extradition

to the US on arms dealing charges has changed his plea to guilty at a court in Taxes as part of a deal with prosecutors. Christopher Tappin agreed to a 36-month prison sentence and three years of probation. Alastair Leithead reports from Los Angeles.

When he arrived in the US after two years of fighting extradition from Britain, Christopher Tappin pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to sell batteries for use in missiles by Iran after a sting operation by undercover US agents. But he's now changed his plea to guilty as part of a deal which will see him serve 33 months in jail. As part of the arrangement, prosecutors said they would not oppose his request to serve his sentence in Britain. His lawyer said that he had pleaded guilty because he was guilty. If convicted after a trial, his sentence could have been considerably longer.

An American aid organisation says aid to many refugees in Somalia is being systematically diverted. Refugees International says camps for the

displaced

in the capital Mogadishu are being controlled by people with links to militia who intimidate refugees and

siphon off

food and other assistance. It described what's happening in the camps as virtual slavery, and urged the new Somali government to clamp down on local militia. Nearly 200,000 people are thought to live in such camps in the city.

A plan to conserve marine life in the Antarctic Ocean has been put on hold as 24 countries and the European Union failed to reach an agreement on how to develop a network of protected zones. The proposals included creating two huge no-fishing areas. But at their meeting in Australia, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources decided to defer a decision until July next year. Environmental groups blamed Russia, China and Ukraine for blocking a deal and putting commercial interests ahead of conservation.