Chaparrastique Volcano Spills Smoke And Ash

Authorities in El Salvador have evacuated an area near the Chaparrastique volcano after the mountain fired hot ash and gas three miles into the air.

Civil Defence Director Jorge Melendez said a yellow alert had been issued and investigators had been sent to the area to look for signs of fresh lava.

The Chaparrastique volcano rises some 7,025 feet into the sky

"We have implemented emergency measures to evacuate villages located within three kilometres of the volcano," he said.

Shelters have been set up for the evacuees but some locals have refused to leave their homes.

Assistant Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza said two people had been treated at hospitals for respiratory problems apparently linked to the eruption

There were no reports of serious injuries caused by the eruption

But he said there were no serious cases.

"We are providing assistance to people evacuating, and we are asking them to protect themselves against the gases, which can affect the respiratory tract," he said.

A spokesman for El Salvador's Red Cross, Carlos Lopez Mendoza, described the eruption as a "quite strong explosion".

The volcano, which rises some 7,025 feet into the air, last erupted in 1976. It is about 90 miles east of San Salvador.

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Michael Schumacher 'In Critical Condition'

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher is in a coma following a skiing accident in France.

The 44-year-old German suffered a "serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation," according to the hospital treating Schumacher in the French city of Grenoble.

Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he reportedly hit his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps.

He was airlifted off the mountain following the accident in the resort of Meribel, in the popular Three Valleys area.

The sports star was skiing with his 14-year-old son and some friends when the accident occurred.

Schumacher's agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

The German Formula One legend skiing in Italy in 2006

"He was hospitalised and is receiving medical care. We ask for your understanding that we cannot give a running commentary on his state of health.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''

Journalist Carole Bouchard, from the French newspaper L'Equipe, told Sky News that the racing driver's condition had deteriorated during the hours following his hospitalisation.

The French Mountain Gendarmerie had earlier said Schumacher's life was not in danger.

Speaking to Sky News, Chris Chandler, a consultant neurosurgeon at King's College Hospital, said the immediate neurosurgical treatment given to Schumacher shows his injuries are severe.

The accident occurred in the resort of Meribel in France

"He could have suffered a diffuse injury to his brain which can then result in brain swelling," he said.

"He could have sustained some sort of brain haemorrhage and if there was a blood clot within his brain or on the surface of his brain underneath his skull, that might need to be removed.

"Sometimes there is nothing actually to remove but you put in an intra-cranial pressure monitor, which basically is an operation that requires drilling a hole in the skull and putting a fine probe inside."

Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt and Professor Gerard Saillant, a brain and spine injury expert, are at the Grenoble University Hospital Centre where Schumacher is being treated.

Schumacher made a comeback to Formula One for Mercedes in 2010

Professor Saillant co-ordinated Schumacher's medical care after the driver broke his leg in the 1999 British Grand Prix.

Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, first retired from Formula One in 2006.

He has been hurt seriously once before, in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 when he suffered neck and spine injuries.

Schumacher recovered sufficiently from those injuries to make a comeback to Formula One in 2010.

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Reports: At Least 10 Dead In Russia Bus Blast

At least 10 people have been killed in an explosion on an electric bus in the Russian city of Volgograd, according to reports.

Investigators have described the blast as "an act of terror".

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the bus explosion was most likely caused by a bomb, but there were no further details.

It comes just a day after a female suicide bomber was blamed for killing 17 people and leaving dozens more injured at the city's main railway station.

The death toll could rise further

Police identified the bomber as a Dagestan national called Oksana Aslanova - who had been married to two Islamists killed by Russian forces.

She apparently detonated a bomb in front of a metal detector inside the main entrance of the station. Russian television is suggesting there may have been two attackers.

The explosions have put the city on edge and highlighted the terrorist threat that Russia is facing as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February.

Security has been stepped up after the station blast

Volgograd is about 400 miles (650km) northeast of Sochi, where the Games are to be held.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks.

In July, Doku Umarov, leader of an ongoing insurgency in the nearby North Caucasus region, urged militants to use "maximum force" to disrupt the Winter Olympics, a project close to Russian President Vladimir Putin's heart.

Russian authorities have pledged to make the event the "safest ever".

Known in Soviet times as Stalingrad, and previously as Tsaritsyn, Volgograd is a major industrial centre with a population of more than a million people.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "It's 39 or 40 days until the Winter Olympics open, this is the opportunity for the Islamic separatists in the Caucasus region to really put themselves on the world map.

"The more this sort of thing happens, if it is indeed them, the more that cause is going to get on the front pages around the world, spoil Putin's Olympics and, more seriously, the more lives it will take."

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YouTube Videos Add To Missing Doctor Mystery

YouTube videos of a doctor who disappeared three weeks ago talking to an unidentified love interest are being examined by investigators searching for her.

Teleka Patrick, who was serving her residency in Michigan, was last seen on December 5.

After completing a shift, the 30-year-old tried unsuccessfully to rent a hotel room in Kalamazoo before being dropped off by the hotel shuttle driver in the car park of the medical centre where she worked, according to the FBI.

"The shuttle driver said she seemed nervous, even ducking down between vehicles, as if she was afraid of being seen by someone," Carl Clatterbuck, a private investigator hired by the family, said.

"I would say she was agitated, but if she was worried about something or someone, she never told anyone about it."

Later that night, Dr Patrick's car was found about 100 miles away, abandoned in a ditch in Indiana with a possible flat tyre, the FBI said.

Her belongings were in the car, including clothing, a wallet that contained her driver's licence, credit cards, and a small amount of cash.

The YouTube videos, which show Dr Patrick singing and speaking to the unidentified love interest, were uploaded in early November.

In one of them she addresses someone as "baby" and "love" while in the other she shows two plates of breakfast.

But her parents said their emergence created more confusion about the situation. 

"We are aware of the YouTube videos that have surfaced today. However, their relevance to her disappearance remains a mystery," they said.

"These videos have led to more questions than answers. To our knowledge, Teleka was not in a romantic relationship and it is unclear to whom she is making reference in the videos."

Dr Patrick has bought an airline ticket to Florida to visit her parents for Christmas and was supposed to join them on December 23.

Her disappearance is being investigated by police in two states as well as the FBI.

A Facebook page has been created in an attempt to help track her down.

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Canada Ice Storm: Thousands Without Power

Thousands of households have been left without power in Toronto after a severe ice storm blanketed much of Canada.

Power companies have been working around the clock to restore electricity, moving from house to house and clearing broken branches and wires.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said crews from outside Toronto had been called in to help clean up after the storm.

"This has been a very unusual situation," she said.

"I understand there are 250 of the Toronto Hydro and other hydro service bucket trucks out right now working with back-up crews, and as you all know there are crews from other jurisdictions.

Workers restore power to homes in suburban Toronto

"I've met people from Kingston who have come here, people from Manitoba who have come in order to help with the clean-up."

Local media has reported that some 30,000 households in Ontario and New Brunswick remain without electricity, including 18,000 homes in Toronto alone.

There are concerns that warmer temperatures and gusty winds could cause fresh power outages as melting ice and falling branches threaten to snap power lines.

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Israel Fires Shells In Response To Rockets

Israel has fired 20 artillery shells into Lebanon in response to two rockets that were launched in the opposite direction.

The Lebanese rockets landed in a field near the town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israeli military said in a statement, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel responded with artillery fire, with witnesses in southern Lebanon reporting more than 20 shells hitting two towns.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Israeli military spokesman said: "The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from."

The border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since a war between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah militant group in 2006.

However, tensions rose this month when an Israeli soldier was shot dead by Lebanese troops while driving near the border on December 16.

Last week, Hizbollah blamed Israel for the assassination of one of its commanders in Beirut, an accusation Israel has denied.

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Man 'Used Facebook To Contact Al Qaeda'

A man who used Facebook to connect with al Qaeda operatives has pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge in a US court.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen admitted that he tried to help al Qaeda by offering to provide weapons training to the terror group.

The 24-year-old entered the guilty plea before US District Court Judge John F. Walter. Nguyen faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Nguyen was caught by an undercover FBI agent posing as a recruiter for al Qaeda. He was arrested by federal agents in October.

He said he planned to offer himself as a trainer for al Qaeda forces to ambush troops in Syria, where he had already spent five months fighting with rebels.

Assistant US Attorney Judith Heinz said Nguyen underwent 50 hours of interrogation during which he confessed to his plan.

Nguyen's admission was contained in a plea agreement filed in federal court, according to a US attorney's press release issued after the plea was entered and accepted.

"Nguyen admitted that approximately one year ago he travelled to Syria where he joined opposition forces," the statement said.

"Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a 'confirmed kill'."

Nguyen returned to the US, where he told associates he had offered to train al Qaeda forces in Syria but was turned down.

The judge who accepted the guilty plea had previously expressed scepticism about whether Nguyen had any special skills to offer the terror group.

Prosecutors said that between August 3 and October 11 Nguyen met with a man he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter but who actually was working for the FBI.

Nguyen is due to be sentenced on March 21.

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India Gang Rape Victim Was Attacked Twice

A young woman was kidnapped and raped by two gangs in India - a year after a fatal rape shook the nation.

Police have arrested 10 people and charged six of them with raping the 21-year-old victim in southern India.

Officer Monika Bharadwaj said the woman was abducted and raped while visiting a friend in Karaikal, a port city in Pondicherry state.

Ms Bhardwaj said that the woman had been hospitalised but that she did not suffer serious injuries.

Police have also detained a juvenile male for not informing the police about the crime.

There were protests after the gang rape of a student on a bus last year

Police said the woman was first kidnapped by three of the accused around midnight on Tuesday and released after nearly three hours of captivity.

As she called her friend to pick her up after she was freed, another group of seven people came in a vehicle and took her away, Ms Bhardwaj said.

Police were questioning the accused to find out whether they knew each other or belonged to two separate groups.

The assault came days after India marked the anniversary of the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

That rape and murder sparked nationwide protests.

The outrage spurred the government to adopt more stringent laws that doubled prison terms for rape to 20 years.

Fast-track courts have been created for rape cases.

Four attackers in the New Delhi case were sentenced to death and a juvenile was sent to a reform centre for three years.

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Thailand Protests: Gunman Shoots One Dead

A gunman has opened fire at opposition protesters in Bangkok, killing one person and wounding several others.

The shooting follows weeks of anti-government protests in Thailand as demonstrators seek to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The protests have triggered bloody clashes between police and demonstrators.

A protester died after he was shot in the torso and three others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds, a spokesman for the city's Erawan emergency centre said.

The protests have triggered bloody clashes across Thailand

Police have confirmed the shooting, but said its forensic team was unable to access the scene of the incident.

The shooting occurred where a group of protesters had camped overnight close to Government House.

Local media reports said the shots were fired from a passing car by more than one gunman.

Ms Yingluck has called February elections in the hope of bringing an end to the demonstrations.

But the protesters have vowed to block the vote, saying it will only return the Shinawatra clan to power.

A second round of registration for constituency candidates is due to begin around the country on Saturday, raising fears of further clashes.

Eight people, including a policeman, have been killed and about 400 wounded in several outbreaks of street violence.

The government has said it will ask the army to provide security for election candidates and voters.

A policeman and a civilian died of gunshots fired by unknown assailants while 153 people were injured after violence erupted on Thursday when demonstrators tried to force their way into an election registration venue.

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Acid Attacks: India Victims Demand Action

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News producer, Delhi

Sapna, 20, considers herself lucky to have escaped with just a few burns on her face and upper body. She's one of the latest victims of an acid attack in India.

A spurned relative threw industrial acid when she rejected his advances.

There are no exact figures because these attacks are not recorded separately - but campaigners fear they are increasing.

In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court has ordered the government to regulate the sale of acid, compensate the victims and impose stiffer sentences.

For example, the government now has to pay for the medical treatment of the victims.

But Sapna is yet to receive any money for her treatment.

Preeti Rathi, framed, died from an acid attack in Bombay

She said: "The government does not care for us victims. They may arrest the man and keep him in jail for a few years but our lives have been ruined.

"The men should be punished so badly that no one will ever think of attempting to ruin a girl's life."

The Rathi family grieve for their 24-year-old daughter who died after an acid attack six months ago.

She had got a coveted job with the Indian navy. Her father says she was looking forward to her new life in Mumbai.

But when she arrived at the train station in Mumbai, a masked man threw acid on her.

Preeti was blinded and the liquid she swallowed burned her insides. She died in hospital a month later.

Her father says: "I want the culprit to go through the suffering that my daughter went through.

Laxmi was attacked six years ago and still has problems with her sight

"Hanging will give him instant death but he will not experience the hell he inflicted on her. I want an eye for an eye."

The culprit is yet to be traced - the grainy CCTV images cannot identify him.

Preeti's parents have been petitioning authorities for an investigation by the central government.

They even door-stepped the home minister of India in charge of the police.

The minister, Sunil Kumar Shinde, told them he's directed the relevant state department of Maharashtra to look into the case.

Preeti's mother is unconvinced with his reply and told Sky News such ministers just make statements but can't give justice.

"My daughter fought for her life for a month - we want a proper investigation and that they can't give us," she said. 

Campaigners are pressing for harsher sentences for attacks on women

India's deputy home minister RP Singh told Sky News the government has made laws and taken action against acid attacks.

"We have made it a different category in our bill which we amended and the government has made it more difficult for its sale," he said.

But many, like Laxmi, believe the government is still doing very little.

She survived an acid attack six years ago when a man threw the liquid when she spurned his advances.

It burned her face and upper body - her eyes were seriously damaged. She is now an active campaigner for the rights of victims.

It was her petition to the Supreme Court that initiated the changes in law.

But she's dismayed the government is doing nothing to help rehabilitate victims - one of her key demands.

She says she will challenge the government for not doing enough.

"We are not to blame for what happened to us. We are just not survivors. Only we know what we go through when walking down the streets," she said.

"Relatives and friends stop meeting us, our careers are destroyed. Society, the laws and the government don't care if we are living or dead."

India is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman.

The horrific gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in Delhi in December 2012 has stirred the nation's soul.

Unprecedented protests took place in the national capital and across the country.

The brutality of the crime pressurised the government and the judiciary to frame new laws and make changes in the older ones to protect women. 

Fast-track courts were established to deal with such cases and stricter punishment enforced.

But until the regulation in the sale of acid is strictly enforced, and these crimes are severely and swiftly punished, such attacks will continue.

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China Condemns Japan PM's Visit To War Shrine

Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has paid an inflammatory visit to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine.

China immediately condemned the move as glorification of Japan's past "militaristic aggression" and warned Tokyo must "bear the consequences".

Mr Abe described his visit, which comes days after he caused consternation by giving Japan's military its second consecutive annual budget increase, as a pledge against war and said it was not aimed at hurting feelings in China or South Korea.

The Yasukuni shrine is seen as the repository of around 2.5 million souls of Japan's war dead, including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II who were enshrined in the 1970s.

South Korea and China see it as a symbol of Tokyo's lack of repentance for the horrors of the last century.

Mr Abe said in a statement: "Some people criticise the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again.

"For 68 years after the war, Japan created a free and democratic country, and consistently walked the path of peace. There is no doubt whatsoever that we will continue to pursue this path.

A Shinto priest leads Shinzo Abe to the altar

"It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people. It is my wish to respect each other's character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect."

The visit came exactly 12 months after he took power, a period in which he has met neither Chinese President Xi Jinping nor South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

Ties with Beijing were bad before Mr Abe took office, with the two countries crossing diplomatic swords over the ownership of a string of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan, but claimed by China.

The dispute has been ratcheted up further this year, with the involvement of military aircraft and ships, leaving some observers warning of the danger of armed conflict between the world's second and third-largest economies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "The essence of Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine is to beautify Japan's history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule."

South Korean culture minister Yoo Jin-Ryong said: "We can't help deploring and expressing anger at the prime minister's visit to the Yasukuni shrine despite concerns and warnings by neighbouring countries."

The United States said: "Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbours."

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Black Smoke Over Beirut After 'Explosion'

Witnesses say black smoke is rising over Beirut's hotel sector after a explosion rocked the Lebanese capital.

More follows...

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Global Rough Diamond Trade Thrives In Antwerp

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

In four unprepossessing streets in the centre of Antwerp, a secretive, centuries-old business is conducted behind bulletproof glass where a handshake and the Yiddish word "mazel" seals the deal.

The international diamond trade has been centred in the city since the 15th century. It is estimated that 85% of the global trade in rough diamonds passes through Antwerp, worth €43bn (£36bn) every year, equivalent to the GDP of Slovenia.

You would imagine that the crippling single currency crisis which continues to hold Europe in its grip would have had an icing effect on expensive ice, but business is booming, even as a quarter of Antwerp's young people struggle to find work.

£36m worth of stones bought or sold in Antwerp each year

We went to find out why, gaining access to one of the most secure buildings in the country guided by the entrepreneur Vashi Dominguez, who runs a successful UK-based diamond business from mine to retail.

It was fairly clear from the outset that news cameras aren't welcome in the diamond quarter. A police officer was dispatched to check our credentials after a CCTV camera filmed us on the pavement, while private security guards watched us warily from doorways.

After surrendering our passports, and with a prior appointment, we were allowed inside one 10-storey concrete building, in which trades valued at €1bn (£837,000) take place every month.

In a simple room with a series of substantial tables - and an even larger safe built into the wall - Vashi showed us three cut diamonds with a combined value of £2m as well as a scattering of smaller rough stones.

The four Cs still determine the price of a finished stone: cut, colour, clarity and carat (the weight, with a carat equivalent to one fifth of a gram), but the value of unusual, or "fancy" diamonds has been increasing dramatically at auction since the financial crisis began.

Vashi Dominguez: 'Prices are rising because demand is increasing'

Vashi explains that as government bonds and currencies have become less attractive to investors since the start of the crisis in 2008, they have turned to valuable commodities like gold and gems.

"Prices are rising because demand is increasing. That's due to the slowdown and more interest from buyers in the east like China and India as well as other developing countries such as Brazil," he explains.

"There's another factor too: there has been a lack of major discoveries of new mines and some mines that have been discovered can't be built into viable businesses because the extraction process is so costly."

A massive new mine is being prepared in Canada, and De Beers continues to chip new diamonds out of Jwaneng mine in Botswana, but prospectors are working hard globally to establish new deposits.

The location of the current mines and trade patterns shifting eastwards could threaten Antwerp's pre-eminence as a diamond hub. More business could switch to Dubai, which is closer to southern Africa.

That's reflected in a change in the religion and ethnicity of the traders: the diamond quarter has been conspicuously Jewish, but more Indians are moving into the business, and into the area.

At the moment, Antwerp is still keeping its nose ahead of those rival cities looking to snatch its diamond tiara. It's an irony that the booming gem trade is based in a continent where economies have lost their lustre.

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Egypt Names Muslim Brotherhood A Terror Group

Egypt's military-backed government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, criminalising all of its activities.

The interim government also banned any financing of the Muslim Brotherhood and membership to it.

The announcement is a dramatic escalation of the fight between the government and the group, from which the ousted president hails.

The Brotherhood has waged near-daily protests since the military coup that toppled President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

A man surveys the damage caused by Tuesday's bomb attack

Hossam Eissa, the Minister of Higher Education, read out the Cabinet statement after a long meeting.

He said: "The Cabinet has declared the Muslim Brotherhood group and its organisation as a terrorist organisation."

He said that the decision was in response to Tuesday's bombing of police headquarters in a Nile Delta city which killed 16 people and wounded more than 100.

"Egypt was horrified from north to south by the hideous crime committed by the Muslim Brotherhood group," Mr Eissa said.

"This was in context of dangerous escalation to violence against Egypt and Egyptians (and) a clear declaration by the Muslim Brotherhood group that it still knows nothing but violence.

Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July

"It's not possible for Egypt the state, nor Egypt the people, to submit to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism," he added.

Mr Eissa offered no evidence in his speech linking the Brotherhood to Tuesday's attack.

The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, denounced violence in the late 1970s.

Ibrahim Elsayed, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's political group, the Freedom and Justice Party, said the government announcement will have no impact on the work or the beliefs of the group.

"This decision is as if it never happened. It has no value for us and is only worth the paper it is written on," he said.

"It won't impact us from near and far. Ideas won't be impacted by false accusations. We uphold this call only for the sake of God."

Ahmed el-Borai, the Minister of Social Solidarity, told reporters in a news conference that the decision means "all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood group are banned including the demonstrations."

The declaration gives the armed forces and the police the right to enter universities and prevent protests, as "protection to the students," Mr el-Borai said.

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Israel Defends 'Racist' Bedouin Removal Policy

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Umm al Hiran

Israeli government officials have rushed to defend the forced removal of up to 40,000 Israeli citizens of Arab descent from their homes in the Negev to new towns amid a growing clamour of protest and accusations that the policy is racist.

A bill that would enshrine the removal of thousands of Bedouin from their traditional lands and end a rural way of life dating back centuries is currently before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

But the removals have already begun.

Dozens of homes built in what the government calls "unrecognised villages" have been bulldozed over the last few years.

Ami Tesler: 'There is no racism here ... it's an opportunity'

And the village of Umm al Hiran has been served notice that it will be flattened, its 500 residents forced out and a Jewish development built in its place.

Such events are commonplace on the Israeli-occupied West Bank where Palestinians face severe construction limitations while illegal Jewish settlements continue a concrete march across Palestinian lands.

But the Negev plans in the Prawer-Begin Bill affect Bedouin who are ethnically Arab - but also full Israeli citizens.

Rabi Arik Ascherman, president of Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli human rights organisation said: "We are without a doubt treating the Bedouin in a way that we would not treat Jews in this country.

"The fact that the government has decided to build a Jewish community right where we're standing, that Jewish community will get all of the services, all of the infrastructure, and there will be no question about it."

The Israeli plan is to move some 90,000 Bedouin from 36 villages into seven existing towns and another 11 which will be given recognition.

These Bedouin, who have a long history of loyalty to the Jewish state and send some 300 volunteers to the Israel Defence Force every year, will be given plots in planned areas with connections to water and electricity plus a grant of about £20,000 to build a home.

A Bedouin boy leans over tarpaulin in the Bir Mshash in Israel

Those who leave behind a tent or house may receive additional compensation of about £10,000.

The controversial plan is being run directly from the offices of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.

Ami Tesler, the head of the community relation department in the PM's "headquarters for Economic and Community Development of the Negev Bedouin" insist that most Bedouin would accept the "generous formula for compensation".

He admits, though, that the grant and compensation payments would not be enough to build a home "probably a caravan type place but if they work hard they can do much better".

"There is no racism here. On the contrary it's an opportunity for the Bedouins who were neglected because of many things. Now is the time to change this. It is the time to bring them to the 21st century.

"I think that what we are doing today is for the benefit of the Bedouins and especially for the young generation ... We want to give them an opportunity.

"And looking forward 20 years from now we want the babies of the Bedouin to have more education, more skills for life, so at the age of 18 they will have the same opportunities as my kids."

Bedouins ride donkeys in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim

In Uma al Hiran, children have a long bus ride and a dusty walk each way to and from a school in a "recognised" village.

But when they get home they are part of a tight-knit community rich in goats and sheep which was settled on this hill-top spot close to the West Bank when their ancestors were forced out of another Negev area by the Israeli army in 1956.

"We've done everything and now the state wants to bring Jews to replace us, and I say we should live here together.

"This is unacceptable, enough with the racism, enough with the hate," says Salim Abu Khian.

His son served in the IDF until recently.

"The townships are full of crime and I don't want to bring my children up in that way of life," he said.

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Egypt: 14 Dead In Police Headquarters Explosion

At least 13 people have been killed in an explosion at a police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Mansoura.

The blast injured around 100 others, state media reported.

Investigators are trying to find out whether the blast, which happened at around 1am, was caused by a car bomb of from explosives planted around the five-storey regional security headquarters in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya.

The blast damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked nearby cars

Most of those killed are understood to have been police officers who were inside the building at the time of the blast. 

The explosion reportedly damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked dozens of vehicles.

Security forces cordoned off the area, closed major entrances and exits to the city and set up checkpoints.

State TV called on residents to rush to hospitals to donate blood.

Egypt's interim government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating the attack, branding it a "terrorist organisation".

The movement itself strongly condemned the attack.

The bombing comes just weeks ahead of a referendum on a new constitution billed as the first major step towards democracy after Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was forced from power in July.

Interim Prime Minister Hazem el Beblawi expressed condolences to the families of the victims and vowed the perpetrators would "not escape justice".

The attack comes a day after an al Qaeda-inspired group called on police and army personnel to desert or face death at the hands of its fighters.

It is the first major attack in the Nile Delta, spreading the carnage to a new area and bringing it closer to Cairo.

Previous violence that has killed scores of people has taken place in Sinai or in Suez Canal-area cities such as Islamilia.

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South Sudan: 'Thousands Dead' In Ethnic Clashes

Mass graves have been uncovered in South Sudan amid evidence ethnic clashes have left thousands dead.

Dozens of bodies were discovered at a burial site in the country's oil-rich Unity State and there were reports of two other mass graves elsewhere.

Violence has flared in a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

The bodies in the grave are thought to be among 75 Dinkas who have gone missing.

A displaced woman lies on her belongings

Meanwhile, a journalist in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly Nuers, had been shot by security forces.

UN humanitarian chief Toby Lanzer said there was "absolutely no doubt"  that thousands of people had been killed.

His comments are the first clear indication of the scale of conflict engulfing the young nation.

Britain has sent a senior diplomat to South Sudan to assist efforts to restore peace, as the UN voted to boost the size of its force from 7,000 to 12,500.

South Sudan is the world's newest nation

Reports suggest that British nationals are among an estimated 3,000 foreigners trapped in the city of Bor, which was seized by rebels last week.

President Kiir said that government troops had now retaken control of the city.

UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the victims discovered in the grave were reportedly members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

UN soldiers on guard to protect the displaced people

She said there were unconfirmed reports of least two more mass graves in Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Juba.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have fled to the countryside, leading to warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

Tens of thousands more civilians have sought protection at badly overstretched UN bases.

At least 20,000 are sheltering at two bases in Juba, and another 17,000 in Bor, capital of the precarious eastern Jonglei state.

"The estimated number of people displaced in the current crisis in South Sudan has risen to 81,000," a UN report said.

"Given the limited access to civilians outside population centres, the number is likely to be significantly higher."                 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned warring factions that reports of crimes against humanity will be investigated.

Fighting started more than a week ago when President Kiir accused his former deputy of attempting a coup.

Mr Machar has denied the claim and has in turn accused Mr Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals.

The country has been blighted by ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty since it won independence in 2011.

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Pope Francis Warns Of 'Anti-Christian' Violence

Pope Francis has delivered his first Christmas Eve mass and called on Catholics to open their hearts and struggle against the "spirit of darkness".

As thousands flocked to the site of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the leader of the world's Roman Catholics also highlighted the role played by humble shepherds in the Nativity, saying they were "among the last, the outcast".

At the service in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis said: "If our heart is closed, if we are dominated by pride, deceit, self-seeking, then darkness falls within us."

Pope Francis holds a statue of Jesus at Christmas night mass at the Vatican

The Pope has repeatedly warned about rising rates of anti-Christian violence, and he spoke at a time when Christians from ancient communities in Syria are fleeing its bloody civil war.

The Vatican unveiled a traditional Nativity scene in St Peter's Square by Naples artisan Antonio Cantone, who named it after Francis and the mediaeval Italian saint who has inspired him, St Francis of Assisi.

Cantone said the scene was intended to highlight the role of ordinary people in witnessing Jesus' birth - homage to the "simplicity" shown by Pope Francis.

In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the Archbishop of Jerusalem Fouad Twal celebrated a midnight mass attended by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

Thousands gathered at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists made their way past Israel's controversial separation wall to reach the Palestinian hilltop town, where snow remains on the ground from a rare winter blizzard this month.

In his homily, Archbishop Twal called for a "just and equitable solution" to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For Christians "the answer lies neither in emigration nor in closing in on ourselves. It consists in staying here", said the 73-year-old patriarch.

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Archbishop To Condemn Israel At Midnight Mass

By Tom Rayner, Middle East editor

One of the most influential Catholic Bishops in the Middle East is expected to criticise Israel during the Christmas Eve midnight mass in Bethlehem.

It is thought the Latin Patriach of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, will label Israel's continued construction of illegal settlements in the Palestinian Territories an obstacle to regional stability.

Thousands of pilgrims across the world will gather to hear the mass, delivered at the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Jesus is believed to have been born in a stable more than 2,000 years ago.

The Archbishop will also call for an immediate end to conflict in Syria and to the persecution of Christians in the region.

But with negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority now resumed after years of stagnation, he is expected to take the opportunity to address the talks directly.

An Israeli Jewish settlement on disputed land near Jerusalem

At a news conference last week, Archbishop Twal said the efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry to find a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict were being "hampered by the continuous building of Israeli settlements".

Archbishiop Twal added: "As long as this problem is not resolved, the people of our region will suffer.

"While the attention has shifted from the situation in the Holy Land to the tragedy in Syria, it must be stated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains crucial to the region and is a major obstacle in the development of our society and stability in the middle east."

Israel's approval of new settlement housing units since August, when the latest round of talks began, has been criticised by many western diplomats, including John Kerry.

Father Jamal Khader, Director of the Catholic Seminary in Bethlehem, who is close to the Patriach, told Sky News he expects the message to be reiterated later today.

"What we need is freedom," he said. "What we need is independence and what we need is an end to the occupation. I think the Patriarch will call for an end to the occupation."

Bethlehem, which lies around 10km (six miles) south of Jerusalem, is governed by the Palestinian Authority but is surrounded by Israel's separation wall, check-points and numerous West Bank settlements, which are deemed illegal under international law.

US Secretary of State John Kerry

Construction of the separation wall began in 2002 as a security measure in response to waves of suicide bombings in Israel during the Second Intifada. But critics say it is also being used as a means of extending Israel's borders and confiscating Palestinian land.

While more than a million tourists have visited the town in 2013, the movement restrictions faced by those resident in the Palestinian Territories can make it difficult for Palestinian Christians to visit the Church in normal circumstances.

Over the Christmas period these restrictions have been eased, with Israel putting in place measures to allow Christians from elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza to join the celebrations.

This will include permits for 500 residents of Gaza, aged under 16 or over 35, who will be authorised to travel to Bethlehem until the end of January.

Lt Col Eyal Zeevi, Head of the Israel Defence Forces' Bethlehem District Coordination Office, said: "Israel is making a significant effort to safeguard freedom of religion in the area, facilitate participation in religious ceremonies and ensure that Christians in the region enjoy the holiday spirit."

Similar measures are also likely to be implemented in May 2014 when Pope Francis is due make a brief visit to both Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

The visit is being seen as an attempt by the Catholic Church to draw attention to the growing persecution of Christians in countries across the region.

But for Bethlehem's tourism-dependent economy, it also promises to be a blessing, with the likelihood of thousands more pilgrims heading to the town, where the Pope will hold the only public mass of his visit.

In his Christmas message, President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, said he welcomed the visit and hoped the Pope would "spread the message of justice and peace for the Palestinians".

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US Marines Poised As South Sudan Unrest Grows

The US is moving additional troops to Africa as South Sudan seems to be sliding towards civil war.

South Sudan's army was poised for a major offensive against rebel forces, the president said on Monday.

Expectations of an upsurge in fighting came as the United Nations warned that the situation in the world's youngest nation was fast unravelling, with hundreds of thousands of civilians now at risk.

The commander of the US military's Africa Command decided to move up to 150 Marines from Spain to a base in Djibouti in the event the US State Department requests additional assistance, a senior US defence official said.

A defence official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the extra forces moving to Djibouti will bring the total US troops in the region to 150, with 10 aircraft.

Additionally, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he would urge the Security Council to boost the number of personnel serving in the UN mission in South Sudan.

Hoping to beef up the mission's protection, the UN secretary general called for "additional troops, police and logistical assets," although he did not specify numbers.

The UN Security Council will hold emergency consultations on the situation in South Sudan later Monday, the French mission to the world body said.

In South Sudan's capital Juba the UN and aid agencies are helping 20,000 refugees in two camps and have distributed food to 7,000 refugees seeking shelter at a UN base in Bentiu.

Rebel forces under former vice president Riek Machar have taken control of Bor and Bentiu and the remaining South Sudanese army loyal to President Salva Kiir is readying an assault.

Mr Machar told Reuters on Monday he was ready for dialogue to end the conflict.

Mr Machar said he had spoken on Monday to Ethiopia's foreign minister, leader of a team of African mediators trying to end more than a week of fighting that has killed hundreds of people and driven thousands from their homes.

Mr Machar has said he aspires to be president. When asked if he would demand that post in any talks, he said: "Well, that needs to be agreed. The dialogue is not a dialogue of the deaf for one party, it is the dialogue of two parties in conflict."

Mr Kiir has said he is ready for talks with Mr Machar "without preconditions," the US special envoy to the country, Donald Booth, said on Monday.

"I had a frank and open discussion with President Salva Kiir," Booth, in Juba, told reporters in Washington. "Importantly, President Kiir committed to me that he was ready to begin talks with Riek Machar to end the crisis without preconditions as soon as his counterpart is willing."

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Egypt: 14 Dead In Police Headquarters Explosion

At least 14 people have been killed in an explosion at a police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Mansoura, officials have said.

The powerful blast, believed to have been caused by a car bomb, injured around 100 others, state media reported.

The explosion took place just after 1am at the regional security headquarters in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya, collapsing part of the five-floor building.

The blast damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked nearby cars

Most of those killed are understood to have been police officers who were inside the building at the time of the blast. 

The explosion reportedly damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked dozens of vehicles.

Security forces cordoned off the area, closed major entrances and exits to the city and set up checkpoints. State TV called on residents to rush to hospitals to donate blood.

Egypt's interim government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating the attack, branding it a "terrorist organisation".

Prime Minister Hazem el Beblawi expressed condolences to the families of the victims and vowed the perpetrators would "not escape justice".

The attack comes a day after an al Qaeda-inspired group called on police and army personnel to desert or face death at the hands of its fighters.

It was the first major attack in the Nile Delta, spreading the carnage to a new area and bringing it closer to Cairo.

Previous violence that has killed scores of people has taken place in Sinai or in Suez Canal-area cities such as Islamilia.

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British Airways Plane 'Crash' In Johannesburg

A British Airways plane has crashed into a building at Johannesburg Airport in South Africa.

The aircraft, carrying 182 passengers, sliced its wing through the building while taxiing on the runway, BA confirmed.

Posting on Twitter, the airline said: "One of our aircraft was damaged whilst taxiing at JNB airport. All 182 passengers disembarked safely with no injuries onboard."

There has so far been no comment made on whether anyone was injured in the building or on the ground.

The plane involved is believed to be a Boeing 747.

British Airways says nobody in the plane was injured. Pic: John Hart

Harriet Tolputt, Oxfam's head of Media, who was on the flight, posted pictures of the incident on Twitter.

She wrote: "BA plane crashes into building at J Burg airport. No one injured only the pilot's pride ... Not impressed that first class passengers get off before premium economy during an emergency."

Johannesburg Airport said it would be able to provide more information on the incident later in the morning.

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Paris Bar Pair Shot Dead At Point-Blank Range

A man and a woman have been shot dead in a Paris bar by a gunman who then fled the scene on foot.

The two were shot at point-blank range with one bullet each, police said.

They were sitting outside the Cafe Chineur in a residential area of the French capital's southern 14th arrondissement when the attack happened.

They tried to take refuge inside, but died as a result of their wounds. The two victims have not been named.

A local resident, who lives across the street from the bar, said: "I saw a trail of blood that went from the entrance to the inside."

Police investigator Jean-Jacques Herlem called the shooting "mysterious" and said no motive for the attack has yet been established.

Paris mayoral candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, who lives nearby, went to the scene after learning of the shooting from friends.

"My children go to two schools in the neighbourhood. I'm shocked," she said.

"It's impossible not to make the connection with the growing concerns over security issues, even if we don't know anything at this stage."

France occasionally sees fatal attacks by armed criminals in bars, most often in southern cities such as Marseille, but sometimes also in Paris, though in places well away from the heavily policed centre favoured by tourists.

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Pussy Riot Member Freed From Russian Prison

One of the jailed members of punk band Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, has been freed after being granted amnesty.

Ms Alyokhina, who was found guilty of hooliganism after a performance critical of President Vladimir Putin, walked free under an amnesty allowing her early release from a two-year prison sentence.

Her lawyer Irina Khrunova said she was released from the prison colony outside the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod this morning and immediately went to meet a group of human rights activists.

Ms Alyokhina was sentenced alongside fellow bandmates Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich over the performance at Moscow's main cathedral in March 2012.

Ms Samutsevich was released several months later on a suspended sentence.

The band insisted that their protest was meant to raise their concern about increasingly close ties between the state and the church.

The Russian parliament passed an amnesty bill last week, allowing the release of thousands of inmates.

Ms Alyokhina and Ms Tolokonnikova qualify for the amnesty because they have small children.

The amnesty has been largely viewed as the Kremlin's attempt to soothe criticism of Russia's human rights records ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.

Ms Tolokonnikova, who is serving time in a Siberian prison, is also expected to be released this week, her husband Pyotr Verzilov said.

Both bandmates were scheduled to be released in March.

Russia's Supreme Court earlier this month ordered a review of the Pussy Riot case, saying that a lower court did not fully prove their guilt and did not take their family circumstances into consideration when passing on the verdict.

More follows...

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Lockerbie 25th Anniversary: Victims Remembered

Special memorial services to mark the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing have taken place in England, Scotland and the US.

Pan Am flight 103 was on its way from London to New York when it exploded above Lockerbie, in southern Scotland, on the evening of December 21 1988, killing 270 people - everyone on board and 11 on the ground.

Simultaneous remembrance services took place in Lockerbie, Westminster Abbey in London and Arlington National Cemetery in the US - where most of the victims were from.

The names of those killed were read out at Westminster Abbey

Relatives read the names of the victims following a minute's silence at 7.03pm (2.03pm EST in the US), marking exactly a quarter of a century since the tragedy.

Another service also took place at Syracuse University in New York state, from where 35 students were killed in the bombing as they returned from studies in Europe.

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the bombing as "one of the worst aviation disasters in history and the deadliest act of terrorism" ever committed in the UK.

He said: "Though 25 years have passed, memories of the 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 Lockerbie residents who lost their lives on that terrible night have not dimmed.

Family members look for the names of loved ones on the Arlington memorial

"Today our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at Lockerbie that night."

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the disaster, told Sky News: "Anniversaries aren't in a sense that big a deal for the families of victims because we have to live with the lovely memories of those that we lost all that time ago, every day of every year.

"Bereavement in itself is sometimes a life sentence."

Graham Herbert, former rector at Lockerbie Academy which lost three students in the atrocity, said the market town "has always tried to move forward".

A speaker during the service at the national cemetery in Virginia

He told Sky News: "I know today there will be a lot of closed doors. A lot of people will not go out of their houses. The memories are just too bitter, there are still open wounds there."

Jane Schultz lost her 20-year-old son Thomas, who was part of the Syracuse University group on board the flight.

She told Sky News: "In my heart, to me this is home and there was no other place I felt I should be on this very sad and special occasion.

"I wanted to be here to honour my son as well as the 269 other victims and I wanted to stand in the place where my son took his last breath and say a small prayer."

Eleven people were killed on the ground in Lockerbie

Libyan Abdelbaset al Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing in January 2001 and given a life sentence.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, leading to a decision to free him under compassionate release rules.

Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill took that decision on August 20 the following year, sparking a row among politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

Megrahi died in Tripoli, Libya in May last year. His family is considering lodging a fresh appeal to clear his name.

Abdelbaset al Megrahi was the only person to be convicted of the bombing

British relatives of victims who believe he was wrongfully convicted of the bombing are also planning another appeal against the conviction when they meet with lawyers in the new year.

A joint statement from the UK, US and Libyan governments said they remained committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

It said: "We want all those responsible for this most brutal act of terrorism brought to justice, and to understand why it was committed. We are committed to cooperate fully in order to reveal the full facts of the case."

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South Sudan Conflict: Last UK Airlift Mission

The UK is to charter its third and final flight to evacuate British nationals from the troubled East African state as fighting spreads.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the plane would be sent to the capital city of Juba on Monday afternoon and warned that the government would struggle to help anyone who chose to stay behind.

An FCO spokesman said: "We strongly advise all British nationals in South Sudan to leave the country if they can do so safely. You may have difficulty leaving in the event of a further deterioration in security."

It comes as US President Barack Obama said any effort in South Sudan to seize power through military force will lead America and others to cut off support.

"This conflict can only be resolved peacefully through negotiations," the White House said in a statement.

Two previous planes have provided an escape route for British nationals

"Any effort to seize power through the use of military force will result in the end of longstanding support from the United States and the international community."

British military transport planes have been used to evacuate two groups of UK nationals over recent days.

On Saturday, a US rescue plane was hit by incoming fire leaving four American service personnel injured.

Officials said the aircraft was heading for an evacuation site in Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and the scene of some of the country's worst violence in the past week.

After being fired at it reportedly turned around and headed to Kampala in Uganda. From there the wounded service personnel were flown to Nairobi, Kenya, for medical treatment.

Some of South Sudan's worst violence has taken place in Bor

South Sudan blamed the attack on renegade troops.

Fighting broke out in the South Sudanese capital Juba between rival army factions last weekend following a reported coup attempt against President Salva Kiir Mayardit by soldiers loyal to his former deputy.

The violence has since spread to other regions and has claimed at least 500 lives, according to the United Nations.

Kenya said on Saturday it was sending troops to South Sudan to evacuate some 1,600 citizens. Many are trapped in Bor, which has been taken by rebels.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has "ordered the KDF (Kenya Defence Force) to commence immediate evacuation of the 1,600 Kenyans stranded in South Sudan", a spokesman said in a statement.

Up to 500 people are thought to have been killed since the reported coup

"Despite the relative calm in Juba, a number of other South Sudan towns have come under fire," he added, saying that Kenyans "are mainly in the town of Bor".

Others, in the towns of Rumbek, Ayod, and Panyabol "will also be airlifted to safety."

"The president has also ordered the immediate delivery of food, water and medicine to South Sudan (to help) tackle the emergency," the spokesman added.

"The delivery of these emergency supplies started this morning. Kenyan military aircraft are delivering consignments to South Sudan."

Kenya, which hosted the peace talks that ended the 1983-2005 civil war in Sudan, and which paved the way for South Sudan's independence two years ago, is also supporting efforts to end the latest crisis.

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Colorado School Shooting: Teen Victim Dies

A Colorado student has died in hospital more than a week after she was shot by a high school classmate.

Claire Esther Davis, 17, had been in a coma since she was gunned down at point-blank range at Arapahoe High School in Centennial.

Friends and well-wishers had been posting messages online, and raising money to pay for her medical care.

Authorities say Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, entered the Arapahoe High School armed with a shotgun, a machete and three Molotov cocktails on December 13.

Officials said Pierson had been kicked off the school's debate team and apparently bore a grudge towards the team's coach.

His attack lasted just 80 seconds. He reportedly fired one bullet down a school hallway, before shooting Ms Davis, who was sitting nearby with a friend.

Pierson then turned the gun on himself and inflicted a fatal gunshot wound.

A student stands outside the Arapahoe High School in Colorado

A statement posted on the Littleton Adventist Hospital's Facebook page confirmed Ms Davis' death.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share that at 4.29pm (local time) this afternoon, Claire Davis passed away, with her family at her side," the statement said.

"Despite the best efforts of our physicians and nursing staff, and Claire's fighting spirit, her injuries were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life.

"Claire's death is immensely heartbreaking for our entire community, our staff and our families."

The hospital said that details about a public memorial service would be released later.

The shooting took place just a few miles from the site of last year's Aurora cinema shooting that left 12 people dead and scores wounded during a Batman movie screening.

The school is also located close to the scene of the 1999 Columbine shooting in which 13 were shot dead.

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Russia's Khodorkovsky 'Glad' To Be Free

A Russian oil tycoon has denied that he had admitted guilt in his request for a presidential pardon after being released from a prison camp.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once the richest man in the country, was freed within an hour of the Kremlin publishing a decree and boarded a flight to Berlin, where his ill mother is being treated.

In the first statement since his release, Mr Khodorkovsky said: "On November 12, I turned to the president of Russia with a request for a pardon associated with family circumstances, and am glad about the positive decision. The issue of my guilt was not addressed."

Mr Khodorkovsky has been in prison since 2003 after being convicted in two trials on charges including fraud and embezzlement.

Mr Khodorkovsky spent a decade behind bars

He previously said he would not request a presidential pardon because he would be seen to be admitting guilt.

However, the newspaper Kommersant reported that he changed his mind after a meeting with Russian security services, who raised the possibility of a third trial and warned him that his mother's health was deteriorating.

"This conversation, which was conducted without lawyers, forced Mr Khodorkovsky to turn to the president," the article said.

He also thanked former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who was the top diplomat of West Germany and then Germany from 1974-1992, for aiding his release.

Mr Putin meets Mr Khodorkovsky at the Kremlin in May 2001

Berlin worked "behind the scenes" for Mr Khodorkovsky release, said German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Mr Putin surprised journalists at the end of his annual end-of-year news conference on Thursday by announcing that he was planning to pardon Mr Khodorkovsky.

"Guided by humanitarian principles, I decree that Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky ... should be pardoned and freed from any further punishment in the form of imprisonment," his decree said.

The circumstances surrounding the pardon remained unclear.

Mr Khodorkovsky has been held at a prison camp in Segezha, northwest Russia

A Russian government source said freeing his best-known and potentially most powerful critic could deflect international complaints about Vladimir Putin's human rights record as Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympics at Sochi in seven weeks.

He fell out with Mr Putin as the president clipped the wings of wealthy oligarchs who had become powerful during the chaotic years of Boris Yeltsin's rule following the collapse of Soviet communism.

Mr Khodorkovsky has given no indication of his future plans, saying only he wanted to meet his loved ones.

"I am very much looking forward to the minute when I will be able to embrace my loved ones and personally shake hands with all my friends and associates," he said.

"First of all I am going to repay my debt to my parents, my wife and my children, and I am very much looking forward to meeting them.

"I will welcome the opportunity to celebrate this upcoming holiday season with my family."

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Obama: NSA Spying Sweeps May Be Reviewed

President Barack Obama has suggested that surveillance methods used by US intelligence services may be reviewed following further spying revelations.

According to documents leaked by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, Britain and America monitored EU officials and the Israeli Prime Minister.

Speaking at a news conference at the White House, Mr Obama suggested that he may be ready to make some changes to the way phone records are collected.

Among dozens of recommendations he is considering, he hinted that he may strip the National Security Agency of its ability to store data in its own facilities and instead shift that storage to private phone companies.

"There are ways we can do it potentially, that gives people greater assurance that they're checks and balances, that there is sufficient oversight, sufficient transparency," Mr Obama said.

The new documents leaked by Mr Snowden reveal heads of state and international organisations were the focus of US and British spies.

The agents targeted a senior European Union official, German government buildings, and the office of a former Israeli prime minister, according to the papers published on Friday.

Other targets from 2008 to 2011 included foreign energy companies and aid organisations, according to The Guardian and The New York Times, citing secret documents from the former NSA contractor.

Mr Snowden's leaks have exposed the reported surveillance activities of the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ, the alleged extent of which has upset many US allies and fuelled a heated debate about the balance between privacy and security.

Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert

He is living in Russia under temporary asylum.

The newspapers reported that in January 2009, GCHQ and the NSA had targeted an email address listed as belonging to the Israeli prime minister, who at the time was Ehud Olmert.

Spies also monitored email traffic between then-Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak and his chief of staff, Yoni Koren, the newspapers said.

Other targets were said to include the United Nations Children's Fund, French aid organisation Medecins du Monde, French oil and gas firm Total, and French defence company Thales Group.

An NSA spokeswoman said the agency did not use espionage to help US businesses.

"We do not use our foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of - or give intelligence we collect to - US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line," the spokeswoman said.

The European Commission said if it was true one of its senior officials had been targeted it would be "unacceptable".

"This piece of news follows a series of other revelations which, as we clearly stated in the past, if proven true, are unacceptable and deserve our strongest condemnation," a spokesman said.

The Guardian said the disclosure that GCHQ had targeted German government buildings in Berlin was embarrassing for British Prime Minister David Cameron since he had signed an EU statement condemning the NSA's spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel.

GCHQ said it was aware of the reports but did not comment on intelligence matters.

A spokesman said: "Our work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate."

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Lockerbie Anniversary: PM Praises Victims

David Cameron has paid tribute to the "fortitude and resilience" of those affected by the Lockerbie bombing as memorial services marking the 25th anniversary of the atrocity take place today.

Pan Am flight 103 was on its way from London to New York when it exploded above Lockerbie, in southern Scotland, on the evening of December 21 1988, killing 270 people - everyone on board and 11 on the ground.

The Prime Minister described it as "one of the worst aviation disasters in history and the deadliest act of terrorism" ever committed in the UK.

He said: "Though 25 years have passed, memories of the 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 Lockerbie residents who lost their lives on that terrible night have not dimmed.

"Over the last quarter of a century much attention has been focused on the perpetrators of the atrocity. Today our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at Lockerbie that night.

"To families, friends, neighbours, loved ones, and all those caught up in the painful process of recovery, let us say to them: our admiration for you is unconditional. For the fortitude and resilience you have shown. For your determination never to give up. You have shown that terrorist acts cannot crush the human spirit. That is why terrorism will never prevail.

"And even in the darkest moments of grief, it is possible to glimpse the flickering flame of hope."

Eleven people were killed on the ground in Lockerbie

Memorial events attended by politicians, officials, families and members of the community will take place in Lockerbie, London and in the US where most of the 270 victims were from.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Lord Wallace, Advocate General for Scotland, will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Dryfesdale Cemetery in the Dumfries and Galloway town.

Mr Salmond said: "As the community of Lockerbie marks the milestone, memorial events will be held in Westminster Abbey, Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and at Syracuse University which lost 35 students in the bombing.

"But, inevitably, a focus of the day will be on the memorial in Lockerbie and it is there that I will pay my respects and condolences on behalf of the people of Scotland."

Abdelbaset al Megrahi was the only person to be convicted of the bombing

Libyan Abdelbaset al Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing in January 2001 and given a life sentence.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, leading to a decision to free him under compassionate release rules.

Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill took that decision on August 20 the following year, sparking a row among politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

Megrahi died in Tripoli, Libya in May last year.

Despite the guilty verdict and Megrahi's decision to drop a subsequent appeal against conviction, politicians, campaigners and families of victims are still dealing with the impact, with some of the British relatives considering another appeal against his conviction when they meet with lawyers in the new year.

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Putin To Pardon Jailed Tycoon Khodorkovsky

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

Russia's president Vladimir Putin says jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky will soon be pardoned after more than a decade in prison.

Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky has become its most famous political prisoner.

He was arrested at gunpoint on board his private jet in 2003 and convicted on charges of tax evasion and fraud.

But many believe his real crime was to challenge Mr Putin, publicly questioning him during a televised Kremlin meeting, and emerging as a potential political rival.

Khodorkovsky was sent to a prison camp in Siberia, before being transferred to a remote penal colony in Russia's far north.

Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience.

Mr Putin has previously singled Khodorkovsky out for bitter personal attacks, saying, "A thief should sit in jail".

But as he left his annual press conference, he casually mentioned to reporters that he was minded to pardon him soon.

The Russian leader said: "He has been in jail already more than ten years, this is a serious punishment.

"He cites humanitarian reasons. His mother is ill." 

"I decided that with these circumstances in mind, it is necessary to take a decision, and in the near future a decree pardoning him will be signed."

It was not clear why he had not mentioned it in the previous four hours' questioning, despite being asked directly about the Khodorkovsky case.

The president said the ex-tycoon had been through 'serious punishment'

Khodorkovsky has vehemently maintained his innocence over the last decade, refusing to ask for a pardon that could be construed as an admission of guilt.

One of his legal team initially denied that a pardon had been sought, and a spokesperson said he could not confirm whether the report was true.

He said: "Until his legal team can meet with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, it cannot be commented on whether a request on a pardon was made, by whom and for what reasons.

"All of his family and supporters would of course be elated to see him finally free after 10 years of imprisonment."

His son, Pavel Khodorkovsky, tweeted: "Very happy news.  Waiting to speak with my father to learn more."

Russian stocks rose 1.3% after Mr Putin's announcement.

Investors have long viewed the treatment of the former oligarch as evidence of the weakness of property rights and rule of law in Russia.

But critics said the move, which follows a high-profile amnesty announced on Wednesday, was part of a concerted PR exercise, attempting to sanitise Russia's human rights record ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February. 

Charges have been dropped against 30 Greenpeace crew arrested after a protest in the Russian Arctic, and Russian punk band Pussy Riot, jailed for an anti-Putin stunt inside a Moscow Cathedral are due to be released from prison.

Putin said he hoped Russia's response would 'serve as a lesson' to Greenpeace and that the country would take tough steps to defend its interests in the region in future.

He said he felt pity for the jailed Pussy Riot band members, not because they were in prison, but because they had "started to engage in activities which are degrading and humiliating for women".

Reacting to Mr Putin's comments, Khodorkovsky's mother, who will turn 80 next year, said she had only just heard the reports and was not aware that her son had asked for a pardon.

Khodorkovsky is held in Penal Colony No. 7

She said: "I want to believe he will pardon him. I want to believe Putin is not totally lost."

Khodorkovsky answered Sky News' questions from inside his prison camp earlier this year.

Responding via his legal team, he said: "Jail is a great leveller. I lost much when I came into jail, many people arrive having had so little, they barely notice the difference."

"It makes it equal in a funny sort of way."

We asked him to describe his daily life in Penal Colony No. 7 - a dilapidated camp in the remote Karelia region, notorious for its Stalin-era gulag.

He said: "We are held in barracks with 100-150 people in a barrack; the sleeping quarters are two square metres per person; it is warm in the barrack, this is very important.

"Overnight it is quiet, the light remains on, and an inspector walks inside the facility once every two hours. But this does not bother me.

"Clothing is issued and laundered.  There is a common toilet, but it is clean.  I shower once a week. I can see traces of meat in the food regularly; fresh vegetables - sometimes in the prison shop.

"I receive a parcel once every two months from home; 20kg.  I ask for nuts, dried fruits and coffee. After 10 years you get experienced looking after your health."

Khodorkovsky turned 50 in prison earlier this year and was due to be freed in August 2014, despite rumours of a third case being prepared against him.

Asked about his prospects for release in October, he replied: "Over 10 years I have become convinced that in my case nothing is impossible.

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