The White House has accused Russia of stepping up its destabilising activity in Ukraine in an “extremely dangerous and provocative” way.

Internal emails among US military officers indicate that no sailors watched Osama bin Laden’s burial at sea from the USS Carl Vinson and traditional Islamic procedures were followed during the ceremony.

A new oil leak was discovered at the site of the wrecked drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, with an estimated five times more oil spilling into the water every day than previously thought, the US Coastguard said today.

American B-52s have been bombing caves in mountains east of Jalalabad as they hunt for Osama bin Laden.