World News from the BBC
The high court in Egypt has ordered the government to abolish police units at university campuses. The court rejected an appeal by the government against an earlier ruling which declared the permanent deployment of police on campuses a violation of the constitution. Rights groups have long criticised the presence of police on campuses, saying its sole purpose was to prevent students from engaging in politics.
The Wikileaks website has defended its release of secret American files about the conflict in Iraq, saying the disclosure was aimed at revealing the truth about the war. The documents suggest US forces turned a blind eye to torture by Iraqi security forces. The Pentagon said it had no plans to reinvestigate the alleged abuses because its troops passed on reports of such incidents to the Iraqi authorities at the time. Steve Kingstone reports.
In a written statement to BBC News, a US military spokesman, Colonel Dave Lapan, said American policy was consistent with the United Nations Convention Against Torture. He stressed that when allegations involved the abuse of Iraqis by Iraqis, the role of American soldiers was to "observe and report" what they'd seen to their superiors, who would then pass on the evidence to the Iraqi authorities. Colonel Lapan said this was "customary international practice".
Opposition Social Democrats have secured a majority in the Czech senate for the first time. Voters were selecting a third of the senators for the 81-seat upper house of the Czech parliament, and the Social Democrats now control 41 seats. Correspondents say the Social Democrats' gains could allow them to slow down reforms proposed by the centre-right government.