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BBC NewsQuote:
US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have signed a framework agreement but said they had made no breakthrough on differences.
Mr Putin said Russia remained opposed to US missile defence plans in Europe, but there were "positive developments". Mr Bush said there was still work to do to persuade Moscow that the system was not aimed at Russia.
Their farewell meeting, in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, came a month before Mr Putin was due to stand down.
Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev also met Mr Bush, saying he hoped to continue advancing Russia-US relations.
'Strategic vision'
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Sochi says that, at the news conference after the talks, the two leaders did not dwell on their differences and were on first name terms throughout.
They said they had agreed to intensify their dialogue.
Bittersweet farewell
"We agreed today that the United States and Russia want to create a system for responding to potential missile threats in which Russia and the United States and Europe will participate as equal partners," Mr Bush said.
"This is a powerful and important strategic vision."
Measures to ensure transparency and confidence-building would address Russian concerns, he added.
Mr Bush said he supported Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization, and favoured removing the Jackson-Vanik amendment, tying trade relations to human rights issues.
Mr Putin said he welcomed US willingness to hear and discuss Russian questions about missile defence.
"I have a cautious optimism about agreement," he said.
"The devil is as usual in the detail. It is important that our experts agreed what confidence-building measures there will be and how they will be carried out in reality."
'Not afraid'
The summit began cordially, with the leaders joining a folk dance during dinner on Saturday evening at Mr Putin's holiday home.
And the following morning they met at a guest house in the presidential compound.
Mr Bush said as they exchanged pleasantries that the meeting would be "interesting".
"You're not afraid to tell me what's on your mind," he said, quoted by the Associated Press.
"When all is said and done, we'll shake hands. You've been a strong leader."
Mr Bush held separate talks with Mr Medvedev, who takes over as Russian president next month.
The president-elect said he wanted to carry on the work done by Mr Bush and Mr Putin to advance bilateral relations, which he described as a "key factor in international security".
Correspondents say the meeting will have given Mr Bush a chance to see how much power Mr Putin will continue to wield when he becomes prime minister.
Mr Bush described the president-elect as a "straightforward fellow".
"I was impressed and look forward to working with him," he said.
Expansion
Their meeting follows a Nato summit in Romania where Mr Putin - a guest at the Bucharest gathering - warned against the Western military alliance's eastward expansion.
The summit also saw Nato countries agreeing to back the US missile plans during the Romanian summit.
On the issue of Nato expansion, Russia maintains that US plans to include Ukraine and Georgia will be viewed as a direct threat.
The two countries are seeking to become members of the alliance, but were not offered a fast-track "Membership Action Plan" at the summit.
The alliance has, however, left open the option of taking them in.
BBC NewsQuote:
Marches have been held in France to call for the release of Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician kidnapped six years ago.
She is being held by Colombian Farc rebels and is said to be seriously ill.
France's foreign minister, the human rights minister and the president's wife, were joined by the Argentine president for the Paris march.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said his country would not stop working for Ms Betancourt's release.
Medical mission
Several thousand people joined the politicians for the march in central Paris.
"We are not going to stop, we will never stop" the efforts to free Ms Betancourt, said Mr Kouchner.
A joint French-Swiss-Spanish medical mission has been in Bogota since Thursday to treat the 46-year-old Betancourt, if the Farc gives permission.
Mr Kouchner said he was waiting for word from the Farc for the medical team to proceed.
Lorenzo Delloye, Ms Betancourt's son, said earlier this week she had Hepatitis B and urgently needed a blood transfusion to stay alive.
The Colombian government has promised to suspend military operations against the Farc in the area where many of its hostages are believed to be held.
Ms Betancourt - a former Colombian presidential candidate - was pictured looking thin and frail in a recent video.
She is one of 39 high-profile hostages whom the Farc would like to exchange for 500 rebels currently in prison.
The rebel group has been fighting the Colombian government for more than 40 years.
BBC NewsQuote:
Renewed violence has broken out in a Tibetan area of western China, with reports of several injuries.
Xinhua news agency said rioters attacked government offices in Garze, Sichuan province, on Thursday evening, leaving one official seriously hurt.
Tibetan exile groups say security forces fired on crowds of civilians, killing at least eight people.
The violence comes weeks after unrest swept through Tibetan areas and Beijing responded with a security crackdown.
Protests were peaceful initially, but later turned violent and ethnic Chinese were targeted.
Tibetan exile groups say Chinese security forces killed dozens of protesters. Beijing says about 19 people were killed in rioting.
Foreign media organisations cannot report freely from Tibetan areas, so it is difficult to confirm facts from the area.
'Warning shots'
The latest Xinhua report states that a government official was "attacked and seriously wounded" in the Donggu township at about 2000 (1200 GMT) on Thursday.
"Local officials exercised restraint during the riot and repeatedly told the rioters to abide by the law," Xinhua quoted an official with the prefectural government as saying.
"Police were forced to fire warning shots and put down the violence," the official added.
A UK-based activist group said eight people had been killed in the incident - including at least three women and one monk.
Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign said Tibetan exiles in India confirmed that monks had marched on government buildings after two of them were arrested for having pictures of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
More than 350 monks demanded their release and were joined by about 400 lay people, he said.
Security forces opened fire after the demonstration had begun to disperse, he said.
Chinese authorities have repeatedly blamed the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, for stirring up unrest. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate denies the accusations.
BBC NewsQuote:
Twelve Palestinian militants have fled from a prison in the West Bank town of Nablus, saying they had been beaten up by security forces at the jail.
The 12 were in Jneid prison under a deal offering amnesty from Israel in return for surrendering weapons and three months' Palestinian detention.
They belong to the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of the Fatah movement.
Nablus Governor Jamal al-Muhaisen urged the men to return to the jail.
"If they want to come back they are welcome but we won't let them move freely or carry weapons."
Last month a Nablus gunman involved in the amnesty was shot dead by Israeli troops after fleeing the jail.
One of the detainees, senior commander Mahdi Abu Ghazaleh, told AFP their deal had been broken.
"We left the prison because of the aggression on the part of masked members of the national security forces against the detainees," he said.
"We gave up our weapons according to an agreement but we received nothing in return.
"They told us if you give up your weapons and spend three months in jail, there will be an amnesty and the Israeli army will stop its operations in Nablus but nothing happened."
Israel and the United States have repeatedly urged the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, to take action against militant groups, as part of efforts to advance peace negotiations.
.Quote:
A Zimbabwe court is to rule on whether it has the authority to order the release of delayed presidential election results that Robert Mugabe's opponents say will show his long grip on power is over.
No results have emerged from the presidential vote nine days ago and Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF wants the electoral commission to delay announcing the outcome pending a recount.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition says Mugabe wants the delay to help him find a way to cling to power despite his people rejecting him in the face of hyperinflation and economic collapse.
It is asking the High Court to force the release of the results.
On Sunday, after a hearing lasting almost four hours, High Court judge Tendai Uchena adjourned to consider an electoral commission argument that he did not have jurisdiction.
The MDC says its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has already won and should be declared president, ending Mugabe's uninterrupted 28-year rule since independence from Britain.
Tsvangirai says the country is on a razor's edge and called on the international community to help resolve the stalemate.
"Major powers here, such as South Africa, the US and Britain, must act to remove the white-knuckle grip of Mugabe's suicidal reign and oblige him and his minions to retire," Tsvangirai wrote in Britain's Guardian newspaper yesterday.
Mugabe suffered his first election defeat when ZANU-PF lost control of parliament in the March 29 elections.
ZANU-PF and independent monitors' projections show Tsvangirai has won the presidential election but will be forced into a runoff vote after failing to win an absolute majority.
ZANU-PF's strategy to stay in power includes legal challenges to some of the parliamentary results and the mobilisation of pro-government militias before any runoff.
The re-emergence of war veterans, who led a wave of violent occupations of white farms as part of a government land redistribution programme, increased fears Mugabe's supporters would try to intimidate opponents.
Responding to reports of fresh farm invasions by the war veterans, Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) chief executive Hendrick Olivier said police had dispersed groups of people "claiming to be war veterans ordering farmers to vacate their farms" in Masvingo province.
"We have also received similar reports from two farms in Centenary. Reports have also been made to the police and we hope they will act as swiftly as they did in Masvingo," he said.
Agricultural officials say a majority of Zimbabwe's 4500 or so white commercial farmers have been forced off their properties since 2000 when Mugabe launched his land reforms.
Analysts say the 600-700 remaining are spread across the country, but mostly in large cattle ranches and wildlife estates in southern Masvingo and Matabeleland provinces.
Most evictions took place in the grain- and tobacco- producing belt of Mashonaland.
The new invasions by the war veterans are taking place in these areas, and in Masvingo where the remaining white farmers are being accused of harbouring fellow whites who want to claim back their properties.
The state-run Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying Zimbabweans should protect their land from former colonisers. It said he made the plea at the funeral of a relative.
Electoral rules say a runoff must be held three weeks after the release of results, meaning the longer the delay the more time Mugabe has to regroup.
On Saturday, Tsvangirai accused the 84-year-old former guerrilla leader of "preparing a war on the people".
Zimbabwe state radio reported the war veterans had threatened to occupy all white farms in Masvingo Province after reports that their original owners were returning to land seized by the government after 2000.
The state-owned Sunday Mail said Zanu-PF had rejected an opposition offer to form a unity government. The MDC said it had made no approaches to the ruling party.
"That's absolutely nonsense, we won this election under extremely difficult circumstances.
The only thing that worries us is the violence and the war that they have unleashed on the people of Zimbabwe," spokesman Tendai Biti said.
Mugabe's government is widely accused in the West of stealing previous presidential and parliamentary elections, and his removal is regarded by Washington and London as necessary to rebuilding Zimbabwe's shattered economy.
Zimbabweans are struggling with inflation of more than 100,000 per cent - the highest in the world - mass unemployment and shortages of meat, bread, fuel and other necessities
Reuters
ReutersQuote:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/709179.jpg
SHANNON MATTHEWS: her suspected kidnapper was allegedly having an affair with her mother.
The mystery surrounding the abduction of British nine-year-old Shannon Matthews has deepened after claims her mother was having an affair with the suspected kidnapper.
The girl's disappearence sparked a major search. She was found hidden in the base of a bed at a house less than two kilometres from her family home.
Her aunt Amanda Hyett, the sister of Shannon's stepfather Craig Meehan, told Britain's Sunday Mirror: "Karen and Mike have been having an affair for months. Karen had her bags packed the day Shannon went missing."
Mike Donovan, 39, is in prison accused of kidnapping Shannon after a swimming trip on February 19.
The girl has been living with foster parents since she was located on March 15, and now refuses to come home.
Hyett, 25, was arrested on suspicion of aiding Donovan after police found her fingerprint on a £20 note seized from Donovan's home.
Her arrest came two days after Meehan, 22, was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
Hyett now insists Donovan and Shannon's mother, Karen, had been seeing each other for some time behind Meehan's back.
"[Karen] was planning to leave Craig and run off with Mike," Hyett said.
"Karen was always going out and leaving Craig at home with the kids. She told him she was round at her mum's but really she was with Mike."
Shannon has made it clear she would rather live with her foster parents and the cat police gave her.
When Karen saw her daughter for just the second time since she was located by police, she asked the girl to come home but, the girl's grandmother said, was told: "No. I've got a pussycat. I love my pussycat. It follows me round and sleeps in my bed."
Police have kept Karen away from her daughter for almost three weeks while they "gently" quiz the girl about her abduction.
Karen's three other children were taken into care from the family home in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, on April 5.