demolish
ed and rebuilt.
World News from the BBC
The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, has said it will maintain stimulus spending to help
bolster
the economic recovery which, it says, has slowed in recent months. The Federal Reserve also said it would not change interest rates in the face of slowing growth and high unemployment. Economists say the action is a signal that the Fed sees the recovery weakening.
The Russian government has criticized the mayor of Moscow for being on holiday while the city struggled to deal with smoke and pollution from wildfires in the surrounding region. Economists have suggested that the fires in central and western Russia could reduce national output by up to 1%. Richard Galpin reports from Moscow.
Hundreds of fires continue to burn in several different regions of the country, including around the capital. But here in Moscow, the dense smog has lifted for the first time in almost a week, being replaced by sunshine and then some rain, welcome relief for the population which has been suffering from the very high levels of pollution. But the heatwave continues, and experts say it's having a serious impact on the country's economy,
in particular
agricultural output.
A former police officer in Northern Ireland has escaped injury after a bomb exploded under his car. It's the third such attack on security personnel in a week. Bombs had been planted below the cars of an army major and a policewoman, but this is the first time such devices detonated. Police are blaming the attacks on dissident Republicans trying to disrupt the Northern Ireland peace process.