:00:10. > :00:15.Militants opened fire on Afghan officials visiting the village
:00:15. > :00:19.where am a US soldier killed 16 people. A ceasefire is agreed in
:00:19. > :00:25.Gaza between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, after four
:00:25. > :00:29.days of deadly violence. Two internet giants go to court as
:00:29. > :00:34.Yahoo it accuses Facebook of infringing its patents. Welcome to
:00:34. > :00:38.BBC World News. Also, the fight over rare earth, the raw material
:00:38. > :00:43.critical to the manufacture of hi- tech products like mobile phones.
:00:43. > :00:53.And taking slices off your life, a new study suggests the risk from
:00:53. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:06.eating too much red meat may be Two of President Karzai's brothers
:01:06. > :01:12.are marks those who have been fired on in an attack in Afghanistan --
:01:12. > :01:21.among us to those. Since a US soldier shot 16 civilians on Sunday,
:01:21. > :01:28.the country has been on alert for reprisals. Afghan troops returned
:01:28. > :01:38.fire in the village of Balandi. There are conflicting reports but
:01:38. > :01:42.Sami Sadat is a former adviser. Speaking from Kabul, he told me
:01:42. > :01:48.that people are furious. The mood on the ground is very bad, people
:01:48. > :01:55.are angry, the parliament demands the trial of the soldier who killed
:01:56. > :02:00.civilians in Kandahar. The attack is shocking and damaging. Shocking
:02:00. > :02:04.for Afghan people to see a US military disciplined soldier walked
:02:04. > :02:11.out of the base and file on the civilians, and kills women and
:02:11. > :02:16.children. -- fire on civilians. It is damaging relations between the
:02:16. > :02:22.Afghanistan, US and international forces as a whole. It puts the
:02:22. > :02:27.international mission in jeopardy. We saw the burning of the Karam
:02:27. > :02:35.near -- the Koran at mere Bagram Air Base and now we see the killing
:02:35. > :02:40.of civilians. You can feel that the ground is not very nice. This comes
:02:40. > :02:43.when the Taliban have been pushing the narrative of their spring
:02:43. > :02:46.offensive and this is a positive message for the Taliban narrative.
:02:46. > :02:51.They have come up with a statement that they will take revenge on that.
:02:51. > :02:57.This morning, we have seen they have fired on the Afghan officials,
:02:58. > :03:03.including the brother of President Karzai, Shah Wali Karzai, serving
:03:03. > :03:13.at the Kandahar Council. Do you have any permission of potential
:03:13. > :03:15.
:03:15. > :03:19.It is said that one member of security has been killed in
:03:19. > :03:26.unconfirmed reports, but there is no final report on the final
:03:26. > :03:29.conclusion on this. Sami Sadat, speaking to me earlier.
:03:29. > :03:36.After four days of conflict, a new ceasefire has been reached between
:03:36. > :03:40.Gaza militants and rail two stock military activities. Israeli -- and
:03:40. > :03:49.Israel to stop military activities. The ceasefire deal was brokered by
:03:49. > :03:56.Egypt. I asked our correspondent in Gaza why the ceasefire has pulled
:03:56. > :04:01.out now. The authorities in Gaza has been trying to cobble together
:04:01. > :04:06.a ceasefire through the Egyptians since Saturday night. But it has
:04:06. > :04:11.proved more difficult than initially hoped. Hamas and Israel
:04:11. > :04:18.do not speak directly to each other, they have to go through the
:04:18. > :04:23.Egyptian intelligence services. We understand that senior Hamas
:04:23. > :04:28.officials and from other groups went to Cairo, where they went --
:04:28. > :04:32.carried on these negotiations. They reached a deal late last night. The
:04:32. > :04:39.sticking-point was getting rail two committed would not carry out any
:04:40. > :04:43.targeted killings -- Israel to commit. Once they got that
:04:43. > :04:51.commitment, they were able to go forward with a ceasefire during the
:04:51. > :04:55.night, it came into effect add A very difficult few days in the
:04:55. > :05:01.region, can you explain what has been happening since Friday, what
:05:01. > :05:08.are the causes of this? This began on Friday afternoon, Israeli air
:05:08. > :05:12.strike hit a car in southern Gaza, which was carrying that the leader
:05:12. > :05:15.of a militant group called the Popular Resistance Committees.
:05:15. > :05:21.Israel claimed that it had intelligence that that group was
:05:21. > :05:26.about to carry out an attack on Israeli soil, via the Sinai
:05:26. > :05:32.Peninsula. They said they had legitimate reasons to carry out
:05:32. > :05:38.that the strike. The Israelis clearly knew that would cause
:05:38. > :05:42.retaliation from Gaza, and indeed it did over the weekend. More than
:05:42. > :05:46.200 rockets were fired back at Israel from Gaza, mainly via by
:05:46. > :05:50.Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees militants.
:05:50. > :05:55.Israel then struck back at those militants firing rockets repeatedly.
:05:55. > :06:02.We saw a couple of those yesterday, where a rocket went streaking out
:06:02. > :06:06.into the sky over Gaza towards Israel, and with in a minute, an
:06:06. > :06:11.Israeli airtight -- airstrike targeting those militants who had
:06:11. > :06:15.fired the rocket. The problem has been trying to get both sides to
:06:15. > :06:19.call a halt. Who is going to call a halt first and under what
:06:19. > :06:22.conditions? The international envoy to Syria,
:06:22. > :06:27.Kofi Annan, has been meeting members of the Syrian opposition in
:06:27. > :06:30.Turkey. Mr Annan says he respect -- expects a response to date from the
:06:30. > :06:37.Syrian authorities on concrete proposals to put forward during his
:06:37. > :06:46.visit at the weekend. -- he put visit at the weekend. -- he put
:06:46. > :06:50.That police in Bangladesh say 150 people are missing after a ferry
:06:50. > :06:57.carrying 200 passengers capsized and sank. About 35 survivors have
:06:57. > :07:07.been found, many are still missing. It is believed the ferry collided
:07:07. > :07:12.
:07:12. > :07:16.with a tanker 20 miles south of In the latest round of the
:07:16. > :07:20.increasing legal battles in the technology world, Yahoo has said it
:07:20. > :07:25.will sue Facebook. Yah who claims the social network has infringed 10
:07:25. > :07:30.of AIDS patients and its entire social model is based on Yahoo's
:07:30. > :07:34.technology. Facebook denies the allegations and says it is puzzled
:07:34. > :07:40.that a long-term business partner had chosen to resort to litigation.
:07:40. > :07:45.I spoke to the editor of a technology website he told me why
:07:45. > :07:49.it you who are suing Facebook. number of reasons. Yahoo could do
:07:49. > :07:52.with the money and Facebook is coming up to its IPO, which makes
:07:52. > :07:55.it honourable to litigation, because it doesn't want that to be
:07:55. > :07:59.going on if it is going to the markets, and there is a lot of
:07:59. > :08:04.money swishing around. Yahoo has chosen this moment to say that all
:08:04. > :08:09.this clever stuff that Facebook does, Yahoo off court of first and
:08:09. > :08:15.patented. What is you who are trying to get out of it? -- Yahoo
:08:15. > :08:25.thought of first. It is trying to get money. It is attacking phase
:08:25. > :08:30.
:08:30. > :08:33.More business now. Thank you. The US plans to launch a
:08:33. > :08:37.case at the World Trade Organisation in conjunction with
:08:38. > :08:41.Japan and the EU against China's export controls on rare earth
:08:41. > :08:45.materials. These elements have become increasingly important,
:08:45. > :08:49.using the production of hi-tech goods including mobile phones,
:08:49. > :08:53.hybrid cars and solar panels. China accounts for more than 90% of
:08:53. > :08:57.production of these minerals and that dominance has unnerved its
:08:57. > :09:01.training partners. We can talk to the chairman of rare earth global,
:09:01. > :09:06.a mining services firm which operates in China and which plans
:09:06. > :09:09.to list its shares in London this year. Many people at home are
:09:09. > :09:14.wondering, what are rare earth minerals and why are they so
:09:14. > :09:24.important in high-tech development? Rare earth is important, for
:09:24. > :09:24.
:09:24. > :09:28.It helps consolidate, it is used in most electronic components, from
:09:28. > :09:32.nuclear reactors, down to telephones and computers. We have
:09:32. > :09:39.seen rare earth prices rising steadily. No surprise that you are
:09:39. > :09:44.deciding to float, while London question of -- wide London? It has
:09:44. > :09:49.a more global reach than most markets. We thought of Australia
:09:49. > :09:58.and Toronto but we thought the a market was the best one for us. It
:09:58. > :10:04.gives us the ability to spread our shares with more shareholders, to
:10:04. > :10:09.expand our refining separation plant. You are listing your shares
:10:09. > :10:13.at a time of great controversy for rare earth. We are hearing that the
:10:13. > :10:19.Europe and Japan going to the WTO, complaining about China's behaviour
:10:19. > :10:24.in terms of its supporting -- exporting of rare earth. They have
:10:24. > :10:27.brought it on themselves. They took a deliberate decision some 20 years
:10:27. > :10:37.ago to buy the finished product rather than develop their own.
:10:37. > :10:39.
:10:39. > :10:49.There is something like 110 million tonnes of a provable resources,
:10:49. > :10:52.
:10:52. > :11:00.China has about 50% of that. The US Because of the high prices, certain
:11:00. > :11:06.firms are now developing their own minds. They are accusing of
:11:06. > :11:11.developing -- China of artificially raising prices elsewhere for people
:11:11. > :11:15.like the US and EU are wanted by rare earth. China's exports 90% of
:11:15. > :11:19.the rare earth materials in the world. It does, but that is nothing
:11:19. > :11:24.to stop the others from increasing. From our point of view, we would be
:11:24. > :11:32.happy if they did increase. China has, since the US and the others
:11:32. > :11:36.took that decision not to develop their own, developed a skill and
:11:36. > :11:40.experience which we, in fact, are happy to export. We have already
:11:40. > :11:50.been approached by one or two firms to assist them in producing the
:11:50. > :11:55.
:11:55. > :11:58.rare earth that they have. Thank That also on the agenda is the EU's
:11:58. > :12:02.proposed financial transaction tax. The UK has already made his
:12:02. > :12:06.position clear and is expected to stress strong opposition. It argues
:12:07. > :12:11.that the tax would damage a vital national interest in the form of
:12:11. > :12:14.the City of London. It says Brussels has no right to impose
:12:14. > :12:24.taxes on in the States. It is estimated more than 70% of the tax
:12:24. > :12:31.
:12:31. > :12:41.George Osborne will say, we do not on this introduced and it will be
:12:41. > :12:51.
:12:51. > :12:54.It introduces European dictatorship It is thought EU finance ministers
:12:54. > :12:57.are about to freeze aid worth nearly half a billion Euros for
:12:57. > :13:01.failing to get its budget under control. It would be the first time
:13:01. > :13:04.that funds have been withheld from a member country as punishment. It
:13:04. > :13:07.comes as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
:13:07. > :13:12.Development warned that the Hungarian economy would slide into
:13:12. > :13:17.recession this year. Nick Thorpe is in Budapest. He explained what the
:13:17. > :13:20.OECD said that Hungary must be to improve its economy. They are
:13:20. > :13:25.saying to Hungary that they should axe crisis taxes that were imposed
:13:25. > :13:28.on the banks and big taxes -- companies. That they should not
:13:28. > :13:33.continue to tax minimum incomes. That they should not increase
:13:33. > :13:38.minimum wages. A whole raft of advisory measures. The Hungarian
:13:38. > :13:41.government minister was also at this menaced -- meeting, defending
:13:41. > :13:44.hungry's economic policy. He was saying that while there was some
:13:44. > :13:48.agreement, they agreed for example on the need for rapid agreement
:13:48. > :13:54.with the IMF and the EU, but disagreed on pretty important other
:13:54. > :13:59.aspects of the OECD advice. Let's look at the European markets, and
:13:59. > :14:04.it is looking pretty good so far. In London, rising nearly 1%, in
:14:04. > :14:11.Germany and France, a similar rise. We have seen important economic
:14:11. > :14:16.data out of Germany. It showed that the biggest economy in Europe is
:14:16. > :14:21.recovering from last year's dip. We also have the Federal Reserve
:14:21. > :14:26.meeting later. We're not expecting any fresh stimulus moves but the
:14:26. > :14:34.European markets are anticipating that meeting later today.
:14:34. > :14:38.You're watching BBC World News. Still to come. Stiff upper lip and
:14:38. > :14:41.a cup of tea? Not any more in Britain today, where the caffeine
:14:41. > :14:48.fix comes in a double shot. And a letter sent from the doomed liner
:14:48. > :14:51.Titanic, returns to Belfast 100 British Prime Minister David
:14:51. > :14:55.Cameron will arrive in Washington to meet American president Barak
:14:55. > :15:00.Obama in a few hours time. During his three day visit the two men
:15:00. > :15:03.will discuss ongoing world problems. While Mr Cameron will become the
:15:03. > :15:13.first world leader to fly on board Air Force One and take in a
:15:13. > :15:13.
:15:13. > :15:16.basketball game. From Washington. Laura Trevelyan sent this report.
:15:16. > :15:22.As David Cameron and Barack Obama prepared to meet once again in
:15:22. > :15:28.Washington they say the world counts the alliance between the USA
:15:28. > :15:32.and UK. We enjoy a truly special relationship. That was Barack Obama
:15:32. > :15:36.the last time he received David Cameron at the White House. Now
:15:36. > :15:41.they have written a joint article saying what makes our relationship
:15:41. > :15:45.special, unique and essential for our nation's in the world, and we
:15:45. > :15:50.joined hands across so many endeavours. They include
:15:50. > :15:55.Afghanistan, the volatile situation there and the prospects for Afghans
:15:55. > :16:01.taking control of their own security by 2014. It will be
:16:01. > :16:06.discussed. Syria will be high on the agenda as President Assad's a
:16:06. > :16:10.bloody crackdown on his opponents and containing Iran a's nuclear
:16:10. > :16:14.programme will be a pressing topic for the and the visit is making
:16:14. > :16:19.some headlines here. American reporters want to know why the
:16:19. > :16:23.President is taking him to a basketball game. An opportunity for
:16:23. > :16:27.them to spend time together outside the official trappings of
:16:27. > :16:33.Washington and the White House. And the opportunity for the President
:16:33. > :16:39.to show the Prime Minister a slice of American life. Conservative
:16:39. > :16:43.critics say he has taken time to appreciate Britain's importance.
:16:44. > :16:47.think all US presidents come to the conclusion that Britain is vital to
:16:47. > :16:51.American interests, the special relationship is important
:16:51. > :16:56.strategically. The red carpet has been rolled out, a state dinner
:16:56. > :17:01.will be held in his honour. Expect to hear the words special
:17:01. > :17:08.relationship a lot. Yet, in a changing world, Britain is far from
:17:08. > :17:10.being the only country with a close connection to the USA. The
:17:10. > :17:13.Sakurajima volcano in Japan's southern Kagoshima region has
:17:13. > :17:16.erupted again for the second day running. Rocks half a metre wide
:17:16. > :17:26.have been thrown more than two kilometres. Officials say that so
:17:26. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:30.far the eruptions have caused no This is BBC World News. The
:17:30. > :17:32.headlines: Militants open fire on an Afghan
:17:32. > :17:39.government delegation visiting the village where an American soldier
:17:39. > :17:47.killed 16 people. A ceasefire is agreed in Gaza between Israeli
:17:47. > :17:49.forces and Palestinian militants Eating red meat can dramatically
:17:49. > :17:54.increase your risk of dying prematurely, according to
:17:54. > :17:57.scientists in America. Researchers at Harvard University have found
:17:57. > :18:06.that if you regularly eat red meat, sausages and bacon you are at
:18:06. > :18:10.greater risk of getting both heart disease and cancer.
:18:10. > :18:14.It's been accepted for some time that too much red meat is not good
:18:14. > :18:19.for our help. This American study suggests it may be even greater the
:18:19. > :18:25.risk than previously thought. Scientists looked at 120,000 people
:18:25. > :18:30.over a number of years. They found eating extra red meat every day
:18:30. > :18:36.increased the risk of death by 13%. Eating processed meat every day
:18:36. > :18:40.increased the risk by 20%. Were processed and unprocessed meet,
:18:40. > :18:45.they have higher risks of premature death but the processed meat was
:18:45. > :18:47.higher. The official government advice is red meat can be part of a
:18:48. > :18:53.healthy balanced diet but the people who eat a lot should
:18:53. > :18:57.consider cutting down. The advice from other bodies varies widely.
:18:58. > :19:02.The World Cancer Research Fund says people should avoid processed meat
:19:02. > :19:06.entirely. The meat advisory panel funded by the meat industry
:19:06. > :19:11.challenged the results of this latest research pulls up it said
:19:11. > :19:19.the meat was an essential part of a British just buy it -- a nutritious
:19:19. > :19:22.diet. And people should not reduce their intake. If you know anyone
:19:22. > :19:25.who has had a hip replacement operation, you'll be interested in
:19:25. > :19:27.this. Scientists in Britain say that metal-on-metal hip
:19:27. > :19:30.replacements have a much higher risk of failure than other options
:19:30. > :19:33.and should not be implanted. Writing in the medical magazine,
:19:33. > :19:37.the Lancet, researchers are urging surgeons to use plastic or ceramic
:19:37. > :19:40.implants instead. They studied 400,000 hip replacements and
:19:40. > :19:50.suggest the failure rate for metal- on-metal hips may be as high as one
:19:50. > :19:54.in ten for some patients, particularly women.
:19:54. > :19:59.With me now is our Health correspondent, Branwen Jefferys.
:19:59. > :20:03.Why is this so bad for the metal replacements? They don't know why
:20:03. > :20:08.they go wrong but they think they may loosen more quickly and the
:20:08. > :20:13.failure rate is slightly higher for women than men. Overall, around 6%
:20:13. > :20:19.of patients who had metal on metal implants needed another operation
:20:19. > :20:24.within five years because they were in pain. If you look at plastic
:20:24. > :20:28.sockets, that fell to less than 2%, so a much better result but overall,
:20:28. > :20:34.it's important to remember hip replacements are very common
:20:34. > :20:39.operation, also very safe. It was voted the operation of the century
:20:39. > :20:45.by medical experts a few years ago. How many Ardena using metal on
:20:45. > :20:49.metal in the UK? Surgeons in the UK have been voting with their
:20:49. > :20:56.instinct, so the numbers being put in have dwindled down to fewer than
:20:56. > :21:00.2% of patients. It's thought they is around 30,000 people walking
:21:00. > :21:05.around with them in. Many will not have problems but they are now
:21:05. > :21:09.going to be monitored more closely. It's quite a low proportion of
:21:09. > :21:18.people with these implants now but still people might say why has it
:21:18. > :21:22.taken so long to take to be found out? Because you don't always know
:21:22. > :21:27.whether it's just that type of implant. There are thousands on the
:21:27. > :21:32.market, so it needs this kind of research, looking a hundreds of
:21:32. > :21:37.thousands of operations to judge whether it is a metal on metal bar
:21:37. > :21:42.for than one make what is causing problems. So if that's what you
:21:42. > :21:47.have fitted, you shouldn't rush back to hospital? Unless you're in
:21:47. > :21:51.pain. If you do, get them checked out. You might want to contact the
:21:51. > :21:56.hospital were you have had the operation and say, should I come
:21:56. > :22:01.back for a yearly check-up to make sure this joint is working fine?
:22:02. > :22:05.For younger people who want to go on being active, and want to go on
:22:05. > :22:12.skiing in the Seventies, these may be a good option if they already
:22:12. > :22:17.had them in already. Do you think they will be banned? Very unlikely.
:22:17. > :22:21.Thank you very much indeed. Now, are you getting your daily caffeine
:22:21. > :22:24.boost? Well, if you think that you've been missing out, worry no
:22:24. > :22:27.more. From today, here in Britain, a leading coffee chain is adding an
:22:27. > :22:37.extra shot to many of its drinks because customers are demanding a
:22:37. > :22:39.stronger cup. Jenny Hill reports. They serve it dark and strong. At
:22:39. > :22:44.this coffee shop in St Albans it's all about catering to customer
:22:44. > :22:52.taste. Since we have been open we have seen a major increase in
:22:52. > :22:55.customers coming in for a caffeine fix, especially in the mornings.
:22:55. > :23:02.Normally we ask if they like their coffee strong and mostly they say
:23:02. > :23:11.yes. Customers like Dave kick off their day with a double espresso
:23:11. > :23:15.and then tops up on any macchiato. It's as important as breakfast for
:23:15. > :23:20.me. Without it, something is missing. We have developed a taste
:23:20. > :23:27.of coffee in the last few years and we get to 70 million cubs every day
:23:27. > :23:30.and one in at 10 adult pays a daily visit to a coffee shop. Will
:23:30. > :23:34.metabolise cabin at different rates so it affects people differently.
:23:34. > :23:39.It's a stimulant and will make your heart the race if you are a lot of
:23:39. > :23:44.it and give you palpitations. It does help you concentrate and can
:23:45. > :23:49.make you more alert so, it can be very useful. Perhaps for a long
:23:49. > :23:56.journey or a business meeting. Caffeine comes in many different
:23:56. > :23:58.guises. There are now two shots, one had milligrams, in a cup of
:23:58. > :24:04.coffee from a major coffee chains compared with around 40 milligrams
:24:04. > :24:09.in a cup of tea, 60 milligrams in the cold remedies. Demand for
:24:09. > :24:14.energy drinks has grown fast recently. To London 50 ml cans
:24:14. > :24:19.contain around 160 milligrams of caffeine. Pregnant women are
:24:19. > :24:23.advised not to exceed 200 milligrams a day. There are no
:24:23. > :24:27.guidelines for the rest of the population. I think you would be
:24:27. > :24:31.appropriate to have some very clear guidance on how much caffeine is in
:24:31. > :24:35.a particular drink. Most of us drink sufficient caffeine do so
:24:35. > :24:38.when we don't drink it, then we have a withdrawal reaction which is
:24:39. > :24:46.usually manifest by feeling irritable, not feeling quite so
:24:46. > :24:50.bright and alert. This business is growing. There are now around
:24:50. > :24:59.15,000 copy shops in the UK. Many now serve double shot as a matter
:24:59. > :25:02.of course. Their coffee, they say, is so strong enough. A long-lost
:25:02. > :25:06.letter sent from the Titanic 100 years ago is to be returned to
:25:06. > :25:10.Belfast, where the ship was built. It was written by one of the
:25:10. > :25:13.doctors on board and posted to his mother. The letter ended up for
:25:13. > :25:16.sale in New York this month. But a mystery benefactor has bought it
:25:16. > :25:24.and is bringing it back to Belfast. Our Ireland correspondent Mark
:25:24. > :25:27.Simpson has more. One of the surgeons on board the
:25:27. > :25:32.Titanic was Dr Jack Simpson. Three days before the ship went down, he
:25:33. > :25:38.wrote a letter to his mother, Elizabeth, back in Belfast. Dear
:25:38. > :25:41.mother, my journey from Liverpool... His family have a copy of the
:25:41. > :25:50.letter but not the original. It went on sale in New York this month
:25:50. > :25:51.and was expected to be snapped up by a Titanic enthusiast in America
:25:51. > :25:55.but a mystery buyer stepped in and now the family has been told the
:25:56. > :26:01.letter is going back to Belfast. It will be put on public display.
:26:01. > :26:07.I got a phone call, I had to sit down very quickly. I was so
:26:07. > :26:12.delighted, slightly light-headed, and had to ask a person to repeat
:26:12. > :26:19.the new several times to make sure I heard them correctly. Last night,
:26:19. > :26:22.he should the good news with the Belfast Titanic Society. There are
:26:22. > :26:27.plenty of copies of the letter but now members of the Simpson family
:26:27. > :26:31.in Belfast are looking forward to seeing the original including me,
:26:31. > :26:39.Dr Simpson was my great grandfather's cousin. But who
:26:39. > :26:43.actually bought the letter remains another titanic mystery.
:26:43. > :26:49.Much more on all the News at the website. And the latest from