BBC news 2007-07-25 加文本

BBC 2007-07-25


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A delegation from the Arab League is visiting Israel to try to push forward a plan for peace in the Middle East. The delegation will discuss an offer from all Arab countries to recognize Israel in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. From Jerusalem here is Bethany Bell.

The Arab League delegation has made up of the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab countries to sign peace treaties with Israel. They will be pushing Israel to consider the Arab Peace Initiative, which offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states, in return for a full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories, the creation of a Palestinian state and a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem. Israel responded very coolly to the Arab Initiative when it was first put forward in 2002. But recently it's expressed willingness to discuss it.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency Dick Pound has said the sport of cycling has lost almost all credibility because of the latest doping scandal to hit the Tour de France. Mr. Pound was speaking after another top cyclist, Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov, was found to have had an illegal blood transfusion. Criticizing both administrators and riders, he said cycling had missed a decade of opportunities to clean itself up. "Disappointing I can't say it's unexpected, there has been a lot of talk about cleaning up cycling, but there is still, clearly, riders out there that don't care what they promise, and take whatever they think they have to take to win."

The day after Libya freed six Bulgarian medical workers, the president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, is traveling there for talks. He has said his visit was to help Libya rejoin the international community. Emma Jane Kirby reports.

Hot on the heels of his wife, Nicholas Sarkozy will fly to Tripoli, just a day after France's First Lady helped to secure the release of six Bulgarian medics who had been convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. The French president will thank the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, personally for agreeing to free the prisoners. Mr. Sarkozy wants to enlist further help from Libya in the fight against terrorism, and he will be seeking support for his bid to crack down on illegal immigration from North Africa to southern Europe.

A new global opinion survey says the proportion of Muslims who view suicide bombings against civilians as justified on religious grounds has fallen sharply in the past five years. The survey by the Washington based Pew Research Center also found that surging economic growth in many developing countries led more people there to say they are satisfied with their lives. The center's director described the results as pro-globalization.

World news from the BBC.

Charges of murder have been dropped in the United States against a doctor who was accused of performing euthanasia on four elderly patients in a flooded hospital after Hurricane Katrina. Doctor Anna Pou and two nurses were alleged to have given lethal drugs to the patients during a four-day wait for them to be evacuated. Doctor Pou said the drugs were administered to alleviate pain.

There has been a rocket attack on the town of Bannu in northwest Pakistan, at least seven people were killed and thirty more wounded. At least four attacks struck Bannu, hitting houses, a mosque and a shop. It's not clear who fired the rockets but Bannu is close to the tribal area of North Waziristan where Pakistani forces are fighting pro-Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. From Islamabad here is Dan Isaacs.

A pre-dawn strike, four rockets hit houses, shops and a mosque. The town of Bannu is on the fringes of the trouble to tribal areas of North Waziristan, which has born the brunt of militant attacks in recent days. Most have targeted the police and army, not apparently on this occasion, although at least five policemen were amongst the injured. Islamic militant groups have claimed responsibility for previous attacks in the region in retaliation for the storming by security forces of a mosque in Islamabad earlier this month.

The internet social network MySpace has reported a fourfold increase in the number of convicted sex offenders using its service. The company found almost 30,000 convicted sex offenders in the United States had profiles on its website.

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised that lessons will be learned from the floods that have devastated many parts of England. The insurance industry has estimated that claims could add up to five billion dollars.

And that's the latest world news from the BBC World Service.

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