BBC news 2010-09-06 加文本

BBC news 2010-09-06

BBC News with Jonathan Izard

A group of suicide attackers has stormed an Iraqi army base in Baghdad, drawing American troops into the fighting just days after the United States formally ended its combat operations in the country. At least 12 people were killed and more than 20 wounded in the assault by militant gunmen and bombers. Two of the attackers managed to get into the base, and an Iraqi officer said American forces were called in to help in a gun battle with them. From Baghdad, Gabriel Gatehouse.

The Americans always said that the fifty-odd thousand troops they've still got here are of course authorized to fire in self-defence, but it is actually quite unusual for the Americans to engage this actively in an operation usually they provide air cover and other sort of expertise. Here it seems they went a little bit further, and it seems that while the Americans are still here, this is resource that the Iraqis can call upon. And these attacks do take place on quite a regular basis, so we can assume that they will probably call upon them again in the future between now and the pullout date, which is at the end of next year.

The outlawed Basque separatist group ETA has declared a unilateral ceasefire in its violent campaign for independence from Spain. In a video message given to the BBC, it said it decided several months ago not to carry out any more armed attacks. ETA said it wanted to achieve its aims by peaceful means. But Rodolfo Ares, the interior minister of the Basque regional government, said the statement was insufficient.

"ETA's announcement may be useful to ETA and its will to resolve its discrepancies. But I insist it is absolutely not enough for democracy, the law for the great majority of Basque society. The time for truces has passed, and the only thing Basque society expects is ETA's announcement of a definitive end to terrorist activity."

Emergency services in Guatemala say up to 100 people may have been buried by landslides on the main highway north of Guatemala City. Across Guatemala, 36 people have been confirmed dead in floods and landslides caused by heavy rain. James Read reports.

Dozens of people were trying to dig a bus out of a landslide on the main road north of Guatemala City when a second one engulfed them, burying rescuers and vehicles in deep mud and sweeping them into a canyon below. Emergency workers have been digging frantically for survivors, despite the risk that the mountainside may again collapse. The government had already advised people to stay off the roads after a bus was buried on a different stretch of the same highway on Saturday. President Alvaro Colom has called the situation a national tragedy.

The Roman Catholic Church has indicated it might use diplomatic channels to push for clemency for a woman in Iran who's been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. Her son had appealed to Pope Benedict to save her life. The Vatican said it was following the plight of the woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, with attention.

World News from the BBC

The government in Bangladesh has put its health and livestock officials on high alert after an outbreak of anthrax spread to more districts in the north and west. Five districts are now affected, and more than 320 people have been infected by skin anthrax which causes lesions. Livestock department officials have their leave cancelled and have been told to monitor the situation.

It's exactly a month since a rockfall trapped 33 miners deep underground in Chile. Their relatives have marked the occasion at the site where work to bore a rescue shaft to the miners is continuing. From there, Gideon Long reports.

One month on and relatives of the miners marked the occasion when a rock collapse at the mine cut them off from their loved ones. On a hillside, overlooking the site, the Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne read out the names of all 33 men. The miners have survived on a meagre diet, but there is still a long way from being rescued. Engineers have drilled through nearly 50 metres of rock, but they still have another 650 to go. So they are launching plan B. Another drill is being assembled on a different part of the mountain, and it's due to begin work later on Sunday.

A British soldier has been killed by militants in southern Afghanistan. The army said he was part of an operation fighting insurgents in Helmand province when his unit was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade. Another soldier wounded days ago in Afghanistan has died of his wounds in a British hospital. Three hundred and thirty-four British personnel have died in the Afghan conflict since the US-led invasion almost nine years ago.

The young Japanese motorcycle racer, Shoya Tomizawa, has been killed during a support race for the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy. Nineteen-year-old Tomizawa was fatally injured after falling off his bike at high speed and being hit by two other riders. The defending MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, who saw the crash on television, said it was terrifying.

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