A family accused of massacring 57 people for political gain in the Philippines plotted the killings over dinner, a court heard today.

A member of a powerful political clan in the Philippines accused of leading the massacre of 57 journalists and members of a rival's family pleaded not guilty on the first day of his trial.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo approved the lifting today of a week-long period of martial law in a southern Philippine province where 57 people were massacred last month in the country’s worst political violence.

Philippine prosecutors charged the heir of a powerful clan with murder today in the massacre of 57 people, more than half of them journalists or their staff who were accompanying the family and supporters of an election candidate.

A leading member of a powerful political clan was arrested today accused of leading the Philippines election massacre.