ET
Edward Snowdon

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The presidents of Venezuela and Nicaragua explain their offers

The presidents of both Nicaragua and Venezuela have indicated their countries could offer political asylum to US fugitive Edward Snowden.

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro said it would give asylum to the intelligence leaker, who is believed to be holed up in a transit area of Moscow airport.

Meanwhile Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said his country would do so "if circumstances permit".

Wikileaks said Mr Snowden had applied to six additional countries on Friday.

The whistleblowing website said it would not name the countries "due to attempted US interference".

Mr Snowden has already asked 21 countries for asylum, most of whom have turned down his request.

But even if a country accepted the American's application, getting there could prove difficult, the BBC's Steven Rosenberg, in Moscow, reports.

European airspace could be closed to any aircraft suspected of carrying the fugitive, our correspondent says.

Earlier this week, several European countries reportedly refused to allow the Bolivian president's jet to cross their airspace on its way back from Moscow - apparently because of suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board.

Speculation

President Maduro made his announcement in a speech on Venezuela's Independence Day.

"As head of state and government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela I have decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young US citizen Edward Snowden so he can come to the fatherland of Bolivar and Chavez to live away from the imperial North American persecution," President Maduro said.

The US wants to prosecute Mr Snowden over the leaking of thousands of classified intelligence documents.

Earlier Mr Ortega said Nicaragua had received an application at its embassy in Moscow.

"We are open, respectful of the right to asylum, and it is clear that if circumstances permit it, we would receive Snowden with pleasure and give him asylum here in Nicaragua," Agence France-Presse quoted the Nicaraguan president as saying.

Daniel Ortega was a fierce opponent of the US during his first period as Nicaragua's president in the 1980s, after the left-wing Sandinista movement came to power.

Bolivia, which had also suggested it might offer Mr Snowden asylum, saw its presidential plane barred from European airspace on Tuesday.

There was speculation the 30-year-old was on the plane carrying President Evo Morales back from Russia to La Paz earlier this week.

"Edward Snowden has applied to another six countries for asylum," tweeted Wikileaks, which has been helping the former CIA contractor.

"They will not be named at this time due to attempted US interference."

The US has been blamed for being behind the decision by France, Portugal, Italy and Spain to close its airspace to Bolivia's president, whose plane was grounded in Austria for 13 hours as a result.

Earlier on Friday, Spain's foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo admitted he and the other European countries had been told that Mr Snowden was on board - but refused to say who gave out the information.

He denied Spain had closed its airspace to the presidential plane, explaining that the delay in Austria meant the flight permit had expired and needed to be renewed.

His comment is the first official recognition by the European states that the incident with Mr Morales' plane was connected with the Snowden affair.

It has been widely condemned by President Morales and several other South American nations, who were critical of the US.

Mr Snowden arrived in the Moscow airport from Hong Kong last month.

He revealed himself to be responsible for the leaking of classified US intelligence documents that revealed a vast surveillance programme of phone and web data.

The documents have also led to allegations that both the UK and French intelligence agencies run similarly vast data collection operations, and the US has been eavesdropping on official EU communications.

Profile: Edward Snowden

Where will Snowden end up?


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Australia 16-41 British and Irish Lions

Australia (10) 16

  • Tries: O'Connor
  • Conversions: Lealiifano
  • Penalties: Lealiifano (3)

British and Irish Lions (19) 41

  • Tries: Corbisiero, Sexton, North, Roberts
  • Conversions: Halfpenny (3)
  • Penalties: Halfpenny (5)

The British and Irish Lions claimed a first series victory in 16 years with a superb third Test win over Australia.

The Lions built up a 19-3 lead as Alex Corbisiero touched down before Leigh Halfpenny kicked four penalties.

A James O'Connor try and Christian Lealiifano conversion reduced the deficit before Lealiifano kicked two penalties to make it 16-19.

But the Lions took control as tries from Jonathan Sexton, George North and Jamie Roberts helped seal victory.

More to follow.


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Police to check Macpherson records

6 July 2013 Last updated at 07:56 ET

The Home Office has asked more police forces to search their records to see if surveillance was carried out on anti-racism campaigners involved in the Macpherson Inquiry in 1998.

The West Midlands and Avon and Somerset forces have been asked to investigate.

Hearings for the inquiry, following the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, were held in several cities.

Meanwhile, an ex-officer says he authorised secret taping of a meeting with Stephen's friend, Duwayne Brooks.

The Macpherson Inquiry was set up in 1998 to look into the Metropolitan Police's investigation of the murder of 18-year-old Stephen in Eltham, south London, in April 1993.

It uncovered failings in the investigation of the crime and its 100,000 page report concluded the force was "institutionally racist".

At hearings across the country, local race relations organisations, victim support groups, probation services and police gave evidence on problems with race crime and how they were tackled.

On Wednesday, it was revealed the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had been asked to investigate concerns that Sir Norman Bettison tried to influence the way a key witness gave evidence to the Macpherson Inquiry, in Bradford, when he was assistant chief constable of West Yorkshire Police.

Greater Manchester Police has also referred itself to the IPCC after it was alleged its Special Branch sent a memo to officers asking for information on "groups or individuals" due to attend the inquiry in Manchester.

'Nothing found'

West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said: "Following recent events across the country and subsequent correspondence from the Home Office, West Midlands Police are undertaking checks to see whether there is any material held that suggests intelligence or surveillance activity was ordered or carried out in respect of the Macpherson Inquiry or those connected to the inquiry."

The force would report back to the Home Office by 10 July, he added.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said the force had already "looked into any implications from the Stephen Lawrence case a couple of weeks ago but didn't find anything".

"However, in light of a letter from the home secretary we are now carrying out a separate review to make sure we didn't miss anything."

Meanwhile, retired officer John Grieve, who was in charge of the police inquiry into Stephen's murder, has admitted authorising one secret recording of a meeting between Stephen's friend Duwayne Brooks, his lawyers and detectives in May 2000.

He said he wanted to keep an "unassailable record" of discussions with Mr Brooks.

Reports that the recording took place followed claims that police were ordered to find "dirt" on the Lawrence family in the years following Stephen's murder.

The home secretary has ordered two existing inquiries to look at the allegations and the Lawrence family has demanded a public inquiry.

'Within frameworks'

Former Met deputy assistant commissioner Mr Grieve said he feared that if he had asked the other participants for approval to tape the meeting overtly it would not have been given.

He said he deeply regretted "any distress, dismay or alarm that my decisions may have caused".

Mr Grieve said: "Every decision made was based on the information available at the time and conducted within ethical, legal, necessary and proportionate frameworks."

The lawyer in the recording, Jane Deighton, has said she believed taping had taken place on more than one instance.

Scotland Yard is investigating claims police briefings attended by Mr Brooks had been secretly recorded at the offices of Deighton Guedalla, in Islington, north London, in 1999 or 2000.

In a statement, the Met said its Directorate of Professional Standards investigators had found documentation authorising the recording of one meeting in May 2000.

It said Mr Grieve authorised the recording and at this stage it believed the "relevant policy" had been followed.


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'Dozens dead' in Nigeria school raid

6 July 2013 Last updated at 08:03 ET

At least 29 pupils and a teacher have been killed in a pre-dawn attack by suspected Islamists on a school in northeastern Nigeria, reports say.

Eyewitnesses said some of the victims were burned alive in the attack, in Mamudo town, Yobe state.

Dozens of schools have been burned in attacks by Islamists since 2010.

Yobe is one of three states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May, sending thousands of troops to the area.

A reporter from the Associated Press found chaotic scenes at the hospital in nearby Potiskum, where traumatised parents struggled to identify their children among the charred bodies and gunshot victims.

Survivors said suspected militants arrived with containers full of fuel and set fire to the school.

Some pupils were burned alive, others were shot as they tried to flee.

The BBC's Will Ross, in Lagos, says this area has frequently been attacked by the Boko Haram militant group.

More than 600 people were believed to have been killed in 2012 by the group, which is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north.


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