BBC news 2007-06-15 加文本

BBC 2007-06-15


【电信用户1】在线播放和下载

Download mp3

BBC News, I’m Roy Alam

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has responded to days of intense factional violence in the Gaza Strip by deciding to dissolve the National Unity Government formed by the two warring factions Hamas and Fatah. Mr. Abbas, who is the leader of Fatah, has also declared a state of emergency and spoken about calling earlier elections. During the day, Hamas fighters tighten their control over Gaza. Cathy Adler reports from Romala.
Speaking on behalf of the Palestinian President, his secretary said the Palestinian Unity Government in which Fatah and Hamas serve would be dissolved. A caretaker government will now be appointed, he said, and then when the situation has calmed down, Mr. Abbas wants to call earlier elections. Hamas has rejected the President’s plan outright. Along with his suggestion that an international force be stationed in Gaza, Hamas insists it is the only legitimate body in the Palestinian authority. It won the parliamentary elections here eighteen months ago.

The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to President Abbas by telephone. US officials say she offered her support for what they called Palestinian moderates.

Syria has condemned the killing of the Lebanese politician Walid Eido in a bomb blast on Wednesday. The Syrian governments said the allegations that it was responsible were part of campaign of lies. Earlier, thousands of supporters of the Lebanese government lined the streets of Beirut to watch Mr. Eido’s funeral procession.

The American Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that NATO intends to go ahead with plans for a radar system in the Czech Republic despite fierce opposition from the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was speaking at a NATO meeting in Brussels from where our security correspondent Rob Watson reports.

Ever since President Putin made his offer at the G8 last week to share a Russian radar system in Azerbaijan, US officials have strongly hinted they would still go ahead with their plans for the Czech Republic. The US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has now made that crystal clear in a meeting attended by his Russian counterpart. Although US officials have been careful to praise President Putin’s offer as a positive development, Robert Gates said Washington viewed the base in Azerbaijan as an additional capability, not a substitute.

Defense Ministers from NATO countries have agreed that urgent action is needed to tackle attacks on key Internet sites. The moves come after Estonia suffered a wave of a coordinated assault on its computer networks last month. The attacks began after Estonian officials removed a statue commemorating Soviet troops killed fighting the Nazis. Russia denies any involvement.

The former UN’s Secretary General Kurt Waldheim's died at the age of eighty eight. His term was tarnished by subsequent revelations of his Nazi past.

You’re listening to the world news from the BBC.

A judge in the United States has rejected an appeal to postpone the prison sentence of a former top White House aide Lewis Scooter Libby. He was sentenced to thirty months for lying to investigators about how he learnt the name of a CIA agent. From Washington, James Coomarasamy.

Judge Reggie Walton rejected a plea from Scooter Libby’s lawyers that their client should remain free on bail while they appealed against his prison sentence for perjury. As a result, the Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff is expected to go to a jail within the next few weeks. His legal team has pledged to fight the decision in an appeals court, but the chances of doing so are not thought to be high.

Demonstrators in black shirts have thrown paint, tomatoes and eggs at the British embassy in Tehran to try to prevent a party in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s birthday. They said any Iranian guests who attended were traitors willing to sell out their country. From the Iranian capital, Frances Harrison reports.

"The British embassy should be shut down, "they shouted, and "Death to England, down with the den of spies" . All these as 1500 guests were invited for the biggest diplomatic reception of the year at the embassy. Islamic students wearing black shirts pelted the front gate of the building with bags filled with colored paint and tomatoes and eggs and shouted “shame on you, servants of the English”. They called the guests dirty Iranians willing to eat the birthday cake of the Queen of lies and corruption.

The World Bank has praised countries in East Africa for their direct and decisive action in tackling AIDS. Rwanda has been particularly successful in fighting the disease with infection rate dropping from 11% in the year 2000 to just 3% today. The World Bank attributed Rwanda’s success to efforts by the population to overcome discrimination and denial.

BBC news.