BBC news with Marion Marshall.
Gunmen have attacked the central mosque in Kano, Nigeria's second city, setting off 3 bombs, and opening fire on worshippers as they fled from Friday prayers. Police was quoted in saying 3 dozen people were killed and many more injured. But one reporter said he counted up to 200 bodies. Tommy Ladipo reports.
No group has said they carried out the attack, but the Boko Haram set has targeted Nigeria's largest cities several times. The explosions happened near the palace of the emir Mohammad Sanusi, one of Nigeria's most influential Muslim leaders. The emir has criticized Boko Haram and urged civilians to take up arms to protect themselves from the group. He was not present during the attack, although it's been suggested that he was the target. As the violence continues in northern Nigeria, so does the public criticism of the government and military's inability to stop it. The main fear now is where the next scene of bloodshed will be.
The European police agency, Europol, says more than a hundred people have been arrested over the 2 days, following the investigation into the use of stolen credit cards to buy airline tickets. Interpol’s head, Rob Wainwright said the problem is the speed with which it carried out using the Internet. Anna Holligan reports from the organization's headquarters in The Hague.
If the airline spotted a suspicious online transaction, it was referred to the card companies, they then checked with the customer to whom the card belonged to ensure it wasn't them, rather than a thief who bought the ticket. Alerts were sent out, local security forces intercepted. And during this 2-day operation, 281 suspicious transactions were reported, and 118 suspects arrested.
Uganda says it will tighten background checks on Ugandan maids wanted to work abroad after a video of suspected child abuse in the country went viral on the Internet. Here's Mike Sanders.
It's a shocking video. The maid's lawyer has questioned its authenticity, but it appears to show her throwing 18-month-old Arnella on the floor for vomiting her food. She then spanks her with a torch, kicks and trembles her. The video from a camera hidden by Arnella 's suspicious father, went viral when a Saudi diplomat in Campolla uploaded it as a warning against hiring Ugandans. Uganda's children's commission has said background checks on Ugandans going to work abroad will be tightened. Police initially arrested the toddler's father who beat up the maid when he saw the video. She will appear in court next month, charged with attempted murder.
The Chinese capital Beijing will ban smoking in all indoor public places from June next year. It will also limit tobacco advertising as part of the city's commitment to reduce the number of people lighting up. China is thought to have 300 million smokers, resulting in more than 1 million deaths each year.
World news from the BBC.
The Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has given a positive assessment of their country's long-term ability to control the Ebola crisis. She told the BBC that the government has set the target of zero cases within 2 years. President Johnson Sirleaf said the goal was ambitious, but that hard work would be put in to try to achieve it.
The president of France, Francois Hollande, has visited an Ebola treatment center in Guinea, the first among African leaders to go to one of the country’s worst-hit by the disease. Mr. Hollande said he had come to show solidarity with Guinea, which went beyond the 125 million dollars France has contributed to fight the disease. President Alpha Condé of Guinea thanked Mr. Hollande for his visit.
"Obviously for the people of Guinea, the arrival of president Hollande is a very great symbol. If the leader of a country as important as France can come to Guinea, so can everyone else. And this symbolic expression is more important than even the medical aid that has been provided."
Meanwhile, Britain has announced it will soon try out new portable testing kits for Ebola in Guinea designed to deliver result on the spot within 15 minutes.
A United Nations' panel in Geneva has said the United States has fallen short in its compliance with the International Anti-torture Convention. The UN Committee Against Torture says there are serious problems in areas such as police brutality against minorities and maximum security presence. The UN panel also accuses the American government of making a subjective interpretation of the convention.
Radio telescopes have beamed 90,000 messages to Mars to mark the start of space exploration of the red planet 50 years ago. They took 15 minutes to get there, and the entire transmission was repeated twice. The “Beam Me To Mars” initiative has been organized by a US company, Uwingu.