BBC news with Stewart Macintosh.
Families in the Turkish town of Soma who have been burying their dead after the country’s worst ever mining accident, nearly 300 bodies have been recovered from the mine since Tuesday’s explosion. Over 100 others are still underground but hopes are fading for their survival. From Soma, here is Orla Guerin.
At the cemetery in Soma, the coffins kept coming to an area they call the martyrs’ plot. Relatives consumed by grief. The graves are being filled here one by one. This community is saying goodbye to husbands, fathers and sons. For some, the grief is compounded by anger, by a belief that all of this could have been avoided by better safety standards at the mine.
President Obama has described a Memorial Museum dedicated to the September the 11th attacks in 2001 as a sacred place of healing and hope. He was speaking to rescuers and survivors as he inaugurated the museum in New York on the site of the former World Trade Center. Nick Bryant was at the ceremony.
Touring its exhibits was a profound moving experience, said President Obama. And he recalled and reaffirmed the spirit of 9·11—love, compassion, sacrifice. As with most things connected with ground zero, the museum has attracted debate and controversy. A video explaining the rise of radical Islam has drawn complaints by some who claimed it demonizes Muslims. An underground facility next to the museum and that has the unidentified remains of missing World Trade Center victims, which has enraged some families.
Demonstrators in Brazil have blocked main roads into St. Paulo during a day of anti-government protest across the country. Protesters are angry that billions of dollars have been spent on the Football World Cup which Brazil is hosting next month rather than social projects, transports and housing.
The head of China’s People’s Liberation Army has said that China will continue drilling in contested waters in the South China Sea, despite riots targeted Chinese businesses in Vietnam. General Fang Fenghui was speaking during a visit to the United States. From Washington, here is Rajini Vaidyanathan.
General Fang was welcomed to the Pentagon with a 19 gun salute. But after meeting with his American counterpart, the signs of discord were clear. He warned the US should not take sides in the ongoing dispute it’s having with Vietnam, over its operation of a deep sea oil rig in contested waters off the Vietnamese coast. Protests in Vietnam have left one Chinese worker dead and more than 100 injured. The US State Department has described Chinese decision to install the rig as provocative.
This is BBC news.
Syrian opposition activists said at least 43 people have been killed by a car bomb close to the border with Turkey, including at least 3 children. The explosion happened at the Bab al-Salameh border crossing in Aleppo Province in an area that seemed fighting between rival groups and rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
President Putin has delivered a new ultimatum on Russian gas supplied to Ukraine. In a letter released by the Kremlin today, Mr. Putin threatens to cut off supplies of natural gas from next month unless, what he says, that Ukraine’s unpaid bill is settled. Theo Leggett has the details.
President Putin claims that Ukraine’s bill for unpaid gas has risen from $2.4 billion to $3.5 billion. He says that no payments have been made since early April, despite the fact that Ukraine recently received a $3.2 billion loan payment from the International Monetary Fund. Ukraine has reportedly offered to clear the unpaid bill, but only if it can continue to buy gas at a discounted price. Russia scribed discounts for Ukraine in April effectively increasing the price it charges its neighbor by 80 percent.
Bosnia and Serbia have declared state emergency after suffering their heaviest rains and floods since records began 120 years ago. Overflowing rivers have burst into towns and villages, cutting off whole communities. At least 2 people have drowned. In Bosnia, army helicopters evacuated dozens of stranded residents. Some sat on their roofs, waiting for help. The Serbia Prime Minister Alexander Vochich appealed for help from the European Union and Russia.
The five main candidates for the post of European Commission President have taken part in the live television debate, a landmark event for the EU. It’s the first time political groups in the European Parliament have put forward candidates for the top job in Brussels. The contenders include a former Prime Minister and the current leader of the parliament’s socialist group.