Ten jailed for India school fire

30 July 2014 Last updated at 10:00

A court in India has sentenced 10 people to jail for a school fire in 2004 in which 94 children were burnt alive in southern Tamil Nadu state.

The owner of the school at Kumbakonam was sentenced to life in prison.

Four others convicted, including the headmistress and the principal, were jailed for 10 years each.

The fire started in the kitchen where food was being cooked to be distributed among the children as part of the free Mid-Day Meal scheme.

It soon spread and the school's thatched roof caught fire.

Some 200 children, between eight and 10 years, were trapped in a classroom and eyewitnesses said that before they could leave, the roof fell on them like a ball of fire, blocking their escape down the one narrow staircase.

Besides the 94 who were charred to death, dozens of others were injured, some of them seriously.

Many parents were unable to recognise their children as many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition.

The crowded 900-student private school was sandwiched between two residential houses on a congested street. It had a single entrance and a narrow stairway.

Fire-fighters had to use heavy equipment to smash the walls of the building to get to the bodies.

Twenty-one people were charged and tried in the case.

On Wednesday, 11 of them were acquitted by the court in the southern town of Thanjavur. Four others of the 10 convicted were jailed for five years while a fifth was sentenced to two years.

The tragedy highlighted poor fire regulations in India, where correspondents say repeated promises to improve safety measures have not been fulfilled.

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Guinea concert stampede kills 24

30 July 2014 Last updated at 05:12

At least 24 people have died in a stampede at a beach concert in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The president's office has declared a week of national mourning after what it called a "tragic drama" at a concert by the Guinean rap group Instinct Killers.

Dozens of people were injured, said police sources quoted by AFP.

The concert took place on Tuesday evening on a beach in Ratoma, a northern suburb of Conakry.

The authorities were "shocked by the tragic drama caused by mass movements at a cultural event," said a statement from the president's office.

Hospital sources said there were 13 girls among the dead.

Did you attend the concert? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Guinea concert".

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Apology over Turtles '9/11 poster'

30 July 2014 Last updated at 10:03

Paramount Pictures has apologised over a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster that accidentally referenced the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The image shows the characters jumping from an exploding New York skyscraper, above its Australian release date of 11 September.

After receiving criticism online, the film studio deleted the poster from its Twitter and Facebook accounts.

"Combining that image and date was a mistake," Paramount Australia said.

"We are deeply sorry to have used that artwork for the marketing materials promoting the September 11 opening in Australia.

"We intended no offence and have taken immediate action to discontinue its use."

The combination of imagery and release date prompted anger and surprise online for its similarity to the terrorist attacks, during which desperate victims were seen jumping from the World Trade Center.

Stephen Scott tweeted: "Bad move. Poor taste."

Suzanne Carbone added: "Really? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jump out of fiery NY tower in poster for film released Sep 11."

Ross O'Donovan said: "How did this slip by the marketing team?"

However others were more forgiving - Alex Shuba wrote: "Target demographic is either too young to remember or born after 9/11, and this is a foreign market - I forgive them."

William added: "Not being from Australia, I'm not certain how much of an impact the date has on them. They probably didn't even think of it."

The film, which stars Megan Fox and features the voice of Johnny Knoxville as turtle character Leonardo, is due in US cinemas on 8 August.

It is not due for release in the UK until 17 October.

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Ukraine seizes key town near Donetsk

30 July 2014 Last updated at 12:14

Ukraine says it has seized a key town near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, as fighting intensifies in the east.

Pro-Russia separatists were driven out of Avdiivka on Wednesday, the army says. The strategic town is near the airport and train station in Donetsk.

Heavy fighting around Donetsk has again prevented international experts from reaching the crash site of flight MH17.

Details of fresh EU sanctions against Russia for its support to the Ukrainian rebels will be revealed on Wednesday.

Shelling

Almost two weeks after the Malaysia Airlines jet came down, international monitors from the Organization for the Security and Co-operation of Europe were prevented from reaching the crash site again on Wednesday.

They were turned back to Donetsk after being stopped at a separatist checkpoint, with evidence of fighting ahead smoke rising in the distance from fighting, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale.

There is one theory that it is not in the interest of the Ukrainian army for them to let international observers into the crash site because their presence in the area would restrict the army's offensive, says the BBC's Tom Burridge in Kharkiv.

Of course neither side would want international observers or police to be caught in the crossfire and the Ukrainian army may want to keep its momentum going, he adds.

Regional officials in Donetsk said on Wednesday that 19 people had been killed in fighting in the past 24 hours. Several apartment buildings have been hit by shelling in the government forces' bid to retake the city, they added.

Ukraine says its troops have also entered the towns of Shakhtarsk and Torez in Donetsk region, and Lutuhyne in Luhansk region.

Amid the fighting, a group of hackers sympathetic to the rebels says it has disabled the website of the Ukrainian president.

Meanwhile, the US has announced new economic sanctions against Russia which has widened to include key sectors of the economy - energy, arms and finance.

US nationals and people living in America will no longer be able to bank with three Russian banks - the VTB, the Bank of Moscow, and the Russian Agriculture Bank (Rosselkhozbank).

Peace 'more important'

The EU earlier expanded its sanctions, targeting the oil sector, defence equipment and sensitive technologies, details of which will be revealed later on Wednesday.

Sanctions are starting to bite in Russia, with the share prices of VTB bank and the rouble down, as borrowers are squeezed by rising interest rates, says the BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow.

Germany's Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel signalled on Wednesday that the sanctions may hurt the German economy, which has strong trade links with Russia.

"Nonetheless at a time of war and peace, economic policy is not the main consideration," he told journalists.

The list of 87 targets of EU sanctions now includes the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and foreign intelligence, the president of Chechnya, as well as two Crimean energy firms.

However, UK company BP, which owns nearly 20% of Russian state oil giant Rosneft, has warned that further sanctions against Russia could "adversely impact" its performance.

Sanctions are having significant costs on Russia, with its central bank spending tens of billions of dollars in order to defend the rouble, a senior state department official has told the BBC.

Russian press reacts to sanctions

• "The Russian authorities have been responding chaotically to emerging threats by taking instant ad hoc measures, but failing to calculate their systemic consequences" - Nezavisimaya Gazeta
• "Sources in Russian diplomatic circles say the Russian leadership hopes that the sectoral sanctions will be considerably less stringent when approved at the top level" - Kommersant
• "It is possible to say now that the Russian authorities mistakenly believed that Europeans would not risk introducing sectoral sanctions for fear that they might backfire" - Novyye Izvestiya
• "Russia is different not only because its economy is much more integrated into the world one. Russia is a nuclear power and a member of the World Trade Organization, which limits the possibility of pressure" - Vedomosti

Appeal for access

Russia has come under increased pressure to end its support for the rebels, who Western governments believe were behind the downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet that killed 298 people in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has also been accused by the EU and US of supplying heavy weapons to the rebels - a charge it denies.

"If Russia continues on this current path, the costs on Russia will continue to grow," said US President Barack Obama, announcing the new round of sanctions.

But Australia's Tony Abbott said on Wednesday his government was focusing on retrieving Australian victims from the MH17 wreckage: "At the moment our focus is not on sanctions, our focus is on bringing home our dead as quickly as we humanly can."

His comments follow that of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who urged Russia and the rebels to allow Western investigators full access to the crash site.

"They still can't even ensure that all of the victims' remains have been removed, and that is an unsupportable burden for any family to have to bear, and it is an unacceptable standard for behaviour, period," he said.

Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday saying that it was puzzled by President Obama's comments that Russia was not co-operating with an international investigation into the crash, Reuters reports.

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France evacuates expats from Libya

30 July 2014 Last updated at 12:16

The French government says it has evacuated French and British nationals from Libya, as battles rage between government forces and militias.

A French diplomatic source said 40 French nationals, including the ambassador, had been evacuated by ship along with seven British nationals.

France's embassy in Tripoli has been closed temporarily, the French foreign ministry said on its website.

Libya has been gripped by instability since the 2011 uprising.

The French government spokesman in Paris, Stephane Le Foll, announced that French and British nationals had been evacuated, without giving numbers.

An unnamed diplomatic source gave the numbers to France's AFP news agency, saying the expats had been evacuated by the French army.

They are aboard a warship bound for the southern French port of Toulon, the French foreign ministry said.

On Sunday, the US evacuated its embassy in Tripoli, citing a "real risk" because of the fighting.

Together with France, Germany and the UK, it advised its nationals in Libya to leave immediately.

The UN announced this week it was pulling its staff out.

France and the UK played an important role in enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya in 2011, when rebels toppled long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was captured and killed.

Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting in recent weeks, which has centred on the city of Benghazi, where the main military base fell to Islamist-led militants on Wednesday.

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Dozens trapped by Indian landslide

30 July 2014 Last updated at 12:31

At least 10 people have died after a landslide buried more than 40 houses and left 160 people trapped under debris in a village in western India.

The first teams of emergency workers have arrived in Malin village near the city of Pune in Maharashtra state where the disaster happened.

Rescuers trying to reach survivors caught under the debris are being hampered by bad weather.

Reports said that heavy rains had triggered the landslide.

Landslides are common in some parts of India during the monsoon rains, which run from June to September.

An official of India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said difficult terrain in the hilly area was making rescue work difficult.

Senior local official Prabhakar Deshmukh told the Associated Press news agency that rescue workers were being hampered by rains and poor roads leading to the Ambegaon area where Malin is located, some 60km (37 miles) from the city of Pune, south-east of Mumbai, India's commercial capital.

Reports said debris from a hill near the village collapsed on homes early on Wednesday when people were sleeping.

Television pictures showed the side of a hill shaved off, with mud and water flowing below.

Local official Saurav Rao told the Press Trust of India that heavy machinery and 30 ambulances were being sent to the village.

"The exact number of casualties is not known as we are moving slowly to ensure that those trapped are removed safely," Mr Rao said.

More than 500 people died and several thousand people remain missing after floods and landslides hit the northern state of Uttarakhand in June last year.

Are you in the area? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Malin landslide'. Or email your photos and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk, with the same subject line.

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Somali 'killed for not wearing veil'

30 July 2014 Last updated at 12:44

Militant Islamists in Somalia have shot dead a Muslim woman for refusing to wear a veil, her relatives say.

The nomadic woman was killed outside her hut near the southern Somali town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the al-Shabab group, they added.

The militants had ordered her to put on a veil, and then killed her after returning and finding she was still not wearing one, the relatives said.

An al-Shabab spokesman denied the group had killed the woman.

Al-Shabab does not fully control the area where she was living, he added.

The woman's relatives, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, told the BBC she was killed at about 07:30 (04:30 GMT).

Al-Shabab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, imposes strict rules of behaviour, including dress codes for men and women.

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UN accuses Israel over Gaza shelter

30 July 2014 Last updated at 13:06

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Chris Morris reports from the damaged school in Gaza: ''This is a terrible scene''

Israel attacked a UN-run school housing refugees in Gaza despite warnings that civilians were there, the UN has said.

UN spokesman Chris Gunness said "the world stands disgraced" by the attack, in which 15 died and dozens were hurt.

The Israeli military said an initial inquiry suggested soldiers responded to mortar fire. The military later said it would hold a four-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Wednesday afternoon.

Some 1,200 Palestinians and 55 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.

Most of the Palestinian deaths have been civilians.

Fifty-three Israeli soldiers have been killed along with two civilians. A Thai worker in Israel has also died.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after a surge in rocket fire from the territory.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, says it will not stop fighting until the blockade, maintained by both Israel and Egypt, is lifted.

The current conflict is now the longest between Israel and militants from Gaza.

A 2012 offensive lasted for eight days, and the 2008 conflict went on for 22 days.

Mr Gunness from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) told the BBC that Israel had been told 17 times that the school in the Jabaliya refugee camp was housing the displaced.

"The last time was hours before the fatal attack," he said.

"Our initial assessment is that it was Israeli artillery that hit our school."

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Chris Gunness: "Children were killed as they slept next to their parents"

He said there were "multiple deaths" including women and children, adding that the attack caused "universal shame".

Images from the school showed large holes in the walls and roof.

Bob Turner, UNRWA's Gaza director, said the UN was "confident" Israel was responsible.

He said UN workers had collected fragments of projectiles that suggested they were artillery shells fired from Israeli positions to the north-east of the school.

The Israeli military said the incident was under review.

The military said in a statement that its "initial inquiry suggests that militants fired mortars earlier this morning from the vicinity of UNRWA school in Jebalia".

It said soldiers "responded by firing towards the origin of fire".

The military later said it would hold a ceasefire between 15:00 (12:00) and 19:00.

But the ceasefire would only apply to areas where Israeli soldiers were not currently operating.

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The BBC's Orla Guerin was given access by the Israeli military to a tunnel they say was used by Palestinian militants

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using schools and civilian areas as bases to launch attacks.

Last week, another UN-run school was hit, with Palestinians saying at least 15 people were killed.

But the Israeli military denied the killings, saying a single "errant" shell had landed in an empty courtyard.

In other developments:

• The UN on Tuesday revealed that a cache of rockets had been found at one of its schools in Gaza - the third case of its kind - and condemned it as a "yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises"
• A monthly opinion poll of about 600 Israeli Jews by Tel Aviv University suggests 97% support the current military operation
• A baby who was born after her mother was killed in Gaza, making headlines around the world, has died.

Israel stepped up the intensity of its strikes on Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday, saying it had hit a number of tunnels dug by militants to attack Israel.

But the Israeli military said rockets continued to land in Israel from Gaza.

Palestinian officials said Gaza's port had been destroyed on Tuesday and its only power plant had been put out of action.

Meanwhile, Palestinian factions Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad are expected to meet in Cairo later to discuss a ceasefire.

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Bomber kills Hamid Karzai's cousin

29 July 2014 Last updated at 09:34

A suicide bomber has killed a cousin of President Hamid Karzai in the southern city of Kandahar, officials say.

Hashmat Karzai was greeting a well-wisher to his house when the man blew himself up. One report said explosives were hidden in the bomber's turban.

Mr Karzai had been receiving guests on the festival of Eid marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He was a campaign manager for Ashraf Ghani, one of two presidential hopefuls vying to replace Hamid Karzai.

There was no immediate claim for the assassination.

It follows a series of attacks carried out by the Taliban and their allies as votes are rechecked in the bitterly disputed election.

Hashmat Karzai was influential and a key backer of Ashraf Ghani.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says he had emerged as a significant power-broker in the politics of Kandahar, the most important city in the south of Afghanistan.

The Karzai family had been split by a long running feud, our correspondent reports.

Hashmat, who had a pet lion, was the head of a security company with major US contracts, and had been implicated by some family members in the killing of a cousin - a charge he denied.

His own father was murdered by another family member 25 years ago.

In 2011 Hamid Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was murdered in his home in Kandahar in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

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UN blacklists N Korea arms ship firm

29 July 2014 Last updated at 04:53

The UN Security Council has blacklisted the operator of a North Korean ship seized in July 2013 near the Panama Canal with Cuban weapons on board.

The move means Pyongyang-based Ocean Maritime Management is now subject to an international asset freeze and travel ban.

The company operated the Chong Chon Gang, found with Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets hidden under sugar sacks.

United Nations sanctions ban most arms shipments to North Korea.

Under resolutions adopted after Pyongyang's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, the export of all arms and related parts, with the exception of small arms and light weapons, to the communist country is prohibited.

'Cynical attempt'

The UN's North Korea sanctions committee said that the company had "played a key role in arranging the shipment of the concealed cargo of arms".

Continue reading the main story

1. Departs from Nakhodka in Russian far east (200km east of North Korean border)
2. Arrives at Pacific side of Panama Canal
3. Leaves the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side heading for Havana, but disappears from satellite tracking
4. Arrives back at Panamanian port of Manzanillo; later searched for contraband. Weapons uncovered

The move showed "intent to evade UN sanctions, and is consistent with previous attempts by the DPRK (North Korea) to transfer arms and related materiel through similar tactics in contravention of Security Council prohibitions", the committee said.

The Chong Chon Gang was stopped near Manzanillo, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, on 15 July 2013 under suspicion that it was carrying drugs.

It had disappeared from satellite tracking for a few days as it approached the Cuban capital, Havana, having departed from Russia's eastern coast three months earlier.

On searching the vessel, officials found military hardware including two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.

Cuban authorities said that the ship was carrying 240 tonnes of "obsolete" defensive weapons.

The North Korean government insisted the ageing weapons were simply being transferred to North Korea to be repaired, before returning them.

The US envoy to the UN, Samantha Power, described the episode as a "cynical, outrageous and illegal attempt" by Cuba and North Korea to circumvent UN sanctions.

In February the ship and most of the crew were allowed to leave Panama and a court later ordered the release of the remaining three officers.

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