"Colonel Azali Assoumani, who won the largest number of votes, is elected president of the Union of the Comoros," declared the chairman of the Ratification Commission, Bastoini Soulaimana, in front of the diplomatic corps and representatives of international organisations. 

Colonel Azali, who first came to power in a coup in 1999, had earlier unilaterally declared himself the winner, despite claims by his rivals and independent observers that the vote lacked transparency. 

It was subsequently replaced by the Ratification Commission.. 

The Comoros islands, which lie between Madagascar and the coast of east Africa, are undergoing a constitutional revamp aimed at delivering reconcilation and devolution in the wake of the 1997 decision by one of the islands, Anjouan, to declare independence. 

The elections were the first held under a new constitution, and a new name - the Union of Comoros - which gives each island greater powers. 

Each of the three islands - Anjouan, Grande Comore and Moheli - elected their own president as well as voting in the union presidency poll. 

The Ratification Commission also declared Mohamed Fazul as the winner of an election on the island of Moheli, which was also the subject of claims of irregularities. 

The Comoros have seen more than 20 coups or attempted takeovers since independence from France in 1975.

The National Disaster Operations Centre could only confirm 20 deaths but said that about 50,000 people had been forced to flee their homes by rising water. 

People have cut trees to cultivate, and the soil gets loose

Bonventure Wendo National Disaster Centre

Mudslides have become more common because so many forests have been cleared to make way for farmland, officials say. 

The heavy rains are likely to continue for at least the next few weeks, said an official from Kenya's National Meteorological Centre. 

The worst flooding is in the low-lying districts of Kisumu and Busia near Lake Victoria, said the centre's spokesman Colonel Bonventure Wendo. 

Buried alive

In two separate incidents, mudslides have killed 15 members of two families near Mount Kenya. 

Ten relatives were buried alive by a landslide on 30 April as they slept in their home in Meru. 

Forests on the fertile slopes of Mount Kenya have become fields

In Muranga, also near Mount Kenya, a similar incident killed five members of the same family, the police said in a statement. 

Deforestation means that trees no longer stop earth from sliding down hill-sides, said Mr Wendo. 

"In some areas where we never had problems, people have cut trees to cultivate and the soil gets loose," he told the Associated Press news agency. 

"We have gone on full alert countrywide, telling those people who live on slopes to move to firmer ground until the end of rain season." 

Connections

Last week, President Moi said he would take "drastic action" to stop deforestation. 

Most of Kenya's forests are on government land. 

But many forests, especially near Mount Kenya and in the Rift Valley, have been sold to people with government connections. 

A series of hydro-electric dams built on the south-eastern Tana river has also contributed to the flooding. 

Most of the dams are now over-flowing, reports the French news agency, AFP. 

Between 30,000 and 50,000 people have been asked to abandon their homes near the river and move to higher ground, said Mr Wendo. 

These are the worst floods to hit Kenya since 1998. 

The interior ministry has already released provisional figures, but the court has said its independent assessment may give a different result. 

The former Prime Minister, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has lodged a complaint alleging massive fraud and vote manipulation, has not reached the second round. 

The BBC's Joan Baxter in Mali says that in the run-up to the announcement, tension was mounting in the capital, Bamako, with heavy security in place around the court. 

Several other candidates have also lodged complaints with the courts. 

'Frustrated'

Earlier in the week, the Independent Electoral Commission staged a late-night visit to the interior ministry, following allegations that tally sheets were being manipulated. 

The Electoral Commission then wrote to the interior minister, expressing concerns that vote-counting was being carried out without tally sheets. 

Will the court confirm Toure's lead?

International observers have agreed not to make any public comments until final results are in. 

But David Pottie, head of the team of observers from the Carter Centre in the United States, says the observers were "frustrated" that they had only had "ad hoc" access to the counting process, particularly the computer facilities where results were being tallied in the Interior Ministry. 

But a definitive decision about the legality of the elections rests exclusively with the Constitutional Court. 

Mali has been seen as a model democracy in Africa. 

President Alpha Oumar Konare is not standing after serving the two terms he is allowed by the constitution. 

The two sides have been in secretive United Nations brokered talks since October 2000, while Aung San Suu Kyi was confined to her Rangoon home. 

If we didn't have confidence in each other from the beginning, the dialogue would not have started in the first place

Major General Kyaw Win

But the junta has come under increasing pressure in recent months, as the international community has threatened tougher trade sanctions unless Burma reforms. 

"Talks aimed at national reconciliation between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military authorities will be resuming very soon," deputy chief of military intelligence Major General Kyaw Win told reporters on Thursday. 

However, no timetable was set. 

US visa row

His comments were the first official statement on the dialogue since the Nobel peace laureate was freed on Monday from nearly 20 months under house arrest. 

Top General Than Shwe has kept quiet

But Kyaw Win refused to confirm that. 

"If we didn't have confidence in each other from the beginning, the dialogue would not have started in the first place," he told reporters. 

The US welcomed the release of Aung San Suu Kyi but has called for major changes before it will lift sanctions, including an arms embargo and an investment ban. 

But there has been some anger in the US over the decision to waive a visa ban to allow a senior member of Burma's military regime to attend a drugs conference in Washington next week. 

US Congressman, Tom Lantos, a senior member of the foreign affairs committee, said the move was a "profound mistake" and accused the Bush administration of prematurely softening its stance on Burma. 

The US State Department said the visit by Colonel Kyaw Thein, who runs Burma's anti-drugs operation, had been planned for some time and was not related to Aung San Suu Kyi's release. 

I think it is a violation of the Vienna Convention, and that's why we are protesting

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Japanese embassy officials have already issued a statement describing China's actions in Shenyang, 200 kilometres (125 miles) inland from China's border with North Korea, as "extremely problematic and regrettable". 

The BBC's correspondent in Beijing says the incident is threatening to turn into a major diplomatic spat. 

Any uninvited entry into the consulate by Chinese police would be a serious violation of diplomatic status. 

Meanwhile, another North Korean has succeeded in evading guards and entering the US consulate in Shenyang joining others who scaled the compound wall on Wednesday. 

The asylum bids are the latest in a series of attempts by North Korean refugees to enter foreign embassies and consulates in China. 

Consulate stormed

On Wednesday Japan's Foreign Ministry called in the Chinese ambassador, Wu Dawei, to demand an explanation over the consulate incident. 

Three of the five North Koreans who tried to rush into the consulate were caught. According to the Japanese side, Chinese police then entered the consulate uninvited and removed the two who had succeeded in getting through. 

Their actions came despite demands by Japanese consular officials that the two Koreans should be left inside the building. 

"I think it is a violation of the Vienna Convention, and that's why we are protesting," said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. 

But Mr Wu argued that the Chinese police seized the people "as a measure to secure the safety of the consulate" and that China did not consider it violated the convention. 

Chinese authorities have increased security around Beijing's foreign missions to prevent further asylum attempts, adding barbed wire and posting extra guards. 

Aid groups estimate that between 100,000 and 300,000 North Koreans have fled to north-east China in recent years to escape political repression and famine. 

Less than 70 bodies have been recovered and boats and divers have been searching the city's coastal waters to locate the jet's fuselage, which is believed to contain the those still missing. 

Whole families were wiped out in the crash

A statement from the airline said there were no survivors when the Boeing MD-82 went down minutes after the pilot reported a fire aboard. 

Officials in the city have been handing out forms to weeping relatives and friends of the dead, who were mostly local people, asking for personal details to help identify the bodies. 

The dead are believed to include a number of entire families consisting of parents and one child, as is common in China. 

The "black box" flight recorder has yet to be recovered from the waters, which are 11 metres (37 feet) deep. 

Witnesses said the plane - Flight 6136 - crashed into the sea some 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Dalian airport after making several circles in the air. 

Eight foreigners - mainly from Japan and South Korea - were among the 103 passengers on the flight, which had originated in Beijing. 

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 local time (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

Xinhua says rescuers found a food trolley that had been burned black and broken in half, indicating the seriousness of the fire. 

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 and US investigators including representatives of Boeing are due to assist them. 

Previous crashes

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

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. 

The blast ripped through the main street of the town of Kaspiysk in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan as soldiers and civilians marched to commemorate the 57th anniversary of Russian victory in World War II. 

The scene is horrifying, there are body parts everywhere

Russian TV correspondent

Police in Dagestan, the region bordering the breakaway republic of Chechnya, said that 150 people had been injured in the explosion. 

'Mound of bodies'

The victims included children, military veterans and musicians, as well as at least 19 soldiers said to be among the dead. 

This crime today was committed by scum who hold nothing sacred

Russian President Vladimir Putin

"The scene is horrifying. There are body parts everywhere and an overpowering smell of blood," a correspondent for Russia's NTV station said. 

The town's medical services were overwhelmed and many of the injured were taken to the regional capital Makhachkala, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Kaspiysk. 

'Scum'

"I think that few people can have any doubt about this being an act of terrorism," said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was addressing a rally in Moscow's Red Square at the time of the blast. 

The mine exploded as a military band passed

Russian police told the Reuters news agency that nuts, bolts and nails were packed into the mine to cause maximum injury. 

New tactic?

Mr Putin instructed the director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolai Patrushev, to fly to Dagestan immediately to coordinate an investigation into the incident. 

Our correspondent says mines on roadsides have been widely used to target Russian troops in Chechnya, and their use against a parade which included civilians outside the war-torn province would be a departure from previous tactics. 

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. 

Grozny attack

In a separate incident, civilians and Russian forces came under attack at a Victory Day parade in a stadium in the Chechen capital, Grozny. 

Victory Day is one of Russia's most revered occasions

One police officer is reported to have been wounded. 

Earlier reports said that a mine disposal unit had detonated a landmine found at the stadium before the Victory Day events got under way. 

Drawn-out war

Dagestan sees frequent small-scale bombings and other unrest, often related to the 31-month war between separatist rebels and Russian forces in the neighbouring breakaway region of Chechnya. 

Kaspiysk suffered a large bomb attack in November 1996. 

Sixty-eight people were killed when an explosion tore through an apartment building housing Russian border guards. 

The cause of the blast was never determined, but many blamed it on Chechen rebels. 

By Julia Wheeler  BBC Gulf correspondent

Large numbers of people are turning out to vote in Bahrain in the first elections for almost three decades. 

King Hamad has urged people to exercise voting right

They also mark the first time women have been able to take part in the electoral process as candidates and voters. 

The atmosphere on the island is one of excitement and happiness. People are recognising that elections to local councils with only limited powers are the start of something far larger. 

'Dress rehearsal'

Old and young, in wheelchairs, on crutches, bringing children in their arms - the women of Bahrain have been voting in large numbers. 

At some polling stations, observers say it seems there are more women than men casting votes, and 10% of the 300 or so candidates are female. 

There is a feeling among some that the elections are almost a dress rehearsal for parliamentary elections scheduled for October. 

Both King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa and members of opposition groups have urged people to use their right to vote. 

The king has said if they do not, they could risk losing that right. 

Such is the level of excitement that officials have suggested turnout could run to 70%. 

Interest in the region

Other Gulf countries are looking on carefully and with interest. 

King Hamad is reportedly careful to stress he is not leading the way in the Gulf, but is doing what is right for Bahrainis and their country. 

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain's close and powerful neighbour, has expressed hope that the island's people will fulfil their aspirations. 

There is no suggestion it will be offering the same opportunity to its people any time soon. 

Nevertheless, unofficially, at least one senior Bahraini believes other countries in the region will have to follow these moves towards democracy. 

The new setback came as the Israeli army prepared Manger Square for the evacuation of most of the beseiged Palestinians. An earlier snag delaying an end to the stand-off had already been resolved. 

If this (security) guarantee is not given, we will reject the deal and nobody will leave the church

Palestinian militant inside church

Israel army radio said the army began calling up emergency reservists on Thursday after the cabinet said Israel would retaliate for the attack. 

Israeli military sources say that, according to intelligence reports from Gaza, more Palestinian suicide attacks are planned. 

Setback

Last-minute talks to finalise an end to the siege broke down after Palestinians due to temporarily remain in the church demanded a European official be brought in to protect them as others inside are evacuated. 

Voices from the Conflict

Seeing babies that are critically injured, looking at pregnant women or old people that are injured... it is not so easy

Yonatan, Israeli rescue worker  Read his story

Under an agreement already worked out, 26 militants inside the church would be transferred to jail in Gaza, while about 80 Palestinians and international activists would be allowed to go free. 

Thirteen Palestinians, whom Israel descibes as "senior terrorists," would stay in the church until they could be exiled to a foreign country. 

Negotiations to resolve the latest impasse resumed on Thursday afternoon. 

The Palestinians sought refuge in the church after Israeli troops stormed into Bethlehem on 2 April to root out militants from the city. 

Militants arrested

In Gaza, Hamas officials said Palestinian police had arrested at least 14 militants on Thursday morning. 

The detentions came after Yasser Arafat ordered his security forces "to confront and prevent all terrorist operations against Israeli civilians" after the attack on a social club in Rishon Letzion. 

The bombing is believed to have been carried out by a Hamas member from Gaza. 

However, correspondents note that in the past the Palestinian authorities have temporarily detained Hamas activists, but released them soon after. 

Gaza fears

The BBC's Kylie Morris in Gaza says there is growing unease among Palestinians who fear an imminent Israeli strike there. 

Arafat is under pressure from the US to crack down on militants

An Israeli Government statement said the cabinet on Wednesday night approved retaliation for the suicide attack, but it did not elaborate. 

The West Bank has been the focus of recent Israeli military operations to root out Palestinian militants and the army has not so far entered Gaza on a large scale. 

Israeli media said the suicide bomber came from Gaza, where Hamas' headquarters and senior leaders are based. 

The vice-chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq, Ezzat Ibrahim - the country's second-in-command - is said to be chairing a committee to ensure a "successful result" in the ballot. 

UN sanctions have crippled the Iraqi economy

The vote rubber-stamped his rule for a seven-year term which is renewable without limits. 

The president, 65, also holds the posts of prime minister, army commander-in-chief, chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and secretary-general of the ruling Baath party. 

He has ruled Iraq with an iron fist since coming to power in 1979. 

He has also led the country through two devastating wars - with Iran in the 1980s and then the 1991 Gulf War, after Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. 

This was followed the imposition of United Nations sanctions, which are still in place and have crippled the Iraqi economy. 

Iraq has been labelled by the US President George W Bush as belonging to an "axis of evil" - states which support and sponsor terrorism. 

It is widely reported that the United States is preparing to take military action against Iraq following its campaign in Afghanistan. 

Some believe the rebels are demoralised

The authenticity of the offer, which purports to come from Maoist communist party chairman Prachanda has yet to be verified. 

But correspondents say similar statements to news organisations in the past have turned out to be genuine. 

There has been no immediate government response. 

The announcement comes after a week of fighting in which the army says the rebels have suffered heavy losses. 

Unconfirmed reports say as many as 1,000 people may have been killed. 

Peace offer

The rebel statement said the move was in response to what it described as the advice of friends. 

The government has received broad international support

The rebels want to establish a communist state in place of Nepal's multi-party democracy under a constitutional monarchy. 

The recent offer to resume talks and now the unilateral ceasefire have been seen by some observers as a sign of desperation among the rebels and a decline in their morale. 

But others disagree, saying the moves are aimed at buying time to re-organise. 

Political parties and human rights organisations have been putting pressure on the Maoists to lay down their arms and resume talks, which they unilaterally abandoned last November. 

Heavy fighting

The surprise announcement follows the rebels' deadliest attack yet on a security post in the western district of Rolpa. 

Both sides are accused of human rights abuses

In the statement, Mr Prachanda warned of what he said would be a decisive battle if the government continued its campaign of repression during the ceasefire. 

Nearly 4,000 people have died since the rebels launched their armed struggle in early 1996. 

The unilateral ceasefire announcement by the Maoists has coincided with a similar announcement from their counterparts, the People's War Group (PWG), in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. 

The two rebel groups are believed to have close ties. 

Betrayal

Nepal's authorities had earlier ruled out peace talks with the rebels unless they surrendered. 

They accused the rebels of betrayal - a reference to the breakdown of peace talks and the resumption of heavy attacks on government targets last November. 

That brought the swift imposition of a state of emergency, followed by a massive military offensive to crush the rebels. 

Fierce fighting has taken place since then, with both sides taking heavy casualties. 

The authorities believe that despite some setbacks, the security forces have been making progress and that the rebels are on the run. 

The Nepalese Government has also received broad national and international support in what it says is the fight against terrorism. 

Pakistani police also detained suspected militants believed to have links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in raids across the country, the Pakistani interior ministry said. 

Investigators are examining the possible involvement of al-Qaeda in Wednesday's suspected suicide attack on the bus which killed 15 people, including 11 French workers. 

French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Thursday visited the scene of the blast, outside the Sheraton Hotel. 

We have been shattered by this odious attack

Michele Alliot-Marie, French defence minister

Interior Ministry official Tasneem Noorani said police in several cities had also arrested "a number" of people who belonged to groups outlawed by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf last January. 

He said most of the arrests had taken place in eastern Punjab province and he expected more people to be detained. 

Ten alleged militants are being questioned further north in Peshawar. 

French anger

The French defence minister, who saw the charred wreckage of the bus outside the hotel on Thursday morning, said France had been "shattered by this odious attack". 

Three Pakistanis were also killed and more than 20 people were wounded in the blast. 

Twelve French nationals who were injured arrived home on Thursday on board a German medical plane, after being released from hospital. 

No group has claimed resposibility for the attack, but the head of the French armed forces said there was a "significant likelihood" that al-Qaeda was involved. 

Climate of fear

Security has been stepped up around Karachi following the attack. 

Police are looking for possible links to al-Qaeda

Police wearing bullet-proof jackets have taken up positions behind sandbags, while concrete barriers have been erected outside other luxury hotels to thwart further attempted attacks. 

The bombing - the third attack in less than four months directed against foreigners in Pakistan - has raised tension in the city and caused fear among foreign nationals. 

"The foreign business community is in a state of shock," said Moin Fudda, president of the Overseas Chamber of Commerce. 

"We used to invite our foreign partners to Pakistan and advised them to stay in the Sheraton Hotel as the safest place for them, but what would we advise them now?" he asked. 

The Pakistani interior ministry has placed an advertisment in leading newspapers urging the public to report any suspicions about foreign nationals in the country. 

Pakistani pledge

Pakistani Information Minister Nisar Memon promised Ms Alliot-Marie that his government would arrest those responsible for the attack. 

Musharraf said the attack was also aimed at Pakistan

President Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday he considered the bombing "an attack on Pakistan as well as France". 

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

Both the Pakistani police and the French army's chief of staff, General Jean-Pierre Kelche, have said the attack could be linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. 

The United States has condemned the suicide attack on French workers in Pakistan as a "heinous attack" on two of America's closest allies in the war on international terrorism.

We have reached the limit of capability and are not in a position to expand the area of application beyond Kabul

Gerhard Schroeder

"We feel we have reached the limit of capability and are not in a position to expand the area of application beyond Kabul. His excellency the prime minister and his ministers understood this," he said after talks with the Afghan interim leader, Hamid Karzai. 

Isaf's original mandate was due to end on 20 June, but the United Nations' Security Council decided last month to the extend the deployment. 

Berlin is a major contributor to the British-led international force helping to ensure security in the capital. Mr Schroeder also visited some of the 1,000-plus German contingent. 

Critical time

Mr Schroeder's visit to Afghanistan comes as the country is preparing for the loya jirga, or grand council, next month, which is to choose a more permanent government to replace the current interim leadership. 

It is a critical time for Afghanistan's leaders, who are striving to show they can maintain peace throughout the country despite the threat of factional fighting breaking out among some regional warlords. 

Schroeder (left) and Karzai called for the acceleration of financial aid to Afghanistan

"The need for the presence of the [peacekeepers] should be determined by the extent of security and stability in Afghanistan and also the readiness of our own security forces." 

Mr Schroeder also met the former Afghan king, Zahir Shah, and our correspondent says this is an indication of the role Western leaders hope the ex-monarch can still play in helping to unify the country. 

New confidence

High-level leaders have paid visits to the well-defended Bagram airbase north of Kabul, but the chancellor was the first western leader to visit the city itself for many years. 

Schroeder brought football legend Franz Beckenbauer with him

He landed in the capital on Thursday morning under tight security. 

He was greeted by Mr Karzai, and a military band played a version of the German national anthem to welcome Mr Schroeder. 

Mr Schroeder was also expected to visit the police academy, where Germany has been training Kabul's new police force, and a girls' school supported by German aid. 

He is accompanied by Franz Beckenbauer, the former German international footballer and chairman of Bayern Munich, who will be offering the Afghans advice on rebuilding sports facilities in their battered country. 

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Schroeder made a stopover in the Uzbek border town of Termez. 

We have reached the limit of capability and are not in a position to expand the area of application beyond Kabul

Gerhard Schroeder

"We feel we have reached the limit of capability and are not in a position to expand the area of application beyond Kabul. His excellency the prime minister and his ministers understood this," he said after talks with the Afghan interim leader, Hamid Karzai. 

Isaf's original mandate was due to end on 20 June, but the United Nations' Security Council decided last month to the extend the deployment. 

Berlin is a major contributor to the British-led international force helping to ensure security in the capital. Mr Schroeder also visited some of the 1,000-plus German contingent. 

Critical time

Mr Schroeder's visit to Afghanistan comes as the country is preparing for the loya jirga, or grand council, next month, which is to choose a more permanent government to replace the current interim leadership. 

It is a critical time for Afghanistan's leaders, who are striving to show they can maintain peace throughout the country despite the threat of factional fighting breaking out among some regional warlords. 

Schroeder (left) and Karzai called for the acceleration of financial aid to Afghanistan

"The need for the presence of the [peacekeepers] should be determined by the extent of security and stability in Afghanistan and also the readiness of our own security forces." 

Mr Schroeder also met the former Afghan king, Zahir Shah, and our correspondent says this is an indication of the role Western leaders hope the ex-monarch can still play in helping to unify the country. 

New confidence

High-level leaders have paid visits to the well-defended Bagram airbase north of Kabul, but the chancellor was the first western leader to visit the city itself for many years. 

Schroeder brought football legend Franz Beckenbauer with him

He landed in the capital on Thursday morning under tight security. 

He was greeted by Mr Karzai, and a military band played a version of the German national anthem to welcome Mr Schroeder. 

Mr Schroeder was also expected to visit the police academy, where Germany has been training Kabul's new police force, and a girls' school supported by German aid. 

He is accompanied by Franz Beckenbauer, the former German international footballer and chairman of Bayern Munich, who will be offering the Afghans advice on rebuilding sports facilities in their battered country. 

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Schroeder made a stopover in the Uzbek border town of Termez. 

"To the adults in this room, I would say: let us not make children pay for our failures any more," he told the first UN Special Session on Children in New York. 

We the grown-ups must reverse this list of failures

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

The three-day conference is being attended by 60 world leaders and numerous celebrities, as well as about 250 child delegates. 

Addressing the children directly in his opening speech, Mr Annan told them they had the right to education, health, a clean environment, and to live without the shadow of war, poverty, abuse or exploitation. 

"These rights are obvious. Yet we, the grown-ups, have failed you deplorably in upholding many of them," he said. 

"We the grown-ups must reverse this list of failures. And we are pledged to do so," he added. 

Serious debates

But there are serious divisions at the conference, which aims to produce a final document setting new goals for the international community on issues such as reducing child poverty. 

Despite the smiles, the grown-ups are divided

This group of countries also wants a lower priority given to parts of the document focusing on reproductive and sexual health, arguing that abstinence is the best recipe for avoiding unwanted pregnancies and sexual diseases among children. 

The US is also deeply opposed to any reference to children's rights, which are viewed by the conservative wing of the Republican Party as a threat to the role of parents as the head of the nuclear family. 

The disputes could even drag on past Friday's closing session. 

About 3,000 delegates are attending the conference, along with 3,000 representatives of non-governmental organisations. 

High-profile delegates

Many leading figures from business and the arts were also expected to attend, including Microsoft's Bill Gates, singer and actor Harry Belafonte and actor Roger Moore. 

An estimated 150 million of the more than two billion children in the world are malnourished, and nearly 11 million die before their fifth birthday. 

More than 120 million do not attend school, and an estimated 300,000 are believe to be fighting in wars as child soldiers. 

... He suffers from some apparent mental health problems in regard to some comments about taking his own life

Judge Robert McQuaid

The FBI said the suspect - described as "armed and dangerous" - confessed to planting 18 explosive devices. If convicted, he could face life in prison. 

He was arrested on Tuesday following a high-speed chase on a motorway - the FBI had issued a nationwide alert for his capture. 

Bomb notes

Judge Robert McQuaid denied a request for Mr Helder be turned over to the custody of his parents, saying he believed the art student was both a flight risk and a possible danger to society. 

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

Mr Helder was arrested after his car was spotted by a motorist in the town of Lovelock, Nevada. 

He reportedly threw a gun out of his car window shortly before his capture, and police were called to check for further explosive devices in his car. 

Eighteen pipe bombs had been found in mailboxes in Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Texas and Illinois since last Friday. 

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. 

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. 

The cardinal has been answering lawyers' questions in a rare deposition of a high-ranking church leader. 

It is just impossible for him not to have remembered that letter - I found that the cardinal had some selective amnesia

Mark Keane, alleged abuse victim

They say Cardinal Law and the Boston Archdiocese which he leads failed to protect youngsters from Geoghan, who has been convicted of fondling a 10-year-old and accused of sexually abusing more than 130 children over three decades. 

Although the deposition was closed to the public, an 88-page transcript of the morning session was released by the plaintiffs' side. 

Warning letters

William Gordon, a plaintiffs' attorney, asked the cardinal why he had approved Geoghan's transfer in 1984 even though he had received letters and other evidence of abuse by the priest. 

Law said he did not remember reading letters warning about Geoghan's behaviour - including one from his own secretary - and said that doctors had said Geoghan was not a threat. 

"I am sure that medical assurance was given," he said. "Whether it was subsequently put in writing, I cannot say. 

"But I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this letter would never have been put before me for a signature had we not had the assurance of someone competent to give that assurance that this assignment was safe." 

Law is accused of moving priests rather than revealing abuse

Nor did he recall a letter from Bishop John D'Arcy warning him that Geoghan was unfit to be reassigned. 

Tight security

Mark Keane, who says he was a victim of Geoghan and who attended the deposition, said: "It is just impossible for him not to have remembered that letter. I found that the cardinal had some selective amnesia." 

The cardinal arrived for the hearing in Boston in a silver car with tinted windows, and was taken into the building by a phalanx of security personnel. 

Earlier, Mitchell Garabedian, attorney for Mr Geoghan's alleged victims, said he expected to spend several days questioning the cardinal. 

"He has to be honest, he has to be straightforward, he has to come clean. I've been working on this case for eight years - it is time for this," said Mr Garabedian. 

Former priest Paul Shanley was arrested last week in California

Cardinal Law's deposition is being be videotaped so that it can be produced as testimony if he is not available for the civil trial - at that time the tape would be made public. 

The cardinal has been under intense pressure to resign from his position ever since the sex abuse scandal became public. 

He has also been accused of having knowledge of allegations against another priest, Paul Shanley, who has been charged in a criminal case with three counts of child rape. 

On Friday he was severely criticised after the Church announced it would not honour an agreement to pay compensation to 86 of Geoghan's alleged victims, on the basis that this would leave it unable to pay any other victims who might come forward.