BBC news 2007-09-03 加文本

BBC 2007-09-03


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… BBC correspondent in Baghdad says the move is highly symbolic. And there is now speculation that Britain will hand over control of the whole Basra province to Iraqi security forces in the next few months. The leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell told the BBC the pullout was part of the end game in Iraq. “Political support in this country is draining away; political support in the United States is draining away. And the decision to move the British troops from the Palace to the airport is part of the implied recognition that there's a limit now to what we can usefully do in Iraq, a limit which in my judgment has been reached to the extent, that we ought to have a framework for the total withdrawal of all of our troops. "

Britain says that its troops in Iraq will now be moving to what they call an overwatch role that is training Iraqi/ security forces and only intervening should they be required. Officials say that a secular democracy in Iraq was never realistic, and that the problems which now exist in the south are best left Iraqis themselves to resolve.

There have been scenes of jubilation in northern Lebanon where the army has gained control of a Palestinian refugee camp from Islamist militants after a three-month siege. Thousands of people headed towards the camp, Nahr al-Bared, sounding car horns and flashing victory signs. From Beirut, Richard Colven reports.

For more than 100 days, / Lebanese army has been locked in a fierce battle with militants from a group called Fatah Islam. But the militants' resistance collapsed after a number attempted to break the Lebanese army siege and escape. The Lebanese army is still searching the area around the camp for any fighters who may be hiding. This conflict has been a real test of their ability to control security in what is a weak state. But the cost has been high. 155 soldiers and at least 120 militants have been killed. Forty two civilians have also died in what's been the worst internal violence since the end of the civil war in 1990.

The United States says North Korea has agreed to declare and disable its nuclear facilities by the end of the year, under the terms of an international agreement reached in February. The chief American negotiator Christopher Hill said two days of talks with / North Koreans in Geneva were very good and substantive and would ultimately benefit North Korea, formally known as the DPRK. “Of course, in the end, it would depend on all the sides vying to make this happen, especially the DPRK side. And what I like to thank is that as the DPRK has participated in the Six-Party process as we see in this process some reasons to stick with it and an understanding that this will leave their country better off."

This is Blerry Gogan with the latest international news from the BBC.

Hundreds of people from Argentina have crossed into neighboring Uruguay to protest outside a paper pulp mill which has been the cause of a bitter dispute between the two countries. The Argentineans backed by international environmentalist say that the mill will pollute the rivers in the region and drive away tourists while Uruguay says it will not. The mill, which officially opened last week, is the biggest ever foreign investment in Uruguay.

The latest hurricane to threaten the Caribbean is continuing to grow in strength as it sweeps into open water southeast of Jamaica. Hurricane Felix has been upgraded to a category 4 storm with sustained winds of up to 220 km/h. Forecasters say it could strengthen further in the next 24 hours.

The United Nations says a much delayed census in Sudan is now due to take place in February next year. Observers have described the census the first in 15 years as crucial to maintaining the peace deal signed between north and south Sudan in January 2005. Our correspondent in Khartoum, Amber Henshaw reports.

Since the last census in 1993, Sudan has changed dramatically, this little up-to-date information on population size, age, growth rates and geographical distribution. The comprehensive peace agreements which ended Africa's longest civil war paved the way for elections by 2009, and gave southerners the right to decide whether to split or may unite with the north by 2011. These two polls will be keys to the future of the country. And people will only be allowed to vote if they've been registered in the census.

Scientists say that for the first time they've identified a gene that helps explain differences in height among humans. They say just a single change in the DNA code of the HMGA2 gene can vary a person's height by up to 1cm, accounting for around 90% of the determinants in height within particular populations. This contrasts with obesity where social factors play a major role.

BBC World News.