Thieves in France have tunneled into the basement of a Paris bank, but fled before they could steal anything. It's the latest of several similar bank raids in the city. A week ago, thieves raided dozens of safety deposit boxes at a branch of Credit Lyonnais after digging a tunnel into the vault. With more, here is Hugh Schofield.

Last weekend's underground raid on a branch of the Credit Lyonnais seems to have whetted the appetite of other would-be bank robbers in Paris. This time, it was a branch of BNP Paribas in the southeast of the capital. Once again, the gang dug a tunnel from the sewerage system to gain access to the basement of the bank. But on this occasion, after smashing a hole in the wall at about four in the morning, the robbers set off an alarm. Police were quickly on the scene, and there was a small explosion possibly caused by a ruptured gas main. In the confusion, the robbers escaped, but empty-handed.

The Iraqi capital Baghdad has been shaken by three powerful suicide car bombings, apparently aimed at foreign embassies. At least 40 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the blasts which happened within minutes of each other, near the Iranian, Egyptian and German embassies. A senior security official said the fourth car bomb attack had been prevented.

Israel has allowed ten truckloads of clothes and shoes for Palestinian traders into the Gaza Strip for the first time since Hamas seized control of the territory three years ago. Food and other humanitarian goods have been allowed into the territory in the past, but this is the first time privately-owned goods have been let in. Israel's under pressure to lift its blockade of Gaza.