Mozambique goes to polls with result on a knife-edge

Election posters could be seen all over urban areas of Mozambique ahead of Wednesday's legislative and presidential vote

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Elections are being held held in Mozambique, with the ruling Frelimo party facing a tough challenge from longstanding opponent the Renamo party.

Frelimo has dominated the country's politics since independence from Portugal in 1975, but the last-minute entry of Renamo makes the presidential vote too tight to call.

Mozambique is one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.

The vote winner will control natural resources worth billions of dollars.

Mozambique was battered by 16 years of conflict between Frelimo and Renamo, which ended in 1992, after the deaths of an estimated one million people.

Mozambique has immense riches but also pockets of extreme poverty

President Arrnando Guebuza (left) and former Renamo rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama agreed on a peace accord in September

More than 10.7 million people are registered to vote in the country's 11 provinces

Renamo took up arms again in 2013 but in August agreed a ceasefire.

Correspondents say that there were several clashes during campaigning.

The opposition argues that only a small elite associated with Frelimo have reaped the benefits of Mozambique's new-found prosperity. It points out that although Mozambique has huge untapped resources of coal and natural gas, it is also one of the world's poorest countries.

A relatively new party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), led by the mayor of the second city, Beira, has also been gaining ground and could make gains in the parliamentary vote.

Correspondents say that Frelimo, which waged a 10-year battle for independence against colonial Portugal, has held on to power partly because of its liberation movement credentials but also because Renamo has failed until now to present a political alternative that reaches out beyond its core supporters.

President Armando Guebuza, a former millionaire businessman, is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms.

Syrian conflict: Key sarin ingredients sold by UK firms

By Nick HopkinsInvestigations correspondent, BBC Newsnight

Syria's chemical weapons are being destroyed at sea

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Syria conflict

• 'Till the last drop of blood'
• Suffering in west Aleppo
• Defiant rebels
• Ballot amid battle

Britain sold chemicals and components to Syria that ended up being used in the manufacture of the deadly nerve agent sarin, BBC Newsnight can reveal.

A leaked Foreign Office document says they were supplied in the mid-1980s.

Ministers will confirm within days that UK firms provided the materials and that Syria has admitted they played a role in its chemical weapons programme.

They will say there were no proper regulations at the time, but that tighter rules and controls exist now.

Sarin has been linked to a number of attacks in Syria's bloody three-year conflict.

'Tipping point'

A report by UN chemical weapons inspectors found "clear and convincing evidence" that surface-to-surface rockets containing sarin were fired at suburbs to the east and west of the Syrian capital Damascus last August - an attack that killed hundreds of people.

The US and UK accused President Bashar al-Assad's government of being behind the attacks, but Damascus blamed rebel groups fighting to topple him.

However, US, UK, French and Israeli officials have said there is also evidence that Syrian government forces used sarin against rebels and civilians on several previous occasions.

The conflict in Syria has created thousands of refugees

Attacks like those in Damascus proved the tipping point for the West - the redline that encouraged David Cameron and Barack Obama to consider military action to stop the conflict.

The UK took a leading role in forcing the Syrian regime to destroy its stockpiles of chemical weapons - and disclose to inspectors which countries were guilty of providing the materials.

Hamas fires rockets amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza

Palestinian militants have fired more rockets at Israeli cities and Israel carried out dozens of air raids on Gaza overnight, as hostilities intensified.

Israel said four rockets hit southern Israel overnight and a number were shot down over Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

The Israeli military said there were 160 strikes on Gaza overnight in response to the rocket attacks.

The health ministry in Gaza says 25 Palestinians have been killed and 70 hurt in the recent hostilities.

The ministry said that four women and three children were among the dead.

The military wing of Hamas has warned that all Israelis are now targets.

Netanyahu vow

Israel's military said that overnight it had targeted 118 concealed rocket launchers, 10 Hamas command and control centres and 10 tunnels.

It brought to 440 the number of targets in Gaza attacked as part of "Operation Protective Edge".

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Yolande Knell reports on Hamas anger at deaths from Israeli strikes on Gaza

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says rockets fired from Gaza reached the Jerusalem area in the hours before midnight, although they fell without causing injury.

Iron Dome interceptor missiles shot down five rockets around Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning, army radio said.

The town of Hadera 100km (60 miles) north of Gaza, was also attacked, with an M-302 surface-to-surface rocket, the furthest target so far reached.

"No other country lives under such a threat, and no country would accept such a threat," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Israel said it hit dozens of "terror sites" in Gaza

Hamas rocket fire hits the Israeli city of Ashdod

Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers at the Beit El Jewish settlement near Ramallah in the West Bank

"We have therefore significantly expanded our operations against Hamas and the other terrorist organisations in Gaza."

Israel has warned it may send ground troops into Gaza to stop the rocket attacks. It has authorised the call-up of up to 40,000 military reservists. Hundreds of reservists have already been drafted to bolster forces around Gaza.

Mark Regev, spokesman for Mr Netanyahu, admitted the situation was more one of escalation than de-escalation.

He told the BBC that efforts to try to calm the situation had failed as Hamas had continued to fire rockets, and the Israeli army was "now acting to put an end to this" by "dismantling Hamas's military machine".

"We don't want to have some sort of band-aid solution whereby we have a quick fix, a ceasefire and then we only have rockets on Israeli citizens next week," he said.

The military wing of Hamas has vowed that Israel will pay a "tremendous price" for the air strikes

The Israeli military has sent reinforcements to the frontier with Gaza

Pistorius lawyers condemn leaked re-enactment video

Oscar Pistorius' trial was adjourned for a month to allow for a psychiatric examination

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Pistorius trial

• Behind the drama
• Unresolved questions
• Pistorius 'damaged not destroyed'
• Week seven round-up

Oscar Pistorius' defence team has condemned the airing of a video showing the athlete re-enacting the events of the night he killed his girlfriend.

The footage shows Mr Pistorius shouting and running on his stumps as he simulates holding a handgun.

It was aired in Australia only by broadcaster Channel 7 on Sunday.

A spokesperson for Mr Pistorius' said that the footage was filmed in order to create a "forensic animation", but that it was "obtained illegally".

"For the family, the airing of this footage constitutes a staggering breach of trust and an invasion of the family's privacy", the statement said.

The footage has not been seen in court in South Africa, where the athlete is on trial for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Mr Pistorius says he mistook his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder

In the video - filmed at his uncle's house - Oscar Pistorius rushes forwards on the stumps of his legs.

He holds out an imaginary gun in his right hand and screams "Reeva, call the police". He is also shown carrying a woman out of a toilet and downstairs.

The re-enactment was done to help US specialists create a computer model of the shooting of Ms Steenkamp.

The BBC's Andrew Harding, in South Africa, says it is not clear why the full reconstruction was not used at the murder trial.

In the leaked footage Mr Pistorius looks unsteady on his stumps, but perhaps more mobile than one of his doctors had described in his evidence last week, our correspondent says.

Mr Pistorius says he shot his girlfriend after mistaking her for an intruder in their house last year.

The prosecution argues that he killed her deliberately after a row.

The sprinter and Ms Steenkamp had been dating for about three months before the shooting.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, so the athlete's fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

If found guilty of murder, Mr Pistorius, who went on trial on 3 March, could face life imprisonment. If he is acquitted of that charge, the court will consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could - if convicted - receive about 15 years in prison.

His trial will resume on Monday.

Hong Kong crowds rally for democracy

Crowds of protesters have begun what organisers say could be Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy rally in more than a decade.

Organisers said the annual rally, which marks the day Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, will focus on pressuring Beijing for full electoral freedom.

It comes days after an unofficial referendum on how to choose the chief executive drew close to 800,000 votes.

The Hong Kong government said the 10-day poll had no legal standing.

Organisers expect more than half a million people to join the rally, which kicked off in Hong Kong's Victoria Park at 03:00 (07:00 GMT). Protesters will march to the city's Central district.

Several campaign groups have also indicated that they will stage peaceful overnight vigils after the march.

"Public sentiment has dropped to the lowest point since 2003," said rally organiser Johnson Yeung. "I believe more people will come out."

The rally in 2003 drew half a million people, who demonstrated against proposed anti-subversion laws which were later scrapped.

Organisers said thousands of protestors have filled Hong Kong's Victoria Park

Activists at the scene called for greater democracy in Hong Kong

The rally comes days after 800,000 people voted in an unofficial referendum on universal suffrage

Security was expected to be tight, with around 4,000 police officers on patrol.

'Stability, prosperity'

Speaking earlier at a ceremony to mark the 17th anniversary of the former British colony's return to China, Hong Kong leader CY Leung said that the government was trying hard to forge a consensus on political reform.

"Only by maintaining Hong Kong's stability can we sustain our economic prosperity. Only by sustaining Hong Kong's prosperity can we improve people's livelihood," Mr Leung said.

Beijing has said it will hold elections for the role of chief executive in 2017, but the public will only have a choice of candidates selected by a nominating committee.

Campaigners want the public to be able to elect Hong Kong's leader directly and believe that Beijing will use the committee to screen out candidates it disapproves of.

The unofficial referendum, organised by campaign group Occupy Central, allowed the public to decide which of three proposals - all of which involved allowing citizens to directly nominate candidates - to present to Beijing.

Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 following a 1984 agreement between China and Britain.

China agreed to govern Hong Kong under the principle of "one country, two systems", where the city would enjoy "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs" for 50 years.

As a result, Hong Kong has its own legal system, and rights including freedom of assembly and free speech are protected.

Are you in Hong Kong? Are you taking part in the rally? Email your experiences to Haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject "Hong Kong rally".

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Japan cabinet approves landmark military change

Japan's cabinet has approved a landmark change in security policy, paving the way for its military to fight overseas.

Under its constitution, Japan is barred from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defence.

But a reinterpretation of the law will now allow "collective self-defence" - using force to defend allies under attack.

Ruling bloc lawmakers approved the move on Tuesday morning and the cabinet followed later in the day.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing hard for the move, arguing Japan needs to adapt to a changing security environment in the Asia-Pacific region.

The US - with whom Japan has a decades-old security alliance - will also welcome the move, but it will anger China, with whom Japan's ties are already very strained.

The decision is also highly controversial in a nation where post-war pacifist identify is firmly entrenched.

On Sunday a man set himself on fire in central Tokyo to protest against the change.

'No recovery'

Mr Abe endorsed the move in May, after a panel of his advisers released a report recommending changes to defence laws.

Japan adopted its pacifist constitution after its surrender in World War Two. Since then, its troops have not engaged in combat, although small numbers have taken part in UN peace-keeping operations.

Article 9, Japanese constitution

The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes... land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained

It has long held the view that under international law, it has the right to collective self-defence, but it also believes that it cannot exercise that right because of constitutional limits.

Mr Abe's panel recommended that - if Japan reinterpreted the constitution to allow collective self-defence - conditions be imposed to ensure the power would not be abused.

On Monday, thousands of people joined a protest in Tokyo to oppose the change.

Critics of Mr Abe fear that this move is the first step to a more permanent revision or removal of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the constitution.

"I thought that if we don't stop the Abe government now then it won't be possible to recover," Etsuo Nakashima, 32, told Reuters news agency.

But others believe that the constitution is a post-war relic imposed on Japan by the US that restricts it from engaging in the normal activities of a modern nation.

China - with whom Japan is currently engaged in a bitter territorial dispute - says it opposes the change, accusing Japan of "remilitarising" under Mr Abe.

Now the cabinet has approved the move, legal revisions must be approved by parliament. But by reinterpreting rather than revising the constitution, Mr Abe avoids the need for a public referendum.

Oscar Pistorius trial: Acoustic expert Ivan Lin quizzed

An acoustic expert has been cross-examined at the murder trial of South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius.

Ivan Lin cast doubts on Monday about the testimony of several neighbours who said they heard the screams of a woman on the night Mr Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Mr Pistorius is charged with murdering Ms Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria on 14 February 2013.

He says he killed her by mistake.

Mr Pistorius says he fired multiple shots into a toilet cubicle, while in a state of panic, thinking there was a burglar.

The prosecution accuses him of premeditated murder, and says the couple had a row before he shot Ms Steenkamp dead.

State witnesses say they heard a woman scream on the night of the killing, while Mr Pistorius says he was the only one who screamed.

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Zyl - only 2 specific incidents when #OscarPistoriuslost his temper. Not aggression. I sometimes lost temper more than he did...
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Mr Lin suggested that it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for any of the neighbours - given their distance from Mr Pistorius' home - to have heard with clarity the screaming on the night of the shooting.

The trial resumed in the capital, Pretoria, on Monday, after a month-long adjournment while Mr Pistorius, 27, underwent a month of tests as an outpatient at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital in Pretoria.

The medical report said he was not suffering from a mental disorder when he shot dead Ms Steenkamp.

Mr Pistorius says he mistook Reeva Steenkamp - model and law graduate - for an intruder

The athlete underwent tests on his mental state at the Weskoppies Hospital in Pretoria

This meant the Olympic athlete was criminally responsible for his actions when he shot her, the prosecution said.

The defence team has said Mr Pistorius was suffering from an anxiety disorder.

He has often displayed his emotions during the trial, and has sobbed and vomited in court.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, so the athlete's fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

If found guilty of murder, Mr Pistorius, who went on trial on 3 March, could face life imprisonment. If he is acquitted of that charge, the court will consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.

Iraq Kurdistan independence referendum planned

The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region has told the BBC he intends to hold a referendum on independence within months.

Massoud Barzani said that Iraq was in effect already partitioned.

He said that while the Kurds would play a part in a political solution to the country's crisis, independence was what he described as their natural right.

Iraq's parliament meanwhile meets for the first time since April's elections and in the midst of a major insurgency.

It faces the task of creating a unified government to deal with the escalating political crisis.

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The BBC's Jeremy Bowen considers whether the Iraqi government can prevent the break up of the country

Huge swathes of northern Iraq are now in the hands of Sunni insurgents, including Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) militants, who have declared an Islamic caliphate in their newly conquered territories.

'Tragic situation'

In the past month many Iraqi troops have fled northern cities in the face of sweeping advances by Isis rebels, allowing the Kurds to move into previously disputed areas, such as the oil-rich region of Kirkuk.

Kurds are willing to play a part in a political solution to Iraq's crisis even though the country was in effect already partitioned, Mr Barzani said

Independence is natural right for Kurdish people, Mr Barzani said

"Everything that's happened recently shows that it's the right of Kurdistan to achieve independence," Mr Barzani said.

"From now on, we won't hide that that's our goal. Iraq is effectively partitioned now. Are we supposed to stay in this tragic situation the country's living? It's not me who will decide on independence. It's the people. We'll hold a referendum and it's a matter of months."

The cause of Kurdish independence was supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend who said that it was a necessary response to gains made by Isis.

Kurdish peshmerga forces have moved into the disputed oil-rich region of Kirkuk following the sweeping advances made by Isis rebels

The Kurds have long striven for an independent state but they remain divided between Syria and Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

The international community, including neighbouring Turkey and the US, remains opposed to the break-up of Iraq.

The BBC's Andrew Hosken in Baghdad says the first decision facing the majority Shia government when parliament reconvenes on Tuesday will be whether to replace Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, whom critics blame for stoking sectarian tensions during his eight years in power.

Fresh clashes have meanwhile been reported between jihadist-led Sunni rebels and government forces around the Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Witnesses said there had been a wave of air strikes and that former President Saddam Hussein's palace had been hit.

A local source told the BBC the rebels had meanwhile seized parts of a nearby military base in a counter-attack.

US President Barack Obama has announced he is sending about another 200 troops to protect the US embassy in Baghdad.

This means about 750 US troops are in and around Iraq, but President Obama has ruled out sending combat troops to fight alongside the Iraqi army.

Israel: Hamas 'will pay price' after teenagers found dead

Israel has vowed retribution against Hamas, the militant Palestinian group it accuses of the kidnap and murder of three teenagers.

The bodies of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach were found on Monday evening, after they had been missing for more than a fortnight.

Israel PM Benyamin Netanyahu said: "Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay." Hamas denies any involvement.

Israel launched more than 30 air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight.

The strikes came in response to 18 rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza since Sunday night, the Israeli military said.

Israeli troops also flooded into the Palestinian town of Halhul. The bodies were found under a pile of rocks near the town. An Israeli official said it appeared the teenagers were shot soon after their abduction.

It will argue with renewed conviction that such a government has no credibility and will seek to drive a wedge between the two factions.

Israel named two suspects as Ayoub al-Kawasma and Abu Aisheh. The Israeli military said it set off explosives while raiding the homes of both.

Israeli soldiers detonated explosives at the homes of two Hamas suspects

Pictures showed extensive damage at the home of Abu Aisheh.

One Palestinian was also shot dead after throwing an explosive device at Israeli forces carrying out an operation in the West Bank town of Jenin early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said.