At the same time, in all but the most affected countries, student populations continue to grow, increasing the demand for teachers. 

The disease is adding millions of dollars to the cost of expanding education in the world's poorest countries. 

The author of the study said the challenge is to expand education in spite of the impact of Aids on the ranks of teachers because education is key to stemming the spread of the disease. 

Africa hit hard

By the end of 2001, UNAids estimated that more than 40 million people were living with HIV and Aids, with about 5 million new infections last year. 

Sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit, and the study shows the disease is ravaging the ranks of teachers there. 

In Zambia, Aids is killing 1,000 teachers a year - which until last year was equal to the total output of the nation's teacher colleges. 

Even before it kills, Aids ravages the ranks of teachers. 

During the average 10-year course of the disease, Aids leads to high levels of teacher absenteeism, and these teachers are often not replaced. 

In Botswana, funeral attendance is second only to illness in Aids-related absenteeism amongst teachers. 

In countries most impacted by the disease, many schools struggle with only one or two teachers where there should be 10, Dr Bundy said. 

And despite high adult mortality rates, in all but six of the hardest hit countries , student populations are still increasing, which means the demand for teachers continues to increase. 

Education stops spread

In the poorest countries of the world, 113 million children do not attend school. 

"Everyone is trying to improve education, and Aids is making that battle that much harder," Dr Bundy said. 

Of the 55 countries that the World Bank believes are unlikely to achieve education for all, 31 are those worst affected by Aids. 

And in those countries hardest hit by Aids, the disease will add half a billion dollars to the finance gap that those countries need to achieve education for all of their children. 

Studies have shown that education slows the spread of Aids

But Dr Bundy is hopeful that education can still be used to slow rates of infection and keep children who are not infected from contracting HIV. 

There are many studies that show that education decreases the rates of infection, he said. 

"In Zambia in the 1990s, HIV infection rates fell by almost half amongst educated women, while there was little or no decline in women who hadn't gone to school," Dr Bundy said. 

The World Bank study says universal basic education is critical to stemming the spread of HIV and that girls and an increasing number of Aids orphans must be guaranteed an education. 

Despite the grim numbers, "we do have a window of hope," Dr Bundy said. 

Even in countries with the highest infection rates - Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland - most school-aged children are not infected, he said, and "there is no reason that these children should ever become infected". 

Traditional elders and women's groups welcomed Colonel Yusuf at the gates of Bossasso

Ismail Warsame, spokesman for Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

Bossasso was the last remaining stronghold of Jama Ali Jama, who was chosen by clan elders in November to replace Abdullahi Yusuf as president. 

Colonel Yusuf's offensive began on Monday near his southern stronghold of Garoweh, and spread quickly north. 

On Tuesday his forces captured the town of Qardho. 

Ultimate prize

"Traditional elders and women's groups welcomed Colonel Yusuf at the gates of Bossasso, " the spokesman for Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Ismail Warsame, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. 

"They escorted him to the presidential palace and he (Colonel Yusuf) plans to stay there for a long time." 

He denied any Ethiopian invovlement in Colonel Yusuf's push for Bossasso. 

Puntland militiamen had Bossasso in their sights

"Ethiopian troops did not help Colonel Yusuf and did not encourage him to attack Bossasso. 

"There is no fighting in Bossasso now." 

Bossasso appears to have fallen without a fight. 

Elders arranged for Colonel Yusuf's entry into the city rather than allow it to be damaged. 

Ali Jama fled the city by car, and when it became clear that he was not about to make a stand local officials changed sides. 

Bossasso is home to 70,000 residents and is critical to the finances of Puntland. 

Taxes from exports of sheep, goats and camels to Dubai and Kuwait, as well as duties levied on imports of cars and electrical goods, pay for the running of the region. 

Bitter rivalry

Last year a congress of elders elected Jama Ali Jama as the new head of Puntland, but this was immediately rejected by Colonel Yusuf, who described the vote as futile and illegal. 

He accused supporters of the transitional government in Mogadishu of being involved in the leadership change, although it is not clear whether Mr Jama is any more sympathetic to Mogadishu than Colonel Yusuf. 

The autonomous region was created in 1998, partly to avoid the violence that has plagued Somalia which had been without a central government since 1991. 

A new interim government came to power in Somalia last year, but has so far failed to impose its authority on the country. 

Melese Dayessa - a former minister in the regional government of Oromia - told the BBC he was facing persecution as a result of his ethnicity. 

Dayessa says his life was in danger

The defection is the latest sign of ethnic tension within Ethiopia's ruling coalition which is dominated by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Tigray People's Liberation Front. 

Suspicious

Mr Dayessa fled last week through the town of Moyale, which lies on Ethiopia's border with Kenya. 

Speaking on the BBC's Network Africa programme, he said he found it impossible to work and he felt unsafe. 

We have evidence that Melese Dayessa has been working for the OLF

Suleyman Dedefo

The Oromo form the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. 

Mr Dayessa rejected allegations that he was collaborating with the OLF, which has been fighting for the independence of the Oromia region since 1973. 

Mr Dayessa is accused of having "infiltrated" the government on behalf of the rebels. 

"We have evidence that Melese Dayessa has been working for the OLF for a number of years and was involved in orchestrating student unrest," Suleyman Dedefo, an Oromia regional government spokesman, told the BBC. 

Power struggle

In March, security forces in Oromia clashed for several days with students demanding aid for farmers. Five students died in the unrest. 

Mr Dedefo said Mr Dayessa was dismissed from his ministerial post last month. 

Last week he was also suspended from the Oromo People's Democratic Organisation (OPDO), one of the parties within the coalition government. 

The controversy over Mr Dayessa comes less than a year after another senior Oromo politician, the speaker of Ethiopia's upper chamber, Almaz Meko, fled the country to the United States. 

She accused the government of "bringing untold miseries and sufferings to the Oromo people". 

Ms Meko's defection followed a power struggle within the ruling coalition, and the suspension of four Oromo officials for alleged corruption.

In a statement, a commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said his group had accidentally hit the church in the north west village of Bojaya last Thursday. 

There was never any intention on our part to harm the community

FARC statement

Government troops have finally regained control of the area, which is cut off from land and air by flood waters. 

The Colombian president, Andres Pastrana, has asked the United Nations to investigate the killings, while Amnesty International has urged candidates in forthcoming elections to cut ties with paramilitary groups. 

Deaths 'lamented'

The villagers who died were among about 300 people who had sought refuge in the church as FARC guerrillas battled with right-wing paramilitaries for control of Bojaya, in Choco province. 

At least 45 children were among the victims. 

FARC said it "lamented" the deaths but accused the outlawed United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) of putting civilians in danger. 

"There was never any intention on our part to harm the community," the FARC said. 

Drugs war

The swampy Choco province has become a key battleground in the fight to control arms and drugs smuggling across the border with Panama. 

The area became a target for AUC attacks after rebels took control of the area in March, 2000. 

On 1 May, the FARC attacked a boat carrying AUC fighters, triggering fierce clashes between the two sides. 

The church was hit as AUC fighters reportedly took up positions in the village. 

Government criticised

The Colombian Government said the attack was more evidence of the FARC's descent into terrorism. 

The FARC said right-wing militias put civilians in danger

But the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says the government has come under criticism for abandoning Bojaya two years ago and later for ignoring warnings that the community was in grave danger. 

The military has also been criticised for taking five days to get to Bojaya, by which time it had become a ghost town. 

The AUC is believed to have the tacit support of the Colombian armed forces. 

Last week, the United States said the Colombian army had severed links with the AUC, making it eligible for $1.7bn of aid.

She told the East Asia Today programme that although she was not able to discuss the specific measures that her National League for Democracy was planning, they were ready to act. 

	Aung San Suu Kyi's political life 1988: Returns to Burma during political upheaval  1990: Her party elected to power, result ignored by army  1991: Awarded Nobel Peace Prize  1995-2000: Release from house arrest  2000: Begins secret talks with generals Click here for full profile

Earlier, Burma's ambassador to Britain, Kway Win, ruled out an early return to multi-party democracy but said that was the ruling military government's ultimate goal. 

In a separate interview with the BBC, the diplomat said that following the democracy leader's release, Burma had "probably arrived at a milestone in the political transition process". 

Aung San Suu Kyi said that during her detention she had been "very much strengthened... by the staunch way in which the members of my party have stood up to all manners of opposition and persuasion". 

Minority fears

Earlier Khun Tun Oo, a leader of Burma's Shan ethnic minority, said the Nobel laureate had reassured him and other ethnic leaders that would be included in democracy talks with the ruling military government. 

Burma's eight major ethnic groups and 135 subgroups have been waging insurgencies for political autonomy since the country's independence from Britain in 1948, although all but the Shan have since struck deals with the government. 

Their leaders feared being sidelined from the democracy movement, which is dominated by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). 

"I'm happy with the assurance by Daw Suu to let the ethnic groups participate in the talks at an appropriate time," said Khun Tun Oo, a leader of the Shan group. 

But Mr Win stressed to the BBC that democracy would be a gradual process. 

Ethnic minority groups have led several insurgencies

"We do not see anything dramatic happening immediately concerning... a fully established Western democratic-style political movements taking place, but there is almost no doubt that the ultimate objective is the establishment of a multi-party democratic system," he told the World Today programme. 

Although Aung San Suu Kyi has been released without restrictions on her movement, a source from the NLD told AFP news agency that she would not leave the capital Rangoon for the next few days. 

But Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released on Monday after months of talks with the ruling military government, did reveal in an interview with a Norwegian television station that her first trip abroad would be to Norway, AFP reported. 

A statement from the airline said there were no survivors. Seventy bodies are reported to have been retrieved. 

It is the second crash involving a Chinese airline in less than a month, and is bound to raise fears over China's air safety. 

Liu Jiqing, a loader at Dalian port, said he saw the plane "making several circles before plunging into the sea". 

The MD-82 airliner was flying from Beijing to Dalian, with 103 passengers and nine crew members. 

Eight foreigners - mainly from Japan and South Korea - were among the passengers. But the majority were Dalian residents, likely to be travelling back to work after China's week-long Labour Day holiday. 

'Intense fire'

Ground controllers reportedly lost contact with the plane at 2132 (1332 GMT) after its captain reported that a fire had broken out in the cabin. 

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who was at the scene, says there is speculation that there was an intense fire on board moments before the crash. 

When they heard the news, fishermen set off in their boats on their own accord

Dalian port official

More than 30 rescue ships raced to the crash site. 

"We sent every boat we could find," said a Dalian port authority official. 

"When they heard the news, fishermen set off in their boats of their own accord," he said. 

A team of investigators sent by the Chinese cabinet has arrived in Dalian to probe the cause of the crash. 

Previous crashes

The Dalian crash comes only weeks after a crash in South Korea of an Air China plane. 

No survivors have been found

On 15 April, 129 people died when an Air China Boeing 767 crashed into a fog-covered mountain near the southern city of Busan, as the plane was trying to land at Kimhae airport. 

South Korean officials have suggested pilot error was to blame in that crash. 

China Northern Airlines, established in 1990, is based in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning. It has 24 MD-82s among its fleet. 

Tuesday's accident was the second involving a China Northern MD-82. Twelve people died in November 1993 when a jet crashed as it was landing in Urumqi, in China's far western Xinjiang region. 

Prosecutors said Noval Hadad and Raden Maulawarman had meticulously planned the murder, which was carried out in broad daylight in Jakarta in July 2001. 

Tommy is accused of ordering the killing while on the run

Some analysts had said earlier that the severity of their punishment could provide an indication of the fate of Tommy if he were found guilty. 

Tommy is separately on trial accused of masterminding judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita's murder. If convicted he faces the death penalty. 

'Premeditated'

The assassination "shocked the people and law enforcers" as it was a "premeditated murder of a Supreme Court judge who then died in a tragic way," said chief judge Amiruddin Zakaria, who is also leading Tommy's trial. 

Three witnesses testified that they saw the two convicted men leaving the scene of the killing with guns in their hands. The judge had been shot as he drove to work. 

In a separate trial, the South Jakarta district court on Wednesday sentenced a third man, Dodi Harjito, to four years in prison for his involvement in planning the judge's murder. 

Tommy is alleged to have hired the hit men while he was on the run from an 18-month prison sentence for corruption which the judge himself had imposed. 

Tommy's trial

Tommy's trial was due to resume on Wednesday, but his team of lawyers refused to show up in protest at the detention of their colleague, Elza Syarief. 

She was arrested on Monday over allegations she bribed witnesses to change their statements implicating Tommy. 

They had initially identified Tommy as the owner of a cache of weapons found in a Jakarta apartment, but later told the court that police had intimidated them. 

Tommy is the favourite son of former President Suharto, who stood down in 1998 amid mass riots and who himself has been accused of corruption but has been judged too ill to stand trial. 

In his first television interview since being appointed, Mr Raffarin said the centre-right team would be a government of action, to replace the "inaction" of the past five years. 

Mr Raffarin said the government had heard the message delivered by the electorate in the presidential election, which Jacques Chirac won on Sunday after trouncing right-winger Jean-Marie Le Pen. 

"There are very important matters to resolve and the dissatisfaction expressed by the French in these elections is very real," he said. 

"The inaction of the past five years has been well and truly condemned by the electorate, so we must get to work in a great many areas swiftly and in depth. 

"This is a government with a mission, and the mission is to modernise this country around a number of major objectives." 

He said the authority of the republic, the revival of social dialogue and the role of the young all had to be addressed. 

'Resolve and tenacity'

"Authority is to be found in action, in the working methods, in resolve and tenacity," he added. 

"And I can tell you that as far as resolve and tenacity are concerned, I have plenty of both." 

Nicholas Sarkozy: Powerful new security role

Mr Sarkozy, previously mayor of the wealthy Paris suburb of Neuilly, is seen as a hardline conservative. 

A top business executive, 62-year-old Francis Mer, becomes finance minister. He is co-president of giant steel firm Arcelor. 

And career diplomat Dominique de Villepin, 48, who is Mr Chirac's chief of staff and close confidant was given the foreign ministry. 

Michele Alliot-Marie is France's first female defence minister

The others include Roselyne Bachelot (environment) and Euro-MP Tokia Saifi, 42, who is of Algerian origin ( sustainable development). 

The Socialist Party said the new cabinet was a collection of Chirac cronies. 

It's a provisional government and what's more it could be the shortest in the history of the Fifth Republic

Socialist leader Francois Hollande

"It's a provisional government and what's more it could be the shortest in the history of the Fifth Republic." 

The new government will stay in power only until June unless it can deliver a right-wing majority in parliament. 

The cabinet will meet for the first time on Friday, after a two-day national holiday. 

Powell said the latest attack endangered the peace process

In Bethlehem, a BBC correspondent outside the besieged Church of the Nativity says the Israeli army seems to be preparing for at least some of those inside to come out. 

But it is not yet clear what will happen to the 13 militants whom Israel describes as the most wanted, after Italy refused to receive them in exile. 

The suicide bombing on Tuesday at a crowded pool club was the deadliest since Israel launched its campaign against Palestinian militants in the West Bank at the end of March. 

Several hours after the Israeli leader left Washington, a second Palestinian tried to blow himself up at a junction near the northern Israeli city of Haifa. 

I... give my order to the security forces to confront and prevent all terrorist operations against Israeli civilians from any Palestinian group

Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader

"We note with deep regret the terrorist incidents yesterday... which once again puts at risk the possibility of going forward," Mr Powell said. "We condemn them and ask all others to condemn them." 

Amid growing expectations of Israeli reprisals, the Palestinian leader said he was ordering "the security forces to confront and prevent all terrorist operations against Israeli civilians from any Palestinian group". 

He said he was committed to the US-led fight against terrorism and appealed to the international community to help his forces "implement my order". 

Mr Arafat later appeared on Palestinian television and reiterated his call. 

Rishon Letzion bombing

Police say the bomber walked into the Spiel club on the third floor of a building in the suburb of Rishon Letzion with a suitcase packed with nails and explosives. 

More than 50 people were wounded, some seriously. 

The Islamic militant group Hamas said it was behind the attack. 

Sharon warning

Speaking to reporters before he left Washington, Mr Sharon blamed Mr Arafat for the attack. 

The bombing, he said, was "proof of the true intentions of those who lead the Palestinian Authority". 

The Israeli leader said he was returning to Israel with a heavy heart, full of rage, and vowed to continue the fight against militants. 

The Israeli leader convened an emergency cabinet meeting after landing at Ben Gurion Airport, to discuss Israel's response. 

Reports from the West Bank say Israeli forces have moved into a village near Jericho and rounded up several hundred men. 

Robot defuses bomber

On Wednesday morning, a Palestinian man tried to blow himself up next to two soldiers at a bus stop at Megiddo Junction, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south-east of Haifa. 

The bomb went off only partially and only the bomber was hurt, Israel radio reported. 

Police used a robot to pull the man away from the bus stop and to defuse the explosives on his body. He was then taken to Afula Hospital. 

The timing of the latest suicide bombing was not coincidental

Oleg, Canada

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In Bethlehem, diplomatic and Israeli sources say a new deal has been struck to end the six-week siege. 

The BBC's Claire Marshall, in Bethlehem, says it is understood that 26 of the wanted Palestinian militants will be taken straight to Gaza and the civilians will be freed. 

The fate of the other 13 remains unclear. Negotiators on both sides had indicated that they would go to Italy, but the Italian foreign ministry rejected the plan. 

Our correspondent says there is a lot of military activity around the church, with Israeli troops preparing barriers and re-erecting metal-detectors, apparently in preparation for at least some of those inside to come out. 

Tunisian rescue workers, who have now reached the crash site, say at least 20 people were killed. 

He said the airliner had burnt out and surviving passengers were awaiting help. 

EgyptAir in Cairo told the BBC that the plane was a Boeing 737-500 - also known as a 735. It was identified as Flight 843 from Cairo to Tunis. 

The plane came down on a hillside about six kilometres (four miles) from the Tunis-Carthage airport. 

Bad weather

Egypt's ambassador to Tunis, Mahdy Fathallah, said: "About 15 dead have been accounted for so far". 

The plane came down in fog and heavy rain, he said. 

Airport officials in Tunis are quoted as saying the plane's landing gear had failed to open during the approach to the airport. 

The pilot then made a fresh circuit to attempt another landing and that is when the plane crashed. 

Black smoke billowed from the scene. 

Distress call

The control tower had lost contact with the plane a few seconds before the crash, just after a distress call from the pilot, reports said. 

Ambulances were seen heading towards the crash site near Ennahli Hill, close to a residential suburb of the city. 

Shortly after the EgyptAir crash reports came in of an airliner coming down in the sea off northeastern China. 

A China Northern Airlines plane with 112 people on board crashed near the coastal city of Dalian, according to state media. 

1999 crash

In October 1999 an EgyptAir Boeing 767 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off Massachusetts, killing all 217 people on board. US safety officials blamed the crash on the plane's co-pilot - a claim rejected by Egypt. 

Before 1999, EgyptAir had not experienced a major crash for 23 years. 

By Rob Watson  BBC Washington correspondent

The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution condemning Israel's military action in the West Bank's Jenin refugee camp. 

The assembly also called on Secretary General Kofi Annan to resurrect his report into the Israeli offensive. 

Lancry said the vote ignored Palestinian attacks

The vote followed a typical General Assembly debate, with Arab and many other nations lining up to criticise Israel and its American backers. 

The Palestinian representative said Israel was guilty of wilful killing of civilians and the US of shielding the Jewish state from any serious UN action. 

South Africa's ambassador accused Israel of eroding the credibility of the UN through its defiance of international law. 

Resolution 'offensive'

Speaking just before the late-night vote, Israel's representative said the General Assembly would be offending the memories of those killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, including the latest victims in the attack near Tel Aviv. 

Earlier, the US ambassador had warned that one-sided resolutions and rhetoric would only harm the Palestinian cause. 

After a complex vote the resolution was adopted, though with many abstentions, reflecting the concerns of European and other nations at the resolution's failure to condemn suicide bombings. 

Although General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, the secretary general is likely to comply in some way with its request for a report. 

In the end though, the debate changed little - the arguments on both sides already well rehearsed and well known. 

The Maoists have been fighting for six years

Correspondents say this is the heaviest fighting in the six years that Maoist rebels have been trying to overthrow Nepal's constitutional monarchy. 

Precise and confirmed numbers of dead and wounded are impossible to obtain in the capital, Kathmandu. 

But the latest reports say the rebels have counter-attacked after taking heavy losses themselves since the fighting began last Thursday night. 

Reports on Wednesday said about 100 security personnel were killed when a police and army base was overrun by rebels overnight, but this has not been confirmed. 

Heavy toll

Since pitched battles began in the remote, rugged western district of Rolpa late last week, the Defence Ministry has talked of hundreds of rebel casualties. 

Deuba is seeking US endorsement

Now the latest reports say a Maoist counter-attack has taken a heavy toll on the security forces. 

The 100 soldiers and police officers that were killed reportedly died in fighting around the village of Gama near Lisne Lake. 

In another incident, authorities have confirmed that 14 rebels and four police officers died in the town of Chainpur in eastern Sankhuwasabha district. 

The latest violence coincided with talks in Washington between Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and US President George W Bush. 

Mr Deuba is seeking pledges of American aid and support against the revolt, which has claimed more than 3,500 lives so far. 

Emergency

The BBC's Daniel Lak in Kathmandu says that what has always been crucial to understanding this war is not the precise number of dead and wounded but the nature of the battle. 

Both sides are accused of rights abuses

The Royal Nepal Army has been fighting the rebels since a state of emergency was declared last November. 

The army's training and weaponry have had more success against the rebels than the poorly armed Nepalese police. 

But the Maoists remain consummate guerrilla fighters, using to their advantage terrain, darkness and fear of violent reprisal. 

They execute captured members of the security forces and human rights groups say they have tortured civilians and mainstream political activists. 

The security forces are fighting back with machineguns carried in helicopters and even some aerial bombardment, according to the latest reports. 

Western concerns

Human rights groups say many civilians have either been caught in crossfire or falsely persecuted for political reasons. 

The prime minister says a war against such terror is the toughest fight of all. 

The United States and Britain are backing Mr Deuba but there are concerns in western countries that this conflict could continue and escalate over the long term. 

Our correspondent says that Nepal - already one of the world's poorest countries - can ill afford many more months of violence and economic decline on this scale. 

Mobs are using a range of home-made weapons

Mobs of Hindus and Muslims set upon each other overnight in several areas of Ahmedabad, the state's commercial capital. 

The army was called in after police failed to disperse the crowds, which were armed with pistols, iron rods, stones, home-made explosive devices and acid bombs. 

The latest clashes brought the number of dead to at least 23 since Sunday, marking the worst bloodshed since hundreds were slaughtered in rioting in early March. 

The state's recently-appointed security adviser, KPS Gill, has requested the deployment of 1,000 extra specially-trained riot police from Punjab state to combat the violence. 

No let-up

In the latest violence, police said one person was stabbed to death in the Sabarkantha district of Ahmedabad late on Tuesday night. 

They said three people were killed when police opened fire in the Maninagar area in an attempt to disperse the crowds. 

Large additional forces are needed in Gujarat

Another three were stabbed to death in different incidents in Kalupur, Batwa and Maninagar. 

Some of the violence was reported to have been in retaliation for the death on Tuesday of a Muslim teacher, who was burnt alive after being dragged off his scooter on his way to work. 

More than 900 people, mainly Muslims, have been killed since late February, when Hindu mobs went on the rampage to avenge an attack on a train carrying Hindu activists back from the disputed holy site at Ayodhya. 

Right-wing Hindu organisations say the violence represented a spontaneous retaliation for the train attack, which left 58 Hindus dead. 

But human rights groups and foreign observers have alleged the wholesale complicity of state authorities in what they say was a systematic campaign targeting the Muslim minority. 

Rights groups also say at least 2,000 have died, and many more have been forced to remain in refugee camps in Gujarat, unable to go back to their homes. 

Riot force

The government led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has resisted widespread calls for the removal of the state's Chief Minister Narendra Modi. 

The commandos will help Gujarat's police force

Mr Modi, who belongs to Mr Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, has been accused of turning a blind eye to the slaughter. 

On Monday, the government supported a motion in the upper house of parliament calling for federal intervention in the state, but still refuses to sack Mr Modi. 

The BJP has appointed high-profile policeman KPS Gill to advise the chief minister on security. 

Mr Gill has requested that 1,000 commandos from the northern state of Punjab be sent to Gujarat to assist the state's police force. 

The president termed this a conspiracy against the country and the nation [and a conspiracy to] create a wedge between Pakistan and France

Official Pakistani statement

Twelve French nationals and three Pakistanis were killed in the blast. 

The French army's chief of staff, General Jean-Pierre Kelche, said the attack was very likely carried out by the al-Qaeda network. 

"It's a little early to say, but there is a significant likelihood" of al-Qaeda involvement in the attack, General Kelche said. 

French concern

Most of those on board the bus were French workers employed by a company constructing submarines for the Pakistani navy. 

The company, Direction des Constructions Navales, said it was recalling its expatriate workers from Pakistan after the attack. 

Police are looking for possible links to al-Qaeda

"We feel that this act of international terrorism has to be met with full force," he said in a television interview. 

An official statement released after General Musharraf met his security advisers said: "The president termed this a conspiracy against the country and the nation [and a conspiracy to] create a wedge between Pakistan and France." 

The French President, Jacques Chirac, described the bombing as a cowardly and odious act. 

He said he was sending his new Defence Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, to Karachi to urge increased protection for French nationals. 

I was just standing on the street and the noise was so loud it was frightening

Police officer Munir Sheikh

Police said the bus - which belonged to the Pakistani navy - exploded after being hit by a car driven by the attacker outside the Sheraton Hotel in the centre of Karachi. 

The bus, which was on its way to the city's dockyard, was ripped apart by the violent explosion and the windows of the nearby Pearl Continental hotel were shattered. 

Loud explosion

More than 20 people, including 12 French nationals, were injured when the powerful bomb shattered the bus, creating a large crater, witnesses said. 

"The sound was so loud I think you could have heard it from 10 kilometres (six miles) away," a police officer at the scene, Munir Sheikh, said. 

"I was just standing on the street and the noise was so loud it was frightening." 

Pakistani police said they would investigate possible links between the bombers and the al-Qaeda network as well as Pakistan's regional rival, India. 

"We cannot rule out the involvement of al-Qaeda, but our suspicions are across the border. I am pointing towards India," the Reuters news agency quoted Sindh province police chief, Kamal Shah, as saying. 

But India rejected the allegation, and condemned the attack. "We treat [the allegation] with the disdain it fully deserves. It is totally and completely baseless," Indian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told journalists. 

Cricket tour called off

The New Zealand national cricket team, who were staying at the Pearl Continental hotel across the street, were due to begin a five-day test match in Karachi on Wednesday. 

New Zealand's cricket team is heading home

Members of the Pakistan national side, which was staying at the same hotel, said they narrowly escaped getting hurt. 

"I am lucky that I was not in my room and was having breakfast... my room is totally destroyed," cricket star Shahid Afridi said. 

Karachi has been the scene of many sectarian killings recently, and this was the third attack in less than four months directed against foreigners. 

The American journalist Daniel Pearl disappeared in Karachi in January while researching a story on Islamic militants and a video of his killing was later handed to the United States consulate. 

In March, two Americans were among five killed when attackers threw grenades at a church in the diplomatic enclave of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. 

President Musharraf has been tackling extremist religious groups and banned five of them in January. 

Luke Helder was arrested in Nevada

Luke Helder - who had been described as "armed and dangerous" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - was arrested after his car was spotted by a motorist in the town of Lovelock, Nevada. 

The two charges relate to a bomb that exploded in Iowa on 3 May, injuring a woman. 

"This was an incident of national concern which received a national response," US Attorney Charles Larson of the Northern District of Iowa told Reuters news agency. 

"The involvement of the public and hundreds of law enforcement agents led to the successful arrest this evening." 

'Domestic terrorism'

Mr Helder, originally from Minnesota, reportedly threw a gun out of his car window shortly before his capture. 

Police were called to check for further explosive devices in his car. 

Postal services were already nervous following last year's anthrax attacks

Six people were injured by the devices, although none were seriously hurt. 

Federal government officials had described the bombings as "acts of domestic terrorism", and said notes had been found nearby warning of further "attention getters". 

Most of the bombs reportedly contained similar anti-government notes signed by "someone who cares" and which complained about limits imposed on personal freedom. 

Mr Helder's father had pleaded with his son to turn himself over to authorities. 

"Please don't hurt anyone else. ... You have the attention you wanted," he said. 

Latest attack

In recent years, the United States has seen several acts of terrorism carried out by its own citizens. 

The Unabomber waged his campaign for 17 years

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, was sentenced to four terms of life in prison without parole for a 17-year bombing spree which left three people dead and many injured. 

Last June, Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh was executed for the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma that killed 168 people and injured hundreds of others. 

Following the 11 September attacks on the US, the country was hit by a series of anthrax attacks which the FBI believes was probably the work of a US national.