Obama to resume trials for Guantanamo detainees

In an apparent policy U-turn, US President Barack Obama has approved the resumption of military trials for detainees at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It ends a two-year ban and comes as a further acknowledgement that the facility President Obama vowed to close within a year of taking office will operate for some time to come.

But at the same time, the president said he still believes in trying terror suspects in US federal courts and remains committed to closing Guantanamo eventually.

The BBC's Andrew North says that the move means President Obama is "accepting political reality".