Taiwan TransAsia Airways plane crash kills at least 40

Taiwan TransAsia Airways plane crash kills at least 40 Rescuers were confronted with a scene of devastation at the site of the crashTaiwan profileUnease over Taiwan crash plane

A passenger plane has crashed after a failed emergency landing in Taiwan, killing more than 40 people, local officials say.

The domestic flight crashed near Magong airport on the outlying Penghu island, reports said.

There were a total of 54 passengers and four crew on board, Taiwan's CNA news agency reported.

Aviation officials said flight GE222 aborted its initial landing and then crashed, local media reported.

Transport minister Yeh Kuang-Shih said that 47 people were killed and 11 were injured, CNA reported.

The agency previously said that 51 were feared killed, citing fire department officials.

"It's chaotic [at] the scene," Jean Shen, director of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, told Reuters news agency.

About 200 military personnel have joined rescuers in the search for survivors.

'Plane in flames'

Firefighters and other emergency personnel are attempting to rescue those on board.

Grief-stricken relatives of people on board the flight had to be comforted by staff in Kaohsiung International AirportThis vehicle - photographed in torrential rain - was covered in rubble caused by the crash on PenghuThe darkness meant that hundreds of rescuers at the crash site had to use torches to conduct their search of the wreckageTransAsia Airways is a budget airline in Taiwan

"It was thunderstorm conditions during the crash," said Hsi Wen-guang, Penghu County Government Fire Bureau spokesman.

"From the crash site we sent 11 people to hospital with injuries. A few empty apartment buildings adjacent to the runway caught fire, but no-one was inside at the time and the fire was extinguished."

The ATR 72 turboprop aircraft departed from the southern municipality of Kaohsiung at 17:43 local time (09:43 GMT), but lost contact with controllers at 19:06, CNA said, citing the Civil Aeronautics Administration.

The plane was found at Penghu island's Xixi village in flames, local media reported.

TransAsia Airways' General Manager Hsu Yi-Tsung has tearfully apologised for the accident, the Central News Agency reported, pledging to spare no effort in the rescue operation and to transport relatives of passengers on the flight to Magong on Thursday morning.

Earlier on Wednesday, Taiwan was battered by strong winds and rain from a tropical storm, Typhoon Matmo.

However, an official at the Civil Aeronautics Administration told Reuters that bad weather at the time of the crash did not exceed international regulations for landing.

Typhoon Matmo had caused many flights to be cancelled but the land warning was lifted around 17:30 local time, around the time the plane took off, the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei reports.

How are you affected by the crash? Are you near Magong airport? You can email your comments to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Taiwan'

Costa Concordia is towed away to Genoa for scrap

Costa Concordia is towed away to Genoa for scrap

This time-lapse footage shows the first 15 minutes of the operation

Continue reading the main storyCruise disasterSalvaging shipFall in profitsTranscriptWhat we know

The wrecked Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, is being towed to the port of Genoa for scrapping after a two-year salvage operation.

Its removal is one of the biggest ever maritime salvage operations.

The Concordia struck a reef off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people.

Captain Francesco Schettino has denied charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years.

The Costa Concordia was re-floated nine days ago and is being kept above the surface by giant buoyancy chambers. More than a dozen vessels will help to tow the ship.

The wreck was hauled upright in September last year but was still partially submerged, resting on six steel platforms.

Sirens on nearby boats wailed and bells on Giglio tolled just before two tugboats pulled the vessel away.

The wreck is due to arrive at a port near Genoa in northern Italy late on SaturdayThe towing operation was done in ideal weather conditions, with crowds witnessing the spectacle

Italian civil protection service head Franco Gabrielli told the Reuters news agency that "victory" could only be declared when the ship was in sight of the port of Genoa.

The cruise ship is being towed to Genoa at two knots, almost at walking pace, with an escort of more than a dozen tug boats.

The journey, which is expected to take four days, began shortly before 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT).

'Tragedy strike'

Senior salvage master Nick Sloane said early on Wednesday that everything was going according to plan.

However, French ecology minister Segolene Royal has said she will monitor the ship's movement from Corsica. Residents on the island fear that any oil leak from the cruise ship could cause significant environmental damage.

The Costa Concordia is making its journey accompanied by more than a dozen smaller vesselsRescuers lifted the ship from underwater platforms by pumping air into 30 metal boxes attached to the hull

The Concordia is set to sail 25km (15 miles) from Corsica and close to the islands of Elba and Capraia before its expected arrival in Genoa late on Saturday.

A survivor of the tragedy told Reuters that initially he saw the area where the ship sunk as "a place where I saw tragedy strike", but over time his view had changed because it was a miracle that 4,000 people were saved.

Investigators are still looking for the body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello, whose body is the only one not to have been found.

The Costa Concordia's owners, Costa Crociere, estimate the operation to remove the wreck from the reef and tow it for scrapping will cost 1.5bn euros (£1.2bn; $2bn) in total.

Peaches Geldof died of heroin overdose

Peaches Geldof died of heroin overdose, inquest rulesThe inquiry has heard heroin is "likely" to have played a role in her death.Peaches Geldof died of heroin overdoseWatchBob Geldof: Proud of Peaches' impactListenFamily says farewell to Peaches

Peaches Geldof died of a heroin overdose, a coroner has ruled.

The TV presenter had been a heroin addict and took the substitute drug methadone for two-and-a-half years before her death, the inquest heard.

A police search found 6.9g of heroin in her house but there was no indication she had planned to take her own life.

Her husband, musician Tom Cohen, told the hearing in Gravesend the 25-year-old had started using the drug again in February this year.

He had witnessed her flushing drugs she had hidden in their loft down the toilet, but was not aware of any other drugs in the house until they were found by police.

In his evidence, the musician said his wife had taken weekly drugs tests since seeking treatment for her addiction two years ago.

Although she had informed him they were clear, Mr Cohen said he now believed Geldof had been lying about the tests.

Peaches Geldof and Tom Cohen married in 2012

Mr Cohen, who married Geldof in 2012, found his wife slumped on the bed at their home in Wrotham in Kent on 7 April after becoming concerned when she failed to answer the phone.

He had been away for the weekend with the elder of their two sons, Astala, leaving Geldof at home with their 11-month old son, Phaedra.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

After a toxicology report was issued in May, the police launched a criminal inquiry "into the supply of drugs" in connection with her death. No arrests have been made so far.

As Jannat Jalil reports, Peaches Geldof's husband gave evidence at the inquest

Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham, who led the investigation, said "importation quality" heroin with a purity of 61% - "far exceeding" the 26% purity usually found at street level - was found in a black cloth bag inside a cupboard over a bedroom door.

"The black bag also contained 34 medical syringes, some were with needles and some without, some were sealed in original packaging and some contained traces of a brown coloured residue," he said.

"There were also 45 packaged and sealed syringes, alcohol wipes and cotton buds."

'Fatal range'

Police also found a pair of knotted black tights under Geldof's body and two other pairs of tights with knots in them elsewhere in the property, along with a number of burnt spoons.

The syringe containing the fatal dose was discovered in a cardboard box next to the bed, which also contained sweets.

Forensic scientist Emma Harris, who had been involved in examining the body, said: "Tolerance to heroin... appears to be lost fairly rapidly when users cease to use the drug, and deaths commonly occur in people who have previously been tolerant and have returned to using heroin."

Pathologist Peter Jerreat said the levels of heroin in Geldof's body were in a "fatal range"; while evidence of codeine, methadone and morphine were also found in her blood.

He further noted that puncture wounds were found on Geldof's body on her elbows, wrists and thumbs.

Geldof's funeral took place in April at the same church where her mother's funeral was held in 2000

'History repeating'

Geldof's mother, Paula Yates, died of a heroin overdose at the age of 41 when Peaches was 11 years old.

Coroner Roger Hatch said: "It's said that the death of Peaches Geldof-Cohen is history repeating itself but this is not entirely so.

"By November last year she had ceased to take heroin as a result of the considerable treatment and counselling that she had received.

"This was a significant achievement for her but for reasons we will never know prior to her death she returned to taking heroin."

He said her death would be recorded as "drugs related" and expressed his deep sympathy to the Geldof family.

Mr Cohen left the inquest without comment.

India doctors remove 232 teeth from boy's mouth

India doctors remove 232 teeth from boy's mouth Ashik Gavai is seen here after the operation, with the teeth that were removed

Doctors in India have extracted 232 teeth from the mouth of a 17-year-old boy in a seven-hour operation.

Ashik Gavai was brought in with a swelling in his right jaw, Dr Sunanda Dhiware, head of Mumabi's JJ Hospital's dental department, told the BBC.

The teenager had been suffering for 18 months and travelled to the city from his village after local doctors failed to identify the cause of the problem.

Doctors have described his condition as "very rare" and "a world record".

'Small white pearls'

"Ashik's malaise was diagnosed as a complex composite odontoma where a single gum forms lots of teeth. It's a sort of benign tumour," Dr Dhiware said.

Ashik Gavai's teeth were put on display by doctors after the operationThe teenager had to endure seven hours of medics pulling teeth from his mouthIt was all smiles from the medical team after the mammoth operation

"At first, we couldn't cut it out so we had to use the basic chisel and hammer to take it out.

"Once we opened it, little pearl-like teeth started coming out, one-by-one. Initially, we were collecting them, they were really like small white pearls. But then we started to get tired. We counted 232 teeth," she added.

The surgery, conducted on Monday, involved two surgeons and two assistants. Ashik now has 28 teeth.

Describing Ashik's case as "very rare", Dr Dhiware said she had "not seen anything like this before in my 30-year career", but said she was "thrilled to get such an exciting case".

"According to medical literature available on the condition, it is known to affect the upper jaw and a maximum of 37 teeth have been extracted from the tumour in the past. But in Ashik's case, the tumour was found deep in the lower jaw and it had hundreds of teeth."

Ashik's father Suresh Gavai was quoted by the Mumbai Mirror as saying that his son complained of severe pain a month ago.

"I was worried that it may turn out to be cancer so I brought him to Mumbai," he said.

Somali musician and MP Saado Ali Warsame shot dea

Somali musician and MP Saado Ali Warsame shot deadSaado Ali Warsame, who spent much of the civil war in the US, continued to perform after becoming an MPContinue reading the main storySomalia: Failed State‘Mosquito militants’Al-Shabab profileWho are al-Shabab?WatchWhat drives al-Shabab?

Popular Somali musician and member of parliament Saado Ali Warsame has been shot dead by Islamist militants.

She was killed along with a civil servant in a drive-by shooting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

A spokesman for the Islamist al-Shabab group, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, told the BBC that she was targeted for her politics and not her music.

The BBC's Mohammed Moalimu in Mogadishu says she is the fourth MP to be killed this year.

The al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabab group advocates the strict Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam and is battling the UN-backed government to create an Islamic state.

Daring career

Ms Warsame rose to fame during the time of former President Siad Barre, who was overthrown in 1991, with her songs which were critical of his rule.

The song that made her famous was called Land Cruiser in which she said Mr Barre and his officials were buying expensive cars and then asking for aid to feed starving people.

Saado Ali Warsame's vehicle was targeted as it travelled along a main road in the capital

She spent much of the civil war in the US and returned home in 2012 to represent her clan in the new Somali parliament.

BBC Somali Service's Abdullahi Abdi says Ms Warsame will be remembered most for her daring musical career.

Continue reading the main story“Start Quote

Her work as a committed patriot will never be forgotten”

Abdiweli Sheikh AhmedPrime minister

She was one of the few Somali female musicians to go on stage without covering her head and she sometimes wore trousers, which is highly unusual for women in Somalia, he says.

The singer song-writer continued to perform even after taking up her position in parliament.

UN envoy Nicholas Kay condemned the assassination and said Ms Warsame's loss would be felt across Somalia.

Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said that the she had "not only worked tirelessly in the political arena of Somalia, she was also embedded in Somali culture as a gifted artist.

"Her work as a committed patriot will never be forgotten," he said in a statement.

Somalia has been a largely lawless state since the fall of Mr Barre, with warlords, religious groups and clans fighting for control of the country.

But since al-Shabab lost control of Mogadishu in 2011, some Somalis in the diaspora have started to return home to start businesses and take up political positions.

The militants have continued to carry out attacks in Mogadishu - and attacked the parliament building and presidential palace this month.

Some 22,000 African Union troops are helping the government to try and win back territory from the group.

They have taken back several key cities over the last three years, but al-Shabab still controls many smaller towns and rural areas of the country where it has imposed Sharia and banned music which it regards as un-Islamic.

Kuma ayuu ahaa Marxuum C/Shakuur Maxamuud Gureey oo Geeridiisa Puntland iyo Qurbaha markii laga maqlay la wada Murugooday?

 2014-07-21 15:41:28

Shil ay ka naxeen Maamulka iyo Shacabka Puntland ayaa ka dhacay Tuuladda Birta-dheer ee Magaaladda Garoowe iyo Gaalkacyo u dhaxayso.

Allaha u Naxariistee Agaasimihii Maalgashiga Puntland kana tirsanaa La Taliyayaasha Madaxweynaha Puntland ayaa Gaari uu watay iyo Gaari shacab la socday isku dhaceen,waxaana ka dhashay qasaaro dhimasho iyo dhaawac.

Marxuum C/Shakuur Maxamuud Gureeey ayaa ka mid ahaa Xubnaha ugu fir-fircoon Jaaliyadaha Puntland ee Waqooyiga Ameerika(North-America)waxaana uu ahaa Shaqsigii aas-aasay Hey'adda Daryeelka iyo Arimaha Bulshadda ee Puntland,isagoo Xukuumadii Gaas Reysalwasaaraha ka ahaa Agaasimihii Madaxtooyadda (Cheif-Of-Staff) iyo La Taliyaha Qaaska ah ee Reysalwasaarihii hore hadana Madaxweyne ka ah Puntland.

Marxuumka ayaa ka soo baxay Jaamacaddo Waqooyi-Mareykanka ku yaal,waxaana uu xiliga shilka galayay ku mashquulsanaa Ceelal biyo uu ka qodayay Puntland,isagoo Ceelal badan ka qoday Tuulooyin biyo la'aan aha balse hadda Biyihii uu qoday lagu liibaanayay,waxaana dhimashadiisa laga tebi-tabay guud'-ahaan Puntland iyo Qurbaha.

Madaxweynaha Puntland C/weli Gaas oo Saaxiibo qaas ah ay ahaayeen Marxuumka iyo Xukuumadiisa iyo dhamaan Shacabka Puntland ayaa geeridan kedisa ah ka naxay,balse qof walba waqtigii loogu tala-galay ayuu ifka ka tagayaa,Adeer C/Shakuur waxaa Alle u qoray inuu Bil Ramadaan Geeriyoodo,waxaana Alla uga baryeyna inuu Qabrigiisa u nuuriyo,Janadii Fardoowsana ka waraabiyo (Aamiin Yaa Rabbi)

Shacabkamedia-Beyra-Puntland

Runta Kama-Xıshoono

Email:Shacabkamedia@live.com

Dowladda faderaalka oo beenisay in la iibsaday badda Soomaaliya

Posted on July 21, 2014Raad Raaca, RBC, Wararka

Muqdisho [RBC Radio] Wasiirka Kalluumaysiga iyo qeyradka badda xukuumadda Soomaaliya,Maxamuud Coloow Baroow oo maanta shir jaraa’id ku qabtay Muqdisho,waxaa uu sheegay dowladda inaysan wax wada-hadal ah ka gali doonin badda Soomaaliya.

Waxuu uu beeniyey warar dhawaanahan soo baxayey oo ay saxaafaduba wax ka qortay kuwaaso sheegayey in badda Soomaaliya la iiban doonno oo ay dowladda faderaalku wada-hadal kala gali doonto Kenya.

“Waa war xaqiiqada ka fog dadka oranaya badda Soomaaliya la gadaya ama la iibinaya,waxaan idin sheegay majiro wax waa-hadal ah ama ay dowladda Soomaaliya gor gortan kala gali doonin badeedda,”ayuu yiri wasiir Baroow.

Wasiirku waxaa kalo uu shirkiisa jaraa’id ku soo qaaday in badda Soomaaliya la yaqaano xadduudeeda oo ayasan dhici karin in gor gortan laga galo,isla markaana aysan jirin cid wax ka beddeli karta.

Wasiirka ayaa sheegay in ay wasaaraddiisu diyaar u tahay in ay xildhibaannada baarlamaanka ka tuhun bixiso wararkaas oo uu xusay in ay suuqa gelinayaan dad aan rabin jiritaanka Soomaaliya.

Wuxuu tilmaamay in xudduudda badda Soomaaliya la sameeyay xilligii gumeystaha uu dalka joogay, isla markaana aysan jirin cid wax ka beddeli karta.

Ugu danbeyn,waxaa uu sheegay wasiirku in ay wasaaraddiisa qaadanayso mas’uuliyadda wixi ku saabsan kheyraadka badda, isla markaana dhaqaalaha ka soo baxa badda lagu horumarimayo kheyraadka laga soo saaro badda, hay’adaha wax-soo-saarka sameeya iyo nolosha dadka ku nool xeebada dalka.

Shirka jaraa’id ee wasiirku waxaa uu ku soo aadaya xilli dhawaan wareysi uu bixiyey admiraal Faarax Axmed Cumar Faarax Qare oo ah guddoomiyaha hay’ada cilmibaarisa badda uu ku sheegay in aysan jirin wax muran ah oo ka taagan badda Soomaaliya islamarkaana madaxweynaha Soomaaliya uu caalamka u diray warqad muujineysa xadduuda badda Soomaaliya,si caalamku u ogado.

___
RBC Radio

MH17 crash: Ukraine rebels 'to allow access to site'

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Both the Ukrainian government and rebels have denied downing the plane

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Airliner crash

• UpdatesLive
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• Alleged phone intercepts
• Game-changer?

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are to give international investigators access to the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines jet.

The rebels vowed to secure the site and allow the recovery of bodies, the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe said.

The plane, carrying 298 people, crashed in rebel-held territory on Thursday.

The two sides in Ukraine's civil conflict have accused each other of shooting the jet down with a missile.

The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk.

Latest figures released by Malaysia Airlines show the plane was carrying at least 173 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 44 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.

The plane came down near the village of Grabovo in Ukraine on Thursday

Debris from the plane covers a very large area

This photo shows a broken watch found on a plastic cover near the site

Ukrainian coal miners are seen searching a sunflower field close to the crash site

Other passengers came from Germany, Belgium, the Philippines and Canada. The dead include world-renowned Dutch researcher Joep Lange who was among a number of passengers en route to an international Aids conference in Australia.

It is the second disaster suffered by Malaysia Airlines this year. Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Malaysia to China in March and has still not been found.

'Catastrophe'

The separatists pledged to provide assistance after holding a video conference with senior representatives from the OSCE, Ukraine and Russia.

In a statement, the OSCE said the rebels had agreed to "close off the site of the catastrophe and allow local authorities to start preparations for the recovery of bodies".

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Recordings purport to show pro-Russian separatists talking about the downing of a civilian plane

They would also guarantee "safe access" to international investigators and OSCE monitors and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.

The OSCE said 30 members of its Ukrainian monitoring mission were expected to arrive at the plane crash site later on Friday.

Ukraine has declared the area a no-fly zone, while other airlines have announced they are now setting flight paths to avoid eastern Ukraine.

Rescue workers said on Friday they had recovered one of the plane's black box flight recorders after searching through debris spread across several kilometres.

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency earlier reported that another black box was found by separatist fighters and handed over to Moscow. Observers say the move, if confirmed, is likely to cause international controversy.

US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile - a Buk thought to have been used by the rebels in Ukraine before.

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Barry and Izzy Sim: "We were supposed to be on flight"

A Malaysian woman weeps after seeing the name of her daughter on the passenger list

The separatists were said to have seized the Buk after overrunning a Ukrainian military base.

However, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema has cast doubt on this, telling local media on Friday: "The military told the president after the passenger plane had been shot down that the terrorists did not possess our Buk missile systems."

Ukraine has called the disaster an "act of terrorism", blaming it on Russia who it says has been aiding the rebels in the conflict and supplying them with advanced weapons.

"The Russians are done for. This is an international crime which must be investigated by the international tribunal in The Hague," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.

Public buildings in the Netherlands have been flying flags at half mast on Friday

Vigils have been held outside the the Dutch embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev

The crash made worldwide headlines, with the Australian Herald Sun printing a special edition

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukraine government for restarting military operations in the area, where it is trying to regain control from pro-Russian rebels.

"The country in whose airspace this happened bears responsibility for it," he said.

Russia has called for a "thorough and unbiased" investigation, adding that the tragedy also highlighted a need for a swift end to the Ukrainian conflict.

Separatist leader Alexander Borodai also accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.

Buk surface-to-air missile system

Also known as SA-11 Gadfly (or newer SA-17 Grizzly)

Russian-made, mobile, medium range system

Weapons: Four surface-to-air missiles

Missile speed (max): Mach 3

Target altitude (max): 22,000 metres (72,000ft)

Source: Global Security

But Ukraine's defence ministry said there were no Air Force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.

Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian officials blamed the Russian Air Force for shooting down one of its ground attack jets on Wednesday, and a transport plane on Monday.

International leaders, including US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.

Shelling is continuing as Ukrainian forces try to advance against the rebels.

The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on the plane disaster on Friday morning in New York.

Have you been affected by this story? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Malaysia plane".

Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal denied

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Yolande Knell reports from Gaza City as residents flock to banks and shops during a temporary ceasefire

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Mid-East crisis

• Propaganda battle
• The trouble with GazaWatch
• Grim determination
• Means to an end

Israel's foreign minister and Hamas have denied earlier reports of a truce deal to end fighting in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militants.

Avigdor Lieberman said the reports were "as of now incorrect", and Hamas, which controls Gaza, said talks in Egypt were ongoing.

An Israeli official earlier told the BBC the truce was to take effect on Friday at 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT).

Some 227 Palestinians and one Israeli have died in nine days of conflict.

Israel launched its Operation Protective Edge with the stated objective of halting Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.

However, the United Nations says most of those killed in Gaza have been civilians.

Israel accuses Hamas of hiding its military infrastructure within the civilian population.

On Wednesday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees said it had found 20 rockets hidden in one of its vacant schools in Gaza and "strongly condemned" whichever group had placed them there.

Emergency relief

Egypt has been mediating in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Earlier reports said a new truce deal had been agreed by Israeli negotiators but that it had not yet been approved by the Israeli cabinet.

Analysis: BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem

In an off-the-record briefing in some of Thursday morning's overseas newspapers a senior Israeli military official is quoted as describing the likelihood of an Israeli ground operation in Gaza as "very high". The military logic is clear, as it always has been.

Israel's air force is steadily working its way down a long target list. But there are other targets that could only be reached by ground forces - better-concealed long-range rockets are one example.

Ground operations could mean anything from raids by units of Israel's Special Forces to an all-out invasion and occupation. That would mean Israeli casualties too - perhaps a lot of them - and give Israel responsibility for running Gaza even as it hunted and fought militants.

Lots of Israeli politicians want the army to go in, but so far PM Benjamin Netanyahu is hesitating. In the meantime, leaks suggesting a ground operation is "highly likely" are a psychological weapon in themselves.

However, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Agence France-Presse: "The news about a ceasefire is incorrect. There are continuing efforts but no agreement until now."

Mr Lieberman told Israeli media: "The reports of a ceasefire are far from representing reality. I spoke with the prime minister, and as of now they are incorrect."

The UN said it used the brief ceasefire to distribute water, food and hygiene kits

A spokesman for Islamic Jihad, which is also involved in the talks, told the BBC the discussions in Cairo were "ongoing and intensive" and that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had asked for amendments to the Egyptian initiative, which the mediators were dealing with "positively".

A five-hour truce took place on Thursday between 10:00 and 15:00 local time.

It was requested by the UN and other international organisations to provide emergency relief and distribute water, food and hygiene kits.

However, a few minutes after the temporary ceasefire ended, the Israel Defense Forces said a rocket fired from Gaza had hit the town of Ashkelon.

It was followed by reports of further rocket attacks.

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry says efforts will continue to try to broker a ceasefire

Witnesses in Gaza say Israel has also carried out its first air strike since the temporary truce ended - on agricultural land near Beit Lahiya.

Gazans had tried to use the temporary truce to stock up on supplies. They queued outside banks and there were traffic jams.

Two hours into the truce, the Israeli military said that "Gazan terrorists" had fired mortars at the Eshkol regional council.

Israel responded with mortar fire, which, according to Hamas TV, hit near eastern Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Fighting had continued until the truce came into effect on Thursday morning.

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Are Israeli strike warnings effective? The BBC examines footage from both sides

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Shimon Peres: "We are really sorry to see four children being killed"

Palestinian medics said three people were killed by Israeli tank fire which hit a house in Rafah minutes before the ceasefire began.

The Israeli military earlier confirmed it had carried out dozens of air strikes on targets in Gaza since midnight, while Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities.

Several of the rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence shield, with the rest striking without causing casualties.

The Israeli military also said it had thwarted the infiltration into Israel by 13 Hamas gunmen via a tunnel from southern Gaza towards the southern Israeli kibbutz of Sufa on Thursday morning.

Killings 'unintentional'

Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres has apologised for the deaths of four Palestinian children killed when Israeli artillery fire hit a beach near Gaza City on Wednesday.

Israel says Palestinian militants have fired more than 1,380 rockets into Israel since 8 July

A building in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, takes a hit from an earlier Israeli air strike

"I think it was unintentional and we are really sorry to see four children being killed," he said in an interview with the BBC.

He said an evacuation warning had been issued ahead of the air strike, which was targeting "a great concentration of weapons" in the area.

The Israeli military said it was "carefully investigating" the incident, adding that "based on preliminary results, the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives".

Israel says it has carried out more than 1,960 attacks on Gaza since 8 July, while militants have fired some 1,380 rockets at Israel.

The Israeli military has mobilised tens of thousands of troops on the border with Gaza amid speculation that a ground invasion could be launched.

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Microsoft set to axe 18,000 jobs

The job cuts are the deepest in the firm's 39-year history

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Microsoft is to cut up to 18,000 jobs marking the deepest cuts in the technology firm's 39-year history.

The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be in its phone unit Nokia, which Microsoft bought in April, the firm said.

Microsoft pledged to cut $600m (£350.8m) per year in costs within 18 months of closing the acquisition.

The cuts are much more severe than the 6,000 initially expected.

The firm employs 127,000 globally, including 3,500 staff in the UK.

Microsoft declined to say how many jobs in the UK would be cut as a result of the changes.

Chief executive officer Satya Nadella, who took the helm in February, wants the firm to shift its focus away from software to online services, apps and devices.

"Making these decisions to change are difficult, but necessary," Mr Nadella wrote in the announcement to staff.

The firm said it also planned to have fewer layers of management "to accelerate the flow of information and decision making."

Microsoft said staff affected by the job cuts would be notified over the next six months, and they would be "fully completed" by the the end of June next year.

In total it said the cuts, including severance pay, would cost it between $1.1bn to $1.6bn (£643m to £935m) over the next year.

Analysis, BBC technology reporter Joe Miller:

Satya Nadella has only held the reins at Microsoft for five months, but the Nietzsche-quoting chief executive is determined to shake-up the once dominant firm.

Microsoft's software, which used to be the outright leader in personal computing, is now only used on 14% of devices, if you take into account smartphones and tablets.

Adapting to what Mr Nadella calls a "mobile-first, cloud-first" world was the driving force behind Microsoft's $7.2bn acquisition of Nokia's mobile handset division last year, and the job cuts announced on Thursday, many of which involve Nokia departments, are designed to "simplify" this process.

The tech industry, Mr Nadella said in an email to employees last week, "does not respect tradition, it only respects innovation," and his hope is that a focus on productivity tools such as Skype and personal assistant Cortana will bring back this said respect.

Perhaps it will, but not, it seems, without casualties.