BBC news 2011-04-08
BBC News with Nick Kelly
The commander of the Libyan rebel forces, Abdul Fatah Younis, says Nato has apologised for mistakenly attacking a column of rebel tanks near Ajdabiya, in the east of the country. General Younis said the air strike, which killed several rebels, had occurred despite Nato being warned that the tanks were being moved to the frontline. Wyre Davies is in Benghazi.
The rebel commanders were insisting that Nato planes fired upon them, and there's been a line out of the political rebel leadership tonight in Benghazi saying this was actually the work of the remnants of Gaddafi's air force. While that isn't impossible, I think it's highly improbable. Part of the problem today may have been that the rebel forces sent in for the first time in a long time a lot of very heavy armour. Tanks and rocket launchers were sent in on the ground. And whether those were mistaken for Gaddafi armaments, we don't know, but that could be one explanation.
Elsewhere in Libya, a relief ship carrying emergency supplies of food and medicine has arrived in the western city of Misrata, which is being besieged by government forces. It's delivering hundreds of tonnes of high-energy biscuits, flour and water purification tablets, as well as enough medicine to last 30,000 people for a month. The ship was chartered by the UN World Food Programme.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded to charges from some rebels that he is trying to keep Colonel Gaddafi in power. He said Turkey's only interest is the well-being of Libya and he was working for an early ceasefire.
A gunman has shot dead at least 11 children at a school in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Police say he killed himself when they arrived. Around 20 other people were wounded. Here's James Read of our America's desk.
The gunman has been identified as 24-year-old Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, a former pupil at the school. Police say he entered a classroom with two revolvers and a suicide note, and began shooting indiscriminately. Some wounded children managed to escape and alert the police. When they confronted the killer, he shot himself in the head. Most of the victims were between 9 and 14 years old. President Dilma Rousseff wept as she condemned the massacre - the first of its kind in Brazil.
Japan has lifted a fresh tsunami alert that was issued after an earthquake hit the northeast of the country. The 7.1-magnitude aftershock was the most powerful to have struck Japan since an earthquake triggered a huge tsunami last month. Rachel Harvey reports from Tokyo.
Once again a powerful earthquake, and once again it's the northeast coast of Japan that has borne the brunt. There are some reports of minor injuries caused when people tried to run to safety, but no news of more serious casualties. Officials have been quick to reassure the public that the crippled nuclear power plant at Fukushima appears not to have suffered any further damage, but some power sources at another nuclear plant in the affected region have been knocked out, though officials say the backup systems there are working.
World News from the BBC
Israel says it's used a new missile defence system for the first time to prevent a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said two projectiles were successfully intercepted by the anti-missile system known as Iron Dome. Witnesses reported seeing one rocket brought down as it headed towards the city of Ashkelon.
Bahrain says there's no firm evidence to back accusations that it's intensified a campaign of abuses against those suspected of involvement in anti-government protests, in particular allegations by the medical charity MSF that patients have been arrested and beaten inside Bahrain's main hospital. Human rights groups have accused the authorities in Bahrain of arresting, sacking and intimidating suspected protesters.
The European Central Bank has raised its main interest rate for the first time since 2008. The increase of 0.25% to 1.25% is intended to tackle rising inflation. Here's our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.
The European Central Bank has a target for inflation of below 2%. The most recent figure for the euro area is 2.6%. The bank is keen that consumers and business should not expect much higher inflation because if they do, they are more likely to seek higher wages and raise prices. Increasing interest rates sends a signal that the ECB will act to prevent that. The risk is that it might undermine economic growth, especially in countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal. They are already struggling with serious financial problems.
Parliament in Kosovo has elected a woman police commander as president to resolve a political stalemate. The unanimous selection of the compromise candidate Atifete Jahjaga comes a week after the constitutional court ruled that the election of her predecessor, the businessman Behgjet Pacolli, had been invalid. Ms Jahjaga, who's 35 and has never run for office before, is the first female president in Kosovo's three years of independence.
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