Two senior members of Islamist group al-Shabab arereported to have been killed by a drone strike insouthern Somalia, one of them is said to be al-Shabab's leading expert on suicide missions. OurEast Africa correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse reports.
Local residents told the BBC a missile strike a car as it was travelling near Jilib on the road fromMogadishu to Kismaayo, they spoke of two bodies been brought to the town which is controlledby al-Shabab. A senior official in the Kenyan military confirmed that the strike had taken placebut could not say who was behind the attack. The Kenyan army caught Kismaayo a year agoand continues to battle al-Shabab militants nearby. Early this month, US Navy SEALs mountedX raid in the nearby town, they failed to capture or kill their target, who is reported to be asenior al-Shabab operator connected to a number of alleged terror plot in Kenya.
The United States government has defended its intelligence gathering program in Europe buthad acknowledged that they may have to change methods. The White House Spokesman JayCarney said surveillance help keep Americans and their allies safe. He admitted that recentdisclosures have caused diplomatic tension, but said the intelligence was not used to promotethe economic interests of the US.
If we're going to keep our citizens and our allies safe, we have to continue to stay ahead ofthese changes, and that's what our intelligence community has been doing extraordinarily well.At the same time, with new capabilities we recognize that there need to be additionalconstraints on how we gather and use intelligence.
The British Prime Minister David Cameron has said the government may act to stop newspaperspublishing further leaks from the fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. Mr. Cameronwas speaking in parliament. Our British political correspondent Rob Watson has more.
This is the toughest line yet from the Prime Minister, David Cameron urged the Guardian andother newspapers to use what he called common sense and good judgements but warned thatif not, the government might have to step in.
I don't want to have to use injunctions or D notices or the other tougher measures. I think it'smuch better to appeal to the newspapers' sense of social responsibility. But if they don'tdemonstrate some social responsibility, it would be very difficult for government to stand backand not to act.
D notices are issued to newspaper editors and broadcasters requesting them not to publish orair stories on specific subjects for reasons of national security. Rob Watson.
A search has been called off for more than 30 migrants missing in the desert in northern Niger.The group is thought to have died thirst after a vehicle carrying them to Algeria broke down.The bodies of five people - a woman and four girls - were found earlier this month. Tens ofthousands of African migrants cross the Sahara Desert every year on their way to Europe viaNorth Africa.
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A man in Chile has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a gay man who wasattacked in a park in the capital Santiago. Three others were jailed for between 7 and 15 years.Gideon Long reports.
The murder of Daniel Zamudio horrified Chile and prompted legislators to pass within weeks ananti-discrimination law that languished in parliament for the previous seven years. Mr. Zamudiowas beaten in unconscious in a park. His assailants carved swastikas into his skin, burned himwith cigarettes and smash one of his legs with a rock. According to graphic court testimonyreleased early this month, they then urinated on his body. Mr. Zamudio who was 24 died inhospital three weeks later.
The international Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is visiting Damascus for the first time in almost ayear in an attempt to aim support for a peace conference due to be held in Geneva next month.United Nations sources told the BBC that Mr. Brahimi will meet President Bashar al-Assad duringhis three-day trip. Lyse Doucet reports.
Lakhdar Brahimi has not been to Damascus since last December. Disappointed by PresidentAssad's political proposals and by the disarray in opposition ranks, the UN envoy has focusedhis efforts to get in Moscow and Washington to narrow their differences. Now, a Geneva IIconference as he planned the first formal talks between the war in sides. Mr. Brahimi has setmeetings in capital across the region and has returned to Damascus suggests he believes thereis now something to talk about, but there are reports the conference will be postponed again.
Brazil has announced plans to manufacture a low-cost measles and rubella vaccine for export todeveloping countries. Brazil's top medical research facility will receive a grant from the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation to produce around 30 million doses of the vaccine a year until 2017.The serum is expected to be the Cheapest available in the market.
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