BBC 2007-04-17 加文本

BBC 2007-04-17



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BBC World News with Jerry Smate.

A gunman has killed thirty two people at a university in the United States, the worst incident of its kind in American history. Gunfire broke out first in a dormitory at Virginia Tech University. The most of the victims were killed two hours later at a study hall. It's thought that only one gunman was involved and he killed himself as police moved in. Asked why the campus was not closed after the first shooting, the university's chief of police said it was initially thought the gunman had fled. President Bush has expressed shock at the murders. But he defended the right of Americans to own guns. Our correspondent Phanacy Hiney has been following events from Washington.

We still don't know the identity of the attacker, or the names of his victims. We don't know the motive for the attacks either. There's a big question over why the two-hour time lapse between the two shootings. Students have complained that there were no public address announcements, no warnings on campus after the first burst of gunfire. They say that the first word that they had was an email from the university more than two hours after the first attack around the time that the gunman struck again.

An American man has gone on trial in Florida charged with supporting terrorism. The prosecution says the man Jose Padilla has links to Islamic extremist groups that planned to murder American citizens overseas. He denies all the charges.

The presidents of Venezuela and Brazil have aired their differences over alternative fuels ahead of an energy conference at which the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chaves hopes to promote his vision for the development of South America. Mr. Chaves says South America could only become a great power if its leaders put their efforts into working together. He has criticized the deal between Brazil and the United States on ethanol, a fuel made from crops such as sugar cane or corn. From the summit, James Ian reports.

All the talk at the summit so far concerns ethanol. Brazil has agreed to develop the production of this environmentally friendly fuel in collaboration with the United States, a move that's angered Mr. Chaves. He wants land to be used for growing food, and not sugar or corn for fuel.

Tiger conservation experts are meeting in the Nepalese capital Katmandu to try to ensure the future of this endangered species. Poaching and pressures on the tiger's natural habitat have reduced wild tiger numbers in Asia to fewer than 7,000. Charles Haviland reports.

The delegates here come from over twelve countries, including tiger range states such as India, Russia and Indonesia, as well as Nepal. China has sent seventeen people. In 1993, it banned the trade in tiger bone products. But it has many tiger farms and conservationists say it wants to lift its ban. Supporters of the trade in tiger parts say it will bring prices down and reduce the incentives of poachers. But their opponents say such commerce will only stimulate demand.

World News from the BBC.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed Sudan's decision to drop its opposition to the deployment of UN troops and police to reinforce the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. Mr. Ban described Khartoum's acceptance of the UN personnel who provide logistical support for the AU soldiers as a very positive sign. Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett gave a cautious welcome to the news. "There was a very strong and united view that we have seen today, this week, a little progress that is welcome, but that we need to see much more progress towards peace and security and a resolution of the humanitarian situation in Darfur."

The Nigerian presidential election has been thrown into confusion by a Supreme Court ruling that the election commission exceeded its powers when it prevented a prominent opposition figure Vice President Atiku Abubakar from appearing on the ballot papers. The commission has not indicated what it plans to do now. But Mr. Abubakar told the BBC that if the election on Saturday proceeds without him, he will go to court to have it annulled. Alex Last reports from Abuja.

The ruling means, in effect, that the Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar should now be allowed to run in the presidential elections. In the unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court said that the electoral commission did not have the right to disqualify him on its own. It would need a specific court ruling. The electoral commission says it will meet to discuss what to do next. In an interview with the BBC, the vice president said if the elections went ahead without him, he would take action.

The Director General of the BBC Mark Thompson has addressed staff in London at a vigil for the missing BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston. He was speaking a day after a previously unknown Palestinian group published a statement saying he'd been killed. The BBC says it still has no independent verification of the rumor.