Mike Hancock denies that his assistant is a Russian Spy

The Home Office said it did not routinely comment on individual cases, nor would it confirm deportation moves.

Many believed to be  the very first time since the Cold War ended that someone working in Parliament has been accused of  spying for the Russians.

According to the Sunday Times, Katia Zatuliveter, 24, was arrested on the orders of MI5 over espionage claims. She has been working for Lib Dem MP Mike Hancock, who said she had done nothing wrong and would appeal.

A Russian working as a parliamentary aide to a British MP has been taken into custody to face deportation proceedings amid claims she is a spy.

But a security source is said to have told the Sunday Times that Ms Zatuliveter's presence was not "conducive to national security", and the intention was to "show her the door".

Mr Hancock said he was standing by Ms Zatuliveter. He said she had told him she had not seen any evidence against her.

"Nobody has shown me any evidence to support the view that she is any way a threat to the UK," he said. "If she was a threat, when they stopped her in August, they could have removed her then." Mr Hancock said she had been arrested at 7:00 AM (GMT) on Thursday and was subject to a deportation order.

"She was taken away and held in a detention centre in London, and then transferred to another detention centre where she is putting her appeal together," he said.

Israel passes bill on withdrawal from land

Palestinean Protesters

A bill has been passed by a parliament in Israel setting stringent new conditions before any withdrawal from the East Jerusalem or Golan Heights. The bill requires a 66% majority in the Knesset before any withdrawal could be approved. The proposal would be subject to a national referendum.

Analysts say the move could complicate peace efforts by making it more difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals.

The bill - passed by a 65-33 majority - was backed of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said it would prevent "irresponsible agreements".

Likud Party MP Yariv Levin, who proposed the bill, said it was of "the utmost national importance for retaining the unity of the people".

Israel considers the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be under its sovereignty, although Syria claims the Golan Heights and the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem.

There was no immediate comment from Syria, which lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the 1967 war.

Damascus wants the land back in return for peace but many Israelis regard the heights - which overlook northern Israel - as a strategic asset.

Israel has occupied the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - since 1967, settling nearly 500,000 Jews in more than 100 settlements. They are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Delta Airlines Boeing 767 lands safely after reports of fire on wing

Delta Airlines

The Delta Airlines Boeing 767 dumped fuel and turned back to John F Kennedy Airport after reports of engine trouble soon after take-off.

A US passenger jet bound for Moscow has returned safely to a New York airport after reports its wing had caught fire. Emergency crews were sent to the airport to wait for the plane - which had 200 passengers on board - to land.

A fire official said there were no signs of fire once the plane landed, and no injuries were reported. The jet landed at JFK airport at 1750 (2250 GMT).

A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said the incident was being investigated.

All passengers are safe and there were no reported injuries.

Japan's Justice Minister Yanagida quits over gaffe

Minoru Yanagida

Japan's justice minister says he is resigning after causing outrage for making a joke about how easy his job was. Minoru Yanagida said the only two phrases he had to remember in parliament were: "I won't comment on individual cases," and "I'm acting in accordance with the law and the evidence."

The move may make it harder for Japan to pass a key budget, analysts say.
Opposition conservatives said he deserved to be fired for the gaffe.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan gave Mr Yanagida a severe warning for the remarks, which were made earlier this month during a private gathering in his home constituency in Hiroshima Prefecture.

The opposition had called his comments an insult to the legislature, and was preparing a censure motion against him. Yanagida announced his resignation at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday morning.

Support for Mr Kan has also been undermined by criticism of his handling of territorial rows with Russia and China.

Plenty of Japanese politicians have been felled by gaffes before, including a tourism minister who resigned just four days into his job for saying the Japanese did not like foreigners.

The latest resignation comes at a bad time for the prime minister, adds our correspondent.

Falling support for the centre-left government has complicated efforts to enact the crucial $61bn (£38bn) stimulus package, which the government hopes will stimulate the economy. There is widespread public discontent with the struggling economy.

Congolese ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba to face ICC trial

Jean-Pierre Bemba

Former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba war crimes trial is to start at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The former vice-president of DR Congo is accused of murder, rape and pillage in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002 and 2003.

He is the most high profile figure to face trial at the ICC since it began its work eight years ago.The trial is expected to last several months.

The 48-year-old faces two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes. At the time of the alleged crimes, Mr Bemba was a militia leader in DR Congo, but his forces went into the neighbouring country of CAR to help the president put down a coup attempt.

In 2006, Jean Pierre Bemba later became a vice-president in his own country and lost a run-off election against President Joseph Kabila.

Mr Bemba has argued that he was not in command of the militia after it crossed the border.

He was arrested in Brussels in 2008, and handed over to the ICC. Prosecutors will be trying to show that as a military commander, Mr Bemba was in control of his forces but did nothing to stop them committing the atrocities in question.

US envoy: North Korea nuclear plant is provocative

Kim Young-Sun

A US scientist said he been shown "more than 1,000 centrifuges" for enriching uranium on a visit to North Korea and had seen a new light-water reactor. Enriched uranium can be used for nuclear fuel or made into weapons.

In the recent news, evidence of a new North Korean nuclear plant is disappointing and provocative, says the top US envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth. But after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, he said the situation was not "a crisis".

"This is obviously a disappointing announcement," said Mr Bosworth. "It is also another in a series of provocative moves. "We have been watching and analysing the (North's) aspirations to produce enriched uranium for some time, it goes back several years."

He said the new evidence showed North Korea to be in violation of a United Nations resolution. Six-nation talks including the North had resolved in September 2005 to give aid, diplomatic and security benefits to the North if it ended its nuclear programmes.

Mr Bosworth said he thought future six-nation talks could still be held. "It's still breathing and I still think we have a hope that we are going to be able to resuscitate it," he said.

The plant was modern and clean, unlike all the other Yongbyon facilities he had seen, and he was stunned at how sophisticated it was, the Stanford University scientist said.