BBC News with Fiona McDonald.
A new survey by the Iraqi government and the World Health Organization estimates that more than 150, 000 Iraqis died from violence in just over 3 years following the American-led invasion in 2003. The survey gives a much higher figure for deaths than some other sources. And the WHO admits that the survey has a large margin of error. Imogen Foulkes reports.
"Visiting 10, 000 households across Iraq to assess mortality rates was extremely hazardous. One interviewer was kidnapped, another was shot dead on his way to work in Baghdad. The difficulties of carrying out any kind of survey in Iraq / mean the margin of error in this is enormous. The number of deaths could be as low as 104, 000, or as high as 223, 000, but if the average figure of 151, 000 is even approximately correct, that means 120 violent deaths in Iraq every single day. "
President Bush has said he's under no illusions about the difficulties of reaching a peace deal in the Middle-East, but he was hopeful that Israel and Palestinians will reach agreement within a year. Speaking in Jerusalem where he talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert , Mr. Bush said painful political compromises will be needed. Dr Samir 'Abdullah, the Palestinian Minister for Planning, explained what assurances the Palestinian side had for President Bush.
"From our side, of course, we will tell Mr. Bush that we're doing our best to enforce law and order, we dissolved the military and militias. We collected weapons and we will, we are determined to come up with a situation that all arms will be only in the hands of the Palestinian police, and there will be no arms and no weapons in the hands of anybody else. "
United Nations has warned there's an increasing risk of global recession. In their annual forecast, UN economists say the degree of slowdown may depend on the fortunes of the United States' economy. A senior UN official, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, told the BBC there is now about a 50% chance of a recession. "I think we are all hoping very much that it can be slowed down and that there will a number of adjustments, which can be moderate adjustments rather than meltdown situation, and which could have catastrophic and unpredictable consequences. "
The Colombian government has authorized a mission by the Red Cross to rescue two high-profile hostages held by the FARC rebel group. The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, said the FARC had told him where it was holding the two hostages and he'd requested permission from Colombia for a humanitarian mission to pick them up. The Red Cross in Colombia said it was ready to participate in the mission.
World News from the BBC.
Police in the American state of Alabama are searching for the bodies of four small children thought to have drowned after their father threw them from a bridge. The four children, all under the age of five, have been missing since Monday. The man, Lam Luong, had been charged with 4 counts of murder after he confessed to police.
A federal judge in the United States has declined to investigate the destruction of CIA videotapes of interrogations of two al-Qaeda suspects, saying the US Justice Department deserved time to conduct its own investigation. The tapes were thought to show the use of controversial techniques including simulated drowning.
Severe weather continues to hit Iran, central Asia and Afghanistan with energy shortages making the situation more difficult. People in Iran have been urged to use less power and there're fears that domestic gas supplies could be cut. Here's Pam O'Toole.
"In Iran heavy snow and plummeting temperatures have led to dramatic headlines over recent days with eight people frozen to death after being trapped in their cars and some desert areas reporting snowfalls for the first time in living memory. In Kirgizstan the government agency said 50 homeless people froze to death over the first 4 days of the New Year. Heavy snow has also caused casualties and major disruption in Afghanistan. Five people were killed in an avalanche in the western province of Ghowr. And in neighboring Herat eight members of the same family died after their roof collapsed under heavy snow. "
Immigration officials in Britain have removed a terminally ill Ghanaian woman from hospital and put her on a plane back to her home country. The woman Ama Sumani arrived in Britain as a student but her visa expired last year and she was denied permission to remain. She suffered from malignant melanoma, and was being treated with dialysis. She said she wouldn't be able to afford treatment in Ghana and was being sent home to die. The British Immigration Service said the availability of medical treatment was always assessed in such cases.
BBC News.