Gaza air campaign 'a first stage'

Israel's air assault on Gaza is "the first in several stages" of operations aimed at ending militant rocket fire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said.

As bombing continued for a fourth day, another top official said Israel was ready for "long weeks of action".

Palestinian officials say more than 360 people have been killed since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.

As EU officials met to discuss the crisis, some reports from Israel said it was considering a temporary truce.

Mr Olmert was set to discuss the idea of a 48-hour suspension, suggested by France, with his officials later in the day, the French news agency AFP said.

But Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer warned a truce would allow militant group Hamas - which controls Gaza - "to regain strength... and prepare an even stronger attack against Israel".

US President Bush agreed in a telephone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that for any ceasefire to be effective it had to respected by Hamas, the White House said.

A BBC reporter says Israeli tanks and troops are massed along Gaza's border.

Correspondents say this could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of crossings to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, as EU foreign ministers held talks in Paris to discuss the crisis.

Foreign ministers from the Quartet trying to broker peace in the Middle East - the US, Russia, the UN and the EU - also held a conference call, no details of which were released.

'Defenceless population'

On Tuesday, Israeli jets attacked more targets linked to Hamas, hitting a number of government buildings and security installations.

See detailed map of attacks

At least 10 people were killed and 40 said to have been wounded in the raids.

One air strike killed two sisters, the eldest aged 11, riding in a donkey cart in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.

Gaza aid boat 'rammed by Israel' US tacitly backs Israeli offensive Aid worker diary: Gaza raids Rocket attacks plague Israeli towns

The UN has called for an investigation into the attacks, which are causing heavy civilian casualties. It says at least 62 of the Palestinians killed so far were women and children.

Richard Falk - the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories - said the international community must put more pressure on Israel to end its assault.

"Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months," Mr Falk said in a BBC interview.

But Israeli officials said there was more to come.

The Israeli military "has made preparations for long weeks of action", deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai said.

Mr Olmert's statement that the bombardment was "the first of several stages approved by the security cabinet" was quoted from a briefing he gave to President Shimon Peres on Tuesday.

Separately, Israeli naval vessels confronted pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break the Gaza blockade by boat. The activists said one vessel rammed them; their boat made port in Lebanon with heavy damage on one side.

Rocket fire

The Egyptian-Gaza border was due to be opened to permit more trucks carrying aid to enter the territory, and for wounded Palestinians to be transported to Egyptian hospitals.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, under popular pressure to open the crossing fully, said that could not happen while Hamas, rather than the Palestinian Authority, led by its rival Fatah, controlled the border.

Demonstrators in Yemen, angered by Egypt's co-operation with the blockade on Gaza, briefly stormed the country's consulate in Aden, where they burned an Egyptian flag and hoisted a Palestinian one.

There have been angry protests against the Israeli offensive in many other cities across the Arab world and in several European capitals.

Binyamin Netanyahu: 'Terrorists cannot have immunity'

Hamas has pressed on with rocket and mortar assaults, killing three Israeli civilians and a soldier in areas that have not previously suffered such fatalities.

Israeli military officials said rocket attacks landing more than 25 miles (40km) from Gaza put nearly 10% of Israel's population of seven million within range.

Israeli political leaders have been under pressure to act against rocket fire with a general election looming in early February.

Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu has backed the offensive, telling the BBC that "Israel is using a fraction of its power to try to target surgically the terrorists".

The strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.

Correspondents say short of a full-scale invasion of Gaza, it is unlikely Israel will be able to prevent rocket fire permanently.

Israel dismantled its strategic settlements and military bases in Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of the narrow coastal strip and its airspace.

GAZA VIOLENCE 27-30 DECEMBER 1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday. Woman killed in second rocket attack, Tuesday 2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday 3. Sderot: rocket attacks 4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday 5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday 6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday 7. Three brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday 8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday. Security officer killed in air strike on Hamas police station, Tuesday 9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday 10. Tel al-Hawa - Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday. At least three buildings in ministry compound hit, Tuesday 11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday 12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya targeted, Monday 13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday 14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday 15. Beit Hanoun - two girls killed in air strike, Tuesday 16. Israeli soldier killed at unspecified military base near Nahal Oz border crossing - five other soldiers wounded in same rocket attack, Monday night.

Growing calls for Gaza ceasefire

Foreign powers stepped up calls for Israel and the militant group Hamas to end hostilities, after four days of violence in and around Gaza.

Both the Quartet of Middle East peace-brokers and EU foreign ministers have called for an immediate ceasefire.

Palestinians say more than 360 people have died in Israeli air strikes since Saturday. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza.

Israel has warned that it is ready for weeks of action to end the rocket fire.

The calls came as Israel confirmed that a rocket fired from Gaza landed in the town of Beersheba. At 42 km (26 miles) inside Israel, it is the furthest a missile has ever reached.

See detailed map of attacks

In Gaza, Israeli missiles continued to pound buildings and installations linked to Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. The Israeli military said it hit more than 30 targets.

The UN says at least 62 civilians have died since Saturday; humanitarian agencies say they are struggling to contend with both the air strikes and a lack of supplies.

"We have nothing in our warehouses," a spokesman for UNWRA, the UN agency in Gaza, told the BBC.

"There is a serious shortage of medical supplies. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are not equipped at all to handle this huge number of dead and injured people."

Aid access

The statement from the Quartet - which comprises the US, UN, EU and Russia - followed a teleconference involving key representatives.

It called for a ceasefire "that would be fully respected" and for all parties to address "the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza", a UN spokeswoman said.

In pictures: Day four of raids Taking cover on Sderot front line Long wait at Rafah crossing

The EU foreign ministers echoed the call following a meeting in the French capital, Paris.

Food, urgent medical aid, fuel and humanitarian workers should be allowed in to Gaza and the injured evacuated, it said.

Diplomatic efforts to achieve a lasting peace deal should be stepped up, it added.

Earlier in the day French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner proposed a 48-hour truce to allow aid in to Gaza; Israel has yet to respond.

But the BBC's correspondent in Paris says the Israeli government has little time for many European governments' positions and the ministers are well aware of their relative impotence.

The US - Israel's strongest ally - has called for a long-term solution beyond any immediate ceasefire. But the White House reiterated that the onus was on Hamas to act first to end the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier that the air assault on Gaza was "the first in several stages" of operations against Hamas. Another top official said Israel was ready for "long weeks of action".

Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone".

Correspondents say the move could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.

The Israeli air strikes strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace.

GAZA VIOLENCE 27-30 DECEMBER

1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday. Woman killed in second rocket attack, Tuesday
2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday
3. Sderot: rocket attacks
4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday
5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday
6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday
7. Three brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday
8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday. Security officer killed in air strike on Hamas police station, Tuesday
9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday
10. Tel al-Hawa - Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday. At least three buildings in ministry compound hit, Tuesday
11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday
12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya targeted, Monday
13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday
14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday 15. Beit Hanoun - two girls killed in air strike, Tuesday
16. Israeli soldier killed at unspecified military base near Nahal Oz border crossing - five other soldiers wounded in same rocket attack, Monday night.

Renewed protests at Israeli raids

Protests against the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip have again been taking place, with rallies in several cities across the region.

For a second day in Jordan, several thousand protesters gathered in Amman and burned Israeli and American flags.

There were similar rallies in Egypt, Syria, Libya and Iraq with many calling for a firm response from their leaders.

One of the largest gatherings was in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, organised by the Hezbollah movement.

Tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of southern Beirut, many carrying Palestinian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags and banners supporting the Palestinian people, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The rally was called for by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who in a speech on Sunday urged crowds in the Arab and Islamic world to rise up in support of Gaza.

He also urged his fighters in southern Lebanon, who fought a brief war with Israel in 2006, to be on alert in case of Israeli attacks.

In Amman demonstrators, responding to a call by Islamist-led trades unionists, marched to the office of Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and delivered a letter demanding Jordan scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel and close its embassy, the AFP news agency reported.

Egyptians staged their largest yet demonstration against Israel's offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, with thousands taking to the streets of central Cairo.

The rally was once again organised by the Islamist opposition in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Hamas first emerged.

Elsewhere in the Islamic world, there were anti-Israeli protests in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Israel strikes key Hamas offices

Israeli air raids have pounded the Gaza Strip for a third day, hitting key sites linked to militant group Hamas.

Gaza's interior ministry and Islamic University were the latest targets.

Hamas says 312 Palestinians have died since Saturday, of which the UN says 57 were civilians. In Israel, a second person was killed by a militant rocket.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was not fighting the people of Gaza but was in "a war to the bitter end" with Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

Israel has massed forces along the border and has declared the area around the narrow coastal strip a "closed military zone".

GAZA CAMPAIGN DEATHS 312 - Official Gaza toll (source: Hamas) 57 civilians in Gaza (source: UN, hospitals) 2 civilians in Israel (source: Israel police) Are Israel's war aims achievable? Israel looks for knockout blow In pictures: Third day of raids

Correspondents say the move - in addition to the call-up of thousands of reservists - could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.

BBC analyst Jonathan Marcus says the 6,500 reservists called up would be insufficient for a knockout blow against Hamas, which would require nothing less than the re-occupation of the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of centres of Hamas strength, including security compounds, government offices and tunnels into Egypt, have been hit since Israel started its massive bombing campaign on Saturday morning.

As dawn broke on Monday, witnesses said a powerful explosion struck the interior ministry.

Earlier, a raid destroyed a science building at the Islamic University in Gaza - a centre of support for the Islamist militant group that controls the narrow coastal strip. Many top Hamas officials graduated from there.

Also hit was a house near the abandoned home of a senior Hamas leader in the southern town of Rafah.

The UN relief agency in Gaza says 57 civilians have been killed by Israeli fire so far, the latest being five girls who died in Jabaliya refugee camp when Israeli forces bombed a mosque near their home.

See detailed map of attacks

Hamas officials say that 312 Palestinians have been killed in all, and more than 1,400 others wounded.

The latest fatality in Israel was reported to be a labourer at a building site in the city of Ashkelon, that was hit by a medium-range Grad missile. Three people were reported seriously wounded.

'Changing realities'

A Palestinian doctor in Gaza told the BBC nearly all the casualties he had seen overnight and on Monday had been civilians.

He said the hospital where he worked had converted ordinary rooms into intensive care units to cope with the number of wounded and that essential medical supplies were running out.

Israelis in nearby towns have faced an escalated militant rocket threat Grief and fear in Gaza Aid worker diary: Part two Rocket attacks plague Israeli towns

A small number of wounded Palestinians have begun passing through the Rafah crossing into Egypt. About 30 were expected to leave for treatment in the course of Monday, border officials said.

The Israeli action has sparked anger across the Arab world.

In the West Bank, a Palestinian reportedly stabbed at least three Israelis in a Jewish settlement before he was shot and arrested.

Protests have been held in countries including Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as in a number of European capitals.

At the UN, the Security Council joined international calls for restraint by urging an end to all violence between Israel and Gaza.

The US, Israel's strongest ally on the council, said the onus was on Hamas to stop rocket fire first and commit itself to a truce.

Israel says Palestinian militants have fired more than 110 rockets from the coastal territory since Saturday.

RUN-UP TO GAZA RAIDS Shaky Egyptian-brokered six-month truce between Hamas and Israel agreed on 19 June Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli operations in Gaza reduced Violence resumes on 4 Nov as Israel launches incursion which it says targets Hamas tunnel; Palestinians respond with rocket fire Hostilities increase; Israel tightens blockade on Gaza Truce expires on 19 Dec; both sides blame each other for its breakdown; rocket fire increases Israel launches major air strikes on 27 Dec

The strikes began on Saturday less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Ehud Barak told a special parliamentary session that Israel was "taking all precautions" to avoid harming Palestinian civilians, but blamed militants for intentionally hiding in the civilian population.

His statement, and that of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday about "changing realities on the ground" in Gaza, have fuelled speculation about a sustained Israeli bombing campaign.

Analysts said Saturday was the single deadliest day in Gaza since Israel's occupation of the territory in 1967, although no independent confirmation is available of the numbers killed.

The violence began days after a six-month truce expired between Israel and Hamas, and as Israel was preparing for a general election in February.

The exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has called for a new intifada, or uprising, against Israel, while the movement's Gaza leader, Ismail Haniya, called the attack an "ugly massacre".

Attacks over the Gaza-Israel border regularly put the truce under strain with both sides blaming each other for unprovoked violations.

From 1967, Israel's military occupied the Gaza Strip and Jewish settlers built communities within the territory. Israel withdrew in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace.

Mideast papers on Gaza

Commentators in the West Bank-based Palestinian press are united in dismay at the Israeli operation in Gaza, condemning it as an "ugly massacre".

Some also voice their fury at what they see as the inaction of the region's Arab states and the West's support for Israel, while one commentator fears the operation will only drive more of Gaza's young men into the arms of radical Islamists.

Israeli air strikes have destroyed Hamas targets in Gaza.

In Israel, press commentators are broadly supportive of the army operation, and insist that it is up to Hamas to stop the violence, by ending firing of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel. One writer, however, disagrees, saying that every war is a "crime against humanity".

EDITORIAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-QUDS

As the Arab and international silence continues, the credibility of Europe, the United States and the Arab regimes is collapsing. It is becoming very clear that the Palestinians are required to be a broken people... However, they forget that the many massacres to which our people in the Gaza Strip have been exposed will only increase their steadfastness.

BASIM ABU-SAMMIYA IN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH

The Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip is an ugly massacre. However, the public protests by the Arab countries are not enough on their own. We have become used to being massacred and to dying under the rubble while hearing statements of condemnation and the commotion of demonstrations. However, after a day or two they disappear only to leave the sounds of shells and missiles.

KHALID AL-HARRUB IN AL-AYYAM

What is happening now is the ideal situation for the recruitment of the angry young men who feel collectively insulted. The picture that the Islamists on the streets are painting is that Israel, supported by the West, is waging a war of extermination against the Palestinian people as powerless Arab regimes watch idly.

SAMIH SHBEIB IN AL-AYYAM

The main objective of the Israeli operation is not to destroy Hamas's rule [in Gaza], because this would entail a land invasion and lengthy occupation of the Gaza Strip. What it wants is to deal Hamas and the resistance a painful and effective blow in the Gaza Strip, in order to weaken the resistance and force it to accept a truce according to Israel's conditions.

EITAN HABER IN YEDIOT AHARONOT

This is a strange, unique war. It has no defined borders. There is no occupation and no victory. It could end in an hour or in a year. The way in which it develops will be dictated to a large extent by the Palestinians: They stop firing, we will also stop firing. They'll continue? Their end will be bitter.

BEN KASPIT IN CENTRE-RIGHT MA'ARIV

The ground operations are due at some point. At some point it will be possible to take control of territory in Gaza and effect great damage. Hamas can halt the whole affair at any given moment if it agrees to renew the truce on acceptable terms. Meanwhile, Hamas is conveying stubbornness.

JONATHAN GEFFEN IN CENTRE-RIGHT MA'ARIV

Just like in the first days of the Second Lebanon War, we are again in euphoria. The media, like then, is full of prattle about the morality of the war. Have we not learned that every war, no matter how justified, is a crime against humanity? Most of the public is united around the only consensus we have ever had: war and bereavement, Holocaust and disasters.

EDITORIAL IN LEFT-OF-CENTRE HA'ARETZ

Re-establishing the ceasefire on better terms and with better supervision is a reasonable goal. Toppling the Hamas regime, or eradicating the last rocket factory where the last Hamas member is making the last Qassam rocket, are not reasonable goals, in part because they are unachievable without a prolonged presence on the ground in Gaza.

ALEX FISHMAN IN CENTRIST YEDIOT AHARONOT

In order to stop the firing [of rockets] there is a need to reach a settlement, and in order to convince Hamas to reach a settlement we are now breaking its bones - in part to ensure that the price it demands is not high. However, we have not yet decided what price we are ready to pay. It is worth our while to decide quickly so that others may not decide for us.

BBC Monitoringselects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

Ghana knife-edge result delayed

The electoral commissioner of Ghana has delayed the final result of Sunday's presidential run-off until Friday.

Results in the Ashanti and Volta areas have been disputed, and the Tain region, where the poll was delayed, will now vote on Friday.

Hundreds of people have mobbed the electoral commission headquarters

Officials said the contest between the opposition's John Atta Mills and ruling party's Nana Akufo-Addo was so close one result could decide the outcome.

The BBC correspondent in Ghana says the further delay might heighten tensions.

New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Mr Akufo-Addo gained the most votes in the first round earlier this month but did not pass the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.

Electoral commission chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan said opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Mr Atta Mills had won 50.13% of the vote, while Mr Akufo-Addo had taken 49.87%.

RUN-OFF RESULTS John Atta Mills: 4,501,466 votes (50.13%) Nana Akufo-Addo: 4,478,411 votes (49.87%) 229 out of 230 constituencies Source: Electoral Commission of Ghana

This means just 23,055 votes divide the two candidates, out of a total cast of some 9m.

"Results are so close that the result of the Tain constituency could affect the eventual winner," Mr Afari-Gyan said.

Warning shots

He said the results covered all 230 constituencies, except Tain in the Brong Ahafo region, which was unable to vote on Sunday because of a problem with voting materials.

According to the Daily Guide newspaper, the ruling party had accused electoral officials in Tain of stealing about 1,820 ballot papers, which they claimed were given to the opposition.

The district has some 53,000 registered voters.

The privately-owned Joy FM radio station reported that during the first round of the vote in Tain earlier this month, 30,000 electors turned out and awarded a narrow victory to Mr Atta Mills.

The commissioner, who has been stuck in behind-closed-doors wrangling with both parties in the capital Accra, said they would also use the delay to audit the disputed results.

The electoral commission headquarters was besieged for much of Tuesday by thousands of NDC supporters demanding their candidate be declared the winner.

Armed police and soldiers backed by water cannon trucks and an armoured personnel carrier kept the protesters behind barricades and at one point fired warning shots.

Ice cream

As tensions rose, party officials handed out ice cream and water to the crowds to calm them down.

RIVALS AT A GLANCE JOHN ATTA MILLS (left) Age: 64 Party: National Democratic Congress Executive posts: Vice-president 1997-2000 Profession: University professor Hobbies: Hockey, swimming Family: Married with one child NANA AKUFO-ADDO (right) Age: 64 Party: New Patriotic Party Executive posts: Attorney general 2001-03; foreign affairs minister 2003-07 Profession: Lawyer Family: Married with five children

Mr Atta Mills had earlier claimed victory, but the NPP said this was premature.

Shops closed early on Tuesday, with businessmen fearing that there could be looting once the result is announced.

The opposition has been disputing results awarded to the governing party from five constituencies in its stronghold of the Ashanti region.

It is understood turnout in one area was recorded at 99% - said by election experts to be unheard of - while there were also complaints dead people, children and foreign nationals had been listed among voters.

The NPP, meanwhile, said there had been widespread intimidation of its election agents in the Volta region and results from these areas would be challenged.

International observers have given the poll a preliminary clean bill of health and urged both candidates to accept the results.

Some 12.5 million people were eligible to vote in the election - the fifth since Ghana's return to democracy in 1992.

President John Kufuor is standing down having served two consecutive terms.

In the two previous elections he defeated Mr Atta Mills.

Mr Atta Mills served as vice-president under former leader Jerry Rawlings.

Monitors hope Ghana's poll can help salvage the tarnished image of constitutional democracy in Africa, after flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups in Mauritania in August and in Guinea last week.

The stakes have been raised in these elections because Ghana has just found oil, which is expected to start generating revenue in 2010.

UK troops to leave Iraq 'by July'

Gordon Brown and Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki say UK forces will have "completed their tasks" and leave the country by the end of July next year.

The two leaders' joint statement came as they held talks in Baghdad before Mr Brown headed to Basra.

The UK PM praised British forces for making Iraq a "better place".

There are currently about 4,100 UK troops in Basra, southern Iraq. Between 200 to 300 military advisers are likely to remain after combat troops leave.

Mr Brown will make a statement to the House of Commons on UK troop deployment in Iraq on Thursday.

'New era'

The withdrawal announcement comes after at least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded in a twin bomb attack in Baghdad on Wednesday.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams said the announcement ended months of speculation.

At a press conference, Mr Brown said: "We have agreed today that the mission will end no later than 31 May next year.

"Our troops will be coming home within the next two months [after that]."

Mr Maliki confirmed that the agreement included a provision for the Iraqi government to request an extension of the British military presence.

However, both leaders indicated it was not expected to be used.

Mr Brown said: "We have made a huge contribution and of course given people an economic stake in the future of Iraq. We leave Iraq a better place."

He added: "I am proud of the contribution British forces have made. They are the pride of Britain and the best in the world."

In their joint statement, the leaders said the role played by the UK combat forces was "drawing to a close".

The partnership between the two countries would "continue to take on new dimensions and will be strengthened through cooperation in all areas", they added.

Timing questioned

The withdrawal of UK troops is expected to start in the spring.

In Basra Mr Brown visited British troops and laid a wreath in memory of the 178 British servicemen and women who have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

Gordon Brown paid tribute to servicemen and women who have died

Responding to the announcement, Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said it showed "renewed confidence" in the Iraqi government's ability to maintain security on its own.

But he questioned the timing of the announcement: "The government's policy hitherto has always been to say that they would be coming out, in the near future, when circumstances allowed on the ground.

"I don't know why the government would have changed their mind and given such a specific commitment to dates.

"I'm sure that it's complete coincidence that it's done on the same day that we've got horrendous unemployment figures."

The Conservatives, the UK's official opposition, have reiterated their calls for a public inquiry into the causes and conduct of the Iraq war.

At prime minister's questions, shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "The government has delayed for years the establishment of an inquiry and now the learning of lessons that may be relevant to Afghanistan and elsewhere can no longer be delayed."

Harriet Harman, standing in for Mr Brown at PMQs, replied: "We have made clear that while our troops are still in Iraq, which they are, doing their duties, that we will not have a full inquiry on how they went in until after they return.

"We have to respect the fact that our fighting forces are still in Iraq. There is no delay."

Nick Clegg, the leader of the UK's third largest party the Liberal Democrats, said: "After five long years in which the enormity of our forces' courage and sacrifice has been matched only by the enormity of the government's mistake, it is a huge relief that the end is at last in sight.

"There must be a fully independent public inquiry into how this was allowed to happen. The time when Brown has been able to hide behind our troops' ongoing presence in the country is coming to an end.

"The death and injury of hundreds of British troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians in this futile war cannot simply be swept under the carpet."

The SNP and Plaid Cymru also called for ministers to set out a timetable for a public inquiry into the war.

Iraq MPs rage over shoe thrower

There have been scenes of uproar in the Iraqi parliament as MPs discussed whether to free a journalist who threw his shoes at the US president.

The scenes forced the speaker to suspend parliament until Thursday.

They came as two of the journalist's brothers said he had appeared before a judge but not in public.

Mr Zaidi's brothers fear he has been badly beaten

Muntadar al-Zaidi had been expected to attend a court hearing, but officials told his family that the judge had visited him in his prison cell.

His brother Dargham, quoted by the Associated Press, alleged that he must have been severely beaten and officials feared his appearance could trigger public anger.

Another brother, Uday, said Mr Zaidi was being hidden away somewhere inside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

"We waited until 10 in the morning but Muntadar did not show up," he told al-Jazeera TV.

"Upon inquiring as to his whereabouts, we were told that the interrogating judge had gone to see him, something that contradicts the measures followed in all international laws in general."

Debate call

Uday Zaidi urged Iraqis to continue street protests as his brother's whereabouts were still unknown.

Mid East press glee at incident Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult Profile: Shoe-throwing journalist

They spilled over into the Iraqi parliament, where MPs gathered on Wednesday to discuss the withdrawal of all non-US troops from the country by June next year.

A group loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr interrupted the session, AP said, demanding a debate on the fate of Mr Zaidi.

Iraqi officials have denied that he was severely beaten after the incident at a Baghdad news conference, during which he hurled shoes at US President George W Bush.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," yelled Mr Zaidi as he threw the shoes.

Mr Zaidi has been remanded in custody while the judge investigates the case as part of complicated legal proceedings that could take months before a possible trial.

Thousands of Iraqis have held demonstrations calling for his release in the days since his arrest.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Tuesday that Mr Bush had no hard feelings about the incident.

Russia 'to give' Lebanon war jets

Moscow is to give 10 MiG-29 fighter jets to Lebanon free of charge, says Russia's state news agency Interfax.

The head of the Russia's defence cooperation body, Mikhail Dmitriyev, said the consignment was "a form of military and technical assistance".

Russia said the jets would help to ensure stability in the region

"We view the Lebanese army as the main guarantor of this nation's stability, therefore the armed forces of this country must be strengthened," he said.

Delivery of the jets to Lebanon will also be paid for by the Russians.

Mr Dmitriyev said the jets would be fully repaired and upgraded before being delivered.

He added that the two countries were also discussing a possible sale of Russian armour to Beirut, reported Reuters. Hr said this was possible because of Lebanon's recent stability.

Lebanon's military capability is greatly outweighed by Arab neighbour Syria, with which is has a history of sometimes strained relations, and the Jewish state Israel which lies to the south.

Lebanon and Israel have never signed a peace treaty and Israeli fighter jets continually violate Lebanese airspace in what the Israeli military describes as reconnaissance missions, but which are condemned by the United Nations.

Move to impeach Somali president

Nearly 120 Somali MPs have voted to start impeachment proceedings against President Abdullahi Yusuf, accusing him of being a "stumbling block to peace".

He must now appear before parliament to defend himself. The motion would need a two-thirds majority to succeed.

Abdullahi Yusuf sacked his popular prime minister on Sunday

The move in Baidoa comes a day after the president named a new prime minister in defiance of parliament.

MPs also supported a UN-backed peace deal between the transitional government and Islamist rivals.

But the Islamist al-Shabab insurgent group that controls much of southern Somalia has not signed up to the agreement.

'Propaganda'

President Yusuf told AP news agency from the seat of parliament in Baidoa: "It cannot be true that I'm an obstacle to peace. It is propaganda."

The resolution to impeach him - which alleged he had violated 14 articles of the Western-backed transitional government's constitution - had the support of 117 legislators in the 275-member parliament.

President Yusuf is accused of illegally printing money, nepotism, behaving like a dictator and failing to push the peace process forward after four years as president.

He is also charged with side-lining some of the communities.

Correspondents say this is coded language referring to the increasingly bitter clan rivalries that have deepened under his leadership.

The president's sacking of the prime minister sparked protests

President Yusuf's biggest miscalculation appears to have been a decision to sack Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and his cabinet on Sunday, they say.

Lawmakers soundly rejected President Yusuf's unilateral decision - saying it needed parliament's approval - and voted to keep Mr Nur as prime minister.

President Yusuf and Mr Nur had clashed in recent months over attempts to deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.

Mr Nur was chairman of Somalia's Red Crescent Society during many years of conflict before being named prime minister.

On Tuesday, Kenya announced it would impose sanctions on Mr Yusuf and his family because it also said he was an obstacle to peace.

The BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan in the capital, Mogadishu, says it is not clear if the impeachment move will work as Somali lawmakers can be very unreliable in their voting.

'Only option left'

Mustafa Duhulow, an agriculture minister who topped the list of MPs behind the impeachment motion, said a number of lawmakers were in Mogadishu, or even out of the country.

"He's the president. He should be the one who's working very hard to bring the unity to Somalia, reconciliation to Somalia. Now he doesn't want to do that," he told the BBC World Service's Focus on Africa programme.

"The president is the problem of the country. We've tried everything… the only option left for us is to impeach him."

Some analysts fear a power vacuum after the Ethiopians leave

Correspondents say Somalia's government badly needs a unified front if it is to find peace with hardline Islamist insurgents who now control almost all of southern Somalia.

In parliament on Wednesday, MPs also endorsed with a show of hands a reconciliation deal between the more moderate Islamist Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) and the transitional government, sponsored by the UN in neighbouring Djibouti.

That agreement requires Ethiopian forces - which helped government forces drive Islamist forces from Mogadishu two years ago - to pull out in just over two weeks.

A small African Union peacekeeping force has indicated it may leave with the Ethiopians unless it gets reinforcements.

About one million people have fled their homes - many after fierce fighting in Mogadishu between Islamists and the Ethiopia-backed government forces.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991 when warlords overthrew the regime of President Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

Zimbabwe neighbours' aid campaign

Southern African countries are launching an urgent campaign to help Zimbabwe fight cholera and overcome its acute food shortage.

The plan was announced by President Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa after a meeting in Pretoria of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

President Motlanthe also said he hoped a unity government would be formed in Zimbabwe in the coming days.

There are fears the rainy season will increase the cases of cholera

But Zimbabwe's opposition said it did not know what he was talking about.

After disputed presidential elections in March and June, President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) agreed to form a power-sharing government.

But implementation of that deal, reached in September, has been deadlocked over whose supporters would get key ministries.

Meanwhile, 18,000 Zimbabweans have been infected with cholera and nearly 1,000 have died from the disease. Aid agencies warn cases will surge with heavy rains.

President Motlanthe said on Wednesday the Sadc appeal was being launched "for the people of Zimbabwe in order to help them overcome the challenges facing their country".

All 15 members of the regional body were expected to contribute to the aid effort, he added.

Correspondents say the Sadc campaign is firstly an international appeal to mobilise funds and resources for Zimbabwe's people.

It will also seek to address donors' concerns about food distribution being used by Mr Mugabe's government as a political tool.

'Tragedy'

The campaign was launched as Australia added its voice to growing calls for Mr Mugabe to stand down and tightened sanctions against his government.

Canberra added 75 individuals and four firms in Zimbabwe to a blacklist of financial and visa restrictions.

Months of power-sharing talks have not broken the deadlock

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the measures were "a clear signal the Australian government holds the brutal Mugabe regime and its closest supporters accountable for the tragedy occurring in Zimbabwe".

African countries like Botswana and Kenya have also urged Mr Mugabe to quit.

But in South Africa's capital, President Motlanthe told journalists he would not join calls for Mr Mugabe to step down.

He said: "The issue of whether President Mugabe should go or not was never been raised by the parties. So, it's really not for us - I mean, I don't know whether the British feel qualified to impose that on the people of Zimbabwe."

President Motlanthe said he hoped a constitutional amendment paving the way for power-sharing - with Mr Mugabe remaining president and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai becoming prime minster - would become law this week.

"We are hopeful that such an inclusive government will be put in place this week," he said.

'News to us'

But Zimbabwe's opposition said it knew nothing about any such breakthrough.

"We are not aware of any plans to form a government this week. It's certainly news to us because the outstanding issues we have outlined remain," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Reuters new agency.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Pretoria says the prospect of power-sharing still seems remote - in the week when Zimbabwe's government accused Botswana of hosting military training camps for MDC insurgents.

Meanwhile Nigeria's Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe told the BBC's HardTalk programme that while Nigeria shared the "moral outrage" about Zimbabwe, the best way to move forward was the power-sharing talks.

Earlier, the UK think tank International Crisis Group suggested that both Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai should step aside to end the "hopelessly deadlocked" talks.

This could allow a transitional administration to implement political and economic reforms, it said.

But BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says it is unlikely either side would take up such an idea.

Kenya agrees to election tribunal

Kenya's president and prime minister have signed a deal that will pave the way for an election violence tribunal.

They agreed to it within hours of a deadline set out in a report into the deadly clashes that erupted after last December's elections.

The court will seek to try the ringleaders of the violence.

Some 1,500 people died in the clashes that erupted after the elections

Parliament now has 45 days to set it up to begin hearings by March or a sealed list of suspects will be handed over to the International Criminal Court.

The deadline for Wednesday's agreement was set out by a commission of inquiry into the violence, chaired by Justice Phillip Waki, which reported in October.

That commission also handed over a list of suspects, some thought to be prominent politicians, to the mediator of the power-sharing deal, former UN chief Kofi Annan.

On Tuesday, Kenya's electoral commission was dissolved by MPs - a key recommendation of another inquiry into the election.

Some 1,500 people died in the post-election clashes and another 300,000 people fled their homes.

President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing deal in February to bring an end to the violence and formed a coalition government.

Opec agrees record oil output cut

The oil producers' cartel Opec has agreed to make a record cut in output, slashing 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from its current supply.

Opec has made two other cuts since September, meaning it has cut a total of 4.2 million bpd in four months.

In a news conference, Opec said that it hoped the record cut would boost prices but that it had no formal price target.

The cut means that the target for production for the 12 member states is now 24.845 million bpd.

Demand risks

The cut is effective from 1 January, but the big question with Opec production cuts is always whether the member states will actually make the cuts they have agreed to.

"Given the still-substantial risks to demand and ongoing scepticism on Opec compliance, it could take some time before prices recover materially above $50 to $55 per barrel," said Gordon Gray from Collins Stewart.

Oil prices fell following the agreement, because weekly US inventories figures provided further evidence that motorists were cutting back on their consumption.

Demand for petrol in the four weeks to 12 December was down 2.7% from the same period last year.

US light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $2.07 to $41.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

'Bigger problems'

There was some doubt among analysts about whether the cut would be enough to push prices higher, even if members did comply with it.

"Historically Opec has had to remove around five million barrels from the market in previous slumps, and they're facing bigger problems now than they have done before," said Michael Lewis, head of commodity research at Deutsche Bank.

Oil prices have fallen by more than $100 a barrel from the peak above $147 that they reached in July.

Prices have been falling amid concern about how much less oil will be used by countries experiencing recessions.

Falling consumption means that industrialised nations currently have stockpiles of oil equivalent to 57 days of consumption - supplies that would typically be about 52 days at this time of year.

Zardari rejects Mumbai 'claims'

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said there is still no firm proof that gunmen who attacked the Indian city of Mumbai came from Pakistan.

US, Indian and British officials all say there is clear evidence suggesting the attacks originated in terrorist training camps inside Pakistan.

But speaking to the BBC, Mr Zardari said there was still no conclusive evidence to substantiate the claim.

However he promised Pakistan would take action if a link was proved.

More than 170 people died in last month's attacks in Mumbai (Bombay), which India blamed on the Lashka-e-Taiba militant group.

Full investigation

Mr Zardari told the BBC's Alan Little in Islamabad that Pakistan was prepared to act if adequate evidence of any Pakistani complicity in the attacks emerged.

LASHKAR-E-TAIBA Jihadi organisation based in Pakistan Formed towards the end of the Afghan war against the Soviets Blamed for hundreds of attacks in the region since 1990 Listed as a "terrorist group" by the US and UK

"If that stage comes, and when it comes, I assure you that our parliament, our democracy, shall take the action properly deemed in our constitution and in our law," he said.

He said that Western intelligence agencies had not offered firm evidence to justify claims that the attacks were orchestrated from Pakistani soil and that he would not jump to conclusions until a full investigation had been conducted.

Mr Zardari said claims that the sole surviving attacker had been identified by his own father as coming from Pakistan had not been proven. The man has been named as Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab and is in Indian police custody.

The Pakistani president also said Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, would remain under house arrest.

Pakistan says that terrorism is a common enemy

"Let me assure you that if there is any investigation to be found pointing towards his involvement in any form of terrorism, he shall be tried for that reason," the president said.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa is accused of being a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a charge it denies.

Mr Zardari said that he had asked India to co-operate in an investigation and he would not leap to judgement while that investigation was continuing.

He said that while he was not in denial about Lashkar-e-Taiba's continued activities, ''when you ban an organisation they emerge in some other form''.

Our correspondent says the president's denial will further dismay India, and frustrate Britain and America, which are exerting intense pressure on Pakistan to take action.

'Hiccup'

Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has expressed regret after his Indian counterpart said peace moves between the countries were on hold because of the Mumbai attacks.

But Mr Qureshi said relations between the two countries - which both have nuclear arms - would recover.

"This unfortunate incident has been a setback... to the extent that our composite dialogue is at a pause at the moment," Mr Qureshi said.

"But I am confident that we will overcome this hiccup... the future of Pakistan demands good neighbourly relations with India, so it's my responsibility to develop good bilateral relations."

Mr Qureshi said that the two countries had a "common objective, a common challenge and a common enemy" in relation to "terrorism".

Microsoft plans quick fix for IE

Microsoft is due to issue a patch to fix a security flaw believed to have affected as many as 10,000 websites.

The emergency patch should be available from 1800 GMT on 17 December, Microsoft has said.

The flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser could allow criminals to take control of people's computers and steal passwords.

Internet Explorer is used by vast majority of world's computer users

Internet Explorer is used by the vast majority of computer users and the flaw could affect all versions of it.

So far the vulnerability has affected only machines running Internet Explorer 7.

"Microsoft teams worldwide have been working around the clock to develop a security update to help protect our customers," the software firm said in a statement.

"Until the update is available, Microsoft strongly encourages customers to follow the Protect Your Computer Guidance at www.microsoft.com/protect, which includes activating the Automatic Update setting in Windows to ensure that they receive the update as soon as it is available," the statement read.

Potential danger

According to Rick Ferguson, a senior security adviser at security firm Trend Micro, the flaw has so far been used to steal gaming passwords but more sensitive data could be at risk until the security update is installed.

MICROSOFT SECURITY ADVICE Change IE security settings to high (Look under Tools/Internet Options) Switch to a Windows user account with limited rights to change a PC's settings With IE7 or 8 on Vista turn on Protected Mode Ensure your PC is updated Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date

"It is inevitable that it will be adapted by criminals. It's just a question of modifying the payload the trojan installs," he said.

It is relatively unusual for Microsoft to issue what it calls an "out-of-band" security bulletin and experts are reading the decision to rush out a patch as evidence of the potential danger of the flaw.

Some experts have suggested that users switch browsers until the flaw is fixed.

Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Apple's Safari system are not vulnerable to this current flaw.

But Graham Cluley, senior consultant with security firm Sophos, said no browser is exempt from problems.

"Firefox has issued patches and Apple has too. Whichever browser you are using you have to keep it up to date," he said.

"People have to be prepared and willing to install security updates. That nagging screen asking if you want to update should not be ignored," he said.

Party launched for 'all S Africa'

The leader of a new political party in South Africa has said at the movement's formal launch that it will offer a home to all of the country's racial groups.

Former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said the Congress of the People, or Cope, was the "party of the future".

Cope supporters were in high spirits at the party launch

Correspondents say the party could present real opposition to the African National Congress for the first time.

It is made up largely of ANC defectors, and will challenge the governing party in national elections next year.

Mr Lekota was speaking in Bloemfontein, where he was named as Cope's president.

"The history of South Africa will never be the same again," he said to a cheering crowd of some 4,000 delegates.

"Ours shall be a truly non-racial party that will provide a true home to all South Africans irrespective of race, class or gender."

The ANC has ruled South Africa since the end of white minority rule 14 years ago.

We need to fight joblessness and grow our economy Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota New party to challenge ANC rule Profile: Mosiuoa Lekota Send us your comments

South Africa's main opposition party until now, the Democratic Alliance, draws most of its support from white and mixed-race voters.

Cope emerged after Thabo Mbeki resigned as president in September after a power struggle with ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

Many supporters of the new party were unhappy at the way in which Mr Mbeki was forced to step down.

The BBC's Peter Biles reports from Bloemfontein that delegates have been locked in feverish political debates.

They see the launch as a key moment that signals the growth and development of South Africa's young democracy, he says.

Mr Zuma is also in Bloemfontein on Tuesday for a party rally widely seen as an attempt to divert attention from the launch of Cope.

"It is a call to us, as former soldiers of [ANC's now-defunct military wing Umkhonto weSizwe] MK, to participate in today's battles, the battles that are more important, the battles of building a new nation, of developing South Africa," he said.

As it confirmed Mr Lekota as its leader, Cope named the former premier of Gauteng province, Mbhazima Shilowa, as its first deputy president.

The party also unveiled its latest high profile supporter, the anti-apartheid activist and cleric Allan Boesak.

Mr Boesak was given a rapturous welcome by Cope supporters, before telling them that the tide had turned against the ANC.

Mr Lekota, who has ruled out any reconciliation with the ANC, said that expanding the economy would be the linchpin of Cope's electoral campaign.

"We need to fight joblessness and grow our economy," he said.

"Our approach is stability, hard work and growth."

Electoral test

South African analyst William Mervin Gumede told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that Cope is already starting to change the country's politics.

"Cope has changed the ANC already - the ANC is trying to be more accountable, the ANC is trying to be more consultative and is going to the electorate to explain its decisions - something it hasn't done in the past."

The breakaway party's formation has been marked by a lengthy and problematic search for a name.

The ANC has laid claim to the Congress of the People, since it was the name used for a historic, ANC-sponsored event in 1955.

But the High Court ruled earlier this month that the new party could use the name.

CONTESTED NAMES 1: South African National Congress, challenged by ANC as too similar to its name 2: South African Democratic Congress, already registered by another party 3: Congress of the People, refers to an event when the ANC's Freedom Charter was signed

Cope was already the party's third choice.

Its first choice - South African National Congress - was challenged by the ANC, which said it was too similar to its own name.

Their second choice - South African Democratic Congress - was already registered as a party.

In its first electoral test earlier this month, the ANC dissidents won 10 of 27 wards in the Western Cape - the province where the ANC has always been least popular.

The Cope members had to stand as independent candidates because of the dispute over the party's name.

Our correspondent says the challenge for the new party is to distance itself from Mr Mbeki, and not appear like a group of embittered losers from last year's ANC national conference in Polokwane, where Mr Zuma defeated Mr Mbeki in a leadership contest.

But he also says that Cope, which says it has more than 400,000 members, is in a position to make serious inroads into ANC dominance.

The ANC has around 650,000 paid-up members.

Zimbabwe's air force chief 'shot'

The commander of Zimbabwe's air force has been wounded in what officials are calling an assassination attempt.

Perence Shiri, 53, a close ally of President Mugabe, seen as one of the most feared military leaders, was shot in the arm and is said to be stable.

The opposition MDC says he was one of the masterminds of violence against its supporters during this year's election.

Its spokesman said the attack was aimed at justifying a military crackdown and eventual declaration of an emergency.

Air Marshal Shiri is the first senior figure to be targeted for many years

The incident comes as pressure grows on Zimbabwe to allow international mediation in its political crisis.

The crisis is compounded by a cholera epidemic which has left hundreds dead.

On Monday, at the UN Security Council's first discussions on Zimbabwe since July, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the world was witnessing a failure of the leadership in Zimbabwe to address the crisis.

After disputed presidential elections in March, President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) agreed to form a power-sharing government.

But implementation of that agreement, reached in September, has been dogged by disagreements over whose supporters would get key ministries.

'Terror attacks'

Correspondents say this is the first time such a senior government figure has been the target of a violent attack for many years.

PERENCE SHIRI Accused of masterminding attacks on opposition in 2008 Member of Joint Operations Command - top military body Accused of leading farm invasions in 2000 Led brutal campaign against "dissidents" in 1980s, which left 20,000 dead Called himself "Black Jesus" - as he had the power of life or death Cousin of Robert Mugabe On sanctions list of US, EU Age: 53 Key role for security chiefs Q&A: Zimbabwe crisis

"This is a very, very unusual incident, because Zimbabwe does not have a history of assassinations," the assistant editor of the state-run Herald newspaper, Caesar Zaye, told the BBC World Service's World Today programme.

Air Marshal Shiri was ambushed on Saturday evening while driving to his farm, state media said.

Police said he was accosted by unknown people who shot at his car.

When he heard the gunshots, he got out thinking it was a puncture and was shot. He is now said to be recovering in hospital.

Officials said the incident was one of a series of attacks aimed at destabilising the country.

"The attack on Air Marshal Shiri appears to be a build-up of terror attacks targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government establishments and public transportation systems," the Chronicle newspaper quoted Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi as saying.

There were several bomb blasts around Harare last year which caused little damage. The courts have acquitted several opposition activists accused of staging the attacks.

Mr Zaye said the alleged assassination attempt was "an attempt to bring a security angle into the crisis".

However, other sources suggest the cause was either a feud within the ruling Zanu-PF party or an attempted robbery.

Crackdown fear

On Monday, Zimbabwe's government said it had "compelling evidence" that neighbouring Botswana was hosting military training camps for opposition groups intent on bringing about regime change.

Botswana denied the charges, and said Harare had failed to provide any tangible evidence to back up its allegations.

Air Marshal Shiri, who is also Mr Mugabe's cousin and a loyal supporter since he came to power, sits on the Joint Operations Command which advises the president on military matters.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the JOC was behind the violent attacks on its supporters ahead of June's presidential run-off - allegations the military strongly denied.

Air Marshal Shiri was commander of the Fifth Brigade, blamed for the killing of 20,000 people in Zimbabwe's south-western Matabeleland region during the 1980s.