The Vatican issued what spokesman Federico Lombardi called a “clarification” of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s assertion Monday that homosexuality — not celibacy — is the “problem” that causes Catholic priests to molest children.

In the highly unusual statement, the Vatican said Roman Catholic Church officials were not “competent” to speak on psychological issues concerning general society.

Japan carries out whaling under what it says is a programme of scientific research, although it does not hide the fact that the meat is later sold in Japanese shops and restaurants.

But trading this meat is not allowed with countries that have signed provisions protecting whales under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

His offer came after the interim authorities warned Bakiyev that the country’s special forces would arrest him if he failed to surrender and carried on holding rallies in his southern stronghold where he fled after the uprising.

But with still no compromise in sight and the interim government seeking to assert its authority in the capital after the protests that left 83 dead, the strategic Central Asian country, home to a key US airbase, remained dangerously on the edge.

Russian officials said flight data showed traffic controllers recommended the crew divert to another airport while Polish prosecutors said there was no indication they were pressured by those onboard to override the advice.

As crews battled to retrieve bodies from the wreckage of a crash that killed 96 people, including much of Poland’s elite, experts also struggled to identify mutilated remains.

Draped in a red and white Polish flag, the coffin bearing Lech Kaczynski was carried onto a red carpet at Warsaw Airport, where it was met by his identical twin brother Jaroslaw, a former premier, and a presidential guard of honour.

Before his body was flown home, Poles observed a two-minute silence on the stroke of midday, which was marked by the wailing of sirens.

The Tupolev Tu-154 was taking Kaczynski and his wife, the military chief of staff and other top officers, central bank governor, deputy foreign minister, members of parliament and other senior officials to a memorial ceremony for thousands of Polish troops massacred by Russian forces in World War II.

The jet hit treetops in fog as it approached the runway at Smolensk airport in western Russia and broke up in flames, regional governor Sergei Antufiev said.

“Bakiyev still has a chance to leave the country,” Roza Otunbayeva told reporters in the capital Bishkek, during an official day of mourning for the scores of people who died in this week’s uprising.

But the former foreign minister warned, “We will only guarantee his personal safety if he resigns.”

As Russia and the European Union vowed to support an interim government, the man chased from power after a five-year rule said the nation faced catastrophe.

Although his exact whereabouts were unknown, Kurmanbek Bakiyev told Russian radio he was in southern Kyrgyzstan and had no plans “to leave at the moment”, and released a statement insisting that he would not throw in the towel.

Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.

A worker at Bishkek’s international airport told AFP that the 60-year-old Bakiyev had fled the capital aboard a small plane as his opponents consolidated their grip on key national institutions.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the Chinese-owned Shen Neng 1’s accident “outrageous” and warned the badly damaged ship, which is stranded on a shoal, remained a serious threat to one of the world’s great environmental treasures.

“This remains a serious situation. It remains a serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef,” Rudd said after flying over the crash site off Australia’s northeast.

The explosions destroyed residential buildings in mostly Shiite neighbourhoods, with Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta saying four of the bombs detonated inside the buildings.

“Six bomb attacks in several neighbourhoods of Baghdad occurred, and seven buildings collapsed,” an interior ministry official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.