Breaking News

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday defended his behavior at Nelson Mandela's memorial service in South Africa after he was criticized at home for posing with U.S. President Barack Obama for what some said was a disrespectful photograph. The self-portrait - known as a "selfie" in online social media - was taken on Tuesday in Soweto at the memorial event for Mandela, who died last Thursday aged 95. It captured Cameron and Obama - who suffered a similar ticking off in the U.S. media - smiling broadly either side of Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. All three appeared to be in high spirits and sharing a joke as a stern-faced Michelle Obama looked away.

By Tiisetso Motsoeneng PRETORIA (Reuters) - Thousands of people queued on Wednesday to say goodbye to Nelson Mandela, whose body was lying in state in Pretoria in the building where the anti-apartheid hero was inaugurated in 1994 as South Africa's first black president. Several people fainted in the stifling heat as South Africans waited their turn to file past Mandela's casket after family members, foreign dignitaries and celebrities paid their respects at the imposing Union Buildings, perched on a hill overlooking the city. By afternoon the summer heat and lack of access to water and toilets caused several people to pass out and tempers to fray as people waited in line for their last chance to see the man regarded as the father of democratic South Africa.

By Drazen Jorgic NAIROBI (Reuters) - The European Union has offered to increase counter-terrorism support to Kenya after the Westgate mall attack in which gunmen from a Somali Islamist group killed at least 67 people in Nairobi, a senior E.U. official said on Wednesday. Kenya, an ally for Western powers trying to curb the spread of radical Islam out of east Africa and in particular Somalia, has in the past suffered major attacks on its soil by al Qaeda and its Somali affiliate al Shabaab. Analysts and diplomats say the five-day Westgate siege showed large holes in Kenya's security apparatus despite Israel, the United States and Britain training many Kenyan intelligence, military and police officers over the years. Human rights groups have also accused Kenya's Anti Terror Police Unit of brutality and extra-judicial killings of mainly Muslim men suspected to have linked to al Shabaab.