Israel plans to build more homes in E Jerusalem

Israel announces plans for nearly 700 homes in mainly Arab East Jerusalem, despite Palestinian and international demands that it freeze building there.

The move follows plans announced last month for 900 homes on occupied land in Gilo, south of Jerusalem, last month.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, in a move not recognised internationally.

The Palestinians, who want to locate their future capital in East Jerusalem, condemned the move.

They said the plans showed Israel was "not ready for peace".

Israel's housing ministry announced on Monday that it has invited contractors to bid on the construction of 198 housing units in Pisgat Zeev, 377 homes in Neve Yaakov and 117 dwellings in Har Homa, which are built on land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

It is part of an invitation to bid for contracts on 6,500 housing units across the country.

The new buildings will make apartments cheaper and more affordable for young families, the Israeli Housing Ministry said.

Last month, Israel announced a 10-month suspension of new building in settlements in the occupied West Bank, under heavy pressure from the US.

But the right-leaning government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made is clear that it does not regard Jewish areas in Jerusalem as settlements and the restrictions do not apply there.

The Palestinians have refused to resume peace talks without a complete halt to settlement building in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

'Eternal capital'

In November, US President Barack Obama warned that Israel's plans to build 900 new homes in Gilo, to the south of Jerusalem, would create a "dangerous situation".

Mr Obama told Fox News that additional settlement construction made it harder for Israel to make peace in the region and "embitters the Palestinians".

"The Israeli government proves every day that it is not ready for peace," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

But Israel says that East Jerusalem is part of the "indivisible and eternal" Israeli capital.

Israel's annexation of the east of the city has never been recognised by the international community.

About 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in settlements illegal under international law.

Iraqi forces 'defuse nine bombs' in Karbala

Iraqi security forces say they defused nine bombs in the city of Karbala as hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims gathered for a religious festival.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki praised the "exceptional efforts" of security forces in averting attacks on pilgrims taking part in the Ashura festival.

Tight security was in place following large-scale attacks in previous years.

More than 20,000 police were deployed across the city and marksmen were placed on many buildings.

Analysts say the government is keen to show that the withdrawal of US forces will not leave a security vacuum in the country.

Shia muslims had flocked to Karbala on Sunday for the final day of Ashura, which mourns the 7th Century death in Karbala of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

The ceremony in Karbala reached a climax with thousands of pilgrims running to a shrine while beating their heads with their hands.

Although festivities passed peacefully in the city, violence did mar events elsewhere.

Iraqi officials said five pilgrims were killed and 15 injured when a bomb blast hit a procession in Tuz Khormato, near Kirkuk in north-east Iraq on Sunday.

Critics' views on Keira Knightley's West End debut

Keira Knightley has received mixed reviews for her West End debut in an updated production of Moliere's 17th Century classic satire The Misanthrope, at London's Comedy Theatre.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, the Atonement star said she expected to be "burned alive" by the critics for her portrayal of a US film star.

The play, directed by Thea Sharrock, also stars Damian Lewis and Tara Fitzgerald.

Britney Spears recalls top 75 'absurd' stories of 2009

Singer Britney Spears has hit back at the gossip columns, listing the top 75 "most ridiculous" or "patently absurd" stories written about her in 2009.

Published on her website, The Year in BS said there were more than 13,000 stories written about the 28-year-old.

The list includes various reports of new boyfriends, emotional breakdowns and one claiming her family was once so poor they ate squirrels.

At number one was a story about Spears dating choreographer Sandip Soparrkar.

In January, the Daily Mirror reported Spears was dating Soparrkar and that she had hosted a private New Year's Eve party to introduce him to her friends and parents.

'Factually inaccurate'

The Daily Star later reported in October that sales of squirrel meat soared after a new Spears biography included claims the star's family would eat whatever father Jamie could hunt.

"We ranked the ones we believe were the most ridiculous," the post on the website said.

"Either because they were factually inaccurate, because they reported the patently absurd, or because we believe they are simply offensive to the sensibilities."

The list culled mostly from US and British websites, celebrity magazines and tabloid newspapers, also included allegations she was being drugged by her father and supposed demands for stripper poles in her room at London's Dorchester Hotel to help her keep in shape.

The star quashed rumours that she was pregnant with a third child, was addicted to gardening and under orders from her father to read the Bible every day to keep her "on the straight and narrow".

Several of the stories also related to Spears's recent troubled tour of Australia, where it was reported fans had walked out of a concert in Perth because of her lip-synching.

Leicester 32-6 Sale

Leicester ran in four tries to beat a depleted Sale and extend their unbeaten home run at Welford Road to 24 games.

The Tigers dominated in difficult conditions but only secured a narrow half-time lead when Johne Murphy surged over after good work from Jordan Crane.

Crane set up Ben Kay to score a second try after the break.

Lewis Moody went over from a driving maul and deep into stoppage time Crane secured the bonus point with the fourth try following a series of scrums.

Sale made 11 changes to the side that started last week's Heineken Cup win over Harlequins but made the Tigers graft for victory.

The visitors, who included rookie centre Jonny Kennedy, the son of club owner Brian, defended tenaciously but could not convert their own attacking opportunities and had to rely on two Charlie Hodgson penalties for their points.

Leicester, with head coach Richard Cockerill back on the sidelines for the first time following the end of a month-long ban, led from the eighth minute when Toby Flood kicked a penalty after Sale went in at the side of a ruck.

Murphy's try and another Flood penalty gave the Tigers an 11-3 half-time lead, but it could have been much closer had Ben Cohen not seen a try disallowed for a knock-on earlier in the move.

Leicester pulled away in the second half but only secured their bonus point when replacement prop Rob O'Donnell was sin-binned in the last minute and Crane powered over.

The biggest cheers from the 24,000 sell-out crowd were reserved for Harry Ellis and Sam Vesty, two England backs returning from long-term injuries, when they came on as second-half replacements for Leicester.

Health bill is good, now make it better

Editor's note: Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist, is vice chair for voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee, a nationally syndicated columnist and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She was the campaign manager for the Al Gore-Joe Lieberman ticket in 2000 and wrote "Cooking With Grease."

(CNN) -- "Comprehensive health insurance is an idea whose time has come in America. There has long been a need to assure every American financial access to high quality health care. As medical costs go up, that need grows more pressing." -- Republican President Nixon's special message to Congress proposing a "Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan," February 6, 1974

Back then, it was Democrats who didn't think Nixon's proposal did enough. Today, when the need for reform is so pressing that it's literally killing people, it's Republicans and the insurance industry who think that.

The story of the battle for health reform shares some themes with the title of the seminal spaghetti western film "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" released seven years before Nixon proposed his health plan.

There's not much good to be said about the Republicans' ugly commitment to failure and obstruction during the past year. As a tactic to delay a vote on health reform, Republicans even went so far as to try to filibuster money needed to pay for American soldiers in harm's way.

Ed Rollins: Harry Reid playing Santa with your money

Republicans showed their true colors on that one. It just doesn't get badder -- or uglier. They don't care about the thousands who die every year because they lack proper health care. They don't care about the millions who live in fear every day because they lack health insurance. And they obviously don't care about giving our troops the funding they need. What they do care about is cheap political gain.

Democrats cannot let Republicans get away with such brazen and irresponsible games. Democrats must regain control of this debate, show the leadership that earned them 60 seats in the Senate and prove that they can fulfill our country's promise. To not assume this responsibility spells one thing in 2010: d-e-f-e-a-t.

Luckily defeat, for Democrats and health care reform alike, is not inevitable, as the Senate showed in passing a bill Thursday. Indeed, at this point, it's not even likely. The Democrats' health care reform bill has much good to offer:

• Your choice of doctors will be protected and insurers will be prohibited from requiring prior authorization before a woman sees her OB/GYN.

• Insurance companies can no longer drop your coverage once you get sick.

• Dependents up to the age of 26 will be able to receive coverage on their parents' policy and your children, 18 and younger, can no longer be excluded for pre-existing conditions.

• Insurance companies will cover preventive services and immunizations without co-pays.

• You will have access to emergency care, in or out of network, without additional cost sharing.

• Insurance companies will be barred from limiting lifetime benefits and will face strict restrictions on annual limits.

• Affordable insurance will be made available if you have been uninsured or have been denied coverage because you have a pre-existing condition.

• Small businesses will be eligible for tax credits to help them afford the cost of providing insurance to their employees.

Granted, the whole topic is complicated, but when you break it all down and explain to folks what health reform means, they support it. Today, 40 percent of Americans are either worried about being able to afford routine care or pay for their prescriptions. And, according to a recent report by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, despite all of the myths, scare tactics and half-truths being spread by Republicans and special-interest groups, four out of five people know that fixing health care is key to getting our economy back on track.

The time for health reform is now. Democrats -- and that means all of you in Congress and the White House -- must not squander this moment. Don't get lazy and think that the good in health reform is good enough. It's not.

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter: Senate bill isn't health reform

It's your moment to stand together as one and deliver real reform to the American people. They deserve your leadership. They deserve your best. And that means making these good bills even better.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, even while undergoing cancer treatments in Massachusetts, fought for universal health care coverage, which the 47-year Senate veteran called "the cause" of his life. We must pick up the mantle. We must fight to provide health care for all Americans.

I do not accept that history has already been written and this is what we got. Congress can do better. Congress must do better.

Congress can offer universal health care coverage by giving people an alternative to the private health insurance market. In a nutshell, give people the choice of a public health insurance option like Medicare. According to government and academic research, Medicare is less expensive and more effective than private plans. For example, only 2 percent of Medicare goes to overhead while private insurers typically spend 25 percent to 27 percent for overhead and profit.

A public health insurance option like Medicare will ensure that insurance companies no longer control patients' health care decisions. It will ensure that people can truly afford the care they need. And it will ensure that we pay for it responsibly while not adding to working people's burden.

As Kennedy, the "Lion of the Senate" once so eloquently told us, "for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile.

Family of Kidnapped U.S. Soldier Urges Taliban to Send Son Home

KABUL — In a Christmas Day move, the Taliban on Friday released a video of an American soldier captured in Afghanistan, showing him apparently healthy but spouting criticism about the U.S. military operation. In Idaho, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's family pleaded for his release and urged him to "stay strong."
Bergdahl disappeared June 30 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is the only known American serviceman in captivity. The Taliban claimed his capture in a video released in mid-July that showed the young Idaho soldier appearing downcast and frightened. He hadn't been heard from until Friday's video, in which he looks well and speaks clearly.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed hours later that the man in the video was Bergdahl, but denounced both its timing and content.

"This is a horrible act which exploits a young soldier, who was clearly compelled to read a prepared statement," said a statement from U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, ISAF's spokesman. "To release this video on Christmas Day is an affront to the deeply concerned family and friends of Bowe Bergdahl, demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam."

Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard issued a statement Friday from the family of Bergdahl, who live outside Hailey, Idaho. In their statement, the family urged the captors "to let our only son come home."

And to their son, the family said, "We love you and we believe in you. Stay strong."

Marsano met with the family Friday morning at their home. He told the AP that the family had not seen the video but had talked to other relatives who had seen it.

In the video, Bergdahl is shown seated, facing the camera, wearing sunglasses and what appears to be a U.S. military helmet and uniform. On one side of the image, it says: "An American soldier imprisoned by the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." It also shows him eating while wearing garb characteristic of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, an area where the Taliban emerged in the 1990s.

He identifies himself as Bergdahl, born in Sun Valley, Idaho, and gives his rank, birth date, blood type, his unit and mother's maiden name before beginning a lengthy verbal attack on the U.S. conduct of the war in Afghanistan and its relations with Muslims.

In the video, Bergdahl says "It's our arrogance and, and our stupidity that has made us so blind that we simply refuse to see the blunders and mistakes that we continue to make over and over again. "

"This is just going to be the next Vietnam unless the American people stand up and stop all this nonsense," he said.

Although it is unclear where Bergdahl was being held when the video was recorded, he said he had not been abused by his captors and drew a sharp contrast with his own country's treatment of war prisoners.

In light of "the brutality and inhumane way my country has ravaged the lands and the people of my captures (sic), the Taliban, one would expect that they would justly treat me as my country's Army has treated their Muslim prisoners in Bagram, in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and many other secret prisons hidden around the world," he said.

"But I bear witness. I was continuously treated as a human being with dignity," he said.

The video, which has an English-language narration in parts, also shows images of prisoners in U.S. custody being abused. The speaker says he did not suffer such ill treatment.

A statement read by a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, appears at the end of the video and renews demands for a "limited number of prisoners" to be exchanged for Bergdahl. The statement says that more American troops could be captured.

The Geneva Conventions, which regulate the conduct of war between regular armies, bar the use of detainees for propaganda purposes and prohibit signatories from putting captured military personnel on display. As an insurgent organization, the Taliban are not party to the treaty.

Statements from captives are typically viewed as being made under duress.

Bergdahl, who was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, was 23 when he vanished just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. He was serving at a base in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold. On Friday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force killed several militants in Paktika while searching for a commander of the Jalaluddin Haqqani militant network that is linked to al-Qaida.

U.S. military officials have searched for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan.

Its Official: Carrie Underwood Confirms Her Engagement to Hockey Star

“I'm happy to confirm that Carrie Underwood is engaged to Mike Fisher, and the couple couldn't be happier,” a rep for the country crooner told Pop Tarts on Monday. “No wedding date has been set at this time.”

Fisher also confirmed the news at a press conference on Monday, according to reports, and said he popped the big question on Sunday.

SLIDESHOW: Fun pics of the lovely and talented Carrie Underwood.

Underwood and the Ottawa Senators hockey star started dating last year, and just one month ago the former “American Idol” was forced to squash rumors that she and the 29-year-old sports star were shacking up.

“I read something recently that a certain someone and I were moving in together,” she wrote on her fan club website. “This is beyond not true...just another example of people making stuff up out of thin air!"

Just a few weeks ago, Underwood also told Pop Tarts that she was pretty much the only one from her high school that wasn’t already married with children.

“I'm 26 now, and I feel like this is the biggest point in someone's life for maturity to happen. Most of the people I went to school with are married and have kids,” she said. “This is just a time for growth, and I feel like I definitely experienced a lot of growth from then to now. I've grown up a lot.”

Congrats guys!

Miranda Kerr Has a Secret Crush, Just Don't Tell Orlando Bloom

Miranda Kerr may be very much in love with A-list actor Orlando Bloom, but it turns out that the Victoria’s Secret Angel wouldn’t mind having a dinner date with another British heartthrob.

“I’ve always had a big crush on Prince William since I was a little girl,” Kerr told Pop Tarts recently at the Victoria’s Secret Store in The Grove in Los Angeles.

We asked Kerr what must one do to look as good as a girl who makes millions legging it in lingerie for the VS label.

SLIDESHOW: 10 Hottest Victoria's Secret Models Ever.

“I drink lots of water and get as much sleep as possible,” Kerr explained. “I recommend drinking fresh, organic green juices and doing lots of yoga.”

The 26-year-old Australian native has also embraced a form of Japanese Buddhism – Nichiren Buddhism – which, despite her angel wings, keeps her feet flat on the floor.

“I don’t like to talk too much about it, but what I will say is that it is very grounding and really centering,” she said.

But for those of you who will never achieve her physique (ie: about 99.99% of us), don't despair! The November airing of the famed fashion show on CBS drew in an average of 8.3 million viewers, but it seems Americans prefer watching larger folks pop pounds.

SLIDESHOW: The Big Victoria's Secret Runway Show.

According to the Nielsen TV ratings, “The Biggest Loser” won the time slot, with 10.3 million tuning in.

So have another donut and relax. You can be a TV star, too.

Exclusive: Brittany Murphy Counts Her Blessings in Final Interview

Actress Brittany Murphy was rushed by ambulance to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in the early hours of December 20.

She was pronounced dead on arrival from cardiac arrest.

Pop Tarts spoke with Murphy just days earlier, in what now turns out to have been her final interview.

SLIDESHOW: Remembering Brittany Murphy.

Murphy’s frail appearance at the December 3 opening party of contemporary label Tt Collection's first pop-up retail location in Los Angeles raised a few eyebrows.

“I am a bit thinner now then what I would like to be,” Murphy told Tarts.

Murphy, who also seemed to be a bit distracted and dazed, had been dealing with an array of personal stresses.

In November, rumors circulated that she was fired from a film in Puerto Rico, which her rep told Tarts at the time was not true.

Then her husband Simon Monjack was rushed to hospital after their return flight in which he became gravely ill and “incoherent.”

Despite admitting to being a few pounds underweight, Murphy was very enthusiastic about her workout regimen, crediting her slender physique to plies and pirouettes.

“I was a ballerina for a long time,” Murphy said. “I still take ballet lessons now – what it does to your body is incredible.”

Murphy also wanted to talk to Tarts about a charity very close to her heart. Proceeds from the Tt Collection event were being donated to Looking Beyond, an organization that helps families of children who can’t afford the prosthetics that they need.

“Looking Beyond is a charity I’ve been involved with for a very long time and very passionate about it,” Murphy said, tearing up. “What they do is incredible, giving limbs to children in need. It’s very heartbreaking, but so great to be able to help."

The emotional actress was quick to count her own blessings.

"I feel very blessed for everything I have in my life and my family,” she told Tarts.

We also wanted to know if she kept in touch with the cast of "Clueless," the movie that put her on the map.

“I haven’t spoke to them in a long time, but I still keep in contact with Amy Heckerling, the director,” she added with a laugh. “So funny, but it was hard to get a job for two years after that, everyone thought I was really Tai.”

Funeral arrangements for Brittany Murphy are now being planned.

Actor Charlie Sheen, Wife Reportedly Headed for Divorce

The 44-year-old actor was taken into custody Friday morning by officers responding to a 911 call from a house in this ski resort town about 200 miles west of Denver.

An ambulance went to the house, but the accuser was not taken to the hospital.

Sheen, the star of CBS' "Two and a Half Men," was taken to the Pitkin County jail and booked for investigation of second-degree assault and menacing, both felonies, along with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, Aspen police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said.

He was released in the late afternoon after posting $8,500 bond and being advised by a county judge on the conditions of his release, she said.

Dasaro declined to name Sheen's accuser, citing a department policy prohibiting the identification of potential victims in domestic violence cases.

Aspen attorney Richard Cummins said late Friday that he was representing Sheen in the case. He declined to name Sheen's accuser or discuss details, but he cautioned against any rush to judgment.

"I think at the end of the day it will be much ado about nothing," Cummins told The Associated Press. "I don't think there's any criminality about what went on."

Cummins said a court date was set for Feb. 8. "That may be to determine whether a case goes forward or not," he said.

Sheen's publicist Stan Rosenfield also warned against making assumptions.

"It would benefit everyone not to jump to any conclusion," he said.

Sheen is the son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor-director Emilio Estevez. He is married to Brooke Mueller Sheen, a real estate investor who gave birth to the couple's first children, twin boys, in March. They married in May 2008 following Sheen's bitter divorce and custody battle with actress Denise Richards.

The star of "Platoon," "Wall Street" and the "Hot Shots!" movies has had run-ins with the law before. In December 1996, he was arrested and charged with attacking a girlfriend at his Southern California home. He later pleaded no contest and was placed on two years' probation.

In 1998, his father turned him in for violating his parole after a cocaine overdose sent him to the hospital. He was later ordered to undergo a rehabilitation program.

Thailand starts deporting Hmong refugees back to Laos

Thailand has started deporting a group of about 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to communist Laos, despite international concerns for their safety.

Thai officials said unarmed soldiers began closing a camp for Hmong refugees in northern Phetchabun province.

Thailand describes them as economic migrants. The Hmong say they face persecution in Laos because they backed US forces during the Vietnam war.

The UN had urged the Thais to call off plans to deport them.

Thai government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn told the BBC that officials had concerns for about 100 of those being deported.

But Thailand had been assured that those people would be pardoned on their return to Laos, he added.

Col Thana Charuvat, who is co-ordinating the repatriation, said about 5,000 soldiers, officials and civilian volunteers had entered the camp in Huay Nam Khao village on Monday morning.

"The operation started at 0530 (2230 GMT Sunday)," he told reporters. "The operation is expected to take one day."

He said the soldiers are unarmed although equipped with shields and batons.

Col Thana said the Hmong were being taken to a nearby staging area where they would be put on buses which would take them to the Thai border town of Nong Khai and then across to Laos.

Their destination in Laos is Paksane district in the central province of Bolikhamsai, he added.

Journalists and other outside groups have not been allowed into the camp.

Sunai Phasuk, a Thai member of Human Rights Watch, said mobile phone signals inside the camp had been jammed so no-one could call out.

Rights groups fear the Hmong will resist the deportation, as they have during smaller-scale repatriations.

"If the Hmong resist it and there is an eruption of violence, the army may react in full force," he said.

The US has raised the issue of the Hmong many times with Bangkok, most recently last week during the visit of a senior State Department official.

Nine US senators sent a letter to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to express concern about the repatriation plan and criticised the government's screening process to determine refugee status.

Iranian protests spark fresh clashes in Tehran

Clashes have taken place overnight in the Iranian capital, Tehran, following anti-government protests on Sunday in which at least eight people died.

Reports say police fired tear gas to disperse crowds of demonstrators in various parts of the city overnight.

The nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was among those killed in Sunday's clashes, the worst violence since June's contested elections.

His funeral on Monday is thought likely to be a focal point for more protests.

According to Mr Mousavi's website, Seyed Ali Mousavi was shot in the back as security forces fired on demonstrators.

On Monday, state-owned English-language Press TV said eight people had died. Earlier, Persian state television had reported at least 15 people killed.

Police denied being responsible for any of the deaths. They said three were accidents and that one person had been shot, but not by police. Details of the others have not been given.

Officials said the shooting was under investigation.

Opposition politician Ebrahim Yazdi, a foreign minister after the 1979 revolution and now leader of the Freedom Movement of Iran, was also arrested in the early hours of Monday.

His son Khalil, who lives in the US, told the BBC's World Today programme he believed the Iranian authorities wanted to close down all opposition groups.

"It is a shameless and irresponsible act. [They are] arresting a 78-year-old man who has stood for nothing but freedom and open society within Iran all of his life," he said.

"Any opposition now, they want to shut [it] down. We're going down a one-way street that's now going downhill."

The protests, which began after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election in June, have grown into the biggest challenge to the government since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The official death toll for Sunday's confrontation is the highest since June.

Media ban

About 300 people were detained after Sunday's protests, police said.

Those arrested include members of the banned opposition group Mujahideen Khalq Organisation (MKO) - or the People's Mujahideen Press TV reported.

The report quoted a source within the Iranian intelligence ministry.

Opposition supporters took to the streets on Sunday as the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura reached its climax.

Tehran's police chief, Azizollah Rajabzadeh, was among dozens of security force members injured in the clashes, officials said.

Unconfirmed reports said four people also died in protests in the north-western city of Tabriz and there were clashes in Isfahan and Najafabad in central Iran and Shiraz in the south.

Foreign media face severe restrictions in Iran and reports cannot be verified. However, witnesses said that in Tehran some protesters attacked police.

Police responded by firing directly into the crowds, opposition sources say, although this is denied by Iranian authorities.

Clashes continued throughout the day. In the early hours of Monday, opposition sources said a large crowd had also gathered near the offices of the state-run television and radio.

They said police were firing tear gas in an attempt to disperse them.

Moderate cleric Mehdi Karoubi, who came fourth in last June's election, criticised Iran's rulers for Sunday's violence, an opposition website reported.

"What has happened to this religious system that it orders the killing of innocent people during the holy day of Ashura?" the Jaras website reported him as saying.

"Why is such a holy day not respected by the rulers?

Foreign concern

The White House condemned the "unjust suppression" of protests.

"Hope and history are on the side of those who peacefully seek their universal rights, and so is the United States," White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.

A spokesman for the French foreign ministry, Bernard Bolero, also condemned the violence.

"These people in the streets are just claiming more freedom, more democracy," he told the BBC. "The repression of the police forces is not acceptable."

Iranian security forces have been on alert since influential dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri died a week ago aged 87.

His funeral attracted tens of thousands of pro-reform supporters, many of whom shouted anti-government slogans.

BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne, who is now based in London, says the opposition - denied the right to protest - chose the highly significant festival of Ashura when millions of Iranians traditionally take to the streets for ceremonies and parades.

Anger at last June's elections, won by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sparked mass protests in Tehran and other cities that led to thousands of arrests and some deaths.

Mr Mousavi and other opposition leaders have said the poll was rigged.

Egypt's Coptic Christians battle for ID cards

In the grounds of one of the city's oldest Christian churches, Girgis Gabriel Girgis is tattooing a baby girl.

She is very young, only about three years old, and branding the blue cross onto the girl's inside wrist brings a piercing shrill scream.

But for these parents, this is a proud moment. The tattoo symbolises community and identity.

Others queue patiently as Girgis wipes away the dye to reveal a tiny Coptic cross.

They all shout "Allah!", which is the Arabic for God whether you're Christian or Muslim.

There are plenty more who want to be inscribed indelibly as Coptic Christians.

"The tattoo was once used to identify Christian orphans whose parents had been killed in war," said Girgis. "So they wouldn't be brought up as Muslims!"

Ayman Raafat Zaki, 22, also bears a cross.

He has been a member of St Michael's church in Cairo for nine years and he is now an altar boy.

Every Sunday, dressed in his white robes, he helps lead a large Christian congregation.

He chants readings from the Bible, as the young boys circle the church, spreading thick plumes of fragrant incense.

And yet Ayman's overt spirituality - and his tattoo - are not enough to convince the state he is a Christian.

Ayman's father converted to Islam so he could divorce his wife when Ayman was just five months old.

Ayman's mother took her only child and fled the family's village for Cairo.

In Islam, the father determines the religion of his children.

And now - even as an adult - Ayman is denied by the state the Christian identity card he craves.

"Since the age of 16, I have been living an anonymous life," he said.

"In the eyes of the I state, I don't exist. They are trying to force me to become a Muslim by accepting a Muslim identity card. But it was my father's decision to convert. Not mine."

"I'd rather die than accept a Muslim identity card. It is plainly obvious to anyone here I am a practising Christian," he says.

Christians in Egypt comprise about 10% of the country's 80 million people.

But in a predominantly Islamic society, the Copts say they are are being increasingly marginalised.

Forced conversion claims

Identity cards carrying details of a person's religion are required by law in Egypt for employment, education, and access to any public services.

nternational rights groups say they are also used to discriminate in areas such as employment.

There are other cases involving claims of violent, forced conversion to Islam.

Nahla, whose identity we have protected, says she left home to escape her abusive family.

She moved in with her sister, who had converted to Islam in order to marry a Muslim man.

Within a month of moving in, Nahla's brother-in-law announced he had found her a Muslim husband and pressured her to convert.

After she refused to submit, her brother-in-law reported her to the police and they took her to a police station where she was beaten, she alleges.

Nahla eventually ran away from her Muslim husband, and has now remarried a Christian.

Her children are Christian, she is a regular at her Coptic church, yet she is refused a identity card that says she is Christian by the state.

"You need a card for everything in Egypt, even to be buried," she says.

"Where will they put me when I die? I don't want to be put in a Muslim grave."

In this country, the allegations of forced conversion are hugely divisive, even explosive.

In villages where Christians and Muslims live together, there have been riots over the issue.

Last month, a new report by Christian Solidarity International and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights documented 25 cases of alleged forced conversion - and criticised the government for ignoring the cases.

But the report has many detractors who argue that it fails to grasp the realities on the ground.

Youssef Sidhoum, the editor of a well-respected Christian newspaper, says the allegations are always difficult to prove.

Often, he says, they are love stories that have gone wrong.

Very often they are not kidnapping or forced conversions, but relationships between Christian girls and Muslim boys.

Sometimes it is their parents who say they have been kidnapped in order to hide their shame, when in fact the girl has married a Muslim of her own choice.

They tend to exaggerate the cases," he said.

"We have investigated lots of cases, again and again. This is an important issue to us and we go wherever the cases are.

"But I don't recall since 1997 more than three definite cases where we had clear evidence that there was kidnap and forced conversion."

But despite the complexities of alleged forced conversion cases, he and other Christians believe anyone wanting to change their official identity back from Muslim to Christian should be able to do so freely.

Two choices'

There are cases where the Egyptian government plays a direct hand, forcing people to retain a Muslim identity against their wishes.

Lawyer Peter Ramses Al Nagar says he is now representing 3,200 Christians who are forced to live under a Muslim identity.

"The law says when a person becomes 16 years old, when they must get an identity card, he or she has the right to take papers from the church to prove they are Christian.

"But there are people who have taken these papers to the interior ministry and they have been told they have two choices.

"Either they take a Muslim identity card or they live without an identity card, which is a major, major problem."

There have been cases where people in the same position as Ayman and Nahla have successfully challenged the state in court, but very often the interior ministry simply ignores the ruling.

And more recently, courts have tended to take the side of government lawyers, who argue that a return to Christianity is apostasy.

Under some interpretations of Islamic law, apostasy - conversion from Islam - is punishable by death.

According to Human Rights Watch, such conversions are not banned under Egyptian law, but the courts have viewed rulings that would be perceived as sanctioning them as potential offences against public order.

The BBC did ask the interior ministry for a response to our investigation, but after three weeks we have had no answer.

No government representative has been put forward for comment.

Beirut car bomb explosion 'targets Hamas official'

At least one person has died in a bomb attack in the Lebanese capital Beirut that may have targeted an official from the Palestinian group, Hamas.

Security sources say that explosives went off under a vehicle in a stronghold of Lebanon's Islamist militant group Hezbollah.

A number of people were also wounded in the explosion, one of them seriously.

The Lebanese state news agency says that "three bombs tied to each other" were placed under the vehicle.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press Saturday's blast had occurred in a neighbourhood that houses a Hamas office.

Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, was not available for comment, according to a person who answered his mobile phone, AP adds.

Hamas, which effectively controls the Gaza Strip inside the Palestinian territories, has representatives both in Beirut and in neighbouring Syria.

No celebration as UNRWA turns 60

The UN agency which looks after Palestinian refugees commemorates its 60th anniversary this month. But there's no celebration.

Prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement look dim and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is keenly aware that its "temporary" mandate could continue for years, even decades.

And some say the agency is part of the problem.

UNRWA was set up in 1949 to look after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who fled or were driven out of what became Israel during the first Arab-Israeli war.

It was supposed to provide short-term shelter pending the refugees' right of return to their homes - a right enshrined in UN resolutions.

But 60 years on, the Palestinian refugees are still stateless.

'No rights'

UNRWA has now mushroomed into a huge institution providing housing, health services, education and emergency food supplies to over four million refugees in five countries.

Hussein Mansour is an example of how the UN agency has helped many Palestinians.

The 46-year-old educator grew up in Gaza in a shelter built by UNRWA to house his parents, who had fled their village, al-Masmiya, in what was Mandate Palestine but is now southern Israel.

Because Mr Mansour's father died he was classified as a hardship case and received extra food rations.

He attended UN schools and received UN assistance for college. Now he is the head of a school for the deaf, which also receives support from UNRWA.

Mr Mansour is very much aware of what he owes to the agency, but for him its existence is a constant reminder of his statelessness.

"I think for every Palestinian refugee here, when he sees the flag or places related to UNRWA, that means for more than 60 years we are still under occupation with no rights. We are still dependent on the United Nations, not independent," he said.

He tells his children their real home is in al-Masmiya, not Gaza.

Right of return

The right of return remains one of the most contentious issues in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinians say the right must be recognised.

The Israelis say any mass return of refugees to their original homes and lands would change Israel's character as a Jewish state.

It also charges that UNRWA and the refugee issue have been exploited politically by the Arab states in their conflict with Israel.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev questions why refugee status is passed on to second and third generations.

"We have a problem when UNRWA is political and partisan. Why haven't Palestinian refugees been resettled? And have extreme politics prevented that from happening?" Mr Regev told the BBC.

Divisive mission

This diplomatic war is why Israel does not support the annual renewal of UNRWA's mandate, even though it has no problem with the agency's humanitarian function.

Israel's deputy UN ambassador Danny Carmon argues that UNRWA cannot be viewed as a solely humanitarian organisation.

"UNRWA receives yearly backing from the international community, from the UN General Assembly with very politicised, anti-Israeli resolutions that set the mandate for it to work," Mr Carmon said.

UNRWA denies any political agenda, pointing out that refugee status which continues through generations is not unique to the Palestinians.

"The idea that UNRWA perpetuates the refugee crisis is absurd," said the agency's spokesman Chris Gunness.

Mr Gunness argues that the refugee crisis can only be solved as part of a comprehensive peace plan. Until politicians broker a deal the refugee crisis will continue.

But he argues that UNRWA sometimes has to take on an advocacy role, not least because of Israeli policies that affect the refugees.

For example, an Israeli blockade has prevented recovery from the Israeli operation a year ago that devastated Gaza.

Israel says the offensive and the blockade are both aimed at Hamas, which controls Gaza and has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, not Gazan civilians.

Mr Gunness argues that the agency's role is born out of humanitarian necessity rather than politics.

"We have a million refugees in Gaza, 80% are aid dependent, and we have to advocate against this cruel collective punishment that is making life so miserable," said Mr Gunness.

"Let's be clear: this is not a humanitarian crisis caused by natural disaster. This is a humanitarian crisis of choice, of a direct political choice," he added.

Few doubt that until there's a political resolution of the conflict, UNRWA will remain. No one wants it dismantled, not even the Israelis.

But after 60 years the only solution refugees like Mr Mansour say they will accept is the right to return - either to an independent state of their own, or their former homes in what is now Israel.

Mercy plea over death row Briton

Two cousins of a Briton facing execution in China are heading to the country to make a last-ditch mercy plea.
kmal Shaikh, 53, from Kentish Town in north London, is due to be put to death on Tuesday after being convicted of smuggling heroin.

His relatives Soohail and Nasir Shaikh are travelling to Beijing and Urumqi where he is being held and plan to meet him and also deliver pleas for clemency to Chinese president Hu Jintao.

Father-of-three Mr Shaikh was arrested in Urumqi, north-west China, in September 2007 and charged with drug smuggling.

After being convicted he lost a final appeal last week, but campaigners claim his mental illness - bipolar disorder - has not been taken into account.

In his petition, Soohail says: "We plead for his life, asking that a full mental health evaluation be conducted to assess the impact of his mental illness, and that recognition be made that he is not as culpable as those who might, under Chinese law, be eligible for the death penalty."

Akbar Shaikh, Akmal's brother, also says in a letter from the family to the Chinese president: "We plead for mercy and clemency.

"We are not asking for special treatment for Akmal because he is British, but simply as a family who are devastated at the possibility of losing our son, our brother, our father, our cousin."

Clive Stafford Smith, director of human rights charity Reprieve, helped arrange visas for the family members.

He said: "The Chinese embassy authorities were kind and opened on Boxing Day to facilitate a visa for this visit, recognising the devastating blow that this execution date has inflicted on the entire family. We very much hope that this compassionate approach continues to the point of granting Akmal a reprieve."

Ex-primate condemns call to steal

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has branded a priest who advised needy people to shoplift in certain circumstances as "misguided and foolish".
ather Tim Jones, parish priest of St Lawrence and St Hilda in York, said in a sermon last weekend that stealing from large national chains was sometimes the best option many vulnerable people had.

But writing in the News of the World, Lord Carey said: "His concern for the least well-off is admirable, but his remedy is both misguided and foolish."

He added: "Of all people, priests ought to know right from wrong, and stealing - whatever the circumstances - is always wrong."

Talking about the desperate situations facing certain vulnerable people, Fr Jones told his congregation last Sunday: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift.

"I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

"I would ask that they do not steal from small, family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.

"I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need."

He subsequently clarified his remarks in a series of media appearances, saying stealing was a "dreadful thing" but adding that it caused less harm to big retailers.

Lord Carey said: "We aren't in a Dickensian era when people were driven to picking-a-pocket-or-two in order to survive. There is now a safety net provided by the state with many charities offering advice, food and shelter. Nobody is dying of hunger even though the inequalities of of our society are still greater than they should be.

Last pleas for death row Briton Akmal Shaikh

Two cousins of a British man facing execution in China have arrived in the country to make a last-ditch appeal toauthorities for mercy.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, from London, is due to be executed on 29 December after he was convicted of smuggling heroin.

But relatives Soohail and Nasir Shaikh plan to deliver a plea on his behalf to President Hu Jintao.

Mr Shaikh's supporters say he is mentally ill and Gordon Brown has asked Chinese authorities for clemency.

British consular staff have also flown to the Chinese region of Xinjiang to see the condemned Briton and discuss his case with local officials.

No contact

Legal charity Reprieve, which has taken up the case, said Mr Shaikh's cousins left the UK on Saturday.

They intend to deliver petitions seeking a legal review to China's Supreme People's Court and to the local court in the north-western city of Urumqi where Mr Shaikh was arrested in September 2007.

Reprieve said the men, who are brothers, also planned to appeal to China's president and to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which is responsible for considering petitions for pardon or clemency.

Mr Shaikh has had no contact with his family for two years, but the cousins hope they may be granted a prison visit with him.

The Briton has denied all knowledge of the 4kg of heroin found in his possession.

His family say he has bipolar disorder and was duped by a criminal gang into unwittingly carrying drugs for them.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville said Mr Shaikh's relatives want to explain that he had "suffered from long term mental illness" and travelled to the China to pursue a "fantasy" belief in a possible career as a pop star.

"They believe he was not responsible for himself and certainly not responsible for drug trafficking," said our correspondent.

He added that the situation was getting "very desperate" for the Briton because the Chinese authorities do not have a reputation for leniency.

'Compassionate approach'

Soohail Shaikh says in his petition: "We plead for his life, asking that a full mental health evaluation be conducted to assess the impact of his mental illness, and that recognition be made that he is not as culpable as those who might, under Chinese law, be eligible for the death penalty."

Reprieve's director Clive Stafford Smith said the Chinese Embassy authorities had been "kind" and opened on Boxing Day to facilitate a visa for this visit, "recognising the devastating blow that this execution date has inflicted on the entire family".

"We very much hope that this compassionate approach continues to the point of granting Akmal a reprieve," he said.

So far China has resisted calls to stop the execution, despite the case being raised by the UK 10 times during the last six months at senior diplomatic levels.

The prime minister has also written to China's leaders to express his dismay after Mr Shaikh's sentence was upheld by the Supreme People's Court.

If the sentence is carried out, it would be the first time an EU national has been executed in China for 50 years.

Tehran police 'in fierce clashes with protesters'

Fierce clashes have erupted between Iranian security forces and opposition demonstrators trying to gather in the centre of the capital, Tehran.

Unconfirmed reports say at least one person has been shot dead.

Iranian opposition parties had called on people to take to the streets as the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura reached a climax.

People were chanting "Khamenei will be toppled", opposition sources said, a reference to Iran's Supreme Leader.

Initial reports said the security forces were firing in the air as they moved to disperse demonstrators, but there are several different reports all saying that at least one, and possibly as many as three demonstrators, have been shot dead.

That would be a major change of tactics by the security forces, says BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne.

Foreign media are banned from reporting directly on opposition demonstrations and the reported deaths could not be independently verified.

Police helicopters were seen flying over central Tehran as clouds of black smoke billowed into the sky, reports said.

On the ground, the security forces clashed with protesters trying to reach central Enghelab Square, witnesses said.

Protesters were chanting, "This is the month of blood", and calling for the downfall of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to opposition websites.

Opposition sources say protesters are regrouping and more people are arriving in central Tehran.

Disputed election

Tensions have risen in Iran since influential dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri died a week ago aged 87.

Supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi have sought to use Shia religious festivals this weekend to show continued defiance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government.

Denied the right to protest, the opposition chose the highly significant festival of Ashura when millions of Iranians traditionally go onto the streets for ceremonies and parades, BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says.

The festival mourns the 7th Century death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Mr Mousavi came second in the June election, and anger at the result saw mass protests in Tehran and other cities that led to thousands of arrests and some deaths.

Mr Mousavi has said the poll, that returned President Ahmadinejad to power, was fraudulent.

How Soviet troops stormed Kabul palace

What was it like to be in the presidential palace in Kabul 30 years ago when Soviet soldiers burst in and killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin?

The BBC World Service has brought together for the first time two people who were on different sides in the palace that day - a Soviet soldier and a young Afghan girl, Lucy Williamson reports.

It was the first time Najiba had set foot inside the palace. For an 11-year-old girl, she says: "it was like something from a movie: the staircases, the golden lift, the chandeliers, and the glitter - the beauty of it."

It was all brand new - the palace had just been refurbished. And Najiba's parents had been invited there for a party, to show off the new design.

It was 27 December, 1979. And as the guests warmed themselves with lavish food, outside the palace walls other - uninvited - guests waited in the winter cold.

Among them was Rustam Tursunkulov, a 23-year-old special forces commander with the Soviet army. As Najiba bickered with her brother over the party food, outside Rustam prepared to give the order.

Thirty years on, Rustam was sitting in our Moscow studio, after the BBC's Russian Service had found and contacted him.

"In the end," he told me, "I didn't really order them at all. I hugged each of my men and said: 'I'll go ahead, you follow'.

"We had no body armour and hardly any of us had helmets. We had to run through a shower of bullets.

Panic set in

"I kept the magazine of my rifle and my helmet for a long time afterwards - they were riddled with bullet holes."

The coup had begun.

Inside the palace, confusion spread quickly.

"There was this huge, loud sound," Najiba remembers. "A huge explosion that shook the place. We had to run to the corridor and my nice yellow shoes were left behind and my white coat - I really wanted them, but my mum said there was no time, we had to run."

Out in the corridor, Najiba saw President Amin half-dressed, shouting to his family; his wife running, bringing the Kalashnikovs.

As panic set in among the palace residents, Rustam and his men moved methodically through the building.

"We killed the Afghans who put up any opposition to us," said Rustam. "The building was on fire and by the light of the flames we could see silhouettes. We recognised our own people because they were swearing in Russian."

"The things I saw," said Najiba. "My God - people on the floor. I saw a person… like a scene from a nightmare movie. Dead bodies. Lots."

Begs forgiveness

Rustam tells me his orders were to kill everyone they met in the palace. I ask him if he did.

"I was a Soviet soldier," he says. "We were trained to accept orders without question. I was in the special forces - it's the worst job.

"In any army there has to be someone who'll do the harshest, most horrible tasks. Unfortunately, it's not soldiers, but politicians who make wars."

I ask him how many people he thinks he killed that night.

"If I knew, I wouldn't tell you," he says. "I just carried out orders, I didn't count them."

As I talked down the line to Rustam in Moscow, Najiba came into the studio and sat down shakily.

It was the first time she had spoken to anyone involved in the coup. Clutching a tissue, she spoke haltingly into the microphone.

"Hello," she said. "My name's Naijba, and I was inside the palace 30 years ago."

Rustam's voice came back from Moscow: "I want to thank you for talking to me and beg your forgiveness for what we did.

"It was a terrible thing, but you need to hear both sides of it."

Bled to death

Najiba told me she had been up all night turning over in her head the questions she wanted to ask. "There were so many," she said. "It's been 30 years."

But in the end, she asked about the children - there had been lots of them in the palace that day, including the president's own 11-year-old son.

"What happened to him?" Najiba asked. "Did you try and save the children?"

Rustam replied: "Please try to understand that when there's a battle going on, it's hard to know there are children there.

"Amin's son was hit by shrapnel and bled to death. All the bodies were wrapped in carpet and buried near the palace. There was no ceremony for them."

Najiba asked him: "Do you remember me? I had blond hair then, and my mother was very fair."

"No," said Rustam. "I'm sorry."

"How long did the whole operation take?" asked Najiba.

"Forty-three minutes," he said.

It was 43 minutes that turned into a nine-year war, took the Cold War to a new level, and left more than a million people dead.

Rustam and Najiba are both writing books about their memories of that night.

As they end their conversation, Rustam promises to send Najiba some documents, to help with her research.

They say goodbye, and the line to Moscow goes dead.

You can hear more from both Najiba and Rustam in a special two-part series of 'Witness' on the BBC World Service, on Monday 28 December and Tuesday 29 December.

How 1989 brought an end to the Cold War

For two decades, the world has been living with the consequences of events in 1989. As well as the changes in Eastern Europe, the Cold War was winding down. BBC Diplomatic Editor Brian Hanrahan, who has spent the year assessing 1989's legacy, looks at what happened next.

The hard men of the KGB were glued to the TV screen. Upstairs, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were dealing with great power confrontation.

But down in the basement, Mr Gorbachev's protection detail were watching a different confrontation - between Tom and Jerry.

Behind them smoke started to emerge from the wastepaper basket where one had dropped his cigarette - but they were so engrossed in the Western decadence they were sworn to protect against that nobody noticed.

The all-wooden building would have gone up in flames if the sharp nosed Icelandic caretaker had not ignored diplomatic protocol and stepped into the Soviet sanctum to douse the flames.

So was saved the Hofti House, and the Reykjavik summit in Oct 1986. And America and the Soviet Union were on their way to ending the Cold War.

Another backstairs story from that summit is about the direct telephone line installed to Moscow.

After Mr Gorbachev sprang a surprise with a disarmament package, President Reagan put a counter proposal - much to the concern of his aides because none of this had been anticipated or approved by the president's advisers.

Buried at sea

Mr Gorbachev went off to phone Moscow and returned shaking his head. He was still a comparatively new leader of the Communist Party and could not make deals without the approval of the Politburo.

But fast-forward three years to the Malta summit and we meet a much more confident Mr Gorbachev. In December 1989, he agreed with Reagan's successor, President George Bush, to move from confrontation to co-operation.

The Cold War was dead and, in the words of Mr Gorbachev's spokesman, "buried at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea".

All through 1989 there were two separate processes going on - both brought about by Mr Gorbachev's reforms.

One was the release from Soviet control of Eastern Europe - an explosive, headline-grabbing joyride for everyone involved.

The other was the quieter revolution in relations between East and West - the winding down of the ideological confrontation which for four decades had threatened the world with nuclear annihilation.

This was the real prize for Western leaders and they worried that a gleeful response to the liberation of Eastern Europe could put Mr Gorbachev's position as Soviet leader at risk.

"We couldn't be sure when the Berlin Wall came down that the Cold War would end," says James Baker, who was the US secretary of state at the Malta summit.

"And that's why President Bush was absolutely right when he would not 'dance on the wall' the way a lot of people wanted."

Mr Baker says "by not sticking it in the eye to the Soviets", President Bush made it possible for Mr Gorbachev to foreswear using force to hold the Soviet empire together.

"And he was right. He said: 'We've got a lot of unfinished business with the Soviets.'"

Mr Gorbachev had created a window in Soviet thinking - a window to a more peaceful world. But Western leaders feared it would close if Mr Gorbachev was toppled.

Well of bitterness

In the years that followed, a see-saw battle broke out between the conservatives and the reformers within the Soviet leadership

Mr Gorbachev struggled to balance himself as the changes which had started in Eastern Europe spread into the Soviet Union itself.

Lord Hurd, who was then the British foreign secretary, says: "It was inevitable. Mr Gorbachev could not be making these changes, these concessions, without criticism, without harsh debates."

The Soviet Union was being asked to relinquish territory it considered part of its status as a superpower - occupation zones, military bases, buffer territories.

"It had been fought over," says Lord Hurd. "It was full of memorials and cemeteries. There was no way that could be abandoned without a huge amount of bitterness inside the former imperial power."

Although Mr Gorbachev was losing power, he held back attempts by the hardliners to revert to the repression which had been characteristic of communist rule.

Without its prison camps and an occasional massacre, the system could not sustain itself.

The hardliners judged, rightly, that what was at stake was the survival of the country itself.

But by the time they moved against Mr Gorbachev they were too late.

The Communist Party which had held the country together was no longer the central source of authority.

Their coup of August 1991 was easily seen off by the reformers under Boris Yeltsin, the new Russian leader.

What developed next was a free-for-all as the leaders of the nations emerging from the Soviet Union grabbed power for themselves.

According to Leonid Kravchuk, who was to become Ukraine's leader, Boris Yeltsin's first thought was to preserve the Soviet Union and replace Mr Gorbachev as leader.

Only after Mr Kravchuk insisted on independence for Ukraine did Yeltsin switch to the idea of splitting the country into separate states.

It is a decision that still rankles with many Russians.

Much of the difficulties in dealing with Russia over the past two decades stem from its self-image as a superpower which ought to be pre-eminent among its neighbours.

But for the other states independence means the power to choose for themselves how close they should be to Russia. It still has not been resolved.

Leonid Kravchuk, the man who says he put Russia in to this position, was a former communist who reinvented himself as a nationalist.

He was in the group that negotiated the splitting-up of the Soviet Union. He remembers Mr Gorbachev's surprise.

"He looked lost," recalls Mr Kravchuk. "For him, like for everyone else, it was so sudden."

He believes Mr Gorbachev did not grasp how history was unfolding, and will be punished by it.

"I think that in history Gorbachev will not be remembered as a creator, but as the destroyer of the Soviet Union because that's what he did," says Mr Kravchuk.

"I am the creator of Ukraine - in history. Yeltsin is the creator of new Russia - in history. And Gorbachev did not create a new union, but destroyed it."

Delayed by Christmas

But outside the old Soviet Union, there will be a kinder judgment. Lord Hurd thinks Mr Gorbachev was well aware of what he was doing.

"We owe Gorbachev a huge debt. He loosened and, in the end, helped to destroy a system, and an antagonism with us, which had paralysed the world in many respects for a generation.

"And he did it largely through his own courage and a perception that the system couldn't last."

Mr Gorbachev did make one concession to save his place in history. He had intended to relinquish the office of Soviet president on 24 December.

But his horrified press aide, Andrei Grachev, reminded him that in most of the world the following day was Christmas Day. There would be no newspapers to record his going.

So the Soviet Union - rooted in atheism - survived an extra day to accommodate the Western Christian calendar.

US flight delays from British airports after terror bid

Passengers on US-bound flights from Britain are facing delays and extra security measures after a man was charged with trying to blow up a plane.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, a former UK student from Nigeria, is alleged to have hidden explosives in his clothes.

Police have been searching a number of central London properties in connection with the incident.

Travellers are undergoing "pat-down" searches before boarding and being restricted to one item of hand luggage.

Mr Abdulmutallab is said to have been an engineering student at University College London between 2005 and 2008.

But according to Whitehall sources he was denied a new visa this summer by the UK Border Agency after attempting to apply for a course at a bogus college.

The Metropolitan Police have been searching a flat at an apartment block in Mansfield Street, Marylebone, and other properties in the capital.

BBC reporter Helen Fawkes said that on Sunday morning 30 uniformed and plainclothes officers went into the flat, where officers had previously removed several items in clear plastic bags for examination.

Police have indicated the search is being scaled down and officers will continue the "crucial" task of identifying Mr Abdulmutallab's associates, she added.

Passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit say a man was overpowered after trying to ignite explosives as the Airbus A330 came into land on Friday.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the device contained about 80g of a high explosive, which had been moulded around the suspect's body and was apparently able to pass undetected through airport checks.

This prompted US authorities to impose added restrictions on passengers, including the pat-downs and a ban on leaving seats in the hour before landing.

Mr Abdulmutallab spent about 20 minutes in the toilet before the incident, it is alleged.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis told the BBC: "We've agreed with the US authorities enhanced search regimes for passengers on flights to and from the United States.

"Those have taken place immediately. They will lead to delays in flights to the US, which I'm sure passengers will understand in the circumstances."

'Massive delays'

UK airport operator BAA confirmed that passengers flying to the US would face increased searches before boarding and advised they leave more time to check in.

The British Airways website, meanwhile, said that under revised security arrangements, travellers to the US would only be allowed one piece of hand luggage.

A spokesman said: "We apologise to passengers for any delays to their journeys. Safety and security are our top priorities and will not be compromised."

Passengers flying out on Saturday praised the airline for sending text messages warning of the new rules in advance.

Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, told the BBC the extra checks were causing massive delays at a time when 25,000 people were leaving the UK on 100 daily US-bound flights.

"There's going to be more strain on the check-in desks, lots of people turning up at the airports don't know the new rule and of course there's lots of repacking," he said.

Mr Calder said questioning on US visa applications was unlikely to get more intrusive because it appeared Mr Abdulmutallab had travelled despite being of interest to the authorities.

However, he said if the pat-downs being imposed on travellers to the US were extended to all flights, it would get "very slow in terms of processing people".

In the US a federal judge has formally charged Mr Abdulmutallab with attempting to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft on Christmas Day.

The hearing took place in Mr Abdulmutallab's hospital room at the University of Michigan Medical Center where he is being treated for burns.

An affidavit filed in support of the charge stated: "As the flight was approaching Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Abdulmutallab set off the device, which resulted in a fire and what appears to have been an explosion."

It has emerged that Mr Abdulmutallab's father, a prominent Nigerian banker, flagged up to US authorities concerns about his son's extreme views.

He may also have been on the radar of UK intelligence but did not cause American officials serious concern and so was not on the US no-fly list.

It is understood one of the British authorities' key priorities will be to check whether he has cropped up in the course of any other investigations.

HP camera 'can't see' black faces

A YouTube video suggesting that face recognition cameras installed in HP laptops cannot detect black faces has had over one million views.

The short movie, uploaded earlier this month, features "Black Desi" and his colleague "White Wanda".

When Wanda, a white woman, is in front of the screen, the camera zooms to her face and moves as she moves.

But when Desi, a black man, does the same, the camera does not respond by tracking him.

The clip is light-hearted in tone but is titled "HP computers are racist".

"HP has been informed of a potential issue with the facial-tracking software included on some of its systems, which appears to occur when insufficient foreground lighting is available," an HP spokesman told BBC News.

"We take this seriously and are looking into it with our partners."

Father alerted US about Nigerian plane bomb suspect

The father of a Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day had voiced concerns to US officials about his son.

The father, a top Nigerian banker, warned US authorities last month about 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's extreme views, say officials.

US sources confirm a file was opened, but say the information did not warrant placing the accused on a "no-fly" list.

Airports worldwide have increased security after the alleged attack.

Mr Abdulmutallab was formally charged by a US federal judge at a Michigan hospital where he is being treated for burns after allegedly trying to detonate a device.

'Sewn in underpants'

The detainee reportedly smiled as agents brought him in to the room in a wheelchair, dressed in a green hospital robe and with a blanket over his lap.

High explosives are believed to have been moulded to his body and sewn in to his underpants.

He was immediately overpowered by passengers and crew aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, minutes before it was due to land in Detroit from the Dutch capital Amsterdam.

The suspect was charged with placing a destructive device on the Airbus 330, which was carrying 289 passengers and crew, and attempting to destroy the jet.

His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, is a prominent banker well-connected in Nigeria's political world, the BBC's Caroline Duffield reports from Lagos.

In recent months Mr Mutallab is said to have become alarmed about the political views of his son, who is a former engineering student at University College London.

He approached the US embassy in Abuja in November to voice concerns about his son, according to American officials.

How the accused, who had a valid US travel visa, boarded a flight in Lagos to Amsterdam, despite being on a database listing individuals of concern to the authorities, is a key question, our correspondent says.

Anti-terrorist measures in Nigeria's airports are haphazard and corruption among police, customs and security officials is endemic, she adds.

Officials in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, told news agencies that Mr Abdulmutallab's name had been added to a security watch-list of more than half a million individuals, known as Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide).

But there was apparently not enough information to include his name on the smaller Terrorist Screening Data Base, which includes a no-fly list.

It is understood that members of Mr Abdulmutallab's family are travelling to the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday to meet police and government officials.

Nice and polite'

A preliminary FBI analysis has found that the device allegedly found on Mr Abdulmutallab contained the high explosive PETN, also known as pentaerythritol.

PETN was used in the device worn by British "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who is serving a prison sentence for attempting to blow up a Paris-Miami airliner in Christmas week of 2001.

Mr Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate a device using a syringe, but it failed to go off.

The suspect has reportedly told investigators he had links to al-Qaeda and received the explosives in Yemen for a suicide attack, after a month of training.

Mr Abdulmutallab went to the bathroom for about 20 minutes before the incident, court documents say.

When he got back to his seat, he said he had an upset stomach and pulled a blanket over himself, the affidavit continues.

"Passengers then heard popping noises similar to firecrackers, smelled an odour, and some observed Abdulmutallab's pants, leg and the wall of the airplane on fire," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Dutch tourist Jasper Schuringa, credited with tackling the suspect first, is being hailed as a hero by fans on the internet.

The 32-year-old Dutch filmmaker said when he heard a bang and smelled smoke he felt immediately it was a terrorist attack.

Mr Schuringa added that the alleged bomber had not become aggressive after the alleged bomb failed to detonate.

"He was actually a normal person, he was very scared, he had a very frightened look, he wasn't resisting or anything," he told the BBC.

"I also spoke later to one of the Dutch people who was sitting next to him and they said he was a really nice and polite man. So he was someone you wouldn't expect to commit a crime like this."

Meanwhile, delays have been caused to transatlantic flights after airlines flying in to and around the US tightened security.

Measures include cutting down on hand baggage, extra frisking of passengers at passport control and allowing more boarding time.

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Hauritz puts Australia in charge

Nathan Hauritz starred as Australia dominated on day two of the first Test in Melbourne to leave Pakistan struggling to avoid the follow-on.

Michael Hussey (82) and Hauritz (75) built on Australia's strong opening day before the home side declared on 454-5.

And Pakistan struggled in response, with Hauritz among the wickets as the visitors were restricted to 109-4.

Skipper Mohammad Yousuf was dismissed with the penultimate ball after a referral from Ricky Ponting.

Yousuf was out for 22 when he was caught by Brad Haddin down the leg side off Peter Siddle, although umpire Billy Doctrove originally deemed it to be not out.

Hauritz had earlier made a swashbuckling 75 alongside Hussey that included seven boundaries and a six, the pair adding 77 runs to Australia's overnight total of 305, though neither man was able to become the first Australian centurion for the summer.

Ponting chose to declare at 454, and his bowlers then put the tourists under huge pressure in the final 50 overs of the day.

Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Hauritz, Doug Bollinger and Siddle bowled a combined total of 17 maidens as Pakistan scored at a rate of 2.22 per over.

Johnson made the first breakthrough when he trapped Imran Farhat lbw, before Hauritz had Faisal Iqbal caught by Michael Clarke.

Salman Butt put up some dogged resistance but he needed nearly three hours to make 45 before falling lbw to Watson, and Siddle wrapped up a fine day for the home side with the wicket of Yousuf.