Egypt's Mursi to meet judges over power grab

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi meets senior judges on Monday to try to defuse a crisis over his seizure of new powers which has set off violent protests reminiscent of the revolution last year that led to the rise of his Islamist movement.

The justice minister said he believed Mursi would agree with the country's highest judicial authority on its proposal to limit the scope of the new powers.

But the protesters, some camped in Cairo's Tahrir Square, have said only retracting the decree will satisfy them, a sign of the deep rift between Islamists and their opponents that is destabilizing Egypt two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

"There is no use amending the decree," said Tarek Ahmed, 26, a protester who stayed the night in Tahrir, where tents covered the central traffic circle. "It must be scrapped."

One person has been killed and about 370 injured in clashes between police and protesters since Mursi issued the decree on Thursday shielding his decisions from judicial review, emboldened by international plaudits for brokering an end to eight days of violence between Israel and Hamas.

The stock market is down more than 7 percent.

Mursi's political opponents have accused him of behaving like a dictator and the West has voiced its concern, worried by more turbulence in a country that has a peace treaty with Israel and lies at the heart of the Arab Spring.

Mursi's administration has defended his decree as an effort to speed up reforms and complete a democratic transformation. Leftists, liberals, socialists and others say it has exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak.

Mursi's office said he would meet Egypt's highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council, on Monday, and the council hinted at compromise.

Mursi's decree should apply only to "sovereign matters", it said, suggesting it did not reject the declaration outright, and called on judges and prosecutors, some of whom began a strike on Sunday, to return to work.

Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky, speaking about the council statement, said: "I believe President Mohamed Mursi wants that."

LIBERALS ANGRY

The protesters are worried that Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood aims to dominate the post-Mubarak era after winning the first democratic parliamentary and presidential elections this year.

A deal with a judiciary dominated by Mubarak-era judges, which Mursi has pledged to reform, may not placate them.

A group of lawyers and activists have also challenged Mursi's decree in an administrative court, which said it would hold its first hearing on December 4. Other decisions by Mursi have faced similar legal challenges brought to court by opponents.

Banners in Tahrir called for dissolving the assembly drawing up a constitution, an Islamist-dominated body Mursi made immune from legal challenge. Many liberals and others have walked out of the assembly saying their voices were not being heard.

Only once a constitution is written can a new parliamentary election be held. Until then, legislative and executive power remains in Mursi's hands, and Thursday's decree puts his decisions above judicial oversight.

One Muslim Brotherhood member was killed and 60 people were hurt on Sunday in an attack on the main office of the Brotherhood in the Egyptian Nile Delta town of Damanhour, the website of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party said.

The party's offices have also been attacked in other cities.

One politician said the scale of the crisis could push opponents towards a deal to avoid a further escalation. Mursi's opponents have called for a big demonstration on Tuesday.

"I am very cautiously optimistic because the consequences are quite, quite serious, the most serious they have been since the revolution," said Mona Makram Ebeid, former member of parliament and prominent figure in Egyptian politics.

Mursi's office repeated assurances that the steps would be temporary, and said he wanted dialogue with political groups to find "common ground" over what should go into the constitution.

Talks with Mursi have been rejected by members of a National Salvation Front, a new opposition coalition that brings together liberal, leftist and other politicians and parties, who until Mursi's decree had been a fractious bunch struggling to unite.

MILITARY STAYING OUT

"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," prominent opposition leader and Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday. He has said he expected to act as the Front's coordinator.

The military has stayed out of the crisis after leading Egypt through a messy 16-month transition to a presidential election in June. Analysts say Mursi neutralized the army when he sacked top generals in August, appointing a new generation who now owe their advancement to the Islamist president.

Though the military still wields influence through business interests and a security role, it is out of frontline politics.

Egypt had hoped to stop the economic rot by signing an initial deal last week for a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. As well as tumbling share prices, yields at a Sunday treasury bill auction rose, putting even more pressure on the government that faces a crushing budget deficit.

"We are back to square one, politically, socially," said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities, an Egyptian brokerage firm.

(Additional reporting by Tom Perry, Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad in Cairo; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Giles Elgood)

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Euro zone to seek Greek aid deal without write-off

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund began their third attempt in as many weeks to release emergency aid for Greece on Monday, with policymakers saying a write-down of Greek debt is off the table for now.

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras voiced confidence the ministers would finally reach a deal after Greece had fulfilled it's part of the deal by enacting tough austerity measures and economic reforms.

"I'm certain we will find a mutually beneficial solution today," he said on arrival for what was set to be another marathon meeting.

Greece, where the euro zone's debt crisis erupted in late 2009, is the currency area's most heavily indebted country, despite a big "haircut" this year on privately-held bonds. Its economy has shrunk by nearly 25 percent in five years.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said it was vital to disburse the next 31 billion euro tranche of aid "to end the uncertainty that is still hanging over Greece". He urged all sides to "go the last centimeter because we are so close to an agreement".

Greece had met international lenders' conditions and "Now it is delivery time for the Eurogroup and the IMF," Rehn said.

Negotiations have been stalled over how Greece's debt, forecast to peak at almost 190 percent of gross domestic product next year, can be cut to a more sustainable 120 percent by 2020.

Without agreement on how to reduce the debt, the IMF has held up payments to Athens because there is no guarantee of when the need for emergency financing will end.

The key question is: Can Greek debt become sustainable without the euro zone writing off some of the loans to Athens?

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on arrival that the solution must be "credible for Greece". The IMF argues that the debt can only be made manageable if euro zone governments forgive some of their loans to Athens, but Germany and its northern European allies have so far rejected any such idea.

DEBT RELIEF "NOT ON TABLE"

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters on arrival that a debt cut was legally impossible, not just in Germany but for other euro zone countries, if it was linked to a new guarantee of loans.

"You cannot guarantee something if you're cutting debt at the same time," he said. That might not preclude debt relief at a later stage if Greece has completed its adjustment program and no longer needs new loans.

The German banking association (BDB) said a fresh "haircut" or forced reduction in the value of Greek sovereign debt, must only happen as a last resort.

Two European Central Bank policymakers, vice-president Vitor Constancio and executive board member Joerg Asmussen, said debt forgiveness was not on the agenda for now.

"It has been clearly stated. It is not on the table. Everything else is just rumors," Constancio told reporters in Berlin.

Asmussen told Germany's Bild newspaper the package of measures would include a substantial reduction of interest rates on loans to Greece and a debt buy-back by Greece, funded by loans from a euro zone rescue fund.

So far, the options under consideration include reducing interest on already extended bilateral loans to Greece from the current 150 basis points above financing costs.

How much lower is not yet decided -- France and Italy would like to reduce the rate to 30 basis points (bps), while Germany and some other countries insist on a 90 bps margin.

Another option, which could cut Greek debt by almost 17 percent of GDP, is to defer interest payments on loans to Greece from the EFSF, a temporary bailout fund, by 10 years.

The European Central Bank could forego profits on its Greek bond portfolio, bought at a deep discount, cutting the debt pile by a further 4.6 percent by 2020, a document prepared for the ministers' talks last week showed.

Not all euro zone central banks are willing to forego their profits, however, the German Bundesbank among them.

Greece could also buy back its privately-held bonds on the market at a deep discount, with gains from the operation depending on the scope and price.

But the preparatory document from last week said that the 120 percent target could not be reached in 2020, only two years later, unless ministers accept losses on their loans to Athens, provide additional financing or force private creditors into selling Greek debt at a discount.

The latest analysis for the ministers showed the debt could come down to 125 percent of GDP in 2020, one euro zone official with insight into the talks said.

FORGIVING OFFICIAL LOANS?

To cut the debt more boldly, the IMF wants the euro zone to forgive Greece some of the official loans, in what is called Official Sector Involvement (OSI) in EU jargon.

"OSI is at the core of the problems with reaching a deal," one euro zone official with insight into the talks said.

German central bank governor Jens Weidmann has suggested that Greece could "earn" a reduction in debt it owes to euro zone governments in a few years if it diligently implements all the agreed reforms. The European Commission backs that view.

An opinion poll published on Monday showed Greece's anti-bailout SYRIZA party with a four-percent lead over the Conservatives who won election in June, adding to uncertainty over the future of reforms.

German paper Welt am Sonntag said on Sunday that euro zone ministers were considering a write-down of official loans for Greece from 2015, but gave no sources, and a euro zone official said such an option was never seriously discussed.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Sunday that euro zone ministers made big progress to reach a common position during at a conference call on Saturday in preparation for their talks with the IMF on Monday.

"We are very close to a solution," he said.

Moscovici mentioned the reduction of interest on bilateral loans, foregoing ECB profits on Greek bonds and the debt buy-back as the options that would need to be applied for a deal as well as additional financing for Athens to keep it funded until 2016, rather than only until 2014.

(Additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek, Ethan Bilby, Luke Baker in Brussels, Reinhardt Becker in Berlin, Astrid Wendlandt in Paris; Writing by Jan Strupczewski and Paul Taylor; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Congo says no talks with rebels unless they quit Goma

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Congo said on Sunday it would not negotiate with M23 rebels in the east until they pulled out of the city of Goma, but a rebel spokesman said Kinshasa was in no position to set conditions on peace talks.

Congolese President Joseph Kabila met with M23 for the first time on Saturday after an urgent summit in Uganda where regional leaders gave M23 two days to leave Goma, which the rebels seized six days ago after U.N.-backed government troops melted away.

Eight months into a rebellion that U.N. experts say is backed by neighboring Rwanda, the rebels have so far shown no sign of quitting the lakeside city of one million people.

The rebels say they plan to march on other cities in the east, and then strike out across the country to the capital Kinshasa, across 1,000 miles of dense jungle with few roads, a daunting feat achieved 15 years ago by Kabila's father.

Amani Kabasha, a spokesman for M23's political arm, welcomed the meeting with Kabila but questioned the government's resolve to end a crisis that risks engulfing the region.

"Why put conditions on talks? You pose conditions when you are in a position of strength. Is the government really in such a position?" Kabasha told Reuters in Goma, which sits on the north shore of Lake Kivu at Congo's eastern border with Rwanda.

Vianney Kazarama, the rebels' military spokesman, said government forces that had been reinforcing along the shores of the lake were now deploying in hills around the rebel held town of Sake and government-held Minova, both Goma's west.

A U.N. source in Minova said government soldiers had gone on a looting spree for a second straight night there. The town was calm on Sunday but gunshots rang out overnight, the source said.

"What is real is that the morale of the troops is very low. They've lost hope in the commanders," the U.N. source said.

The Congolese army has vowed to launch counter-offensives and win back lost territory. The rebels have warned the government against embarking on a "new military adventure".

So far, the unruly and poorly-led army has been little match for the rebels, despite assistance from a U.N. peacekeeping mission that deployed attack helicopters to support the government before Goma fell.

Rebel leaders share ethnic ties with the Tutsi leadership of Rwanda, a small but militarily capable neighbor that intervened often in eastern Congo in the 18 years since Hutu perpetrators of Rwanda's genocide took shelter there. Rwanda has repeatedly denied Congolese and U.N. accusations it is behind M23.

Saturday's Kampala summit called on the rebels to abandon their aim of toppling the government and proposed that government troops be redeployed inside Goma.

The rebels have not explicitly rejected or accepted the proposals. They are, however, unlikely to cede control of the city or accept government soldiers inside it.

WITHDRAW

Regional and international leaders are trying to halt the latest bout of violence in eastern Congo, where millions have died of hunger and disease in nearly two decades of fighting fuelled by local and regional politics, ethnic rifts and competition for reserves of gold, tin and coltan.

"Negotiations will start after the (M23) withdrawal from Goma," Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende said.

Kabila was still in the Ugandan capital on Sunday morning but was expected to return to Kinshasa later in the day or on Monday, two Congo government sources said. Kabila's communications chief Andre Ngwej said he did not believe official talks would start in the next few days.

While Kabila's army is on the back foot, analysts are skeptical the rebels can make good on their threat to march on Kinshasa without major support from foreign backers.

The regional leaders' plan proposed deploying a joint force at Goma airport comprising of a company of neutral African troops, a company of the Congolese army (FARDC) and a company of the M23.

In a statement, the Kinshasa government said Tanzania would take command of the neutral force and that South Africa had offered "substantial" logistical and financial contributions towards it. The Kampala plan did not say what the consequences would be if the rebels did not comply.

(Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by James Macharia and Peter Graff)

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Separatist parties win Catalonia election in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Separatists in Catalonia won a large majority in regional elections but a poor result for the biggest Catalan nationalist party will complicate a push for a referendum on independence from Spain.

A deep recession and high unemployment have fuelled separatism in wealthy Catalonia, piling political uncertainty on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he fights a debt crisis that could force Spain to seek an international bailout.

Flying pro-independence flags - a lone star against yellow and red stripes - Catalan voters on Sunday handed 87 seats, almost two-thirds of the local parliament, to four different parties that want a referendum on secession.

But voters also punished the movement's figurehead, Catalan President Artur Mas. His Convergence and Union, or CiU, remains the biggest party in the local parliament, but it lost 12 seats and Mas said he will have to ally with another party to govern.

Mas tried to ride the separatist wave after hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in September, demanding independence for Catalonia, a northeastern region with its own language that sees itself as distinct from the rest of Spain.

But Mas only recently backed Catalan independence, and while he stirred up enthusiasm for the idea, in the end he drove voters into the arms of parties seen as more genuinely representative of the separatist cause.

"Mas was hurt... The pro-independence movement is more distributed among different parties now, but the issue is important enough so that I think they will do everything to stay united," said Oriol Vilaseca, 38, who works for a family business and who voted for CiU.

With a population of 7.5 million people, export powerhouse Catalonia has an economy almost as big as Portugal. But it is labouring under a load of debt and Catalans think too much of their taxes go to the rest of Spain.

Mas, who has implemented tough austerity measures to rein in Catalonia's steep public deficit, said the situation was more complex now but he would still push for a referendum.

Unlike in Scotland, where the government of the United Kingdom has agreed to a 2014 referendum, a Catalan plebiscite on breaking away from Spain could trigger a constitutional crisis and the central government has vowed to block it.

Mas fell far short of his aim of winning an absolute majority of at least 68 seats, leaving the separatist movement without a strong leader to pressure Madrid to recognise Catalonia's right to hold a referendum.

LEFTIST SEPARATISTS WIN BIG

In Madrid, political leaders said Mas's poor showing would put an end to the referendum idea in Catalonia, which generates a fifth of the national economy.

"I've never seen such a ruinous political operation as Mas's," Prime Minister Rajoy said at a Monday meeting of leaders of his People's Party, or PP, according to El Mundo newspaper.

But leftist separatists who got a big boost in the polls said they were more determined than ever to hold a referendum.

"They've elected us to go ahead with a democratic project, It's massive support. We will have to respond to what the people have asked for," said Alfred Bosch, a deputy in the national Parliament in Madrid from the Republican Left, or ERC.

Bosch said the "will of the people" would trump any constitutional impediment to a plebiscite.

The ERC, a long-standing separatist party, was the big beneficiary of Mas's independence rhetoric, doubling its presence in the Catalan parliament to 21 seats and becoming the main opposition party in for the first time in its history.

The Socialists took 20 seats and the PP 19. Three other parties, including two that want a referendum on independence, split the remaining 25 seats.

Catalans traveled home from around Europe to vote in the election, which had a strong turnout of 68 percent, 10 percentage points higher than in the previous vote two years ago.

Spain's' borrowing costs rose and shares fell after the election result, reflecting some concern at the separatists' successes, but price moves were modest with investors focussed on efforts to solve Greece's debt problems.

A NEW MODEL FOR SPAIN

No matter what the election outcome was, the revival of Catalonia's long-dormant separatist movement will eventually force Spain to rethink the model it chose after the Francisco Franco dictatorship ended in the 1970s.

The 1978 constitution gave significant self-governing powers to the country's 17 autonomous regions, partly to appease centuries-old dreams of nationhood in Catalonia and the Basque Country.

Catalans and Basques have pushed for more autonomy, especially for more control over their taxes. But the flare up in separatism in Catalonia this year has been more radical.

Wary that separatism could spread to the Basque Country and beyond, Rajoy said the Catalan election was more important than general elections.

"The Catalan issue is an opportunity to discuss a model that has been under debate since its inception. It's about the territorial model for Spain," said Antonio Barroso, political analyst with Eurasia Group

Under the current model, Catalonia shares some tax revenue with the rest of Spain and many Catalans believe their economy would prosper if they could invest more of their taxes at home.

Barroso said Rajoy, who earlier this year refused to negotiate with Mas over taxes, would have to take up talks with Catalonia over modifications to the revenue sharing system.

Home to car factories and banks and the birthplace of surrealist painter Salvador Dali and architect Antoni Gaudi, the region also has one of the world's most successful football clubs, FC Barcelona.

ECONOMIC REALITY

Enthusiasm for independence could subside as Catalans contemplate the economic realities of a split from Spain, especially if the price to pay is leaving the European Union.

After a decade of overspending during Spain's real estate boom, Catalonia and most of the country's other regions are struggling to pay state workers and meet debt payments.

Catalonia has 44 billion euros of outstanding debt and the ratio of its debt to its gross domestic product is 22 percent, the highest among Spain's regions.

Mas was one of the first Spanish leaders to embark on harsh austerity measures after Catalonia's public deficit soared and the regional government was shunned by debt markets. He has also had to take billions of euros in bailout funds from the central government and he still has more fat to trim.

His austerity drive will run into trouble with the newly empowered Republican Left. Bosch said ERC would not form a coalition with Mas's CiU and would not agree to any more cuts in spending on schools and hospitals.

(Additional reporting Clare Kane in Madrid and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Syrian jets bomb rebel base near Turkey border

BUKULMEZ, Turkey (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed a rebel headquarters near the Turkish border on Monday, missing their target but sending hundreds of Syrians fleeing across the frontier.

The attack on the Free Syrian Army base in Atima, 2 km (1 mile) from the border, came a day before Turkish and NATO officials were due to start assessing where to station surface-to-air missiles close to the 900 km (560 mile) border.

Turkey, a major supporter of insurgents fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad, has repeatedly scrambled jets along the joint border and responded in kind when Syrian shells have landed inside Turkey.

But Ankara, rejecting Syrian complaints that the Patriots were "provocative", stressed they would be used only to defend Turkish territory, not to create a no-fly zone inside Syria that rebels want to neutralize Assad's massive air power.

Describing the bombing of the FSA base, opposition activist Ahmed, who lives within a few blocks of it, said: "Two Syrian fighter jets came and fired five rockets. Three have hit farm areas and another two hit buildings near the base."

Monday's strike was one of the closest to the Turkish border carried out by Syrian jets. Ahmed said it was the first time they targeted the FSA base set up by senior rebel Mustafa al-Sheikh when he crossed over to Syria from Turkey two months ago.

Rebels fired anti-aircraft guns at the jets but they were flying too high to be hit, activists said. "I think the reason for the raid may have something to do with increased weapons movements (from Turkey)," Ahmed said.

Several hundred Syrians fled into Turkey after the raid and were being taken care of by the Turkish army. At least two wounded people were taken across the border.

The Turkish Anatolian news agency said an anti-aircraft shell fired during clashes in another Syrian border town, Harem, hit the roof of a house in the Turkish district of Reyhanli, causing no casualties.

After 20 months of conflict, rebels have been tightening their hold on farmland and urban centers to the east and northeast of Damascus, and have seized a string of military bases in the past 10 days.

PATRIOT DEPLOYMENT

A joint Turkish-NATO team will start work on Tuesday assessing where to put Patriot missiles, how many will be needed and the number of foreign troops to be sent to operate them.

Turkey is reluctant to be drawn into the fighting, but the proximity of Syrian bombing raids to its border is straining its nerves. It is worried about its neighbor's chemical weapons, the refugee crisis on its border, and what it says is Syrian support for Kurdish militants on its own soil.

Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war, which started with peaceful demonstrations for reform but grew into demands for the overthrow of 42 years of dynastic rule by Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.

Attacks by mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against Assad's forces have become increasingly effective and deadly. The president, from Syria's Alawite minority which is linked to Shi'ite Islam, has responded with devastating artillery and air bombardment.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled their country and more than 2 million more have been displaced. The opposition said last week $60 billion would be needed for reconstruction.

The military installations rebels have captured in the last 10 days include a major facility in the northern province of Aleppo and several bases around the capital Damascus.

EUPHRATES DAM CAPTURED

On Monday activists said rebels took control of the Tishreen dam on the Euphrates river, east of the city of Aleppo. Internet video footage showed gunmen inside what appeared to be the control room, undamaged following the rebel capture.

Other footage showed rebels opening up ammunition boxes, including one marked RPG (rocket-propelled grenades), which they said were seized from Assad's forces holding the dam.

On Sunday rebels said they had captured a helicopter base east of Damascus, their latest gain in a battle that is drawing nearer to Assad's seat of power in the capital.

The Marj al-Sultan base, 15 km (10 miles) from Damascus, is the second military facility on the outskirts of the city reported to fall to Assad's opponents this month. Activists said rebels destroyed two helicopters and taken 15 prisoners.

"We are coming for you Bashar!" a rebel shouted in an internet video of what activists said was Marj al-Sultan. Restrictions on non-state media meant it could not be verified.

The rebels have been tightening their hold on farmland and urban centers to the east and northeast of Damascus while a major battle has been under way for a week in the suburb of Daraya near the main highway south.

"We are seeing the starting signs of a rebel siege of Damascus," opposition campaigner Fawaz Tello said from Berlin. "Marj al-Sultan is very near to the Damascus Airport road and to the airport itself. The rebels appear to be heading toward cutting this as well as the main northern artery to Aleppo."

Assad's core forces, drawn mainly from his Alawite sect, are entrenched in the capital.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Erika Solomon in Beirut and Jonathon Burch in Ankara; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Thousands protest in Bangladesh after deadly blaze

DHAKA (Reuters) - Thousands of angry textile workers demonstrated in the outskirts of Dhaka on Monday after a fire swept through a garment workshop at the weekend, killing more than 100 people in Bangladesh's worst-ever factory blaze.

The fire has put a spotlight on global retailers that source clothes from Bangladesh, where the cost of labor is low - as little as $37 a month for some workers - and rights groups have called on big-brand firms to sign up to a fire safety program.

Workers from Tazreen Fashions and residents blocked roads and forced the closure of other factories in the industrial suburb of Ashulia, where the huge fire started on Saturday, demanding those responsible for the disaster be punished.

"I haven't been able to find my mother," said one worker, who gave her name as Shahida. "I demand justice, I demand that the owner be arrested."

Police and officials said narrow exits in the nine-storey building trapped workers inside, killing 111 people and injuring more than 150.

"This disastrous fire incident was a result of continuing neglect of workers' safety and their welfare," said Amirul Haque Amin, president of Bangladesh's National Garment Workers Federation.

"Whenever a fire or accident occurs, the government sets up an investigation and the authorities - including factory owners - pay out some money and hold out assurances to improve safety standards and working conditions. But they never do it."

PRESSURE ON GLOBAL FIRMS

Working conditions at Bangladeshi factories are notoriously poor, with little enforcement of safety laws. Overcrowding and locked fire doors are common.

More than 300 factories near the capital shut for almost a week this year as workers demanded higher wages and better conditions.

At least 500 people have died in clothing factory accidents in Bangladesh since 2006, according to fire brigade officials.

Bangladesh has about 4,500 garment factories and is the world's biggest exporter of clothing after China, with garments making up 80 percent of its $24 billion annual exports.

The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) said that U.S.-based PVH Corp, whose brands include Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Van Heusen, entered into an agreement with unions and other rights groups earlier this year to develop a fire safety program in Bangladesh, but others have not signed up.

"We hope the tragic fire at Tazreen will serve as an urgent call to action for all major brands that rely on Bangladesh's low wages to make a profit," ILRF Executive Director Judy Gearhart said in a statement on Sunday.

"Their voluntary and confidential monitoring programs have failed; now it is time to come together and make a contractual commitment to workers, and to involve workers and their organizations in the solution."

Hong Kong-listed Li & Fung said in a statement it had placed orders for garments from Tazreen Fashions which were being manufactured on the premises where the fire broke out.

It said it would provide relief to victims' families, and carry out its own investigation into what caused the blaze.

The European spokesman for retailer C&A said Tazreen Fashions was due to deliver 220,000 sweatshirts for its Brazilian stores over the coming three months.

He said an independent company normally audits companies and factories for standards and working conditions before C&A enters into a business relationship with them, but the audit of Tazreen Fashions had not yet been carried out.

A spokesperson for U.S. retail chain Wal-Mart Stories Inc. in India said the company was "trying to determine if the factory has a current relationship with Walmart or one of our suppliers".

(Reporting by Serajul Quadir and Anis Ahmed; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Sophie Hares)

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Iran, Arabs criticize delay of Middle East nuclear talks

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and Arab nations on Monday criticized a decision to put off talks on banning atomic bombs in the Middle East, with Tehran blaming the United States for a "serious setback" to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The United States said on Friday that the mid-December conference on creating a zone free of weapons of mass destruction would not occur and did not make clear when, or whether, it would take place. The United States, Britain and Russia are co-sponsors of the meeting.

The postponement "will have a negative impact on regional security and the international system to prevent nuclear proliferation as a whole," Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said in a statement.

Iran, which is accused by the West of developing a nuclear weapons capability, said this month it would participate in the talks that had been due to take place in Helsinki, Finland.

Asked about the U.S. announcement, Iranian nuclear envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told state broadcaster Press TV from Vienna:

"It is a serious setback to the NPT and this is a clear sign that the U.S. is not committed to the obligation of a world free of nuclear weapons."

Elaraby said all regional states except Israel - widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal - had voiced willingness to attend the conference.

He called for urgent meeting of senior Arab officials this week to consider the developments.

Even if the talks eventually occur, Western diplomats and experts expect little progress any time soon due to the deep-rooted animosities in the region, notably the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israeli concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

Washington feared the conference could be used as a forum to criticize its ally Israel, a concern only likely to have increased after eight days of Israeli-Palestinian fighting that ended with a ceasefire last week.

SECURITY

Israel, which says say Tehran is the Middle East's main proliferation threat, had not said whether it would attend.

Iran and Arab states often say Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal poses a threat to Middle East peace and security.

The plan for a meeting to lay the groundwork for the possible creation of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction was agreed at a 2010 conference of 189 parties to the 1970 NPT, a treaty designed to prevent the spread of nuclear arms in the world.

Israel, which neither confirms nor denies having nuclear arms, is not a signatory.

U.S. and Israeli officials have said a nuclear arms-free zone in the Middle East could not be a reality until there was broad Arab-Israeli peace and Iran curbed its nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful energy and research purposes.

Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the U.N. nuclear agency, said: "The U.S. has taken hostage this Helsinki conference for the sake of Israel ... they want to support the Israelis' nuclear weapon capability."

Russia and Britain signaled in separate statements at the weekend their hope for a delay to be as short as possible and that the talks could be held next year instead.

The U.S. State Department said it would keep working to try to bring about a meeting, adding such a gathering must take into account the security of all the states in the region and operate on the basis of consensus.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Toronto mayor ordered removed from office

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 51-year-old man. Three years ago, my first and only marriage ended after 20 years. Over the past two years, I have been in a wonderful relationship with a very bright woman, "Toni," who told me she had been married twice before.A year ago, her job required that she move out of state, but we have successfully maintained the long-distance relationship with frequent visits and daily phone calls.A few days ago, I learned by chance that she was briefly married a third time while she was in her early 20s. ...

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Slovakia teachers walk out over demands for higher wages

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Thousands of Slovak teachers went on strike on Monday, forcing most of the country's schools to close, as they demanded a 10 percent pay rise from the government which is battling to trim its budget deficit.

More than 4,000 teachers gathered in Bratislava waving signs that read "For how long will we educate the nation for a pittance?" and "We give money to Greece, but don't have any for schools".

Teachers in the euro zone's second-poorest country currently earn an average of 687 euros ($890) a month, the lowest in the OECD group of developed nations.

Unions said they had rejected a government offer to pay teachers 5 percent more, half the increase demanded by teachers. Further meetings were scheduled with the government on Tuesday.

"We don't just want higher salaries, we also want to highlight how bad situation is in Slovakia's education sector. It is on the edge of an abyss," Pavel Ondek, head of the teachers' unions, told protesters in the country's capital.

A 5 percent pay rise would cost the government 60 million euros, but still leave an average teacher's salary below the country's mean monthly wage of 793 euros.

Teachers in Slovakia are often forced to seek second jobs to supplement their incomes, and it is quite common for parents to be asked to contribute to school costs, although education is free under the Slovak constitution.

Centre-left Prime Minister Robert Fico won a March election on a pledge to help poorer Slovaks.

While his government decided to raise taxes on companies and the rich in 2013, it has angered some supporters with measures aimed at cutting the budget deficit to below the European Union ceiling of 3 percent of gross domestic product.

Slovakia's economy is expected by the European Commission to grow by 2 percent next year, making it the second-fastest growing country in the bloc next year.

But analysts say the growth, driven by exports of cars produced in the country, would only provide a limited boost to budget revenues.

Union leaders said the strike had shut 80 percent of grammar schools and 70 percent of high schools in the central European country of 5.4 million.

($1 = 0.7717 euros)

(Reporting by Martin Santa; Editing by Michael Winfrey and Sophie Hares)

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Norway's police apologize for deporting Jews

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian police apologized for the first time on Monday for their complicity in the deportation and murder of over 700 Jews during the Nazi occupation in World War Two, just months after the prime minister made a formal apology.

"Norwegian police officers participated in the arrest and deportation of Jews," police chief Odd Reidar Humlegaard said on the 70th anniversary of Norway deporting the first group of Jews to Auschwitz.

"It is fitting that I express my regret for the role police played in the arrest and deportation of these completely innocent victims," he said.

Vidkun Quisling, Norway's leader during the Nazi occupation whose name has become a synonym for traitor, ordered the registration of Jews in 1942 and the state apparatus played a complicit role in their eventual deportation.

Norway acknowledged the state's role in 1998 and paid some $60 million to Norwegian Jews and Jewish organizations in compensation for property seized.

But the move fell short of a full apology, causing further national debate and the establishment of a Holocaust research center. Current prime minister Jens Stoltenberg only made a formal apology earlier this year.

Norway's Jewish population rose to around 2,100 by 1942 from 1,700 before the war as refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia fled the continent.

Authorities eventually deported 772, of whom only 34 survived. Others either stayed in hiding or fled to neighboring Sweden, which protected its Jewish population and also accepted around 8,000 Danish Jews.

(Editing by Greg Mahlich)

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Obama offers praise, pressure on historic Myanmar trip

YANGON (Reuters) - Barack Obama became the first American president to visit Myanmar on Monday, using a six-hour trip to balance U.S. praise for the government's progress in shaking off military rule with pressure to complete the process of democratic reform.

Obama, greeted by enthusiastic crowds in the former capital, Yangon, met President Thein Sein, a former junta member who has spearheaded reforms since taking office in March 2011, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"I shared with President Thein Sein our belief that the process of reform that he is taking is one that will move this country forward," Obama told reporters, with Thein Sein at his side.

"I recognize that this is just the first steps on what will be a long journey, but we think that a process of democratic reform and economic reform here in Myanmar ... can lead to incredible development opportunities here," Obama said, using the country name preferred by the government and former junta, rather than Burma, which is used in the United States.

Thein Sein, speaking in Burmese with an interpreter translating his remarks, responded that the two sides would move forward, "based on mutual trust, respect and understanding".

"We also reached agreement for the development of democracy in Myanmar and for promotion of human rights to be aligned with international standards," he added.

Obama's Southeast Asian trip, less than two weeks after his re-election, was aimed at showing how serious he is about shifting the U.S. strategic focus eastwards as America winds down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The so-called "Asia pivot" is also meant to counter China's rising influence.

The trip to Myanmar highlighted what the White House has touted as a major foreign policy achievement -- its success in pushing the country's generals to enact changes that have unfolded with surprising speed over the past year.

Tens of thousands of well-wishers, including children waving American and Burmese flags, lined Obama's route from the airport after his arrival, cheering him as he went by.

"ICON OF DEMOCRACY"

Obama met fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who led the struggle against military rule and is now a lawmaker, at the lakeside home where she spent years under house arrest.

Addressing reporters afterwards, Suu Kyi thanked Obama for supporting the political reform process. But, speaking so softly she was barely audible at times, she cautioned that the most difficult time was "when we think that success is in sight".

"Then we have to be very careful that we are not lured by a mirage of success and that we are working towards genuine success for our people," she said.

Obama recalled Suu Kyi's years of captivity and said she was "an icon of democracy who has inspired people not just in this country but around the world".

"Today marks the next step in a new chapter between the United States and Burma," he said, using the country name that she prefers. Before he left, the two embraced and he kissed her on the cheek.

Earlier, Obama made an unscheduled stop at the landmark Shwedagon Pagoda, where he, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their entire entourage, secret service agents included, went barefoot up the giant stone staircase.

STOP THE VIOLENCE

The United States has softened sanctions and removed a ban on most imports from Myanmar in response to reforms already undertaken, but it has set conditions for the full normalization of relations, including efforts to end ethnic conflict.

In recent months, sectarian violence between majority Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslim minority in the western state of Rakhine has killed at least 167 people.

Many in Myanmar consider the Rohingya Muslims to be illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and the government does not recognize them as citizens. A Reuters investigation into the wave of sectarian assaults painted a picture of organized attacks against the Muslim community.

"For too long, the people of this state, including ethnic Rakhine, have faced crushing poverty and persecution. But there's no excuse for violence against innocent people," Obama told a packed audience for a speech at Yangon University.

"The Rohingya ... hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do. National reconciliation will take time, but for the sake of our common humanity, and for the sake of this country's future, it's necessary to stop incitement and to stop violence."

Thein Sein, in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week, promised to tackle the root causes of the problem, and Obama said he welcomed "the government's commitment to address the issues of injustice, and accountability, and humanitarian access and citizenship".

PRISONERS RELEASED

Some human rights groups objected to the Myanmar visit, saying Obama was rewarding the government of the former pariah state for a job that was incomplete. Speaking in Thailand on the eve of his visit, Obama denied he was going to offer his "endorsement" or that his trip was premature.

Aides said Obama was determined to lock in the democratic changes under way in Myanmar, but would press for further action, including the freeing of all political prisoners.

Obama announced the resumption of U.S. aid program in Myanmar during his visit. An administration official said the USAID program would include assistance of $170 million in total for fiscal 2012 and 2013, but this would be dependent on further reforms.

In a move clearly timed to show goodwill, the authorities began to release dozens more political detainees on Monday, including Myint Aye, arguably the most prominent dissident left in its gulag.

Despite human rights concerns, the White House sees Myanmar as a legacy-building success story of Obama's policy of seeking engagement with U.S. enemies. In his Yangon speech, he appealed to North Korea to take a similar path.

"To the leadership of North Korea, I've offered a choice: let go of your nuclear weapons, and choose the path of peace and progress. If you do, you'll find an extended hand from the United States of America," he said.

(Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Ron Popeski)

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Tensions flare over South China Sea at Asian summit

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Japan warned on Monday that a row over the South China Sea could damage "peace and stability" in Asia as China stalled on a plan to ease tensions and disagreements flared between the Philippines and Cambodia over the dispute.

The acrimony provided an uneasy backdrop to U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival in Cambodia for a regional summit where he is expected to urge China and Southeast Asian nations to resolve the row, one of Asia's biggest security issues.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda challenged efforts by summit host Cambodia, a staunch China ally, to limit discussions on the mineral-rich sea, where China's territorial claims overlap those of four Southeast Asian countries and of Taiwan.

"Prime Minister Noda raised the issue of the South China Sea, noting that this is of common concern for the international community, which would have direct impact on peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific," a Japanese government statement said after Noda met leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

That followed a statement on Sunday from Kao Kim Hourn, a Cambodian foreign ministry official, who said Southeast Asian leaders "had decided that they will not internationalize the South China Sea from now on."

In a sign of tension, Philippine President Benigno Aquino disputed the Cambodian statement and said no such agreement was reached, voicing his objections in tense final minutes of discussions between Noda and Southeast Asian leaders.

As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen began to conclude the meeting with Noda, Aquino abruptly raised his hand and tersely interjected.

"There were several views expressed yesterday on ASEAN unity which we did not realize would be translated into an ASEAN consensus," he said, according to his spokesman. "For the record, this was not our understanding. The ASEAN route is not the only route for us. As a sovereign state, it is our right to defend our national interests."

Alternative diplomatic routes for the Philippines would likely involve the United States, one of its closest allies, which has said it has a national interest in freedom of navigation through the South China Sea's vital shipping lanes.

ASEAN on Sunday agreed to formally ask China to start talks on a Code of Conduct (CoC) aimed at easing the risk of naval flashpoints, according to its Secretary General, Surin Pitsuwan. But Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao appeared to play down the need for urgent action in talks on Sunday night with Hun Sen.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he could "not recall" Hun Sen making a formal request for talks.

"It takes some time for China and ASEAN to discuss the CoC," he said. He repeated Cambodia's statement that ASEAN had reached a "common position" not to internationalize the issue, directly contradicting Aquino.

Obama will meet Southeast Asian leaders on Monday evening before sitting down with Wen on Tuesday.

China's sovereignty claims over the stretch of water off its south coast and to the east of mainland Southeast Asia set it directly against U.S. allies Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to parts.

Sino-Japanese relations are also under strain after the Japanese government bought disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China from a private Japanese owner in September, triggering violent protests and calls for boycotts of Japanese products across China.

China prefers to address conflicts through one-on-one talks.

U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE

Obama's visit to Cambodia, the first by a U.S. president, underlines an expansion of U.S. military and economic interests in Asia under last year's so-called "pivot" from conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The Philippines, Australia and other parts of the region have seen a resurgence of U.S. warships, planes and personnel, since Obama began shifting foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia late last year.

Cambodia has used its powers as ASEAN chair this year to limit discussion on the South China Sea. Its apparent rewards include Chinese largesse, including a $100 million loan to set up Cambodia's largest cement plant signed the day Wen arrived.

Thailand, which holds the position of ASEAN's official coordinator with China, appeared to support the U.S. view that countries beyond ASEAN and China had a national interest in resolving the dispute.

At stake is control over what are believed to be significant reserves of oil and gas. Estimates for proven and undiscovered oil reserves in the entire sea range from 28 billion to as high as 213 billion barrels of oil, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a March 2008 report.

While the territorial row was a matter for the "parties concerned," maritime security and freedom of navigation were an international concern, said Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary at Thailand's foreign ministry.

"If it comes to the broader issue of maritime security, meaning freedom of navigation, security of sea lanes, I think that is a concern of all countries," he told reporters.

The tensions illustrate the difficulty of forging a Southeast Asian consensus over how to deal with an increasingly assertive China. Southeast Asia had hoped avoid a repeat of an embarrassing breakdown of talks in July over competing claims in the mineral-rich waters, its biggest security challenge.

Washington insists its "pivot" is not about containing China or a permanent return to military bases of the past, but it has increased its military presence in the Philippines and other areas near vital sea lanes in the South China Sea.

(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato, Stuart Grudgings and Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Egypt PM says Gaza truce deal may be close

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's prime minister said on Monday that an agreement brokered by Cairo to stop the fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza could be close.

"Negotiations are going on as we speak and I hope we will reach something soon that will stop this violence and counter violence," Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said in an interview in Cairo for the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.

Israel launched an air campaign on Wednesday with the declared goal of deterring Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, from launching rockets at its southern communities.

Egypt is seeking to reinstate a ceasefire after an informal one it brokered in October collapsed.

"I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation (means) it is very difficult to predict," he said.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi had said on Saturday that there were "some indications" a ceasefire could be reached soon but said there were no firm guarantees.

"President Mursi is determined to play his role as a key player in the region and help mediate this," said Kandil, who visited Gaza on Friday to show Egypt's solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in Gaza, ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement, on Monday and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave eased off.

The prime minister said Egypt was in contact with both Israeli and Palestinian officials, and with other regional and international players, including Turkey and Qatar, as well as the United States, Britain and Germany.

"There are exchanges of visits and talks with both sides and there is also communications with various leaders from the region," he said.

Separately on Monday, another Egyptian official, who declined to be identified, said that Egypt was receiving "encouraging signals" about a ceasefire and said both Israel and Hamas were seeking guarantees.

"What we are trying to agree on is to achieve a ceasefire and achieve some possible guarantees, and then later discuss more guarantees," the official told Reuters.

Izzat Risheq, aide to Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal, wrote on Facebook that Hamas would enter a truce only after Israel "stops its aggression, ends its policy of targeted assassinations and lifts the blockade of Gaza".

Listing Israel's terms, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon wrote on Twitter: "If there is quiet in the south and no rockets and missiles are fired at Israel's citizens, nor terrorist attacks engineered from the Gaza Strip, we will not attack."

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Obama presses Cambodia's Hun Sen to improve rights record

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Monday to hold fair elections and release political prisoners as he took a firm line on human rights abuses that activists say have increased in recent years in the Southeast Asian country.

Fresh from a visit to Myanmar, where many freedoms have blossomed in the country's dramatic return to democracy, Obama told Hun Sen that Cambodia's record on human rights would be an impediment to deeper ties with the United States.

"He (Obama) highlighted a set of issues that he's concerned about within Cambodia," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to Obama.

"In particular, I would say the need for them to move toward elections that are fair and free, the need for an independent election commission associated with those elections, the need to allow for the release of political prisoners and for opposition parties to be able to operate."

Rhodes, who agreed the talks could be described as "tense", said Obama had focused all of his comments on human rights and had told Hun Sen that Cambodia has "much further to go on that set of issues".

In response, Hun Sen said concerns over human rights were exaggerated and that Cambodia had a better record than many countries, U.S. and Cambodian officials said.

Hun Sen also reiterated a request for Obama to forgive most of the country's debt of more than $370 million to the United States. Cambodia last year offered to repay 30 percent of the debt, calling this a compromise over money it says was used by a pro-American government in the 1970s to repress its own people.

International rights groups met U.S. officials last week to urge Obama to bring up rights issues with Hun Sen, who has tolerated little dissent since consolidating power in a 1997 coup but has brought stability and economic growth to Cambodia.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier regarded as a shrewd tactician, is on course to remain one of the world's longest-serving leaders after elections next year that his critics say are heavily skewed in favor of his ruling party.

In a report last week, Human Rights Watch said more than 300 people had been killed in politically motivated attacks since an agreement in 1991 that ended a civil war, but not one person had been convicted. It pointed the finger at Cambodian security forces and called on Obama to demand an end to impunity for abusive officials.

Hun Sen's government has also been criticized for ignoring the land rights of hundreds of thousands of poor Cambodians by leasing out huge land concessions to well-connected companies that have proceeded to evict residents.

(Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Turkey says it will hold talks with Kurdish militants

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey opened the door to talks with Kurdish militants it brands terrorists on Monday, raising hopes of a push to end a conflict which has killed tens of thousands of people and stunted development in its mainly Kurdish southeast.

Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said talks would be held with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, Turkey's main domestic security threat, which took up arms almost three decades ago and seeks Kurdish autonomy.

"These talks have been held as and when deemed necessary in the past, and will be held in the future," Ergin told reporters in Ankara. He did not elaborate.

Talks between the Turkish state and the PKK were unthinkable until only a few years ago and more recent contacts have proved politically fraught, with parts of the nationalist opposition strongly condemning any suggestion of negotiations.

Turkey, the United States and the European Union designate the PKK a terrorist organization. But Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is under pressure to stem the violence, which has included bomb attacks in major cities such as well as clashes with the military in the mountainous southeast.

Ergin's comments followed the end of a 68-day hunger strike by hundreds of PKK militants in prisons across Turkey on Sunday, after an appeal from their jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Imprisoned on Imrali island in the Marmara Sea south of Istanbul since his capture in 1999, Ocalan has significant support among Kurds but is widely reviled by Turks who hold him responsible for the violence.

Ocalan's call from Imrali came after he held a couple of months of talks with Turkish officials, according to Nihat Ali Ozcan, security analyst at the TEPAV think-tank in Ankara, adding that the talks could lead to a PKK ceasefire.

Erdogan's room for manoeuvre will be limited by concern about the growing power of a PKK-linked party in Syria and 2014 elections when he hopes to take over a new executive presidency. Any concessions to the PKK could undermine his popularity.

"Erdogan needs two or three years of silence. Talks can continue until then and during that time the PKK will try and secure more concessions," Ozcan said.

Recordings leaked last year showed senior intelligence officials had also held secret meetings with the PKK in Oslo.

"We are all for talking to Ocalan and any other parties so long as it produces clear and concrete outcomes," Faruk Logoglu, vice chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told Reuters.

"But the record of this government is such that they do not really radiate confidence that they are conducting these talks in a clear, results-orientated way without leading to unacceptable demands from the PKK," he said.

NEXT STEP?

Idris Baluken, a senior member of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which had supported the hunger strikers, said the end of the action had created an opportunity for the government but that it would have to negotiate with Ocalan if it wanted to end the conflict.

However, there was no evidence that any specific government initiative was imminent. The possibility of PKK talks has been raised by Ergin and other government officials in the past, most recently by Erdogan himself in September.

The hunger strike had been a thorn in the side of Erdogan's government, already dealing with the spillover of violence from neighboring Syria and increasingly concerned about the prospect of deaths among the hunger strikers which could exacerbate an upsurge in PKK violence.

Ankara has linked the renewed hostilities to the conflict in Syria and accused President Bashar al-Assad of arming the PKK.

Public anger at the rapidly rising death toll is also likely to limit the government's ability to reach a settlement.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in 28 years of fighting between Turkey and the group and there is little sign of violence subsiding. PKK fighters killed five Turkish soldiers in clashes in Hakkari province on Sunday.

Ocalan reportedly told his brother Mehmet when they met on Saturday in Imrali that the hunger strike had achieved its aim, although there was little evidence that the government had accepted the protesters' demands.

As well as an end to Ocalan's isolation and access to lawyers, they had demanded the use of the Kurdish language in education and other institutions.

Erdogan's government has boosted cultural and language rights for Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of Turkey's 75-million strong population, since taking power a decade ago.

However, Kurdish politicians are seeking greater political reform, including steps towards autonomy for the mainly Kurdish southeast, which borders Syria, Iran and Iraq.

Addressing one of the demands, the government has sent to parliament a bill allowing defendants to use Kurdish in court.

But political analyst Emre Uslu said the goals of the PKK and government were irreconcilable.

"The PKK wants to bring peace without laying down its arms. It wants to return to the cities as the guardian of the Kurds," he wrote in Today's Zaman newspaper.

"The peace that the Turkish state talks about is for the PKK to lay down its arms and surrender."

(Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Jon Hemming)

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Kinshasa rejects rebel peace talks call

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo government on Monday dismissed a demand from rebels in the country's east for truce talks, saying that the insurgent force pushing towards the city of Goma was merely a tool of neighboring Rwanda.

The rejection meant that the worst fighting in the area in four years was only likely to intensify, bringing with it a new humanitarian crisis as refugees fled the city.

The M23 rebels had halted their advance about 5 km from Goma on Monday and gave the government 24 hours to start talks or face a new onslaught. They say that Kinshasa broke the terms of a 2009 peace agreement that integrated them into the army as a solution to an earlier rebellion.

A government spokesman said it was not interested in rebel proposals or ultimatums.

"M23 is defined by the government as a fiction created by Rwanda to hide their criminal activities against the DRC," spokesman Lambert Mende said. "It is an ultimatum from a fictitious group that has no real value to us."

United Nations experts back the government contention that Rwanda, which has intervened in Congo repeatedly over the past 18 years, is behind the M23 revolt. Rwanda denies involvement.

Congo is rich in minerals including diamonds, gold, copper and coltan - used in mobile phones. But little money has been spent on developing a country the size of Western Europe.

The government accuses Rwanda of wanting to control the mineral resources by backing the insurgents.

The country was wracked by wars between 1994 and 2003 which killed about five million people. Many eastern areas are still plagued by violence from a variety of rebel groups.

REFUGEES FLEE AGAIN

M23 is led by mutinying soldiers who rose up eight months ago. They have now fought four days of battles to come close to Goma, home to a million people including hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled rebel advances elsewhere.

The city, which sits at the Rwandan border on the north shore of Lake Kivu, is also the capital of North Kivu province and headquarters of a U.N. peacekeeping force.

The rebels have said they do not plan to capture Goma.

But that prospect provoked a new humanitarian crisis as thousands of refugees abandoned camps in the north of Goma to escape them, said Tariq Riebl of the British aid agency Oxfam.

Thomas D'Aquin Muiti, head of a local aid organization, said the rebel reassurances were not to be trusted.

"I think everyone in the town is skeptical of M23. The town is emptying. If the international community allows M23 to take Goma it'll be a humanitarian catastrophe," Muiti said.

The United Nations has about 6,700 peacekeeping troops in North Kivu, including some 1,400 troops in and around Goma.

U.N. spokesman Kieran Dwyer said the mission had carried out helicopter strikes in support of the Congolese army at the weekend.

"The situation in Goma is extremely tense," Dwyer said. "There is a real threat that the city could fall into the M23's hands and/or be seriously destabilize as a result of the fighting," Dwyer said in a statement from New York.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the rebel offensive and urged M23 to cease its attacks immediately. The U.N. Security Council made a similar call after an emergency meeting on Saturday.

(Additional reporting by Feliz Bate and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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U.N. chief pushes for political dialogue in divided Yemen

SANAA (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged on Monday to help rescue stumbling efforts to implement a power transfer deal in Yemen that pulled the Arabian Peninsula country back from the brink of civil war last year.

Restoring stability in Yemen, a U.S. ally grappling with al Qaeda militants and southern separatists, is an international priority due to fears of disorder ripping apart a state that flanks top oil producer Saudi Arabia and major shipping lanes.

"The United Nations is standing here to reconfirm its strong commitment that we stand side by side with the government and people of Yemen in your (pursuit of)... progress towards a better and prosperous future, characterized by reconciliation and democratic participation," Ban told a joint news conference with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Sanaa.

Ban was making his initial visit to the impoverished Arab country to mark the first anniversary of the U.S.- and Gulf-sponsored power transfer accord that ended months of mass protests against veteran strongman President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The deal mandates Hadi to oversee major reforms during a two-year interim period to ensure a transition to democracy, including amending the constitution and restructuring the armed forces to break Saleh's family grip on them.

The process is expected to lead to presidential and parliamentary election in 2014.

But efforts to convene a national reconciliation dialogue central to reform has met resistance from south Yemen separatist leaders. Many have taken advantage of weakened central state authority in the south to return from exile and press for reviving the state that merged with north Yemen in 1990.

Many southerners complain northerners based in the capital Sanaa have discriminated against them and usurped their resources. Most of Yemen's fast-declining oil reserves are in the south. The central government denies discriminatory policy.

The U.N. envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has been meeting with southern separatist leaders to try to persuade them to join the national reconciliation conference, which had been due to start this month.

BAN SAYS TO PUSH DONORS ON PLEDGES

International donors, including Saudi Arabia, have pledged around $8 billion in aid to Yemen, which was driven to the verge of bankruptcy and plunged into factional anarchy by the year-long uprising against Saleh.

Ban said the United Nations would work closely with donors to ensure they met their commitments "as soon as possible to enable President Hadi to bring political, security and financial stability" to Yemen.

"You are now starting the process of national dialogue and this process should be open for everyone including (those) who demanded change in the street and representatives of all the areas in the country," Ban said in a speech.

Western nations suspect that some southern leaders are less interested in the dialogue and more in breaking away, possibly with the backing of Iran, arch-foe of the Saudis and Americans and vying with them for regional power.

Secessionists in the south, Houthi Islamist tribal rebels in the north and al Qaeda militants all benefited from the popular upheaval that ousted Saleh in February.

A U.S.-backed army offensive ousted al Qaeda from several southern towns it had seized during the anti-Saleh uprising. But jihadi militants, exploiting popular discontent over poverty, unemployment and graft, remain strong in the region and have continued deadly attacks on government and security targets.

On Monday, Hadi promised to continue with the restructuring of the army and security forces, which split between Saleh's allies and adversaries during last year's turmoil.

He urged all political parties to join the national dialogue and stressed that elections, set for 2014, would take place on time. "We confirm we are moving ahead to meet the commitments towards our nation and people ... in the framework of the Gulf initiative," he said.

(Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Mark Heinrich)

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FARC declares ceasefire as peace talks start with Colombia

HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC rebels announced on Monday a two-month unilateral ceasefire, the first truce in more than a decade, as peace negotiators met in Cuba in the latest attempt to end the five-decade war.

President Juan Manuel Santos' government, however, has said it would not cease military operations until a final peace deal was signed with the Andean country's largest rebel group and even vowed to step up the offensive.

The FARC said it would halt all offensive military operations and acts of sabotage against infrastructure beginning at midnight on Monday night and running through January 20.

"This policy decision of the FARC is a contribution made to strengthen the climate of understanding necessary so that the parties that are starting the dialogue achieve the purpose desired by all Colombians," FARC lead negotiator Ivan Marquez said as he arrived for talks in Havana.

The conflict has dragged on for nearly half a century, taking thousands of lives and displacing millions in Latin America's longest running insurgency.

Failure would mean years more of fighting and further blight on the reputation of a country eager for more foreign investment and regional clout, yet unable to resolve its most serious domestic problem.

Delegations for the government and the FARC arrived in black luxury cars at Havana's convention center where they will meet almost daily until the talks end.

The complex is located in Cubanacan, Havana's plushest neighborhood, filled with palatial houses that once belonged to the city's elite, virtually all of whom fled Cuba after the 1959 revolution that transformed the island into what is now one of the world's last communist states.

The conflict proved to be intractable in three previous peace processes, but both the Colombian government and the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have expressed optimism that this time might be different.

Santos wants an agreement within nine months, but the two sides face plenty of thorny issues in their five-point agenda, which will begin with rural development.

The other four points are the political and legal future of the rebels, a definitive end to the conflict, the problem of drug trafficking and compensation for war victims.

"We hope, as also hope the majority of Colombians, that the FARC shows that they think this is the moment for the force of ideas and not the force of bullets," lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle said as he left Bogota for Havana on Sunday.

"The government wants to end the conflict as a first step to advance the construction of a stable peace and in this scenario the FARC converted into a legal political party fits," the former vice president said.

SOCIAL INEQUALITY

The conflict dates back to 1964 when the FARC emerged as a communist agrarian movement intent on overturning Colombia's long history of social inequality.

The group has been weakened by a U.S.-backed military offensive begun in 2002 that has reduced its numbers to about 8,000 and forced them into remote mountain and jungle strongholds.

But it still has the strength to launch attacks that Santos wants ended so the country can grow its economy, boosted in recent years by fast-growing oil and mining sectors.

The FARC has sustained itself by cocaine trafficking, kidnapping, ransom and "war taxes" charged within the territories it controls.

Its leaders deny involvement in the drug trade and renounced kidnappings earlier this year, but the United States and European Union consider it a terrorist organization.

Marquez, a member of the FARC's secretariat, will lead a delegation of about 30 people at the talks, which were formally begun last month in Norway.

He has said the talks are likely to take longer than Santos wants because so many complicated issues must be resolved.

In Norway, he called for ousting foreign companies fueling Colombia's oil and mining boom but de la Calle said the talks must stick to the agenda if they are to be successful.

The agreed upon topics already hold numerous potential stumbling blocks, among them land reform, decisions on which FARC leaders will be allowed to participate in politics and who must go to jail for the group's crimes and involvement in the drug trade.

The rebels have said they will ask for a ceasefire, but Santos said he will instead increase military pressure to try to force a peace agreement.

"It will not be through intransigence on our part that these talks will not have success in a reasonable time," Santos said over the weekend at the Ibero-American Summit in Cadiz, Spain.

Norway is a guarantor of the process, along with Cuba.

Officials want the talks held in the strictest possible secrecy, which is likely the reason they are in Cuba, where the government is expert at keeping information close to the vest.

Venezuela and Chile also will have representatives at the talks.

(Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota.; Editing by Jane Sutton, Doina Chiacu and Jackie Frank)

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Israel says prefers diplomacy but ready to invade Gaza

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave.

Mediator Egypt said a deal for a truce to end the fighting could be close. The leader of Hamas said it was up to Israel to end the new conflict it had started. Israel says its strikes are to halt Palestinian missile attacks.

Twelve Palestinian civilians and four fighters were killed in the air strikes, bringing the Gaza death toll since fighting began on Wednesday to 90, more than half of them non-combatants, local officials said. Three Israeli civilians have been killed.

After an overnight lull, militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip fired 45 rockets at southern Israel, causing no casualties, police said. One damaged a school, but it was closed at the time.

Among targets struck in Gaza on Monday, Israeli missiles blasted a tower block housing international media for the second straight day. One person was killed there, described by a source in militant groups Islamic Jihad as one of its fighters.

Khaled Meshaal, exiled leader of Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the coastal strip, said Israel had failed to achieve its objectives. A truce was possible, but Hamas would not accept Israeli demands. Israel must first halt its strikes and lift its blockade of the enclave, he said.

"The weapons of the resistance have caught the enemy off guard," he told a news conference in Cairo [ID:nL5E8MJEI0]

"Whoever started the war must end it," he said, adding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked for a truce, an assertion that a senior Israeli official dismissed as untrue.

Although 84 percent of Israelis supported the current Gaza assault, according to a Haaretz poll, only 30 percent wanted an invasion, while 19 percent wanted their government to work on securing a truce soon.

Thousands turned out on Gaza's streets to mourn four children and five women, among 11 people killed in an Israeli strike that flattened a three-storey home the previous day.

The bodies were wrapped in Palestinian and Hamas flags. Echoes of explosions mixed with cries of grief and defiant chants of "God is greatest".

The deaths of the 11 in an air strike drew more international calls for an end to six days of hostilities and could test Western support for an offensive Israel billed as self-defense after years of cross-border rocket attacks.

Israel said it was investigating its air strike that brought the home crashing down on the al-Dalu family, where the dead spanned four generations. Some Israeli newspapers said the wrong house may have been mistakenly targeted.

DIPLOMATS SEEK TRUCE

Egypt, where newly-elected President Mohamed Mursi has his roots in the Muslim Brotherhood seen as mentors to Hamas, is acting as a mediator in the biggest test yet of Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian negotiators could be close to achieving a deal between Israel and the Palestinians to stop the fighting, said Mursi's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, who visited Gaza on Friday in a show of support for its people.

"I think we are close, but the nature of this kind of negotiation, (means) it is very difficult to predict," Kandil said in an interview in Cairo for the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit. Egypt has been hosting leaders of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a smaller armed faction.

Israeli media said a delegation from Israel had also been to Cairo for truce talks. A spokesman for Netanyahu's government declined comment on the matter.

"Israel is prepared and has taken steps, and is ready for a ground incursion which will deal severely with the Hamas military machine," a senior official close to Netanyahu told Reuters.

"We would prefer to see a diplomatic solution that would guarantee the peace for Israel's population in the south. If that is possible, then a ground operation would no longer be required. If diplomacy fails, we may well have no alternative but to send in ground forces," he added.

That language echoed that of U.S. President Barack Obama, who said on Sunday it would be "preferable" to avoid a move into Gaza, but that Israel had a right to self-defense and no country would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also due to arrive in Cairo to weigh in on ceasefire efforts. Egypt's foreign minister is expected to visit Gaza on Tuesday with a delegation of Arab ministers.

In scenes recalling Israel's 2008-2009 winter invasion of Gaza, tanks, artillery and infantry have massed in field encampments along the sandy, fenced-off Gaza border and military convoys moved on roads in the area.

Israel has also authorized the call-up of 75,000 military reservists, so far mobilizing around half that number.

WORLD CONCERN

The Gaza fighting adds to worries of world powers watching an already combustible region, where several Arab autocrats have been toppled in popular revolts for the past two years and a civil war in Syria threatens to spread beyond its borders.

In the absence of any prospect of permanent peace between Israel and Islamist factions such as Hamas, mediated deals for each to hold fire unilaterally have been the only formula for stemming bloodshed in the past.

Izzat Risheq, aide to Meshaal, wrote on Facebook that Hamas would enter a truce only after Israel "stops its aggression, ends its policy of targeted assassinations and lifts the blockade of Gaza".

Listing Israel's terms, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon wrote on Twitter: "If there is quiet in the south and no rockets and missiles are fired at Israel's citizens, nor terrorist attacks engineered from the Gaza Strip, we will not attack."

Yaalon also said Israel wanted an end to Gaza guerrilla activity in the neighboring Egyptian Sinai peninsula.

Israel bombed some 80 sites in Gaza overnight, the military said, adding in a statement that targets included "underground rocket launching sites, terror tunnels and training bases" as well as "buildings owned by senior terrorist operatives".

Netanyahu has said he assured world leaders Israel was doing its utmost to avoid causing civilian casualties. At least 22 of the Gaza fatalities have been children, medical officials said.

A big rocket strike could be enough for Netanyahu to give a green light for a Gaza invasion, despite the political risks before a January vote that is expected to see him re-elected.

Israel's declared goal is to deplete Gaza arsenals and force Hamas to stop rocket fire that has hit Israeli border towns for years. The rockets now have greater range: several projectiles have targeted Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. None hit the two cities. Some were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome interceptor system.

Hamas and other groups in Gaza are sworn enemies of the Jewish state which they refuse to recognize and seek to eradicate, claiming all Israeli territory as rightfully theirs.

Hamas won legislative elections in the Palestinian Territories in 2006 but a year later, after the collapse of a unity government under President Mahmoud Abbas, the Islamist group seized Gaza in a brief civil war with Abbas's forces.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Dan Williams and Peter Graff)

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Turkey to ask NATO for air defense missiles aimed at Syria

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey is expected to formally request on Monday that NATO Patriot missiles be placed on its border to defend against Syrian attacks, Western officials said.

Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad have been able to take large swathes of land but are almost defenseless against Syria's air force. The rebels have called for an internationally enforced no-fly zone, a measure that helped Libyan rebels overthrow their long-term leader last year.

German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Germany expected Turkey to make the request to NATO for Patriot deployment on Monday and would study such a request "with solidarity".

"But if we have a deployment of Patriots on the Turkish border then this will happen with German soldiers," he told reporters in Brussels, on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defense ministers.

Only the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have the appropriate Patriot missile system available.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Turkey could count on "allied solidarity" but said that the missiles would be purely for defense and not for creating a no-fly zone in Syria.

In Damascus, opposition activists said that Assad's forces had started the heaviest bombardment in 40 days of air strikes and artillery shelling aimed at limiting gains by rebels operating on the edge of the capital.

"Multiple rockets launchers are just making huge, random destruction," said Rami al-Sayyed of the Syrian Media Centre, an opposition activists' organization monitoring Assad's crackdown on the 20-month revolt.

Plagued by division, Syria's opposition formed a broader coalition group last week which was promptly recognized by France as the sole representative body for the Syrian people.

But on Monday, a group of Islamist fighters in Syria's Aleppo province, many of whom are well known members of powerful rebel units in the area, said that they planned to establish an Islamic state and reject the umbrella group, which is led by moderate preacher Mouaz Alkhatib.

However, members of Islamist groups listed in a YouTube video as supporters of the plan told Reuters that they had nothing to do with the announcement, but acknowledged some members of their groups had appeared in the video.

This could suggest cracks in Islamist fighter ranks over how to respond to growing efforts to unify rebel groups and potentially sideline more radical Islamist elements.

BORDER CLASHES WITH KURDS

The civil war, which activists say has killed 38,000 people, has dragged Syria's neighbors and world powers into the conflict. Iran, Russia and China have stood by Assad as France, Britain and the United States have called for his overthrow.

Syrian mortar rounds have fallen in Turkey, Lebanon and Israel as rebels hug the borders looking for safety, and Turkey is in talks with NATO allies about how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) frontier.

Turkey's border has witnessed clashes not only between the rebels and Assad's forces but internal rebel disputes and, increasingly, fighting between the rebels and Kurdish separatist groups.

A Reuters cameraman on the Turkish border said that hundreds of families had fled the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain and were gathering at the border gate, after clashes between rebels and Kurdish separatists who are wary of both rebels and the government.

The Turkish army seemed to be on high alert, sending in military jeeps to patrol the border and stationing soldiers in recently dug trenches along the border.

Turkey has responded in kind to Syrian mortar bombs that land on its soil.

NATO has deployed Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Turkey twice before, once in 1991 and then in 2003, during both Gulf Wars. Those missiles were provided by the Netherlands.

Ankara has twice this year invoked Article 4 of the NATO charter which provides for consultations when a member state feels that its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat.

Alexander Von Rosenbach, armed forces analyst at IHS Jane's, said deploying Patriots to Turkey would be partly symbolic. "It's more of a commitment from NATO to say we are behind Turkey," he said.

Manufacturer Raytheon says Patriot provides "a reliable and lethal capability to defeat advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs (drones) ....".

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft, Sebastian Moffett and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels,Yosri Al Jamal in Ceylanpinar, Tom Perry in Cairo, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Erika Solomon in Beirut; Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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China's disgraced Bo Xilai trapped in legal limbo: lawyers

BEIJING (Reuters) - Two lawyers for disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai said on Monday they had no idea when his trial might start and that he was stuck in legal limbo despite the opening of a formal criminal investigation into accusations of graft and abuse of power.

Bo, once a contender for top leadership in the world's second largest economy, was ousted in China's biggest political scandal in two decades.

His wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun, have both been jailed over a scandal that stems from the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood while Bo was Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing.

The government has accused Bo of corruption and of bending the law to hush up the murder. Prosecutors formally began a criminal probe into Bo last month but have yet to announce charges.

Two lawyers hired by Bo's family, Li Xiaolin and Shen Zhigeng, told Reuters that nearly two weeks after the official announcement of the criminal investigation, they had not been given permission to either see him or represent him.

"Of course not," Shen said, when asked whether he had seen Bo. "The confirmation (I can represent Bo) hasn't been verified. So how can we see (him)?"

Shen said the trial will be after a key Communist Party congress opening on Thursday in Beijing that will usher in a generational leadership change, and which has been overshadowed by the Bo scandal.

"I do not know," Shen said, referring to when the trial may start, but added that it will be "after the 18th Party Congress."

Top party leaders ended a closed-door conclave on Sunday with a decision to formally expel Bo from the party, as a precursor to criminal prosecution.

Beijing-based Li -- who was retained by Bo's mother-in-law, Fan Chengxiu, to represent Bo -- said he had no idea where the trial might be, but dismissed speculation it could be held at the Supreme People's Court in Beijing.

"There's no evidence for it," Li said by telephone.

Li said he was waiting for the state prosecutor, or the Supreme People's Procuratorate, to approve his application to represent Bo.

"Who knows if (they will) agree or not agree, we have to see what the higher ups say," Shen said.

As China's prosecutors and courts come under Communist Party control they are unlikely to challenge the accusations against Bo. The trial of Gu lasted only seven hours, while the trial of Wang lasted two days.

"All I can say is I hope he will be given a fair trial," Li said, when asked what he thought the prospects for Bo's trial would be.

Li was initially supposed to defend Zhang Xiaojun, an aide to the Bo family, who was sentenced to nine years in jail for acting as an accomplice to the poisoning of Heywood. But Zhang had to use government-appointed lawyers during the trial.

(Editing by Ben Blanchard and Jonathan Thatcher)

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Five bomb blasts hit Bahrain capital, two killed

DUBAI (Reuters) - Five bombs exploded in the heart of the Bahraini capital Manama on Monday, killing two people, officials said, in rare attacks targeting civilians during the 21-month-old uprising against the kingdom's U.S.-backed rulers.

The blasts, one outside a cinema, could be a sign that radical elements of the opposition are escalating violence. They took place days after the government said it had banned all rallies and opposition gatherings to ensure public safety.

The victims were Asian street cleaners and one died after kicking a device which then blew up, said the Interior Ministry. It said the bombs were home-made and described the blasts as "terrorist acts" - its term for attacks by opposition activists.

Police have been targeted by explosions several times this year, as the government has stepped up efforts to quell the uprising that has simmered since democracy protests broke out in early 2011.

But bombs targeting civilians are rare in the Gulf nation, where the Sunni Muslim Khalifa dynasty rules over a majority Shi'ite population. The kingdom hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which patrols oil shipping lanes in the Gulf region.

The explosions on Monday took place between 4.30 am and 9.30 am (0130 and 0630 GMT) in the Qudaibiya and Adliya districts of Manama, the BNA agency said, citing a police official. It described the explosives as "locally made bombs". A third Asian worker was wounded, it said.

Washington has called on Manama to begin dialogue on democratic reforms with the opposition but criticism has been offset by its support for a country that plays a key role in U.S. efforts to challenge Iranian influence in the region.

The United States and Gulf allies fear Iran's nuclear energy program is a front for developing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Iran, a Shi'ite power, also denies accusations from Manama of fomenting the unrest in Bahrain.

Thirty-five people were killed in Bahrain during protests in February and March 2011 and the two months of martial law that followed. But almost daily clashes have continued since between protesters and riot police in Shi'ite districts.

Activists and rights groups say nearly 50 civilians have been killed in clashes with police since the end of martial law in June last year, while the authorities say two policemen have died including one killed by a bomb attack last month.

Opposition politician Matar Matar of Shi'ite party Wefaq said he doubted opposition activists were behind Monday's attacks, noting that leading Shi'ite clerics had called on followers to avoid escalating the conflict with the government.

He suggested the police or military may have been responsible, or a rogue unit.

"This incident is strange - why would anyone target workers?" he said. "I'm worried that police and military are losing control of their units or it is (preparation) before declaring martial law."

The rallies ban announced last week was condemned by Amnesty International as a violation of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

(Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Pravin Char)

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Nigeria president under pressure to act on oil graft report

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is coming under increasing pressure to tackle government corruption after an oil probe released last week showing billions of dollars of lost state revenues sparked a political row.

Reuters exclusively reported details on October 24 of former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu's report on the oil sector, which showed Nigeria had lost tens of billions of dollars in cut-priced deals struck between government officials, the state-oil firm and multinational oil companies over the last decade.

It also found hundreds of millions of dollars of oil bonuses and royalties paid to government were missing.

Nigeria is one of the world's top crude oil exporters and a key supplier to the United States, China and India. It also holds the world's ninth largest gas reserves and one of its largest Liquefied Natural Gas export terminals.

The Ribadu committee report was presented to the Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who commissioned the probe, in August but it was not made public or sent to the president. Once it had been leaked Jonathan requested it be given to him.

Alison-Madueke told Reuters the leaked independent report was a draft, it contained mistakes and the government needed to give input. Two members of Ribadu's committee were then quoted in local newspapers dismissing findings in the probe.

But when Ribadu presented the report to Jonathan on Friday the probe chairman said the report would not be changed and that the deriding committee members were "compromised" after being given top jobs at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC), the biggest stakeholder in the industry they were investigating.

"Even though the chairman (Ribadu) said that committee members became board member of NNPC, that does not disqualify them from being members of committee ... There is nothing wrong in any of them been appointed," Jonathan said in reaction.

But his political opponents disagree.

"Both men should have resigned ... the moment they were given the plum jobs (at NNPC)," the Action Congress of Nigeria, a major opposition party, said in a statement on Sunday.

"The fact that they stayed on ... is the clearest indication yet that they were meant to play that exact role of spoilers."

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), part of the global EITI scheme aimed at improving transparency in commodity industries, added its voice to calls for government to take action and not bury graft reports.

"Had the remedial issues identified by the NEITI audit reports been dealt with ... some of the issues necessitating and identified by these probes would have since been dealt with," the agency said in a statement on Monday.

The agency found $9.8 billion of missing government revenue in its own audits of the oil sector for the period 1999-2008 and said there was "no sufficient effort to recover the funds."

Ribadu's probe was one of several set up after more than a week of nationwide strikes in January, which began as protests against the removal of petrol subsidies but morphed into a campaign against widespread corruption in the oil sector.

A parliamentary report in April found mismanagement and theft by top Nigerian officials involved in the corrupt fuel subsidy cost the country $6.8 billion.

Nigeria has arraigned some fuel marketers but has not taken action against government officials. Jonathan said the Ribadu report was not meant "to investigate anybody in government."

(Additional reporting and writing by Joe Brock; editing by James Jukwey)

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