EU alarm over US bugging claim
By Anonymous on Jun 29, 2013 11:36 pm 29 June 2013 Last updated at 23:36 ET 
Edward Snowden is believed to be staying at Moscow's airport
The head of the European Parliament has demanded "full clarification" from the US over a report that key EU premises in America have been bugged.
Martin Schulz said that if this was true, it would have a "severe impact" on ties between the EU and the US.
The report, carried by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, cites a secret 2010 document alleging that the US spied on EU offices in New York and Washington.
Fugitive ex-CIA analyst Edward Snowden leaked the paper, Der Spiegel says.
Mr Snowden - a former contractor for the CIA and also the National Security Agency (NSA) - has since requested asylum in Ecuador.
According to the document - which Der Spiegel says comes from the NSA - the agency spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the 27-member bloc's UN office in New York.
The document also allegedly referring to the EU as a "target".
It is not known what information US spies might have got, but details of European positions on to trade and military matters would have been useful to those involved in negotiations between Washington and European governments, the BBC's Stephen Evans says.
'Polite request' In a statement on Saturday, Mr Shultz said: "On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the US authorities with regard to these allegations."
Der Spiegel also quotes Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn as saying: "If these reports are true, it's disgusting. The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies."
The US government has so far made no public comments on the Spiegel's report.
Mr Snowden is believed to be currently staying at Moscow's airport. He arrived there last weekend from Hong Kong, where he had been staying since he revealed details of top secret US surveillance programmes.
The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
On Saturday, US Vice-President Joe Biden and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa held a telephone conversation about Mr Snowden's asylum request.
According to Mr Correa, Mr Biden had "passed on a polite request from the United States to reject the request".
The left-wing Ecuadorian leader said his answer was: "Mr vice-president, thanks for calling. We hold the United States in high regard. We did not seek to be in this situation."
If Mr Snowden ever came to "Ecuadoran soil" with his request, he added, "the first people whose opinion we will seek is that of the United States".
Quito earlier said it was willing to consider Mr Snowden's request but only when he was physically in the Latin American country.
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said only that Mr Biden and Mr Correa had held a wide-ranging conversation.
CLICKABLE
Hawaii
20 May: Snowden flies from Hawaii to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong
5 June: From Hong Kong, Snowden discloses details of what he describes as a vast US phone and internet surveillance programme to the UK's Guardian newspaper.
Moscow
23 June: Snowden leaves Hong Kong on a flight to Moscow. He is currently thought to remain airside at Sheremetyevo airport.
Cuba
From Moscow, Snowden could fly to Cuba, en route to Ecuador, which has said it is "analysing" whether to grant him asylum.
Venezuela
Venezuela had also been considered a possible destination for Snowden, however it is thought he would only pass through on his way to Ecuador.
Ecuador
Snowden is reported to have requested asylum in Ecuador, which previously granted haven to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in its London embassy.
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Crowds gather for anti-Morsi rally
By Anonymous on Jun 30, 2013 02:20 am 29 June 2013 Last updated at 17:46 ET 
A man held up a "red card" outside the presidential palace in Cairo late on Saturday
Crowds are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square on the eve of a mass rally to demand the resignation of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi.
As darkness fell, thousands of people could be seen milling in the square, focus of the protests which brought down his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
Sunday is the first anniversary of Mr Morsi's inauguration as president.
Tensions has been high ahead of rally. At least three people - including a US citizen - died in unrest on Friday.
Washington has warned Americans not to travel to Egypt.
The UK urged its citizens to "avoid all demonstrations and large gatherings" while France said citizens should "limit movements to those strictly necessary".
Protesters are unhappy with the policies of the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood allies.
Thousands of supporters of Mr Morsi, who was elected by a small margin, rallied in the capital on Saturday.
US President Barack Obama has said America is "looking with concern" at the situation.
Obama appeal Continue reading the main story Mohammed Morsi's first year
- June 2012 - Narrowly wins presidential election. Orders parliament to meet in defiance of a military decree dissolving it
- July 2012 - Submits to a Supreme Court ruling that the parliamentary elections were invalid
- August 2012 - Dismisses Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Annan, and strips military of say in legislation and drafting the new constitution
- November 2012 - Rescinds a decree stripping the judiciary of the right to challenge his decisions, after popular protests
- December 2012 - Public vote approves draft constitution boosting the role of Islam and restricting freedom of speech and assembly
- March 2013 - Court halts his plans to bring parliamentary elections forward to April, citing failure to refer the electoral law to the Constitutional Court
- June 2013 - Puts Islamists in charge of 13 of Egypt's 27 governorships - controversially he appoints a member of the former armed group Gamaa Islamiya to be governor of Luxor
Opposition activists say more than 22 million people have signed a petition seeking a snap election. They have urged the signatories to come out on Tahrir on Sunday.
Flags and tents form a base camp on the square from where protesters plan to march President Morsi's office.
Amr Riad, 26, told Reuters news agency: "We're peaceful but if those who come at us are violent we'll defend ourselves."
Speaking in South Africa, Mr Obama urged "all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint".
"We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about [how] to move their country forward," he said.
Reports say that Cairo International Airport has been unusually busy as both expatriates and Egyptians leave the country.
Bloodshed On Friday, US national Andrew Pochter and another man were killed in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria as protesters stormed an office of the Muslim Brotherhood.
This undated photo provided by his family shows Andrew Pochter
Mr Pochter, who was in the country to teach English to children and improve his own Arabic, was killed apparently while using a mobile phone to take pictures.
His family said in a statement that he had been stabbed by a protester while observing demonstrations.
The other fatality in Alexandria on Friday was an Egyptian man who was shot dead, according to medical sources.
Another man, said to be a journalist, was killed by an explosion in Port Said and five other people were injured.
President Morsi earlier this week offered a dialogue - a move rejected by his opponents.
Mr Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.
His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
Read in browser » Stones triumph in Glastonbury debut
By Anonymous on Jun 29, 2013 07:51 pm 29 June 2013 Last updated at 09:15 ET By Mark Savage BBC News entertainment reporter, at Glastonburt 
The Rolling Stones are expected to play for more than two hours at the festival
After years of negotiations, The Rolling Stones make their debut at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday night.
The band are due to play for two hours and 15 minutes, but only those at the festival will see the whole set.
Festival organiser Michael Eavis said the band have only allowed the BBC to show one hour of the historic performance.
Other acts on Saturday's bill include Elvis Costello, Primal Scream and dance act Chase & Status.
Malian musician Rokia Traore was the first act on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday morning as temperatures nudged 20 degrees Celsius.
Her upbeat blend of African roots, blues and jazz gave early risers a chance to dance off the fug of a late night.
Jagger tight-lipped A headliner at this year's Womad festival, Traore was offered a Glastonbury slot as a gesture of solidarity with Mali, where Islamic militants have all but banned music in some areas.
Earlier, as the sun beamed down on Somerset's Worthy Farm, familiar riffs from Stones hits Start Me Up and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction rang out from the festival's main stage, as technicians prepared for the show at 21:30 BST.
But speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier, Mick Jagger refused to be drawn on the band's plans.
"I'm not saying what we're doing at Glastonbury. I can't tell you the set list," he said.
However, fans know that the band have largely stuck to the same set-list on their current 50th anniversary tour.
Special guests The show opens with four of their best-known songs - Get Off Of My Cloud, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It), Paint It Black and Gimme Shelter.
Rare cuts, fans requests and album tracks often get an airing in the looser middle section of the set.
And the veteran rockers have also invited special guests on stage, with Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift all making appearances.
Rumours of who might join them at Glastonbury are echoing around the site.
Sir Bruce Forsyth - who is appearing at the festival on Sunday - is one of the stranger names on the list.
Like Sir Mick, guitarist Keith Richards is not giving away any secrets, but he told the BBC the band were looking forward to the show.
'Like building Stonehenge' "I'm looking forward to it because it is an iconic gig and it's an iconic band and finally the two meet at last," he told Radio 1's Newsbeat.
"In a way it's kind of weird that at last we've made it to Glastonbury. It's like building Stonehenge right?"
For Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily, the appearance is an ambition achieved.
"It's one of those things you thought might never happen," said Emily.
"We were very pleased to get them.
"For my dad, it's been a lifetime of really wanting them to play, so he's really thrilled."
And, although the rock band drive a notoriously hard bargain when it comes to fees and ticket prices, Emily was adamant they had not received any special favours.
She said: "At Glastonbury we have a certain kind of deal which everybody gets, and everyone's getting the same. So we're very happy with that."
Read in browser » Obama to visit Robben Island jail
By Anonymous on Jun 30, 2013 03:05 am 30 June 2013 Last updated at 03:05 ET 
Mr Obama's visit to the Robben Island jail where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years is likely to be one of the most poignant moments of his trip, say correspondents
US President Barack Obama is due to tour Robben Island - the jail in which Nelson Mandela was kept for 18 years.
The trip comes a day after Mr Obama visited members of the family of the 94-year-old former president, who remains critically ill in hospital.
Mr Obama paid tribute to the impact of the anti-apartheid leader in building a free South Africa, describing him as "an inspiration to the world".
Later, riot police clashed with anti-Obama protesters in Soweto.
Security is likely to be strengthened during this final Cape Town leg of his time in South Africa, says the BBC's Karen Allen who is there.
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Obama: "Madiba's moral courage... has been a personal inspiration to me"
The US leader did not visit Mr Mandela, but met the Mandela family in private and spoke by telephone to his wife, Graca Machel.
Mr Mandela remains in critical condition. On Sunday South Africa's last apartheid president and the man jointly awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with Mr Mandela, FW de Klerk, will return to South Africa after cutting short a visit to Europe due to Mr Mandela's poor health.
Power pledge The visit by Mr Obama and the first family to Robben Island is likely to be the most poignant moment of the president's Africa tour, our correspondent says.
Continue reading the main story Nelson Mandela: Key dates
- 1918 Born in the Eastern Cape
- 1944 Joins African National Congress
- 1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped
- 1962 Arrested, convicted of sabotage, sentenced to five years in prison
- 1964 Charged again, sentenced to life
- 1990 Freed from prison
- 1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize
- 1994 Elected first black president
- 1999 Steps down as leader
Mr Mandela was held there for 18 years and his long history of lung problems can be traced to the tuberculosis he contracted there - which he attributed to the dampness of his cell.
Mr Obama will also visit a community project before delivering a keynote address at the University of Cape Town.
It is the same venue where 47 years ago, US Senator Robert Kennedy gave his famed "ripple of hope" speech, which gave inspiration to those fighting the racially divisive policies of apartheid rule and linked their struggle with that of the US civil rights movement.
Mr Obama is expected to pay tribute to South Africa's achievements over the past two decades but is expected to stress that more needs to be done to tackle poverty and disease, and strengthen democracy across the continent.
He is also due to announce a $7bn (£4.6bn) five-year initiative to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, in partnership with African countries and the private sector.
Beacon Mr Obama has been faulted for lacking a grand programme and many Africans have been disappointed at what they see as his lack of engagement with the continent, despite his African ancestry.
Continue reading the main story 
Mr Obama is not meeting Mr Mandela out of respect for the state of his health. Portraits of the two men could be seen among tributes in Pretoria
Mr Obama met his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, in Pretoria.
The Obama team have moved around by helicopter and car
Mr Obama addressed young African leaders at the University of Johannesburg
Earlier, riot police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to keep back protesters against the US leader's foreign polciy
Continue reading the main story In Pretoria on Saturday, Mr Obama said Mr Mandela's example of "the power of principle, of people standing up for what's right continues to shine as a beacon".
"The outpouring of love that we've seen in recent days shows that the triumph of Nelson Mandela and his nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit; the yearning for justice and dignity that transcends boundaries of race and class and faith and country," he added.
Later, riot police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at scores of protesters in Soweto, once a flashpoint in the anti-apartheid struggle.
At least one person was injured and one arrested.
Some protesters were carrying portraits of Mr Obama marked with a Hitler-style moustache.
"People died in Libya, people are still dying in Syria... in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, drones are still killing people. So that's why we are calling him a Hitler. He's a killer,'' Ramasimong Tsokolibane, 54, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
Mr Obama arrived in South Africa from Senegal on Friday evening. On Monday, he will continue his African tour in Tanzania.
Read in browser » WHO to recommend earlier HIV drugs
By Anonymous on Jun 30, 2013 12:03 am 30 June 2013 Last updated at 00:03 ET By Jane Dreaper Health correspondent, BBC News 
People with HIV will be given medication much earlier
New guidelines for HIV treatment could see millions more people in developing countries getting life-saving medicine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that patients start taking medication at a much earlier stage of the disease.
The WHO says the guidelines, which are being launched at an international Aids conference in Kuala Lumpur, could help avert an extra 3m Aids deaths by 2025.
The charity MSF welcomed the move - but said extra investment would be needed.
A single pill combining three drugs will be given to people who are HIV positive much earlier, while their immune systems are still strong. Algeria, Argentina and Brazil are already doing this.
Not everybody who needs the medicine currently receives it, although big strides have been made in recent years in widening access to HIV treatment.
The WHO says these guidelines represent a "major shift" in policy, and will result in the number of people in developing countries who are eligible for drug treatment rising from 16m to 26m, or 80% of the total who are thought to have HIV.
It is thought the guidelines will add 10% to the $23bn (£15bn) overall cost of treating HIV/AIDS in developing countries.
WHO believes global donors and the affected countries themselves will be convinced that the idea is cost-effective.
It agreed the policy after a year-long consultation, in which evidence about the role earlier treatment can play in reducing transmission of the virus was considered.
'Safer, simpler medicines' The WHO's HIV/Aids director, Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, said: "It will be very difficult to end Aids without a vaccine - but these new guidelines will take us a long way in reducing deaths.
"We're recommending earlier treatment - and also safer, simpler medicines that are already widely available.
"We also want to see better monitoring of patients, so they can see how well they're doing on the treatment.
"This is not only about keeping people healthy and alive - the anti-retroviral drugs block transmission, so there is the potential for a major impact in preventing epidemics within different countries."
Five companies make the daily combination pill, which can cost about $127 for a year's individual treatment in countries where price reductions have been negotiated.
The WHO says there is an "encouraging trend" of countries using their own finances to fight the HIV/Aids epidemic such as Zimbabwe, which has successfully used a levy on mobile phones.
The new recommendations also include providing drugs to all children under five with the virus, all HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women and to people whose partner is uninfected.
In all of these cases, treatment would start regardless of how far the condition has damaged their immune system.
Dr Hirnschall added: "We are still seeing young children lagging behind in terms of access to treatment. Two-thirds of adults that need anti-retroviral drugs get them, but only a third of young children."
'Ambitious but feasible' The Global Fund - set up to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria - welcomed the guidelines as "very timely".
Its executive director, Dr Mark Dybul, said: "This is an example of how the Global Fund and the WHO work together to support countries as we move towards removing HIV as a threat to public health."
MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders) warned extra political and financial support would be needed for implementing the recommendations, which it said were "ambitious but feasible".
MSF medical co-ordinator in South Africa Dr Gilles van Cutsem said: "With these new guidelines our collective goal should now be to scale up without messing up: to reach more people, retain them on treatment, and with an undetectable viral load.
"There's no greater motivating factor for people to stick to their HIV treatment than knowing the virus is 'undetectable' in their blood."
Paul Ward, deputy chief executive at the UK's Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "These guidelines have implications for the UK and would expand the number of people eligible for HIV treatment.
"Using treatment to reduce transmission is a key part of modern prevention efforts, including our own.
"In the UK, we have some of the best treatments in the world, and offering them earlier could be one way of slowing the spread of the epidemic. It could also improve the person's own long-term health."
Read in browser » David Cameron meets new Pakistan PM
By Anonymous on Jun 30, 2013 03:24 am 30 June 2013 Last updated at 02:16 ET 
David Cameron has already met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit
David Cameron is in Pakistan to hold talks with its newly elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The British prime minister is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan, where Mr Sharif was recently re-elected for an unprecedented third time.
Mr Cameron will stress the importance of relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan for regional stability, as well as trade and security issues.
It follows his talks with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday.
'Power of influence' Mr Cameron earlier said good relations between Pakistan and Britain would be an important part of securing a stable future for Afghanistan.
"We have a good relationship with Pakistan, it's a long-standing relationship," he said during a press conference in Kabul.
"We have a very clear view which is that it's in Pakistan's short, medium and long-term interest to have a secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan with which they have a good and strong relationship."
Mr Cameron said Mr Sharif's election victory gave him credibility and a "certain power of influence" to encourage the Taliban on the path to peace in the region.
He said: "I think that he is in a strong position because Pakistan has had this democratic transition, which is a huge bonus for Pakistan and will raise its profile in a good way in the eyes of the world.
"Increasingly Pakistan knows it's in its best interests to have a stable Afghanistan as its neighbour."
But the prime minister stressed his talks with Mr Sharif would not focus solely on Afghanistan and would encompass "prosperity, security and trade".
Mr Cameron previously visited Afghanistan, where he met troops at Camp Bastion and held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
In Pakistan, he visited the national monument where he met people taking part in the British Council's Active Citizens programme.
Mr Sharif served previous terms as Pakistan prime minister in 1990 to 1993, and 1997 to 1999.
He was deposed by General Musharraf and given a jail term, and later went into exile in Saudi Arabia before returning in 2007.
He won a surprise landslide victory in Pakistan's general elections in May.
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