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Egypt has opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip at Rafah for two days, allowing hundreds of Palestinians to cross into and out of the territory.



Palestinian officials said the move was a goodwill gesture before the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Only those requiring medical treatment, along with holders of foreign residency permits, will be permitted to leave.

The Rafah crossing has been closed for most of the period since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Israel has also sealed its border crossings with the coastal territory, allowing in only humanitarian aid and basic supplies.

In June, Hamas and Israel agreed a truce aimed at halting Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli territory in return for Israel's lifting of its blockade.

However, Israel insists "normal business" cannot resume at Rafah until Hamas releases an Israeli soldier captured by Gaza militants two years ago, Cpl Gilad Shalit.

Under a November 2005 deal, Israel can control access to the European officials who monitor Rafah. In this way Israel has kept the crossing mainly closed since 2007.

Hamas blew up large sections of the Egypt-Gaza border fence in January, enabling thousands of Gazans to temporarily stock up on goods they had been deprived of by the restrictions.

BBC News

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Russia has taken a series of diplomatic steps in an apparent effort to ease tensions with the West over this month's conflict in Georgia.



President Dmitry Medvedev told UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown Moscow wanted more monitors from Europe's security body in Georgia, the Kremlin said.

Separately, Russian and German foreign ministers agreed to seek to calm tensions over the crisis, Moscow said.

The issue is set to dominate the agenda of an EU meeting on Monday.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said earlier this week that the bloc was considering sanctions "and many other means" against Russia over the crisis.

But he said he hoped the matter would "be solved by negotiation".

Moscow's military action in Georgia and its subsequent recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia - Georgia's two rebel regions - have angered the West.

Moscow has defended its actions, saying they prevented a "genocide" in South Ossetia.

However, after the inflammatory rhetoric Russia now appears to have decided it is time for a bit of diplomacy, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says.

'Non-existent threats'

During Saturday's telephone conversation with Mr Brown, President Medvedev said Russia was "in favour of the deployment of additional OSCE [Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe] monitors in the security zone" in Georgia, the Kremlin statement said.

It said observers in the security zone would provide "impartial monitoring" of Tbilisi's actions.

Earlier this month, the OSCE decided to increase the number of its military observers by up 100 in Georgia.

Mr Medvedev also said that Russia recognised Georgia's regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia because of Tbilisi's aggression.

He said that the Georgian move "fundamentally altered the conditions in which, during 17 years, attempts were made to settle the relations between South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia," the statement said.

In a separate development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

They both "agreed on the need to put an end to attempts to use the situation surrounding Georgia... to raise tensions in Europe by speculating on non-existent threats concerning other post-Soviet countries," a Russian foreign ministry statement said.

Ties cut

The conflict in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes.

Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russian troops continued their operation, advancing deep inside Georgia's territory.

An EU-brokered ceasefire brought a formal end to the conflict five days later, although each side has accused the other of breaking the agreement.

Russia has since withdrawn the bulk of its force and says the troops left behind are serving as peacekeepers.

Georgia has described them as an occupation force, announcing that it is cutting diplomatic relations with Moscow.

BBC News

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Thanks for the news!

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Hundreds of thousands of people have marched throughout Mexico to protest against a continuing wave of killings and kidnappings in the country.



The rallies were held in all of Mexico's 32 states, with more than 150,000 people gathering at Zocalo square in the capital, Mexico City.

They were mainly dressed in white, and marched in silence, holding candles.

At least 2,700 people have been killed and 300 kidnapped so far this year, mostly in drugs-related violence.

Earlier this week, a dozen headless bodies were found in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The marches also come a week after President Felipe Calderon announced new measures to deal with the violence.

'No more impunity'

Dressed in white, tens of thousands of Mexicans walked in silence along the capital's main boulevard, holding candles and lanterns, to show that they had had enough of the murders and kidnappings plaguing their country.

Many carried national flags - a sign that they want a unified country in the fight against crime.

Others carried banners bearing slogans such as "No more impunity" and "No more revoking sentences". Others carried pictures of their children who had been kidnapped.

"The most frustrating thing has been the indolence of many of the authorities, their insensitivity," said the father of Monica Alejandrina Ramirez, who was kidnapped in 2004 and has not been heard of since.

"I have often asked myself, why? Why me? Why my daughter?"

Once everyone had arrived at Zocalo square and the sun had set, they sang the national anthem, and put out their candles together.

There were similar co-ordinated scenes in dozens of towns and cities across Mexico as thousands of others staged "Iluminemos Mexico", or "Let's Illuminate Mexico", silent marches.

The organisers hoped to emulate a similar march in 2004, when almost half a million people protested against violence, forcing the government to target police corruption and introduce reforms.

Emergency programme

The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Mexico City says the marches are a visible sign of how anxious people continue to be about the violence, and their frustration at the government's inability to reduce it.

"The message is: Get to work or we'll hold you accountable," said Eduardo Gallo, whose 25-year-old daughter was kidnapped and murdered in 2000. "We are angry."

Last week the country's political and security leaders drew up an emergency, 74-point plan to try to combat the wave of violence.

Measures include sacking corrupt police officers, equipping security forces with more powerful weapons, new prisons for kidnappers and strategies to combat money-laundering and drug-trafficking.

President Calderon has already deployed more than 25,000 troops across the country to combat the powerful drug cartels.

Washington is also pumping in hundreds of millions of dollars to help.

But the cartels and kidnappers are well organised and often have the acquiescence of corrupt police officers, our correspondent says.

The organisers of this march know restoring a sense of calm and order will need wholesale changes in Mexican society, something one march on one day cannot achieve, he adds.

BBC News

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Relief efforts are increasing in the Indian state of Bihar, hit by some of the worst flooding in years.



Authorities say they have so far rescued more than 300,000 people left stranded after heavy monsoon rains caused the Kosi river to flood.

However, more than twice that number are still homeless and in urgent need of aid, and relief is being hampered by extensive damage to roads.

The waters have affected vast numbers of people in India and Nepal.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder, in Bihar, says extra boats have been pressed into service and additional troops deployed.

Rescue teams are still to reach some remote villages and have been dropping aid to from the air to those affected.

In some areas the water level has begun receding but the floods have also spread to other districts, affecting yet more people.

The forecast is for more rain in the coming days and the continuing bad weather is hampering efforts to get aid to about 2.5 million people who have been displaced.

More than one million people are now being housed in relief camps, where they are being given cooked food, water and medicines.

But many of the camps are already overflowing and there are more people streaming in by the hour, our correspondent says.

Aid workers estimate that many will have to live in temporary shelters for months until their homes and villages are rebuilt.

Burst dam

Amid relief efforts, the suffering of many of those affected continues. On Saturday at least 20 people were killed when a boat capsized while carrying dozens of police.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh, who visited the affected areas in Bihar on Thursday, said the flooding was a "national calamity".

He has announced an aid package worth $230m (£115m).

But aid agencies say many of the victims are being moved to temporary shelters which lack basic amenities.

A report released by Unicef says there are fears of infectious diseases at the camps.

Army and air force helicopters are continuing to provide aid to the flood-ravaged parts and 600 boats are helping with the relief and rescue work.

But the floods have washed away roads and railway tracks, and water and electricity supplies have been affected in many areas.

"This situation is beyond comprehension," Bihar resident, Arshad Khaqani, told the BBC News website.

The Kosi river flows from Nepal where it is called the Saptakoshi river.

On 18 August a dam on the Saptakoshi burst, triggering the subsequent flooding in Bihar.

Officials in Nepal say hundreds of people there have been hit by illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia and an estimated 50,000 are homeless.

They say nearly 1,000 houses have been completely destroyed. Power supplies and transport have been severely affected.

The costs to the economy are now estimated at one billion Nepalese rupees ($14.25m).

BBC News

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have met in Jerusalem for a further round of US-backed peace talks.



Mr Olmert wants to draw up a document of understanding that will serve as a framework agreement they can take to Washington next month, officials say.

However, the Palestinians have said they will not sign a partial deal.

Mr Olmert has promised to resign after his Kadima party chooses a new leader in a primary election on 17 September.

The prime minister announced his intention in July following months of pressure resulting from the opening of a police inquiry into money he received from a US-Israeli businessman. He denies any wrongdoing.

'Considerable gaps'

Mr Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said his premature departure from office "would not interfere with the discussions" as the two leaders sat down for the latest of the meetings they have held every few weeks since the Annapolis peace conference last November.

Afterwards, Mr Regev told the Associated Press that "significant progress had been made", but admitted there remained "considerable gaps between the two sides".

He would not elaborate on the specific disagreements, but correspondents say they are likely to include the borders of a future Palestinian state, settlement construction in the West Bank, and the status of Jerusalem.

Before the meeting, Israeli officials said Mr Olmert wanted to discuss drawing up a "framework agreement" that could be presented to US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next month, before he left office.

They hoped such an agreement would show that progress had been made and indicate where the negotiations could be picked up by Mr Olmert's successor.

However, an aide to Mr Abbas, Yasser Abed Rabbo, insisted the Palestinian negotiating team would reject "any partial deal".

After the talks, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah: "The time factor is important but we either have an agreement on all issues or no agreement."

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a favourite to succeed Mr Olmert, has cautioned against rushing the process, saying attempts to "bridge gaps prematurely" can lead to misunderstandings and clashes.

Ms Livni's comments were echoed by her US counterpart during a visit to the Middle East last week.

Nevertheless, Ms Rice said she was "very heartened" by the fact that the negotiations continued to be "serious" and "intensive".

BBC News

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The Ministry of Defence is to meet an animal rights group to discuss alternatives to the bearskin hats worn by guards at Buckingham Palace.



People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has approached Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney to design a new shape for the 18in hat.

The charity has previously called for fake fur to be used, but said the MoD was not happy with prototype designs.

Baroness Taylor, minister for defence procurement, will meet Peta on Tuesday.

Tourist sight

The MoD says it is open to alternatives to real bearskin, but that previous attempts to replace it with synthetic fur have failed because the material has not been durable or weatherproof enough.

The ministry also wants to avoid if possible any change in the look of the red-coated sentries guarding Buckingham Palace, whose uniforms have long been one of the top tourist sights in London.

However, Peta is proposing a new hat shape and has also approached designer Marc Bouwer as well as McCartney and Westwood.

Robbie LeBlanc, Peta's director for Europe, said that although the group was proposing a different shape for the hats it did not mean the new design could not become "iconic".

"Most people think it's fake fur and when they find out it's real and it takes one bear to make a hat, they are appalled," he said.

'Inexcusable'

The meeting is the culmination of a media campaign by Peta that has included a naked protest outside Buckingham Palace.

More recently, comedian Ricky Gervais sent an open letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, calling the continued use of real fur inexcusable.

"I understand and appreciate the importance of uniforms, but continuing to use real fur in the 21st century is inexcusable, regardless of 'tradition'," the letter said.

"The public are relying on you to bring about a humane changing of the guards."

BBC News

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Thanks For The News!

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