BBC News with Nick Kelly.



The human rights group Amnesty International has condemned what it called the targeted killing of civilians during a raid by Ethiopian soldiers on a mosque in Somalia.The Ethiopian government has denied that its troops were involved in the killings.David Banfer reports.



Amnesty International's execution backed up earlier eyewitness reports that Ethiopian troops in Somalia that support the transitional government there against Islamist militants,raided the Al Hidya mosque in the northern suburb of the capital Mogadishu.Amnesty says that 21 people were killed including the mosque's imam and several religious scholars.Some,the witnesses said,had their throats cut.Ethiopia has acknowledged the raid and confirmed reports that the soldiers took away at least forty children.Amnesty has demanded their release.



In a heavier fighting in Sri Lanka this year government forces and Tamil rebels have suffered many losses in the north of the country.The government side,admitted to having lost over forty soldiers,with thirty more missing and absent.The spokesperson for the Tamil rebel Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan,told the BBC that the LTTE rebels have beaten back the government troops.



"Today,the Sri Lankan armed forces make a large-scale attempt to over rolled the introduced stronghold.Heavy casualties / to the hours that lastly lasted for several hours,end by 10:40 hours.The SLA formation hauled back to their earlier positions with a heavy casualties."



The United Nations says a completely lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip means it will have to suspend the essential humanitarian work there on Thursday.This includes the provision of food aid to 650,000 refugees and the collection of solid waste from facilities serving half a million people.The UN said the hospitals and clinics would also run out of fuel within a week.Gaza is entirely dependent on Israel for fuel supply and UN officials repeatedly called on Israel to lift its restriction.From the West Bank Ramallah,here is Aleem Maqbool.



Since Israeli sanctions were imposed,a number of people living in Gaza who rely on food aid have risen sharply.The figure is now thought to be well over 80% of population with high proportion of children.UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza says it will have to stop its food deliveries to about half million Palestinians unless urgently it received diesels for its trucks.Israel begun to decrease the amount of fuel liter allowed into Gaza last June.It's part of the plan to put pressure on Hamas,and Palestinian militants who fired rockets across the border.



The top American general in Iraq David Petraeus has been nominated to lead US central command which included operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said appointment had been approved by president Bush and would be submitted to the senate for conformation.



World News from the BBC.



The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said Britain will press for an international arms embargo against Zimbabwe to stop a shipment of weapons for reaching the country from China.Mr.Brown was addressing in parliament before meeting the leader of South Africa's governing ANC Party,Jacob Zuma.Afterward,Mr.Zuma said he didn't think about embargo against Zimbabwe was necessary.And the South Africa and other African nation have done enough by refusing to allow the ship carrying the weapons to dock in their ports.



"I don't think we've reached that stage where we have to call the arms embargo.I think what African has done on the vessel that was carrying weapons.That's what I think at the moment,has been done and supported and directed that one African leader for the example that he said it should not dock anywhere.I think we are on that stage at the moment."



The Chinese ship carrying the arms are now thought to be heading to Angola.



Financial ministers from eight West African countries say they are setting up a fund worth half a billion dollars to help African states deal with sharp increases in food prices.Half of the money will be targeting at helping local agriculture.Earlier,the European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson criticized food producing countries who were restricted exports,saying they were fueling the crisis.Meanwhile,the head of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization,said poor policy decisions over the past twenty years were blamed for the high prices,but if resources were better directed,the food prices could be resolved.



And thousands of people have gathered in Canberra for the Olympic torch relay through the Australian capital.Parts of the city has been sealed off with the steel fans to protect the torch from any protests,after previous relays were interrupted in London,Paris and Los Angeles.Hundreds of local and federal police were on duty,many of the demonstrators were complaining about Chinese policies in Tibet,but thousands of others have descended on Canberra to cheer the torch on,and express their support for the Chinese government.



BBC News.