BBC News with Blerry Gogan
Poland and the United States have reached agreement in principle to install a missile system on Polish territory, in spite of fierce opposition from Russia. The American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said deploying interceptor missiles in Poland would pose no threat to Russian interests. The Polish counterpart Radek Sikorsky said, after talks in Washington, that he was satisfied the US had addressed Poland's own security concerns.
"We are not at the end of the road as regards on negotiations. We are in the middle of the road. We have an agreement in principle. There's still a great deal of work to do for our experts, and the Prime Minister and the President will approve of whatever is done in the meantime."
President Bush says there are serious signs that the US economy is weakening. He was referring to figures showing the first American job losses in nearly five years. News that the number of jobs fell by 17,000 in January came after a week that saw further cut in US interest rates in an effort to boost activity. President Bush has again urged Congress to pass the stimulus package that he agreed with Democratic and Republican leaders last month.
"The sooner we can get money into our consumers' hands, the more likely it is, is that this economy will get back and recover from this period of uncertainty. The fundamentals are strong; we're just in a rough patch, as witnessed earlier by the employment figures today. And I'm confident we can get through this rough patch and one way to do it is to, for Congress and the administration to work collaboratively and get this deal done."
Negotiations to end Kenya's political violence triggered by December's disputed presidential election have been agreed by the government and the opposition. The former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, who is been mediating between the two sides, outlined the priorities.
"The first is to take immediate action to stop violence and restore fundamental rights and liberties. Second, immediate measures to address the humanitarian crisis to promote reconciliation, healing and restoration. And the third item is how to overcome the current political crisis and finally the long term issues and solutions."
The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, has removed metal barriers set up between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, defying attempts by the Egyptian security forces to reseal the border. The move allowed thousands more Palestinians to cross into Egypt to stock up on supplies, nine days after militants blasted open the border to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade. Hamas which seized control of Gaza last June has said it will not allow the border to be shut again. Its leaders have been holding talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo, but there's been no agreement on a new plan for operating a border crossing.
World News from the BBC.
The Venezuelan authorities have confirmed that Colombia's most wanted drugs trafficker has been killed in the Venezuelan city of Merida. Venezuelan officials said the fingerprints of a man shot dead in a hotel room earlier this week match those of the cocaine smuggler, Wilber Varela. The director of Colombia's National Police, General Oscar Naranjo, said the killing of Mr. Varela would have a definite impact.
In recent years, Wilber Varela was truly the main leader of Colombia's drug trafficking organizations. He started his criminal career as a hitman and ended up as the boss of a mafia organization, and for that reason, we estimate that his death will have a strong impact on illegal organizations in Colombia, as well as the rest of the continent.
International Internet and telephone providers are continuing to work to restore services in the Middle East and parts of Asia, after three undersea cables were severed this week. It is still not known what caused the breaks of the coast of Dubai and Egypt. Industry experts say damage to submarine cables is rare and the occurrence of simultaneous breaks at different locations raises the suspicion of a deliberate attack. The company that owns two of the damaged cables said it would take several days before repair work could be carried out.
A Japanese balloonist has gone missing over the Pacific Ocean while trying to set a new record for flying to the United States. Michio Kanda set off on Thursday, but was reported missing by his support team after failing to check in by satellite phone as planned. The 9000-kilometer journey was expected to take him about 60 hours.
The Confederation of African Football has announced that the Mali striker, Fredi Kanoute, has won the 2007 African Footballer of the Year award. The French-born player was nominated for his role in helping Mali qualify for the African Nations Cup finals. Kanoute plays for the Spanish club Seville.
BBC News.