Transcript
BBC News with Michael Poles
At least seven people have been killed by a gunman who attacked a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem. Witnesses said the gunman walked into a crowded hall at dinner time and opened fire. The Palestinian militant organization, Hamas, praised the attack calling it's heroic. But Hamas did not claim responsibility. Katya Adler reports from Jerusalem.
Jerusalem police say the armed men opened fire as soon as they entered the center. In addition to those killed, at least 30 people were injured they said. Some / Israeli media reports described the attackers as being dressed as students. One of them was killed in an exchange of fire and an explosive belt was found in his body. The school is home to several hundred students, most aged between 18 and 30. It's a well-known center of Jewish studies identified with the Jewish Settler Movement, those who believed West Bank should be in Jewish, not Palestinian hands. (www.hxen.com)
Four Palestinian militants have reportedly been killed in an Israeli air strike on the Southern Gazan town of Khan Younis. The Israeli army has not confirmed reports of the attack. Earlier on Thursday, a Hamas delegation returned to Gaza after talks with Egyptian mediators about a possible truce with Israel. A senior Hamas official has said his group cannot consider a ceasefire while Palestinians are being attacked on a daily basis.
It's been another deadly bombing in central Baghdad. More than 50 people were killed and over 120 wounded when two bombs exploded within minutes of each other. The attacks happened outside shops in the district of Karrada. Hospital staff said many of the causalties were teenagers or young adults. From Baghdad, Jim Muir reports.
On the Thursday evening, many people here are out shopping for the Friday day of rest, and that's when the bombs went off in this crowded area of shops and cafes. One exploded at the roadside, then as passers-by and rescue workers rushed to help the victims, there was a second blast which caused even a (without a) greater carnage. Police said it was set off by a suicide bomber who blew himself up. It's a tactic that's been used before, in attacks that have generally been blamed on al-Qaeda or related Sunni extremist groups. ()
United Nations agency responsible for alleviating hunger says the growing market for bio-fuels is partly to blame for rising food prices. The Executive Director of the World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, said governments need to look carefully the link between food supply and the accelerating demand for bio-fuels which are made from crops, such as corn or sugar beet. In Britain, the government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor John Beddington, said a growing human population would inevitably need more food, but the amount of land available to produce it would not increase. ()
"What we need to do is to look very carefully at how we actually manage the land, and that needs research into farming practice and needs research into science and technology, into, way we can increase agricultural production." Professor John Beddington.
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United States says it will seek the extradition from Thailand of one of the world's most wanted alleged international arms dealers Viktor Bout on charges that he attempted to provide weapons to a foreign terrorist organization. The Russian national was detained at a hotel in Bangkok in the company of men he thought were Colombian FARC rebels. However, a spokesman for the US Justice Department said they were in fact American agents who had managed to infiltrate his operation.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has nominated the Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide to be the next UN envoy to Afghanistan. Mr. Eide is expected to concentrate on the coordination of aid and military operations in the face of the Taliban insurgency. From the UN, in New York, Laura Trevelyan reports.
After Hamid Karzai vetoed Ban Ki-moon's choice of Paddy Ashdown for the key job of United Nations envoy in Afghanistan, the Secretary General has settled on the Norwegian, Kai Eide. Mr. Ban has written to the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, informing them of his intention to appoint Mr. Eide, currently the political director of Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now the Security Council must discuss the appointment, but there is no reason to believe ,say, diplomats that Mr. Ban's choice won't be endorsed.
Thousands of Colombians have joined a march in cities across the country to protest against right-wing paramilitary groups. Demonstrators marched through the city streets, holding up pictures of family members who were victims of paramilitary violence. The main right-wing group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, is accused of carrying out thousands of killings.
An Italian Senator, who used an ambulance to rid Rome traffic, has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence. The Senator, Gustavo Selva, last year feigned illness and requested an ambulance to take him to his heart specialist, but instead, he gave the driver the address of a television studio where he was due to take part in an interview. The stunt outraged many Italians and health officials.
BBC News.