in the guise of

anti-piracy enforcement". There has been no response yet from the Russian authorities.

World News from the BBC

A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic flight last December has sacked the defence team at his trial in Detroit.

The man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, also asked the judge what the legal procedures would be were he to want to plead guilty to some of the charges.

James Reynolds reports from Washington.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab appeared in court in Detroit in front of US District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds. Mr Abdulmutallab asked the judge to let him fire his lawyers. He said they were not representing his interests. The judge told him that this would be unwise, but she allowed him to do so. She also ordered the appointment of a

standby

lawyer who will be able to advise him but not represent him. The defendant is next expected to appear in court in mid-October.

The Muslim cleric behind plans to build an Islamic cultural centre not far from the site of the 9/11 attacks on New York says he's considering all options in the question of its location. Speaking to the US Council on Foreign Relations, the cleric, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, said the centre would promote religious tolerance and do honour to New York.

At least 33 people are reported to have survived when a Venezuelan airliner on an internal flight crashed near the city of Puerto Ordaz. The local governor said 14 bodies had been found, but four people were still listed as missing. The plane, an ATR-42, belonged to Venezuela's state airline Conviasa.