By Helen Briggs  BBC News Online

The five planets visible to the naked eye are lining up in the sky.

Astronomers say the rare grouping of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn may not be seen again for a century.

This demonstrates perfectly how the planets - Greek for 'wandering stars' - baffled ancient astronomers

Robert Warren, Royal Observatory, Greenwich

A similar arrangement of planets happened two years ago but was not visible from Earth because of the position of the Sun.

It was accompanied by scare stories that our planet could be pulled off its path or struck by extraordinary tides. The Earth, of course, survived and astronomers say this year's planetary show is no cause for concern.

For UK skywatchers, the best view of the five planets will begin to occur - you do not need a telescope - from about 19/20 April. A good online sky chart will help navigation of the heavens whatever your position Earth.

Good view

Robert Warren of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, UK, said the best time to view them would be about half an hour after sunset in an area away from lights where there was a clear horizon.

He told BBC News Online: "Looking west, note where the Sun sets (just past due west) and take a line up and left. 

"About 11 O'clock - if the sky were a clock - you will see the planets in order of distance from the Sun.

How to see it

Choose a place away from lights with a clear view  Look west in the sky just after sunset  Look at the 11'O'clock position and you should see the planets together in the same patch of sky

"Mercury, being very close to the Sun, will be just a few degrees off the horizon and quite faint and Jupiter will be about 60 degrees so you'll have to look up quite high.

"Over the few hours after sunset you'll be able to see all the planets follow the Sun below the horizon in an almost exact straight line."

Over the next two or three weeks, the planets will move closer together and become more bunched.

By 4 May, Saturn will be "overtaking" Mars to form a triangular pattern with Venus. 

The Moon will often be in the same part of the sky as the planets, appearing to jump about between them from night to night.

'Wandering star'

Dr Warren added: "Since so many astronomical events come and go very quickly this one is interesting because it gives us something to view over quite a sustained period. 

Comet Ikeya-Zhang is also visible in early April

"This demonstrates perfectly how the planets - Greek for 'wandering stars' - baffled ancient astronomers who could not understand why they moved differently to everything else in the night sky and how they could overtake one another."

The array of five planets will provide a planet-watching opportunity that will not be repeated for 100 years.

Similar groupings will occur in September 2040 and July 2060 but the planets will not be as close together or as visible to the naked eye.

The cluster follows another rare astronomical treat. The brightest comet for nearly eight years has been visible in the western sky after sunset for the last few weeks.

The wandering comet, called Ikeya-Zhang after its Japanese and Chinese co-discoverers, re-appeared in the inner Solar System only a few weeks ago.

It would have last been visible in the 1600s.

Peace talks on the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo have collapsed as the Kinshasa government and the two main rebel movements failed to find a peaceful settlement to the country's civil war. 

After six hours of discussions hosted by South African President Thabo Mbeki in the resort of Sun City, no agreement had been reached on how to establish a government of national unity. 

Kabila rejects Mbeki's plan

One of the groups, the Rwandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), rejected an agreement between the government and the other, smaller rebel group, unveiled on Wednesday.

Negotiations between the different parties will resume on Friday.

Under the proposed deal, the leader of the Ugandan-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba, would have become prime minister in a government of national unity with President Joseph Kabila remaining head of state. 

But the RCD says the deal violates the agreements which facilitated current peace talks. 

Uganda itself has rejected the Bemba-Kabila deal, with its presidential spokesman Onapito Ekmoloit describing it as "an exercise in futility" in an interview with the French news agency AFP on Thursday.

The spokesman for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said any agreement had to keep within the terms of the 1999 Lusaka peace accords.

"We don't mind who comes as leader, provided he is agreed upon by all delegates to the dialogue," he added.

The RCD argues that the talks should focus on a proposal by Mr Mbeki to keep Mr Kabila in his post with reduced powers, give rebel groups control of the army, economy, interior, and hold new elections.

But Mr Kabila's government rejects the South African leader's proposal.

Foreign involvement

The Sun City talks, which began in February, were originally due to end last week but have been extended.

Their aim is to end a civil war that has divided DR Congo into at least three parts for the past four years. 

The civil war began in 1998, with an attempt to topple the government of the late Laurent Kabila.

Neighbouring countries stepped in, with Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe on the government's side and Uganda and Rwanda backing the rebels.

A ceasefire was agreed a year ago, but has repeatedly been broken - most recently in the eastern town of Moliro last month.

And on Thursday, the Associated Press news agency reported that unidentified gunmen had fired on a United Nations helicopter at Zongwe in the east of the country.

No one was hurt, but UN observers had earlier reported an escalation in fighting in the area.

An Amtrak train loaded with tourists has hurtled off the tracks in northern Florida, killing at least four people on board and leaving many trapped in the wreckage for several hours. 

Fourteen of the train's carriages left the rails, knocking down trees and toppling onto their sides. 

The next thing we knew we were bouncing off the walls

Passenger Bernie Morgan

Survivors said they heard brakes screeching as the train flipped over. 

The crash, which happened at 1700 EDT (2100 GMT) on Thursday, is a huge blow to Amtrak which is suffering severe financial hardships at the moment. 

The train was bound for Washington DC with some 468 people on board, travelling in 16 passenger carriages with another 23 carriages transporting their cars. 

It was barely an hour into its journey from Sanford, near Orlando, when it came off the rails near Crescent City. 

Passengers were settling down for dinner, when everything turned upside down. 

"We just started hurtling and left the tracks and the next thing we knew we were bouncing off the walls," said passenger Bernie Morgan.

"It just really started getting weird," said Jacki Rose, who had been holidaying with her family at Disney World in Orlando.

"I saw the sky in front of us, but there should have been a [train] car there."

Some passengers crawled through windows to escape, while firefighters used ladders and cut through mangled carriages to reach around 70 trapped inside. 

Dozens of people were injured in the crash

Initial reports said six people were killed, but that was later amended to four. About 20 people were airlifted from the scene with serious injuries, Amtrak officials said. Another 80 were also hurt.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates US transport accidents, sent a team to the scene. 

Officials say the track had been inspected just hours before the crash. 

Increased popularity

Many passengers were travelling with their cars, which are carried on special wagons behind the passenger coaches. 

The Auto Train is popular with elderly people from the Washington area who spend the winter in Florida, and is also used by families visiting Disney World. 

A BBC correspondent in Miami says there has also been an increase in train travel since 11 September because many people are afraid of flying. 

An Amtrak train derailed in Iowa last year, killing one passenger and injuring 78. 

That accident was blamed on a faulty stretch of track. 

Italian detectives are investigating the background of an elderly Swiss pilot who crashed his light aircraft into Milan's largest skyscraper, killing three people. 

The crash caused panic, as people initially feared it was a terrorist attack similar to that on the World Trade Center.

The pilot was very experienced, and there's every reason to believe it might have been suicide

Lombardy regional president Roberto Formigoni

The authorities appear now to have ruled out that possibility and are trying to establish the true explanation for what happened.

Much speculation centres on the theory that the pilot, Luigi Fasulo, aimed the plane at the Pirelli building deliberately in order to commit suicide. 

One of Mr Fasulo's two sons, Marco, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that his 67-year-old father had killed himself.

"It was a suicide, a suicide, I'm telling you. There were people who wanted to ruin him financially, so he committed suicide," he said, alluding to his father's reported large debts.

Fasulo gained his pilot's licence more than 30 years ago

Lombardy regional president Roberto Formigoni supported that theory, saying it was highly suspicious that Mr Fasulo's plane had smashed into the centre of the building and had made no attempt to pull away in the final seconds.

"The pilot was very experienced, and there's every reason to believe it might have been suicide," he said.

However, Mr Fasulo's nephew denied that he had any reason to kill himself.

"He was a person who loved life," he said.

Several theories

Mr Formigoni said investigators were looking into what he termed Mr Fasulo's "cowboy reputation." 

	Pilot Luigi Fasulo reports problem with landing gear  Plane hits Pirelli tower starting fire in top floors Building evacuated, fires quickly controlled Crash timeline

They have also been searching for clues among the burned out remains of that part of the Pirelli building where the plane disintegrated.

Several alternative theories have been put forward:

• That he suffered a heart attack
• That he was overcome by smoke from a reported fire in the plane's engine
• That he misunderstood instructions from the control tower at Milan's nearby Linate airport.

Italy's Transport Minister, Pietro Lunardi, told the country's upper house, the Senate, that after making contact with air traffic controllers, there was then radio silence, which suggested Mr Fasulo had suddenly become ill.

Another suggestion - put forward by pilots who knew Mr Fasulo - is that he was trying to manually lower the undercarriage, had his head down and was not concentrating on his surroundings.

Top floors ablaze

The single engine aircraft crashed on Thursday evening. 

As well as Mr Fasulo, two women working in the building were killed - one jumped to her death after the crash; the other was found inside.

About 30 people were injured - 11 were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries.

After the impact, the top floors of the 30-storey Pirelli building caught fire, but the blaze was quickly brought under control. 

The plane, which Swiss air traffic controllers said was a single-engine Rockwell Commander 112, took off from Locarno at 1715 (1515GMT) on Thursday. 

It was bound for Milan's Linate airport, but as the pilot neared the city, he told air traffic controllers he was having problems with his landing gear. 

	The Pirelli tower: 123 metres (403 ft) high 30 stories Chief architect Gio Ponti Built 1955-59 One of the world's highest concrete buildings

The pilot was told to head west, but for unknown reasons veered north, telling the airport that he was fixing the problem. 

He lost contact and did not send a distress call before hitting the skyscraper.

The Pirelli building, which is 127 metres (400 feet) high, dominates Milan, and provides offices for the regional Lombardy government. 

Fearful parallels with 11 September were all the easier to draw, because Milan is Italy's financial and business centre. 

Experts said there was no danger that the building would collapse like the World Trade Center in New York, as the main concrete supports were untouched.

 

By Steve Kingston  BBC correspondent in Washington

Plans by President George W Bush to allow drilling for oil in parts of Alaska have been rejected by the US Senate. 

Mr Bush introduced the idea as a means of making America more self-sufficient in its energy production, but opponents of the plan said it would endanger wildlife in the region. 

The ANWR will not be subject to drilling

The senate's decision is a setback for the president's highly publicised national energy plan. 

Line by line, senators were discussing a broader energy bill. 

When it came to the section on drilling in Alaska, Republicans who favoured the plan were unable to force a vote. 

That for now kills off the most controversial aspect of the president's energy strategy. 

He had wanted to permit drilling across 2,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). 

Situated on the north-east coast of Alaska, the site is home to polar bears, caribou and other Arctic creatures. 

Environmentalists argued that the arrival of oil companies with heavy equipment and machinery would threaten the existence of such animals. 

'Missed opportunity'

Reacting to the senate's decision, the president's spokesman said America had missed an opportunity to be more independent in its energy production. 

The administration had argued for the plan on the grounds of national security, saying that Alaskan oil would make the US less reliant on imports from hostile countries like Iraq. 

Republican senators may yet look for other ways of introducing the plan into a final bill - perhaps by encouraging native American communities in Alaska to allow drilling on their land outside the wildlife refuge. 

But overturning this defeat will not be easy.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has sanctioned the deployment of hundreds more American troops for the country's troubled south.

Several hundred American soldiers are already stationed on the island of Basilan assisting local forces against the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, believed to be linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Protesters say the stationing of US troops is an attack on Philippines sovereignty

Thousands more US soldiers are also in the Philippines for joint military exercises.

There were daily protests when the training manoeuvres started in January with Filipinos concerned that Americans might violate laws on foreign troops by becoming involved in combat on Philippine soil.

Officials stressed that the latest additions to US forces in the southern Philippines will not be involved in combat.

President Arroyo said about 300 military engineers will join the 660 American soldiers helping local troops hunt down Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who are holding an American missionary couple and a Filipina nurse hostage.

'Friends and allies'

Mrs Arroyo did not say when the engineers would arrive in Basilan but diplomatic sources said they were already near Philippine waters.

Mrs Arroyo said: "Today, the United States stands with the Philippines as a friend and ally in the fight against terrorism and poverty."

Joint exercises in the north are training Filipino soldiers in night-flying and amphibious operations

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the engineers would be engaged only in "civic action and medical services" - building infrastructure and providing other assistance to local communities.

After the US troops in Basilan "saw the sad state of infrastructure [there], they decided to bring in this civic action group", Mr Golez said.

The US had already spent $3m on projects in Basilan, he added, emphasising that the community welcomed the assistance.

Specialist training

US aircraft have flown reconnaissance missions in the south in the search for the rebels.

American troops may provide training and advice for local soldiers but are barred from fighting except in self-defence.

Another 2,700 American troops are also due to arrive in the Philippines to take part in the second phase of the 2002 "Balikatan" joint exercise in the northern island of Luzon next week.

The joint drills will consist only of training missions including amphibious operations and night-flying skills.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's troubled ruling party has suffered a new blow with the resignation of the speaker of parliament's upper house.

Yutaka Inoue resigned over allegations that his secretary received a $492,000 (64 million yen) bribe from the president of a construction company in connection with a public works project.

Mr Inoue, 74, has denied the allegations, but stepped down after opposition parties threatened to boycott parliament.

It is the latest in a series of money scandals that have tainted Japanese politics.

Mr Inoue's resignation has particularly hit the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to which he belonged until 2000, when he assumed the post of president of the House of Councillors.

Our correspondent in Tokyo says Mr Inoue lost the support of party heavyweights.

Financial scandals

Earlier this month, Koichi Kato, a former influential MP for the LDP, resigned from parliament over alleged misuse of political donations.

And in March, an outspoken opposition MP, Kiyomi Tsujimoto resigned after she was accused of channelling government money that was meant to pay the salary of a political secretary, to cover office expenses.

Earlier this year, a prominent LDP politician, Muneo Suzuki, was forced to step down over revelations that he wielded enormous influence behind the scenes over foreign ministry bureaucrats. 

The rash of political scandals have knocked Mr Koizumi's popularity ratings. He swept to power a year ago promising to clean up politics and revive the economy.

Opinion polls show put support for him at 40%, down from 90% highs when he first took office.

His popularity has also taken a beating since he sacked his popular Foreign Secretary Makiko Tanaka after she became entangled in a feud with diplomats.

Pollsters say the outcome of the French presidential election is wide open, with less than three days to go before the first round.

The incumbent conservative President, Jacques Chirac, has a lead which is so small that it may not be significant, they say.

Chirac's 51%-49% lead is only a virtual advantage - it's still very fragile

Pierre Giacomette, Ipsos

Adding to the uncertainty is the large number of voters - up to one third of the total - who do not intend to vote, and another large group who are still undecided.

"Rarely has it been so hard to draw up our polls - the electorate is so fickle," said Jerome Sainte-Marie, of the BVA institute.

The last polls published on Friday gave Mr Chirac between 20% and 22% of the vote in the first round, and his Socialist challenger, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, 18%.

Far-right surge

Fourteen other candidates, ranging from far right to far left, stand to pick up between half and two thirds of the vote, in what correspondents say is a reflection of widespread disillusionment with the frontrunners.

 

Caroline Hawley  BBC correspondent in Bethlehem

Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem have arrested a senior member of the militant group Hamas.

Palestinians say Khalid al-Tafesh was taken from his home during Thursday night as the Israeli army's military operations continued in the city.

Khalid Tafesh is the imam of the main mosque in Bethlehem - an Islamist who has been arrested in the past by the Palestinian Authority.

Peace activists have been trying to deliver food

He was one of a group of about 400 Islamists deported by Israel to southern Lebanon in the early 1990s.

Palestinians in Bethlehem say he was a political leader of Hamas, but the Israeli army has described him as a high-ranking military commander with links to militants from Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.

It says he was arrested during a four-hour operation close to the Church of the Nativity, where the Israeli siege continues.

Hungry Palestinians

The mayor Bethlehem, Hanna Nasser, told the BBC there had been no progress so far in arranging talks to end the stand-off. 

After 18 days, conditions inside the church are deteriorating as food runs out.

In the past few days, the atmosphere in the church is said to have become tense after hungry Palestinians broke into a church kitchen.

One of the besieged Palestinians contacted by mobile phone said 200 people were now subsisting on enough rice for only 15.

He said everyone inside was now tired and frightened.

People in Madagascar have cautiously welcomed an agreement reached between the island's rival presidents to defuse their increasingly violent power struggle. 

Correspondents say most people are optimistic but want to see how the deal will be implemented in practice and whether the promises made at talks in Senegal will be kept. 

The two men - incumbent President Didier Ratsiraka and his rival Marc Ravalomanana - agreed on a recount of the disputed election in December, which Mr Ravalomanana maintains he won outright.

The accord signed in Dakar notes that if no clear winner emerges after the recount, a referendum will take place in the next six months, held with the assistance of the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

But Mr Ravalomanana's "prime minister", Jacques Sylla, told journalists in Antananarivo that Mr Ravalomanana would not step down as "president" of Madagascar until the release of the official results of the December vote. 

"Marc Ravolamanana remains president until a fresh count of the votes is completed and the official results are published," Mr Sylla said. 

Vital supplies

Correspondents say the most important test of faith in the agreement is whether Mr Ratsiraka carries out his promise to remove blockades around the capital, Mr Ravalomanana's power-base. 

Mr Ratsiraka's supporters based in the port city of Tamatave have destroyed bridges on the road to Antananarivo.

Ratsiraka is expected to remove roadblocks

Fuel and vital supplies have not been getting through and the once-booming textile industry has been devastated, leaving the economy in tatters. 

If the blockades remain in place, the crisis could rumble on, raising fears of more of the violence seen over the last three weeks. 

Businessman Olivier Ramaro said of the deal: "We don't know how it will affect the reality of life." 

"For now, everything is calm, and that's the most important thing. People are less nervous than they were, they feel under less pressure," he said.

'Wait and see'

The people of Madagascar have reason to be cautious. 

Last time Mr Ravalomanana and Mr Ratsiraka seemed to have come to an agreement, mediated by the OAU in February, Mr Ravalomanana declared himself president two days later.

"We just have to wait and see what this means," one Antananarivo resident said.

The BBC's Johnny Donovan in Antananarivo said people were somewhat confused about the peace deal and were waiting for details to filter through to them. 

More than 35 people have been killed in a conflict which has left Madagascar with rival governments, two capitals and division within the armed forces.