:00:00. > :00:09.This is BBC World News Today with me, Rajesh Mirchandani.
:00:10. > :00:11.A gunman in Afghan army uniform in Kabul opens fire
:00:12. > :00:20.The major general is the most senior officer to die in Afghanistan
:00:21. > :00:32.Many others are wounded in the attack.
:00:33. > :00:37.The Secretary of State extends half of the men and women in this
:00:38. > :00:38.department, his thoughts and prayer is to all those affected by this
:00:39. > :00:41.tragedy. Israel withdraws its troops
:00:42. > :00:43.from Gaza after agreeing a temporary ceasefire
:00:44. > :00:46., but the death toll after weeks of Bernie Ecclestone,
:00:47. > :00:53.the boss of Formula One, agrees to pay a hundred million
:00:54. > :00:58.dollars to escape bribery charges. And a Royal visit to the sea
:00:59. > :01:01.of poppies installed at the Tower of London to commemorate those who
:01:02. > :01:20.died in the First World War. We begin with
:01:21. > :01:24.the deadly inside-attack at an elite At this British run camp in Kabul
:01:25. > :01:31.the US says it believes an Afghan soldier fired at officers and shot
:01:32. > :01:39.dead an American major-general. He's the most senior US officer to
:01:40. > :01:42.be killed in Afghanistan The Pentagon has been speaking
:01:43. > :01:54.about the incident... I can confirm that an individual
:01:55. > :02:02.believed to be an Afghan soldier fired today into a group of
:02:03. > :02:07.Coalition troops at the defence University in Kabul. There are a
:02:08. > :02:11.number of casualties, perhaps up to to include some Americans. Many were
:02:12. > :02:19.seriously wooded, others received only minor injuries. The assailant
:02:20. > :02:22.was killed. -- wounded. And Major General was among the casualties.
:02:23. > :02:26.That was the Pentagon spokesperson. The BBC's Tom Esslemont is
:02:27. > :02:35.in Washington. Can you give us any more about what
:02:36. > :02:41.we know is thought to have happened and by who? You heard the Pentagon
:02:42. > :02:48.spokesperson confirming that this was an American general who was
:02:49. > :02:53.killed in this attack at the British run academy, or the entrance to it,
:02:54. > :02:57.just outside Kabul, and military Academy and that it was an Afghan
:02:58. > :03:03.soldier, he believes, who carried out the attack. Other members of the
:03:04. > :03:08.Coalition forces were injured in this attack. What the Pentagon has
:03:09. > :03:13.not yet done has confirmed the identity of the general or his exact
:03:14. > :03:19.rank. He said that family members were still being informed, but it is
:03:20. > :03:24.still a bitter blow for US forces who are still in the process of
:03:25. > :03:28.withdrawing from Afghanistan. On that point, what has the reaction
:03:29. > :03:34.been in the US to this killing? It is a sad truth that we hear all too
:03:35. > :03:37.often about US and British and other allied forces being killed in
:03:38. > :03:42.Afghanistan, what is the reaction given that this is a senior member
:03:43. > :03:51.of the Armed Forces and that this is the year that the US is supposed to
:03:52. > :03:54.pull out? It is a bitter blow any time an attack of this kind happens,
:03:55. > :03:59.not only because of loss of life, but because it dents the project
:04:00. > :04:04.that the United States has been trying to implement in Afghanistan
:04:05. > :04:09.under Barack Obama who has been withdrawing troops gradually over
:04:10. > :04:14.the last few years. There are around 30,000 US troops in Afghanistan,
:04:15. > :04:20.down from 100,020 11 and by the end of this year, there will be around
:04:21. > :04:28.10,000 troops on Afghan soil. Other members of the Coalition are doing
:04:29. > :04:32.similar things. There is a big problem for Afghanistan, because of
:04:33. > :04:37.insecurity caused by this kind of attack, each time something like
:04:38. > :04:45.this happens, it is a boost for the Taliban who opposes the position of
:04:46. > :04:50.foreign troops on Afghan soil. There is the worry of future stability for
:04:51. > :04:53.the country, because we still do not know who will replace hammered cars
:04:54. > :05:07.I as President, because there is still a dispute over the winner of
:05:08. > :05:10.the election -- Matt Hamid Karsi. Thank you.
:05:11. > :05:12.Twelve hours in and the latest ceasefire
:05:13. > :05:15.between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is holding right now.
:05:16. > :05:19.Israel has also withdrawn its troops from the Gaza strip but says
:05:20. > :05:28.It's been four weeks since Israel launched its military operation in
:05:29. > :05:31.Gaza in response to rocket strikes by the militant group Hamas.
:05:32. > :05:34.The fighting has left more than 1,800 Palestinians dead,
:05:35. > :05:39.most of them civilians, hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.
:05:40. > :05:41.Meanwhile 67 Israelis have also died during the operation,
:05:42. > :05:45.Our correspondent Jon Donnison reports from Beit Hanoun in North
:05:46. > :06:08.This man is 80. He has survived half a dozen wars in Gaza and our
:06:09. > :06:16.lifetime of struggle. He has returned to find his family home
:06:17. > :06:22.destroyed. For the third time. Mohamid is one of 34 grandchildren.
:06:23. > :06:33.He is salvaging what he can from the rubble of what is his fourth war.
:06:34. > :06:39.This was his grandfather's bedroom, a room with a view. A mile away in
:06:40. > :06:50.the dust, you can see the Israeli tanks withdrawing. Ahmed was a
:06:51. > :06:57.teacher, he is no supporter of Hamas but he says this war did not start a
:06:58. > :07:02.month ago, it is about Israel's decades long military occupation and
:07:03. > :07:11.land. We want this return to us now. The Gaza Strip. The West Bank as
:07:12. > :07:19.well. Will you stay? Yes, I will stay and all my family will stay,
:07:20. > :07:25.here. Where will we go? Israeli bombs also destroyed the family
:07:26. > :07:36.business. A chicken farm. The co-ops are gone, the birds are dead. That
:07:37. > :07:41.coops. Ahmed and his son also grow fruit and vegetables, but the
:07:42. > :07:48.blockade of Gaza which Hamas once lifted, killed their trade. The
:07:49. > :07:58.blockade is not just about what comes into Gaza, it is about what
:07:59. > :08:03.comes out. When they cross the border, everything is down. The
:08:04. > :08:10.blockade is not just about goods and business, it is about people. He has
:08:11. > :08:16.three teenage children, none of them have ever left Gaza, none of them
:08:17. > :08:21.have ever met an Israeli and this tiny stretch of land, which has seen
:08:22. > :08:30.so much destruction is less than one third the size of London.
:08:31. > :08:35.Palestinians feel trapped in a cycle of death, destruction and
:08:36. > :08:41.rebuilding. This will not be the last war, but once again, Gaza has
:08:42. > :08:52.been crippled. The healing will take years. Many will never recover.
:08:53. > :08:55.Amazing pictures of destruction. With me now from Washington is
:08:56. > :08:57.Neri Zilber. He's a visiting fellow with the
:08:58. > :09:09.Washington Institute and an expert Thank you for speaking with us. How
:09:10. > :09:16.hopeful are you that this cease-fire will last? I think everyone that is
:09:17. > :09:20.looking on is hopeful that this cease-fire lasts longer than two
:09:21. > :09:24.hours. The previous one this past weekend, it is important for the
:09:25. > :09:30.viewers to understand that this is a first stage in the cease-fire. The
:09:31. > :09:34.real negotiations for our more doable solution will have to be
:09:35. > :09:39.hammered out by the parties in Cairo. That is the point is, part of
:09:40. > :09:45.the agreement for this 72 hour cease-fire, part of the deal is that
:09:46. > :09:50.both sides attend talks in Cairo, both sides are going, does that give
:09:51. > :09:55.you any more hope that not only will this cease-fire at last the full 72
:09:56. > :10:00.hours which has not happened yet, but that there could be a lasting
:10:01. > :10:05.peace achieved? Sure, I hope it is a more hopeful sign that the parties
:10:06. > :10:09.are there and they are negotiating. We should not delude ourselves, the
:10:10. > :10:17.gaps between the parties are still significant. Overall, I think Hamas
:10:18. > :10:20.has to back down from the demands it has been making over the past month
:10:21. > :10:25.and try to find a compromise so that the people of Gaza, more than
:10:26. > :10:30.anyone, have a better way forward and a brighter future. In terms of
:10:31. > :10:36.those demands that Hamas once, they want an end to the blockade of Gaza
:10:37. > :10:45.and the opening of border crossings and Egypt. Egypt has brokered this
:10:46. > :10:52.cease-fire, the talks are in Cairo, clearly Egypt has something that
:10:53. > :11:02.Hamas once, what about Israel, are they likely to compromise -- wants
:11:03. > :11:08.all stop I think demilitarisation is a hope. It is something to put on
:11:09. > :11:12.the table, because I think it is very important to remember that the
:11:13. > :11:24.blockade around Gaza did not just happen coincidently. It is due to a
:11:25. > :11:31.Hamas coup, due to Hamas not giving up their arms. You call it a coup,
:11:32. > :11:36.they did win an election and they have a mandate in Gaza. On that
:11:37. > :11:41.point about whether peace is possible, we were hearing from the
:11:42. > :11:46.Palestinian legislator today that a long-term truce would be difficult,
:11:47. > :11:50.because she said, what Israel has done is make peace more difficult
:11:51. > :11:55.because it has created more anger and hostility. When you look at the
:11:56. > :11:58.destruction in Gaza it is hard to see how either side can back down.
:11:59. > :12:04.They have to come together and find a better way forward, I should
:12:05. > :12:08.mention that the Palestinian legislator is very much part of the
:12:09. > :12:13.solution here. I think a better way forward for a Gaza and Israel and
:12:14. > :12:17.Egypt would see a return of the legitimate authorities, the
:12:18. > :12:23.Palestinian Authority back into Gaza to start undoing a lot of the damage
:12:24. > :12:36.that was done by the measures of Hamas during the coup. Do you think
:12:37. > :12:42.it Fatah regain control, Israel would negotiate with them? Yes,
:12:43. > :12:46.Israel is aware of the crisis inside Gaza. I think it, along with the
:12:47. > :12:52.rest of the international community and Egypt are looking for a
:12:53. > :12:58.mechanism by which to open up Gaza. The biggest stumbling block at the
:12:59. > :13:02.moment is Hamas and their utilisation of terrorism and
:13:03. > :13:06.violence. Many would disagree, Israel also has their image to think
:13:07. > :13:11.of, but we will have to leave it there. Thank you for joining us.
:13:12. > :13:13.Staying with this story for a moment:
:13:14. > :13:14.A British Foreign Office Minister, Sayeeda Warsi,
:13:15. > :13:18.has resigned over the British government's position on Gaza,
:13:19. > :13:26.Baroness Warsi said she believed the government's current policy was
:13:27. > :13:31.Baroness Warsi was the first Muslim woman to serve in a British Cabinet.
:13:32. > :13:33.The Prime Minister said his government had always stated
:13:34. > :13:36.that the situation in Gaza was intolerable and that
:13:37. > :13:45.both sides should agree to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.
:13:46. > :13:48.A German court has dropped bribery charges against the head of Formula
:13:49. > :13:51.One racing, Bernie Ecclestone, after he offered to pay a hundred
:13:52. > :13:55.Mr Ecclestone faced up to ten years in prison if he'd been found guilty.
:13:56. > :14:03.Our sports news correspondent Andy Swiss has more.
:14:04. > :14:10.He is no stranger to big-money deals, but perhaps none as important
:14:11. > :14:14.as theirs. Bernie Ecclestone arriving in court this morning to
:14:15. > :14:17.agree a ?60 million payment which would spell the end of the case
:14:18. > :14:24.which had threatened his Formula One future. Accompanied by his lawyers
:14:25. > :14:28.and his wife, the relief was already playing to see. For more than three
:14:29. > :14:34.months, he has been on trial in Munich, the accusation that he
:14:35. > :14:38.bribed a German banker ?26 million to steer it the sale of Formula One
:14:39. > :14:41.to a company which would keep Bernie Ecclestone in charge. He said this
:14:42. > :14:45.was not the case and that he had only paid the money because the
:14:46. > :14:50.banker was blackmailing him. This morning the judge said the suspicion
:14:51. > :14:54.of bribery against Barney -- Bernie Ecclestone was not backed up and ask
:14:55. > :14:58.if he could pay the ?60 million quickly and he said he could. Such
:14:59. > :15:04.deals can be struck under barbarian law and leaves the Formula One boss
:15:05. > :15:07.a free man. This is not about a conviction but a cessation of the
:15:08. > :15:13.trial Wildman taming the presumption of innocence. There will be no
:15:14. > :15:17.guilty verdict whatsoever. -- whilst maintaining. Bernie Ecclestone has
:15:18. > :15:24.been the driving force of Formula One, transforming it into a global
:15:25. > :15:27.success story. These allegations have been about control. He won a
:15:28. > :15:30.civil case in London but was warned he would be sacked if convicted of
:15:31. > :15:37.any criminal act. Now to the growing fears over
:15:38. > :15:40.the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. British Airways has now suspended
:15:41. > :15:42.flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until the end
:15:43. > :15:44.of August. The Ebola virus has killed almost
:15:45. > :15:47.900 people across West Africa since the outbreak started in March
:15:48. > :15:56.this year. With me is the BBC's global
:15:57. > :15:58.health reporter, Tulip Mazumdar. She was in Guinea last month
:15:59. > :16:16.reporting on the outbreak. The You do. But talk to about what
:16:17. > :16:22.we are seeing now, British Airways suspending flights, organisations
:16:23. > :16:25.are ramping up their about this. There have been quite a few
:16:26. > :16:29.developments like this in the last few weeks although this has been
:16:30. > :16:34.going on since March. But it airways is the last airline to come out and
:16:35. > :16:39.say, we are going to suspend flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
:16:40. > :16:45.Emirates had already done similar. A couple of West African airlines have
:16:46. > :16:47.done that as well. They are blaming it on the deteriorating health
:16:48. > :16:53.situation in both of those countries. Saudi Arabia, we have the
:16:54. > :17:00.hajj coming up, the annual pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia said they
:17:01. > :17:04.will not be giving visas to people from the three affected countries.
:17:05. > :17:09.There will be deploying teams to make sure people who are potentially
:17:10. > :17:12.showing symptoms are taken away. So there have been quite a few
:17:13. > :17:18.developments in the last few weeks and at the same pieces ready ramping
:17:19. > :17:23.up in the last few days. And we knew of two Americans being evacuated
:17:24. > :17:29.back to America. They are back now in Atalanta. They were given a syrup
:17:30. > :17:34.which is being developed by an American company in California. It's
:17:35. > :17:40.basically a blood sera which they give their bodies to boost their
:17:41. > :17:44.antibodies to help their immune system make them recover quicker and
:17:45. > :17:49.easier. This drug has not been tested on humans yet. It has not
:17:50. > :17:54.been licensed. It has been tested on animals with positive effects but at
:17:55. > :17:57.this stage, they were given the chance to have this sera. They
:17:58. > :18:05.accepted it, knowing it has not been put through all these ways they
:18:06. > :18:10.normally licensed these drugs. Reportedly they are both doing much
:18:11. > :18:15.better. Especially the doctor who got sick in Liberia and his
:18:16. > :18:19.colleague as well. She is said to be doing much better. But this is
:18:20. > :18:28.something not being given widely yet because it has not been licensed.
:18:29. > :18:34.Nancy's husband said she was weak but improving. Thank you.
:18:35. > :18:37.Yesterday, we showed you some of the commemoration services that have
:18:38. > :18:40.been taking place to mark 100 years since the start of World War One.
:18:41. > :18:42.Here in London, the anniversary is also being marked
:18:43. > :18:45.Thousands of ceramic poppies are spilling
:18:46. > :18:48.to represent British and Commonwealth soldiers killed
:18:49. > :18:51.Our royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, was there.
:18:52. > :18:54.Each poppy represents a life, and with approximately one million
:18:55. > :19:01.British and Commonwealth deaths in the Great War, this is a piece
:19:02. > :19:05.of art on a scale which is both spectacular and sobering, spreading
:19:06. > :19:11.as it does from the walls of the Tower and into the dry moat which
:19:12. > :19:15.surrounds it - a reminder both of the magnitude of the losses and of
:19:16. > :19:23.the part played by the Tower in the Great War recruiting process - here
:19:24. > :19:26.men assembled to join up and to swear their allegiance to king and
:19:27. > :19:30.The idea for the installation was a wartime poem by an anonymous
:19:31. > :19:34.soldier, Blood Swept Lands And Seas of Red, inspired the installation's
:19:35. > :19:49.This is one of the ways I can actually explain to people how many
:19:50. > :19:52.people died, in a way that everyone can see unilaterally, because it's
:19:53. > :19:57.It's not just a number - you can visualise it all.
:19:58. > :20:00.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who last night
:20:01. > :20:03.were representing the United Kingdom at the official commemoration of
:20:04. > :20:06.the start of the conflict at a war cemetery in Belgium, walked slowly
:20:07. > :20:09.through the field of poppies and then each in turn they placed
:20:10. > :20:20.It's already taken nearly two years to bring the concept to this point,
:20:21. > :20:23.and as the organisers point out, this is an artwork which is still
:20:24. > :20:31.So far they've planted around 120,000 poppies, and that's just
:20:32. > :20:37.By the time this installation is complete in November,
:20:38. > :20:41.the poppies will stretch all the way around the Tower.
:20:42. > :20:44.Bridging the years, a piece of contemporary artwork
:20:45. > :20:47.in modern London which reminds us of the events and
:20:48. > :21:06.Scientists are poised for a key moment in the history
:21:07. > :21:08.of space exploration tomorrow, when a spacecraft attempts to
:21:09. > :21:12.The Rosetta was launched ten years ago and it's going to try to orbit
:21:13. > :21:15.around the comet as it flies through space at nearly
:21:16. > :21:19.Here's our science editor, David Shukman.
:21:20. > :21:22.We are now almost at the point of getting our closest ever look
:21:23. > :21:24.of the strangest things objects in the solar system,
:21:25. > :21:31.Throughout human history, comets have lit up the night sky,
:21:32. > :21:36.their tails inspiring a mix of fascination and fear.
:21:37. > :21:43.Over the past ten years, a European spacecraft called Rosetta
:21:44. > :21:47.has been catching up, racing across billions of miles of space,
:21:48. > :21:54.So let's take a closer look at how this extraordinary mission
:21:55. > :21:58.The Rosetta spacecraft, with its huge solar panels
:21:59. > :22:02.and on-board instruments, is now on the brink of a unique achievement,
:22:03. > :22:07.Rosetta will manoeuvre around the comet.
:22:08. > :22:11.It will have to fly in a triangular pattern - with so little gravity,
:22:12. > :22:17.it cannot orbit in the normal circle, but once this starts,
:22:18. > :22:19.its instruments will examine the structure of the comet, exactly what
:22:20. > :22:24.it is made of, how much water there is - in the form of ice -
:22:25. > :22:28.and the carbon and other molecules that may be present.
:22:29. > :22:32.These are the key ingredients needed for life, and it's possible that
:22:33. > :22:43.The biggest question that we're trying to get an answer to is,
:22:44. > :22:53.Was it the building blocks of life that were brought to us on a comet?
:22:54. > :22:56.Getting into orbit will be an incredible achievement
:22:57. > :23:00.in itself, but later this year, Rosetta should go even further.
:23:01. > :23:03.It will release a lander about the size of small fridge to
:23:04. > :23:08.touch down on the comet to study it in unprecedented detail.
:23:09. > :23:17.Rosetta will study the comet for a year - previous missions have
:23:18. > :23:20.just flown past - and it will hunt for the key ingredient for life.
:23:21. > :23:23.We don't know actually whether comets and asteroids may
:23:24. > :23:28.have delivered quite a bit of water but also us - where did organic
:23:29. > :23:33.It might have come from comets as well.
:23:34. > :23:37.So it's fundamental questions we want the answers to.
:23:38. > :23:39.Tomorrow's rendezvous with the comet will be a landmark
:23:40. > :23:44.No one knows how hard it will be, let alone whether landing
:23:45. > :23:59.on this bizarre surface will be possible later this year.
:24:00. > :24:00.With me now from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,
:24:01. > :24:12.here in London, is public astronomer Dr Marek Kukula.
:24:13. > :24:20.How exciting is this? It has never been tried before so this really is
:24:21. > :24:25.ground-breaking. Manoeuvring in space. But also the scientific prize
:24:26. > :24:28.is amazing. We are asking fundamental questions about where we
:24:29. > :24:34.came from, where the water on Earth came from, the origins of life. I am
:24:35. > :24:38.a huge fan of stories like this. I love science fiction and this is
:24:39. > :24:42.science fact. I always ask people when they say the scientific prices
:24:43. > :24:48.are great, why is it important that we know about where the fundamental
:24:49. > :24:51.building blocks of life came from? Their philosophical reasons why it
:24:52. > :24:56.is interesting to know where we came from. But it is the practical
:24:57. > :25:00.application of that knowledge compare to the cost of getting
:25:01. > :25:04.it... Absolutely. This is an important question. When we develop
:25:05. > :25:07.missions like this we develop brand-new technology that can do
:25:08. > :25:11.things no one has ever been able to do before. The technology is
:25:12. > :25:16.designed to explore a comet will have spin off applications back here
:25:17. > :25:19.on Earth. They are difficult to predict, but also understanding
:25:20. > :25:23.fundamental questions like the origins of life and water may have
:25:24. > :25:26.huge implications for the way we understand things back here on Earth
:25:27. > :25:30.in the future. With things like this it is difficult to predict the
:25:31. > :25:34.benefits apart from understanding ourselves better, but it is very
:25:35. > :25:38.difficult to rule out that there won't be many spin offs that will
:25:39. > :25:42.have very practical uses. We have seen that with the US space
:25:43. > :25:48.programme and shuttle as well. What if it fails? What if it doesn't
:25:49. > :25:52.work? This has never been tried before. It is incredible that it has
:25:53. > :25:57.got this far, the ten year voyage, and so far it is forming perfectly.
:25:58. > :26:04.But even if something goes wrong we will learn a lot about how to do it
:26:05. > :26:09.better next time. So with anything, a big mission of such ambition, you
:26:10. > :26:13.have to do it step-by-step. Now it's crunch time, it's arriving at the
:26:14. > :26:18.comet. We will see over the next few months some amazing images and
:26:19. > :26:23.daredevil manoeuvres. Will there be a countdown party when it happens?
:26:24. > :26:27.Are you watching it live? I am sure there will be a very tense few hours
:26:28. > :26:31.as the probe approaches the surface. I know the astronomers who
:26:32. > :26:36.spent ten years of their life and ten years before that planning it
:26:37. > :26:37.are on tenterhooks right now. A mixture of excitement and anxiety.
:26:38. > :26:41.Thank you. Baroness
:26:42. > :26:43.Warsi, Sarah Wilson, British Cabinet, Sayeeda Warsi. Formula One
:26:44. > :26:46.racing, Bernie Ecclestone, Mr Well, that's all from the programme.
:26:47. > :26:48.Next the weather, but for now, from me
:26:49. > :27:02.and the rest of the team, goodbye. If you want some rain on the
:27:03. > :27:08.forecast, you will like this forecast. There is rain coming in
:27:09. > :27:09.from