The governor of the region at the centre of Japan's nuclear crisis has criticised official handling of the evacuation of the area around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Fukushima prefecture governor Yuhei Sato said: "Anxiety and anger felt by people have reached boiling point."
Engineers are racing to avert a nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi, badly damaged by Friday's quake and tsunami.
The government has declared a 20km (12-mile) evacuation zone around it.
Another 140,000 people living between 20-30km of the facility were told on Tuesday not to leave their homes, while the US embassy has advised American citizens living within 80km of the plant to evacuate or seek shelter.
Mr Sato said centres already housing people who had been moved from their homes near the plant did not have enough hot meals and basic necessities such as fuel and medical supplies. "We're lacking everything," he said.
Japanese media have became more critical of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's handling of the disaster, and have accused both the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co of failing to provide enough information on the incident.
Over the days of the Fukushima crisis, attention has switched from reactor building 1 to 3, to 2, back to 3 - and now, to 4.
Here, it is not the actual reactor that is causing concern. Instead, it is a pool storing fuel rods that had been taken out of the reactor when it was shut down for maintenance before the earthquake struck.
There have been reports that water levels were low; and now the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which has a team of experts advising in Japan, says the pool is completely dry.
This means the fuel rods are exposed to the air. Without water, they will get much hotter, allowing radioactive material to escape - and the NRC says radiation levels are probably extremely high, creating a danger to workers at the plant.
The company operating the plant has even warned of 're-criticality' - that a nuclear chain reaction could start among fuel rods in the now dry pool.
That would not cause a nuclear explosion but it would increase the release of radioactive substances.
Thousands of people were killed in the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami. In a rare public appearance, Japan's Emperor Akihito has said he is "deeply worried" about the crisis his country is facing.
The atomic crisis has been caused by the tsunami wrecking back-up diesel generators which kept the nuclear fuel cool at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 220km from Tokyo.
Workers have been dousing the reactors with seawater in a frantic effort to stabilise their temperatures, since the first in a series of explosions rocked the plant on Saturday.
Helicopters deployed to dump water on the facility on Wednesday were pulled out amid concerns over radiation levels in the air above the site. Reports suggest another plan is now under consideration to use water cannon.
Earlier, the plant's operators evacuated its skeleton crew of 50 workers for about an hour as ground-level radiation spiked.
And yet another fire broke out in a reactor, while steam billowed from another one.
The power facility has sent low levels of radiation wafting into Tokyo, spreading alarm in the city and internationally.
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Yukiya Amano, said developments at the plant were "very serious", as he prepared to head to the country to assess the situation.
In other developments:
After losing $620bn (£385bn) in the first two days of this week, Japan's stock market rebounded to finish Wednesday up by 5.7%
Britain advised its nationals currently in Tokyo and to the north of the capital to consider leaving the area
France urged its nationals in Tokyo to leave the country or move south; two Air France planes were sent to begin evacuation
Australia advised its citizens to consider leaving Tokyo and the most damaged prefectures
Turkey warned against travel to Japan
'Unprecedented'
Emperor Akihito went on live TV on Wednesday to make his first public comments on the disaster, and urged an all-out rescue effort.
Watch: Japan's Emperor Akihito addresses the Japanese people
TV stations interrupted programming to show the emperor describing the crisis facing the nation as "unprecedented in scale".
The 77-year-old - deeply respected by many Japanese - said: "I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times."
Japan's titular head of state - who acceded to the throne in 1989 after the death of his father Hirohito - said he prayed that every victim would be saved.
He spoke as snow blanketed swathes of the disaster zone, where many survivors have little food, water or heat.
About 450,000 people have been staying in temporary shelters, many sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums.
More than 4,300 people are listed as dead but it is feared the total death toll from the catastrophe, which pulverised the country's north-east coast, will rise substantially.
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NPR executive calls tea party 'seriously racist,' most Americans 'uneducated' Topic: npr, media, bbc news
A hidden-camera sting orchestrated by James O'Keefe, who took down ACORN, targeted NPR executive Ron Schiller. It shows him calling the tea party racist and the GOP anti-intellectual. Schiller also suggested that NPR doesn't need federal funding.
Jame's O'Keefe's Veritas Project conducts a hidden-camera interview with Ron Schiller, who was then an executive at NPR.
A video sting targeting former NPR fund-raising executive Ron Schiller could create political and public-relations problems for the news organization – just as it steels itself for a battle with congressional Republicans over federal funding.
In comments made to a hidden camera, Mr. Schiller called the tea party movement that propelled Republicans to huge congressional gains in the midterm elections "scary" and "seriously, seriously racist." In addition, he complained that America did not have enough "educated, so-called elite" citizens, and that the Republican Party was anti-intellectual. Perhaps most damaging, however, was Schiller's statement that NPR would do better without federal funding.
The video is the work of James O'Keefe, the sting artist who took down ACORN in 2009, and it marks the second time in as many months that conservative provocateurs have targeted an organization they see as liberal in a bid to persuade Congress to defund it. In February, O'Keefe protegée Lila Rose released videos that suggested Planned Parenthood employees were willing to collude with sex workers to procure abortions for under-age girls.
An attempt to defund NPR in 1995 failed as listeners bombarded conservative congressmen with phone calls and letters. But Schiller's unguarded comments indicate that NPR itself has inwardly debated whether or not defunding could actually ultimately help the 41-year-old journalism organization's mission.
"My inclination is that cutting off federal funding to NPR might be a good thing, since this kind of political interference is not healthy for the media in general," says Tom Edsall, a professor at Columbia Journalism School.
But he also suggests that government funding might be forcing NPR to be more even-handed than it would otherwise be. "For a place like NPR, being tied to the government may in the end help them to stay fairly objective," he adds.
For its part, NPR has renounced the comments of Schiller, who left NPR on Monday for unrelated reasons, according to officials. “We are appalled by the comments made by Ron Schiller in the video, which are contrary to what NPR stands for,” NPR spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm said in a statement.
What is the video about?
The video shows Schiller and another NPR fund-raising executive having lunch with two purported members of a fake Muslim organization called the Muslim Education Action Center, which is falsely offering a $5 million gift to NPR. The group also set up a fake website that explicitly stated that it supported the spread of sharia law.
The two actors clearly goad Schiller into making observations, most of which are made after Schiller explicitly takes off his "NPR hat" to give his personal opinion. For example, Schiller says there aren't enough "educated, so-called elite" Americans, adding that public opinion is driven by "this very large uneducated part of the population."
Of tea partyers, he adds: "I mean, basically they ... believe in sort of white, middle-America, gun-toting. I mean, it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people."
The impact could be serious, because the comments play right into the hands of those who believe that NPR is a "socialist adventure," says Stephen Ward, the director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
"I don't think any of this helps the survival, let alone the quality existence, of public broadcasting in the United States," says Mr. Ward. "You can argue that these comments ... don't reflect the grander importance of public broadcasting, but in a world of agenda-setting journalism, these are perfect examples for people who dislike or oppose public broadcasting to use for political purposes."
"The timing couldn't be worse," agreed Maxie Jackson, president of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.
NPR's battles
On one hand, Schiller said he's "very proud" of NPR's handling of the Juan Williams debacle, in which the veteran commentator was fired in October after acknowledging that he felt fearful when flying with people in Muslim dress. NPR President Vivian Schiller (no relation to Ron Schiller) has said recently that the network botched the Williams firing.
At the same time, NPR is fighting an effort to defund $90 million of Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants, which are allotted to independent affiliate stations which then pay NPR for its broadcasting. Ms. Schiller has said she wants federal funding to continue, primarily so that public radio stations in far-flung parts of the US can survive.
But Mr. Schiller said: “Well frankly, it is clear that we would be better off in the long-run without federal funding. The challenge right now is that if we lost it all together we would have a lot of stations go dark.”
Conservatives have latched on to this comment. "At a time when the country is upside down by more than a trillion dollars, can we really afford to provide huge subsidies to entities that openly state that they don't need the money?" said Mark Meckler, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, in USA Today.
From a media perspective, however, some experts worry that Mr. O'Keefe's partisan "gotcha" tactics could be a slippery slope for both sides of the political spectrum. "If [these kinds of sting videos] become the methodology of journalism in general, then we're going to sink the reputation of journalists and bury it forever in a grave," says Ward.
Pro-Gaddafi forces have launched a fierce attack on Libyan rebels in Zawiya, sources in the town say.
Casualties were reported as 50 tanks and 120 pick-up trucks launched three attacks on the rebel-held town 50km (30 miles) west of the capital, Tripoli.
Elsewhere, warplanes fired missiles on residential areas and near rebel positions in the oil port of Ras Lanuf.
Rebels say they have rejected an approach by officials offering to hold talks on an exit for the Libyan leader.
The Libyan leader had not sent anyone himself, but lawyers from Tripoli had volunteered to act as go-betweens, former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who heads the rebels' Transitional National Council, told AFP.
Col Gaddafi has refused to cede power in the past, arguing that he has no official position and therefore it is impossible for him to resign.
In other developments:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says the situation on Tunisia's border with Libya is now under control;110,000 people have flooded over the border since the crisis began, and some 14,000 Bangladeshis remain to be repatriated
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says a no-fly zone over Libya is a practical possibility but needs broad international and legal support, adding that the UK and France were drafting a UN resolution on the issue as a "contingency"
Libyan state TV broadcasts footage of what is says are confessions from rebels captured in Bin Jawad. The men - blindfolded and with their hands tied - tell the cameras they were "persuaded" to fight, with one saying he went along "convinced that my action will destroy me and destroy Libya"
Under siege
Col Gaddafi's side believe they are making significant military gains, consolidating their hold on western Libya, says the BBC's Wyre Davies in Tripoli.
The rebels are firing off the guns all the time, probably to scare off Col Gaddafi's troops.
Earlier today, the bombing was quite accurate. Often in the past, you got the feeling that the pilots were deliberately missing.
But not today, when they bombed a house across the road from where we were filming. One of my colleagues was knocked over by the blast, although he is OK.
The more accurate bombing suggests the government has changed pilots or is giving different orders.
Yousef Shakir, an adviser to the Libyan cabinet, said: "The Libyan Army has, for the first time, taken a decision to cleanse the Libyan cities from rebels," he told the BBC. "The Army has already started in Libyan western cities and will move to Benghazi."
In western Libya, Zawiya and the opposition-held town of Misrata are still under siege from government forces.
Following Tuesday's onslaught in Zawiya, a source in the town said children as young as five were among the dead.
"I don't know how many are dead - they tore Zawiya down to ashes," a source in the town told the BBC.
On Monday, pro-Gaddafi forces had retaken the town of Bin Jawad, on the road to Ras Lanuf, which the rebels captured late last week.
On Tuesday, using air strikes, helicopter gunships and heavy armaments, they pushed back a rebel advance along the north coast, and more accurate attacks than had been seen previously seemed aimed at dislodging opposition fighters from a crossroads outside Ras Lanuf.
Rebel forces are not as well equipped as the pro-Gaddafi elements
Under these circumstances, it is difficult to see how the Gaddafi regime would be in any mood to compromise or talk about succession, our correspondent says.
A Libyan foreign ministry official described as "absolute nonsense" reports that Col Gaddafi had offered to stand down, Reuters reports.
The rebels believe the approaches are merely an attempt to divide the Gaddafi opponents.
There seems to be a division within the council, says the BBC's Mustafa Menhshawi in Benghazi, with some saying talks are under way between Col Gaddafi and rebel leaders to secure his departure from the country, while others deny any negotiations are being held.
The confusion within the rebel leadership is obvious, adds our correspondent, suggesting the council is not fully linked to rebel forces on the ground.
No-fly discussions
Western powers are stepping up their efforts to put in place a no-fly zone over Libya.
Britain and France are drafting a UN resolution, which will be debated by Nato defence ministers on Thursday.
Jalal al-Gallal from the National Libyan Transitional Council has told the BBC there has been no direct contact with the Gaddafi regime
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which represents Muslim countries, has joined the calls for a no-fly zone. Gulf Arab states gave their backing to the idea, condemning the use of violence against civilians by Libyan government forces and calling for an urgent meeting of the Arab League.
An Arab League official said the group's foreign ministers would meet on Saturday in Cairo to discuss the Libya crisis, Reuters reported.
A no-fly zone would probably ban military flights by government forces through Libyan airspace. Any aircraft violating the exclusion zone would risk being shot down by international forces.
No-fly zones were imposed on southern and northern Iraq in the wake of the first Gulf war in 1991, and during the war in Bosnia in 1994-95.
However, our correspondent in Tripoli cautions that any foreign intervention would have to be carefully calculated, as it risks playing into Col Gaddafi's hands.
The UN says more than 1,000 people have died and 200,000 have fled the violence in Libya, which is now in its third week.
Anti-Gaddafi rebels control most of the east of the country, centred around the city of Benghazi. However, the government has consolidated its hold on western areas and the capital, Tripoli, which is home to about a third of the population of 6.5 million.
The revolt against Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule is now well into its third week.
It comes in the wake of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, whose presidents were forced from power after mass street demonstrations.
Anti-government protests have also taken place in Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Jordan.
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Libyan government forces are advancing towards the oil port of Ras Lanuf, checking the rebels' westward progress, BBC correspondents say.
Bin Jawad, 50km (30 miles) from Ras Lanuf, has now fallen to forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
The UN says 200,000 people have fled the violence in Libya, where the revolt is well into its third week.
Nato is considering military options in response to the situation in Libya, US President Barack Obama has said.
"We've got Nato consulting in Brussels around a wide range of potential options, including potential military options, in response to the violence that continues to take place in Libya," he said.
"We send a very clear message to the Libyan people that we will stand with them in the face of unwarranted violence and the continuing suppression of democratic ideals that we have seen there."
Migrants fleeing
Pro-Gaddafi forces launched multiple air strikes on Ras Lanuf on Monday.
John SimpsonBBC world affairs editor, Ras Lanuf, eastern Libya
The scale of the battle here may be small, but the importance for the future of Libya, and just possibly for the region, is great.
It is a mistake to see this campaign as an outright civil war. In skirmishes like those around Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf, as few as 100 men are fighting on each side. Most are lightly armed, and even the aircraft which are used on the government side are remarkably ineffectual in their bombing - for whatever reason.
Yet if the rebels can get through to the city of Sirte, that will broaden the entire campaign. A majority of people in the city are said to favour Col Gaddafi, whose tribe comes from the area, but there is also said to be strong opposition to him in Sirte itself, and even - so it has been suggested - within his tribe.
If Sirte fell, the road to the anti-Gaddafi towns of the north-west would open up. If the rebels cannot fight their way as far as that, there would probably be stalemate and perhaps even an opening up of old east-west rivalries in Libya.
But at present the rebels have been checked at a small place which is scarcely marked on the maps. Bin Jawad remains the first real test of fighting quality between the two sides.
Mokhtar Dobrug, a rebel fighter who witnessed one air strike, told Reuters he had seen a plane firing two rockets.
A later air attack in the area saw a rocket destroying a car carrying a family, killing at least one person, Reuters quoted witnesses as saying, although it has not been possible to confirm the report.
Meanwhile, pro-Gaddafi forces launched a renewed tank and artillery attack on Zawiya, a rebel-held town 50km west of the capital, Reuters reported an exiled Libyan opposition group as saying.
Events in Libya were "absolutely outrageous", Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the BBC.
"These systematic attacks against the civilian population may, as stated by the UN Security Council, amount to a crime against humanity," he said.
However, he said Nato had no plans to intervene, and any operational role would be pursuant to a UN mandate.
Rebels have been trying to fight off a counter-offensive by Gaddafi forces, which have been attacking both near Tripoli and in the east after recent rebel gains.
The UN's latest figures show at least 191,748 people have fled the violence in Libya since the fighting began.
Many more are likely to want to leave but have not made it to a border or are constrained from crossing, said the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).
Meanwhile, Col Gaddafi has warned that Libya plays a vital role in restraining illegal immigration to Europe from sub-Saharan Africa.
Up to 400,000 total projected to leave within three months
Total number of migrant workers in Libya: 2.5 million
Source: UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs
"There are millions of blacks who could come to the Mediterranean to cross to France and Italy, and Libya plays a role in security in the Mediterranean," he said in an interview with the France 24 television channel.
'Civilian targets'
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jordan's former foreign minister, Abdelilah al-Khatib, as his special envoy to Libya.
A statement from Mr Ban's office said he noted "that civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, and calls for an immediate halt to the government's disproportionate use of force and indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets".
Mr Ban also said Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa had agreed to accept the immediate dispatch of a humanitarian assessment team to the capital.
The UN is launching an appeal for $162m (£99m) to help 600,000 people within Libya who are expected to need humanitarian aid, in addition to a projected total of 400,000 leaving the country in the short term.
UN relief co-ordinator Valerie Amos said that after heavy fighting in Misrata, 200km (125 miles) east of Tripoli, "people are injured and dying and need help immediately".
A local doctor told the BBC that 21 bodies and more than 100 wounded people had been brought to his hospital, which he said was also targeted by government troops.
Opposition spokesman Mohammed Benrasali witnessed a battle in Misrata
He said the fighting went on for at least six hours.
With a population of 300,000, Misrata is the largest town controlled by rebels outside their stronghold in the eastern part of the country.
Residents have called for the international community to establish a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Col Gaddafi's air force from attacking.
The UK and France have drawn up elements of a UN resolution authorising such a no-fly zone, a British diplomat says.
This was contingency planning in case world leaders decided such a zone was necessary, the diplomat told the BBC: there were no current plans to table the resolution or launch negotiations.
Possible triggers for such a move might be a massive humanitarian emergency or gross and systematic violations of human rights, diplomats say.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reiterated his opposition to military intervention in Libya, the RIA Novosti news agency reports. Russia has the power to veto any UN Security Council resolution.
Key locations under control of pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces
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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he is not worried about standing trial charged with paying for sex with an under-age prostitute.
He has also been indicted on a charge of abuse of power related to the same girl, Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby.
In his first public comment on the issue since a judge ordered him to stand trial on 6 April, the PM said: "I am not worried in the least."
Mr Berlusconi denies paying for sex with Ms Mahroug, when she was aged 17.
Although frequenting prostitutes is not a crime in Italy, having sex with one under the age of 18 is an offence punishable by a prison sentence.
Mr Berlusconi also rejects allegations that he abused his power by seeking Ms Mahroug's release when she was detained in another case.
He has said the accusations are politically motivated.
"For love of country I won't talk about it," Mr Belusconi said at the end of a news conference that mainly addressed economic issues.
"Suffice it to say that I am not worried in the least."
'No early election'
Mr Berlusconi's fast-track trial in front of three female judges will start at a court in Milan at 0930 on Wednesday 6 April, examining judge Cristina Di Censo ordered on Tuesday.
If convicted, the prime minister could face up to 15 years in prison.
These are some of the most serious allegations Mr Berlusconi has faced during his long career, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome.
He also faces three other court cases related to financial dealings, but this is the first time he will face trial over his personal conduct.
Ms Mahroug, now aged 18, has denied sleeping with the prime minister but has said she received 7,000 euros (£5,900, $9,400) from him as a gift after one of his parties.
Regarding the abuse of power charge, Mr Berlusconi admits calling the police while Ms Mahroug was being held on suspicion of theft.
But he said he was doing a favour for the then-Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, because Mr Berlusconi had been told the girl was Mr Mubarak's granddaughter; she is not.
Mr Berlusconi's governing coalition has been looking increasingly shaky but on Wednesday he dismissed talk of an early election.
He said he would see out his term until elections scheduled for 2013.
Prosecutors in Italy have requested an immediate trial for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, over allegations that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then used his influence to cover it up.
Egypt's Health Ministry says 365 killed in unrest Topic: elizabeth edwards, bbc news
CAIRO – Egypt's Health Ministry says at least 365 people were killed during the 18-day anti-government uprising that began on Jan. 25.
It was the first comprehensive toll given by the government for the uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said it was only a preliminary count of civilians killed and did not include police or prisoners.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
CAIRO (AP) — Airport employees protested for better pay Wednesday, textile workers went on strike to demand a corruption investigation and residents of a Suez Canal city pressed for closing a chemical factory they say is dumping toxic waste into a lake in the latest wave of unrest shaking Egypt.
With the nation's economy faltering, the ruling military council issued its second statement in three days calling for an immediate halt to all labor actions. The new warning Wednesday raised expectations of an outright ban on protests and strikes that could easily raise the tension level in a country already growing more nervous by the day over uncertainties about the future.
"We urge citizens and members of professional and labor unions to go on with their jobs, each in their position," a text message sent to Egyptian cell phones from the military said.
So far, the warnings have been defied by people airing grievances everywhere over just about everything, from meager wages to police brutality and corruption. One of the youth groups that helped organize the uprising tweeted Wednesday: "Strikes and protests should NOT stop." The group also promoted a planned march this Friday to Cairo's Tahrir Square, the protest movement's key gathering point.
The council that took power from longtime leader Hosni Mubarak last Friday says strikes and protests are hampering efforts to salvage the economy and return to normal life after the 18-day democracy revolt that forced the president out of office.
Egypt's economy is in virtual paralysis with the labor unrest, extended bank and stock market closures and an evaporation of tourism — a key source of income for the country.
Hundreds of airport employees protested inside the arrivals terminal at Cairo International Airport to press demands for better wages and health coverage. The protest did not disrupt flights.
In the industrial Nile Delta city of Mahallah al-Koubra, workers from Egypt's largest textile factory went on strike over pay and calls for an investigation into alleged corruption at the factory, according to labor rights activist Mustafa Bassiouni.
Mahallah in April 2008 witnessed the country's largest protests in decades, when demonstrators took to the streets to press demands for better pay and a check on rising food prices. The youth movement behind the Mahallah protest then was a key player in the anti-Mubarak protests that broke out Jan. 25 and eventually forced the authoritarian leader to step down.
Expressions of concern and frustration came from all directions on Wednesday.
A broad swath of more than 60 women's and community groups condemned the new panel formed by the Armed Forces Supreme Council to amend Egypt's constitution, saying it is an all-male group which "excludes half of society."
"This casts doubt on the future of democratic transformation in Egypt after the revolution, and raises questions about ... whether the revolution was seeking to free the whole society or only certain segments," the statement said.
In Port Said, a coastal city at the northern tip of the Suez Canal, about 1,000 people demonstrated to demand that a chemical factory be closed because it was dumping waste in a lake near the city.
Given the instability around this country of 80 million people, authorities decided to put back by another week the reopening of schools and universities across the country, an indication that the country still has some way to go before it returns to full normalcy. Schools and universities were just starting their midyear break when the protests broke out.
Banks are closed Wednesday and Thursday, the last day of the business week in Egypt. There was no word on whether they would reopen Sunday, the start of the business week.
The stock market has been closed for the past three weeks and, again, and it's uncertain when it will resume operating. The market lost nearly 17 percent of its value in two tumultuous sessions in late January before it was ordered shut to halt the slide.
In the wake of a protest Monday and Wednesday outside the office of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, a spokeswoman for the group said it has started giving each refugee a small, one-time payment to help with their immediate needs.
The refugees demonstrating at the UNHCR office on the outskirts of Cairo complained they have been stuck in Egypt for several years, sometimes as long as a decade. Wilkes said there are some 40,000 registered refugees in the country, many from East Africa.
The European Union said Wednesday that its foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton would visit Egypt next week after the Egyptian Foreign Ministry asked the international community for aid. Ashton, already in the region, would be the most senior foreign official to come to Cairo since Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster. Details of her visit and who she would meet while in Cairo were yet to be announced.
There was one crumb of good news for Egyptian authorities.
The country's chief archaeologist announced the recovery of three of 18 pieces reported missing from the famed Egyptian Museum during the anti-Mubarak uprising.
"God almighty saved the antiquities from this hell because God loves Egypt," Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said.
Egypt's new military authorities say they are dissolving parliament and suspending the constitution.
In a statement on state TV, the higher military council said it would stay in power six months, or until elections.
Egypt's current parliament is dominated by supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted on Friday after 18 days of mass protests.
Earlier there were scuffles in Cairo's Tahrir Square as protesters thwarted army efforts to remove them.
The military police chief has called for tents to be cleared from the area, the focal point of the uprising that led to Mr Mubarak's departure.
The BBC's Wyre Davis in Cairo says the situation on the square has become a good-natured standoff, but protesters have vowed to stay night after night.
A statement was read out on state TV on Sunday from the higher military council, saying it would suspend the constitution and set up a committee to draft a new one, before submitting it to a popular referendum.
'Victory for revolution'
The current constitution has prevented many parties and groups from standing in elections, leaving Egypt with a parliament packed with supporters of the National Democratic Party, loyal to Mr Mubarak.
Our correspondent says the new announcement means elections could be held in July or August, instead of in September as planned.
Council to hold power for six months or until elections
Both houses of parliament dissolved
Council to issue laws during interim period
Committee set up to reform constitution and set rules for referendum
Caretaker PM Ahmed Shafiq's cabinet to continue work until new cabinet formed
Council to hold presidential and parliamentary elections
All international treaties to be honoured
By making another important statement and providing more details of how the future state will look, he adds, the military should satisfy protesters still sceptical about the pace of change.
The opposition's Ayman Nour, who challenged Mr Mubarak for the presidency in 2005, described the military leadership's steps as a "victory for the revolution", Reuters news agency reported.
Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said his main priority was to restore the country's security.
Speaking earlier at a news conference, he said: "Our main concern now as a cabinet is security - we need to bring back a sense of security to the Egyptian citizen.
"Parallel to that we also want to ensure that the daily life of all Egyptians goes back to normal and that basic needs like bread and healthcare are available."
He said that the country had enough reserves to weather the economic crisis, but that if instability continued there could be "obstacles".
"Our internal economic position is solid and cohesive," he said.
He also pledged to "return rights to the people and fight corruption".
Tempers frayed on Sunday morning as protesters realised hundreds of policeman - who had become hugely unpopular for their violent attempts to suppress the uprising - had entered the square.
Antiquities looted
For a few minutes there was a tense stand-off as the two sides confronted each other, before the police march peeled away and left the square.
Items stolen from the museum include Tutankhamun statues
Although there were reports of scuffles between soldiers and die-hard protesters in the square on Sunday morning, our correspondent said the operation to clear the area had previously been conducted gently.
A hardcore of several hundred protesters had remained marooned on a traffic island in the heart of the square, saying they would not move until a full timetable of reform was drawn up.
Throughout the weekend, an army of volunteers and municipal workers has cleared away debris from the streets.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that 18 antiquities - including statues of King Tutankhamun - have been stolen from the Egyptian Museum during the unrest.
Earlier, Mr Obama welcomed the new military leadership's statement aired on state TV on Saturday, which implicitly confirms that the country's 1979 peace treaty with Israel will remain intact.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu also welcomed the announcement, saying the treaty was a cornerstone of Middle East stability.
The demonstrations were triggered by widespread unrest over unemployment, poverty and corruption.
Meanwhile, the authorities imposed travel bans on three senior officials close to Mr Mubarak.
They said former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and current Information Minister Anas al-Fekky were under investigation.
Mr Mubarak resigned on Friday after 18 days of protests, being flown to his luxury residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Mr Shafiq said on Sunday that the former president was still in the resort, despite rumours that he had fled the country.
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The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has agreed a merger with TMX Group, which operates the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The merged group will keep headquarters in both London and Toronto and become the world's largest exchange for mining companies.
More than 6,700 companies will be listed on the combined exchanges, with a market capitalisation of about £3.7 trillion ($5.9tn), the firms said.
Shares in the LSE climbed sharply in early Wednesday trading.
A number of leading exchanges have merged in recent years.
The New York Stock Exchange has bought Euronext, while Deutsche Borse has taken over the International Securities Exchange in the US. The LSE, which has successfully fought off a number of takeover approaches, has itself bought Borsa Italiana.
'Deep expertise'
The LSE's chief executive Xavier Rolet, who will head the new enlarged business said it was "an incredibly exciting merger with considerable growth opportunities".
"We are creating the world's largest listings venue for the commodities, energy and natural resources sectors, as well as the premium market for small, mid-size and growth companies."
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TMX's chief executive Thomas Kloet will be the firm's president.
"We are creating an international group with deep expertise, undeniable leadership in key sectors and the ability to compete and win on the global stage," Mr Kloet said.
"Canadian customers will benefit from access to one of the world's deepest capital pools while European issuers will have an effective gateway to North American financial markets."
'Interesting'
"These are arguably two of the most important mining exchanges in the world," Douglas Porter at BMO Capital Markets told the BBC World Service.
"Of course some of the world's biggest mining companies are on the LSE, and some of the world's biggest gold companies, and hundreds if not thousands of smaller mining companies are in the TMX Group.
"So certainly it brings together some of the most important mining groups in the world under one broad umbrella."
As well as the Borsa Italiana, the LSE also operates MTS, a European bond market, and the Turquoise trading platform. TMX also operates the Montreal Exchange and the Boston Options Exchange, among others.
The merger was "interesting" said Justin Urquhart Stewart of Seven Investment Management, but he added there may be opportunities for the LSE to be involved in more lucrative deals.
"What this would do is take them from 10th or 11th in the international league to fifth or sixth," he told the BBC.
"It'll allow them to have greater pools of liquidity and develop derivatives, but it's not the big story. The big story would be a potential linkage with one of the Indian markets, or potentially Singapore or maybe China.
"That's where they will get into a much larger scale operation. As yet we don't know anything, but watch India over the next few months."
Anti-government protesters in Egypt are continuing their occupation of Cairo's Tahrir Square for a 16th day and have blocked the entrance to parliament.
There are reports of strikes and industrial unrest around the country.
Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman has warned of the risk of a coup d'etat if constitutional reform efforts fail.
The US has called on the Egyptian government to lift its 30-year-old state of emergency and to stop harassing journalists and activists.
Hundreds of protesters are now blocking the entrance to the Egyptian parliament, several blocks away from Tahrir Square.
Government troops are protecting the building, and the protest is taking place peacefully.
At least one person has been killed in a clash between protesters and police in New Valley province, about 300 miles (500km) south of Cairo.
Angry reaction
At the Suez Canal, the vital state-owned trade link between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, about 6,000 workers have gone on strike.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says there are reports of industrial unrest across the country.
On Tuesday night, Mr Suleiman said the crisis must end, adding: "We don't want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools."
However, he warned that if dialogue with the protesters failed, the alternative was "that a coup happens, which would mean uncalculated and hasty steps, including lots of irrationalities".
Opposition groups reacted angrily to his remarks. They fear the government is stalling for time and will fail to enact meaningful changes.
Abdul-Rahman Samir, a spokesman for a coalition of youth protest groups, accused Mr Suleiman of creating a "disastrous scenario", according to the Associated Press news agency.
The real test of the revolution's success or failure is whether it changes Egypt permanently - that does not mean changing the face at the top to preserve the system, it means democracy, and the elections in September will be a very big test”
"He is threatening to impose martial law, which means everybody in the square will be smashed," AP quoted Mr Samir as saying. "But what would he do with the rest of 70 million Egyptians who will follow us afterward?"
US Vice-President Joe Biden told Mr Suleiman in a phone call that the transition should produce "immediate, irreversible progress that responds to the aspirations of the Egyptian people".
Earlier, the White House described as "particularly unhelpful" comments by Mr Suleiman that the country was not ready for democracy.
The government has announced plans for a peaceful transition, with President Hosni Mubarak to stay in office until elections in September.
The protesters are continuing to call for Mr Mubarak to resign immediately.
Mr Biden has been phoning his Egyptian opposite number on an almost daily basis and his latest call is the toughest yet, says BBC North America editor Mark Mardell.
He adds that so far, the administration's repeated suggestions over the last week have been met largely by grudging commitments from the Egyptian authorities and little action.
The unrest over the last two weeks has seen fierce clashes with police, and pitched battles between protesters and Mubarak supporters.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) researchers say they have confirmed the deaths of 297 people since 28 January, based on a count from eight hospitals in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. No comprehensive death toll has been given by the Egyptian government.
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Until a few months ago, Tunisia and Egypt were never reference points for a debate on democratic reforms in India. Truth be told, they were not part of discussion on any subject in Indian homes or in TV studios. The only time Egypt figured prominently in popular consciousness in India was during the early heady days of the Non-Aligned Movement in the 1950s, when Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s nationalist president, became a hero in the Arab world—and also in the wider Third and Second Worlds—by defying mighty Britain during the Suez Crisis. Jawaharlal Nehru, Nasser and Josip Broz Tito of the now-extinct Yugoslavia were the three leading lights of NAM. Nasser was made popular in our country by India’s then most popular weekly, Blitz, whose legendary editor R K Karanjia was decorated with Egypt’s highest civilian award. The more well-read among spiritual seekers knew of another, mystical, India-Egypt connection in the form of two excellent books by Paul Brunton—A Search in Secret India and A Search in Secret Egypt. In short, Tunisia and Egypt were distant, largely unrelated to the needs and concerns of Indians.
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