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BBC 2008-01-07

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Preliminary results from Saturday's presidential election in Georgia indicate that the incumbent, Mikheil Saakashvili, is heading for a comfortable victory with nearly 53% of the vote. Mr. Saakashvili told the BBC the election was a big step forward for Georgia's democracy.

"In a way Georgia went through this maturity test and proved that it's a real state. It's a state that can protect its own institution, but it's also a very vibrant democracy with civil society and all that can produce free and fair elections as proven by the European observers."

A head of the main European election monitoring body, the OSCE, has urged Georgia's leaders to use the post-election period to show political maturity and respect for the democratic process. But earlier, Russia criticized the votes endorsement by the OSCE, saying its report was superficial and there have been numerous irregularities.

The Pakistani government says it will not let American forces hunt al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants on its soil. It was responding to a report in the New York Times which said the United States was considering expanding its military operations into Pakistan's tribal regions on the border with Afghanistan. Sanjay Dasgupta reports.

"In its report, the New York Times said President Bush and his top advisors had discussed whether to allow the CIA and US military to conduct more agGREssive covert operations in Pakistan's restive mountainous tribal areas. But a spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign office, Mohammad Sadiq, told the BBC that Islamabad would not allow any country to carry out such operations on Pakistani territory. The New York Times report said some analysts had warned of the possibility of a huge backlash in Pakistan, should US forces get more directly involved."

The United Nations says it's providing help for some 6,000 refugees, mostly women and children, who fled to Afghanistan to escape fighting in Pakistan. The refugees have crossed the border into eastern Afghanistan from Pakistan's tribal areas over the past week to escape clashes between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. The UN says it's the first time so many people have crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan. In recent decades, the refugee traffic has been in the opposite direction.

At least 14 people have been killed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in two bomb attacks which targeted commemorations for Army Day. In one attack, two Iraqi soldiers threw themselves on top of the bomber before he blew himself up. In the other attack, a car exploded outside a restaurant in eastern Baghdad killing at least 3 people.

The Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, has accused Israelis of escalating their attacks on the Palestinian people ahead of a visit by President George Bush who arrives in the region on Wednesday. Mr. Erekat said the peace process could not be successful unless there was an end to what he called escalations in settlement building. His comments come hours after the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, threatened increased attacks against Gaza militants.

You're listening to the latest bulletin of World News from the BBC with Punet Godusy.

With tons of uncollected rubbish littering the roads of Naples, the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, has described the mess as a real tragedy that needs to be tackled. Refuse trucks stopped collection two weeks ago because all landfill sites are full. Protesters are blocking the entrance to an old landfill the authorities plan to reopen. The organizer of the protest, Angelas Defaukle, said Naples could no longer impose its waste on the surrounding communities. "We are putting our lives at risk. This is a serious health hazard. It is my heath at risk, and that is my worry, above all, who is looking out for our health. It is now 43 years that we have endured the outrage of rubbish."

Thousands of Kenyans have been praying for peace in churches across their country following the days of violence sparked by the disputed elections at the end of last month. Hundreds packed into the Catholic cathedral in Eldoret, the town where at least 30 people burnt to deaths in a church on Tuesday. Hundreds have died and thousands been displaced by the unrest.

The Foreign Minister in Kenya's governing National Unity Party, Rafael Tuju, said the opposition must call off all protests.

"It is one thing to condemn the violence and wink at your constituency and tell them that we still want a mass action. They have to call off any mass action of any kind in this volatile situation then we will know that they have been genuine. The president is open to discussions but we cannot do that when the opposition is still making preconditions and saying that he has to resign from being president before they talk to him."

Reports from Iran say five people convicted of armed robbery and hostage taking have had their right hands and left feet cut off in judicial amputations under Islamic Sharia law. The ISNA news agency said the amputations were carried out in the presence of doctors in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.

BBC News.