US says China 'destabilising' force

31 May 2014 Last updated at 10:17

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Chuck Hagel: "China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea"

The US defence secretary has accused China of "destabilising" the South China Sea, saying its action threatened the region's long-term progress.

Chuck Hagel said the US would "not look the other way" when nations ignored international rules.

Mr Hagel was speaking at a three-day summit - the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore - that involves the US and South-East Asian countries.

He also urged Thailand's coup leaders to restore democratic rule soon.

The forum comes amid growing tensions between China, Vietnam and the Philippines, with Japan-China ties also strained over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The summit gives senior delegates from the region a chance to meet face-to-face to try to resolve tensions.

'No to intimidation'

"In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," Mr Hagel said in his address on Saturday.

"We firmly oppose any nation's use of intimidation, coercion, or the threat of force to assert these claims," he added, referring to the way China has claimed territorial rights over areas of the South China Sea close to Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

"All nations of the region, including China, have a choice: to unite, and recommit to a stable regional order, or, to walk away from that commitment and risk the peace and security that has benefited millions of people."

He said he supported Japan's offer to play a greater and "more proactive" role in regional security, as promised by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his keynote speech on Friday.

Michael Bristow, BBC Asia analyst

These are strong words from the US defence secretary. Although a number of nations make loud claims for parts of the South China Sea, Chuck Hagel sees China as the destabilising force in the region.

He could point to a number of unilateral moves taken by Beijing over recent months. Deploying a giant oil rig off the coast of Vietnam is just one.

Analysts see a trend. Many think that while the squabbling continues over who has sovereignty over the South China Sea - and the East China Sea - Beijing has quietly decided to take action: by changing the situation on the ground, it makes it hard for other nations to resist its demands.

And China appears to be testing the resolve of the Americans to defend US interests, and those of its allies, in the region. Defence Secretary Hagel said the US would not look the other way. But what can America do? And how far does China have to go before Washington decides to resist?

What are the disputes in South China Sea?

Prime Minister Abe earlier offered to provide coastal boats to neighbouring countries wary of Beijing's tactics.

Chinese officials said Mr Abe was using the "myth" of a China threat to strengthen Japan's security policy.

Tensions have flared recently, with China declaring an air defence zone in the East China Sea and adopting a more confrontational stance over the disputed islands in the South China Sea, correspondents say.

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Japan's prime minister wants to play a more active role in regional security, Sharanjit Leyl reports

They say that although some Asean members will be reluctant to antagonise China because of their economic and political ties, others are likely to welcome an increased role from Japan.

Beijing claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea that covers areas other South-East Asian nations say are their territory.

Military aid suspended

Turning to recent events in Thailand, Mr Hagel called on the coup authorities to release those it had detained and immediately to hold free and fair elections.

Until this happened, he said, the US would suspend all military assistance and engagement with Bangkok.

His remarks came hours after Thailand's coup leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said elections would not be held for more than a year, speaking in a televised address.

Gen Prayuth announced a three-phase plan leading up to the new elections, which includes two to three months of reconciliation and a year of drafting a new constitution and reforms.

The US and Thailand have long been allies - and have particularly strong military ties - so this will hurt more than the general condemnation that has been heard since the coup, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher.

But it is still unlikely to make much difference to Gen Prayuth, our correspondent adds.

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Ash clouds ground Australia flights

31 May 2014 Last updated at 13:05

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Ash clouds from Sangeang Api prompted airlines to cancel all flights

Huge ash clouds thrown up by an Indonesian volcano have forced airlines to cancel all flights to and from the northern Australian city of Darwin.

Mount Sangeang Api began erupting on Friday and plumes of ash have been sweeping south towards Australia.

Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have all cancelled flights. Services between Australia and the province of Bali have also been hit.

The authorities say other airports could be affected in the coming days.

'Rather significant'

Hundreds of passengers have been caught up, with disruption expected to continue until at least Sunday.

"The volcano is undergoing a sustained, rather significant eruption at the moment," Emile Jansons, manager of the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre told Reuters news agency.

"For the last 10 hours we've been observing large masses of volcanic ash being generated.

"Nobody has a very good handle on what this volcano is likely to do in the next 24 hours or beyond."

Some flights between Perth and Bali were cancelled on Saturday.

Volcanic ash can be extremely dangerous to aircraft as the fine particles can damage engines.

The cloud is now sweeping south towards as Alice Springs, officials say.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said it could take days for Australian services to return to normal.

"Depending on wind and other weather conditions, the ash has the potential to affect flights to and from other airports, including Brisbane, during coming days," he said.

The island of Sangeang Api has no permanent residents after they vacated following an eruption in 1988. Farmers nearby have reportedly been told to leave the area.

Indonesia lies across a series of geological fault-lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

There are about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

Tens of thousands of people fled their homes and several people were killed after a volcano erupted in east Java in February.

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Row brews over new EU president

31 May 2014 Last updated at 04:02

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to become the next EU Commission president.

But some European leaders have voiced opposition to the move.

Correspondents say the UK government sees Mr Juncker as too much of an EU federalist. It pointed to the need for "a lengthy process to find consensus".

Mr Juncker belongs to the European People's Party, which won the most seats in the European polls last week.

The centre-right party, which also includes Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat party, won 213 out of 751 seats in the European Parliament and chose Mr Juncker as its candidate for the presidency succeeding Portugal's Jose Manuel Barroso.

Mr Juncker's main rival is the Socialist candidate Martin Schulz.

'Strongest political power'

EU leaders traditionally choose the Commission head on their own, but under new rules have to "take into account" the results of the European parliamentary elections.

Chancellor Merkel said on Friday that the EPP "with its top candidate Jean-Claude Juncker has become the strongest political power which is why I am now conducting all talks exactly in this spirit, that Jean-Claude Juncker should become president of the European Commission".

It is seen as her clearest statement of support for the veteran politician, who once chaired the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers that had to make tough decisions about struggling debt-laden countries.

Correspondents say the announcement came despite UK Prime Minister David Cameron making his views clear, at a Brussels meeting earlier this week, that he wanted a reformer to take charge of the EU executive.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says Mr Cameron was pleased when Angela Merkel sounded at least lukewarm in her support for Mr Juncker's nomination, when she said anything was possible.

But Chancellor Merkel drew criticism from politicians and media in Germany when she indicated that Mr Juncker might not end up leading the Commission, after some member states expressed reservations about him.

The German tabloid Bild said not choosing Mr Juncker would "turn democracy into a farce".

Our correspondent says if Mr Juncker does become president he is not thought to be amenable to a wide-ranging renegotiation of Britain's relationship with Brussels.

Downing Street is emphasising that it will be national governments - not the European parliament - which will have to agree on the president.

European leaders hostile to the appointment include Sweden's Fredrik Reinfeldt and Hungary's Viktor Orban.

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Mickelson 'in insider trading probe'

31 May 2014 Last updated at 10:39

The FBI is investigating possible insider trading involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters, reports say.

The inquiry is reportedly examining whether Mr Mickelson and Mr Walters may have traded shares illegally, based on information provided by Mr Icahn.

Mr Mickelson's lawyers say he is not the target of an investigation. Mr Icahn denies giving out insider information.

Mr Walters has not yet commented.

The FBI, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors in Manhattan, are said to be looking into trading in two different stocks.

The investigation, which began three years ago, is focusing on trades in cleaning products company Clorox.

Mr Icahn, a billionaire investor and prominent activist, was mounting a takeover bid for Clorox around the time that Mr Mickelson and Mr Walters placed their trades, the New York Times reports.

"We do not know of any investigation," Mr Icahn, 78, told Reuters news agency, saying he was proud of his 50-year "unblemished record".

Investigators are also reportedly looking into trades that Mr Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, and Mr Walters made relating to Dean Foods, the Wall Street Journal reports (pay wall).

The New York Times quotes sources saying federal authorities are looking into trades placed in August 2012 just before the company announced quarterly results.

Those trades appeared to have no connection to Mr Icahn, the newspaper added.

The FBI and other federal agencies have not commented publicly on the allegations.

None of the men have been directly accused of any wrongdoing.

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Turkey PM issues anniversary warning

31 May 2014 Last updated at 11:44

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged young Turks to ignore calls to mark the first anniversary of Istanbul's Taksim Square protests.

He was speaking ahead of nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday.

Thousands of police officers and dozens of water cannon trucks are to be deployed to the square, reports say.

Protests against plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park last year turned into mass anti-government rallies after a heavy-handed police crackdown.

A number of people were killed in the unrest, with thousands more injured.

A 64-year-old woman, who fell into a coma after inhaling tear gas during another crackdown on protesters in the capital in December, died on Friday.

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Gezi Park protester: "I would go back to the park again to protest"

Nationwide rallies

The main organisers behind the Gezi Park protests - Taksim Solidarity - have called for a demonstration on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary, Hurriyet reports.

Demonstrations are also expected to take place in several other Turkish cities, including Ankara, Izmir and Antakya.

But Mr Erdogan warned young people not to take part, saying: "One year later, people, including so-called artists, are calling for demonstrations, but you, Turkey's youth, you will not respond to the call."

Addressing a crowd of young people in the capital on Friday, he described the movement as "terrorist organisations" that "manipulated our morally and financially weak youth to attack our unity and put our economy under threat".

Turkish media comment

Political commentator Guven Sak writes in Hurriyet: "Gezi was like a litmus test for all of us… Gezi is the "Basta moment" of the Turkish creative class... If you have any doubts about the impact of Gezi, just observe the number of policemen on the streets this weekend... Gezi freaked out the ruling elite of Turkey a year ago and look who is still freaking out. Just count the number of policemen."

(Via BBC Monitoring)

Intensive security measures are expected to be in place around the capital, with a government ban on gatherings in force in Taksim Square.

However, Taksim Square will not be surrounded and isolated by police as it was during May Day protests, Zaman reports.

Protesters have clashed with police in recent months, with two men killed during angry demonstrations over a mining disaster that killed 301 people last week.

Anger also flared in March with the news of the death of a 15-year-old boy who had been in a coma since last June after being hit by a tear-gas canister during a protest.

In May 2013, protesters took the government by surprise by occupying Taksim Square and nearby Gezi Park.

Riot police evicted them two weeks later using heavy-handed tactics and galvanising anti-government demonstrators in several other cities.

Since then, Mr Erdogan has faced accusations of authoritarianism and corruption after a string of scandals.

He has also moved to block social media sites YouTube and Twitter, after accusing his opponents of using them to deliberately undermine him.

In the first vote since last year's mass protests, Mr Erdogan's party won local elections in March, which was widely seen as a barometer of his popularity.

Are you in Turkey? What do you think of the planned demonstrations? Do you intend to take part in the protests? You can send us your comments by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Turkey".

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Jungle search for missing Briton

31 May 2014 Last updated at 11:56

A rescue team has arrived in the Malaysian jungle to try and find a charity volunteer from east London who has been missing for four days.

Gareth Huntley, from Hackney, disappeared on Tuesday after embarking on a waterfall trek in Tioman Island.

Local people have said that a team of about 20 people and a dog arrived on Saturday to try and find him.

His mother Janet Southwell told the BBC that the co-ordinated police effort to find him was a little slow.

While his brother Mark Huntley told BBC 5 live's Stephen Nolan programme that for days it had only been local people and Gareth's friends who were searching for him.

The 30-year-old web developer from Leeds added that he wanted British authorities to "put more pressure on the Malaysian police force and search and rescue to do more to intensify the search".

'Concerned and anxious'

He said his 34-year-old brother's disappearance was out of character and he would normally be good at keeping in touch.

"For him to not turn up and still be missing at this point - he is not like that, he would have made contact by now," he added.

His parents are due to fly out to Malaysia later, and they hope to arrive at the scene by Monday.

Ms Southwell said: "He was having a lovely time. He was due to start a new job next week in Singapore, life was very positive and he decided to have one last week's break before going back to Singapore to commence his new life."

She said he should have been back from his trek within two hours and that he was prepared as he had water and proper footwear on. He had a phone but there is no signal in the area.

"At this stage I feel it is essential that the search be intensified as time is running out for Gareth, so I would really appreciate the support of the Malaysian authorities and the UK government with this," said Ms Southwell.

Mr Huntley had been working at the Jura Turtle Project. Fellow volunteer Charles Fisher said a group had gone to search for him after he did not return from the "huge wilderness".

He said the group had checked various routes to the waterfall, 6km (3.7 miles) away, while a further search the next day had also proved fruitless.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware that a British national has been reported missing in Malaysia since 27 May.

"We are providing consular assistance to the family and are liaising closely with the local authorities."

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Malawi's new president is sworn in

31 May 2014 Last updated at 13:01

Peter Mutharika has been sworn in as Malawi's president after the High Court rejected a request for a recount following allegations of vote-rigging.

The leader of the Democratic Progressive Party urged the 11 other presidential candidates to "join me in rebuilding the country".

Outgoing President Joyce Banda had alleged ballot fraud but has now admitted defeat.

Malawi is one of the world's poorest nations.

It is heavily dependent on aid, which provides 40% of the government's budget.

A protester died on Friday as police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an angry crowd demanding a recount of last week's ballot in the south-eastern town of Mangochi.

Mr Mutharika is the brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in 2012, and had served as his foreign minister.

He obtained 36.4% of the vote, according to the electoral commission, and said he felt "very humbled" to become Malawi's fifth president.

"It's obvious we are facing serious problems in this country. All of us together, let us build the country which is almost on the verge of collapse," he said.

Former preacher Lazarus Chakwera came second in the election with 27.8% of the vote. He represented the Malawi Congress Party, which governed from independence in 1964 until the first multi-party poll in 1994.

'Cashgate'

Mrs Banda, who came to power after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika two years ago, was third with 20.2% of the vote. Her administration had been hit by a corruption scandal dubbed "cashgate", which led donors to cut aid.

Mrs Banda had attempted to have the polls declared "null and void" on the grounds of "serious irregularities".

But she made no mention of this in a statement congratulating Mr Mutharika on his victory in a "closely contested election" and urging "all Malawians to support the newly elected president... and his government as they take on this foundation of progress and endeavour to develop Malawi even further."

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) had asked for a 30-day extension to declare the results so that a recount could be carried out.

However, the High Court refused to delay the release of results and ordered the commission to make its announcement on Friday.

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Sharp rise in EU migrant numbers

30 May 2014 Last updated at 03:10 By Paul Adams BBC News

There has been a significant rise in the numbers of migrants reaching Europe in recent months, the BBC has learned.

The number of people attempting the dangerous sea crossing from North Africa to Italy has risen sharply, says Frontex, the EU border agency.

From January to April, 42,000 migrants were detected on these routes, with 25,650 of these crossing from Libya.

Combined with seven other less busy routes, the total figure for this year is probably now about 60,000.

On Wednesday, the Italian government said the number of migrants reaching its shores had soared to more than 39,000.

The total for 2014 so far is more than the equivalent period in 2011, the year of the Arab Spring, which eventually saw the arrival of 140,000 illegal migrants.

"If the current trends continue, and with the summer months approaching, there is a strong likelihood the numbers will increase further," says Gil Arias Fernandez, Frontex's Deputy Executive Director.

At least a third of the latest arrivals are Syrians, fleeing that country's civil war.

But other significant numbers are coming from Afghanistan and Eritrea.

In Calais, where the French authorities this week demolished two main squatter camps, the BBC found migrants from a host of countries, from West Africa to Bangladesh, with large groups from Iran and Pakistan's restive tribal areas.

Tracking one of the biggest migrations since World War Two

Almost three million people have fled Syria's bloody civil war. UN figures show the human tide began in earnest in early 2012.

Experts say the latest numbers are not surprising, after relatively low levels of migration in the early months of 2013.

"The main route through Libya was closed for so long that people in sub-Saharan countries have been waiting for a couple of years," says Franck Duvell, associate professor at the Centre on Migration, Policy, and Society at the University of Oxford.

"So the numbers have been building up and people were waiting for the very first opportunity to move," he says.

"I'm not sure this implies that we are going to see ever-more people arriving in the EU over the next couple of months. We've got to wait and see."

Much depends on the chaotic political and security situation in Libya, where a BBC team has recently seen evidence that large numbers of migrants are still waiting to cross. Some estimates put the figure as high as 300,000.

Italy complains that since last October, when it launched its "Mare Nostrum" [Our Sea] rescue operation, the cost of patrolling its patch of the Mediterranean has risen to 300,000 euros (£24,200: $408,000) a day.

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Japan to urge regional security role

30 May 2014 Last updated at 06:03

Japan will push for a greater role in Asian security at a regional summit on Friday, in a move set to anger China.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to promote Japan as a counterbalance to China at the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

The summit involves the US and Asean countries, and comes amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Japan-China ties are also strained over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Mr Abe will give the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is also known as the Asia Security Summit, on Friday evening.

He is expected to set out a vision of Japan and its ally, the US, playing a greater role in security co-operation in Asia.

Regional defence officials and US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel will be at the event.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Hagel said he would raise issues "where we think China is overplaying its hand and presenting new challenges and new tensions to this area".

'Threat to security'

Japan's top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said Mr Abe would call for "constructive discussions... towards [Asia's] peace and safety".

"Heightening situations in the South China Sea and the East China Sea" made this particularly important, Mr Suga added.

China's delegation, led by Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying, is expected to describe Tokyo, not Beijing, as a threat to security.

China has been angered by Mr Abe's call for a new interpretation of Japan's constitution, which bans acts of war and "the threat or use of force" to settle international disputes.

Some countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will be reluctant to antagonise China due to their economic and political ties.

However, relations with other countries have deteriorated amid increased conflict over territorial disputes.

Beijing claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea that covers areas other South East Asian nations say are their territory.

On Tuesday, a Vietnamese fishing boat sank after it collided with a Chinese vessel near a controversial oil rig in the South China Sea, with both countries blaming the other for the incident.

Vietnam has protested against China moving its oil rig to waters also claimed by Hanoi, at a spot near the disputed Paracel Islands.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is in the process of taking China to a UN court over its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Earlier this month, the Philippines arrested and then charged nine Chinese fishermen with poaching at a disputed shoal.

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Microsoft ex-CEO 'wins Clippers bid'

30 May 2014 Last updated at 11:11

Microsoft's former CEO Steve Ballmer has reached a deal to buy the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team for a potential record deal of $2bn (£1.2bn).

Shelly Sterling, who owns the Clippers with her husband through a trust, said she was "delighted" with the deal.

Donald Sterling was banned from the sport for life after he was recorded making racist remarks.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) later agreed to begin the process of selling the team.

However, Mr Sterling's lawyer Bobby Samini argues that as a co-owner of the team he has to consent to the Clippers' sale and is refusing to back the deal. "That's his position. He's not going to sell."

Local media reports say that details of the deal are unclear and many questions relating to it are unanswered.

NBA owners are due to meet in New York on Tuesday to consider Mr Sterling's remarks. The latest development could pre-empt a move by the NBA to force Mr Sterling to sell his interest in the team.

Mr Ballmer said in a statement that he was honoured to have his name put forward to the NBA for approval. He thanked the league for "working collaboratively" with him throughout the sale.

"I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win - and win big - in Los Angeles," he said. "LA is one of the world's great cities - a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness."

In her statement, Shelly Sterling said Mr Ballmer "will be a terrific owner".

"We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premier NBA franchise. I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success," she said.

The statement said that she made the deal "under her authority as the sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers".

Mr Ballmer is believed to have outbid two rival groups for the team, one of which was led by media mogul David Geffen and included talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

Mr Ballmer retired from Microsoft in February, but he still owns shares in the company.

A forced sale of the LA Clippers requires the approval of three-quarters of the 30 team owners in the NBA.

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Sudan husband in death row hope

30 May 2014 Last updated at 11:39

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The husband of a woman facing the death penalty in Sudan for abandoning her religious faith has told the BBC he is hopeful an appeal against the sentence for apostasy will be successful.

Daniel Wani said his wife was well when saw her on Wednesday a day after she gave birth to their daughter in prison.

According to Islamic law, she is allowed to nurse her baby for two years before the sentence is carried out.

Born to a Muslim father, she married Mr Wani, a Christian, in 2011.

Sudan has a majority Muslim population. Islamic law has been in force there since the 1980s.

Even though Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag, 27, was brought up as an Orthodox Christian, the authorities consider her to be a Muslim.

At her trial earlier in May in the capital, Khartoum, the judge also sentenced her to 100 lashes for adultery because her marriage to a Christian man was not valid under Islamic law.

'No smile'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Every time when I went there, he just wants to come home with me"

End Quote Daniel Wani about his son

Mr Wani said he was delighted to see his new daughter - and mother and baby were both doing well.

"It's very incredible. I'm so happy," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.

But he said he was most concerned about his 20-month-old son who was been living with is mother in prison since February.

"His attitude has changed a lot. He used to be a happy boy," he said. "When I went there he just looked at me. No smile."

Mr Wani is not allowed custody of the boy as he is a Christian.

"Sometimes really he is in a bad mood. Every time when I went there, he just wants to come home with me," he said.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

She.. went to the church and I don't think that means that she converted from Islam to Christianity"

End Quote Daniel Wani

Mr Wani, who is wheelchair bound, said he was angry about his wife's imprisonment.

She had to give birth with heavy chains on her legs, although when he saw her in the office of the prison her shackles were removed, he said.

Ms Ibrahim was raised as an Orthodox Christian, her mother's religion, because her father, a Muslim, was reportedly absent during her childhood.

Mr Wani, who is originally from South Sudan, said it was his wife's right to choose her own religion.

"She grew up... with her mother, went to the church and I don't think that means that she converted from Islam to Christianity."

According to Amnesty International, she was arrested and charged with adultery in August 2013, and the court added the charge of apostasy in February 2014 when she said she was a Christian.

There has been international condemnation of the death sentence.

Correspondents say they are rarely carried out in Sudan.

The sentence to 100 lashes for adultery will reportedly be carried out when she has recovered from giving birth.

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Ukraine vows to bring peace to east

30 May 2014 Last updated at 11:42

Ukrainian forces will continue their offensive against rebels until peace and order are restored in the east, the interim defence minister has said.

Fighting has intensified around Sloviansk and 12 Ukrainian troops were killed on Thursday when pro-Russian rebels shot down an army helicopter.

Dozens of separatists died on Monday in a battle at Donetsk airport.

Russia has again called for Ukraine to stop its military campaign against the pro-Moscow rebels.

Interim Defence Minister Mykhailo Koval told reporters Ukrainian forces would continue operations in border areas "until these regions begin to live normally, until there is peace," the Reuters news agency reported.

And he again accused Russia of backing the rebels - a claim Moscow denies.

President-elect Petro Poroshenko has said Ukraine will punish the "bandits" who shot down the helicopter. Among those killed was Maj Gen Serhiy Kulchytskiy, head of combat and special training in Ukraine's National Guard.

The leader of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, told Russia's TV Rain that the only condition for negotiations with Kiev was the withdrawal of its troops from the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.

And he denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of a team of monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), held by separatists. The self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk has said they will be freed soon but nothing has been heard of them since Monday.

A second group of observers, based in Luhansk, remains unaccounted for.

Separatists there told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency they had released the team, but the OSCE has put out a statement saying it lost contact with the observers at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Thursday.

Pro-Russian separatists in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after referendums on 11 May, which were not recognised by Kiev or its Western allies.

The rebels took their cue from a disputed referendum in Crimea, which led to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern peninsula.

Up to 33 Russian nationals were among the dozens of rebels killed in fighting around Donetsk airport on Monday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was "evidence" of Chechens trained in Russia who had come to "stir things up".

Chechnya's president has denied sending troops to Ukraine.

Separately, US officials said Russia had now withdrawn most of its forces from the border with Ukraine, but thousands remained.

Ukraine is also under pressure from Russia over its unpaid gas bill, which runs into billions of dollars.

Russia's state gas company Gazprom has threatened to cut off supplies to Ukraine if it fails to pay in advance for its June supplies.

A new round of talks between Ukraine, Russia and the EU is due to take place in Berlin later on Friday.

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Google offers 'right to forget' form

30 May 2014 Last updated at 12:36

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Technology correspondent Dave Lee explains how the controversial system will work

Google has launched a service to allow Europeans to ask for personal data to be removed from online search results.

The move comes after a landmark European Union court ruling earlier this month, which gave people the "right to be forgotten".

Links to "irrelevant" and outdated data should be erased on request, it said.

Google said it would assess each request and balance "privacy rights of the individual with the public's right to know and distribute information".

"When evaluating your request, we will look at whether the results include outdated information about you, as well as whether there's a public interest in the information," Google says on the form which applicants must fill in.

Google said it would look at information about "financial scams, professional malpractice, criminal convictions, or public conduct of government officials" while deciding on the request.

Analysis - Rory Cellan-Jones

"Much of the comment online has been deeply sceptical about the right to be forgotten, particularly in the US where the First Amendment guaranteeing free speech would make this kind of ruling impossible.

Some have pointed out that information won't be removed from google.com, just your local version of the search engine, while others question the sheer practicality."

Google agrees to forget

Earlier this month, the BBC learned that more than half of the requests sent to Google from UK individuals involved convicted criminals.

This included a man convicted of possessing child abuse images who had also asked for links to pages about his conviction to be wiped.

'Fraudulent requests'

Google said information would start to be removed from mid-June and any results affected by the removal process would be flagged to searchers.

Decisions about data removal would be made by people rather than the algorithms that govern almost every other part of Google's search system.

Disagreements about whether information should be removed or not will be overseen by national data protection agencies.

Europe's data regulators are scheduled to meet on 3-4 June. The "right to forget" will be discussed at that gathering and could result in a statement about how those watchdogs will handle appeals.

Information will only disappear from searches made in Europe. Queries piped through its sites outside the region will still show the contested data.

On 13 May, the EU's court of justice ruled that links to "irrelevant" and outdated data on search engines should be erased on request.

The case was brought by a Spanish man who complained that an auction notice of his repossessed home, which appeared on Google's search results, infringed his privacy.

Less innovation?

On Friday, Google said that EU citizens who want their private details removed from the search engine will be able to do so by filling out an online form.

However, they will need to provide links to the material they want removed, their country of origin, and a reason for their request.

Individuals will also have to attach a valid photo identity.

"Google often receives fraudulent removal requests from people impersonating others, trying to harm competitors, or improperly seeking to suppress legal information," the firm said.

"To prevent this kind of abuse, we need to verify identity."

However, in an interview given to the Financial Times, Google boss Larry Page said that although the firm would comply with the ruling, it could damage innovation.

He also said the regulation would give cheer to repressive regimes.

Mr Page said he regretted not being "more involved in a real debate" about privacy in Europe, and that the company would now try to "be more European".

But, he warned, "as we regulate the internet, I think we're not going to see the kind of innovation we've seen".

Mr Page added that the ruling would encourage "other governments that aren't as forward and progressive as Europe to do bad things".

People keen to get data removed from Google's index must:

• Provide weblinks to the relevant material
• Name their home country
• Explain why the links should be removed
• Supply photo ID to help Google guard against fraudulent applications

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India outrage over hanged girls

30 May 2014 Last updated at 12:48 By Divya Arya BBC Hindi, Badaun

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Crowds gathered where the girls' bodies were found, as Joanna Jolly reports

There is outrage over police inaction in a village in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where two teenage girls were gang-raped and hanged from a tree.

The father of one victim says he was ridiculed by police when he sought help in finding his missing daughter.

He said that when policemen found out he was from a lower caste, they "refused to look for my girl".

At least three men, including one policeman, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Relatives have complained that police refused to help find the missing girls, aged 14 and 16, who were cousins from a low caste.

"When I went to the police station, the first thing I was asked was my caste. When I told them what my caste was, they started abusing me," the father of one of the girls told the BBC.

Divisions between India's castes run deep. Violence is often used by upper castes to instil fear in lower castes.

Although both the victim and the accused belonged to a caste grouping known as 'Other Backward Classes', the victims were lower in that hierarchy.

The victims had apparently gone out to relieve themselves as they had no toilet at home.

Campaigners have highlighted the lack of sanitation in rural areas as being a risk to women's security as well as their health, as they are often attacked when having to go out to go the toilet, particularly at night.

Further suspects hunted

Police said two men had been arrested for the rape and murder of the girls.

A constable was also detained for conspiring with the suspects and for dereliction of duty, authorities said, adding they were looking for one more suspect and one constable.

Indian media reacts to hangings

The incident has received top coverage on India's main TV channels such as NDTV, Times Now and CNN-IBN.

"Uttar Pradesh Rape shockers", reads a ticker on NDTV, which accuses the local police of being "complicit" with the attackers and quotes relatives of the two girls saying they have "no faith" they'll receive justice.

"Lawless in Uttar Pradesh" reads a top headline on CNN-IBN, which has started its own campaign using the hashtag #StopThisShame.

"UP: 3 Rapes in 48Hrs" is the lead on the Times Now channel, which reports the growing number of rape incidents in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

"Outrage" is the word used on the front pages of several leading English-language newspapers, including The Hindu and The Indian Express.

In an editorial, The Times of India lays the blame on the government of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh, saying the hangings "exposes the state's slide into medieval lawlessness".

Senior police official Atul Saxena said there would be a "thorough investigation" into the allegations of caste discrimination by police.

People in Katra Shahadatganj, a town in Badaun district where the incident took place, say caste "plays an important role in social affairs" in the community.

One resident, named only as Teerath, said: "If media hadn't come here the police wouldn't have done anything."

Rape cases that have shocked India

• 23 January 2014: Thirteen men held in West Bengal in connection with the gang rape of a woman, allegedly on orders of village elders who objected to her relationship with a man
• 4 April 2014: A court sentences three men to hang for raping a 23-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai last year
• 15 January 2014: A Danish woman is allegedly gang raped after losing her way near her hotel in Delhi
• 17 September 2013 : Five youths held in Assam for allegedly gang-raping a 10-year-old girl
• 4 June 2013: A 30-year-old American woman gang-raped in Himachal Pradesh
• 30 April 2013: A five-year-old girl dies two weeks after being raped in Madhya Pradesh
• 16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus, sparking nationwide protests and outrage

A neighbour of one of the victims said the police "discriminated" against people from the lower castes in the town.

"Even though the police has suspended some constables, the ones who replace them would not be any better," he said.

But Mr Saxena denied that caste biases played any part in "influencing police behaviour" in the state.

"The police follows its rule book and considers all criminals equal before the law. There might be one or two cases like this one and we will make sure that the culprit doesn't go scot-free," he said.

Scrutiny of sexual violence in India has grown since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus.

The government tightened laws on sexual violence last year after widespread protests following the attack.

Fast-track courts were brought to the fore to deal with rape and the death penalty was also brought in for the most extreme cases.

Some women's groups argue that the low conviction rate for rape should be challenged with more effective policing rather than stiffer sentences.

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Pakistan police deny murder inaction

30 May 2014 Last updated at 12:56

Pakistani police have denied they did nothing to stop a so-called honour killing in front of a court in Lahore.

Farzana Parveen was bludgeoned to death by her family for marrying a man of her own choice. Police say she had died by the time they were able to intervene.

Ms Parveen's husband Muhammad Iqbal has maintained that officers stood by as the attack took place.

Meanwhile, Iqbal himself has admitted killing his first wife six years ago in order to marry Ms Parveen.

Relatives in 'scuffle'

Ms Parveen, who was three months pregnant, was pelted with bricks and bludgeoned by relatives furious because she married against their wishes.

In a report given to the chief minister of Punjab state on Friday, police say one of Ms Parveen's relatives accosted her "several hundred feet" from the court premises and shot her in the shin.

There was no police deployment in that area, the report says, but a police inspector happened to be nearby and managed to snatch away the gun.

However, according the police, a scuffle ensued between about 20 members of Ms Parveen's family and 10 to 15 of Iqbal's, during which one of Ms Parveen's brothers struck her with a brick three times, wounding her fatally.

Police say one of Ms Parveen's uncles, two of her cousins, and the driver who brought them to Lahore were arrested on Friday.

Her father surrendered to police shortly after the killing.

'Honour' killings in Pakistan

• In 2013, 869 women murdered in so called "honour killings"

• Campaigners say real number is likely to be much higher

• Of these, 359 were so called "Karo Kari" cases, whereby family members consider themselves authorised to kill offending relatives to restore honour

• Rights groups say conviction rate in cases of sexual and other violence against women is "critically low"

Source: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan annual report 2013

Further reading: Why do families kill their daughters?

Ms Parveen's relatives had filed a case against Iqbal at the High Court, accusing him of abducting her.

The newlyweds were at the Lahore court to contest this case. Ms Parveen had already testified to police that she had married of her own free will.

Analysis - M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad

The twists and turns in the events since Farzana Perveen's murder on Tuesday have transformed a case of honour killing into a tricky tale of love, greed and murder.

We have a man who now admits to have killed an earlier wife, and a woman who the police claim was already someone else's legally wedded wife - which would make her an adulteress under Pakistani law. In addition, the father, brothers and cousins who are accused of murdering Farzana are also said to have killed a woman of the family before.

A recent police report does little to explain this, except for its emphasis on the point that the Farzana case was not a case of stoning, suggesting that it did not merit the attention it got. This is reflective of a deeply conservative society which tends to condone such crimes, and is helped by a set of Islamic laws dating from 1980s that "privatise" murder as a crime against the individual instead of the state, and give the heirs of the victim the right to pardon the killer.

So there is often minimum police interest in these cases, and as a result, there are few successful prosecutions. Many believe it is this atmosphere of impunity that emboldened Farzana's relatives in the first place to kill her in broad daylight.

Previous murder forgiven

In other developments in the case, Iqbal himself has admitted that he killed his first wife six years ago in order to be able to marry Ms Parveen.

Iqbal's son by his first marriage Aurangzeb told the BBC's Ilyas Khan that relatives persuaded him to forgive Iqbal, enabling his release from prison under Pakistani law.

"They said that my mother was gone anyway and would never return, and that I had two younger brothers to take care of," Aurangzeb said.

"So if my father came back, our life would be much better. And he was my father after all. So I agreed," he added.

Aurangzeb also said Ms Parveen had told him that her elder sister had also been killed by the family. In that case the sister had reportedly refused to leave her husband.

A police spokesman told the BBC they could not confirm this allegation. There has been no comment from Ms Parveen's family.

There are hundreds of so-called "honour killings" in Pakistan each year.

The latest incident has prompted particular outrage, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif describing it as "totally unacceptable".

Arranged marriages are the norm in Pakistan, and to marry against the wishes of the family is unthinkable in many deeply conservative communities.

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Pakistan PM orders action on stoning

29 May 2014 Last updated at 12:13

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Muhammad Iqbal said police did nothing to stop the stoning

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has described the stoning to death of a woman by her family in front of a Lahore court as "totally unacceptable".

He ordered the chief minister of Punjab province to take "immediate action" and submit a report by Thursday evening.

Farzana Parveen, who was three months pregnant, was pelted with bricks and bludgeoned by relatives furious because she married against their wishes.

Her husband told the BBC that police simply stood by during the attack.

"They watched Farzana being killed and did nothing," her husband, Muhammad Iqbal, told the BBC.

There are hundreds of so-called "honour killings" in Pakistan each year.

This incident has prompted particular outrage as it took place in daylight while police and members of the public apparently stood by and did nothing to save her.

Mr Iqbal described the police as "shameful" and "inhuman" for their failure to stop the attack.

"We were shouting for help, but nobody listened. One of my relatives took off his clothes to capture police attention but they didn't intervene.," he added.

Arranged marriages are the norm in Pakistan, and to marry against the wishes of the family is unthinkable in many deeply conservative communities.

Shahzeb Jillani, BBC News, Karachi

This murder has appalled Pakistan's tiny but vocal civil society. Social media activists took to Twitter and Facebook to express their shock. English- language newspapers have published strongly-worded editorials to denounce the brutal crime.

But all that is in sharp contrast to the muted reaction in the mainstream Urdu language media which, instead, chose to focus on political and security-related stories.

This is despite the fact that that killing of a woman in the name of honour remains an appalling reality in villages and towns across Pakistan.

As Dawn newspaper points out in its editorial: "The most shocking aspect of this killing, however, is that all the people witnessing the crime, even the law enforcers, were silent spectators as a woman was bludgeoned to her death."

Ms Parveen's father later surrendered to police but other relatives who took part in the attack are still free.

"We arrested a few of them and others are currently being investigated," local police chief Mujahid Hussain said.

Ms Parveen came from a small town outside the city of Lahore. According to reports, her family were furious because she decided to marry Mr Iqbal instead of a man they had chosen.

Her relatives then filed a case for abduction against Mr Iqbal at the High Court.

Honour killings in Pakistan

• In 2013, 869 women murdered in so called "honour killings"

• Campaigners say real number is likely to be much higher

• Of these, 359 were so called "Karo Kari" cases, whereby family members consider themselves authorised to kill offending relatives to restore honour

• Rights groups say conviction rate in cases of sexual and other violence against women is "critically low"

Source: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan annual report 2013

The newlyweds were only at the Lahore court to contest this case. Ms Parveen had already testified to police that she had married of her own free will.

Mr Iqbal told the BBC that when the couple arrived at the court on Tuesday to contest the case, his wife's relatives were waiting and tried to take her away.

As she struggled to free herself they dragged her to the floor, pelted her with bricks and then smashed her head. She died on the pavement.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said she was "deeply shocked" and urged Pakistan's government to take action.

Are you in Pakistan? Did you witness what happened? What is your reaction to the stoning in Lahore? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk adding 'Stoning' in the heading, and including your contact details.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Kerry urges Snowden to return to US

29 May 2014 Last updated at 10:09

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John Kerry: "This is a man who has betrayed his country"

US Secretary of State John Kerry has labelled intelligence leaker Edward Snowden a fugitive from justice who should "man up" and return home.

Mr Kerry added that if Mr Snowden, 30, "believes in America, he should trust the American system of justice".

His comments come in the wake of an interview with NBC in which Mr Snowden said he sought asylum in Russia because the US revoked his passport.

Mr Snowden also described himself as a trained spy, not a low-level analyst.

"A patriot would not run away," Mr Kerry said on Wednesday. "If Mr Snowden wants to come back to the United States... we'll have him on a flight today."

Mr Kerry also called the former National Security Agency contractor "confused", adding "this is a man who has done great damage to his country".

"He should man up and come back to the US," Mr Kerry said.

Harvesting data

In the NBC interview, Mr Snowden claims he was trained as a spy who worked undercover overseas for the CIA and NSA.

Edward Snowden's revelations

• Scandal breaks in June 2013 when Guardian newspaper reports that US National Security Agency (NSA) collected telephone records of tens of millions of Americans
• Scandal widens amid reports that UK spy agency tapped fibre-optic cables that carry global communications and shared vast amounts of data with NSA
• Mr Snowden flees to Hong Kong, says NSA led more than 61,000 hacking operations worldwide, including in Hong Kong and China
• Flies to Moscow on 23 June 2013. Claims subsequently emerge that NSA spied on EU offices in US and Europe, monitored phones of 35 world leaders and bugged various European allies

Edward Snowden: Timeline

How the US spy scandal unravelled

Profile: Edward Snowden

But he described himself as a technical expert who did not recruit agents.

"What I do is I put systems to work for the US," he said. "And I've done that at all levels from the bottom on the ground all the way to the top. Now, the government might deny these things, they might frame it in certain ways and say, 'Oh well, you know, he's - he's a low-level analyst.'"

When Mr Snowden fled the US in May 2013, he had been working as a technician for Booz Allen, a giant government contractor for the NSA.

Last year, he fed a trove of secret NSA documents to news outlets including the Washington Post and the Guardian.

Among other things, the leaks detailed the NSA's practice of harvesting data on millions of telephone calls made in the US and around the world, and revealed the agency had snooped on foreign leaders.

The revelations have sparked a debate in the US over the appropriate role of the NSA and the extent to which it should be authorised to conduct such broad surveillance.

President Barack Obama has asked Congress to rein in the programme by barring the NSA from storing phone call data on its own and to require it to seek a court order to access telecom companies' records.

Last week, the US House passed such legislation, sending it to the US Senate.

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Missing plane 'not in ping zone'

29 May 2014 Last updated at 10:52

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Australian Deputy PM: "No signs of aircraft debris" have been found

The area where acoustic signals thought linked to the missing Malaysian plane were detected can now be ruled out as the final resting place of flight MH370, Australian officials say.

The Bluefin-21 submersible robot had finished its search of the area and found nothing, they said.

Efforts would now focus on reviewing search data, surveying the sea floor and bringing in specialist equipment.

Flight MH370 went missing on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Using satellite data, officials have concluded that the airliner, which had 239 people on board, ended its journey in the Indian Ocean, north-west of the Australian city of Perth.

No trace of the plane has been found and there is no explanation for its disappearance.

'Discounted'

Four pings that officials believed could be from the missing plane's "black box" flight recorders were heard by search teams using a towed pinger locator device.

These pings were used to define the area for the sea-floor search, conducted by the Bluefin-21. It had scoured over 850 sq km of the ocean floor, JACC said.

"Yesterday afternoon, Bluefin-21 completed its last mission searching the remaining areas in the vicinity of the acoustic signals detected in early April by the towed pinger locator," a statement from the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) said.

"The data collected on yesterday's mission has been analysed. As a result, the JACC can advise that no signs of aircraft debris have been found by the autonomous underwater vehicle since it joined the search effort.

"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgement, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370."

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the search had been based on "the best information available at the time".

The statement came hours after a US Navy official told CNN that the acoustic signals probably came from some other man-made source.

Jonathan Amos, BBC News science correspondent

The failure of the autonomous sub Bluefin-21 to find any wreckage in the ping search zone is a hammer blow to the families. It's also a sharp reminder to everyone of just how difficult this whole exercise will be.

Were the pings real or were they simply spurious, a misinterpretation of sound in what is already a very noisy environment? The investigating teams will review again all their data. They will not jump to immediate conclusions. The water column can do strange things with sound, sending it in unexpected directions. The teams will be mindful also that the Bluefin-21 was at times operating beyond its qualified limits.

The authorities have now recognised the need to make a proper bathymetric (depth) survey of the wider search zone - some 60,000 sq km in area.

It will take at least three months, but once they know precisely the shape and depth of the sea bed they can then better choose the most appropriate vehicles to continue the underwater sweep. Wreckage could be in a ravine, covered by shifted sediment. Without the right tools, the job of finding MH370 will be that much harder.

"Our best theory at this point is that [the pings were] likely some sound produced by the ship... or within the electronics of the towed pinger locator," Michael Dean, the US Navy's deputy director of ocean engineering, told the US broadcaster.

"Always your fear any time you put electronic equipment in the water is that if any water gets in and grounds or shorts something out, that you could start producing sound," Mr Dean said.

A US Navy spokesmen subsequently described his comments as "speculative and premature".

In its statement, JACC said an expert working group would continue to review and refine existing data to better define a search area for the missing plane.

A Chinese ship had already begun mapping an area of ocean floor in a survey process that was expected to take three months.

Meanwhile, the ATSB would soon seek bids from commercial contractors for the specialist equipment needed for the underwater search - a process expected to begin in August, JACC said.

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N Korea to probe Japanese abductions

29 May 2014 Last updated at 11:13

North Korea will reopen an investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals it abducted decades ago, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe says.

Mr Abe announced the move after days of talks between officials in Sweden.

Japan says North Korea abducted several of its citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies - including learning the Japanese language and behaviour.

Pyongyang has returned five of the abductees and says the rest are dead - but Japan does not believe this.

"As a result of the Japan-North Korea talks, the North Korean side promised... that it will make a comprehensive and overall investigation into all the Japanese, including abduction victims and missing people whose possibility of being abducted cannot be ruled out," Mr Abe told a news conference.

"In keeping with the promise, it will set up a special commission for the investigation."

North Korea has admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese nationals. It allowed five to return to Japan in 2002 and later released their children, but says the other eight died.

The most high profile of these eight is Megumi Yokota, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents on her way home from school in 1977, when she was 13.

North Korea says she married a South Korean abductee and had a daughter before killing herself in 1994.

North Korea returned what it said were her remains in 2004 but DNA tests subsequently disputed that claim.

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Nigeria's leader vows 'total war'

29 May 2014 Last updated at 11:17

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to wage a "total war" against militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

Speaking on the the 15th anniversary of the end of military rule, he said "international terrorism" threatened Nigeria's democratic gains.

Boko Haram has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

The group has been holding more than 200 schoolgirls captive since last month, demanding a prisoner swap.

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BBC News examines the challenges facing Nigeria's president, in 60 seconds

Earlier this week, the BBC learned that the government called off a deal to swap some of the girls for Boko Haram fighters in custody.

'Hard-earned lessons'

"With the support of Nigerians, our neighbours and the international community, we will reinforce our defence, free our girls and rid Nigeria of terrorists," Mr Jonathan said, in a televised speech to mark Democracy Day.

He added that he was determined to protect Nigeria's democracy.

"I have instructed our security forces to launch a full-scale operation to put an end to the impunity of terrorists on our soil," he said.

Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013, deploying more troops to the three northern states where Boko Haram is most active - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Boko Haram retaliated by stepping up its bombing campaign in cities and launching mass attacks on small towns and villages.

In a major foreign policy speech on Wednesday, US President Barack Obama said that "no American security operation can eradicate the threat" posed by Boko Haram.

"That is why we must focus both on rescuing those girls, but also on supporting Nigerian efforts to educate its youth," he said.

"Indeed, this should be one of the hard-earned lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, where our military became the strongest advocate for diplomacy and development," Mr Obama added.

Nigeria under attack

• 20 May: Twin bomb attacks killed at least 122 people in the central city of Jos
• 18 May: Suicide blast on a busy street in northern city of Kano kills four, including a 12-year-old girl
• 5 May: Boko Haram militants slaughter more than 300 residents in the town of Gamboru Ngala
• 2 May: Car bomb claims at least 19 lives in the Nigerian capital, Abuja
• 14 April: Twin bomb attack claimed by Boko Haram kills more than 70 at an Abuja bus station; the same day, the group abducts more than 200 schoolgirls from the remote northern town of Chibok

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Barcelona squatters confront police

29 May 2014 Last updated at 11:43

Police in the Spanish city of Barcelona have clashed with gangs of hooded youths in the third night of violence triggered by moves to demolish a well-known squat.

At least 25 people were arrested overnight on Wednesday when police were confronted by about 2,000 protesters.

The demonstrators pelted them with bottles and stones.

On Monday squatters were ejected from Can Vies, a public building occupied for 17 years by left-wing radicals.

Those arrested are accused of a variety of public order offences.

Banks attacked

A police spokeswoman told the AFP news agency that helmeted police charged protesters after they breached a security line. The rioters responded by tipping over rubbish bins, breaking windows and pelting them with missiles.

Police and city officials say that the protesters used similar tactics on previous nights, in addition to attacking banks and charging police vans.

The Can Vies building is located in Sants, a working-class neighbourhood owned by Barcelona's transport authority. It was occupied in 1997 by activists who used it to hold concerts, training courses and other events.

The transport authority wants to demolish it and redevelop the area.

Police acted on a court order to clear the building, which was issued after talks between the squatters and the authority broke down.

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Egypt's Sisi secures crushing win

29 May 2014 Last updated at 11:47

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The BBC's Orla Guerin: "The problem for Sisi is that a large number of voters stayed away"

Former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has won an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential election, according to provisional results.

He gained more than 93% of the vote with ballots from most polling stations counted, state media say.

Turnout is expected to be about 46% - far lower than Mr Sisi was hoping for as an endorsement. Islamist and some secular groups boycotted the vote.

Mr Sisi deposed President Mohammed Morsi last July after mass protests.

He has overseen a bloody crackdown on Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement in which more than 1,400 people have been killed and 16,000 detained.

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BBC News profiles Egypt's President-in-waiting, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi

The Brotherhood said it would boycott the vote, as did many liberal and secular activist groups.

The Islamist movement rejected the vote on Thursday with Tariq al-Zumar, a senior member of the Brotherhood, calling the process a "theatrical play which did not convince anybody".

Analysis, by Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, Cairo

Supporters of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi started celebrating even before the polls closed in Egypt. His victory was never in doubt. The Muslim Brotherhood, the winner of the last presidential election, is banned. It had urged its supporters to boycott the vote.

Egypt is a troubled country. Its most fundamental problem is the weakness of the economy. It has a big, young, growing population, and not nearly enough jobs to go round. About 40% of the population live in poverty. More than 40% of the poorest Egyptians are illiterate. Healthcare and education don't meet the needs of the people.

Added to that are Egypt's security problems. There have been attacks from Islamist extremists, especially in Sinai. The former Field Marshal Sisi will not want them to escalate into a fully fledged uprising.

No quick fixes exist for the grave structural problems faced by Egypt. But the president-elect needs results. Egyptians have a habit of protest now. If their lives don't get better they they will lose patience with their new president too.

Hamdeen Sabahi, the only other candidate in the election, said his team had recorded "violations" in the voting process.

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Democracy campaigner Nagy Kamel: "I don't believe these are real elections"

Mr Sabahi secured fewer than 760,000 of the 24.7 million votes counted, and lost out in many regions to a high number of spoiled ballots, the state-run al-Ahram newspaper reports.

Hundreds of Sisi supporters took to the streets of Cairo in the early hours of Thursday as results emerged, waving Egyptian flags, setting off fireworks and honking their car horns.

Egypt's presidential election

• Ex-army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi secured victory, winning about 93% of the vote with 23.9 million ballots in his favour
• More than 25 million out of 54 million registered voters took part in the poll, making the turnout about 46%
• Hamdeen Sabahi, the only other candidate, won just 3% of the ballot with some 756,000 votes, according to state-run media
• There were about 1.07 million spoiled ballots
• In 2012, Mohammed Morsi took almost 52% of the votes cast, with some 13 million votes in total
• Turnout in the 2012 election was about 52%

The military-backed authorities had extended voting to a third day in the hope of boosting turnout.

But reports suggested many polling stations were almost deserted on Wednesday.

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says Egypt's new president will inherit a crippled economy, a low-level insurgency and a bitterly divided nation.

He had aimed to win 40 million of 54 million registered votes, to show that he had the support of the majority of Egypt. In the event, it appears about 25 million voted.

Turnout for the previous presidential election between Mohammed Morsi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq was about 52%.

Are you in Egypt? What is your reaction to the election result? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk adding 'Egypt' in the heading, and including your contact details.

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Ukraine helicopter downed - 14 dead

29 May 2014 Last updated at 12:51

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A Ukrainian general was among those killed in the attack, the BBC's Mark Lowen reports

Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have shot down a military helicopter near Sloviansk, killing 14 people, the country's outgoing president says.

Olexander Turchynov said the rebels used a Russian-made anti-aircraft system, and a senior general was among the dead.

The town of Sloviansk has seen fierce fighting between separatists and government forces in recent weeks.

President-elect Petro Poroshenko has vowed to tackle "bandits" in the east.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in the region says Thursday's incident was a major blow to the Ukrainian army as it pursues its offensive against the separatists.

The helicopter was hit during heavy fighting between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, reportedly after it had dropped off troops at a military base.

President Turchynov said the 14 dead included Gen Serhiy Kulchytskiy, head of combat and special training for Ukraine's National Guard.

It is one of the worst losses of life for government forces in the conflict so far. Last week at least 14 soldiers died in a rebel attack on an army checkpoint near Donetsk, some 130km (80 miles) from Sloviansk.

Earlier this month the separatists shot down two army helicopters, also near Sloviansk, killing a pilot and another serviceman.

Missing monitors

After his election on Sunday, Mr Poroshenko called the separatists "terrorists" intent on maintaining a "bandit state". He vowed to tackle them "in hours", not months.

The conflict has intensified in recent days. The rebels say they lost up to 100 fighters when they tried to seize Donetsk airport on Monday.

Slovyansk has long been the centre of heavy fighting. Pro-Russia militiamen seized four international monitors there on Monday.

The four - a Dane, an Estonian, a Turk and a Swiss national - are members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, told Russia's Interfax news agency they were safe and well and could be released soon.

Pro-Russian separatists in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after referendums on 11 May, which were not recognised by Kiev or its Western allies.

The separatists took their cue from a disputed referendum in Crimea, which led to Russia's annexation of the southern peninsula.

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Thai army: 'Many detainees released'

28 May 2014 Last updated at 11:12

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The BBC's Jonah Fisher: "The army said... there were 76 people still in custody"

Thailand's army says it has now released 124 people, including politicians and activists, who were taken into custody after the coup.

An army spokesman said a total of 253 people had been summoned. Fifty-three did not report and 76 were in custody.

Conditions for the release appear to include agreeing to avoid political activity and informing the army of travel, a BBC correspondent said.

Coup leaders, who took power last week, received royal endorsement on Monday.

Thailand's former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has been released but remains under some restrictions.

The army also says it is releasing a group of "red-shirt" protest leaders who support the ousted government. The anti-government protest leader has already been freed.

So far, almost all of the 124 people who the army said they had detained and released have kept a very low profile, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Bangkok.

It remains to be seen whether these "red-shirt" leaders - who support the ousted government - do the same, our correspondent added.

The military seized power in Thailand on 22 May, saying it wanted to return stability to the country after months of unrest.

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How is Thailand's curfew being imposed?

The move followed six months of political deadlock as protesters rallied against Yingluck Shinawatra's government. At least 28 people were killed and hundreds injured over the course of the protests.

Coup leaders received royal endorsement on Monday. But the coup, which removed an elected government, has drawn widespread international criticism.

Correspondents say there is also a degree of scepticism about the total number of people in custody provided by the military, with reports of more widespread detentions.

Rights groups have expressed alarm over the detentions, as well as the tight restrictions on media.

On Monday, there were reports that internet users were briefly unable to access social media site Facebook. The country's information and technology ministry told the BBC there was a gateway problem.

Experts have said that the coup is unlikely to heal highly polarised political divisions in the country.

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Jonathan Head says the military is tightening its censorship of the internet

The current deadlock dates from 2006, when the military ousted Ms Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, in a coup.

Both have strong support in rural and northern areas, propelling them to successive election wins.

However, many in the middle class and urban elite, who comprise the heart of the anti-government movement that began in November 2013, oppose them bitterly.

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