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Some parts of Johannesburg resembled a war-zone

Some 6,000 people have fled a wave of attacks on foreigners in South Africa, which has left at least 22 dead, aid workers say.

"This is a classic refugee situation," Rachel Cohen from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the BBC.

Many of those who have sought refuge in police stations, churches and community halls are Zimbabweans, who have fled violence and poverty at home.

Up to three million Zimbabweans are thought to be in South Africa.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Johannesburg says the immigrants have become a scapegoat for social problems, such as unemployment, crime and a lack of housing.

Mobs of South Africans continue to roam around some townships near Johannesburg, looking for foreigners and looting their shops.

But there have also been attacks on South Africans from other parts of the country, especially from near the Zimbabwean border.

Over the weekend, correspondents say central Johannesburg resembled a war-zone, as armed police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse angry crowds.

SOUTH AFRICA Foreign population: 3-5m Majority from Zimbabwe, also Mozambique, Nigeria Total population: 49m Unemployment rate: 30% In pictures: Johannesburg violence S Africa violence: Your stories S Africa violence: Your comments Foreign attacks concern SA press

"If we go back into the streets, they're going to kill us there," one Zimbabwean man seeking sanctuary in a police station told the BBC.

Some Zimbabweans say they will go home, despite the political violence there, rather than face attacks in South Africa.

The front pages of several South African newspapers on Monday show a horrific image of a man being burnt to death.

The police say they have made more than 200 arrests for crimes including murder, rape and robbery.

"We're not talking about xenophobia, we're talking about criminality," said police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo.

He said police reservists and officers from other regions had been called in to help quell the violence, reports the AP news agency.

Loren Landau, from the Wits University Forced Migration Studies Programme, said the nature of the attacks was changing.

"We're seeing what was an anti-foreigner conflict transforming into what might be seen as an ethnic conflict," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, pointing to the attacks on South Africans.

He also said much of the violence was "opportunistic crime".

'State of emergency'

A church where about 1,000 Zimbabweans have been taking refuge was attacked over the weekend.

Bishop Paul Veryn of the Central Methodist Church which was attacked told SABC radio: "We consider that the situation is getting so serious that the police can no longer control it."

He called for a state of emergency to be declared.

MSF spokesman Eric Goemaere said: "This reminds me of a refugee situation. I have treated bullet wounds, beaten people, rape victims, and the people are terrified."

The attacks on foreigners began a week ago in the township of Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, before spreading to the city centre and across the Gauteng region.

President Thabo Mbeki said he would set up a panel of experts to investigate the violence.

The leader of the governing African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, has also condemned the attacks.

"We cannot allow South Africa to be famous for xenophobia," he told a conference in Pretoria.

But the Human Rights Commission on Monday accused the government of not doing enough to address the underlying problems.

"There has been poor leadership in this country as far as these issues are concerned," HRC chief executive Tseliso Thipanyane told public radio.

He pointed out that there was a wave of attacks on foreigners in the late 1990s, before the situation eased in following years.

Since the end of apartheid, migrants from across Africa have gone to South Africa, attracted by its relative prosperity.

Mr Chavez has accused the US of destabilising Venezuela

Venezuela has denounced an alleged violation of its airspace by an American military aircraft.

Defence Minister Gustavo Rangel said the jet had been tracked by country's air defences over the Venezuelan-owned island of La Orchila on Saturday.

He said the US ambassador would be summoned to provide an explanation.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of Washington, has in the past accused the US administration of destabilising his country.

Mr Rangel told a news conference that the US aircraft "practically flew over" La Orchila - where Venezuela has a military base - and another island before turning back.

"We ordered the airplane to identify itself," he added.

"We have recorded proof of the conversation between ground control in Venezuela and the aircraft pilot."

The pilot is reported to have said he was on a training exercise and was unaware that he had entered Venezuelan airspace.

Incursion claim

Asked about the allegation, US embassy spokeswoman Robin Holzhauer told the Associated Press news agency: "We're looking into any possible accidental incursion of Venezuelan airspace."

Mr Rangel said the incident was "the latest step in a series of provocations" by the US.

The BBC's James Ingham in Caracas says it comes at a time of increased tension in the region, with both the US and Colombia accusing Venezuela of financing the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

Last week Interpol confirmed that computer evidence found by Colombian soldiers during a raid on a Farc camp showed no sign of tampering.

Colombia says various documents proved that Venezuela has funded the rebels. Mr Chavez insists he never provided any support.

Venezuela's accusations against the US come two days after a similar claim was made against Colombia.

The Bogota government denied that its troops had crossed into Venezuelan territory on Friday.

Our correspondent says the latest row will further increase tension between Venezuela and two countries which it clearly sees as enemies.

Motorists have been hit by petrol and diesel price rises this year

High prices of petrol and diesel are making UK drivers think twice about travelling by car, a survey suggests.

The AA polled 17,500 members, and found 27% had cut back on other areas of spending, 16% had decided to travel less by car, and 21% had done both.

Petrol prices have risen sharply this year, although government figures have only shown car traffic falling 2%.

The Petrol Retailers Association says that average prices could go up as much as 5 pence a litre by the weekend.

"I expect that motorists and diesel users in particular are going to pay more at the pumps in the coming weeks, possibly as soon as the bank holiday, from where they are now," said Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association.

"The simple reason is that the wholesale price of oil sent diesel up 3 pence last week and there's more to come."

Accelerating diesel

The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol in the UK is currently 113.01p while the average diesel price is 124.87p.

That compares with average figures from three months ago of 104.02p for unleaded and 109.30p for diesel.

Diesel prices have gone up particularly fast as a result of a lack of refining capacity.

Official figures from the Department for Transport showed that car traffic had fallen by 2% in the first three months of 2008 compared with the same period of 2007.

Fuel prices have accelerated as a result of the rising price of oil, which set a record high near $128 a barrel on Friday.

Evans is renowned for his love of cars

BBC DJ Chris Evans has paid more than £5m for a Ferrari - making it the most expensive car ever sold at auction.

The star bought the 250 GT SWB California Spyder, once owned by Hollywood actor James Coburn, in Maranello, Italy.

Evans, 42, paid twice the estimated price for the car at RM Auctions' Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event.

The auction house said the car was sold for 7.04m euros (£5.09m). It had been estimated to fetch 3.4m-3.8m euros.

Coburn, who appeared in The Great Escape, sold the car in 1987 and it has since had a number of private owners.

'Determined'

RM Auctions founder Rob Myers told the BBC News website that the car's link to Coburn was a factor in pushing up the price.

"I think it was a very valuable piece of the car's history and it seemed like the potential buyers were more than usually interested in the car because of that history.

"Chris Evans seemed very determined to have it, but a couple of other people were very determined as well, which drove it to that level.

"We had high expectations for the car, but not that high."

By Steve Schifferes BBC News economics reporter

The billionaire investor George Soros has given his gloomiest assessment yet of the state of the US and world economies.

In an interview with BBC business editor Robert Peston, Mr Soros said that while the "acute phase" of the credit crunch might be over, the fall-out and the impact on the real economy has yet to be felt.

He warned that the "financial bubble" of the last 25 years could well be drawing to an end and the post World War II "super-boom" era could be over permanently.

He says the US slowdown will be "more severe and certainly longer" than most people are predicting.

And he said that the UK was worse-placed than America to weather to coming economic storm, because it had such a large financial sector and has had the biggest increase in house prices.

Gloomy bankers

Mr Soros said that the current mandate of most of the world's leading central banks - where their main focus was fighting inflation - meant there was limited scope for cutting interest rates to help economies recover.

As for the Bank of the England, he said, "it was like a Greek tragedy", because they "couldn't do a U-turn" until there was a full-blown recession, which would finally take away the price pressures.

The Bank of England is warning of higher inflation and slower growth

It was "inevitable" that they would keep rates too high for the good of the economy, he added.

In part, Mr Soros is echoing the gloomy forecast of the world's central bankers in recent weeks.

The head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, recently told the BBC that the "market correction was still on-going".

Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, warned in the Bank's inflation report that UK inflation would rise above its target while the economy would slow sharply.

Moral hazard

Mr Soros believes that central bankers are partly to blame for the credit crunch because of their past behaviour in bailing out the financial sector whenever it got into trouble for over-lending, the so-called moral hazard problem.

In the US Bear Stearns has had to be rescued

He said that the central banks should explicitly target asset bubbles such as housing booms and try to stop them getting out of control, which is something they have resisted doing so far.

And he said that tougher but smarter regulation would be needed in the future in order to reduce the excess supply of credit in the economy.

These could include measures to force banks to put aside more reserves in good times to help cushion them in bad times.

Misguided markets

Mr Soros believes that oil and other commodities are over-priced, but he sees little chance of the price of oil coming down until there is a big slowdown in the richer economies.

Oil prices have risen relentlessly this year

He sees the price of oil as being driven by higher demand in developing countries such as China, where subsidised energy costs mean there is less price-sensitivity.

He also said that stock markets are still underestimating the severity and length of the economic downturn, especially in the US, and are now having a "bear market rally".

Profiting from the crisis

Mr Soros has credibility partly because he is prepared to invest his own money to back up his convictions.

The private investment fund he has resumed managing made a return of 34% last year betting that the credit crunch was more severe than many people expected.

Mr Soros was the man reported to have made $1bn in September 1992, betting correctly that the British currency would have to be devalued and leave the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Mr Soros has devoted much of time since then to philanthropy, especially in Eastern Europe.

Critics say tinkering with human embryos is 'immoral'

The government has survived two big challenges to its controversial plans to change the law on embryo research for the first time in 20 years.

A cross-party attempt to ban hybrid human animal embryos was defeated on a free vote, by 336 to 176.

Catholic cabinet ministers Ruth Kelly, Des Browne and Paul Murphy voted for a ban. PM Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron both opposed it.

A bid to ban "saviour siblings" was voted down by 342 votes to 163.

The votes followed two impassioned debates in the committee stage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, aimed at updating laws from 1990 in line with scientific advances.

'Ethically wrong'

On Tuesday, MPs have a further free vote on the emotive issue of cutting the abortion time limit.

Mr Cameron, along with Mr Brown, has backed the use of hybrid embryos as a means to develop treatments for cancer and conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. They also both support the creation of "saviour siblings".

BILL'S KEY VOTES Use of hybrid embryos - Monday 'Saviour siblings' - Monday Role of fathers in IVF - Tuesday Abortion limits - Tuesday How ministers voted Research 'gives me hope' Q&A: Hybrid embryos

However, the majority of the Tory shadow cabinet, including shadow foreign secretary William Hague and shadow home secretary David Davis, backed the unsuccessful attempt to ban hybrids.

Ex-minister Edward Leigh, who led the fight against the creation of hybrid "admixed" embryos, said they were "ethically wrong and almost certainly medically useless".

He said there was "no evidence yet to substantiate" claims the work could lead to treatment for degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

The bill would allow regulated research using hybrid or "admix" embryos, where the nuclei of human cells are inserted into animal eggs. The resulting embryos would be kept for up to 14 days to harvest stem cells.

Health Minister Dawn Primarolo says any research done using human embryos "must satisfy the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that it was necessary or desirable".

No human "admix" embryo would be implanted into a woman or animal, she says.

'Too human'?

But Mr Leigh said: "We do not believe that regulation is enough. We believe this is a step too far and therefore should be banned.

"In embryos, we do have the genetic make up of a complete human being and we could not and should not be spliced together with the animal kingdom."

And ex-Labour minister Sir Gerald Kaufman, agreed, adding: "How far do you go? Where do you stop? What are the limits and what are the boundaries?

"If you permit the creation of hybrid embryos now, what will you seek to permit next time, even if you have no idea where it will lead?"

Labour's Chris Bryant, a former Anglican curate, said Mr Leigh's arguments were like those used by church leaders against the smallpox vaccine.

"They were wrong and I think you are wrong today," he said.

Liberal Democrat Evan Harris criticised those who argued hybrid embryos were too human.

"If it's ethically acceptable to use up and destroy fully human embryos with all the potential they have, how is it right to provide for hybrid embryos, with less potential of viability, greater protection?" he said.

A separate attempt to ban "pure" hybrid embryos, that would mix a human egg with animal sperm or vice versa, was also defeated in the Commons by 286 votes to 223, a government majority of 63.

Tory David Burrowes' attempt to stop parents having so-called "saviour siblings" - babies selected to provide genetic material for seriously ill relatives - also suffered defeat.

The Bill would allow the selection of embryos that are a tissue match for a sick older brother or sister.

But Mr Burrowes said it was wrong to create a child for the benefit of another, regardless of "the need".

MPs are being given a free vote on four controversial parts of the bill. The other two areas are:

• Role of fathers in fertility treatment: Would end the requirement for IVF clinics to consider the "welfare" of any child created in terms of need for a father. Debate from 1530 BST Tuesday, with vote at about 1830 BST.
• The upper limit for abortion: Amendments have been put down to the bill to cut from 24 weeks the time limit for abortions. Debate on Tuesday from 1830 BST, with votes at about 2200 BST.

The Roman Catholic Church has branded the use of hybrid embryos as "monstrous" and says tinkering with life in this way is immoral.

Catholic bishops in Britain and the Irish Republic have given £25,000 to scientists using adult stem cells, which is less controversial than using immature ones.

Such cells can be used to create brain, skin, heart and other tissue for treating diseases.

But Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said the result would keep the UK at the forefront of embryo research.

Conservative leader David Cameron, along with Mr Brown, has backed the use of hybrid embryos as a means to develop treatments for cancer and conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. They also both support the creation of "saviour siblings".

Scientists at Newcastle University announced last month that they had created the first part-human, part-animal hybrid embryos in the UK.

They were created by injecting DNA derived from human skin cells into eggs taken from cows' ovaries which had had virtually all their genetic material removed.

Researchers say these human-animal "admixed" embryos could help solve the current problem of the lack of human eggs from which to generate embryos.

It is unclear which country would take Mr Demjanjuk

A man accused of being a guard at a Nazi death camp during World War II has finally lost his legal fight to stay in the United States.

John Demjanjuk, 88, migrated to the US in the 1950s. He was extradited to Israel and sentenced to death for war crimes, but the ruling was overturned.

He returned to the US but was accused of lying on his immigration application about working for the Nazis.

The US Supreme Court has now rejected his appeal against deportation.

The BBC's Jack Izzard in Washington says it remains unclear whether any country is willing to take Mr Demjanjuk in - or prosecute him again.

Torture claim

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal by the retired Ohio car worker.

DEMJANJUK CASE TIMELINE 1951: Gains entry into the US, claiming he spent most of the war as a German prisoner 1977: First charged with war crimes, accused of being "Ivan the Terrible" 1981: Stripped of US citizenship 1986: Extradited to Israel 1993: Israeli Supreme Court overturns conviction, ruling that he is not Ivan the Terrible 2002: Loses US citizenship after a judge said there was proof he worked at Nazi camps 2005: A judge rules in favour of deportation to his native Ukraine 2006: Loses appeal against deportation 2007: Loses final Supreme Court appeal

Mr Demjanjuk has always insisted he was a prisoner of war with the Nazis, rather than a guard serving under them.

His lawyers have argued he would be tortured if sent back to Ukraine.

Mr Demjanjuk was briefly deported to Israel amid a 30-year legal battle over his past.

At the time, he was suspected of having been a notorious concentration camp guard, known by the nickname "Ivan the Terrible".

But his name was eventually cleared in an Israeli court and he was spared the death penalty.

In 2002, a US immigration judge ruled that there was enough evidence to prove Mr Demjanjuk had been a guard at several Nazi death camps and again stripped him of his citizenship.

He lost an appeal against the decision in 2004.

In December 2006, the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld a 2005 deportation order which said there was no evidence to prove Mr Demjanjuk would be tortured if he returned to Ukraine.