07/07/2014 BBC World News

Nine Palestinian militants are killed in Israeli air strikes

on Gaza, after a wave of rocket fire was aimed at Southern Israel.

The last Soviet foreign minister, Edward Shevardnadze,

who became President of Georgia, dies after a long illness.

Australia returns more than 40 asylum seekers to the Sri Lankan

authorities at sea - critics say it violates international law.

We speak to the relatives of those lost in the missing Malaysian

flight. Nine Palestinian militants have been

killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, after a wave of rocket

fire was aimed at Southern Israel. Hamas says seven

of its fighters died in a single The Israeli military says

the air strikes are in retaliation for more than 20

rocket attacks launched from Gaza. Tensions in the region have become

even higher since the murder of three Israeli teenagers,

whose bodies were found a week ago. They were abducted while

hitch-hiking in the West Bank. Then Palestinian teenager

Mohammed Abu Khdair was kidnapped His funeral in East Jerusalem on

Friday triggered repeated clashes between police and Palestinian

youths there and in Arab-Israeli Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu promised to bring to justice the killers of

Mohammed Abu Khdair. We will not allow extremists,

it doesn't matter from which side, to inflame the region

and cause bloodshed, Hamas' military wing meanwhile has

threatened to retaliate against the air strikes, saying Israel

would "pay a tremendous price.? Our correspondent, James Reynolds,

is in Jerusalem. We understand that nine Palestinian

militants have been killed. Seven were from Hamas, the Islamic armed

movement which rules Gaza Strip. Part of that Palestinians want for

the future of the Palestinian state. Two militants were from another

group. We understand 14 sites were targeted by the Israeli military.

They said they were going after rocket launching sites or

warehouses. We have been hearing a knot in recent days about the kidnap

and murder of the three Israeli teenagers and then the murder of the

Palestinian teenager. These rocket attacks have been going on for a

while longer, haven't they? This is a wider context. Of course. If you

want to widen the focus entirely, you will see that Hamas and Israel

have repeatedly fought skirmishes and battles over recent years. Hamas

rules Gaza and Israel in next -- is next door. Hamas fires rockets in

retaliation to what it sees as Israeli attacks on Israel fires

missiles to deter future attacks. Essentially, part of the context is

peace talks which broke down in April. There has not been any peace

process to sustain or counter the kinds of exchanges we have seen at

the moment. Given that backdrop, Israel is acting very tough against

attacks from Gaza. It is taking very seriously the killing of this

Palestinian teenager. Yes. Yesterday, Israel informed us that

six Jewish suspects, we do not know anything more than that, have been

arrested in connection with the murder of the Palestinian teenager

who was killed on Wednesday. We do not have any more information about

their identity, why they might have done it, about whether they have the

right to defend themselves and so on. Very clearly, the Prime Minister

and the president yesterday were saying that murder is murder and

they will try to hunt down murderers on all sides. There is a political

advantage. They will hope to try to damp down some of the Palestinian

protests in recent days. World leaders have expressed sorrow

over the death of former Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze,

who succumbed to a long illness The ground-breaking

Soviet Foreign Minister and later president of independent

Georgia is best known for his role in the final years of the

Soviet empire, helping topple the But his career ended in humiliation

and he was forced into retirement. A short time ago I spoke to

the BBC's News and Development Editor Olexiy Solohubenko

about the key role he played. He was one of those members of the

politburo who openly sided with Mikhail Gorbachev. He was supported

off -- supportive of him in all his efforts. He was appointed Foreign

Minister of the soviet union that he did not have any international

experience before that. He shared the vision with Mikael Gorbachev,

the vision of a more liberal, or reformed, Soviet Union and informed

Eastern Europe. When the uprisings began in Soviet satellite states in

Eastern Europe, he refused to allow the soviet union to step in. He

wanted to negotiate. He believed that divided nations cannot be

divided for a long period of time. He believed that repression does not

necessarily work. He himself had a history of being in the security

services. He was the Interior Minister at one stage. He did know

what the Soviet repressive machine was but did not want to accept it.

He was representative of the liberal wing. A lot of the change that

happened in the soviet union and ultimately one can argue the demise

of the soviet union was because of the liberal attitude that he shared

with Mikael Gorbachev. If you want to call it his prize for being so

key a figure, he became president of the newly independent Georgia. He

swept in with 70% of the vote and that support was soon eroded. It for

a number of reasons. There was the clap -- the collapse of the Soviet

economy. Georgia was hit very hard. They were in a privileged position

for many years. It was a favourite place for holiday-makers, for

investment. It retained a degree of independence that no other Soviet

republic had. It had Georgian as its official language. Places like

Ukraine and the Baltics are not allowed to have this in their

constitution. There was a degree of autonomy. The separatist movement

started to bite him. Some argued that Russia was playing a role in

other places. His tenure was nine years. By the end of his support was

very small. There were claims of corruption on his part as well. He

was not an ideal president. No one is ideal. Something that he

certainly will be remembered for is that he was the key person.

Basically with the kale Gorbachev and the Cold War. The world we're

living in now, is very much because of his efforts to avoid

confrontation, bloodshed and find other means.

The Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has told a local newspaper

that he wished the three jailed Al Jazeera journalists had been

The journalists were each handed seven-year jail terms by an Egyptian

court last month for aiding a terrorist group

I'm joined now by the BBC's Sally Nabil in Cairo.

Talitha bit more about what the president has been saying. -- tell

us a bit more. Yesterday he was in a round table meeting with local

newspapers. One of the editors in chief quoted as saying, he regrets

the fact the three generalists have been sentenced to at least seven

years in prison. He preferred that they would have been deported,

rather than prosecuted. The president also said he totally

realises how damaging this case has been to the reputation of eejit to

broad. He also tried to distance itself from the verdict. -- Egypt

abroad. It raises questions about the possibility of a presidential

pardon being issued to set free the journalist. There were some

speculations that the president might issue a presidential pardon

but according to the law he cannot do that unless the verdict is final.

The journalists still can appeal the verdict in front of a higher court.

I have followed this case very closely and have attended most of

the hearing. What I got from the these serious charges and

fabricating news. They aren't leading public opinions. According

to the lawyers, there was no evidence -- they aren't eluding

public opinions. According to the lawyers, there was no evidence. The

headlines: In Iraq, security has been tightened in Baghdad as there

are fears of a bombing campaign by ISIS. Four people were killed in an

attack in Shia neighbourhood. Fighting has killed 2500 people in

the past month and falls in million to flee their homes. Pope Francis

has been holding meetings with six victims, sexually abused by police

-- priests. Some have argued the encounter should have happened

sooner. Pope Francis has said dealing with sexual abuse by priests

is vital in terms of credibility of the Church. The murder trial of

Oscar Pistorius has resumed. Lawyers for the South African athletes have

condemned the leaking of a video which they commissioned, which shows

Oscar Pistorius re-enacting events on the night he shot and killed his

girlfriend. He claims he mistook her for an intruder. Now to Pakistan.

Imran Khan has called for the Army to allow aid agencies to help

thousands of people forced to leave their homes because of the military

operation against the Taliban. Speaking to the BBC, he says his

party 's regional government cannot deal alone with the unfolding human

tragedy. Three quarters of a million people have left their home since

the operation started just three weeks ago. Most have arrived in the

town of Bannu. Yellow rag it is three weeks since -- it is three

weeks since the operation was launched. There are lots of children

in this particular hospital. We have been looking at children and women

who have been coming here for help. There are lots of cases of

gastroenteritis. Lots of the children are unwell. Health is a

major challenge. What is the problem? What will you do about it?

The original government had no idea. We were caught unprepared and then

baked expected 100,000 IVP is. 700,000 have been registered so far.

There are huge shortages. There is a problem with not enough doctors and

facilities. Everyone is going to have -- we have demanded money from

the federal government. I will ask the army chief. This will be a huge

human tragedy. There are 350,000 children. It is beyond the

capacity. We still need professionally trained people. Your

party governs the North West province. You have seen with your

own eyes the challenge that is unfolding, the Unitarian crisis. He

accepts the Government does not have enough sources to cope. He is

calling on international help. Just over the border in Afghanistan,

preliminary results are expected imminently in the presidential

elections. There have been accusations of fraud from both

camps. In a hopeful sign, it has been reported that

camps. In a hopeful sign, it has been representatives of both the

candidates have begun talks to try to resolve the dispute. We will

bring you more on that as we get it. Stay with us, plenty more to come.

We are in Indonesia for their presidential poll on Wednesday,

hearing from the minority Chinese community on their hopes and fears

ahead of that election. Three people have died in Mexico,

following a stampede All three were in their twenties and

were crushed when a wall collapsed. The incident appears to have started

after a brawl between fans, Security cameras caught the moment

of the tragedy in the early hours of Sunday morning. With hundreds of

people surging forward to escape a fight in the crowd, the pressure on

the wall becomes too great and part of it collapses. Somewhere in the

melee, three people are crushed. The morning light revealed the scene of

the tragedy. Onlookers blamed a lack of safety precautions. There was

only one exit for a crowd of around 10,000. TRANSLATION: The exit used

to evacuate people was not enough. This is what caused the collapse of

the wall. The concert was billed as a night to make history. It featured

several groups. Emergency workers said several people began to rush

out of the dance area when a fight broke out after the show. Witnesses

said people began to panic after shots were fired. TRANSLATION: We

evacuated the most critical patients. Some of them were treated

at the Red Cross hospital but one of them unfortunately died. Local

authorities denied they were at fault saying they had inspected

safety measures before the show. They blamed the deaths on those who

started the fighting. Further investigations are continuing.

If you want to get any more on any of our stories, you can go to our

website. Don't forget, you can follow me on Twitter. I would love

to hear from you. This is BBC World News.

Nine Palestinian militants are killed in Israeli air strikes in

Gaza. The former Georgian president and

Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze has died. His personal

assistant said the 86-year-old passed away after a long illness.

Now we can take you to Ukraine. Ukraine's government says its forces

have retaken two more eastern cities The rebels have re-grouped

in other locations, including Ukraine has ordered

a complete blockade of that city Smoke rises over the suburbs of Lou

Hants. The city, now of the focus between a key battle between Soviet

forces -- forces and pro-Ukrainian rebels. It is the people who live

here who are paying the price, as are their homes, businesses and

cars. Ukrainian government say they have reclaimed string of cities over

the past few days, in their fight against pro-Russian rebels. The most

significant is the city of Sloviansk which had been held by the rebels

for almost three months. It had been considered a focal point of the

rebellion. The rebels insist this was a tactical withdrawal and they

still hold key areas and cities in the East. Including the city of

Donetsk, which is strategically important to both sides. It is

currently under rebel control and that is the way the rebels wanted to

stay. Other that is the way the rebels wanted to

to Donetsk to reinforce numbers. Against Ukrainian army who are

blockading the city. But the Army is facing resistance, from large

numbers of people who support the rebels. TRANSLATION: I would take up

arms tomorrow. Better die under a barricade than under the Ukrainian

hoof. Therein lies the central problem in this crisis. We taking

territory from the rebels lay in the short term be the easy part for the

Ukrainian army. But more fighting will lead to more bloodshed and that

will only deepen divisions and make it more difficult to win over hearts

and minds. Australian immigration authorities

have confirmed they returned more than 40 asylum seekers to the

Sri Lankan Navy - at sea. Their ship was intercepted near

the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the

Indian Ocean. The move has been criticised

by refugee groups. I've been speaking to the

BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney who had We understand this vessel was

intercepted by the Australians near the Cocos Islands, which lie about

halfway between the Australian mainland and Sri Lanka, sometime

last week. We are also told that over the weekend, on Sunday, 41

asylum seekers were transferred from Australia's care, into the care of

the Sri Lankan navy. Australia is telling us that they had their

refugee claims assessed and the vast majority had those refugee claims

rejected. Therefore, they are on their way back to Sri Lanka. It has

caused a political storm in Australia with critics saying the

Australian government is not only violating human rights, it is also

breaching international law. The question must be, how can Australia

assess the Justin Lee properly asylum seekers claims if they are

doing it at sea? -- how can you genuinely explore a person's Asylum

applications while they are bobbing about on the high sea. The

Australians are saying that those claims were examined by video link.

Critics do not buy that. They think it is a quick fix by the Australians

to get rid of a nasty problem, as they would see it, given that the

Australian government has made it its mission to stop a steady flow of

asylum seeker boats coming into its northern waters. Phil Mercer with

the latest on that story. Indonesians go to the polls

on Wednesday to elect The candidate gaining ground

in the polls, Prabowo Subianto, is a former general who's seen to

have strong ties to the regime that Chinese Indonesians, a minority

group in the majority Muslim nation, often faced discrimination

during the dictatorship. Alice Budisatrijo reports

from Jakarta. Jakarta's Chinatown, a vibrant

economic centre, home to much of the city's half a million ethnic Chinese

minority. Here, you can find some Chinese books, Chinese Indonesian

dictionary and some incense for religious rituals. These are the

things you can find in Chinatowns around the world, but here in

Indonesia, it was not always like this. Some of these items were

banned and the Chinese Indonesians faced much worse atrocities. 16

years ago, Chinese homes and businesses were looted and burned to

the ground in deadly riots. They were targeted because of their

perceived wealth. This man's family were one of many who suffered. It

eldest daughter, Jasmine's house, was set on fire. This was a month

after your daughter's house was burned? What does this letter say?

It implied that the burning of Jasmine's house was targeted so he

needs to remember that this time it is just his daughter's house but

next time it could be his head. The entire family fled to the United

States but a few years ago they decided to come back and they saw a

different Indonesia. Fine macro the discrimination policy changed into

more accommodating policy. At least legally the Chinese have the

protection. Sociological leak, -- social logic in a... He warns that

despite progress his community is still vulnerable. As long as the

society is still divided and there is a lot of poverty, and there is a

lot of discrepancy in income, the sensitivity is there still. There

could be a crisis. Chinese Indonesians can embrace their

identity. Learning this language was forbidden in the old days. Indonesia

needs an even hand to ensure that history is not repeated.

Tuesday will mark four months since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went

There are still very few clues as to what happened.

Now many of the families are in Kuala Lumpur,

for an exhibition focusing on the search for the plane.

They spoke to the BBC's Jennifer Pak.

This is the mother of a Chinese passenger on board MH 370. She tried

to an furl a banner in front of reporters. This is a picture of her

being dragged out from the press conference in one lump. Families

were initially very reluctant to speak to the media but even here at

this photo exhibit, there are two families of cabin crew members who

are here because they are starting to feel that their stories are

slowly being forgotten. Which one is your dad? We can see them, but not

face-to-face. Every time we looked at their photos we feel sad. When I

look at it I feel sad so I tried to nor photos actually. You said one of

the ways you tried to cope was to call your husband and asked him

where he is. Do you still do that? Yes. My grandson also. He looks on

my phone for a photograph of his grandfather and clicks on it and we

wait for the call and we just start calling grampa, grandpa, where are