A mob of over 3000 Muslims attacked Copts in the village of Kobry-el-Sharbat (el-Ameriya), Alexandria this afternoon. Coptic homes and shops were looted before being set ablaze.

brahim Kuraishi, the Palestine Liberation Organisation ambassador in Geneva, has said that the PLO plans to seek membership in more than a dozen UN organisations, among them the World Health Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The jury in the spot-fixing trial of former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif have found the pair guilty of fixing part of a Test match against England last year.

Six senior members of Greece's ruling party have called George Papandreou, the prime minister, to resign a day after he called for a national referendum on proposed EU bailout, the semi-official news agency ANA says.

Papandreou has said he intends to put the recently negotiated $180bn bailout package to a national referendum.

srael's prime minister has ordered the building of 2,000 new housing units for Israelis, mainly in East Jerusalem, an area Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state.