WW2 Jewish escape tunnel uncovered

The tunnel was dug by prisoners in a pit in which they were kept

A tunnel dug out with spoons by Jewish prisoners escaping Nazi captors in World War Two has been uncovered in Lithuania's Ponar forest.

The prisoners were from the so-called Burning Brigade, who were forced to burn corpses to cover up Nazi atrocities as the Soviets advanced.

Knowing they too would be killed, they dug a tunnel in a pit where they were kept. Eleven escapees survived the war.

A research team used a ground-scanning system to map out the tunnel.

The exact location of the 34m (112ft) tunnel had been lost since the end of the war, but the international team, including the Israel Antiquities Authority and researchers from the US, Canada and Lithuania, have now located it.

The team employed the electrical resistivity tomography system, also used in oil exploration, so as not to disturb any human remains at the site.

'Yearning for life'

Ponar forest, known now as Paneriai, is outside the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, a hub of Jewish life before the outbreak of the war.

But under Nazi occupation, mass burial pits and graves were carved out of the forest to hold the bodies of up to 100,000 people, including 70,000 Jews, killed during the Holocaust.

As the Red Army closed in, the Nazis tried to cover up their atrocities. They forced about 80 prisoners from the Stutthof concentration camp, chained by the legs, to dig up bodies and burn them.

Ground scanning was used to pinpoint the tunnel

The scanning was used so as not to disturb any human remains at the site

They were called Leichenkommando (corpse unit), but later became known as the Burning Brigade.

According to one account, one brigade prisoner even identified his wife and two sisters among the bodies.

Kept overnight in one of the pits where the bodies had been buried, the prisoners began to dig a tunnel and on the night of 15 April 1944, 40 made their escape attempt through the 2 sq ft tunnel.

But guards were alerted by the noise and hunted them down. Many were shot but 12 escaped to reach partisans. Eleven survived the war to tell their story.

Jon Seligman, of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said he was reduced to tears on the discovery of the tunnel, calling it a "heart-warming witness to the victory of hope over desperation".

"The tunnel shows that even when the time was so black, there was yearning for life within that," he told Associated Press.

Archaeologist Richard Freund, also on the team, told the New York Times that Ponar was "ground zero for the Holocaust", evidence of systematic murder before the Nazis started using gas chambers.

Deaths rise in Istanbul airport attack

Deaths rise in Istanbul airport attack

CCTV shows people running in the terminal as an explosion hits.

The death toll in a gun and suicide bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport has risen to 41, 13 of them foreign nationals, with 239 injured, the Turkish city's governor says.

Three attackers arrived in a taxi and began firing at the terminal entrance late on Tuesday. They blew themselves up after police fired back.

PM Binali Yildirim said early signs pointed to so-called Islamic State.

However, no-one has so far admitted carrying out the attack.

Turkey has declared Wednesday a day of national mourning.

Turkish investigators are examining CCTV footage, witness statements and mobile phone video recorded by terrified passengers to try to determine the identity of the attackers.

The Dogan news agency said autopsies on the three dead men suggested they may be foreign nationals but this has not been confirmed.

A worker cleans blood from the roof of the international departure terminal

Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag says that 128 people remain in hospital, including nationals of Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Switzerland, the Associated Press reports.

Of those, 41 are still in intensive care.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said there were no reports yet of any British casualties, but the Foreign Office was in contact with Turkish authorities. 

Nationality of dead so far confirmed (may include dual nationality)

23 - Turkish

5 - Saudi

2 - Iraqi

1 - Chinese; Jordanian; Tunisian; Uzbek; Iranian; Ukrainian; (Palestinian ambassador to Turkey says one Palestinian woman killed)

Cleaners worked through the morning to sweep up shattered glass, while workers repaired cables and ceiling tiles. Heavily-armed security personnel were patrolling the airport.

Flights had resumed in the early morning, though with many cancellations and delays.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack should serve as a turning point in the global fight against militant groups.

Reports of the attack vary but it appears the attackers opened fire at the entrance where X-ray machines are positioned, sparking an exchange with police. At least two of the attackers ran into the building.

Footage on social media shows one moving through the building as people around him flee. He is shot by police and remains on the ground for about 20 seconds before blowing himself up. All three attackers were killed.

The lack of any immediate claim for this attack by so-called Islamic State is not surprising. IS rarely, if ever, claims responsibility for attacks against the Turkish state yet it is quick to advertise its assassinations of Syrian activists inside Turkey.

All the signs point towards IS being the culprits. This is what British counter-terrorism officials term "a marauding terrorist firearms attack", following a pattern first seen in the Mumbai attacks of 2008.

The Istanbul targets were international air travellers and ground staff at an iconic location, the third busiest airport in Europe.

IS is targeting Turkey because it sees its government as being un-Islamic and too close to its Western allies in Nato. IS is also feeling the pressure as the Turkish authorities move to close down its networks inside Turkey.

Turkey's other main foe, Kurdish separatists, have carried out many attacks over the years but their primary targets have tended to be Turkish policemen and soldiers.

Paul Roos, who was due to fly home to South Africa, told Reuters he saw one of the attackers.

"He was wearing all black. His face was not masked. We ducked behind a counter but I stood up and watched him. Two explosions went off shortly after one another. By that time he had stopped shooting.

"He turned around and started coming towards us. He was holding his gun inside his jacket. He looked around anxiously to see if anyone was going to stop him and then went down the escalator. We heard some more gunfire and then another explosion, and then it was over."

Relatives of Siddik Turgan, a customs officer at Ataturk airport, attend his funeral

Forensic Medical Centre officials look out on family members who had gathered to hear news

The US called the attack "heinous", saying America remained "steadfast in our support for Turkey".

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to Turkey in a phone call with Mr Erdogan, as the pair seek to rebuild ties.

French President Francois Hollande has confirmed two French nationals were injured in the attack, but not seriously.

Terrified passengers were seen leaving the airport after Tuesday's attack

Armed police sealed off the area

A Kalashnikov assault rifle was later found at the scene

Emergency teams gathered, with luggage and bodies scattered outside the building

Pope Francis denounced the "brutal terrorist attack", saying: "May the Lord convert the hearts of the violent ones and support our efforts toward the path of peace."

#PrayforTurkey began trending on Twitter after the attack.

Ataturk airport

• Europe's third-busiest in passenger traffic after London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle, serving 61.3 million passengers in 2015. World's 11th busiest

• Opened in 1924 in the Yesilkoy area, renamed in the 1980s after the nation's first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

• Two passenger terminals: one domestic, one international

• To be closed after the massive Istanbul New Airport - planned to be the largest in the world - opens in the Arnavutkoy district. Its first phase is due to be operational in 2017

Major recent attacks

2016

7 June, Istanbul: Car bomb kills seven police officers and four civilians. Claimed by Kurdish militant group TAK

19 March, Istanbul: Suicide bomb kills four people in shopping street. IS blamed

13 March, Ankara: Car bomb kills 35. Claimed by TAK

17 February, Ankara: 29 killed in attack on military buses. Claimed by TAK

12 January, Istanbul: 12 Germans killed by Syrian bomber in tourist area

2015

23 December, Istanbul: Bomb kills cleaner at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport. Claimed by TAK

10 October, Ankara: More than 100 killed at peace rally outside railway station. Blamed on IS

20 July, Suruc, near Syrian border: 34 people killed in bombing in Kurdish town. IS blamed

Cameron to quit as UK votes to leave EU

Prime Minister David Cameron is to step down by October after the UK voted to leave the European Union.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, he said "fresh leadership" was needed.

The PM had urged the country to vote Remain but was defeated by 52% to 48% despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing staying in.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it as the UK's "independence day", while Boris Johnson said the result would not mean "pulling up the drawbridge".

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "absolutely determined" to keep Scotland in the EU so a second Scottish independence referendum was now "highly likely".

EU chiefs said they expected the UK to begin negotiations to leave "as soon as possible, however painful that process may be".

But Boris Johnson, the ex-London mayor and public face of Vote Leave who is now a frontrunner to be next prime minister, said there was "no need for haste" about severing the UK's ties.

He said voters had "searched in their hearts" and the UK now had a "glorious opportunity" to pass its own laws, set its own taxes and control its own borders.

Another leading Leave campaigner, Labour's Gisela Stuart said the UK would be a "good neighbour" when it left the EU.

The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as the markets reacted to the results.

Flanked by his wife Samantha, Mr Cameron announced shortly after 08:15 BST that he had informed the Queen of his decision to remain in place for the short term and to then hand over to a new prime minister by the time of the Conservative conference in October.

He would attempt to "steady the ship" over the coming weeks and months, but that it would be for the new prime minister to carry out negotiations with the EU and invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would give the UK two years to negotiate its withdrawal, he said.

"The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected," said Mr Cameron. "The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered."

Area-by-area in maps: See how people voted

Bank of England governor Mark Carney said UK banks' "substantial capital and huge liquidity" allowed them to continue to lend to businesses and households.

The Bank of England is ready to provide an extra £250bn of support, he added.

The referendum turnout was 71.8% - with more than 30 million people voting - the highest turnout at a UK-wide vote since 1992.

Mr Farage - who has campaigned for the past 20 years for Britain to leave the EU - told cheering supporters "this will be a victory for ordinary people, for decent people".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who called for the UK to remain in the EU but was accused of a lukewarm campaign, said poorer communities were "fed up" with cuts and felt "marginalised by successive governments".

"Clearly there are some very difficult days ahead," he said, adding that "there will be job consequences as a result of this decision".

He said the point he had made during the campaign was that "there were good things" about the EU but also "other things that had not been addressed properly".

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said Labour's leader had been "utterly gutless" in the way he approached the campaign.

Former Labour Europe Minister Keith Vaz described the outcome as "catastrophic for our country, for the rest of Europe and for the rest of the world".

The European Parliament is to hold an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the referendum result.

On Twitter, EU Parliament president Martin Schulz called for a "speedy and clear exit negotiation".

But Leave supporting Tory MP Liam Fox said voters had shown great "courage" by deciding to "change the course of history" for the UK and, he hoped, the rest of Europe.

The EU referendum has revealed an ancient, jagged fault line across the United Kingdom. It is a scar that has sliced through conventional politics and traditional social structures, and it is far from clear whether the kingdom can still call itself united.

The referendum was ostensibly about membership of the European Union. But voters took it to be asking a different question: what kind of country do you want Britain to be?

Yesterday seemed to offer a fork in the road: one path (Remain) promised it would lead to a modern world of opportunity based on interdependence; the other (Leave) was advertised as a route to an independent land that would respect tradition and heritage.

Which path people took depended on the prism through which they saw the world.

Read more from Mark

Britain is set to be the first country to leave the EU since its formation - but the Leave vote does not immediately mean Britain ceases to be a member of the 28-nation bloc.

That process could take a minimum of two years, with Leave campaigners suggesting during the referendum campaign that it should not be completed until 2020 - the date of the next scheduled general election.

Traders in Tokyo monitor exchange rates

Once Article 50 has been triggered a country can not rejoin without the consent of all member states.

Mr Cameron previously said he would trigger Article 50 as soon as possible after a Leave vote but Boris Johnson and Michael Gove who led the campaign to get Britain out of the EU have said he should not rush into it.

They also said they wanted to make immediate changes before the UK actually leaves the EU, such as curbing the power of EU judges and limiting the free movement of workers, potentially in breach of the UK's treaty obligations.

The government will also have to negotiate its future trading relationship with the EU and fix trade deals with non-EU countries.

In Whitehall and Westminster, there will now begin the massive task of unstitching the UK from more than 40 years of EU law, deciding which directives and regulations to keep, amend or ditch.

The Leave campaign argued during a bitter four-month referendum campaign that the only way Britain could "take back control" of its own affairs would be to leave the EU.

Leave dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as "scaremongering" by a self-serving elite.

The CBI said many businesses would be concerned about the referendum result.

It said "the urgent priority now is to reassure the markets", but warned against "rushed decisions".

Find the result in your area

Boko Haram refugees 'starved to death'

Boko Haram refugees 'starved to death

Aid workers say one in five children is severely malnourished

Nearly 200 refugees fleeing Boko Haram militants have starved to death over the past month in Bama, Nigeria, the medical charity MSF says.

A "catastrophic humanitarian emergency" is unfolding at a camp it visited where 24,000 people have taken refuge.

Many inhabitants are traumatised and one in five children is suffering from acute malnutrition, MSF says.

The Islamist group's seven-year rebellion has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced.

Nigeria's military has carried out a large-scale offensive against them but Boko Haram still attacks villages in the north-east, destroying homes and burning down wells.

Displaced people in Bama say new graves are appearing on a daily basis, according to a statement from MSF.

MSF's visit to the camp was only possible with an army escort

It quoted inhabitants as saying about 30 people died every day due to hunger or illness.

Although the area has been unsafe to travel through, MSF says one of its teams reached Bama on Tuesday.

It went in with a military convoy from the city of Maiduguri in Borno state.

"This is the first time MSF has been able to access Bama, but we already know the needs of the people there are beyond critical," said Ghada Hatim, MSF head of mission in Nigeria.

"We are treating malnourished children in medical facilities in Maiduguri and see the trauma on the faces of our patients who have witnessed and survived many horrors," he said. 

Boko Haram at a glance:

Boko Haram fighters still appear well armed in recent propaganda videos

• Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language

• Launched military operations in 2009

• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria, hundreds abducted, including at least 200 schoolgirls

• Joined so-called Islamic State, now calls itself IS's "West African province"

• Seized large area in north-east, where it declared caliphate

• Regional force has retaken most territory last year

On patrol against Boko Haram

Who are Boko Haram?

Trump 'fires' campaign boss Lewandowski

Corey Lewandowski (left) has left the campaign for reasons that are unclear

The campaign manager for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is to leave his job.

A campaign spokeswoman said Corey Lewandowski would no longer be working on it and said the team was grateful to him "for his hard work and dedication".

The exact reason for Mr Lewandowski's departure is not yet clear but sources close to Mr Trump have told US media he was fired.

He oversaw the New Yorker's unlikely triumph in the primary contests.

Mr Lewandowski told CNN: "I stand by the fact that Mr Trump is a great candidate and is better than Hillary Clinton will ever be."

He told the AP news agency that top Trump strategist Paul Manafort had been in operational control of the campaign since 7 April and would not divulge more about his dismissal.

But his departure comes as the businessman faces strong resistance from senior members of his own party over his strident tone, hardline immigration policy and falling poll numbers.

Among his critics is Speaker of the House and top-ranked Republican Paul Ryan, who appeared to leave the door open to a possible revolt at next month's convention.

When asked on Sunday about reports that party delegates may rebel against voting for Mr Trump at the convention, he said: "They write the rules, they make the decisions."

Mr Trump was criticised for his reaction to the Orlando nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed.

Following the attack, he repeated his pledge that the US should ban Muslims from entering the country.

Mr Lewandowski's firing comes as Mr Trump slips further down in the polls

Republicans also started to distance themselves from him following his personal attacks against a Hispanic federal judge overseeing two lawsuits against him.

Mr Trump is likely to face Democrat Hillary Clinton in November's election, and there were reports over the weekend that her campaign is way ahead in spending in the key swing states.

US media reaction to Corey Lewandowski's 'firing'

• Gabriel Sherman of New York Times Magazine tweeted that Lewandowski was escorted out by Trump security

• Mr Sherman also said his firing was a direct result of the Trump children

• Dana Bash of CNN was told daughter Ivanka Trump said he had to be fired or she would leave campaign

• Ali Vitali of NBC News said an aide told her dropping poll numbers, poor fundraising and lack of staff resulted in the firing

• Senior Trump adviser Barry Bennett told Fox News that Paul Manafort is "totally in charge" now

• Hadas Gold of Politico surmised that the Monday morning news may have been released on purpose to distract from Trump's other problems

• Tim Mak of the Daily Beast pointed out that after Mr Lewandowski was charged with battery, Mr Trump said he "stays with people"

• Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg said the firing is the "clearest sign Trump knows he's sinking"

Mr Lewandowski has had a contentious relationship with the press. Earlier this year, he was charged with battery after allegedly yanking a female reporter out of Mr Trump's way after a campaign event.

Mr Trump defended him throughout that incident, which concluded when the charges were dropped.

One Trump campaign director, Michael Caputo, tweeted "Ding dong the witch is dead" following the news.

Mr Lewandowski did not get along with Trump chief strategist Paul Manafort either, with sources telling the New York Times that he would try to block Mr Manafort from hiring more campaign staff.

Mr Trump is suffering in political polls lately, with most voters viewing him as "strongly unfavourable".

One Trump campaign staff member told NBC News that the campaign was not briefed on Mr Lewandowski's firing and that right now there is "bedlam in the Trump campaign. No one knows what is happening".

Prayers for Orlando 'shallow' says bishop

The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross has condemned people of faith who don't support the LGBT community, in the wake of the shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Dr Paul Colton says when many religious people do not "include LGBT people" in daily life, "prayers are shallow".

Omar Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and wounded 53 at the Pulse club before being shot dead by police.

It's the deadliest shooting in modern US history.

FBI officials Mateen appeared to "have leanings towards" radical Islamist ideology, although it was not clear whether the attack was a case of domestic or international terrorism.

"Our prayers are shallow, an affront even, as long as so much religion fails fully to affirm and include LGBT people #Orlando," Bishop Paul Colton tweeted.

In the wake of the shooting a number of phrases trended across social media, including #PrayForOrlando and #PrayForTheWorld.

Some Christian churches in the US and elsewhere accept openly gay clergy.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, some Christian leaders are firmly against homosexuality on Biblical grounds.

In many Islamic counties, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, homosexual activity carries the death penalty.

Leaders in both Pakistan and Qatar have condemned the shootings and expressed sympathy for those affected.

Homosexuality is a crime in both of these countries.

Meanwhile there are also many teachers of Islam who support the LGBT community.

Other major religions including Judaism and Hinduism have texts which teach against homosexuality but many people from these faiths support gay rights.

Bishop Colton tweeted: "Non religious people are important in holding religious people to account."

Ireland was the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage through a popular vote.

Bishop Colton has previously publicly supported the LGBT community.

He is thought to have been the first Church of Ireland bishop to speak out in favour of same-sex marriage, back in 2014.

"Whatever about my personal views and solidarity as an individual to gay and lesbian people, it is undeniable that I am part of a religion, and indeed institution, that all too often, over the centuries, has caused deep hurt and tangible damage to gay and lesbian people," he said in a speech he gave at Cork LGBT Awareness Week last year.

"There are many Christians, including myself, who believe that God's justice, God's love and the inclusiveness of God, must bear fruit in unqualified equality for gay and lesbian people too."

Qatar court convicts 'raped' Dutch woman

June 13, 2016 10:57

Sexual acts by non-married people are punishable under Qatar's penal code

A court in Qatar has convicted a Dutch woman of having sex outside marriage after she told police she was raped.

The 22-year-old was handed a suspended sentence and fined $824 (£580). She will also be deported.

Her lawyer said her drink had been spiked at a Doha hotel in March and she had woken up in a stranger's flat, where she realised she had been raped.

Her alleged attacker, who said the sex was consensual, was sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage.

He will be given a further 40 lashes for consuming alcohol.

The woman has been detained since making the allegation three months ago, but her case only came to light over the weekend when her family decided to go public.

'Horror'

The Dutch ambassador to Qatar, Yvette Burghgraef-van Eechoud, said after Monday's court hearing that she expected the woman to leave Qatar within days.

"We will do everything to get her out of the country as soon as possible to where she wants to go," she told AFP news agency.

Court officials said she would be deported once the fine was paid.

The woman was arrested by Qatari police immediately after reporting that she had been raped on the night of 15 March, as was the alleged assailant.

During a holiday in the emirate, she went out with a friend for drinks at a hotel where the sale of alcohol was permitted, according to her lawyer Brian Lokollo.

"She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised someone had added something to her glass," he said.

The woman did not feel very well and she later woke alone in an unfamiliar flat and "realised to her great horror that she had been raped", Mr Lokollo added.

Doha-based lawyer Najeeb al-Nuaimi, Qatar's former justice minister, told the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera the woman's lawyers would have had to prove there had been "no voluntary actions" between her and the man for him to be charged with rape.

Even if they had been seen walking together, the authorities might have doubts any sexual activity was non-consensual and instead prosecute both for having sex outside marriage, which is known as "zina" under Islamic law, Mr Nuaimi said.

Article 281 of Qatar's penal code states: "Whoever copulates with a female over 16 without compulsion, duress or ruse shall be punished with imprisonment for a term up to seven years. The same penalty shall also be imposed on the female for her consent."

According to media reports, dozens of people convicted of zina have been given flogging sentences since 2004, including at least 45 between 2009 and 2011.

The case of the Dutch woman raises further questions about how the Qatari authorities will deal with the thousands of Western tourists expected to travel to the country for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, many of whom may be unfamiliar with its laws.

In 2013, a Norwegian woman in the United Arab Emirates was given a 16-month prison sentence for perjury, extramarital sex and drinking alcohol after she told police she had been raped. She was later pardoned and allowed to return to Norway.

Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $26bn

Microsoft is buying the professional networking website LinkedIn for just over $26bn (£18bn) in cash.

The software giant will pay $196 a share - a premium of almost 50%.

Shares in LinkedIn, which floated in May 2011, have fallen by more than 40% this year.

The stock plunged by a quarter in February after the company issued a profit warning for the first quarter and reported an annual loss of $8m.

LinkedIn shares soared to $194.25 in pre-market trading in New York after the deal was announced.

Microsoft said that LinkedIn would retain its "distinct brand, culture and independence", with Jeff Weiner remaining as chief executive, reporting to Microsoft boss Satya Nadella.

LinkedIn chief executive Jeff Weiner will continue in his role

Mr Weiner and Reid Hoffman - the chairman, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn - both backed the deal.

"Today is a re-founding moment for LinkedIn," said Mr Hoffman.

Mr Nadella said: "The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centred on connecting the world's professionals. Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics."

It is by far the biggest acquisition made by Microsoft, which has completed eight takeovers worth more than $1bn.

It paid $8.5bn for Skype in 2011 and bought Nokia's mobile phone business for $7.2bn in 2013.

The LinkedIn acquisition also eclipses the $19bn that Facebook paid for WhatsApp in 2014.

Hollande warns unions over Euro 2016

Special forces have been conducting training exercises as part of preparations for Euro 2016, as sports editor Dan Roan reports

French President Francois Hollande has warned against attempts to disrupt Euro 2016 with strike action, as the football tournament gets under way.

France has been in the grip of industrial action, mainly over reforms to labour law.

Train drivers are threatening to strike on a line serving the Stade de France in St Denis just outside Paris, where France play Romania in the first match.

Meanwhile, a brawl in Marseille led to two England fans being arrested.

Tear gas was fired and police in riot gear were on the streets after the incident outside a pub shortly before midnight on Thursday. England play Russia in the city on Saturday.

'Just not normal'

Football fans arriving in Paris and several other cities this week have been greeted by the sight and smell of uncollected rubbish sacks as trade unionists blockade incinerators.

The country is also on high alert since the jihadist attacks on Paris in November - one of them at the Stade de France - and is recovering from flood damage in central and northern regions.

Mr Hollande said everyone had a duty to ensure that the competition was allowed to proceed without incident.

"I appeal to everyone's sense of responsibility because if the state must do its duty - and it will, it will take all the measures that are necessary," he said on Thursday.

"At the same time, it is also necessary that those who are taking part in actions, or who are organising them should also shoulder their responsibility... so that this great event can be a shared popular festival."

Ten stadiums will host Euro 2016 matches

Thousands attended a concert by DJ David Guetta on Thursday to mark Euro 2016

Transport Minister Alain Vidalies told Europe 1 radio that if the government had to "issue orders" for trains to be driven to get fans to the opening match, "we will do so".

"If requisitioning is required... we will do it," he said. "There will be no more negotiating."

Sports Minister Thierry Braillard appealed to the unions to think about the football fans.

"While there are times when strikes can take place, we are now on the eve of an event during which they are going to prevent some fans from getting to the stadium," he said. "That's just not normal."

Strikers defiant

But train driver Berenger Cernon, secretary general of the CGT union at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, was unapologetic.

Euro 2016 security

Security has been stepped up for the month-long tournament in France

• 90,000 police and other security officials to patrol fan zones and stadiums

• Paris to have security force of at least 13,000 to patrol two zones and two stadiums

• Seven million people expected to visit 10 French cities from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south

• State of emergency in place after last November's jihadist attacks in Paris in which 130 people died

• Officials deny a report that Paris prefect Michel Cadot asked for the Eiffel Tower fan zone to be shut

France's 10 Euro 2016 stadiums

Euro 2016 - Uefa website

"It's not us who determine the calendar," he said.

"We did not decide that the Euro will take place on this date. There is a social movement going on now, the re-organisation [of labour] continues, the labour law continues.

"We want the negotiations on the collective agreements to be open for everybody. So yes, clearly this will disturb the Euro [tournament] and we will continue the strike."

He added that efforts were under way to try to resolve the situation although so far they only concerned the state rail company (SNCF).

Nearly 3,000 tonnes of waste have gone uncollected in Paris, according to the authorities.

Zahier, a waiter in a restaurant in the Latin Quarter where rubbish spilled out of bins into the narrow, cobbled streets, told AFP news agency: "Customers are looking out at the dustbins, so obviously it's making them lose their appetite."

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told BFM television on Friday that "all the garbage will be collected today".

Some 50 lorries were sent out overnight and 30 more are being dispatched on Friday.

Another problem is a planned four-day Air France pilots' strike, set to start on Saturday as many football fans fly in.

Talks broke down on Thursday but Air France chief executive Frederic Gagey said he expected that 70%-80% of flights would operate on Saturday.

Obama formally endorses Hillary Clinton

Obama formally endorses Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton tweeted President Obama's endorsement video: "I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office"

President Barack Obama has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.

His endorsement came after meeting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who has been battling Mrs Clinton for the nomination.

Speaking in a video tweeted out by Mrs Clinton, Mr Obama said she may be the most qualified person "ever" for the role of president.

Leading liberal politician Elizabeth Warren also endorsed Mrs Clinton.

"I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States," the Massachusetts senator told MSNBC, "and to make sure that Donald Trump never gets any place close to the White House."

President Obama and Mrs Clinton are set to start campaigning together soon.

"I want those of you who've been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that 'I'm with Her.' I am fired up and cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary," Mr Obama said in the video.

"Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders may have been rivals during this primary, but they're both patriots who love this country and they share a vision for the America that we all believe in."

The two ran against one another for the Democratic nomination in 2008 and Mr Obama later made Mrs Clinton secretary of state.

Speaking to Reuters following the endorsement, Mrs Clinton said Mr Obama's endorsement "means the world".

"It is absolutely a joy and an honour that President Obama and I, over the years, have gone from fierce competitors to true friends," she said.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump tweeted that Mr Obama's endorsement means he wants "four more years of Obama" and "nobody else does".

To which came a much-retweeted reply from Mrs Clinton: "Delete your account."

Analysis

Mr Obama has made his endorsement official

Barack Obama is now in the game. In a slickly produced video endorsement, the president has thrown his support behind Hillary Clinton's bid to keep the White House in Democratic hands.

Given the high production value of the video, the announcement had obviously been in the works for some time. In fact, astute observers have noted that Mr Obama is sporting the tie he wore on Tuesday.

Bernie Sanders has said he will continue to campaign in Washington DC, leading up to the capital city's primary next week - but expect most Democrats to close ranks quickly. The Vermont senator even struck a more conciliatory tone after a meeting at the White House, saying he looks forward to "working together" with the former secretary of state to defeat Donald Trump.

Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton will make their first joint appearance together in Wisconsin next week. Before that she's visiting Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Democrats clearly view the general election battleground as the industrial Rust Belt states. And for the first time since 1988 there is a popular, scandal-free second-term incumbent president working hard on the campaign trail to preserve his legacy.

Attack on Istanbul police bus 'kills 11'

A car bomb attack targeting a police bus has killed at least 11 people in central Istanbul, officials say.

The explosives were remotely detonated as the vehicle passed through the busy Vezneciler district at the morning rush hour.

No group has said it carried out the attack.

Violence in Turkey has escalated recently as a result of tensions with Kurdish separatists and the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

Suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or one of its offshoots who have claimed other attacks on security targets in Turkey this year in Istanbul.

The explosion happened near the city's historic Beyazit Square neighbourhood, a major tourist attraction, and an Istanbul university building.

Four civilians and seven police officers were among the dead, Istanbul's governor, Vasip Sahin, said. Some 36 other people were injured, he added.

How dangerous is Turkey's unrest?

Turkey in midst of hideous vortex

The blast happened at the morning rush hour in central Istanbul

The explosion also damaged nearby buildings

"There was a loud bang. We thought it was lightning, but right at that second the windows of the shop came down. It was extremely scary," an unidentified eyewitness told Reuters news agency.

'Cold-hearted'

Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the attackers were "cold-heartedly" exploding bombs on the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which is in its second day.

In an interview with state-run TRT television, he also said Turkey was fighting on all fronts against "any form of terrorism."

Recent attacks in Turkey

• March 2016: 35 people killed by Kurdish militants in Ankara; 4 dead in a suicide attack in Istanbul

• February 2016: 28 killed in military convoy in Ankara

• January 2016: 12 German tourists are killed in a suspected IS suicide bombing in Istanbul

• October 2015: More than 100 people are killed in a double suicide bombing at a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara

Tears and destruction amid PKK crackdown

The country has been hit by bloody attacks in recent months by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish militants.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said militants are targeting civilians because they are losing their struggle against Turkish security forces.

Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against IS and allows coalition planes to use its air base at Incirlik for raids on Iraq and Syria.

Reports said a parked car packed with explosives was detonated by remote control

Special force officers were sent to the area of the blast

The country has also been waging an offensive against the PKK, which fights for autonomy in the majority-Kurdish areas in Turkey's south-east.

A two-year-old ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK broke down last summer. Since then, violence has killed hundreds of Turkish security forces, Kurdish fighters and civilians.

Turkey, the EU and US refer to the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

An offshoot of the group, the TAK, carried out two attacks on police vehicles in Ankara this year.

The government and western intelligence groups believe TAK is an alias of the PKK.