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BBC news 2015-06-20

Hello, I'm Jerry Smith with the BBC News.

A series of bombs have ripped through Shiite mosques and offices in the Yemeni capital, Sana, killing more than thirty people. The blasts targeted Shiite worshippers at their evening prayers and officers belonging to the Houthis rebel movement. This man witnessed the devastation.

Suddenly, we heard the explosion. I went outside my little shop, and I saw the children on the ground, bleeding. Some had eye injuries. Others had leg injuries. And some had shrapnel wounds on their faces and on their heads. The explosion was terrifying. Islamic State militants said the attacks were in revenge against the Houthis, who've taken over the capital and much of Yemen. The government in exile and the rebels are currently attending peace talks in Geneva.

The two most senior defence officials in the United States said there is no way that the U.S. will achieve its recruiting target of soldiers in Iraq. The U.S. Defence Secretary, Ashton Carter, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, called for a greater commitment from the Iraqi government. From Washington, here's E.M.

It was a bleak picture on Iraq that was painted by America's two most senior defence figures. Ashton Carter, the Defence Secretary, and General Martin Dempsey, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged there was now no chance the U.S. would achieve its goal of training twenty-four thousand Iraqi troops by the autumn, saying only seven thousand had been recruited to date. America had also been too slow, they admitted, in arming Iraqi security forces in their fight against Islamic State militants.

With Greece, just fourteen days away from defaulting on its massive debts, Athens and its international creditors are playing down any hopes of a breakthrough towards resolving the crisis. In Luxembourg on Thursday, Euro Zone finance ministers are due to discuss the looming end of the Greek bailout programme, an event, the Bank of Greece says, could force the country out of the single currency, and even the European Union. The Euro Group Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem says the chances of reaching a deal are very small.

The authorities in Chad have banned the wearing of the full-face veil, or burka, following suicide bombings on Monday. The Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet made the announcement after meeting religious leaders. Richard Hamilton reports.

The Prime Minister said the wearing of the burka and any clothing that covers everything but the eyes was a camouflage, and was prohibited in all places across Chad. He said security forces would go into markets, confiscate all burkas being sold there and burn them. Boko Haram militants have increasingly been using female suicide bombers, as they are more likely to smuggle bombs into public places without detection.

World news from the BBC.

The Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic says he's shocked by Hungary's decision to build a fence to stop a surge in illegal immigrants crossing from Serbia. A barbed wire barrier, four metres high, will stretch along one hundred and seventy-five kilometres of border. Mr. Vucic said he was surprised by Budapest's decision, adding that nobody builds walls in the modern world. Correspondents say the Hungarian proposals fit a pattern of recent actions by the right-wing x government.

Slovenia has detained the former Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj on a international arrest warrant issued by Serbia. G.R reports from Belgrade.

War crimes prosecutors in Belgrade have been investigating Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj over three cases, dating to the conflict of the late 1990s. They involve the deaths of the at least sixty people. Mr. Haradinaj strenuously denies the allegations and called his arrest offensive to Kosovo. Judges of the Hague Tribunal have twice acquitted him of war crimes charges, covering his time as the Commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

The Columbian authorities say the country's largest rebel group, the FARC, has blown up an oil pipeline and contaminated a local river in the northern town of Catatumbo. It's led to the water supply been cut off for more than sixteen thousand people. Attacks on oil, electricity and transport infrastructure have increased since FARC rebels suspended their unilateral ceasefire two months ago. Peace talks between the FARC and the government are continuing despite the latest incidents.

The Chilean football star Arturo Vidal has made a tearful public apology after crashing his Ferrari while drunk. He's spent an afternoon off training at a casino. The football authorities in Chile, which is hosting the Cup of America, have decided against suspending Arturo Vidal from the tournament. The footballer said he was really embarrassed.

BBC News.