BBC News with Marion Marshall
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired a rocket into Jerusalem for the first time in decades as Israel continues its air attacks on the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Group Hamas said it was aimed at the Israel’s parliament-the Knesset. Jon Donnison reports from Gaza.
The missile that Hamas says targeted Jerusalem was launched just 500 meters from the BBC office in the center of Gaza City. I watched as it rips deeply into dusk, heading northeast, towards the place both Israelis and Palestinians regarded as their capital. Minutes later, 50 miles or so away in Jerusalem, there were air-raid sirens. The city’s under rocket fire for the first time in decades. The missile fell short close to the West Bank of Israeli settlement al-Mali Amos. Israel’s biggest city of Tel Aviv was also targeted. It followed the day when Israel stepped up its air attacks on Gaza, hitting more than 300 targets.
Israel has sealed off roads around Gaza Strip, prompting speculation that it may be preparing a ground offensive. Twenty-seven Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed since Wednesday. The President of the Palestinian authority in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas, has urged Palestinians to unite in the face of what he called aggression by Israel.
This is an aggression against the whole Palestinian people. No one can claim that this is just about Hamas, or Islamic Jihad or Fatah. We must stand united, it’s vital that we exert maximum effort to achieve national unity and reconciliation.
The UN Sectary General Ban Ki-Moon has urged Israel and the Palestinians to halt what he called a dangerous escalation.
Thousands of people have lined the streets of Croatian capital Zagreb to welcome home two former Generals acquitted of war crimes by an appeal court in The Hague. Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were freed after the International Court ruled that there have been no evidence of unlawful attacks when they held senior positions in the mid-1990s. Croatians described the men's release is a huge relief, Serbians said the court lost all credibility.
The Swedish furniture chain, Ikea, has apologized after an independent report found that some of its suppliers in communist East Germany used forced labour to make its products during the Cold War. Steve Evans reports from Berlin.
The investigators concluded that political prisoners were used to make Ikea furniture. Ikea said after the findings that the company had been aware of the possibility, and had tried to put in measures to ensure that prisoners weren’t used, but that, as its statement put it, it’s now clear that the measures were not effective enough. For the prisoners who worked on Ikea furniture, the recognition was what they wanted, but it may also open the way for legal claims.
World News from the BBC
President Obama has met congressional leaders to try to avert a budget crisis that could tip the United States back into recession unless he can reach a deal with his Republican opponents by the end of the year. Tax rises and deep cuts in government’s spending will automatically take effect in January. The Republican speaker of the House Representative John Boehner described the initial discussions as constructive.
The former mayor of Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, has been found guilty of stealing millions of dollars from public funds and diverging them to offshore accounts in Jersey. Paulo Maluf, who's a member of congress, one of Brazil’s richest men, was ordered by a court in Jersey to pay back more than $10m plus interests to the Sao Paulo city authorities. The court said Mr Maluf had overcharged on construction projects. He denied the charges.
A Tuareg rebel group in northern Mali has launched an offensive against Islamist fighters. Clashes broke out between the Tuareg MNLA and Islamist militants in the region of Gao. The fighting is taking place as plans by West African states for military intervention in northern Mali gather pace. Thomas Fessy reports.
A spokesman for the MNLA Tugreg-led rebel group has confirmed fighters were on the move with the aim of driving Islamist militants out of the Gao. Moussa Ag Assarid, based in Paris, said the MNLA was keen to pursue talks to end the crisis, but would not negotiate with what he called foreign terrorists. Clashes reportedly erupted on Friday morning near the town of Anzagao.
Britain has suspended all aid channeled through the government of Uganda after concerns that funds were diverted to private bank accounts. The British International Development Secretary announced that more than $17m were being withheld following a preliminary audit. The funds will remain frozen until Uganda proves it’s not misusing the aid.
BBC World Service News