The United Nations earlier warned that Russia's population - which stood at roughly 145 million in a 2002 census - could fall by as much as a third by 2050.

"We are facing a critical line - during the last 13 years the number of dead [Russian] citizens exceeded the number of newborns by 11.2 million people," Putin said.

Demographic problems dominated the president's May 10 state of the nation address, when he said the population was falling by 700,000 people a year and instructed the government to give women at least 250,000 rubles ($9,200) each as financial aid following the birth of a second child.

Turkmen National Security Minister Geldymukhammed Ashirmukhammedov has accused Henri Tomasini, a cultural adviser at the French embassy in Turkmenistan, and Benjamin Moreau, an employee of the OSCE Turkmen office, of espionage.

President Saparmurad Niyazov has ordered an investigation and promised to make public the results of the probe.

"All confirmed facts of involvement of any foreign embassy officials in this case will be made known to the heads of these diplomatic missions and will entail measures set in the law," the president said.

The US has not commented and the video claim cannot be independently verified.

The identity of a 20th hijacker has been the subject of great debate, although there is no concrete evidence one was part of the plans for 9/11.

Three of the four hijacked planes on 9/11 had five al-Qaeda men on board, but the plane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field - UA 93 - had only four.

The CIA had initially suspected jailed al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui as the 20th hijacker, but later revised its opinion.

Khobar raid

The latest al-Qaeda video was released by IntelCenter, which is based in Virginia and works on intelligence with the US government.

US intelligence services have so far declined to comment on the authenticity of the 54-minute video or its claims.

In the video, Fawaz al-Nashimi, also known as Turki bin Fuheid al-Muteiry, justifies attacks on the West.

The video also includes audio material said to be of an al-Qaeda attack he took part in on oil facilities in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in 2004.

Militants took up to 60 hostages in the attack. Saudi forces stormed the complex and 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.

Nashimi escaped but was killed in a shootout with security forces the following month.

A statement said to be from al-Qaeda had appeared on a website on 13 June identifying Nashimi as the planned 20th hijacker.

It said that "for some reasons" alleged ringleader Mohammed Atta brought forward the date of the attacks and it was "not in Allah's design for [Nashimi] to become a martyr along with his 19 brothers".

The posting denied Moussaoui was the 20th hijacker, backing up an audio recording released in May purported to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

The man in the tape says: "I am the one in charge of the 19 brothers and I never assigned brother Zacarias to be with them in that mission."

The 9/11 Commission, which investigated the attacks, suggested a number of al-Qaeda members may have tried to enter the US, possibly to take part in them.

They included Mohammed al-Kahtani, who was refused entry at Orlando airport in Florida in August 2001.

Other names that have been suggested include Mushabib al-Hamlan and Ramzi Binalshibh, who was repeatedly denied entry to the US.

These include delivery delays at the European defence contractor, EADS, and an alleged smear campaign over which Mr de Villepin is suing two journalists.

One senior Socialist has said President Jacques Chirac should sack the premier.

Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Socialist Party's parliamentary leader, also said the Socialists would walk out of the chamber on Wednesday if Mr de Villepin did not apologise.

Mr de Villepin's centre-right predecessor, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, has called on the prime minister to make a goodwill gesture.

But the government spokesman, Jean-Francois Cope, said Mr Hollande should have expected a robust response to what he described as highly aggressive accusations.

"The clashes left 14 people dead and 35 wounded from the two sides," local administration chief Mohammad Saleem Khan said in the statement.

The shootout erupted on Monday when members of one clan diverted water from a canal near Parachinar and attacked farmers from a rival tribe when they demanded a share.

The two sides took up positions on nearby hills and heavy firing continued until midday Tuesday, residents said. The authorities arranged a council of tribal elders to negotiate with leaders of the feuding tribes.

"A ceasefire has been arranged and the armed men have come out of their trenches," Khan said.

The tribal council is also engaged in negotiating a settlement of the water dispute, he added.

Police and paramilitary soldiers have been deployed amid tensions in the area, he said.