Hello, I'm Sue Montgomery with the BBC News.

Five contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in the United Stateshave been holding their first debate ahead of next year's race for the WhiteHouse. The front runner Hillary Clinton and the independent Senator Bernie Sanderswere involved in heated exchanges over US policy on Syria, gun laws andeconomy. Also taking part in the debate were two former state governors andformer senator. Politic Analyst Mark Thawtkin gave his impression of how themain candidates are doing. "I think Hillary Clinton is holding her own.She is the front runner. She's seen poise. She's seen fresh. She didn't seem asall the she really is and nobody here is really a dented in her armor. BernieSanders is going to do well politically, that is, in the two primary states,come first, Caucus and Iowa the two contests and New Hampshire."

The Israeli government has given police the power to seal off parts of EastJerusalem in response to a surge in attacks by Palestinians in recent days exceptthe authorities could also demolish the homes of Palestinians who attackedIsraelis and take away their right to live in Jerusalem. Jessica McAllen hasthe details. "Israel Security Cabinet approved the new measures at a latenight meeting after three Israelis were killed in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Thesewere the latest in a series of attacks that have taken place in the city and elsewherein Israel in recent weeks. The upsurge in violence follows increase tensionsover visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound. The US Secretary of State John Kerrysays he would travel to the region in the next few days to try and calm thesituation. Israel’s cabinet will meet to consider further measures on Wednesdayafternoon."

The Chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, Tjibbe Joustra, has told reporters hebelieves the missile which brought down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 ineastern Ukraine was fired from an area controlled by Russian backed rebels. Mr.Joustra said the boarders of the area were fluctuating the time that Pro-Russianrebels were in charge.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel's come under renewed fire from her own partyfor her welcoming policy towards migrants and refugees. The party has proposedsetting up transit camp of the border to hold migrants while asylum applicationsare processed, from Berlin Jane Hill. “Already this year, more than 500,000people have sorted asylum in Germany. It's estimated that nearly 40% of themigrants come from the Balkans and have little prospect of being granted asylumhere. Mrs. Merkel's conservative party plans to create transit camps where asylumseekers could be held for a few days and then deported. Those behind theproposals insist that permissible under EU law, but Mrs. Merkel faces strongresistance from her coalition partners. Social Democratic MPs described theplans as impractical and inhuman.” BBC News.

The Pentagon has said it's time for American trained forces in Iraq to retakethe city of Ramadi from Islamic State militants. A spokesman said 52 airstrikesagainst IS positions in the past ten days had prepared the troops for a final push.

A shop once dubbed the No. 1 crime gun dealer in America has been ordered topay nearly six million dollars in compensation to two police officers severelywounded by weapon illegally bought of the store. A jury in Milwaukee decidedthat badgered guns should have realized that a man buying a firearm from themin 2009 intended to pass it on to the teenager at his side. The teenager wenton to shoot the two officers when they stopped him riding his bike on thepavement.

Three explosions have hit the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri killing anumber of people. Unconfirmed reports blamed suicide bombers. The city is frequentlyattacked by the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram.

The British Literary Awards, the "Man Booker Prize", has been won bythe Jamaican author Marlon James for his novel of "A Brief History ofSeven Killings". The book, which centers at a real life attempt to killthe reggae singer Bob Marley, explores Jamaican politics and gang culture inthe 1970s-80s. Speaking after the announcement, Marlon James explained why hedrew inspiration from reggae music. "The reggae singers Bob Marley andPeter Tosh were the first to recognize that the voice coming out of our mouthswas a legitimate voice for fiction and a legitimate voice for poetry, that thesound of the market woman can speak poetry."

The acclaimed BBC journalist Sue Lloyd Roberts has died of cancer. She was 64.She reported on events around the world, including Myanmar, North Korea, andSyria, and won awards for her work on covering human rights abuses andpolitical corruption.

BBC News.