Beirut Car Bomb Kills Political Adviser

An explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has killed at least five people and wounded 50, according to the state news agency.

The suspected car bomb exploded in the city's business district, reportedly damaging 10 buildings, and setting cars ablaze.

A large plume of smoke billowed out of the area shortly after the blast.

Former Lebanese minister Mohammad Chatah, a prominent pro-Western politician, was reportedly among those killed in the explosion.

Civil Defence personnel extinguish car fires at the scene

Mr Chatah was an adviser to former Lebanese anti-Syria prime ministers Saad Hariri and Fuad Siniora.

The economist and former finance minister was killed along with his driver as they headed to Mr Hariri's mansion in the city centre, according to the National News Agency.

He was due to attend a meeting of the March 14 anti-Syria coalition which backs the Syrian opposition struggle to topple the Damascus regime.

Smoke rises from the site of the explosion

Sky's Middle East News Editor Tom Rayner said it was not clear why Mr Chatah was targeted, as he did not currently have a high profile role in Syrian coalition talks. 

"It suggests that this is symbolic - it's an attack on what he represents," he said, speaking from Jerusalem. 

Rayner said Mr Chatah's motorcade likely had a smaller security detail and was therefore seen as an "easy target".

Fire fighting and army personnel inspect the site of the explosion

Ambulances are currently at the scene and troops have been deployed.

No responsibility has yet been claimed for the bombing.

Lebanon has seen a wave of bombings over the last few months amid tensions over the Syrian civil war.

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India Gang Rape Victim Was Attacked Twice

A young woman was kidnapped and raped by two gangs in India - a year after a fatal rape shook the nation.

Police have arrested 10 people and charged six of them with raping the a 21-year-old victim in southern India.

Officer Monika Bharadwaj said the woman was abducted and raped while visiting a friend in Karaikal, a port city in Pondicherry state.

Ms Bhardwaj said that the woman had been hospitalised but that she did not suffer serious injuries.

Police have also detained a juvenile male for not informing the police about the crime.

There were protests after the gang rape of a student on a bus last year

Police said the woman was first kidnapped by three of the accused around midnight on Tuesday and released after nearly three hours of captivity.

As she called her friend to pick her up after she was freed, another group of seven people came in a vehicle and took her away, Ms Bhardwaj said.

Police were questioning the accused to find out whether they knew each other or belonged to two separate groups.

The assault came days after India marked the anniversary of the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

That rape and murder sparked nationwide protests.

The outrage spurred the government to adopt more stringent laws that doubled prison terms for rape to 20 years.

Fast-track courts have been created for rape cases.

Four attackers in the New Delhi case were sentenced to death and a juvenile was sent to a reform centre for three years.

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Thailand: Policeman Killed In Election Protest

A Thai police officer has been killed in clashes as anti-government protesters in Bangkok attempt to halt preparations for upcoming elections.

Police said the officer died after being airlifted to a hospital with gunshot wounds.

"He was shot in his chest and brought to hospital by helicopter," said Jongjet Aoajenpong, director of the Police General Hospital.

"A team of doctors tried to resuscitate him for more than half an hour."

Police carry away a wounded comrade

Protesters clashed with police outside a sports stadium where election candidates were drawing lots for their positions on the ballot ahead of general elections scheduled for February 2.

Security authorities fired rubber bullets and tear gas toward protesters during the clashes, while protesters threw rocks and glass bottles at riot police guarding the stadium and the nearby Ministry of Labour building.

Nearly 100 people, including 25 police officers, were injured in the clashes.

Despite the violence, the protesters failed to halt the proceedings inside the stadium, where representatives from 27 parties gathered.

An anti-government protester covers his face in a teargas attack

It was the first violent incident in nearly two weeks of daily protests on the streets of Bangkok.

Thailand's election commission has now urged the government to postpone the elections.

"We cannot organise free and fair elections under the constitution in the current circumstances," said commission member Prawit Rattanapien, who along with other vote officials had to be evacuated from the stadium by helicopter.

Shortly afterwards, the government said the polls would go ahead as scheduled on February 2. 

A riot policeman fires teargas towards the protesters

The protesters have been demanding that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra step down since mid-October.

The unrest began after her government tried to introduce an amnesty law that would have allowed Ms Yingluck's brother and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006, to return to the country as a free man.

The protesters believe the prime minister is being controlled by her exiled brother.

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China Condemns Japan PM's Visit To War Shrine

Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has paid an inflammatory visit to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine.

China immediately condemned the move as glorification of Japan's past "militaristic aggression" and warned Tokyo must "bear the consequences".

Mr Abe described his visit, which comes days after he caused consternation by giving Japan's military its second consecutive annual budget increase, as a pledge against war and said it was not aimed at hurting feelings in China or South Korea.

The Yasukuni shrine is seen as the repository of around 2.5 million souls of Japan's war dead, including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II who were enshrined in the 1970s.

South Korea and China see it as a symbol of Tokyo's lack of repentance for the horrors of the last century.

Mr Abe said in a statement: "Some people criticise the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again.

"For 68 years after the war, Japan created a free and democratic country, and consistently walked the path of peace. There is no doubt whatsoever that we will continue to pursue this path.

A Shinto priest leads Shinzo Abe to the altar

"It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people. It is my wish to respect each other's character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect."

The visit came exactly 12 months after he took power, a period in which he has met neither Chinese President Xi Jinping nor South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

Ties with Beijing were bad before Mr Abe took office, with the two countries crossing diplomatic swords over the ownership of a string of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan, but claimed by China.

The dispute has been ratcheted up further this year, with the involvement of military aircraft and ships, leaving some observers warning of the danger of armed conflict between the world's second and third-largest economies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "The essence of Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine is to beautify Japan's history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule."

South Korean culture minister Yoo Jin-Ryong said: "We can't help deploring and expressing anger at the prime minister's visit to the Yasukuni shrine despite concerns and warnings by neighbouring countries."

The United States said: "Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbours."

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Egypt Names Muslim Brotherhood A Terror Group

Egypt's military-backed government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, criminalising all of its activities.

The interim government also banned any financing of the Muslim Brotherhood and membership to it.

The announcement is a dramatic escalation of the fight between the government and the group, from which the ousted president hails.

The Brotherhood has waged near-daily protests since the military coup that toppled President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

A man surveys the damage caused by Tuesday's bomb attack

Hossam Eissa, the Minister of Higher Education, read out the Cabinet statement after a long meeting.

He said: "The Cabinet has declared the Muslim Brotherhood group and its organisation as a terrorist organisation."

He said that the decision was in response to Tuesday's bombing of police headquarters in a Nile Delta city which killed 16 people and wounded more than 100.

"Egypt was horrified from north to south by the hideous crime committed by the Muslim Brotherhood group," Mr Eissa said.

"This was in context of dangerous escalation to violence against Egypt and Egyptians (and) a clear declaration by the Muslim Brotherhood group that it still knows nothing but violence.

Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July

"It's not possible for Egypt the state, nor Egypt the people, to submit to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism," he added.

Mr Eissa offered no evidence in his speech linking the Brotherhood to Tuesday's attack.

The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, denounced violence in the late 1970s.

Ibrahim Elsayed, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's political group, the Freedom and Justice Party, said the government announcement will have no impact on the work or the beliefs of the group.

"This decision is as if it never happened. It has no value for us and is only worth the paper it is written on," he said.

"It won't impact us from near and far. Ideas won't be impacted by false accusations. We uphold this call only for the sake of God."

Ahmed el-Borai, the Minister of Social Solidarity, told reporters in a news conference that the decision means "all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood group are banned including the demonstrations."

The declaration gives the armed forces and the police the right to enter universities and prevent protests, as "protection to the students," Mr el-Borai said.

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Israel Defends 'Racist' Bedouin Removal Policy

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Umm al Hiran

Israeli government officials have rushed to defend the forced removal of up to 40,000 Israeli citizens of Arab descent from their homes in the Negev to new towns amid a growing clamour of protest and accusations that the policy is racist.

A bill that would enshrine the removal of thousands of Bedouin from their traditional lands and end a rural way of life dating back centuries is currently before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

But the removals have already begun.

Dozens of homes built in what the government calls "unrecognised villages" have been bulldozed over the last few years.

Ami Tesler: 'There is no racism here ... it's an opportunity'

And the village of Umm al Hiran has been served notice that it will be flattened, its 500 residents forced out, and a Jewish development built in its place.

Such events are commonplace on the Israeli occupied West Bank where Palestinians face severe construction limitations while illegal Jewish settlements continue a concrete march across Palestinian lands.

But the Negev plans in the Prawer-Begin Bill affect Bedouin who are ethnically Arab - but also full Israeli citizens.

Rabi Arik Ascherman, President of Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli human rights organisation said: "We are without a doubt treating the Bedouin in a way that we would not treat Jews in this country.

"The fact that the government has decided to build a Jewish community right where we're standing that Jewish community will get all of the services, all of the infrastructure, and there will be no question about it."

The Israeli plan is to move some 90,000 Bedouin from 36 villages into seven existing towns and another 11 which will be given recognition.

These Bedouin, who have a long history of loyalty to the Jewish State and send some 300 volunteers to the Israel Defence Force every year, will be given plots in planned areas with connections to water and electricity plus a grant of about £20,000 to build a home.

A Bedouin boy leans over tarpaulin in the Bir Mshash in Israel

Those who leave behind a tent or house may receive additional compensation of about £10,000.

The controversial plan is being run directly from the offices of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.

Ami Tesler, the head of the community relation department in the PM's "headquarters for Economic and Community Development of the Negev Bedouin" insist that most Bedouin would accept the "generous formula for compensation".

He admits, though, that the grant and compensation payments would not be enough to build a home "probably a caravan type place but if they work hard they can do much better".

"There is no racism here. On the contrary it's an opportunity for the Bedouins who were neglected because of many things. Now is the time to change this. It is the time to bring them to the 21st century.

"I think that what we are doing today is for the benefit of the Bedouins and especially for the young generation ... We want to give them an opportunity.

"And looking forward 20 years from now we want the babies of the Bedouin to have more education, more skills for life, so in the age of 18 they will have the same opportunities as my kids."

Bedouins ride donkeys in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim

In Uma al Hiran, children have a long bus ride and a dusty walk each way to and from a school in a "recognised" village.

But when they get home they are part of a tight-knit community rich in goats and sheep which was settled on this hill-top spot close to the West Bank when their ancestors were forced out of another Negev area by the Israeli army in 1956.

"We've done everything and now the state wants to bring Jews to replace us, and I say we should live here together.

"This is unacceptable, enough with the racism, enough with the hate," says Salim Abu Khian.

His son served in the IDF until recently.

He said that  he did not want to move to a town and end the way of that still gave him access, just, to the freedom of the desert.

"The townships are full of crime and I don't want to bring my children up in that way of life," he said.

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South Sudan: 'Thousands Dead' In Ethnic Clashes

Mass graves have been uncovered in South Sudan amid evidence ethnic clashes have left thousands dead.

Dozens of bodies were discovered at a burial site in the country's oil rich Unity State and there were reports of two other mass graves elsewhere.

Violence has flared in a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

The bodies in the grave are thought to be among 75 Dinkas who have gone missing.

A displaced woman lies on her belongings

Meanwhile, a journalist in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly Nuers, had been shot by security forces.

UN humanitarian chief Toby Lanzer said there was "absolutely no doubt"  that thousands of people had been killed.

His comments are the first clear indication of the scale of conflict engulfing the young nation.

Britain has sent a senior diplomat to South Sudan to assist efforts to restore peace, as the UN voted to boost the size of its force from 7,000 to 12,500.

South Sudan is the world's newest nation

Reports suggest that British nationals are among an estimated 3,000 foreigners trapped in the city of Bor, which was seized by rebels last week.

President Kiir said that government troops had now retaken control of the city.

UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the victims discovered in the grave were reportedly members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

UN soldiers on guard to protect the displaced people

She said there were unconfirmed reports of least two more mass graves in Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Juba.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have fled to the countryside, leading to warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

Tens of thousands more civilians have sought protection at badly overstretched UN bases.

At least 20,000 are sheltering at two bases in Juba, and another 17,000 in Bor, capital of the precarious eastern Jonglei state.

"The estimated number of people displaced in the current crisis in South Sudan has risen to 81,000," a UN report said.

"Given the limited access to civilians outside population centres, the number is likely to be significantly higher."                 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned warring factions that reports of crimes against humanity will be investigated.

Fighting started more than a week ago when President Kiir accused his former deputy of attempting a coup.

Mr Machar has denied the claim and has in turn accused Mr Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals.

The country has been blighted by ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty since it won independence in 2011.

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Egypt: 14 Dead In Police Headquarters Explosion

At least 13 people have been killed in an explosion at a police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Mansoura.

The blast injured around 100 others, state media reported.

Investigators are trying to find out whether the blast, which happened at around 1am, was caused by a car bomb of from explosives planted around the five-storey regional security headquarters in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya.

The blast damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked nearby cars

Most of those killed are understood to have been police officers who were inside the building at the time of the blast. 

The explosion reportedly damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked dozens of vehicles.

Security forces cordoned off the area, closed major entrances and exits to the city and set up checkpoints.

State TV called on residents to rush to hospitals to donate blood.

Egypt's interim government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating the attack, branding it a "terrorist organisation".

The movement itself strongly condemned the attack.

The bombing comes just weeks ahead of a referendum on a new constitution billed as the first major step towards democracy after Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was forced from power in July.

Interim Prime Minister Hazem el Beblawi expressed condolences to the families of the victims and vowed the perpetrators would "not escape justice".

The attack comes a day after an al Qaeda-inspired group called on police and army personnel to desert or face death at the hands of its fighters.

It is the first major attack in the Nile Delta, spreading the carnage to a new area and bringing it closer to Cairo.

Previous violence that has killed scores of people has taken place in Sinai or in Suez Canal-area cities such as Islamilia.

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US Marines Poised As South Sudan Unrest Grows

The US is moving additional troops to Africa as South Sudan seems to be sliding towards civil war.

South Sudan's army was poised for a major offensive against rebel forces, the president said on Monday.

Expectations of an upsurge in fighting came as the United Nations warned that the situation in the world's youngest nation was fast unravelling, with hundreds of thousands of civilians now at risk.

The commander of the US military's Africa Command decided to move up to 150 Marines from Spain to a base in Djibouti in the event the US State Department requests additional assistance, a senior US defence official said.

A defence official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the extra forces moving to Djibouti will bring the total US troops in the region to 150, with 10 aircraft.

Additionally, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he would urge the Security Council to boost the number of personnel serving in the UN mission in South Sudan.

Hoping to beef up the mission's protection, the UN secretary general called for "additional troops, police and logistical assets," although he did not specify numbers.

The UN Security Council will hold emergency consultations on the situation in South Sudan later Monday, the French mission to the world body said.

In South Sudan's capital Juba the UN and aid agencies are helping 20,000 refugees in two camps and have distributed food to 7,000 refugees seeking shelter at a UN base in Bentiu.

Rebel forces under former vice president Riek Machar have taken control of Bor and Bentiu and the remaining South Sudanese army loyal to President Salva Kiir is readying an assault.

Mr Machar told Reuters on Monday he was ready for dialogue to end the conflict.

Mr Machar said he had spoken on Monday to Ethiopia's foreign minister, leader of a team of African mediators trying to end more than a week of fighting that has killed hundreds of people and driven thousands from their homes.

Mr Machar has said he aspires to be president. When asked if he would demand that post in any talks, he said: "Well, that needs to be agreed. The dialogue is not a dialogue of the deaf for one party, it is the dialogue of two parties in conflict."

Mr Kiir has said he is ready for talks with Mr Machar "without preconditions," the US special envoy to the country, Donald Booth, said on Monday.

"I had a frank and open discussion with President Salva Kiir," Booth, in Juba, told reporters in Washington. "Importantly, President Kiir committed to me that he was ready to begin talks with Riek Machar to end the crisis without preconditions as soon as his counterpart is willing."

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Egypt: 14 Dead In Police Headquarters Explosion

At least 14 people have been killed in an explosion at a police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Mansoura, officials have said.

The powerful blast, believed to have been caused by a car bomb, injured around 100 others, state media reported.

The explosion took place just after 1am at the regional security headquarters in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya, collapsing part of the five-floor building.

The blast damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked nearby cars

Most of those killed are understood to be police officers who were inside the building at the time of the blast. 

The explosion reportedly damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked dozens of vehicles.

Security forces cordoned off the area, closed major entrances and exits to the city and set up checkpoints. State TV called on residents to rush to hospitals to donate blood.

Egypt's interim government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating the attack, branding it a "terrorist organisation".

Prime Minister Hazem el Beblawi expressed condolences to the families of the victims and vowed the perpetrators would "not escape justice".

The attack comes a day after an al Qaeda-inspired group called on police and army personnel to desert or face death at the hands of its fighters.

It was the first major attack in the Nile Delta, spreading the carnage to a new area and bringing it closer to Cairo.

Previous violence that has killed scores of people has taken place in Sinai or in Suez Canal-area cities such as Islamilia.

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Khodorkovsky Vows To Help Political Prisoners

Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has vowed to help get other political prisoners released from Russian jails after he was freed.

The Kremlin critic says people should not see him as a "symbol" that there are no other such detainees behind bars in the country.

The 50-year-old ex-inmate said he would do "all I can" to ensure they win their freedom.

He said Western governments should "remember I am not the last political prisoner in Russia" and he will not shy away from public activity.

But he cautioned he would not be "involved in the struggle for power" in Russia.

The former chief executive and founder of the Yukos oil giant said he had no plans to return to business but he claimed to be in a good financial situation.

Mr Khodorkovsky wears headphones to get translations

He had earlier told a Russian magazine, The New Times, that he would not be looking for a return of his enormous stake in the now-defunct oil company.

Once Russia's richest man, Mr Khodorkovsky spent 10 years in jail on what many in the West considered trumped-up political charges by President Vladimir Putin's government.

He was pardoned by the president on Friday and released from a prison camp in Segezha, northwest Russia, before immediately flying to Berlin.

At a packed news conference, he spoke at the Berlin Wall museum in the symbolic Cold War location of Checkpoint Charlie.

He revealed he had no choice about his end destination, saying he only learnt he would be going to Germany during his transfer.

The prison camp in northwest Russia where Mr Khodorkovsky was held

The ex-tycoon thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for working on his release.

Due to a lawsuit for hundreds of millions of pounds in damages stemming from his first 2005 conviction, there was "no guarantee" that if he returned to Russia he would be allowed to leave again.

Asked about his relationship with Mr Putin, Mr Khodorkovsky refused to be drawn into expressing hatred towards the leader.

He said that while he had been treated harshly "my family had never been touched".

He added that he was against a boycott of the Sochi Olympics next February, saying a "festival of sport should not be spoilt" amid claims it could be targeted over Russia's anti-gay laws. It should not, however, become a "festival of Vladimir Putin", he said.

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South Sudan: US Sends Special Envoy Booth

Special envoys from the United States and Nigeria are flying to South Sudan as world leaders step up efforts to avert an all-out civil war.

The US envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth was expected in the capital Juba on Sunday.

It follows a mission by foreign ministers from east Africa and the Horn and an appeal by UN chief Ban Ki-moon to end the violence that has gripped the country.

The fighting started a week ago when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup.

Mr Machar denies this, and has in turn accused Mr Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals.

The clashes have left hundreds dead and sent tens of thousands of people fleeing to UN bases for protection or to safer parts of the country.

The United Nations compound in Juba

South Sudan has been blighted by ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty since it won independence in 2011.

Foreign governments, including the US, Britain, Uganda, Kenya and Lebanon, have been organising special evacuation flights to pull out their nationals.

On Saturday, four US servicemen were wounded when their aircraft came under fire as they approached the rebel-held town of Bor on an evacuation mission.

America says its citizens and others from "partner" nations have now been flown safely from Bor to Juba in consultation with the South Sudanese government.

The US aircraft incident underlined the increasingly dangerous situation in South Sudan, where at least one UN base has been attacked in recent days, with two Indian peacekeepers and civilians killed.

South Sudan gained its independence from the north two years ago

President Barack Obama has warned against continued fighting.

"Any effort to seize power through the use of military force will result in the end of longstanding support from the United States and the international community," the White House said.

South Sudan's government has acknowledged that much of Unity State, the country's main oil-producing area, is in the hands of rebels.

Forces loyal to Mr Mahar are also still in control of Bor, the capital of Jonglei state and about 125 miles (200km) north of Juba.

However, South Sudan's army spokesman Philip Aguer said government troops were advancing to retake it.

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Lockerbie 25th Anniversary: Victims Remembered

Special memorial services to mark the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing have taken place in England, Scotland and the US.

Pan Am flight 103 was on its way from London to New York when it exploded above Lockerbie, in southern Scotland, on the evening of December 21 1988, killing 270 people - everyone on board and 11 on the ground.

Simultaneous remembrance services took place in Lockerbie, Westminster Abbey in London and Arlington National Cemetery in the US - where most of the victims were from.

The names of those killed were read out at Westminster Abbey

Relatives read the names of the victims following a minute's silence at 7.03pm (2.03pm EST in the US), marking exactly a quarter of a century since the tragedy.

Another service also took place at Syracuse University in New York state, from where 35 students were killed in the bombing as they returned from studies in Europe.

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the bombing as "one of the worst aviation disasters in history and the deadliest act of terrorism" ever committed in the UK.

He said: "Though 25 years have passed, memories of the 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 Lockerbie residents who lost their lives on that terrible night have not dimmed.

Family members look for the names of loved ones on the Arlington memorial

"Today our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at Lockerbie that night."

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the disaster, told Sky News: "Anniversaries aren't in a sense that big a deal for the families of victims because we have to live with the lovely memories of those that we lost all that time ago, every day of every year.

"Bereavement in itself is sometimes a life sentence."

Graham Herbert, former rector at Lockerbie Academy which lost three students in the atrocity, said the market town "has always tried to move forward".

A speaker during the service at the national cemetery in Virginia

He told Sky News: "I know today there will be a lot of closed doors. A lot of people will not go out of their houses. The memories are just too bitter, there are still open wounds there."

Jane Schultz lost her 20-year-old son Thomas, who was part of the Syracuse University group on board the flight.

She told Sky News: "In my heart, to me this is home and there was no other place I felt I should be on this very sad and special occasion.

"I wanted to be here to honour my son as well as the 269 other victims and I wanted to stand in the place where my son took his last breath and say a small prayer."

Eleven people were killed on the ground in Lockerbie

Libyan Abdelbaset al Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing in January 2001 and given a life sentence.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, leading to a decision to free him under compassionate release rules.

Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill took that decision on August 20 the following year, sparking a row among politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

Megrahi died in Tripoli, Libya in May last year. His family is considering lodging a fresh appeal to clear his name.

Abdelbaset al Megrahi was the only person to be convicted of the bombing

British relatives of victims who believe he was wrongfully convicted of the bombing are also planning another appeal against the conviction when they meet with lawyers in the new year.

A joint statement from the UK, US and Libyan governments said they remained committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

It said: "We want all those responsible for this most brutal act of terrorism brought to justice, and to understand why it was committed. We are committed to cooperate fully in order to reveal the full facts of the case."

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South Sudan Conflict: Last UK Airlift Mission

The UK is to charter its third and final flight to evacuate British nationals from the troubled East African state as fighting spreads.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the plane would be sent to the capital city of Juba on Monday afternoon and warned that the government would struggle to help anyone who chose to stay behind.

An FCO spokesman said: "We strongly advise all British nationals in South Sudan to leave the country if they can do so safely. You may have difficulty leaving in the event of a further deterioration in security."

It comes as US President Barack Obama said any effort in South Sudan to seize power through military force will lead America and others to cut off support.

"This conflict can only be resolved peacefully through negotiations," the White House said in a statement.

Two previous planes have provided an escape route for British nationals

"Any effort to seize power through the use of military force will result in the end of longstanding support from the United States and the international community."

British military transport planes have been used to evacuate two groups of UK nationals over recent days.

On Saturday, a US rescue plane was hit by incoming fire leaving four American service personnel injured.

Officials said the aircraft was heading for an evacuation site in Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei and the scene of some of the country's worst violence in the past week.

After being fired at it reportedly turned around and headed to Kampala in Uganda. From there the wounded service personnel were flown to Nairobi, Kenya, for medical treatment.

Some of South Sudan's worst violence has taken place in Bor

South Sudan blamed the attack on renegade troops.

Fighting broke out in the South Sudanese capital Juba between rival army factions last weekend following a reported coup attempt against President Salva Kiir Mayardit by soldiers loyal to his former deputy.

The violence has since spread to other regions and has claimed at least 500 lives, according to the United Nations.

Kenya said on Saturday it was sending troops to South Sudan to evacuate some 1,600 citizens. Many are trapped in Bor, which has been taken by rebels.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has "ordered the KDF (Kenya Defence Force) to commence immediate evacuation of the 1,600 Kenyans stranded in South Sudan", a spokesman said in a statement.

Up to 500 people are thought to have been killed since the reported coup

"Despite the relative calm in Juba, a number of other South Sudan towns have come under fire," he added, saying that Kenyans "are mainly in the town of Bor".

Others, in the towns of Rumbek, Ayod, and Panyabol "will also be airlifted to safety."

"The president has also ordered the immediate delivery of food, water and medicine to South Sudan (to help) tackle the emergency," the spokesman added.

"The delivery of these emergency supplies started this morning. Kenyan military aircraft are delivering consignments to South Sudan."

Kenya, which hosted the peace talks that ended the 1983-2005 civil war in Sudan, and which paved the way for South Sudan's independence two years ago, is also supporting efforts to end the latest crisis.

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