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　　Twin suicide bomb attacks in the Lebanese capital Beirut have killed at least 40 people andwounded many others. The blast went off in a mainly Shia districts that is a stronghold ofsupport for Hezbollah. The Islamic State group said it carried out the bombings but there hasbeen no independent confirmation. Our Arab affairs editor Spice Narasia reports. This is theworst bomb attack in Beirut since the Civil War ended a quarter of a century ago. Itsperpetrators clearly wanted to maximize casualties. Two bombers blow themselves up a shortdistance from each other in a busy narrow street in the early evening rush hour as worshipperswere also coming out of the nearby Mosque. It may have been ordinary people who were killedand maimed, but the bombers'message was directed towards Hezbollah, the powerfulmovement that controls this mainly Shia area. Its blasts spill over from the Syrian war, whereHezbollah has played a crucial and controversial role in fighting president Bashar al-Assad.

　　The US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked that countries attending peace talks on Syriathis weekend remain open minded about a political solution. Mr Kerry was speaking for leavingfor second round of talks in Vienna. Barber Plat Arsher is traveling with Mr Kerry. No matterhow hard it is to achieve peace, the attempt is always worthwhile said Mr Kerry. He stressedthat at least now, all the main foreign powers involved in the conflict are around the table, thatincludes the US and Saudi Arabia, which back rebel groups, and Russia and Iran, which backthe Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Mr Kerry acknowledged they hadn’t resolved theirdifferences about Mr Asad's role in a political transition, which had held up previousdiplomatic efforts, and they weren't near a comprehensive agreement, no one should dig intheir heels he said, as they attempt to build on a grave set of basic principles.

　　The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution strongly condemning the escalating violencein Burundi under the measures Burundian leaders who incited attacks and impeded peaceefforts could face sanctions. Nike Brian is at the UN. The fear of the UN is of a Rwandan-stylegenocide in Burundi, while there is also a history of tensions between Hutu and Tutsi ethnicgroups. The French drafted resolution which passed unanimously condemn the way of killingand arrests in human rights violations and pave the way for the possible insertion of bluehelmeted UN peace keepers. UN officials are considering a number of options including rushingin peace keepers currently employed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

　　An alleged member of New York crime families have been found not guilty of involvement inthe 1978 airport rubbery that helped inspired the Hollywood mafia film Goodfellas. VincentAsaro who was 80 was cleared of murder, extortion and other crimes. Mr Asaro was arrestedlast year more than 3 decades after the infamous heist at John.F Kennedy Airport. The theft of6 million dollars from the Lufthansa vault was at the time, the largest cash robbery in Americanhistory. World news from the BBC.

　　Nigeria's highest court has temporarily suspended corruption case against the president ofthe Senate, the third most powerful politician in Nigeria. Bukola Saraki is accused of notdeclaring his assets when he was a state governor. He denies the charges. The judge rule thatthe proceedings of the tribunal would not go ahead until the Supreme Court has heard theappeal.

　　A federal appeal's court in the US has reversed the decision by a lower court, which foundthat California's death penalty was being applied illegally. The judge ruled that while manypeople consider California's capital punishment system to be dysfunctional, it complied withfederal law. James Cook reports from Los Angelas. This case was brought by Earnest WaynJones, who were sentenced to death 20 years ago for the rape and murder of his girlfriend'smother. His lawyer has argued that long delays in the appeal's process meant that only arandom few of those on death row were actually killed. More than 900 people have beensentenced to death in California since 1978, but only 13 have been executed. A district courtruled in Jones's favor, saying arbitrary delays meant the punishment was cruel and unusualand therefore, unconstitutional. That judgment has not been overturned on proceduralgrounds.

　　African leaders say European Union fund of almost 2 billion dollars will do little to reduce thenumber of migrants trying to reach Europe. Injection of money was announced in Malta at theend of a two-day summit. It will finance projects ranging from training and small businessgrounds to combating food shortages.

　　The Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff says a mining company responsible for two damns thatburst last week contaminating a vast area will be fined an initial 66 million dollars. Speaking ona visit, the affected area in Minas Gerais state, Dilma Rousseff said she was determined tohold that responsible for disaster to account and she also added that more fines could follow.

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