The conversation discusses the tracking of Anonymous and other splinter groups, dates of planned arrests and details of evidence held by police.

Anonymous also published an email, apparently from the FBI, giving details of how to access the call and the email addresses of participants.

The FBI has not yet commented.

British police at Scotland Yard said they were working on a statement.

According to the alleged email, the 17-minute phone call took place on 17 January this year. It was unclear how Anonymous had managed to obtain the recording.

In it, the police and FBI agents discuss the names of some of the people they were tracking and plans for legal action.

Usernames are included but some of the real names of people being investigated appear to have been bleeped out.

Anonymous wrote on Twitter: “The FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.”—BBC

Human Rights Watch said the Iranian authorities were attempting to silence reporters and the BBC

The BBC‘s director general has accused the Iranian authorities of intimidating those working for its Persian service.

Mark Thompson wrote in a blog that the BBC had seen “disturbing new tactics”, including the targeting of family members of those working outside Iran.

Last week, the sister of a BBC Persian staff member was detained and held in solitary confinement at a Tehran jail.

Iran accused the BBC of inciting unrest after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

BBC Persian broadcast online videos and interviewed protesters, who described deaths, injuries and arbitrary arrests carried out by security forces.

In his blog, Mr. Thompson wrote that for BBC Persian staff, “interference and harassment from the Iranian authorities has become a challenging fact of life”.

“In recent months, we have witnessed increased levels of intimidation alongside disturbing new tactics,” he added.

“This includes an attempt to put pressure on those who work for BBC Persian outside Iran, by targeting family members who still live inside the country.”

This has left many BBC Persian staff too afraid to return to the country, even to visit sick or elderly relatives”

Mr. Thompson revealed that last week the sister of a BBC Persian member of staff was arrested and held in solitary confinement on unspecified charges at Evin Prison in the capital, Tehran.

“Although she has now been released on bail, her treatment was utterly deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

Human Rights Watch said that at one point, a man claiming to be the relative’s interrogator at Evin telephoned the staff member in London and offered to release her in return for information about the BBC.

Mr. Thompson said staff had also faced false accusations of sexual assault, drug trafficking and financial crimes.

In recent months, a number of relatives of BBC Persian staff had been detained for short periods of time by the Iranian authorities and urged to get their relatives in London to either stop working for the BBC, or to “co-operate” with Iranian intelligence officials, Mr. Thompson said.

In other instances, passports of family members have been confiscated, preventing them from leaving Iran, he added.

“This has left many BBC Persian staff too afraid to return to the country, even to visit sick or elderly relatives.”

He said some had also had their Facebook and email accounts hacked, and been subjected to a “consistent stream of false and slanderous accusations… in the official Iranian media, ranging from allegations of serious sexual assault, drug trafficking, and criminal financial behaviour”.

Some reports claimed they had converted from Islam to Christianity or Bahaism – potentially a capital offence in Iran as it is considered to be apostasy.

Human Rights Watch’s Middle East director, Sarah Leah Whitson, said the actions of the Iranian authorities suggested they were attempting to silence reporters and the BBC, and were sending “a message that the government’s long arm of repression can extend well beyond borders”.—BBC

President Obama: "The economy is growing stronger and the recovery is speeding up"

The US economy created 243,000 jobs in January, the highest total for nine months, official figures show.

The rise was much more than expected. Analysts had forecast an increase of about 150,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, which was the lowest rate in nearly three years, and down from a revised rate of 8.5% in December.

News of the jobs growth boosted share prices, with the Dow Jones index rising almost 1% on opening.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index hit its highest level since July 2011 rising 1.8% while Germany’s Dax closed up 1.6%. The Cac 40 in France was 1.5% higher.

However, a report on Wednesday by the US Congressional Budget Office, a federal agency, forecast that unemployment would climb to nearly 9% in the last three months of this year and peak at 9.2% early next year.

Friday’s data from the Labor Department showed job growth had been widespread, with large gains in business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.

Leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants and hotels, added 44,000 jobs.

Retailers added nearly 11,000 jobs, and professional and business services, which includes higher paying jobs in accounting, architecture and engineering, gained 70,000 – the most in 10 months.

Factories added 50,000 workers, much more than expected and a one-year high.

Retailers added 10,500 workers and construction employment rose by 21,000. Analysts believe the figure was helped by a mild US winter, which boosted employment in those sectors.

The report was also buoyed by revisions to November and December data, which showed 60,000 more jobs created across the two months than previously reported.

Lindsey Piegza, economist at FTN Financial, said: “It was a better-than-expected report, the strongest report that we’ve seen in quite some time.

“The big question is whether the reason we’re seeing the unemployment rate drop is because more and more people are dropping out of the labour force.

“I know the market wants to rally on this number but remember we need a minimum of 250,000 just to cover demographic change.”

The figures add to a range of data pointing to a gradual US economic recovery.

On Friday, the US Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 56.8 last month from a revised 53.0 in December. It was the highest level since February 2011.

The new orders index climbed to 59.4 from 54.6 while employment in the vast services sector was also strong, rising to the highest level in six years at 57.4 from 49.8.

Last week, it was announced that the US economy expanded at a 2.8% annual pace in the October-December quarter, a full percentage point higher than in the previous quarter.

Earlier this week, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indicated that the US manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in seven months in January.

Unemployment and economic recovery has been a dominant issue in the campaign for November’s US presidential elections.

Although the downward trend in joblessness augurs well for Barack Obama’s prospects of a second term, he is still likely to face more voters out of work than any post-war president.

When Ronald Reagan won re-election in a landslide victory in 1984, joblessness in the US stood at 7.5%.

In 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover was voted out of office in a year when unemployment was at 23.6%.

His successor, Franklin Roosevelt, faced joblessness rates of 16.9% in 1936 and 14.6% when he was re-elected four years later, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.—BBC

Explosives were detonated outside the police station in Villa Rica

At least six people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in an attack on a police station in western Colombia.

The violence in Villa Rica comes a day after 11 people were killed in an explosion in Tumaco, in the south.

Police blamed that attack on the left-wing rebel group, the Farc.

The rebels have been stepping up their offensive against the security forces since their leader was killed in a military operation in November.

Police officials said the commander of the police statio was among those killed when explosive devices went off outside the police station in Villa Rica, in Cauca province.

Eighteen police officers were in the station at the time of the explosion.

Preliminary investigations indicate gas cylinders laden with explosives were used in the attack.

On Wednesday, 11 people were killed and 79 injured when an explosive device went off outside a police station in the Pacific port city of Tumaco.

The explosion happened as the police commander for the region, Gen Jorge Nieto Rojas, and his senior staff were meeting at the station to devise a new strategy to fight drug trafficking in the area.

Gen Nieto Rojas was not hurt.

Three hundred extra police have been sent to Tumaco to improve security and help track down those behind the attack.

Minister of Defence, Juan Carlos Pinzon, has offered 1,200 million-peso reward ($670,000; £425,000) for information leading to the capture of alias Rambo, the Farc rebel suspected of the attack.

Mayor of Tumaco, Victor Gallo, has imposed a nighttime curfew and schools stayed closed on Thursday.

Tumaco is one of Colombia’s most lawless cities, where drug trafficking gangs and leftist rebels fight for control of the lucrative Pacific coast drug smuggling routes.—BBC

The church, which holds 3,000 people, is packed - with many more people crowded outside

Thousands of mourners in Nigeria are attending the burial service for people killed at a church on Christmas Day.

The BBC’s Chris Ewokor at St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla near the capital, Abuja, says the service sheets list the names of 43 victims.

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out a series of attacks on 25 December 2011.

Over the last year, the group which wants to establish Islamic law in Nigeria, has stepped up its activities.

One of its most deadly attacks targeted police stations in the large northern city of Kano in January.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is roughly evenly divided between the mainly Muslim north and Christian and animist south.

In recent weeks, southerners living in the north have also become the targets of Boko Haram’s attacks and thousands have fled their homes.

Our reporter says the church, which seats 3,000, is packed – with many more people crowded outside.

The front of the building was destroyed in the bombing on Christmas Day and temporary repairs have been done to the roof, he says.

Over the weekend, the Boko Haram spokesman rejected Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent call for open dialogue to end the conflict.

Boko Haram, which loosely translates from the local Hausa language as “Western education is forbidden”, first came to prominence in 2009 when hundreds of its followers were killed when they attacked police stations in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

Its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was arrested but died in police custody.

In 2010 the group started to stage drive-by shootings on government targets in revenge for his killing.

Last year, it carried out suicide bombings on high-profile targets such as the headquarters of the UN and the police in Abuja.—BBC

Exchanges of fire were heard and plumes of smoke seen coming from the el-Saadi district in central Tripoli, eyewitnesses reported.

An interior ministry official told Reuters news agency the fighting was between militiamen from the city of Misrata, and a group from Zintan.

The two militia groups fought together to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year.

Several militias from outside the capital have set up bases in Tripoli and regularly clash as they fight for control of parts of the city.

The country’s interim National Transitional Council (NTC) is struggling to reassert its authority.

The latest clashes took place near the coast, close to the Corinthia Bab al-Africa and Marriott hotels.

“Misrata controls a police academy building up the road and they are fighting with Zintan. We do not know why they are fighting,” interior ministry Naji Awad told Reuters.—BBC

President Obama

Mr. Obama called the strikes a “targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists”.

The US does not routinely speak publicly about drone operations.

Mr. Obama made his comments during an hour-long video “hangout” on Google’s social network, Google+, which was also streamed live on YouTube.

More than 130,000 questions were submitted before the hangout began, and six people were invited to join the president online for the event. They were able to ask questions and seek follow-up answers from Mr. Obama.

The event ended a week of social media engagement in the wake of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union address on 24 January.

Obama administration officials, including Vice-President, Joe Biden, held Twitter “office hours” last week.

Asked about the use of drone strikes, which have increased in intensity during his presidency, he said “a lot of these strikes have been in the Fata”, or Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The strikes target “al-Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Mr. Obama added.

“For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones we’re already engaging in.”

Few details are known about the covert US drone operation, which is run by the CIA and targets al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the mountainous areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

They often cause outrage in Pakistan, where many assert that the strikes cause indiscriminate civilian deaths and injuries.

Anti-American feeling flared in Pakistan in the wake of the US special operations mission that killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011.—BBC

One tribal leader said at least four of the dead were local al-Qaeda leaders, Reuters news agency reports.

They were reportedly attacked by a drone in Abyan province.

Islamists began taking control of parts of Abyan last year. Security forces have tried unsuccessfully to push them out and suffered heavy losses.

The details of what happened are not clear, but some reports suggest a convoy of two cars was struck east of Lawder city.

“We think they were carried out by American planes,” one tribal source told AFP news agency, on condition of anonymity and without elaborating.—BBC

Thousands rallied in support of Judge Garzon on Sunday

The supreme court in Spain has refused a request to throw out a case against Judge Baltasar Garzon, accused of overstepping his authority.

Spain’s most famous judge is testifying at his own trial for ordering an inquiry into mass killings by forces loyal to former dictator Gen Franco.

Baltasar Garzon is accused by two groups of violating a 1977 amnesty.

He argues no amnesty can cover crimes against humanity but his critics accuse him of reopening war wounds.

Fascist leader General Francisco Franco ruled Spain from 1939, the end of the civil war, until his death in 1975.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid in support of Baltasar Garzon on Sunday.

Politicians, prominent artists, union groups and actors joined the crowd which brandished placards saying “Garzon, friend, the people are with you” and “We demand justice”.

Two organisations – Cleans Hands and Liberty and Identity – opened a civil case against Judge Garzon, who is best known outside Spain for securing the arrest of former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998.

The judge also faces two other court cases on charges of dropping an investigation into the head of Spain’s biggest bank, Santander, and illegally authorising police to record conversations between lawyers and clients.

If convicted at any of the trials, he could be suspended from the legal profession for up to 20 years, in effect ending his career.

Removing his judge’s robes, Mr. Garzon sat behind a small table in the main chamber of the supreme court to deliver his testimony in front of seven judges.

A majority of the judges ruled that the arguments put forward for dropping the case lacked “sufficient material weight”.

Mr. Garzon’s court appearance comes as archaeologists investigate the site of a mass Civil War grave at a cemetery in the south-western town of Gerena.

Remains of 17 people, all women, were found dumped together.

They are believed to have been rounded up and shot by Franco’s forces in 1937 for being relatives of people on the opposing Republican side.—BBC

Some reports say as many as 100 people could have been killed in the attack on a camp in Warrap state.

South Sudan’s interior minister accused the Sudanese government in Khartoum of arming the attackers, a militia group from neighbouring Unity State.

Tensions remain high since South Sudan seceded peacefully from Sudan in July after decades of war.

An official in Warrap state told the Paris-based Sudan Tribune newspaper that villages belonging to the Luac Jang ethnic group in Tong East county came under attack early on Saturday.

Speaker of the State Assembly, Madot Dut Deng, said he had been told by officials that more than 76 people had been killed, with several unaccounted for.

Another state official told the newspaper that local people spoke of as many as 100 people killed.

Interior Minister, Alison Manani Magaya, said the attack was carried out by a militia group from neighbouring Unity state, the AFP news agency reports.

“This militia group was armed by the government of Khartoum,” he said, but could not name the specific group responsible.

“The number of wounded is still not clear, but they took a lot of cattle with them,” he added.

South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 following decades of civil war with the north.

One legacy of the conflict is that the region is still flooded with weapons.

These are now being used in ethnic power-struggles, which often focus on cattle because of the central role they play in many South Sudanese communities.—BBC