When I heard this announcement, I said that this is a neo-fatal blow to very fragile Middle East peace process. This is clearly the violation of international law, and it is a violation of the Quartet guidelines, and it is obstructing the Middle East peace process.
A polio vaccination program in Pakistan has been suspended, after two more health workers were shot dead. A total of eight people helping to immunize Pakistani children against the crippling disease have been killed since the United Nations began a three-day vaccination drive. Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad.
Women health workers fearing more attacks staged a demonstration in Karachi, saying they couldn't work unless they were given protection. But the vaccination drive has been suspended. For years, the Pakistani Talibans spread rumors the polio campaign was a Western plot to harm people here. The Pakistani authorities need to come up with new strategies to catch those carrying out the attacks, to offer health workers security and to change the mindset of those putting their own children at risk of a debilitating disease.
World news from the BBC
United States army has said it will seek the death penalty for a soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is accused of gunning down civilians, including nine children in March. The date for his court martial hasn't yet been set. The shootings in two villages in southern Afghanistan provoked angry protests. No U.S. service member has been executed in more than 50 years.