BBC News with Stewart Macintosh.

An American major general has been killed in an attack by an Afghan soldier at a military training school near the capital Kabul. The general, who hasn't been named, is the most senior foreign officer to be killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001. More than a dozen others were wounded in the incident. An Afghan soldier who was nearby described the scene.

We were standing in the desert, three shots were fired, down there in the university, a shot was fired, helicopters came and landed, taking the wounded people.

The soldier who opened fire has himself been shot dead. A Pentagon spokesman said the shooting was a terrible tragedy but it was impossible to eliminate the threat of such insider attacks completely.

Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have begun returning home from UN shelters on the first day of a 72-hour ceasefire agreed by Israeli and Palestinian militant groups. The Israeli army says all its forces have been withdrawn. The BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says its part of a step-by-step process.

The first thing is whether this 72-hour truce actually survives, then whether the negotiations that are underway through Egyptian mediation are actually able to bring about something that resembles a lasting ceasefire, then of course can something be done to mean, to make sure that this is the last episode of this kind or are Israel and the Palestinians of Gaza Strip fated to repeat this experience every two or three years.

Six weeks ahead of a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom, a live TV debate between Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling for the No campaign has just ended. With the Independence campaign trailing in the polls, correspondence say Mr. Salmond has the most work to do to persuade undecided voters. Rob Broomby reports.

The TV debate exceeded expectation; it was high-octane stuff and at times fierce. Alex Salmond, leader of the Yes campaigns told Scottish voters to seize the opportunity of a lifetime with both hands. Alistair Darling, head of UK Better Together said there would be no going back, no second chances, and voters should say "No, thanks" to the risks of independence. Voters had called for detailed answers. They weren't forthcoming, but their sparks are plenty.

The media conglomerate 21st Century Fox which is owned by the tycoon Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn its bid to take over the American entertainment company Time Warner. In a statement, the company said Time Warner had refused to discuss its offer, estimated to be $80 billion. Time Warner rejected 21st Century Fox's initial offer in July. Shares in Time Warner plunged more than 11% in after hours trading after the news of the withdrawal was announced.

World News from the BBC.

The president of a prominent human rights organization in Argentina, the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, Estela de Carlotto has announced that she has found her grandson after 37 years. The boy was born in a military hospital in 1978 at the height of military rule when thousands of left wing activists were arrested and killed. His mother, a history student, a member of a left wing student group was killed by the military after she gave birth.

President Obama has announced billions of dollars of investment in Africa. At the US-Africa Summit he said there would be increased funding for a project to provide electricity to African homes and businesses.

On top of the significant resources we've already committed, I'm announcing that the United States will increase our pledge to $300 million a year for this effort. And as of today, including an additional $12 billion in new commitments being announced this week by our private sector partners and the World Bank and the government of Sweden, we've now mobilized a total of more than $26 billion to Power Africa just since we announced it, $26 billion.

The legist attempt to restore peace in South Sudan was broken down only 24 hours after it started. Mediators said the rebels failed to attend the second-day negotiations in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. They called for international pressure to encourage the rebels to return to the talks. Fighting has continued in South Sudan despite previous peace efforts.

The Mexican authorities have rescued two lions found abandoned without food or water in a large trailer cage in the southern state of Yucatan. Officials said the male and female lions have been left behind by a circus that was unable to get a permit for its show. Mexico City and five other regions have recently banned circuses from featuring wild animals.

BBC News.