BBC news with Justin Green.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has said no Palestinian state would be established as long as he remains in power in remarks made on the eve of general election. His comments were seen as an attempt to boost hardline support for his Likud party with the latest opinion polls suggesting that many voters remain undecided. Kevin Connolly reports.
“As sitting Prime Minister, it was Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to call these elections. But he seems to have anticipated a straight forward reshuffling of Israel’s pack of center-right national’s parties to produce a more manageable coalition, the race has proved much tight than expected. And the final opinion poll shows his Likud party trailing to an opposition central-left allies. There are still enough like-minded parties in the next parliament to allow Mr. Netanyahu to form another coalition.But it is far from certain.”
A millionaire from one of America’s wealthiest families is facing a murder charge in Los Angeles after making comments to himself apparently admitting his guilt which was recorded by television documentary makers. Nick Bryant in New York has the story.
“Robert Durst, the elder son of one of New York’s richest families, seems led a bizarre controversy-filled life which has been chronicled not only in the HBO documentary series, but also in a lively fictionalized Hollywood film All Good Thing starring Ryan Gosling. Mystery has long surrounded the young self-disappearance of his first wife Kathleen from their New York country house in 1982. His spokeswoman in France Susan Berman was killed at home in Beverly Hill in 2000 by a bullet in the back of her neck. Then when he moved to Texas after her death, he was acquitted of murdering of his neighbor, but Durst admitted shooting him self-defense and then dismembering the body.”
Brazil’s public prosecutor has formerly charged the treasurer of the governing Worker's Party Joao Vaccari with corruption. Twenty six other people were also charged in relation to a massive corruption scandal at the state owned oil company Petrobras. Candace Piette reports.
“Mr. Vaccari was accused alongside a number of senior executives both from Petrobras from the giant oil company’s contractors. Last week, a congressional hearing heard accusations that governing Worker's Party received up to 200 million dollars skimmed from contracts with Petrobras. On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people protested in cities across Brazil against corruption. Many of the protesters demanded the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. She served as chair of the Petrobras board when much of the alleged corruption had been taking place.”
President Putin has lofted off rumors about his health in his first public appearance in 10 days. The Russian leader said life would be boring without gossip, but failed to explain his absence in cancelation of scheduled events.
BBC news.
A court in Egypt has sentenced to death the most senior leader of Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Badie and 13 other key members of the banned movement. All 14 were found guilty of planning attacks against the state. Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization in 2013.
Police in the Pakistani City of Lahore have used teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters in the largest Christian neighborhood. Demonstrators smashed cars and threw stones a day after two suicide bombings at churches killed at least 15 worshipers. In the aftermath of attacks, two men accused of being involved were burn to death by mob.
A Chechen mother who was living in the Netherlands has taken her two young children to join Islamic State militants in Syria against the will of their Dutch father who has legal custody. The father warned police of the woman’s possible departure after being alerted by the children’s Islamic school in October last year. But the mother had printed plan to get herself and children, Anan Holigon reports from Hague.
“The mother and her children, a boy aged 8 and a 7-year old girl are understood to have taken flights from Belgium to Athens, possibly using fake passports. Prosecutors are treating it as a case of kidnapping and issued an international detention request. However, it may be too late, there are reports that the 32 year old refugee phoned her mother in January, telling her that she was in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqah.”
United States has expressed concern about the arrest on sedition charges of a senior opposition politician in Malaysia Nurul Izzah Anwar. The state department said recent charges of sedition against critics of the Malaysian government raise serious concerns about the freedom of expression, the rule of law, and the independence of the judicial system. Nurul Izzah Anwar is the daughter of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.