BBC news 2007-10-23 加文本

BBC 2007-10-23


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BBC news with Blerry Gogan.

A new study says carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have grown far more quickly than previously expected; raising fears that climate change is speeding up. The researchers from the Global Carbon Project found that in the past 7 years levels of the greenhouse gas have risen 35% faster than estimated. Raster Pucker has the details.

The Global Carbon Project says the increased levels of carbon dioxide are not surprising in themselves, but that the speed and causes of the changes are. The levels have gone up by more than a third in just 7 years. This has been caused by the decreasing ability of the earth's oceans and forests to absorb greenhouse gases. Another important factor is the inefficient use of fossil fuels, especially in developing countries now undergoing rapid economic growth. Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been linked to higher temperatures and more uNPRedictable weather patterns.

The Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered the deployment of 1,500 troops from the National Guard to help contain a series of wildfires that are raging in the state. The worst affected area is San Diego County, where hundreds had to be escorted to safety from hospitals and nursing homes. From California, here is David Willis.

From the ocean to the desert, south to its border with Mexico, California is in the grip of more than a dozen fast moving wildfires. Bone-dry brush and gale force winds have combined to create what some have termed "the perfect storm" with firefighters overwhelmed and reinforcements arriving from neighboring states. Governor Schwarzenegger has called in the National Guard, not only to help fight the fires but to assist in the evacuation effort.

The United States has urged the Iraq to take swift action against the Kurdish insurgent group, the PKK, in the north of the country. The call comes after Turkey warned that it was prepared to mount cross-border operations to stop PKK attacks on its territory. The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was optimistic a diplomatic solution could be achieved.

The United States is determined to work with our allies in Iraq and to work with our allies in Turkey, and it requires information sharing and it requires a great deal of coordination. But I'm quite certain that we can sit down and we can work this together if there's a political will.

Earlier Turkey sought to play down fears of immediate military action saying it would exhaust all diplomatic means before using force.

President Bush has asked the US Congress to approve $500 million to help Mexico in the fight against illegal drugs. The request is part of a wider initiative of aid in military and surveillance equipment. Some analysts have compared it to the controversial and much larger aid package the United States gave to Colombia in its fight against illegal narcotics. However, officials in Washington say no US troops will operate on Mexican soil.

World news from the BBC.

Burma says it's willing to allow a visit by the United Nations special reporter on human rights Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. The Burmese military suggested the visit should take place before the scheduled date for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN in November. The UN special envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari is also hoping to be allowed to return to the country to try and start political talks between the Burmese government and the jailed opposition leader Ang San Suu Kyi. The US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad made this appeal on behalf of Mr. Gambari.

We are working closely with the Secretary General, with China, India, ASEAN states, our European allies to get Mr. Gambari into Burma as soon as possible. The repression there continues. It's urgent that Mr. Gambari be allowed to facilitate in the reconciliation, that is necessary and in the transition to new order for Burma to become a normal place.

The Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has dissolved parliament, paving the way for elections within 90 day. The current parliament has been criticized for failing to pass crucial bills and voting big pay rises for MPs. Correspondents say the election is expected to be among the most hotly contested in Kenya’s history.

The Chilean government has announced an amnesty program for around 20,000 illegal immigrants mainly from Peru and Bolivia, in what is thought to be the largest such move by the country so far. It means that an estimated 15,000 Peruvians and 2,000 Bolivians who currently work in the informal economy in Chile will now be entitled to full residency permits.

A woman in the American state of Missouri has been convicted on the charge of kidnapping, resulting in death after she killed a pregnant woman and cut the baby from her womb in 2004. Lawyers for Lisa Montgomery had argued during the trial that she was delusional when she attacked the expectant mother Bobbie Jo Stinnett.

BBC news.