Hello, I’m Jerry Smit with the BBC news.
A group with links to so called Islamic State says it carried out the extended gun and bomb assault in the center of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. For almost 3 hours, police battle militants at locations including a Starbucks cafe, a shopping mall, and the United Nation’s building. One eyewitness R said the attacks seemed to be well-trained.
I saw a motorcycle riders take out a long gun and shoot it everybody. They looked really professional judging by the way they fired. I was at the intersection when I heard a loud sound. At first, I thought it was car tyre exploding, and then I realize it was a bomb. Then I saw the men on motorcycles, all wearing black cloth, putting out their guns.
5 attackers and at least 2 civilians are dead.
Police say they have received cryptic warnings of an attack 2 months ago from the Islamic State militants, resulting in increased security across the country. Rebecca H is held of the BBC Indonesia.
Statements are coming from the Indonesia police. They are saying that there seems some communication between a group particularly, acting out of solo in Central Java, with members of the so called Islamic State in Syria. Before Christmas, security increase dramatically in Jakarta, because there were fears that this kind of attack was gonna take place.
The World Health Organization has declared that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is over. Liberia, one of the 3 worst affected countries has reported no new cases of the disease in over a month. Sierra Leone and Guinea has already being declared free of the disease. The outbreak in West Africa was the worst ever seen killing over 11,000 people. BBC Africa’s health correspondent A S says many challenges still remain.
They impact of Ebola is just massive. It has affected every sector of life. They lost many health workers. Apart from that we have more than some 17,000 survivors of Ebola. They are presenting serious complications which many people still do not know how to deal with. And they are often who are be left behind. And so it's a huge huge challenge. And yet, they are poor counties. So they are going to a lot of support from the international community.
A second aid convoy has entered the besieged rebel held Syria town of Madaya. A spokesman for the International Red Cross said about 15 trucks were carrying desperately-needed food and medical supplies. Earlier this week, the first aid delivers reached the town close to the Lebanese border where thousands are trapped. Local reports said that several people have starved to death.
The shares price of the car manufacture Renault has fallen by over the 20% on the French stock exchange after reports that it’s offices have been searched by fraud investigators. Traders said reported search may be linked to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
World news from the BBC.
Lawyers for Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto has asked judges of the International Criminal Court to drop the charges against him. Mr. Ruto is accused committing crimes against humanity during post-election violence 8 years ago. His lawyers said the case had fallen apart because key witness had changed their evidence or just disappeared.
London is getting 600 more armed police officers following December’s Islamic attacks in Paris. The police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said the force had to be able to do with a spontaneous attack by people using automatic weapons.
We’ve got to be able to do with people who got automatic weapons who may run they city and kill people and if you don’t do that, we saw what happened in Paris. 130 people died and another 200 were bad injured. No one wants to see that, and we got to take out the steps to deal with what really happened.
A former British soldier goes on traveling France today for trying to smuggle a 4-year-old African girl into Britain. Robert Lauri met the girl while bringing aid to migrants near Calais. He says that out of compassion, he accepted a request from the child‘s father to take her to relatives legally settled in Britain.
Officials in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu say a number of whales that died in recent weeks after becoming stranded on beaches has risen to 73. The last mass stranding in the area was more than 40 years ago. More from J.
For the last few days, officials and local fishermen in Tamil Nadu have battled to save the group of short-finned pilot whales. 2 days ago, they took more than 30 back out to sea but most have now returned to shore and died. It’s unclear why the whales entered the shallow waters in the first place and apparently become disoriented. One expert told the BBC, the whale has such strong social bonds that once some of group was stranded and died, the others may have been reluctant to leave that stretch of shore. J G.