BBC news 2007-07-29 加文本

BBC 2007-07-29


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...that could see the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe forced from office. Mr. Abe's initial popularity has slipped because of a number of scandals, as Sunida Aha now reports.

Half of the 242 seats in Japan's Upper House are being contested. Shinzo Abe is not off for election himself, but this poll is seen as a crucial test for his government and a heavy defeat could force him to resign if his Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner don't win enough seats to retain their majority. Mr. Abe's popularity has been hit hard by a series of scandals including an admission that the government lost millions of pension records. And an opinion poll suggests he and his coalition partner face a tough fight.

A United Nations' official has said soldiers from countries whose armies are suspected of engaging in torture and abuse should not be considered for peacekeeping operations. The UN Special Investigator on Torture Manfred Nowak said the organization's standards for selecting peacekeepers were too low. Peter Miles reports.

Mr. Nowak's comments came against the background of accusations of abuse against UN peacekeepers in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Cambodia. Mr. Nowak said the main problem was that some peacekeepers came from developing countries with questionable human rights records and while on duty they might commit the same kind of crimes as they would at home. Mr. Nowak said one solution was finally to give the UN its very own professional standing army.

The authorities in Afghanistan say two provincial police chiefs have been sacked for negligence. The Interior Ministry said the heads of police in the central province of Daikondi and in Vardak province just southwest of Kabul were removed because they couldn't fulfill their duties and weren't supported by local people. The United Nations has been urging the Afghan government to take steps to reduce corruption.

The American general in charge of training and equipping Iraqi forces says the biggest obstacle he faces is finding experienced leaders not bound by sectarian loyalties. Lieutenant General James Dupic who took over the post last month said Iraq should be given credit for assembling a mix of competent security forces under the pressure of constant combat. But Lieutenant General Dupic said it was simply not possible to find a sufficient number of adequate leaders in such a relatively short space of time.

Officials in the United States say that Washington is preparing a package of major arm sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states because of concerns about the potential threat from Iran. The official said the sales could be worth up to 20 billion dollars and would include new naval vessels and upgrades to aircraft. Saudi Arabia may also get satellite guided bombs for the first time. The official spoke off the record and stressed that the details of the package was still being finalized. The US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are expected to discuss the deals on a visit to the region next week.

World News from the BBC.

The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon Hassan Nasrallah says the conflict with Israel a year ago has soured the United States' plans for a new Middle East. In a televised address Sheikh Nasrallah said the war had aimed to serve Israeli and American interests by extending the authority of the Prime Minister Fuad Siniora throughout all of Lebanon. For months Hezbollah and pro-Syrian opposition have been in political deadlock with supporters of Mr. Siniora. On a visit to Beirut, the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said dialogue between the country's rival political groups was possible. "Dialogue in Lebanon between my friends can advance. I think that today is a day of progress. Today is a better day. But that does not mean I'm going to say that every problem has been solved."

Officials in France have confirmed that one of the original favorites to win this year's Tour de France bike race Alexander Vinokourov has failed a doping test. The positive test on the second blood sample means the Kazak rider now faces a two-year ban for cycling. Ben Lloyd reports.

It's the mounting stages of the tour that break up the field. Vinokourov won a stage over the peaks of the Pyrenees, living up to his billing as a favorite. The then news came through of a positive test for blood doping. Vinokourov for his team were ejected from the race. The B-sample test has now found he did indeed have a blood transfusion. For his part, the Kazak says the results make no sense. He says he's been mad to have cheated. Transfusions increase an athlete's performance by increasing the blood's capacity to transfer oxygen to the muscles.

A Russian expedition to explore the floor of the Arctic Ocean is reported to have reached the archipelago of Franz Josef Land, north of Siberia. Moscow claims a million square kilometers of the undersea Arctic shelf. And the expedition aims to find geological evidence for possible oil and gas reserves.

BBC World News.