spend the next seven years of his life, as the tycoon turned convict. bbc news, moscow. >> two people killed in baghdad in a series of bomb attacks on the homes of christians. more than a dozen other people were wounded. tensions have been on the rise for iraq's questions since at least 50 were killed on the attack at the cathedral in baghdad two months ago. are back at correspondent said that the attacks seem to be part of a campaign to drive christians out. >> these were all carried out on the christian holmes basically, one in a largely christian area were two people were killed, we're told by police, and the others on christian homes around the capital and in the largely muslim areas. very definitely christians being targeted once again in a coordinated rash of attacks that happened after dark through the evening in different parts of town. just like the attacks 10 days

after the big attack, the taking over the church in the massacring of something like 40 + christians there on the last day of october. this is the continuation of that campaign, and apparently aimed at driving the christians out of iraq, although they have been here since the early years of the state itself. >> if that is the game, it seems to be being pretty successful, doesn't it? there have been quite a number of christians leaving. it is easy for them, for example, to head north and go to the kurdish area of iraq where conditions are much safer. there's already a christian community there which has been expended by an influx from the other parts of iraq. of course, many have left the country, and others are hoping to planning to leave as well.s d

by roadside bomb in southern afghanistan. several others wounded. in a district of helmand province. new figures from the u.s. show first-time unemployment claims fell last week to the lowest level since july 2008, falling by 34,000 the week ahead of christmas. i signed the labor market is improving get up in a polish judge has given two years and eight months to a swedish neo- nazi. he admitted stealing the infamous sign in december last year. it was recovered in three pieces three days later. a former israeli president has been felt guilty of two charges of raping a woman who worked for him when he was a cabinet

member. the most serious criminal charges ever brought against the high-ranking israeli politician. he faces at least four years in prison. from jerusalem, here's the report. >> this was one of the most eagerly awaited verdicts in is really legal history. the former israeli president rejected a plea bargain, insisting he want to stay in court to clear his name. instead, the panel of judges declared moshe katsav guilty on two counts of rape and two more of sexual assault and harassment. as the now convicted rapist was taken out of court, his son was defiant. >> we will continue to walk with our head's high and with god's help, everyone will know my father is innocent. >> but outside the court, women's rights activists were calling the verdict a victory. >> we are very satisfied that the court did did justice for

all of these women who were abused by moshe katsav. >> moshe katsav aces at least four years in prison, but there is little sympathy for him from people on the streets of jerusalem. >> even someone famous or from a high level, if you did something wrong, they can prove it. >> i think it's wonderful that he was convicted. he is guilty and should be convicted. >> two previous occupants of this presidential mansion have now been pressured to step down amid allegations of criminal behavior, and one has now been convicted. some here are saying more evidence of the rottenness in the hearts of is really government. >> the vatican has published new rules to make its financial operations more transparent. the financial watchdog is set up

to monitor every vatican into the that handles many. this is in response to acquisitions by the bank of italy that they have been contravening international rules on money-laundering the police in nigeria are saying the suspect islamist militants killed eight people in five separate attacks in a northern city. creepily is for killed on wednesday. political tensions have been worsening coming into the primaries next month and elections in april. the olympic marathon champion from kenya has been charged with assault and threatening to kill his wife with an assault rifle. he denied the charges in court. he was released on bail. he became the first kenyan to win in beijing in 2008. the crisis surrounding water supplies in northern ireland has gone into an 11th day. tens of thousands of people are still without running water. northern ireland water has been

criticized. they said it miserably failed the country's citizens. it could barely next week before everybody is reconnected. >> the huge job of repairing the many burst pipes and leaks is under way. but finishing the work is a long way off. for many families to more days of desertion lie ahead. and all the time, water is leaking away on the streets across northern ireland. >> there are dozens of bursts' being reported every day. with our resources, we're trying to get as many of those done. we're trying to keep the shut- downs to wear short as possible. >> but families who have lost their supplier beginning to lose their patience. >> if it continues for another few days, it will probably come to the stage where we would of route ourselves. we would go to friends and family with running water. sort of the pilgrimages to get fresh water. >> it is not just homes that

have been affected. it is hospitals, too. some have been without water for hours. others, for longer. the burst pipes of damaged businesses, and the problems continue. at this hair dressers, many customers have had to be turned away. in this is the only way of getting water into the sink. >> it is not the water supplies fault. our country was not ready for it. >> people are getting water just wherever they can. this person has been using buckets from the sea to flesh is for this bit of the big question, how long will people have to carry water home? >> we're hoping that in the east area in belfast area that the situation will improve by tomorrow morninafternoon. it could be early next week before everybody is on supply. >> the monitoring of northern

ireland waters know they are under severe pressure to restore supply as quickly as possible. they say that they are doing all they can. engineers are working in the streets. of being a government-owned company, there are some who feel that the northern ireland politicians should be held accountable. >> the management in the offices are not doing the work right. the management -- [unintelligible] >> it is the politicians at the top and people are expecting them to come up with a way of ensuring the water never again has to be handed out on the streets. >> britain's queen elizabeth has become a great grandmother. the canadian born wife of the queens grandson gave birth to a daughter yesterday. 8 pounds, 8 ounces. official word from buckingham palace is that the queen is dededeted.

>> the queen's first great grandchild was born, a first child before peter phillips and the first grandchild for the princess. 12th in line to the throne. the couple was married in windsor in 2008. from canada, the bride it renounced her catholic faith and joined the church of england, allowing her husband to keep his right to the throne. the wedding caused some unease in world's our goals, over the couple's decision to sell their story and wedding photographs to "hello" magazine. this is a royal family that now spans four generations. there will be much for the queen to celebrate in 2011. as well as our great granddaughter, the new baby's aunt is planning her wedding to a rugby player. and then the big event in april, the marriage of prince william

and kate middleton. but the queen still has some catching up to do. queen victoria's nine children gave her 17 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. >> stay with us if you can on "bbc world news." of madrid men and build a cathedral of junk. first, flooded communities across eastern australia could be under water for more than a week. the cleanup is expected to run into billions of dollars. days of torrential rain left parts of central and southern queensland inundated, flooding thousands of homes and businesses. cutting off roads and forcing two towns to be evacuated. the rain slowed down on thursday, the water levels kept rising. high waters made their way towards the sea. from sydney, we have this report.

>> lifted to safety. residents rescue from one of the many queensland towns swamped by rapidly rising flood water that is forcing the entire communities. boats, not the only form of transport, for the water logged streets for this inland city. more than half of queensland is now officially a disaster zone. >> we still have a number of communities facing increased flooding over the next couple days. so this disaster is unfolding and is far from over. >> thousands of people have had to move from their homes, as record rainfall and swollen rivers swallowed towns and cut off roads. as well as homes and buildings, prime farmland has also been affected, pushing the estimates of damage into the billions of u.s. dollars. and in cities like these that are about to be swamped, those estimates are sure to go up. in other parts of queensland,

waters of started to recede, revealing extensive damage to roads. >> we will not know until floodwaters receded the total amount of damage done. but what this means is that the queensland and federal government will work together in those areas, in partnership with rebuilding of critical infrastructure. >> the true extent of this disaster is only just becoming clear. >> let's give you the latest headlines. there is international criticism of the decision to send the jailed russian tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky to another six years in prison. a bomb attack targeting christians in iraq. a court in denmark charged three men with trying to carry out an act of terrorism, but according to police, they may have been hours of going ahead. the suspects are planning to

shoot as many people as possible in a building in copenhagen, housing some of the staff from a newspaper that published cartoons of the profit mohammed. here is the report. >> than did the tightest security, the three men accused of plotting to commit mass murder in denmark were driven to a courthouse. there, that face preliminary charges of an attempted act of terrorism and possession of weapons, and detained in custody for four weeks. a fourth man who had been arrested was earlier released. the target was believed to be the offices of a newspaper that printed cartoons of the prophet mohammed in 2005, causing widespread anger among muslims. there were fears that islamists might try to attack the newspaper, and the plan was to kill as many people inside as possible. >> i believe the police and

secret service are taking good care of us. but still, i am worried it for our employees. >> in total, four people were arrested in denmark, a 44-year- old man, a 29-year-old man, a 30-year-old swedish national whose country of origin is unknown, and a 26-year-old iraqi and now released. and the 37-year-old swedish citizen also arrested in sweden, remanded in custody for two weeks. the three in court in denmark were thought to have traveled from sweden on tuesday night. this is where they might have hired a car to cross the border. outside the court, relatives were angry. >> this happens to people because they follow their religion or that have big beards and wear long dresses. then they are called terrorists. the next stage is to draw up formal charges. >> the company and police will

now start their work, and it will be a joint operation between the danish and swedish security. >> if convicted, the suspects face life in prison. >> ivory coast, a new ambassador to the united nations, is saying he fears genocide in his country unless the u.n. and others help him pick up his post as president. he is internationally recognized as the winner of last month's election, but the past president is refusing to give up the presidency. here is the report. >> a government that does not hold power, and the cry rico's to new c -- senior diplomat has a stark message for the u.n. on behalf of his boss, the man to international observers say one the country's election but still does not hold power. >> only because they want to

speak at out. the one to go against the will of the people it is unacceptable. that is the message i tried to get across. something should be done. >> gbagbo is also busy appointing his team. he named his minister, and they're popular with activists that have been targeted for several years for inciting attacks on personnel. and there are warnings, military

action will be suicide. the standoff between gbagbo, who clings to power, and ouattara shows no sign of being resolved. peacekeepers are increasingly the target of harassment by pro- gbagbo supporters. the u.n. is considering strengthening the 9000-strong force. neighboring countries are looking at force. >> the french model who campaigned against anorexia has died at the age of 28. isabelle caro controversially posed nude for an advertising campaign while suffering from the disease. she died last month. her family asked for her death to be kept private. >> it was this controversial italian poster campaign isabelle caro that isabelle to world attention. under the headline no anorexic,

her emaciated body was intended to show the damage caused by the eating disorder. she is believed to have weighed under 32 kilograms, or below five stone at the time. the campaign brought the debate on the use of old red-skinny models on the catwalk. she is reported to have died in november after returning to france after a job in tokyo. her family asked for her death to be kept private and did not want to release news of it until now. the cause is not known. her friends said she was treated for respiratory illness in the hospital shortly before hand. she became defined by her illness and roads and internet blog and book about her struggles with the condition. >> figures just in. china's online population has jumped, up by more than 20% in just one year. official figures suggest 450 million chinese are now using the net, over a third of the population.

china has more people on line than anywhere else. an 85-year-old spanish man has spent the past half century building a cathedral on the outskirts of madrid, almost alone and entirely out of scrap. he began his task when he was expelled from a monastery because he contracted tuberculosis. he describes his product as an act of faith. here is the report. >> he has a sharp eye for detail. he will not let anything slip through and blemishes big project. no wonder it has taken him 50 years and counting. this man is building a cathedral, almost single- handedly. >> i am normally up working on the dome, on the roof, he complains, but it depends on the weather. >> this is the down the energetic 85-year-old is referring to. 40 meters high, it took almost

two decades to construct. >> he has invested everything in his church, but funds are so low that the building is made mostly of scrap. the michigan bricks are builders rejects. nothing goes to waste here. he tells me his church is a demonstration of his devotion to god. he began building despite having no formal training at all. >> i have done nothing but what god gave me the you done need to study. you just need stamina. when you persevere, you discover things, and problems are resolved. >> problems like how to decorate this vast place, find an art student. >> after almost half a century under construction, this building now resembles a church. some of the details are already

finished, even before the roof is put on. with very little money and no real expertise, just one man and his fate working to complete this, there's still a huge amount of work to do here. >> he is decorated 101 those already. he has thousands more to go. but he knows time could be short. >> i do not want to think about what happens when he is gone. let god leave him at my side for a long time, and we will see what we can achieve between the two of us. >> the results so far are eccentric but impressive. yet, the fate of fatediy cathedral is unclear. he has no permission. the council could eventually tear his masterpiece down. still, he has no regrets. if he lives his life over, he could make another church. but i would build a bigger, he

says, a lot bigger, double the size. bbc news. >> at the other end, the lead singer of the 1970's european chart topping group has died. ♪ >> he was 61, found dead in his hotel bed while in tore in russia. he was to perform in petersburg winston at a complained of breathing problems before and after the show. he sold millions of records in the 1970's. ♪ >> dead at 61. time for a look at today's top story. international criticism over a russian court deciding to keep a former oil tycoon, mikhail khodorkovsky, in prison for another six years. he is a longtime opponent of vladimir putin. he was told he will have to stay embezzlement and money

laundering. thanks very much for watching. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its

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