BBC news 2007-06-06 加文本

BBC 2007-06-06


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BBC World news with Fiona McDonald.

Russia has rejected allegations by President Bush that its democratic reforms have been derailed. Mr. Bush made the accusation during a speech delivered in the Czech capital Prague. He said Russia's reforms had once promised to empower its citizens and curbing them had troubling implications for democracy. Our diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marker reports from Germany, where Mr. Bush is due to meet his Russian counterpart at the G8 summit.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet arrived for the summit meeting in Heiligendamm, but his advanced party is already here, And the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been quick to reject president George Bush's assertion that democracy in Russia had been derailed. Russia, insists Mr. Peskov, is a democratic country that shares common world and common European values. That is not the way many G8 governments, though, see it, even they are less public in their pronouncements than the American president.

Immigration is expected to be the most divisive issue in a debate between Republican party presidential candidates that is being televised across the US. 10 men including the front-runners Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney will take questions from journalists and voters. James K reports.

In their previous two debates, the Republican candidates have been less reluctant than the Democrats to air their differences and tonight should be no exception. The two-hour event will provide plenty of topics on which to disagree, but perhaps none more so than illegal immigration. Senator John McCain is the only leading contender who supports the comprehensive immigration bill currently being debated in Congress, one which aims to address the problem of the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the United States.

The headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church of Vatican in Rome is to start using solar energy for the first time. The announcement comes about a year after Pope Benedict called on Christians to do more to save natural resources. David Willy reports from Rome.

This Pope and his predecessor have both preached about the importance of protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. But Pope Benedict will go down in history as the first Pope to harness solar power to provide part of the energy consumed in the tiny Vatican City state. The re-roofing of the audience hall built nearly 40 years ago has provided an unexpected opportunity which is being exploited by Vatican engineers.

The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has marked the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict with a warning to Palestinian factions that they maybe jeopardize in future progress for their own people. He said that the infighting and lawlessness had led the Palestinians to the brink of a civil war, a situation that could, he said, prove as damaging as the Israeli occupation.

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A powerful storm has reached the Gulf state of Oman, disrupting oil and gas shipments and threatening to affect busy shipping links in the strait of Hormuz. Thousands of people in Oman were moved away from coastal areas before the cyclone arrived.

The British television company Channel 4 has defended its decision to air a documentary, showing pictures of the car crash that killed Princess Diana, in spite of pleas from her two sons for the broadcast to be cancelled. The Princes William and Harry said the program was deeply distressing, and grows disrespect to their mother. Julia B., the head of Channel 4, said he's sorry the princes feel upset.

This is a measured, serious and responsible film. There are no images of any dead or dying people in this documentary, and we do not go beyond what has already been published in the British media in terms of the tone and the visuals of the photographs. I'm very struck by the amounts of the people who have seen the film who've said, quite publicly, that they think it is a good and proper piece of journalism.

Canada has denied a visa to the South Africa politician Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. The former wife of Nelson Mandela was to have attended the premiere of an opera about her life. Canadian immigration officials haven't said why the visa application was refused.

The Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi's visited the Somali capital Mogadishu, where his troops are supporting the government of President Abdullahi Yusuf. During his brief visit which was amid under tight security, Mr. Meles met the Somali president and other political leaders. It's the first time the Ethiopian leader has been to Somalia since its troops crossed into the country at the end of last year.

The online auction company eBay says it will ban cross border trade in ivory products on its website. An eBay spokeswoman said it will warn its traders in future that they may need to prove they can legally sell ivory. A report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare said that nine out of ten products were probably illegal.