BBC news 2008-06-18 加文本

BBC News with Marian Marshall

The Palestinian Hamas Movement which controls the Gaza Strip says a ceasefire has been agreed with Israel. It said the truce will begin on Thursday morning. The leader of Hamas in Gaza said all the Palestinian factions in the enclave were speaking with one voice. The Israeli government initially said it was seeking clarification from Egypt and waiting to see whether Hamas was serious. Our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports.

"In Gaza, 1.4 million Palestinians have been living very difficult lives, subject to frequent Israeli raids, and thanks to the state of siege imposed by Israel, deprived of many necessities. Israeli said they’ve closed to the border wire, especially the residents of the small town of Sderot are desperate for an anti-rocket and mortar fire. But the fundamental causes of the conflict remain and it's easy to find Israelis and Palestinians who think a ceasefire won't last."

At least 15 people have been killed by a car bomb in a busy market area in Baghdad. The explosion happened at a bus stop in the mainly Shia Hurriya district and destroyed a residential building with shops on the ground floor. 75 people were injured it was ...attack in Baghdad in three months.

United Nations is warning that the lives of a whole generation of Iraqi children have been defined by conflict, and in large parts of Iraq, a normal life has become impossible. The UN children’s organization UNICEF said barely half of all children were even enrolled in school and only about 2 in 5 had access to clean water. From Geneva, Imogen Foulkes reports.

"UNICEF says Iraq's children and young people have simply dropped off our radar screens, an Iraqi turning 18 this year will have known little else but conflict. Most worrying of all are new figures showing plummeting school attendance. What's more, UNICEF says only around 40% of Iraqi children have regular access to clean water. In some parts of the country, immunization is now at less than 50%, triggering a measles outbreak earlier this year."

The High Court in Zimbabwe has dismissed the application by the opposition for the release of its Second in Command Tendai Biti. The judge said the allegations of treason against him were grave and complex. A Presidential election run-off is due at the end of next week. Peter Biles reports.(Www.hxen.net)

"The MDC opposition says Tendai Biti remains behind the bars despite a High Court order that he be brought before a magistrate and be formally charged. The MDC says this shameless behavior by the government is further evidence of a complete disregard for the rule of law. It's accusing the state of trying to thwart the election campaign of the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai at every level. Mr. Tsvangirai’s spokesman George Sibotshiwe says it's becoming extremely difficult for the opposition to prepare for the second round of the presidential contest."

World News from the BBC.

A leading right-wing Colombian paramilitary leader Diego Fernando Murillo has pleaded guilty to drugs trafficking charges before a court in New York. He and 13 other paramilitary leaders were extradited by Columbia to the United States last month. They are accused of trafficking tons of cocaine to the US. He now faces a possible 30-year jail sentence.

American Army lawyers have been explaining the development of harsh questioning techniques, used at Guantanamo Bay and other detention centers. They told the Senate Hearing that the methods including sensory deprivation and simulated drowning were based on training given to US soldiers to resist enemy interrogation. The Democrat Senator Carl Levin said the use of the techniques, known as Sere, have been very damaging.

"Sere techniques are based on abusive tactics used by our enemies. If we use those same techniques offensively against detainees, it says to the world that they have America’s stamp of approval. That puts our troops at greater risk of being abused if they are captured. It also weakens our moral authority and harms our efforts to attract allies to our side in the fight against terrorism."

A White House spokesman responded by saying that detainees at Guantanamo Bay were treated humanely.

The Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has rejected as undemocratic the continuing protests and roadblocks by farmers. The demonstrations have come in response to her decision to impose a higher tax on the export of key grains, such as soya. In a nationally-televised address, President Fernandez reiterated her view that the tax was essential to establish a greater distribution of wealth in the country.

One of the greatest stars of Hollywood musicals, the actress and dancer Cyd Charisse, has died. She was 87. Cyd Charisse was famous for her work in the 1940s and 50s when she sang and danced with some of the legends of the era, Gene Kelly, in ‘singing in the Rain’ and Fred Astaire, in ‘Silk stockings’.

BBC News.