BBC news with Jonathan Izard.
Twenty tourists were among the victims of an attack by gunman on one of Tunisia’s most prestigious museums. The assailant shot dead visitors from South Africa,
Poland, Italy and Spain as they were getting off a bus outside the Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis which stands next to the country’s parliament. At least 22 people
died in the attack and more than 40 others were wounded. Two hours later Tunisian security forces shot the gunman dead. Adnan Cotour reports from Tunis.
“The last group of tourists were taken away on a bus a while ago, wailing at bystanders and security forces and many Tunisians here are reluctant to leave. “I’m sad
and shocked”, one of them told me. The attacker has managed to strike both at political as well at the economic heart of the country. The site of the attack the Bardo
museum is a Tunis Watte Louvre as to Paris. It’s in walking distance to parliament where terrified politicians were locked down when the attack began. This is the
first attack on civilians in more than decades. And as an act of defiant and solidarity with victims, politicians have been gathering here this evening.”
As the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to build a new governing coalition, the US has criticized the tactics that won him the election. Kim Ghattes
reports from Washington.
“The White House made very clear it was deeply concerned about the “divisive rhetoric” used in the campaign directed at Israeli Arabs. The administration also said
it would reevaluate its position on the best way to achieve a two states solution. The Israeli leader has said there would be no Palestinian state if he were
reelected. And in a scathing editorial the New York Times said Mr. Netanyahu had laid bare his duplicity and confirmed suspicions he never had any intention to
negotiate a peace deal.”
The US Federal Reserve has signaled it’s now prepared to raise interest rates. Following a two-day meeting the central bank’s policy setting committee ended its
pledge to be patient before reversing the monetary policy it's pursued since financial crisis of 2008, but the Chairperson of Federal reserve Janet Yellen said the
rise may not be immediate.
“Today’s modification of our guidance should not be interpreted to mean that we’ve decided on the timing of their increase. In other words, just because we removed
the word patient from the statement doesn’t mean we’re going to be impatient. Our policy is likely to remain highly accommodative to support continued progress
toward our objectives of maximum employment and 2% inflation.”
The Pentagon says it’s killed a leader of the Somali militant group Al-shabab in a drone strike. US defense official said Adan Garar, the man accused of the planning
of the attack on a shopping mall in Kenya two years ago was hit by a drone equipped with hellfire missile in southern Somalia last Friday. The US has been assessing
the operation before confirming that Gara was the target.
World news from the BBC
A Pakistani government minister has announced the last minute stay of execution in the case of a man who, rights groups say, was a child when he was convicted with
involuntary manslaughter. Shaphcat Husin was due to be executed on Thursday. A British based children’s charity Child Rights International Network says he was 14
years old at the time of the crime and insists he was tortured into confessing.
The leaders of the United States in Germany have said they’ll maintain sanctions imposed on Russia for its support of separatists in Ukraine. President Obama and
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the sanctions were necessary to bring a lasting resolution to the crisis. The commitment comes as president Putin acknowledged the damage
caused by the sanctions.
The Brazilian government has announced a raft of anti-corruption measures following Sunday’s mass protest across the country demanding the impeachment of president
Dilma Rousseff. Speaking in Brasilia, Ms. Rousseff called for a national pact against corruption. Wyre Davies reports from Rio.
“Earlier this week, the president described corruption as nothing new in Brazil, but promised to do something about it. Today we heard some of the detail, declaring
that she’d always fought against corruption, she called for a national pact to tackle it and promised laws to criminalize and regulate the funding at political
campaigns and money laundering in elections. But to several senior politicians and industrial executives implicated in the Petrobras inquiry, it is questionable if the
proposals go far enough.”
The world’s highest-paid model Gisele Bundchen has announced she is to retire from the catwalk. The Brazilian supermodel's spokeswoman and sister Patricia said Gisele
wants to focus on her family and special projects. The 34-year old model has been a face of French fashion house Chanel, and has worked with designer of Valentino,
Versace and Louis Vuitton. Reports say she earned estimated 47million dollars last year. She will make a final catwalk-well at Sao Paulo’s fashion week in April.