The Israeli President, Ezer Weizman, is expected to be questioned later this week over allegations that he illegally accepted almost half a million dollars from a French businessman Edouard Saroussi.

The Israeli police say a special team of four has begun its inquiry into the financial scandal.

President Weizman has acknowledged receiving one-quarter of a million dollars in the early 1990s, when he was a minister and an MP, but says the money was a gift from an old friend.

He has denied any wrongdoing. There has been intense pressure on Mr Weizman to step down.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service