Up to 11,000 British soldiers have deserted the Army fearing they could be deployed in violence-racked Iraq amid a steady rise in the number of soldiers going Absent Without Leave (AWOL) in the occupied country, British Ministry of Defense figures show.

About 1,500 anti-government protesters, led by chess legend Garry Kasparov, have rallied in central Moscow.

Heavy fighting has continued throughout the day in Gaza after militants of the Palestinian group Hamas attacked posts held by their Fatah faction rivals.