BBC news 2009-01-11 加文本

BBC News with Mary Small.

Israel has dropped leaflets on the Gaza Strip, warning residents that it will use escalating force to attack Palestinian militants across the territory. Medical officials in Gaza say more than 820 Palestinians have now died in the Israel’s two-week assault, including 235 children. 13 Israelis have died in the conflict so far.  Rushdi Abu Alouf is in Gaza.

We are inside Jabaliya Refugee Camp. It's the biggest refugee camp in Gaza Strip where hundreds of thousands of people are living here. Not far from here, in the edge of the camp, Israeli army is fighting militants from Hamas and other Palestinian group [groups] where many, many casualties were arrived to the main hospital called Kamal Adwan. The Israeli army have [has] dropped leaflets and displayed saying that the third stage of the operation will start very soon. The leaflets are saying to the people in the camp that Israelis are not targeting civilians, they are targeting Hamas, but these people are worried.

A top Hamas leader has said the war in Gaza has meant the end of any chance for settlement and negotiations with Israel. Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Syria, said that the Israeli offensive will increase resistance against Israeli occupation. Natalia Antelava reports.

This was an address broadcast to millions of homes across the Arab world. Khaled Meshaal said that had killed any chance of compromise and settlement, and that the war in Gaza had brought resistance to every Palestinian household.   Khaled Meshaal's speech comes as Hamas teams are in Cairo, negotiating the Egyptian-proposed ceasefire to end the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. But he said the breakthrough would come only if Israel immediately stopped the bombardment, lifted the blockade of Gaza, opened all crossings and withdrew its troops. Israel

The government of Slovakia has said it's to reopen one of its Soviet-era nuclear power reactors because of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine that’s cut gas supplies to much of Europe. The unit is in Jaslovske Bohunice, near the capital, Ljubljana. Rob Cameron reports.

Bohunice nuclear power plant is a complex of five Soviet-type reactors. Three older reactors have been decommissioned under the terms of Slovakia's accession agreement with the European Union. But Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico announced after a special cabinet meeting on Saturday that his country would now restart the reactor. The reason he said is that Slovakia's gas-fired electricity generating stations have been cut off from Russian natural gas. Slovak officials say the situation is now so bad [that] Slovakia is close to a nationwide blackout.

In Moscow, the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said the flow of Russian gas to Europe will resume once Ukraine has signed a gas monitoring deal with international experts and they are in place to monitor the pipeline through Ukraine.

World News from the BBC.

The United States vice President-elect Joe Biden has been meeting the Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to discuss US help in Afghanistan's reconstruction and the fight against militants. Earlier, Senator Biden met the Commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan.

South Africa's governing African National Congress has launched its election manifesto with the promise of massive public spending on health, education and jobs. An estimated 60,000 people crowded into a stadium in Eastern Cape Province to hear the ANC leader Jacob Zuma promise new efforts to improve life for the poor.

“We have identified five priority areas for the next five years. Creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods, education, health, rural development, food security and land reform, the fights against crime and corruption.

The authorities in Pakistan say they have extended the house arrest of the leader of a charity linked to a militant group which India blames for last November’s attacks in Mumbai.  Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, will be held for another sixty days. He denies any involvement.

The Sri Lanka authorities say all citizens must register their details with the government because of what they described as the prevailing situation in the country. The Ministry of Defense said on its website that the measure would help to ensure public security, it did not elaborate. The government has previously said Tamil Tiger rebels are using the influx of people from the north to infiltrate the capital and plant bombs.(www.hxen.net)

Zambian Airways says it has suspended operations because of high fuel costs. Passengers were left stranded at the airport. The privately owned airline was operating flights to major Southern African cities.