BBC News with Roy Lamar.
New moves against British interests in Russia have further worsened diplomatic relations between the two countries. The British Council, an organization which fosters cultural links, says it was forced to close its office in St. Petersburg when Russian police told staff their jobs were illegal. The British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, described as completely unacceptable any intimidation of council staff. A member of the Russian Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, Yuli Kvitsinski, said the riot was getting out of hand.
"The issue of the work of the British Council is completely disproportionate to major questions that we face in our relations with England, in our relations with the EU, in our relations with the US. All this controversy is inappropriate and, in my view, is rather unreasonable. It's time to stop it and get back to business. "
The Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has called for the international community to isolate Kenya's President, Mwai Kibaki , whom he accuses of stealing last month's election. Mr. Odinga was speaking as three days of opposition protests got off to a violent start. At least three people were killed in clashes between police and opposition activists in Kisumu.
A new assessment of Iraq's economic and political prospects has painted an upbeat picture. The International Monetary Fund says it expects a 7% jump in growth in the coming year and a similar rise next year. It also predicts an increase in oil revenues from buoyant exports up by 200, 000 barrels a day. On the political front, the United Nations' envoy to Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, says he's encouraged by the current dialogue between Sunnis and Shiites and praises the efforts of the government.
The Dutch government has summoned the American Ambassador to explain comments by the United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates in which he criticized NATO forces in Afghanistan. Mr. Gates said some of the forces fighting the Taliban were not properly trained for counter-insurgency operations. A Pentagon spokesman later told the BBC that Mr. Gates had been expressing concern about the international alliance in Afghanistan as a whole including the United States. However, NATO spokesman, James Appathurai, rejected any suggestion that some European NATO contingents were not playing significant roles in Afghanistan.
"I don't think we do accept the idea that the European countries as a whole are not pulling their weight. The United Kingdom, first and foremost, is fighting in the south. The Dutch, and eight other countries are fighting alongside them, along with the Canadians, the rest of Europeans. But let's not underestimate the Germans in the north. Let's not underestimate what the French are doing in Kabul. From the NATO point of view, everyone's pulling their weight. "
This is World News from the BBC.
American officials say they want to set up a force to be deployed around the world to defuse cluster bombs. The US has resisted calls to ban cluster bombs but says the new force could move swiftly to conflict zones once hostility is ended so that civilians are put at less risk when they return home.
Israel has carried out further air attacks in the Gaza strip against those it says are Palestinian militants. Martin Patience reports from Gaza.
"An Israeli air strike in a vehicle traveling in central Gaza has killed two Palestinian militants and injured one other. Earlier in the day, an Israeli missile strike killed three Palestinian civilians. The Israeli military said it missed its intended target and has launched an investigation into the incident. In the West Bank, Israel also killed a senior Palestinian militant leader. These attacks come a day after an Israeli incursion into Gaza, causing the heaviest loss of life in recent months. "
A French court has ordered the oil company of Total to pay a share of nearly 300 million dollars in damages for its role in one of France's worst environmental disasters. Sonita Narhr reports.
"The tanker, Erika, was carrying thousands of tons of oil when it broke in half in heavy seas off the Atlantic coast of Brittany in December, 1999. The oil spread over more than 400 km of coastline. The spill had one of the deadliest ever-recorded impacts on seabirds. Tens of thousands of them were killed. Tourist resorts blackened with oil were deserted and fishing was halted, leaving local economies on their knees for several years. The French oil company Total has been held responsible for the oil spill, along with the tanker's owner, its manager, and RINA, the Italian company that declared it's seaworthy. That report by Sonita Narhr.
BBC News.