Deaths As 7.8 Earthquake Hits Rural Pakistan

At least 39 people have been killed after a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit a remote area of south western Pakistan.

The quake struck a remote mountainous part of the country at 4.29pm local time (12.29BST) around 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the city of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, at a depth of 15 kilometres.

It was felt as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi, hundreds of miles to the east, where buildings shook.

Early reports said dozens had died, but many of the buildings in that part of the country are made of weak materials and there were fears of more casualties.

Abdul Qadoos, deputy speaker of the Balochistan assembly, told Reuters that 30 people and at least 30% of houses in the impoverished Awaran district had been destroyed.

The United States Geological Survey issued a red alert for the quake, warning that heavy casualties were likely, based on past data.

Tremors were felt across the province as well as in the sprawling port city of Karachi, residents said. People in Ahmedabad in India, hundreds of miles from the epicentre, ran out of buildings and into the street.

Parts of Balochistan are highly remote. Picture: Ghulam Rasool

A senior Pakistani meteorologist, Muhammad Riaz, told Dunya TV station it was a "major" earthquake and "heavy destruction" was likely.

Mumtaz Baluch, an official in Awaran district, 350 kilometres southwest of Quetta, said: "There are reports of houses being collapsed in the district. We also have initial information about injuries to people as a result of the collapse of houses.

"We have dispatched our teams to the affected area to ascertain the losses."

Office workers in Karachi rushed out of their buildings and sat on the footpaths along the roads or stood away from structures.

Noor Jabeen, a 28-year woman working for an insurance company, said: "My work table jerked a bit and again and I impulsively rushed outside."

In 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake centred in Kashmir killed at least 73,000 people and left several million homeless in one of the worst natural disasters to hit Pakistan.

The epicentre is in a remote, sparsely-populated mountainous area of Balochistan.

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Kenya Siege: British Woman 'Among Attackers'

A British woman and "two or three Americans" are said to be among the militants who took part in an attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed confirmed al Shabaab fighters were responsible for the attack at the Westgate building.

In an interview with the American PBS Newshour programme, Ms Mohamed said: "Both the victims and the perpetrators ... came from Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"From the information that we have, (there are) two or three Americans, and I think so far I have heard of one Brit."

Asked about the British woman, Ms Mohamed added: "A woman, and I think she has done this many times before."

Her comments have been dismissed by an al Shabaab spokesman who said: "Those who describe the attackers as Americans and British are people who do not know what is going on."

Ms Lewthwaite is known to be in East Africa

Ms Mohamed's remarks have, however, fuelled speculation that British terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to the July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, was involved.

Ms Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow", is known to be in East Africa and is wanted by Kenyan police over alleged links to a terrorist cell that planned to bomb the country's coast.

In March last year officials said Ms Lewthwaite, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled to Somalia and that officers were hunting a woman who used several identities, including hers.

On Monday night, Ms Lewthwaite's grandmother, Elizabeth Allen, 86, of County Down, was said by a friend to be "deeply distressed" by suggestions her granddaughter had been involved in the attack.

Councillor Raj Khan, whose family knew Ms Lewthwaite's family socially in Aylesbury, said he was surprised at speculation she was involved in the attack. He called her an "average, British, young, ordinary girl".

Ms Lewthwaite has gained "semi-mythical status" since travelling to East Africa, according to terrorism expert Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

Mr Pantucci said: "I don't think we've had any concrete evidence of her being involved in this incident, but the fact of her being mentioned in this context is not surprising because of her connections, and it is known that she is somewhere in East Africa."

Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed spoke to the PBS Newshour programme

However, Professor David Anderson, an expert in African terrorism at the University of Warwick, said Ms Mohamed's remarks must be taken with a "pinch of salt".

He said: "It would be very unusual if a female, and a British female at that, was involved in an al Shabaab operation."

Britain's Foreign Office would not confirm claims about the involvement of a British woman, while US officials said there was no evidence of the nationalities or identities of the attackers.

Speaking in Pakistan, Home Secretary Theresa May told the BBC she would not be commenting on reports that a British woman was involved.

According to The Times, FBI sources are investigating claims that the terrorists were recruited in a Somali community known as "Little Mogadishu" in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which began on Saturday and has left at least 62 people dead.

Kenyan security forces claim they have taken control of the shopping centre after a final assault on the militants, but heavy gunfire can still be heard coming from the complex.

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Iain Dale Scraps With Protester At Conference

Blogger Iain Dale has scuffled with an anti-nuclear protester during interviews outside Labour's party conference in Brighton.

Mr Dale was trying to stop Stuart Holmes disrupting a publicity drive for Damian McBride's memoirs as they staged a series of interviews on the seafront.

The blogger is also the publisher of the former spin doctor's controversial memoir Power Trip, which has overshadowed the party conference this week.

Iain Dale hauls the protester away from the cameras

He grabbed the pensioner's rucksack and physically hauled him out of the way as Mr McBride recorded an interview with ITV's Daybreak.

The pair grappled on the pavement as the interview continued, with Mr Holmes' dog eagerly joining in the fray and barking.

The terrier - which had a placard saying "No Nuke's" on its back - seemed to misplace his loyalty though, and jumped up to bite his owner on his bottom.

The publisher was annoyed he was distracting from the interview

Mr Holmes attempted to make the best of the situation, holding up his own banner to photographers busy recording the scrap.

After a few moments, the pair separated and dusted themselves down, and he continued trying to edge his way into view of the cameras.

Writing on his blog later, Mr Dale said he had been waiting in his car ready to drive Mr McBride to his next interview when he spotted the protester.

He said he was holding a placard and "filling a lot of the screen and totally distracting from the interview".

The pair tussled and then fell on the ground

"I did what any self-respecting publisher would do, got out of the car, ran across, got him in an armlock and pulled him out of the shot.

"He started resisting and we ended up in an unseemly tumble on the ground ... I was determined this idiot shouldn't disrupt what was an important interview for my author."

He added: "He threw a punch at me but missed, and the only injury was when the man's dog bit him on the bum."

The protester's dog joined in the fray - and bit his bottom

Mr Dale joked that he knew he "shouldn't have had three Weetabix this morning" and "now you can see why my publishing company is called Biteback".

He insisted he did not regret the altercation.

"Everyone has an inalienable right to protest, but no one has a right to make a continual nuisance of themselves and interrupt interviews like that," he said.

Mr Dale joked that he shouldn't have had three Weetabix

Mr Holmes has been protesting outside party conference venues for the last 30 years and thought the media had been gathering to interview Ed Miliband.

He said he had been keen to confront the Labour leader after being "totally blanked" by him at the TUC conference in Bournemouth.

"I was not ruining the interview. I was just in the background. I was not saying anything," he insisted after being quizzed by Sussex Police.

"This giant of a guy turned up and grabbed hold of me. I struggled free and in the process we ended up on the floor. Someone chucked my hat over the top and I had to go down and get it."

He indicated he was unlikely to take legal action, but would discuss it with his solicitors and "think it over".

"Nobody got injured - well, he might have a few bruises," he added.

The clash provoked an outpouring of jokes - and some criticism - on Twitter.

One poster called Matt Provost wrote: "@IainDale A.) You had no right to lay a finger on him. That's assault. B.) He has every right to be a nuisance and to stand where he likes."

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VW Camper Van Nears End Of The Road

It carried hippies through the 1960s, hauled surfers in search of waves and serves as a workhorse across the developing world, but the long journey of the Volkswagen (VW) Camper van is coming to an end.

The company is to cease production in Brazil - the last place in the world still producing the iconic "bus" as it is known - at the end of the year.

VW said it had decided it could not change production to meet new laws being imposed in the South American country which meant all new vehicles must have air bags and anti-lock braking systems from 2014.

While output will halt in Brazil, over 10 million Volkswagen Transporter vans were made globally over the past 63 years and they remain popular because of their retro look and the "back-to-basics" driving experience they offer compared with modern vans.

Surf's up! The van is a familiar sight on coastlines world-wide

Damon Ristau, director of the documentary The Bus, which follows VW fanatics and their affections for the machine, said: "The van represents freedom.

"It has a magic and charm lacking in other vehicles. It's about the open road, about bringing smiles to people's faces when they see an old VW van rolling along."

Perhaps nothing with a motor has driven itself deeper into American and European pop culture than the VW, known for its durability - but also its tendency to break down.

Van lovers say its failures only reinforce its charm. Because its engine is so simple, it's easy to fix, imparting a deeper sense of ownership.

Many owners redesign the interior space to suit their needs

The van made an appearance on Bob Dylan and Beach Boys record album covers, among many, though in music circles it's most closely linked to the Grateful Dead and the legion of touring fans that followed the rock group across the US, the machines serving as rolling homes.

Steve Jobs is said to have sold his van in the 1970s to buy a circuit board as he built a computer that helped launch Apple.

The vehicle is also linked to the California surf scene, its cavernous interior perfect for hauling boards.

But in poorer regions like Latin American and Africa, the vehicle doesn't carry the same romantic appeal.

Yusef Islam is among celebrities to use the van for PR purposes

It is used in Brazil by the postal service to haul mail, by the army to transport soldiers and by funeral directors to carry bodies.

It serves as a school bus for children, operates as a group taxi and delivers construction materials to building sites.

Brazilians convert their vans into rolling food carts, setting up on street corners for working-class lunchtime crowds.

In Brazil it is known as the "Kombi," an abbreviation for the German "Kombinationsfahrzeug" that loosely translates as "cargo-passenger van."

Still running: owners love the camper van for its durability

Production in Germany was halted in 1979 because the van no longer met European safety requirements, meaning its future was dependent on operations in South America.

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Kenya Siege: Heavy Gunfire Heard Inside Mall

Heavy bursts of gunfire have been heard from inside a Nairobi shopping centre as Kenyan soldiers fight with terrorists to rescue hostages.

At least 10 hostages remain inside the mall on the fourth day of the siege in which 62 people have been killed, including six Britons - among them an eight-year-old girl.

Medics who have been inside the complex warned that the numbers of dead are significantly greater than have been confirmed, and the city morgue is preparing for the arrival of a large number of bodies.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to make an announcement to the nation later, a spokesman said.

It was not clear whether he would announce an end to the operation.

Victims: Ross Langdon, Eliv Yavus and eight-year-old Jenah Bawa

In a new Twitter feed claiming to be run by Somalia's al Qaeda-linked rebel group, al Shabaab, a post said that "the mujahideen are still holding their ground".

It warned "there are countless number of dead bodies still scattered inside the mall" and said it was "far greater than how the Kenyans perceive it".

Another post said that they were still holding hostages who were "still alive looking quite disconcerted but, nevertheless, alive".

In an audio broadcast on a pro-militant website, the al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamoud Rage threatened that unless Kenya pulled its troops out of Somalia it could expect further terror attacks.

Bullet holes around a window of the Westgate mall

The Kenyan police responded with a Twitter message in which it told people to ignore enemy propaganda and said: "Troops now in mop up operations in the building. More to follow. Be calm."

They also said that they had been defusing bombs set up by the militants inside the mall, as part of the building's roof has now collapsed.

The army has confirmed that three soldiers have been killed in the fighting.

The Kenyan government insisted early on Tuesday that it was "in control" of the mall and that all hostages trapped by the attackers had been evacuated.

Kenyan forces at the shopping centre early on Tuesday

Government spokesman Manoah Esipisu said: "Our special forces are inside the building checking the rooms. Obviously it's a very, very big building.

"We think that everyone, the hostages, have been evacuated but we don't want to take any chances. The special forces are doing their job and yes, I think we are near the end."

Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "The government has said it's all over … but that seems to conflict with what we are hearing both from the military sources here - one of them told me that there were at least maybe two gunmen still holed up - and indeed al Shabaab itself."

Bodies arrive at the city morgue

He said that he had spoken to a medic who had been inside the building and they had said the numbers of dead were "huge" and warned that the official figures would rise.

The developments came as Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said that a British woman and two or three Americans were among those who had attacked the centre.

Her comments have led to increasing speculation that the Briton could be the 29-year-old widow of the 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, Samantha Lewthwaite.

However, a leading terrorism expert has said her involvement is unlikely and al Shabaab has denied the claim that Britons and Americans are involved.

The extremists also appeared to verify a picture that has been circulating on the internet claiming to be taken from the shopping centre CCTV and showing the gunmen.

Smoke is seen rising from the shopping centre

The two figures in the picture are seen in black headscarves, ambling past a children's sweet stall in the mall.

According to Sky News sources, the British military is now giving assistance to Kenyan forces at the mall and has offered further assistance.

On Monday, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: "As the Prime Minister made clear, we have said we will provide them with any assistance which they request. We haven't yet been asked to provide any assistance beyond broad background advice."

Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, said the United States stood with Kenyans against "this terrible outrage".

The atrocity is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bomb attack on the US embassy in 1998 that killed more than 200 people.

:: The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

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Duggan Inquest: Officer Denies 'False Story' Claim

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The detective in charge of the Mark Duggan case has denied he had helped put out a "false story" that the suspect was killed during a shoot-out with firearms officers.

Acting superintendent Michael Foote told an inquest jury he was informed by his deputy that Mr Duggan had been shot and a gun had been found.

He passed the information on to a senior officer.

But the Duggan family lawyer, Michael Mansfield QC, showed the inquest jury a note handwritten by the more senior officer, which read: "Apparently, Mark Duggan came towards officers firing."

Mr Mansfield asked: "Did you tell [the senior officer] that?"

DCI Foote said: "No, I don't recall saying that."

A handgun allegedly carried by Mark Duggan when he was killed

Mr Mansfield went on: "Was a false story put out, even at 6.30pm? At the time there was a good deal of publicity that Duggan was shot during an exchange of fire with the police.

"Did it come as a surprise when you read that?"

DCI Foote said: "Yes it did, because I wasn't aware ... I didn't know at the time how the officer got shot. It was an unknown quantity."

The inquest had earlier heard officers fired twice at Mr Duggan. One bullet went through his bicep and lodged in the police radio of one of the firearms officers, while the other fatally injured Mr Duggan.

DCI Foote said he thought the operation in which Mr Duggan was shot dead by police had "gone as planned, though with tragic consequences".

Outrage at Mr Duggan's death sparked protests and then riots in London

He said he had considered what lessons should be learned, but could not think of any except he should have kept a note of the conversations he later had with colleagues.

The inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice has heard that Mr Duggan was shot as he emerged from a minicab that police had forced to stop in Tottenham, North London, in August 2011.

Police suspected he had earlier collected a gun and they opened fire because they thought he had pointed a gun at them, jurors were told.

A handgun wrapped in a sock was found between 10 and 20ft from his body, the inquest heard.

Cross-examining DCI Foote, Mr Mansfield said: "These tragic events were the result of flawed police planning that was based on failures by you and others to properly assess accurate intelligence.

"That in turn was the result of deficient supervision."

Mr Mansfield said officers could have intercepted Mr Duggan an hour earlier when they believed he was travelling to collect a gun.

The inquest continues.

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Miliband: Labour Would Freeze Energy Prices

Ed Miliband has vowed to freeze gas and electricity bills for 20 months if Labour regains power at the next election.

The party leader told its conference in Brighton that he would pass new laws to enforce the freeze while the energy sector was overhauled.

Labour claims the move will save households £120 a year and businesses £1,800 between May 2015 and January 2017.

The dramatic announcement puts Mr Miliband on a collision course with the "Big Six" energy companies, which stand to lose £4.5bn and have not been consulted.

"The companies won't like it because it will cost them money but they have been overcharging people for too long because the market doesn't work. It's time to reset the market," he said.

He accused the coalition of allowing energy prices to spiral because David Cameron did not have "the strength to stand up to the strong".

An average family's bill has risen by almost £300 since 2010 and companies now say energy is the second biggest cost they face, after wages.

A report last weekend from consumer group Which? also estimated that flaws in the market had left consumers paying £3.9bn a year too much.

Labour has already vowed it will pass new laws to split energy companies into generation and retail arms, create more competition and replace Ofgem with a tougher watchdog.

Ed Miliband and wife Justine arriving at the hall before his conference

Aides said firms should be able to absorb the freeze because of their large profits and challenged Mr Cameron to hold bills down if they try to dodge it by hiking prices early.

But Paul Massara, the chief executive of Npower, criticised the plan and said fixing energy prices was not as straightforward as flicking a switch.

"It's very easy for politicians to come up with simple-sounding solutions to difficult problems," he said in a statement.

"But in reality there are three main factors that influence prices: fixing inefficient housing stock, the investment required to replace the UK's energy infrastructure and the cost of buying energy on the global market."

He added: "If the Labour Party can commit to reducing policy costs on household energy bills, stopping the smart meter roll-out, preventing commodity cost increases and accept that there won't be any investment in new power stations and infrastructure, then we could freeze our prices. But will this make things better for Britain?"

Consumer group Which? have welcomed the plan however, claiming it would give "hope to the millions worrying about how they can afford to heat their homes".

Executive director Richard Lloyd said: "We now look forward to seeing the detail of how this will work.

"Wholesale costs are the biggest part of the eye-watering rises to energy bills that people have faced over the last 10 years.

The Labour leader spoke for 63 minutes without notes

"Making the wholesale market competitive by separating energy generation from supply is essential to help keep prices in check."

Mr Miliband had spent weeks honing his speech, which lasted 63 minutes, after a summer of recrimination over his leadership and the party's lack of direction.

Speaking without notes, he claimed soaring energy prices were part of a "cost-of-living crisis" which had left ordinary people struggling while the "privileged few" prospered.

He repeatedly declared "Britain can do better than this" as he accused Mr Cameron and George Osborne of leading a "race to the bottom".

And he insisted he had shown his strength by standing against his brother for the top job and refusing to support British military intervention in Syria.

"Leadership is about risks and difficult decisions. It's about those lonely moments when you have to peer deep into your soul," he said.

He predicted a "big fight" between now and the next election, but insisted he would relish going up against Mr Cameron in a test about leadership and character.

Mr Miliband will hope the address will move his party on from the damaging revelations about the Blair-Brown years revealed in Damian McBride's memoir.

Seeking to flesh out Labour's economic policy, he unveiled plans for a £800m tax break for smaller firms - paid for by cancelling a 1% corporation tax cut due in 2015.

He vowed to reverse the hike in business rates due in April 2015 and freeze the levy the following year, a move worth around £450 on average over two years for 1.5 million firms.

"We have to support our small businesses, the vibrant, dynamic businesses that will create wealth in Britain," Mr Miliband said.

However, business leaders were critical of the decision to fund it by keeping corporation tax higher, accusing him of "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

Institute of Directors director general Simon Walker warned it would harm Britain's competitiveness and put off foreign investors at a time when the country had to show it was open for business.

Other measures included:

:: Confirmation that the so-called "bedroom tax" would be scrapped, which prompted a standing ovation in the hall;

:: A "route map" to take all the carbon out of Britain's energy by 2030, creating one million jobs;

:: Breakfast clubs and after-school care in primary schools, to help working parents.

Mr Miliband claimed Britons were "fed up of a Government that doesn't understand their lives and a Prime Minister who can't walk in their shoes".

He said Mr Cameron would "resume his lap of honour" about the economic recovery at the Tory conference next week, when he should be on a "lap of shame".

Borrowing a slogan from Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980, he called on voters to ask themselves in 2015 "am I better off now than I was five years ago?".

"You've made the sacrifices but you have not got the rewards. You were the first one into the recession, but you are the last one out," he said.

Delegates also loudly applauded when he attacked Tory peer Lord Howell for suggesting fracking should happen in the "desolate" North East.

Arguing that the Tories are out-of-touch, he said: "The Tories call them inhabitants of desolate areas, we call them our friends, our neighbours, the heroes of our country."

On reform of Labour's union links, Mr Miliband insisted he understood why some people were "uncomfortable" but urged union chiefs to work with him.

The Tories claimed Labour moves on decarbonisation would hike energy bills by £125 and that the "tax rise on business" would cost jobs.

Chairman Grant Shapps said: "Nothing has changed. It's the same old Labour. They still want more spending, more borrowing and more debt - exactly what got us into a mess in the first place.

"And it's hard-working people who would pay the price through higher taxes and higher mortgage rates and higher bills."

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Mummified Boy Case: House 'Smelled Vile'

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The smell in a house where the mummified body of a four-year-old boy was found almost two years after he died was "overpowering", according to a police officer.

PC Jodie Dunsmore was a community support officer when she went to see Amanda Hutton in September 2011 about a complaint that rubbish had been thrown into a neighbour's garden.

No one answered when she knocked on the door, but after spotting dead flies inside the partly-closed blinds in the front room PC Dunsmore said she peered through the letterbox.

"The smell that came was vile," she told the jury.

She said she saw food and rubbish strewn all over the floor, but did not look for long.

"The smell was so overpowering I really didn't want to breathe it in," she explained.

The body of Hutton's son, Hamzah Khan, was discovered in a cot in her Bradford home in September 2011, surrounded by rotting rubbish and faeces.

Bradford Crown Court has heard how he had died almost two years earlier, in December 2009.

PC Dunsmore said after repeated visits over several days she made contact with Hutton by phone and was suspicious about her refusal to meet in the house.

"I felt she was in the house but was choosing not to open the door," she said.

The jury was shown photographs of the inside of the house, with rubbish strewn across the floors.

PC Jayne Lax, who searched the house after the alarm was raised, told the jury the rubbish, including takeaway cartons and rotting food, was ankle deep in places upstairs.

The jury was shown that the only relatively tidy room was Hutton's bedroom, with a large mesh-walled travel cot in the centre.

It was in that cot that Hamzah's body was found.

The court also heard from a neighbour of Hutton's, Christine Latz, who told the court that the defendant smelt of alcohol and was often drunk and tearful.

Ms Latz said: "She told me she'd come out of an abusive relationship to make a fresh start down here."

Prosecutors have argued that Hamzah died because he was starved to death, but Hutton, 43, denies the manslaughter of her son.

The trial continues.

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Sofa Bed 'Suffocates' Three-Year-Old Girl

A New York man has been charged over the death of a three-year-old girl who apparently suffocated after she became trapped inside his sofa bed, officers said.

Mohamed Barry, 50, was arrested for allegedly failing to supervise Aissante Diallo, the daughter of his live-in girlfriend.

He is accused of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the youngster's death.

Barry told police he had briefly gone out on Sunday evening, reportedly for about 10 minutes, leaving Aissante and two older siblings, aged five and 10, in his Harlem apartment.

Officers found the three-year-old girl unconscious, and she was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The three children were playing on the sofa bed when one of the folds came down, trapping the little girl inside, CBS reported, citing sources.

Investigators were awaiting confirmation of the cause of death from the medical examiner, the network added.

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Obama Urges UN To Maintain Pressure On Syria

Barack Obama has called on the UN security council to approve a resolution that will ensure Syria upholds its chemical weapons commitments.

The president says a resolution must include consequences for President Bashar al Assad's regime if he does not meet demands to dismantle his chemical stockpile.

"If we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the United Nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws," Mr Obama said in his address to the UN General Assembly.

Assad has said he will give up his chemical weapons

"We believe that as a starting point the international community must enforce the ban on international weapons." 

The US and Russia brokered an agreement for Syria to give up its chemical weapons in the wake of Mr Obama's call for military strikes against Syria for a chemical weapons attack last month on civilians outside Damascus.

But the countries remain at odds on what the possible consequences would be if Syria does not comply.

Mr Obama said that while the international community has recognised the stakes involved in the more than two-year-old civil war, "our response has not matched the scale of the challenge".

He reiterated his demand that Mr Assad cannot continue to lead Syria, but said he would not use US military force to depose him.

The US and Russia disagree over who used chemical weapons in Syria

"That is for the Syrian people to decide," Mr Obama said. "Nevertheless, a leader who slaughtered his citizens and gassed children to death cannot regain the legitimacy to lead a badly fractured country."

The president also announced that the United States will provide $339m in additional humanitarian aid to refugees and countries affected by the war, bringing the total American aid devoted to that crisis to nearly $1.4bn.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul also used the UN stage to call for a more robust international effort to end Syria's civil war, saying the global community had a responsibility not to abandon the Syrian people.

"This conflict has evolved into a real threat to regional peace and security," Mr Gul said. "Any recurrence of the proxy wars of the Cold War era will plunge Syria into further chaos."

In a UN address primarily focused on the Middle East, the president also said a "diplomatic path must be tested" regarding Iran's nuclear programme.

Hasan Rouhani is also scheduled to address the UN general assembly

Mr Obama said he directed US Secretary of State John Kerry to pursue a possible nuclear weapons deal with Iran.

The president said he is encouraged by Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's more moderate course, but added Mr Rouhani's "conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable".

It is still unclear if Mr Obama will meet with the Iranian president while at the United Nations. Leaders from the two countries have not had face-to-face contact in more than 30 years.

US officials say no meeting is planned, although they have not ruled one out.

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