Gordon Brown has called for further sanctions against Iran as a test of the international community’s “strength”. The prime minister said Iran was continuing to defy the UN in seeking to develop nuclear weapons “under the cover” of a civil nuclear programme. If Tehran did not start to co-operate, it must be “isolated”, he told MPs. Mr Brown said he was “shocked” by reports Iran may execute nine more people accused of inciting violence after last year’s disputed election. ‘Essential action’ He said Tehran had a duty to respect the right of its citizens to peaceful protest. Facing questions from senior MPs, Mr Brown said he believed the time had come for further sanctions against Iran for its continued defiance of the UN over its nuclear programme. Iran insists its nuclear activities are peaceful and has refused to halt uranium enrichment programmes. The International Atomic Energy Authority recently said that 20 years of undeclared nuclear work in the country had undermined international trust in its intentions. ” But I think it’s essential that the international community shows that it has strength in this matter by imposing these sanctions ” Gordon Brown Mr Brown said evidence suggested Iran was developing “materials” whose purpose was clearly not for use in civilian nuclear development. He said Tehran was defying five UN resolutions and faced a “choice” over whether to co-operate with the international community or face further international action. “What we now, I think, have to do is accept that if Iran will not make some indication that it will take action that we have got to proceed with sanctions,” he said. “I’m sorry that it has come to that, but I think it’s essential that the international community shows that it has strength in this matter by imposing these sanctions.” Mr Brown said a “balance” had to be struck between concerns that sanctions would harm ordinary Iranians and the need to send a clear message to the Iranian leadership, insisting that the international community’s fight was not with the Iranian people. Mr Brown said he believed the EU would agree to take action quickly and then it would be up to the US, Russia and China, in concert with the EU, to decide what further steps would be taken. The US said last month that Iran faced significant new sanctions unless it “changed course”. Existing sanctions have targeted banks and other firms with close links to the Iranian leadership but China and Russia have blocked more extensive restrictions. Diplomats suggested on Tuesday that the UK, Germany, France and the US hoped to blacklist Iran’s central bank and firms linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ruled that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s new six-year term of office will begin in November 2010. The president had wanted his new term to begin in 2011 although he called elections two years early to capitalise on his defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels. He won 57.8% of votes, compared to 40% for his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka. Gen Fonseka was army chief when government forces defeated separatist rebels after 26 years of civil war. Correspondents say that despite the fact he wanted his new term of office to start later, the court ruling is a boost for him. His new tenure will effectively be six years and nine months instead of the designated six years. “The Supreme Court says the new term begins on 19 November this year,” an official in the president’s office told the AFP news agency. The court’s decision means that President Rajapaksa will remain in power until 2016.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is hoping to complete the signing of Benjani from Manchester City despite missing the transfer deadline. Bruce blamed technical problems for the required paperwork not being processed before Monday’s 1700 GMT cut-off. “We had huge, huge difficulties with email and faxes so we hope a little commonsense prevails,” said Bruce. The Black Cats boss is eager to add more firepower to his struggling side, who have not won in 11 league games. Benjani, 31, is a free agent in the summer but City boss Roberto Mancini has said he can move on now if he wants to. “I think we’ve lodged everything in time, we’ve done everything we possibly can and I’m convinced we had everything in in time,” Bruce told reporters after Monday night’s 0-0 draw with Stoke. “The paperwork was lodged but we had some huge, huge difficulties and we informed both the Premier League and the FA at the time of those. 606: DEBATE Is Benjani the right man for Sunderland “We wait to find out but I hope we are granted the player, who would be a huge boost to us.” Benjani joined City from Portsmouth in January 2008 but has spent long spells on the sidelines with injury and struggled to establish himself in the first team, starting just 21 games in two years.

Avatar, Precious and The Hurt Locker are among the films expected to feature in this year’s Oscar nominations, to be announced later in Los Angeles. Others include Up in the Air, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and the British film An Education. This year’s best picture category will include 10 movies, instead of the usual five, for the first time since 1944. Actress Anne Hathaway will join Academy president Tom Sherak to reveal nominees in 10 of the 24 categories at 1338 GMT. This year’s Academy Awards will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on 7 March. Iraq drama The Hurt Locker currently leads the field, having picked up top honours at both the Producers Guild and Directors Guild awards. Contest If its director Kathryn Bigelow is nominated for the best director Oscar, she would become only the third woman to be shortlisted for this prize in the awards’ 81-year history. If James Cameron is also nominated for Avatar, it will set up a fascinating contest between Bigelow and her former husband. US BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE 1 Avatar – $31.2m 2 Edge of Darkness (pictured) – $17.2m 3 When In Rome – $12.3m 4 The Tooth Fairy – $9.9m 5 The Book of Eli – $8.9m Source: Hollywood.com Cameron’s sci-fi epic remains top of the US box office chart for the seventh straight weekend, raking in $31.3m (

Bosnian police have launched a massive operation against a conservative Muslim community, to prevent what they called attempts to destabilise the country. Hundreds of police officers raided the mountain village of Gornja Maoca in northern Bosnia. The village is home to Bosnian followers of Wahhabism, a strictly observant form of Islam. Some 600 officers surrounded the village before raiding it on Monday morning, the spokesman added. It was the biggest police operation in Bosnia since its 1992-1995 war, said the state prosecutor’s office. Security forces closed off the isolated northern village, which is near the northern city of Brcko and has around 100 residents, while the raid was in progress. “The goal of this operation… is to identify people accused of endangering the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Hercegovina, threatening the constitutional order and promoting national, racial and religious hatred,” Boris Grubesic, the prosecutor’s spokesman, told AFP news agency. It was not clear if any arrests had been made.

Lewis Hamilton declared himself happy after his first test in McLaren’s new car despite lagging behind Felipe Massa’s Ferrari in Valencia. “It’s a different feeling compared to the first lap of the first test day of 2009,” said the 2008 champion. “It’s a positive feeling. I’ve kept a close eye on the development of this car. I’ve seen it evolve and had input into it which is very exciting. “I got out smiling. The problems I had [last year] I don’t have in this car.” Problems with Hamilton’s 2009 McLaren left him well off the pace last season, although they were eventually resolved, allowing him to win two races. He added: “The encouraging thing [about the new car] is the reliability. We’ve not really had many problems so that’s a huge bonus for us.” Brazil’s Massa topped the times for the second day running at Formula 1’s first major test of 2010 at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit. Hamilton was third fastest behind the Sauber of Japanese Kamui Kobayashi and 0.534 seconds adrift of Massa. Headline lap times from testing are not necessarily an accurate indication of the pace of the cars, as fuel loads, tyres and track condition can have a dramatic effect on performance. The Ferrari, though, has looked consistently quick throughout the two days of testing in Valencia so far. Massa recorded a best time of one minute 11.722 seconds, with Kobayashi on 1:12.056 and Hamilton on 1:12.256. Massa’s new team-mate, the double world champion Fernando Alonso, is due to take over the car for the final day’s running on Wednesday, when Hamilton will be handing the McLaren over to team-mate Jenson Button, the world champion. This week’s test is the first time the new 2010 F1 cars have run on the track, and all the major teams bar Red Bull are in Valencia. Red Bull – who ended last season second in both the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships to Button’s former Brawn team, who have been taken over by Mercedes – are waiting until the second test, in Jerez next week, before giving their car its debut. 606: DEBATE ” So far the score seems to be 2 for ferrari, and nil for Mclaren ” RogerMellie66 Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was fourth fastest for much of the day. The surprise of the test so far has been the pace of the Sauber. Spanish veteran Pedro de la Rosa was second fastest with it on Monday and his team-mate, the Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi, occupied the same position for much of Tuesday. The team are back under the stewardship of founder Peter Sauber following the decision of former owner BMW to quit F1 at the end of last season.

By Matt Cole BBC News, Pontoise, near Paris The US airline Continental and five individuals are set to go on trial in France over the crash of an Air France Concorde jet nearly 10 years ago. A wing and one engine caught fire as the supersonic jet was taking off from Paris Charles De Gaulle airport in July 2000. Flight 4590 struck a hotel killing four people as well as all 109 on board. Continental will deny that a metal strip that allegedly earlier fell from one of its planes caused the crash. The iconic Concorde plane was moving too fast along the runway to stop after one of its four engines and a wing caught fire, so its pilots were forced to lift off, only to crash two minutes later in the town of Gonesse. Most of the passengers were German tourists heading to New York to join a luxury cruise to the Caribbean. Nine French crew members also died. Leaking fuel The entire fleet of Concordes was grounded until an inquiry established that one of the plane’s tyres had burst, causing debris to shoot out and rupture the jet’s fuel tank. Leaking kerosene then ignited and caused the catastrophe. After nearly a year and a half out of service, in November 2001, the jets took to the air once more with new re-enforced fuel tanks, but inquiries continued. In December 2004 a judicial investigation into the disaster concluded that a piece of metal left on the runway by another aircraft had caused the Concorde’s tyre to shred and burst. Investigators said the titanium metal strip had fallen from the engine casing of a Continental Airlines DC-10 that took off a short time before. The airline is now facing prosecution after a French public prosecutor asked judges in March 2008 to bring manslaughter charges. Continental Airlines is denying responsibility and says the Concorde was stricken well before it hit the 17-inch (43cm) piece of metal. It maintains that the disaster happened because the jet was unfit to fly. This is denied by Air France, which is not facing charges in the forthcoming manslaughter trial. ‘Catastrophic mishap’ In addition to Continental Airlines, five individuals are being prosecuted. They include John Taylor, the Continental mechanic who allegedly fitted the metal strip to the DC-10, and Stanley Ford, a maintenance official from the airline. Also facing charges are Concorde’s former chief engineer Jacques Herubel, and Henri Perrier, a former head of the Concorde division at Aerospatiale (now part of the aerospace company EADS). Mr Perrier was placed under investigation in 2005 after being accused of being told about faults with the jet but doing nothing about them. In 2001 he said: “Nothing we knew would ever have lead us to believe such a catastrophe could happen. This was a catastrophic mishap.” Claude Frantzen, a former member of France’s civil aviation watchdog, is the fifth individual defendant. Only some of the victims’ families will be represented at the hearings, as many took compensation from Air France after the crash in return for not taking legal action. The trial, in Pontoise, near Paris, has been scheduled to last 53 days, though due to the varying numbers of days the court will sit each week the proceedings are not expected to finish until the end of May.

The Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has appeared in court to face charges of sodomy for the second time in a decade. Mr Anwar denounced the proceedings as the “machinations of a dirty, corrupt few” as he entered the courtroom in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Mr Anwar served six years after an earlier sodomy conviction, but led the opposition to election gains in 2008. The gains represented a major challenge to Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose coalition has held power for more than 50 years. ‘Shocked’ Mr Anwar was accompanied by his wife and two daughters as he entered the courtroom. Dozens of his supporters shouted “reform, reform”. The 62-year-old former deputy premier has consistently maintained the charges against him are a political conspiracy. Government officials deny there is any plot against him. The sodomy allegations have been levelled by a 24-year-old former aide. Last week, Mr Anwar said he was “shocked with the [government's] impunity to go on with such a case despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary”. On Friday, the Federal Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that he could not have access to medical evidence held by prosecutors. Mr Anwar’s lawyer said the refusal had had “an emasculating effect in our preparation of the defence”. Rights groups have criticised the trial. Amnesty International accused the government of using “the same old dirty tricks in an attempt to remove the opposition leader from politics”. There were huge protests after Mr Anwar’s first conviction for sodomy a decade ago. He was freed on appeal in 2004. All homosexual acts are criminal in Malaysia.

Guinea’s military ruler was not responsible for the deaths of dozens of opposition protesters in September, an inquiry carried out for the junta says. It blames instead the man accused of trying to kill him last December – Lt Aboubakar Toumba Diakite. A previous UN inquiry accused military leader Capt Moussa Dadis Camara of responsibility for the killings. He is currently in Burkina Faso, where he is recuperating after the alleged assassination attempt. Human rights groups say that at least 157 activists were killed and dozens of women raped during a pro-democracy rally at football stadium on 28 September last year. ‘Amnesty’ offered Lt Diakite, in hiding since the shooting, has previously told French radio that he shot Capt Camara because he feared the military leader was trying to blame him for the massacre. And prosecutor Siriman Kouyate, head of the Guinean commission of inquiry, laid the blame squarely on the renegade soldier. Analysis: Army loses its swagger Unearthing truth of the ‘bloodbath’ “Lt Toumba Diakite and a group of red berets from the presidential guard were responsible for the rapes, murders, injuries and mysterious disappearance of bodies,” he said. Mr Kouyate said Lt Diakite should face justice because he had disobeyed orders that the army should stay in the barracks. He added that Capt Camara was “responsible for nothing”. “It has been established that the president did not go to the stadium.” The Guinean commission said that 58 people had died at the stadium and another five in hospital, according to the AFP news agency. The commission also called for an amnesty for the opposition leaders who called for the pro-democracy protest. These include veteran opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore, who was last month sworn in as prime minister, tasked with steering the country towards an election in six months’ time.

Leading Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar has said talks on swapping Palestinian prisoners for the captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have collapsed. Late last year a German-mediated deal emerged in which hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged for Gilad Shalit. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Zahar blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the talks’ failure. Gilad Shalit was captured in a raid by Palestinian militants in 2006. Speaking on the BBC’s Hardtalk programme, Mr Zahar maintained Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed for stricter conditions for the release of several high-profile Palestinian prisoners. Q&A: Gilad Shalit capture Who are the Mid-East prisoners Shalit mediator holds Gaza talks “As regarding negotiations, as of now the process has failed. The main cause, well known to everybody, well known to the mediator, that after the interference of the political element, after the appearance of Netanyahu personally, there was a big regression and retraction. For this reason negotiations have now stopped,” he said. Mr Zahar, one of the founders of Hamas, said the prospect for future talks looked uncertain. “We are looking to set free our people and also to give a chance for the family of the Israeli soldier to live as a human being also. We demanded a considerable number of prisoners, but the Israeli side, after hundreds of rounds of talks, reached backward too much.” Sgt Shalit, 23, was captured in a raid into southern Israel by Palestinian militants from Gaza, in 2006. Hamas want hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, including senior militant leaders that Israel holds responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israeli citizens, to be freed in exchange for Sgt Shalit’s release. Israel holds about 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in jail on security grounds – a major bone of contention with the Palestinians.

A key summit on the future of Afghanistan is set to start in London with a possible offer of talks to moderate Taliban high on the agenda. Foreign ministers from some 70 countries will gather for the summit, intended to give renewed momentum to nation-building in Afghanistan. Donor countries are expected to set up a fund to help lure Taliban members back into Afghan society. But Western nations will also be asking for more details on the strategy. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has won general support for his plan to wean low-ranking fighters from the Taliban. The fund would help reintegrate defecting foot soldiers with the promises of jobs, cash and protection. But Mr Karzai has also talked about a political process that could involve the Taliban leadership. Regional countries have supported it, but Nato and the US are sceptical about the benefits of such a move at this point. A Western diplomat at the United Nations in New York told the BBC much would depend on the detail of Mr Karzai’s reconciliation and reintegration strategy: how it would be structured, who would lead it, and who it would cover. What will happen at the conference A day before the conference, President Karzai attended a BBC-organised debate with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to answer questions from Afghan and British students. He defended his plan of Taliban talks against criticism that it could undermine freedoms won by the Afghan people. Both leaders said the offer of talks was open only to those Taliban members who were not wedded to extremism and were prepared to renounce violence. President Karzai also admitted that corruption was a big concern and said he would announce plans for tougher action at the conference. BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the timing of the London conference is critical. According to most military analysts the Taliban is riding high, but the US surge in forces is under way and weeks and months of hard-fighting lie ahead, and the controversial presidential election is out of the way, he says. More work will be done on bolstering Afghanistan’s own security forces, as well as setting goals on development and governance and a renewed emphasis on setting Afghanistan’s problems in a wider regional frame-work. A follow-up conference will be held in Kabul in a few months. UN representative chosen Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named a long-serving UN diplomat, Staffan de Mistura, as his new representative to Afghanistan. Mr de Mistura, who holds Swedish and Italian nationalities, will replace the outgoing head of the UN mission in Kabul, Kai Eide, when he steps down in March. Mr Eide was accused by a colleague of being too close to President Karzai and his government, and of downplaying fraud during presidential elections last year. Mr Eide always denied the allegations.

US President Barack Obama is delivering his first State of the Union speech, in which he will try to reassure Americans the nation is on the right course. The US economy, unemployment and the president’s plans for healthcare reform are expected to be central topics in the speech to Congress. Mr Obama will say he has never been more hopeful for the future. But he will urge all politicians to work together to give the American people what they deserve. President Obama was given the traditional warm welcome by all sides of Congress. The address follows the Democratic Party’s loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts last week which has deprived them of a majority of Senate votes. The loss puts in danger the president’s sweeping legislative agenda he set out after taking office a year ago.

By Emma Jane Kirby BBC News, Paris A Paris court is due to hand down its verdict in the trial of former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. He is accused of plotting to discredit the then interior minister and now president, Nicolas Sarkozy. The charges, which Mr de Villepin denies, date back to a judicial investigation in 2004. It is alleged that he tried to manipulate the corruption investigation to spoil Mr Sarkozy’s chances of winning the 2007 election. After a dramatic, and often explosive, month-long trial, Dominique de Villepin will now find out if he is to be “hanged from a butcher’s hook” – as political rival Mr Sarkozy once threatened would be his fate – or whether he will emerge completely exonerated, as he says he expects. The former French prime minister is accused of trying to smear the French president’s name five years ago, in the days when both men were manoeuvring to succeed Jacques Chirac as president. Nicolas Sarkozy’s name appeared on a list sent to the former French prime minister of top politicians and businessmen who were wrongly linked to an illegal bank account in Luxembourg. It was alleged those named on the list had received bribes from international arms sales. Dominique de Villepin is accused of failing to stop the conspiracy. Prosecutors have called for him to receive an 18-month suspended sentence and a fine of $70,000 (50,000 euros). The former French minister denies any wrongdoing and is hoping to rekindle his political career in time to re-challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in the next presidential elections in 2012.

North Korea has fired artillery near its disputed maritime border with South Korea, a day after the two exchanged shots in the same area, reports say. The North fired several rounds of artillery toward the border early on Thursday, Yonhap news agency reported. According to an unnamed official quoted by the Associated Press, the shells landed in North Korean waters. The South had not responded, the official said. On Wednesday, it called the North’s firing “provocative”. But the North said the firing had been part of an annual military drill which would continue. The second incident in as many days comes after the North designated two no-sail zones in the area, including some South Korean waters, until 29 March. On Wednesday, the North’s initial artillery rounds landed north of the sea border, while Seoul’s forces fired at the rounds while they were in the air, the AFP news agency reports. ‘Crude diplomacy’ The BBC’s John Sudworth, in Seoul, says the incidents are being seen as a crude piece of military diplomacy rather than a direct threat, another example of the North’s strategy of escalating tension to strengthen its negotiating hand. The western sea border is a constant source of military tension between the two Koreas. There have been three deadly exchanges between the two Koreas along the sea border in the past decade. In the most recent incident, last November, their navies fought a brief gun battle that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded. South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally to by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the seas border at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The line has never been accepted by North Korea. Relations between the two Koreas have fluctuated in recent months. Talks about their jointly-run Kaesong industrial estate closed without agreement on 21 January. The attempt at dialogue took place amid fresh tensions apparently provoked by a South Korean think tank’s analysis of a likely military coup or mass uprising in the North when the North’s leader Kim Jong-il dies. However, North Korea did recently accept a small amount of aid from South Korea. The US, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea speak regularly of their hopes that North Korea will rejoin international talks about ending its nuclear programme.

LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times GMT) To get involved text us your views & comments on 81111 (UK) or +44 7786200666 (worldwide). (Not all contributions can be used) By Piers Newbery 0227: The all-important information for later regards the BBC coverage of Andy Murray v Marin Cilic . Well, it’s live on BBC HD, BBC Two, the website and 5 live from 0830 GMT , while 5 live Breakfast will bring you all the build-up from 0600 GMT . 0224: First up we have defending champion and world number one Serena Williams against 16th seed Li Na, making her Grand Slam semi-final debut. Then it’s the turn of former world number one and 2004 Aussie Open champion Justine Henin against the unseeded Zheng Jie. 0222: Ten minutes in andObama’s on his second standing ovation- I like to think the arrival of this live text is being greeted with similar scenes around the globe. Hang on, they’re on their feet again. Time for some tennis… 0218: Morning all. There’s nothing I like better than making an early start, you can really attack the day and gets things done. First on my list are the two women’s semi-finals, second is a bit of Andy Murray v Marin Cilic, third is… well, that’s it really. More than enough This article is from the BBC News website .

Deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya has left the Brazilian embassy there and is heading into exile in the Dominican Republic, reports say. His departure marks the end of efforts to return to office after soldiers first forced him into exile on 28 June. Earlier, the newly-elected Honduran President, Porfirio Lobo, promised him safe passage to the airport as part of a reconciliation process. Mr Lobo was sworn in at a ceremony in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Under a deal struck by the two men, Mr Zelaya agreed to fly to exile in the Dominican Republic as a way to avoid prosecution in Honduras on charges he violated the constitution while in office. He has spent the last four months sheltering in the Brazilian embassy, after returning in secret in September. His June ousting provoked international condemnation but diplomatic attempts to persuade the interim government to allow Mr Zelaya to return to office proved futile. With opinion divided in Honduras and internationally, several nations have refused to recognise the legitimacy of the November election, in which Mr Lobo defeated Mr Zelaya.

A teenage girl has been pulled out of the rubble in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, a full 15 days after the earthquake struck, rescuers say. They said she was happy and shocked despite being severely dehydrated and having a leg injury. A rescue worker described the discovery of the girl, two weeks after the quake destroyed the city, as a “miracle”. She was found in the rubble of a school which one of her relatives said she had just started attending.

By Jonathan Marcus Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News Some four years on from the last London conference on Yemen, the country’s problems have only got worse. Its government is dealing with a rebellion in the north of the country; growing unrest in the south; and the threat from al-Qaeda’s regional offshoot. Not to mention dire poverty, a population explosion and dwindling oil and water resources. Yemen is a failing state that threatens not just to implode but to explode, exporting instability to the wider region and beyond. Fear of collapse It was of course the failed bomb attempt on a Northwest Airlines plane over Detroit on Christmas Day that pushed Yemen higher up the international agenda. ” The magnitude of Yemen’s problems is extraordinary ” The would-be bomber had spent time in Yemen and the British and US authorities believe that he was radicalised there. The fear is that if Yemen does collapse then it could provide a haven for Islamist extremists, much like Afghanistan in the years before 9/11. The magnitude of Yemen’s problems is extraordinary. Consider just a few statistics. It is the Middle East’s poorest country. In global terms its per capita income is ranked by the World Bank as 166th out of 174 countries. More than half its people live in poverty and its overwhelmingly young population is growing at an unsustainable 3.2% per year. Oil resources are dwindling – its main source of revenue. And water supplies are also a critical problem exacerbating poor agricultural yields and land ownership problems. One meeting cannot solve Yemen’s multi-faceted crisis. However the hope was that this London gathering – lasting barely two hours – could set a new course. Speaking at the end of the meeting, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that Yemen’s problems could not just be seen through the prism of counter-terrorism. “Progress against violent extremists and progress towards a better future for the Yemeni people will depend upon fortifying development efforts,” she said. Mrs Clinton stressed that Yemen’s sovereignty would be respected, but underlined that bringing stability to Yemen was now “an urgent US national security priority”. After the last London meeting on Yemen in 2006, very little of the pledged money actually reached Yemen. Donors were unconvinced that it would actually be put to any useful purpose. While this was not a pledging conference, there are some grounds to hope that after this meeting, future funds will be put to a useful purpose. For one thing, the Yemeni government came to this meeting with a 10-point reform plan. The secretary of state described it as “brutally honest” – a good sign – but Yemen would now be expected to deal with its problems, notably corruption and poor governance. ‘Critical problem’ Asked where this meeting broke new ground, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who chaired the conference, said there was now a structured and systematic engagement with the country. ” Resolving internal violence and fighting al-Qaeda must go hand in hand with domestic reform ” A new grouping – the Friends of Yemen – had been established which would meet regularly, he said. Mr Miliband echoed many of his US counterpart’s comments, arguing that this was “a genuinely comprehensive approach” and that there was “a clear linkage between economic, social, and security issues and democratic reform”. For all the hopes of financial support from the IMF, improvements in governance and anti-corruption measures, security is going to remain a critical problem. Yemen’s small coastguard is to be bolstered and the close intelligence and counter-terrorist relationship with the United States is set to continue. But the clear message from London is that resolving internal violence and fighting al-Qaeda must go hand in hand with domestic reform. Regional players like Saudi Arabia will have a key role. So too will other Gulf states who plan to hold a new donors’ conference next month. The new Friends of Yemen grouping will meet in late-March. The international interest is there, at least for now, but the Yemeni government will have to deliver on its own reform plans if it is to secure the sustained international help that it so badly needs.

President Obama delivered his first State of the Union address. Did you watch it?

By Charles Haviland BBC News, Colombo In the lobby of the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, the pianist played, Japanese tourists took photos and waiters glided by with the trays for high tea. Later, a wedding reception gathered to enjoy the ambience of Colombo’s newest five-star. But, outside, soldiers armed to the teeth swarmed up to those coming and going, checking every person and every single vehicle. Gen Sarath Fonseka was inside, and the authorities, with their candidate President Mahinda Rajapaksa taking a commanding electoral lead, were clearly trying to prove something to him. Quite what, however, remained obscure. In the small hours of Wednesday morning, the military spokesman said he knew nothing of the enhanced security at the Lakeside. If it existed, he said, it must be because people in the hotel were planning “sabotage activities”. Preventative presence Later he said there were 400 people with the general, including military deserters, who must surrender. But the defence secretary said the soldiers at the hotel were simply part of a nationwide effort to prevent post-electoral violence. In pictures: Sri Lanka votes Profile: Mahinda Rajapaksa Profile: Gen Sarath Fonseka The stand-off continued – were they trying to prevent a coup Or launch a coup Or arrest Gen Fonseka By the afternoon, Gen Fonseka had summoned journalists – ensconced in this five-star prison for much of the day – and said he feared being assassinated, especially if his security detail were removed. He also rejected the final election result, which gave Mr Rajapaksa a substantial victory. By now the president’s ecstatic supporters were already throwing firecrackers around in the streets. But the general said there had been irregularities and rigging in some places, and that he would mount a legal challenge. He said there were grounds to ask the elections commissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake, to annul the outcome of this historic post-war poll. His reasons include the inability of many internally displaced Sri Lankan Tamils to cast their vote because of inadequate transport between camps and villages; and the alleged misuse of state resources by the president’s side, including the use of public funds for Mr Rajapaksa’s campaign and the state media’s partisanship against the general. Independent monitoring groups back many of Gen Fonseka’s complaints, saying the infringements by the president’s side are unprecedented – despite the government’s denials of wrongdoing. Leaving the country Mr Dissanayake, too, despite announcing the results, echoes the criticisms. Throughout the campaign he said state media and other institutions were breaking the rules. But it may be difficult for the general to present a strong case for annulment. The margin of victory is much larger than many predicted, with Mr Rajapaksa getting more than six million votes, compared with just over four million for Gen Fonseka. Also, despite many election day irregularities, there were not complaints of very wide-scale chaos or of vote-rigging on a large scale. For him to be in a stronger position there would have to be proof of misdeeds on election day, well-informed sources in Colombo said. There are, of course, many opponents of the president who feel disaffected by the whole violent election campaign. But could the general rally them to his support Late at night, Gen Fonseka finally left the hotel in a BMW and was not arrested. “Why should we persecute him” asked Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. But the president’s brother said the authorities were concerned about allegations against them made by Gen Fonseka during the campaign. From his home, the general who would be president spoke to the BBC again. Fearful for his security, he plans to go temporarily abroad for a while, he said. But he said he would “not forget the people”. A day of high drama ended, leaving the two presidential candidates more estranged than ever.