Bomb kills Lebanon PLO official

Advertisement

People rush to help the injured

A roadside bomb in Lebanon has killed a senior Palestinian official and three others, said to be bodyguards, close to Mieh Mieh refugee camp near Sidon.

Kamal Medhat, a member of the Fatah faction, was the deputy representative of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Lebanon.

The bomb blew one car off the road and badly damaged another, scattering burning debris.

There was no immediate indication of who may have been behind the attack.

Kamal Medhat recently attended a memorial for dead Hezbollah fighters

"It is not possible to speculate on who committed this crime," Osama Hamdan, a representative in Lebanon of the Palestinian group Hamas, told al-Manar television, which is backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Mr Hamdan added that Mr Medhat had played a role in helping to ease tensions among Palestinian groups.

Lebanon's crowded and poorly developed camps, housing families expelled from what became Israel in 1948, are prone to violent unrest and insecurity.

Two people were killed in a gun battle in Mieh Mieh camp on Saturday.

'Terrorist crime'

Unconfirmed reports say the PLO's chief representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, had also been due to visit the camp but was not hit by the blast.

"The bomb was apparently hidden in a little shed on the side of the road and was detonated as Medhat's convoy drove by," a Lebanese army spokesman told AFP news agency.

The force of the blast tore through the Mercedes in which Mr Medhat was travelling and threw the car into a nearby field, witnesses said.

Reuters news agency reported that the bomb was planted under a manhole cover.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing as an act of terrorism, Reuters added.

"President Abbas condemns the terrorist crime that targeted Maj Gen Kamal Medhat," a statement issued by his office said.

"He dedicated his life to serve his people and his cause."

Initial reports of the attack said four people were killed along with the PLO official.

Big websites urged to avoid Phorm

The ad-serving system profiles the sites people visit online

Seven of the UK's biggest web firms have been urged to opt out of a controversial ad-serving system.

Phorm - aka Webwise - profiles users' browsing habits and serves up adverts based on which sites they visit.

In an open letter, the Open Rights Group (ORG) has asked the firms to block Phorm's attempts to profile their sites, to thwart the profiling system.

Before now, Phorm has defended its technology saying that it does not break data interception laws.

Legal view

Chief privacy officers at Microsoft, Google/Youtube, Facebook, AOL/Bebo, Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay have been sent copies of the letter by the digital rights campaign group.

In it, ORG urges the seven to protect their users' privacy by refusing to work with Phorm.

We cannot really see that they have had consent off people to use it Jim Killock, ORG

It says many members of the public have "very significant concerns" about the way that Phorm collects and processes data about their web-browsing habits.

The campaign group pointed out that more than 21,000 people had signed a petition asking for Phorm to be investigated and banned if it was found to break European laws on personal privacy.

The Phorm system works by looking at the web traffic generated by a person as they move around the web, and then serving up adverts based on their browsing history.

While people can opt out of Phorm, their web traffic will still pass through the system.

In the UK, BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk have expressed in using Phorm. BT has conducted several trials and has declared its intent to deploy the system.

Balanced judgement

Jim Killock, director of ORG, said it sent the letter to highlight that it was not just webpages prepared by commercial organisations that would be analysed and profiled by Phorm.

Web creator Tim Berners-Lee has warned against web snooping

Information that people put on social networking sites, in blogs or on their own websites would be used by Phorm to profile someone else's browsing habits.

"Because it's a webpage, it can be read and used in that system," said Mr Killock.

He said UK laws on intercepting data called for consent from the owner of the data to have it used in this way.

"We cannot really see that they have had consent off people to use it," he said.

Phorm was given a qualified legal all-clear by the Information Commissioner in early 2008. He ruled that the firm had not breached guidelines on the use of personal data or the methods it used to monitor those enrolled in the system.

However, the Commissioner said Phorm would have to get permission from users if the data collected was used for "value added services".

A spokeswoman for Phorm said it was aware of the ORG letter, and added that most of the firms it had been sent to were already using the interest-based advertising it offered.

"Many of them have, like Phorm, demonstrated their commitment to user privacy as signatories to the IAB UK's interest-based advertising good practice principles," she added.

Israel's Netanyahu signs up Shas

Likud now has two coalition partners from the far right and religious right

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish party Shas has signed an agreement to join the Israeli coalition being put together by Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Netanyahu has a deadline of 3 April to build his coalition government.

He has already reached a deal with far-right leader Avigdor Lieberman and talks are planned with Labour, headed by Ehud Barak, and other small parties.

He plans to build a broad based team, or failing that a coalition of right-wing and Jewish nationalist parties

Talks have so far not proved successful with the largest party in the 10 February election - Kadima - which insists Mr Netanyahu sign up to the two-state formula which has underpinned more than 15 years of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Analysts say a right-wing coalition would be more susceptible to political extortion by small hard-line parties.

Last week Mr Netanyahu requested and received approval from President Shimon Peres for a two-week extension to build a national unity coalition.

"The creation of such a government is all the more important in view of... the grave [security] threats and economic crisis," the president's office quoted Mr Netanyahu as saying.

Mr Netanyahu has said Israel faces "great challenges" including the global economic crisis and what he said was Iran's wish to obtain nuclear weapons.

Coalition calculation

Netanyahu came second in polling but was more likely to build a coalition

The centrist Kadima narrowly defeated Likud in the election held on 10 February, but Mr Netanyahu has the support of the religious and right-wing parties which make up more than half of Israel's parliament.

Shas has been joined many past Israeli governments as a junior coalition member. It has been successful at representing and advancing the the interests of religious Jews of Sephardic extraction.

Yaakov Margi MP said Shas - which in the past has opposed negotiations with the Palestinians on certain subjects - would examine every diplomatic issues "on its merits".

"We never represented ourselves as being opposed to the peace process," he told Israel Radio.

Yisrael Beiteinu was placed third in elections ahead of Labour and is a strong supporter of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, seen as illegal under international law and a major obstacle to a peace deal.

With his latest deal, Mr Netanyahu now has support of 53 MPs - with 27 Likudniks, 15 from Yisrael Beitenu and 11 from Shas - in the 120-seat parliament.

If Labour adds its name to the list that would make a relatively strong formation of 66 deputies.

Otherwise, Mr Netanyahu could bring in the 12 members of three far-right Jewish nationalist parties, National Union, United Torah Judaism and Jewish Home.

---

Probe launched into Montana crash

The plane crashed close to the town airport

US officials have launched an inquiry into the cause of a plane crash in Montana, in which at least 16 people died, reportedly including children.

The light aircraft nosedived into a cemetery near the town of Butte on Sunday. There were no survivors.

The pilot was flying from Oroville, California, when he diverted to Butte, the FAA said. He tried to land but crashed 500ft (150m) from the airport.

Reports say the dead included children who were going on a ski trip.

There was nothing left of it... You wouldn't even know a plane was there Eyewitness Steve Guidoni

"We are just beginning our investigation," National Transportaion Safety Board investigator Kristi Dunks told a news conference in Butte late on Sunday.

"We don't have a lot of information at this time," he added.

FAA officials said earlier the plane - a Pilatus PC-12 Swiss-made turboprop aircraft - crashed at approximately 1527 local time (2127 GMT) on Sunday in cloudy weather conditions.

The local airport has a short runway and is not easy to land at because it is surrounded by mountains, John Emeigh, a reporter for The Montana Standard newspaper, told the BBC.

Reports suggest the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a destination of Bozeman, a ski destination about 85 miles (136km) south-east of Butte.

But the pilot cancelled his flight plan at some point and diverted for Butte, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Mike Fergus said.

The children on board had probably been looking forward to a ski trip, Mr Fergus said.

Eyewitness account

Local resident Steve Guidoni said he saw the plane nosedive into the ground as he was driving by the cemetery.

"It just went straight into the ground. I went over there to try to help. I thought maybe I would pull someone out of the fire," Mr Guidoni was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"It smelled like diesel fuel to me. There was nothing left of it... You wouldn't even know a plane was there," he said.

---

Are you in the area? Did you witness the crash? Have you been affected by this news?

Send your comments using the post form below.

In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.

Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

Name

Your E-mail address

Town & Country

Phone number (optional):

Comments

The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide.

Terms & Conditions

Sri Lanka clinic gets vital drugs

By Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Colombo

Many civilians have been forced to flee the fighting

A consignment of essential medicines has been received by the last remaining major health facility in rebel-held territory in north-east Sri Lanka.

Doctors had feared they would be forced to close the makeshift hospital due to a severe shortage of vital drugs.

But they say the delivery will help keep it open for at least two weeks.

International concern is rising over the condition of tens of thousands of civilians caught up in fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.

See map of the region

This was the first consignment of medicines sent to the hospital in the conflict zone in north-eastern Sri Lanka in over two weeks.

'Lives at risk'

More than 50 essential medical items from the government, including vaccines for children, were delivered to the hospital at Putumatalan in Mullaitivu district with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The senior health official in the region, Dr T Varatharaja, said they were very happy to receive the supplies, which would help them run the hospital for a couple more weeks.

Doctors had earlier said the facility had almost stopped functioning due to the shortage of medicines, putting the lives of hundreds of sick and war-wounded at risk.

Dr Varatharaja also says that despite repeated requests they had not been sent the anaesthetic and blood bags required for surgery in the latest consignment.

The government maintains that it continues to send the required medicine and food to civilians trapped inside rebel-controlled territory.

Meanwhile, the defence ministry said more than 1,000 civilians fled the war zone and reached government-controlled areas on Saturday.

MAP OF THE REGION Click here to return

Chavez cuts budget over oil price

President Chavez urged Venezuelans to be "more realistic"

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has unveiled a series of measures to offset falling oil revenues that account for about 50% of the national budget.

He proposed to cut the 2009 budget by 6.7% and increase sales taxes.

Mr Chavez also pledged salary cuts for senior public officials, but a 20% rise in the minimum wage.

His announcement came shortly after the government had sent army to take control of the country's key airports and sea ports.

The government says the move - which was rubber-stamped by parliament a week ago - centralises the running of the country's main transport hubs.

Opponents say the move is unconstitutional, accusing Mr Chavez of consolidating power.

Government spending cuts

In a televised address on Saturday, President Chavez said that the revised 2009 budget would be based on oil prices at $40 (

'Deadly' stampede at Pope speech

By Louise Redvers BBC News, Luanda

More than 50,000 people came to hear the Pope in Luanda

Two people have been reportedly killed in a stampede in a crowd that gathered at a football stadium in Angola for an address by Pope Benedict XVI.

Reports say eight other people were injured and 10 more people required medical assistance at Luanda's Coqueiros Stadium.

More than 50,000 people turned out to hear the Pope in the Angolan capital.

If confirmed, the deaths will no doubt sour what has been a hugely colourful papal visit to the African country.

A girl and a boy were crushed as they tried to enter the stadium gates, according to Portugal's Lusa news agency.

They were taken to hospital by ambulance but declared dead on arrival.

A number of other people are also said to have been injured in the stampede.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he was aware of the report but was unable to confirm any details.

No-one from the police or hospital was available for comment.

Huge crowds have turned out at every opportunity to see Pope Benedict in Angola, and on Sunday he is due to give to a mass for two million people outside a cement factory.

Security there will now no doubt be tighter than ever.

Iraq kidnappers send latest video

Peter Moore was seen in an earlier video last year

The kidnappers of five Britons held in Iraq for nearly two years have sent a new video of the captives to the British embassy in Baghdad.

The video shows one hostage, Peter Moore, saying the five are being treated well, Channel 4 News said. He calls for their release.

The video was shot eight days ago and has not been released to the media.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman did not give details but said it was a "significant development".

Retaliatory kidnap

The spokesman said: "Needless to say we are continuing to work actively for the safe release of all of the hostages."

The five Britons, whose names have never been officially released, were seized by a group of around 40 gunmen wearing police uniforms at the Iraqi Finance Ministry in Baghdad in May 2007.

At the time, the kidnapping was blamed on members of the Mahdi Army, a radical Shia militia controlled by outspoken cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The kidnapping is thought to have been carried out after British troops killed the militia's commander in Basra, in southern Iraq, a week before.

In February 2008 a video was released in which Mr Moore said: "My name is Peter Moore, I have been held here for nearly eight months now."

Does Kuwait need a political revamp?

By Rami Ruhayem BBC Arabic Service

MPs can grill the prime minister, but he is also a member of the royal family

If regular elections are a sign of a functioning democracy, politics in Kuwait are in excellent health.

Only 10 months after the last parliamentary elections were held in the oil-rich emirate, Kuwaitis will once again head to the polls, following the decision by the Emir to dissolve parliament.

Since 1991, Kuwaitis have voted six times - in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2008.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah's decision this time was taken after a familiar crisis crippled the country's political system.

Opposition MPs were eager to question the prime minister over allegations of government corruption and mishandling of economic policy.

Rather than face questioning, the prime minister handed in his resignation.

As head of state and the country's highest political authority, the Emir stepped in, dissolved parliament and called new elections.

He also addressed the nation and delivered a scathing critique of what he saw as abuse by some MPs of their right to question the prime minister, which led to a "distortion of Kuwaiti freedom and democracy".

Force of tradition

The reason Kuwaitis are being called back to the polls so frequently is that the underlying reason for the crises is never addressed.

The public grilling process, which could lead to a vote of confidence in the prime minister, is seen by many as too humiliating for a member of the ruling family.

Analysts stress that from a legal perspective the MPs, however aggressive in their questioning, are within their constitutional rights.

The constitution must be revamped to allow a true parliamentary system in which the government is elected Nasser al-AbdaliKuwait Society for Development of Democracy

But the force of tradition and respect for the ruling family stops the process of questioning in its tracks.

Observers speak of two possible solutions to this problem.

The first is installing a "popular government", a term used in Kuwait to describe a cabinet without members of the ruling family.

Supporters say that that would end the sensitivity about holding prime ministers and ministers to account.

The second solution, diametrically opposed to the first, is for the Emir to appoint the crown prince as prime minister. If this were to happen, the difficulty of questioning him would increase tenfold.

The crown prince, after all, is not merely a member of the ruling family, but also the future ruler of the country.

'Fundamental change'

Regardless of the election results, it is the Emir who will appoint the prime minister, and critics say that this lies at the heart of the problem.

Nasser al-Abdali, the head of the Kuwait Society for Development of Democracy, told the AFP news agency that "'fundamental change" is needed to the system in Kuwait.

"The constitution must be revamped to allow a true parliamentary system in which the government is elected," he said.

"If nothing happens, we will return to square one after the elections and have the same crises."

Many Kuwaitis take pride in the fact that Kuwait was, in 1962, the first gulf state to adopt a parliamentary democracy and a constitution.

The recurring crises, however, suggest that as it stands, Kuwait's version of parliamentary democracy perpetuates deadlock which only the Emir can break, until the next crisis comes along.

Renault jobs row rocks EU summit

Renault says it is shifting some production to France to meet demand

A new row over French protectionism has broken out, as EU leaders hold a summit in Brussels on the economic crisis.

It followed the news that carmaker Renault was moving some production from Slovenia to create 400 jobs in France.

The European Commission said it would seek urgent clarification. It comes only weeks after the EU agreed France could give state aid to its carmakers.

The row may overshadow an EU pledge to double to 50bn euros an emergency fund for non-eurozone members in trouble.

In addition, EU leaders said they would provide up to 75bn euros ($102bn;

South Pacific spared quake damage

The undersea earthquake near Tonga caused surprisingly little damage

A 7.9 magnitude easthquake about 200km (130 miles) south-east of Tonga has triggered a tsunami in the South Pacific, but no damage is reported.

The quake hit at 0618 local time (1818 GMT) at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles).

The tremor, which residents from Fiji to New Zealand reported feeling, was followed two hours later by an after-shock of 5.3 magnitude.

A regional tsunami warning was issued, but withdrawn just over an hour and a half later.

'Got off lightly'

A resident of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa said there was no sign of significant damage or of a tsunami after the shallow quake.

Caroline Holden, a seismologist with New Zealand's Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, said this was surprising.

"Quite remarkable, given the magnitude of it. We might have gotten off lightly," the national police commander, Chris Kelly, said.

"The house really moved, the trees were swaying and the ground was rippling," he said.

People in low lying areas of Fiji fled for higher ground, officials said, and schools and government offices were closed.

New Zealand seismologist Craig Miller said "a long, low rolling motion" from the quake was reported by residents on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island - more than 3,000 km (1,875 miles) from the quake's epicentre.

Tonga resident Pesi Fonua told the Associated Press the quake had lasted for "something like 20 seconds" but he had seen no damage.

Police spokesman Niua Kama told the agency residents did not appear to take the warning seriously.

"People are out on the roads, laughing at the warning," he said.

They were not moving back from the coast despite tsunami warnings, the spokesman added.

Several earthquakes have been felt in Tonga recently and an undersea volcano has been erupting off the coast of the main island Tongatapu, although it was not considered to be a threat to people in the area.

---

Are you in the area? Have you been affected by this incident, or have you seen or heard anything? Send your comments or pictures using the form below.

Name:

Email address:

Town and Country:

Phone number (optional):

Comments:

The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.

US deports SS 'murder pits guard'

Josias Kumpf settled in the US after World War II

The US has deported to Austria a former SS man it says was involved in the Nazi killing of some 8,000 Jews, shot in a single day and buried in pits.

Josias Kumpf, 83, immigrated from Austria in 1956, settling in Wisconsin and becoming a US citizen in 1964.

The US justice department sued to strip him of his citizenship in 2003.

He was found to have served as a guard at Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany and Trawniki in Poland, where the mass shooting took place in 1943.

"Josias Kumpf, by his own admission, stood guard with orders to shoot any surviving prisoners who attempted to escape an SS massacre that left thousands of Jews dead," said acting US Assistant Attorney General Rita Glavin.

His assignment had been to watch for victims who were still "halfway alive" or "convulsing" and prevent their escape, the US justice department said.

Josias Kumpf, born in Serbia, joined the SS Death's Head guard forces at Sachsenhausen in 1942 and served there for about a year before transferring to Trawniki, it added.

He also served at slave labour sites in Nazi-occupied France where prisoners built launching platforms for Germany's V-1 and V-2 rockets, the justice department said.

There was no immediate comment from Mr Kumpf or his lawyer, Peter Rogers. They have in the past denied that Mr Kumpf had a role in any atrocities.

Philippines hostages threatened

The Red Cross is helping Philippine civilians displaced by fighting

Armed insurgents in the southern Philippines have threatened to kill one of the hostages they are holding from the International Red Cross (ICRC).

They warn they will carry out their threat if the army does not stop its operations against them.

Three hostages were abducted two months ago on the remote island of Jolo.

The insurgents, from the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf, have kidnapped a number of foreigners and local people in the past.

According to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, the culture of celebrity in the Philippines is such that, even in a tense hostage standoff like the one going now on Jolo, journalists are able to speak regularly with the Islamic militants who are holding the three Red Cross workers captive.

Guide to the Philippines conflict

So it was through a radio interview that the self-styled commander of the hostage-takers was able to relay his demand that the Philippines military pull back from positions where it says it has the group surrounded.

Otherwise, he said, he would kill one of the hostages.

Over the past few days there have been several exchanges of fire between the two sides.

The army has refused the demand, insisting it will keep up the pressure on Abu Sayyaf, a local Islamic movement with past links to al-Qaeda, and notorious for its practice of kidnapping for ransom.

The ICRC has urged restraint, saying the safety of its staff - one Swiss, one Italian and a Filipino - must be paramount. They were abducted as they were leaving a local prison, where they had been inspecting a sanitation project.

This impoverished region of the southern Philippines has long been plagued by armed insurgencies of such bewildering complexity it is difficult to be sure of their various motivations; certainly some groups are inspired by the Jihadist ideologies of other Islamic movements, and angered by the central government's neglect.

But the huge sums of money made from previous kidnappings are also a strong inducement to keep up the armed struggle - as are the army's often half-hearted efforts to contain the insurgent groups.

Rape reports rise in US military

There are some 1.4 million active members of the US military

Reports of sexual assault by US military personnel against both fellow troops and civilians rose by some 8% last year to 2,923, the Pentagon says.

The number of incidents reported in Iraq and Afghanistan rose by about a quarter on the previous year to 163.

Pentagon officials say the jump in reports suggests the department's policy of encouraging victims to come forward is bearing results.

But they estimate that no more than 20% of attacks are actually reported.

"Given the fear and stigma associated with the crime, sexual assault remains one of our nation's most under-reported crimes in both the military and civilian community," said Dr Kaye Whitley, the director of the Pentagon's Sexual Assault and Prevention Office.

She said the rise in reported incidents did not necessarily mean sex crimes were increasing but that victims were less afraid to come forward.

"The department has been aggressively pursuing efforts to increase reporting and convince more victims to seek care and support services," she said.

Among the report's findings:

• There were 2,923 reported sexual assaults in the 2008 fiscal year, up from 2,688 in 2007
• There 251 incidents in combat areas, including 141 in Iraq and 22 in Afghanistan
• Investigations took place in 2,763 cases. In 832 cases, action was taken, including 317 courts-martial, a rise of 38%
• Of the 6.8% of women and 1.8% of men who indicated they had experienced unwanted sexual contact, the majority - 79% of women and 78% of men - chose not to report it.

The Pentagon acknowledges that despite the increase in reported attacks and action taken, "the question will be asked why every single reported case did not go to courts-martial".

One possible explanation, the report says, is the complexity of sexual assault investigations and prosecutions.

Unwanted sexual contact is defined as ranging from touching to rape. Of the reported attacks, 63% were rape or aggravated assault.

The report covers rape and sexual assaults across the 1.4 million active members of the US military.

Cases are defined as involving at least one member of the military as either alleged attacker or victim.

Josef Fritzl admits all charges

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian accused of imprisoning his daughter and fathering seven children with her, has changed his pleas to guilty on all charges.

Mr Fritzl has admitted rape, incest, murder and enslavement, telling the jury: "I plead guilty to all the charges in the indictment."

He initially denied two of the charges, including murdering one of the children soon after its birth.

The 73-year-old locked his daughter and the children in a cellar for years.

Asked by the judge at the trial in St Poelten, west of Vienna, what had caused him to change his plea, he replied: "My daughter's videotaped testimony," the AFP news agency reported.

"I'm sorry," he added.

The court viewed the testimony from his daughter on Tuesday.

Mr Fritzl lured her into a cellar with windowless, soundproofed chambers beneath their house in 1984.

He imprisoned her there and raped her repeatedly over a number of years.

The daughter and three of the children fathered by Fritzl were kept captive in the cellar until the case came to light in April last year when one of the children became seriously ill and was taken to hospital.

He was accused of murdering one of newborn twin boys his daughter gave birth to in 1996, having failed to arrange medical care for the ailing infant.

US policy towards Iran shaping up

By Kim Ghattas BBC News, Washington

The Obama administration is finalising its policy for engaging Iran.

Will President Obama send Ayatollah Khamenei a letter?

The approach is likely to involve a combination of small steps to initiate contact between the two countries and may include an overture in the form of a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, according to Western diplomats and senior US officials.

A senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that he expected the letter to be sent to Mr Khamenei before the Iranian elections this summer, although Washington's allies would prefer this step to be taken after the vote, to avoid influencing the election.

The last time reports about a letter to Iran circulated, the White House emphatically denied it.

But last week a State Department spokesman said he did not have anything to say about a letter, adding that he would not discuss the options being considered. He then referred reporters to the White House.

A similar type of letter was drafted during the Bush administration but never sent.

Delicate balance

US officials insist that no final decisions have been made and no announcements are expected for at least another 10 days while Dennis Ross - the top official in charge of reviewing US policy towards Iran - conducts an assessment.

Even after his policy review is finalised, it is unclear how much of it will be made public.

"Iran recognises that its regional influence derives in large measure from its defiance of the United States, so Iran would prefer not to publicly advertise its discussions with the United States unless or until real progress has been made," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"[Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad will have to strike a delicate balance, where his most powerful backers are anti-American while a lot of Iranian people are favourably inclined to the US."

Washington should make it clear to Tehran that the United States is genuinely interested in establishing a new tone and context for the relationship Karim SadjadpourCarnegie Endowment for International Peace

The engagement with Tehran started with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's public invitation to Tehran to attend a conference in the Hague on 31 March to discuss Afghanistan.

The invitation was in line with what has been Mrs Clinton's general approach to diplomacy - focus on areas of overlapping concern to help foster dialogue in the build-up to tougher discussions.

Iran has said it is mulling over the invite.

It is likely that most of the engagement will initially be cautious and involve small steps.

The Western diplomat said Washington was planning to lift the ban on regular diplomatic contacts with Iranian officials around the world, enabling US diplomats to engage with Iranians just as they would with representatives of other countries, including those with which the United States has difficult relations.

This would allow the two countries, which have had little contact in 30 years, to "reacquaint themselves with each other" and slowly build trust before any substantive discussions, according to Mr Sadjadpour.

Nest of spies

"Washington should make it clear to Tehran that the United States is genuinely interested in establishing a new tone and context for the relationship," he said.

Mr Sadjadpour said that if Washington did send a letter to Tehran, Mr Khamenei would be the appropriate recipient - addressing it to him would signal that Washington understands how Iran functions.

Mr Ahmadinejad is facing a re-election battle

He added that the tone of the letter would be crucial - it should be solicitous, while avoiding the subject of Iran's nuclear programme and sending a clear message to Iran that Washington was not seeking regime change.

Other experts have argued that the letter should be sent to an elected president of Iran, either to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or - if it is sent after the election and Mr Ahmadinejad loses - to his replacement.

One initiative that is no longer on the table (according to the Western diplomat) is the opening of a US interest section in Tehran.

The move was debated last year by the Bush administration, which eventually decided against it.

The Obama administration is also steering clear, because the move would present too many headaches - an "interests section" could be seen by Iranians as a nest of spies, and might become a target for demonstrators. Iranians may be reluctant to go inside for fear of being harassed by the authorities.

Israeli pressure

One of the complicating factors in engaging Iran is the question of time - how long should the negotiations continue and at what point do you determine they are not going anywhere?

"At some point you have to be able to say 'it's over'," said the diplomat.

He also added that any engagement with Tehran faces a serious time constraint - the build-up of Israeli pressure for an attack on Iran.

The diplomat said Europeans often used Israel's belligerence to try to pressure the Iranians into starting serious negotiations about their nuclear programme. In other words: "Start talking before you face an Israeli attack."

So far, the Iranians have not responded to an offer by Washington and its partners to give up its nuclear programme in exchange for a package of incentives.

The diplomat said that there had been no momentum for the negotiations so far and that in a way they had not really started since substantive issues were not being addressed.

But "the fact that the US is now stepping in may change the rules of the game and create the momentum" that has been lacking so far, he added.

Burundi ex-rebels start to disarm

The 2006 peace deal has taken three years to implement

The disarmament of Burundi's last major rebel group, Forces for National Liberation (FNL), has begun after months of delays.

Some 3,000 singing and chanting former rebel fighters began gathering late on Monday at an assembly site in the west of the capital, Bujumbura.

According to a peace deal reached last year, the ex-fighters will now be integrated into civilian life.

The FNL is to form a political party before the elections due in 2010.

"We are happy because we have arrived here. We have been waiting for so long to come. Now we have left the bush," one ex-fighter said.

The exercise was initially due to have been completed by the end of 2008.

The mainly Hutu rebels, government and African Union peacekeepers have all blamed each other for the delay.

And as the process started, deputy FNL chairman Alfred Bagaya questioned when all 19,000 combatants could gather, saying the designated area could only hold 6-8,000.

Ex-rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president in 2005 under a deal to end years of conflict between the Tutsi-dominated army and mainly Hutu rebels.

About 300,000 people were killed in more than a decade of civil war.

ICC places ban on Antigua venue

Ground staff were unable to make the pitch playable in Antigua

The International Cricket Council has ruled that no international cricket should be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium for at least a year.

The move follows the abandonment of the Test between West Indies and England at the Antigua venue on 13 February.

The match was called off after only 10 balls because of an unfit outfield.

The ICC says the ground will not be used again until extensive remedial work is carried out and it passes an inspection from the governing body.

The stadium was opened in February 2007 for the World Cup, where it hosted six one-day internationals.

It staged only one Test before the abandoned game - between West Indies and Australia in 2008.

With 14 minutes and 1.4 overs of play, last month's abandoned game was recorded as the shortest Test match in history.

The five-Test series - which included a replacement Test at the old Antigua Recreation Ground - was won 1-0 by West Indies.

China concerned by Korea tensions

It is Premier Kim Yong-il's first visit to China since taking office in 2007

China says it is concerned by growing tensions on the Korean peninsula over North Korea's planned rocket launch.

North Korea's premier is in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao - with the test-fire expected to top the agenda.

South Korea and the US say Pyongyang may be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile and have warned it against the launch planned for April.

The North insists it is preparing to send up a communications satellite.

North Korea is banned from firing either device under a UN Security Council resolution prohibiting it from ballistic activity.

Pyongyang has said the launch will take place between 4-8 April, and that any attempt to shoot it down would result in war.

Earlier this month Japan suggested it could deploy a vessel equipped with missile interceptor technology to the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to destroy the rocket.

'Complicated'

North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il - who is not related to leader Kim Jong-il - arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a five-day trip.

China - one of Pyongyang's closest allies - has avoided directly criticising the rocket launch.

North Korea's missile programme

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "At present, the situation on the Korean peninsula is rather complicated with an increasing number of uncertain factors.

"We express concern over this."

During the visit, Beijing is also expected to encourage the North to restart stalled six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programme.

Beijing said earlier this month that "safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean peninsula serves the interests of all relevant parties".

The two communist states are to hold a ceremony marking 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Regional tensions

Ahead of his visit, Mr Kim described China as a bulwark of regional stability.

North Korea's planned launch is stoking already heightened tensions with South Korea.

Pyongyang recently put its military on full combat alert, and shut its border with the South, in what it said was retaliation for the recent annual military exercise by US and South Korean forces.

In January, the North scrapped a series of peace agreements with the South over Seoul's decision to link bilateral aid to progress on denuclearisation.