The first trials of opposition political activists and protesters arrested after June's disputed Iranian presidential election began today.

Up to 100 defendants were reported by Iranian media to be appearing before a court in the capital, Tehran, accused of violence following the 12 June vote.

The election sparked days of protests as thousands of Iranians took to the streets to denounce the official results, which declared victory for the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The official IRNA news agency said the defendants were charged with rioting, attacking military and government buildings, having links with armed opposition groups and conspiring against the ruling system.

Under the country's Islamic law, acting against national security - a common charge against dissidents - could be punishable by a long sentence or even the death penalty.

The abduction of the British computer expert Peter Moore and his four bodyguards was carried out partly in revenge for deadly bomb attacks in south-west Iran which Iranian officials blamed on Britain, according to a well-placed source in Baghdad.

The five men were abducted by an Iranian-backed group in 2007 and it is now believed four of them have been killed. The fate of Mr Moore remains unclear. The Iranians orchestrated the abduction through an Iraqi proxy, the Asaib al-Haq, which they largely controlled, the source said.

Their main motive was to obtain prisoners to be used as a bargaining chip to secure the release of Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asaib al-Haq, and other imprisoned militants who had split from the movement led by the Shia anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

A Burmese court has postponed its verdict in the trial of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said yesterday.

Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, is charged under Section 22 of a law protecting the state from "subversive elements". A guilty verdict was widely expected yesterday. "The judge adjourned the trial until 11 August. He didn't elaborate on the reason why," said Nyan Win, a lawyer for the veteran pro-democracy leader. A diplomatic source who attended the proceedings said the verdict was delayed "because of the need to interpret legal terms relating to the 1974 constitution". The charges stem from a bizarre incident in May, when an American intruder, John Yettaw, swam across Lake Inya to Ms Suu Kyi's home, where he stayed uninvited for two days

Three missing US nationals have been detained by Iranian guards after they crossed into Iran from Iraq, Iranian media confirmed.

The two men and a woman, described as tourists by Iraqi media, were reported to have been hiking in Iraq's Kurdish region which borders Iran.

Iranian media said the three were arrested inside Iran.

The Iraq-Iran border is generally well guarded but is not well marked in this area, correspondents say.

Iran's state-owned Al-Alam confirmed the arrests, quoting an informed source. No other details were given.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Friday expressed sadness at the death of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, describing her as a historic figure who helped restore democracy to her country.

Obama "was deeply saddened" by news of Aquino's death, read a statement late Friday from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Aquino "played a crucial role in Philippines history", moving the country to democratic rule through her non-violent "People Power" movement over 20 years ago.

"Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation. On behalf of the American people, the President extends his deepest condolences to the Aquino family and the nation of the Philippines," the statement read.

New Zealand stands accused of "war crimes" for handing over prisoners who were mistreated by the American military during George W Bush's so-called war against terror in Afghanistan.

International legal experts say New Zealand broke the Geneva Convention and laws against torture when, from 2002, our elite SAS troops transferred 50-70 prisoners to the Americans at the Kandahar detention centre in southern Afghanistan.

The centre was known by US soldiers as "Camp Slappy", and prisoners there have described being severely beaten and tortured, drenched with water and left to freeze outside in winter.

Several other countries, including Denmark, seem to have made the same mistake.

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Checking out of 'Hotel America'

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave..."

America was not designed to be left. The opposite in fact - it was designed to be arrived in.

It was programmed to receive and - as was the case in the Eagles' song Hotel California - there is some wonderment at the front desk when you try to go.

For effect, I sometimes exaggerate our sadness at the end of our time in America, result: confusion.

"Our British home is in south London so we'll probably all be murdered before Christmas."

"Oh, my gosh, um, why not stay?" Because you have no sense of humour, would be one answer. But it is not why we are leaving.

In more than seven years of life in America, I have come to value - to love, actually - the stolid, sunny, unchallenging, simple virtuousness of the American suburban psyche.

The woman who is to sell our house is a prime specimen. She is perky. Nothing gets her down, not even the fact that we are selling in the midst of the biggest depression since the Great Flood. In this area it is different.

"You have a lovely home!"

But she thinks we have too many books. She does not say so but she talks of creating spaces on the shelves - for snow-globes, perhaps, or silver photo frames with perfect children showing off perfect teeth.