BBC news 2007-07-20 加文本

BBC 2007-07-20


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Britain has condemned the Russian decision to expel 4 of its Moscow embassy staff in the escalating row over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB agent, who was killed in London last year. The foreign secretary David Miliband described the move as completely unjustified. He said Britain would be seeking international support. Helen Fawkes reports from Moscow.

After 3 days of waiting for Russia's official response, the British ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. He was told that 4 British embassy staff are to be expelled from Moscow, that cooperation on security matters would be halted, and there would be no visas for British officials. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin: "We were forced to take those steps considering London's conscious choice to worsen relations with our country. In any case, Moscow didn't seek a quarrel with London".
The British Foreign Secretary called the retaliation "unjustified". But the Russian president appeared to downplay the dispute. Vladimir Putin called for common sense. "I think relations between Russia and Britain will be all right, because both countries are interested in this. I am sure we will overcome these many crises." The Russian response could have been a lot worse. In the end, it was almost a mirror image of the actions taken by Britain.

British police have charged a Jordanian doctor in connection with last month's failed bomb attacks on central London and Glasgow Airport. The man, Mohammed Asha was arrested with his wife in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Doctor Asha's wife was later released without charge. He is the 4th person to be charged since the attempted bombings.

Police in Northwest Pakistan say a suicide bomber has killed at least 14 people and injured many more at a mosque often used by military personnel. N J reports.

Police in the garrison town of Kohat near the troubled border with Afghanistan say the suicide bomber set off the explosives during evening prayers. They say most of those killed were trainee soldiers, but several children were also said to be among the dead. The suicide attack was the 3rd to strike Pakistan in 24 hours. Earlier at least 27 people were killed in Baluchistan in the southwest. And a further 7 died in North West Frontier Province. Pakistan has witnessed a wave of attacks in the past week since troops stormed a mosque in Islamabad, controlled by militant Islamists.

The American ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, has warned the United States against setting too much store by the Benchmark that is established for measuring political and security progress in Iraq. Mr. Crocker said it was possible that the benchmarks on legislation would be achieved without the being any real progress towards reconciliation.

World News from the BBC.

Leaders of the International Quartet Group of Middle East mediators have had their first meeting since appointing the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as their envoy. Mr. Blair told a news conference after the meeting in Lisbon that it was important to work towards a two-state solution of the Israeli-Pakistani problem, with Israel confident of its security and Palestine with viable institutions.

United Nations backed War Crimes Court in Sierra Leone has sentenced 3 rebel leaders to prison terms of between 45 and 50 years each. The 3 men were found guilty of murder, rape and mutilation. They are the first sentences handed out by the Court following the end of Sierra Leone Civil War 5 years ago. Will Ross reports.

Justice Julia Sebutinde said that the 3 former rebel commanders were guilty of some of the most heinous, brutal and atrocious crimes in human history. She then listed some of those crimes which included innocent men, women and children being shot, burned or hacked to death, women's pregnant stomachs being slit open to settle bets on the sex of the fetus, and arms being chopped off. The 3 former rebels had also been found guilty of the abduction and use of child soldiers, the first such convictions in an International Court.

The European commission has urged countries to do more to control illegal migration across the EU's borders. The spokesman in Brussels said Member States were not doing enough to contribute boats, planes and helicopters to the EU's own border patrol agency. The call came as a search continued for a boat with around 100 Africans aboard that capsized close to the Spanish Canary Islands.

Maintenance workers at San Francisco International Airport in the United States have found the dead body of a stowaway in the landing gear of a plane arriving from China. US Civil Aviation official said the body was that of a man, it apparently hidden aboard a United Airline's flight from Shanghai.

BBC World News.