22/08/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Kasia Madera.

Another twist in the conflict in Iraq as an attack on a mosque

in the province of Diyala leaves over 60 Sunnis dead.

The fight against Islamic State continues and there's debate

in western countries about whether to tackle the group

in Syria, which could mean working with the Assad government.

A Russian aid convoy arrives in the besieged city of Luhansk

in eastern Ukraine, the government in Kiev calls it an "invasion".

18 suspected informers for the Israelis are shot dead

by Hamas gunmen in Gaza, as more rockets hit targets in Israel.

From presidents to pop stars, find out why thousands of people

around the world are tipping buckets of icy water over themselves.

Dozens of people have been killed in an attack on a Sunni mosque.

Officials say a bomber blew himself up

The attack happened in the eastern province of Diyala, about 120km

The area has seen heavy fighting between Islamic State fighters,

who are Sunni, and Iraqi troops, backed by Shia militiamen.

Some reports say Shia militias carried out the attack, while others

say IS militants targeted local Sunnis who refused to join them.

IS forces remain present in large parts of Iraq and Syria.

The Syrian government is reported to have killed 70 Islamic State

jihadist fighters in the last 48 hours of fighting .The

It is going to be a long battle. Kurdish fighters have

themselves and are pushing back against Islamic State.

themselves and are pushing back the job. American air strikes

launched from carriers can have a decisive factor, but to hurt Islamic

State badly, they would have two target their power base in northern

Syria. That is why some voices are saying it is time to make a deal

with President Assad. On practical grounds, we have to consider taking

a deep breath and holding our nose and saying, it would seem to us now

that the extreme leave vicious and evil nature of Islamic State is

worse than what Assad has been doing and if any situation in history

where my enemy's enemy becomes my friend. The West's strategy so far

include the departure of President Assad. Britain says it would change

its mind about him. I have said often that one of the first things

you learn in the Middle East is that my enemy's enemy is not necessarily

your friend, you may find that the Arab mind against a common enemy,

but that does not make us friends. It does not make is able to work for

them. Islamic State controls part of Iraq.

Their power base is here. The US has said whatever it takes, but what are

the options? More air strikes. Doing that in Syria without the regime's

consent would be difficult. Work with neighbouring states such as

Iran, but building a coalition means getting tangled in difficult and

often bloody local politics. That is why there is talk about working with

President Assad. His Armed Forces have the intelligence and are well

supplied, but his price would be the end of pressure on him to go. A year

ago, Syrian Kurds fled to camps in Iraq in the face of Islamic State

advances. Now all they want as much help as they can to keep them

relatively safe. With the Syrian war merging with the sectarian

violence, the challenge facing anyone who wants peace comes twice

as big. Syria's war has been impossible to stop, no one yet has

much of a strategy to stop the war in Iraq, either.

Let's discuss the situation. From Beirut we're joined by Noah

Bonsey, Senior Analyst on Syria from We'll speak about the issues

surrounding Syria and the Western A lot of hope is being pinned on a

new Government in Iraq to be more inclusive, but when we see attacks

such as the Sunni mosque attack, what hope do you have? Today's awful

killings is another reminder. It is not simply the formation of a

Government that is threatened, if indeed it turns out that Shia

militias were responsible, that will only help the Islamic State's

recruitment inside Iraq. What we have seen is that the Iraqi

Government's dependence upon militias, similar to the approach

used by the assigned regime, has only fanned the problem. As well as

banning the jeopardy flames. -- fanning the jet

we had a horrific video beheading of James Foley and we are hearing about

a siege in a town where up to 20,000 Turkmen gets being held, it shows

how many fronts Islamic State is now fighting.

That is very true. One cannot simply focus on Iraq, ISO ignores the

border. We should too. We need to take the Syrian situation more into

account, but that means developing relationships with local forces. One

cannot just rely on air strikes or on government forces, be it Iraq or

Syria. Given their reliance on militias. These are all problems

that are helping Islamic State recruit among Sunnis and beyond.

It's the fight was taken into Syria, there has been a big discussion

about maybe President Assad needs to be brought into the conversation, do

you think that is something that needs to be done or can Western

forces just rely on local tribes? Local tribes would be sufficient.

There needs to be weapons and manpower. -- will not be sufficient.

In Syria, conditions are slightly better, there are rebel groups who

identify ISIS as an enemy. They are fairly well-organised, but they need

better organisation and better arms to be able to fight effectively

against ISIS and the regime. However, there does need to be a

broader strategy, I think, to address the systemic problems of the

governments of both of these countries and empower moderate

forces in general. Moderate forces are the enemy of both ISIS and the

regime. Thank you. We are out of time, it

was good to talk to you. Reports from Israel say

a four-year-old boy has been killed in a mortar attack near

the border with the Gaza Strip. It is the first Israeli death

since the collapse of ceasefire In Gaza, Palestinian militants have

killed 18 people, accused of being Eyewitnesses say six men were

grabbed from amongst hundreds of worshippers at Gaza City's largest

mosque and gunned down by militants. The killings come a day

after an Israeli air strike killed We will talk about Hamas in a

moment, but bring us up-to-date with the death of a four-year-old boy.

Police and medics are saying that in a few hundred meters away, several

mortar rounds fell and the only place you can be protected from such

things is inside one of the shelters that most houses in Israel have as

the Iron Dome cannot get anywhere near such short-range weapons.

Medics say the four-year-old was playing in his living room and got

struck in the head and was tragically killed. It was the first

death since the cease-fire was a few days ago after brokered talks. The

Egyptian Prime Minister has sent his condolences to the family and says

Hamas will pay. -- is really reminisce. There have been Israeli

strikes, and four others were killed in Gaza today. -- the Israeli Prime

Minister. Talk us through the executions of apparent Israeli

informers by Hamas. These killings take place quite regularly in Gaza,

but not usually in public and that is the key thing, these were 18

people killed in public, clearly a tactic of deterrent for anyone

thinking of passing on invading nation -- passing on information to

Israel. Some took place this morning and we believe some of the killings

took place after Friday prayers. All of this suggests that they are

trying to really get the message across that this passing of

information should not be taking place again. All the while, as their

studies -- as the hostilities continue, it is an Israeli strategy

to not negotiate whilst under fire, so the peace talks that seem to be

doing well at the beginning of the week seen so far away now. -- seemed

to be. More than 100 Russian lorries

carrying humanitarian aid have arrived in the eastern

Ukraine city of Luhansk. That's despite the convoy not

having permission to cross the Kiev calls the move an

"invasion" and a "violation of David, bring us up-to-date on the

whereabouts of the convoy. The convoy has entered Ukrainian

territory, we're not sure how many trucks have reached a Luhansk. Local

authority say some have gone there and the question is how long they

were last there and stay there and what else they will do? The trucks

entered Ukraine without Ukrainian permission, the Ukrainians say they

will not use force against the convoy, however, and this is how the

events unfolded today. In the end, Russian officials said

it could not wait any longer. After nearly a week on the Ukrainian

border, Moscow announced it would dispatch its aid, the -- its aid

convoy without Ukrainian permission. Moscow says it is sending a variety

of supplies, including water, electric generators and baby food.

We are certain we are doing the right thing, saving people's lives.

We blamed Kiev and country standing behind it that...

The Pentagon and lay the blame squarely at Russia's feet and said

there could be further actions against Moscow. Russia should not

send vehicles, persons or cargo of any kind in the Ukraine, whether

under the guise of humanitarian unvoiced or any other context.

Eastern Ukraine is a war zone and the fighting in the last days has

intensified. The Red Cross was meant to oversee the convoy in Ukraine and

the distribution of the aid, but officials from their say Moscow

decided to move forward without them. -- officials from Red Cross.

TRANSLATION: Because of a difficult security situation in Luhansk where

we are told about continuing violence, we do not have sufficient

security guarantees to accompany the convoy.

Ukrainian officials have viewed the convoy with suspicion. At best, a

propaganda stunt, at worst a cover for military operations. Ukrainian

authorities say they have only inspected if -- 34 trucks and now

the trucks are in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan is it will be used for

military purposes. -- and Kiev. Ukrainian officials have said they

will not use force to stop the convoy. But they condemn it in no

uncertain terms. Where the trucks go now and how long they will remain

Ukraine is an open question. We heard someone from the Red Cross

saying they were not involved in this convoy. Can you explain an

elaborate why that is. Yes, the Red Cross was supposed to be very much

involved. They were supposed to supervise the movement of the

convoy. Eventually, they were supposed to reach a spot that they

would use as a base to distribute the aid. It would be off-loaded and

sent around the area. The Red Cross said they would not do this until

they received security guarantees and they said they did not go in

this time because these security guarantees were not available, they

didn't get them from the side that were fighting. The fact that this

convoy is entering without the Red Cross supervision is another point

of concern for people here in Ukraine as well as Western

officials. Now a look at some of the day's

other news. Nigeria has recorded two

new cases of Ebola. Health officials say two spouses

of people earlier infected with the disease have tested positive to

the deadly virus. Sierra Leone has passed a bill so

that anyone hiding big teams can be sent to jail.

Malaysia is observing a national day of mourning, as the

remains of the first 20 victims are returned home from flight MH17 that

In a sombre ceremony at Kuala Lumpur airport, soldiers carried

28 of the 43 Malaysian victims have been identified.

The number of people missing after a landslide in the Japanese city of

Hiroshima is now believed to be much higher than originally thought.

More than 50 people are thought to be buried under the huge mudslides.

That could put the eventual death toll from

Two buses have collided on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, killing 33

people. The accident took place at the holiday resort -- 50 kilometres

from our holiday resort. Some people are in a critical condition.

Some of the most famous people in the world have been drenching

themselves in freezing cold water and posting the video online

in a fundraising stunt called the ice bucket challenge.

The clips have taken over social media in recent weeks, but despite

some very public nominations, some celebrities are now refusing to

take part and that includes perhaps the most high profile of them all -

He has tried his hand at most things but when it comes to be ice bucket

challenge, President Obama seems cold on the idea. The President's

predecessor was not so shy. George W Bush was soaked by his wife Laura.

It is unclear exactly whose challenge the president is refusing.

Justin Bieber was the first to nominate him. And 86-year-old

Kennedy family matriarch Ethel also named him after her drenching. Mr

Obama will not be alone in staying dry. US government says officials

are banned from the stunt because of an ethics code. So the White House

will not become the White House. But the charity has said the charity --

says the president has donated an undisclosed sum.

We're joined by John Kell, policy manager for the charity MNDA,

How did this start? It took off in America a few weeks ago for a

baseball player who is now living with motor neurone disease. We saw

celebrities doing it there and then it came over here and we have had

Stuart Broad, Zoe Ball, fat boy Slim doing it. But also, people who have

been affected by MND and have lost loved ones from it and even those

who have never heard of it before the ice bucket challenge. Are you

surprised at how pro -- high profile this has become? Yes, it has been

really remarkable. Certainly do have that many celebrities involved is

amazing. It is very valuable to us to have celebrities reaching out to

their fans through social media because they do have such a big

reach. So, even if there are people looking at it because it is their

favourite celebrity involved, the vast amount of people who have heard

of motor neurone disease now. This started off in the US. But your

organisation will also benefit from this. Yes, people are donating to us

and we have raised ?60,000 directly so far and we know that many people

have set up their own giving pages and will be donating and that will

go to fund not only support that we provide to people with MND but also

research into the causes and working towards a jewel. 60,000, that is

fantastic. When you say you will look at further research. At the

moment, it is terminal and there is no cause -- cure for it. There is

still a great deal to find out about it. We have a major genetics project

underway where will -- where we will be sequencing the genomes for 1500

people with MND. It is the first time we have been able to do this on

this kind of scale so it is very exciting. And of every red disease

but explain somebody who has it, what kind of debilitating life did

they have? Yes, it is a very cruel disease. It affects all voluntary

movements so it means someone can lose the ability to walk about, to

use their arms, their hands, to eat, to swallow, to speak and eventually

to breathe so when people die of MND it is usually of respiratory

failure. It is also quite fast moving so 30% of people die within

one year of getting the diagnosis and more than half within two years

so it is a very rapidly progressing disease. A very famous sufferer,

Stephen Hawking, he has had the disease for many years. And yes, he

lived a remarkable length of time with it and is very unusual in that

regard. It would be very helpful to understand exactly why that

happened. A very unusual case. Let's hope that the ice bucket challenge

continues to raise lots of money but from the time being, thank you very

much for coming in to speak to us. Gibraltar's monkeys are a big

tourist attraction. But are they getting a bit too cheeky for their

own good? Locals say they've started invading urban spaces and are

becoming too aggressive. So now Gibraltar is planning to banish some

of them. Just take a look at what they get up to with

the BBC's macaque ice Tom Burridge. They know the locals

and amuse the tourists. But in search of a meal, Gibraltar's

monkeys are venturing into town. We have just come out

of our hotel to go and do some shopping and we did not think we

would see a monkey perched up on the I have heard about them but I didn't

think we would see them at all, so, But the monkeys have a taste

for what humans can provide. How often do the monkeys appear

at school? They have become a nuisance

at the school. the leader, with the male, and lots

of babies, lots of little monkeys, some are very cute and some others

are aggressive and threatening. Gibraltar's 200 monkeys spent

the vast majority of their time up on the rock but the

authorities out working to stop some a Mars Bar and the Macaque will go

for the Mars Bar. At the moment, a lot of resources

are put into providing sort of more open spaces for the Macaques

so they can forage in the upper rock A large effort in pushing them from

the town into the nature reserve. They are also working to

control their numbers. 13 monkeys will be exported to a safari park

abroad. Gibraltar's monkeys are thought to have travelled on ships

just over the water in Africa several centuries ago. Their numbers

were culled several years ago but that is not seen as part of the

solution now. Just some of these guys and girls will soon have a new

home. And from their current home, they can see Africa, where their

ancestors lived in the distance just over the water. Gibraltar's monkeys

are an asset but sometimes, some of them are also now nuisance

neighbours, too. Well, that's all from the programme.

Next, the weather. Let's bring you up-to-date with our

top story. More than 60 worshippers in eastern Iraq have been killed.

Government burst in and fired worse shoppers -- gunman burst in and

fired the -- fired on the worshippers. We have more on our

website. From the other team, thank you very much for watching. See you

very soon. Goodbye. Plenty of dry and fine weather in

store for you over the course of the weekend but some chilly nights to

come as well. Tomorrow night will start off chilly but some sunshine

developing widely through the course of the day. One or two showers. High

pressure just north-west of