BBC news 2008-02-13 加文本

BBC 2008-02-13


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BBC news with Jim Lee.

Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has delivered a formal apology to the country's aboriginal people for injustices committed over two centuries of white settlement. In particular, he apologized for what are known as "the stolen generations"- tens of thousands of children，who over decades were forcibly taken away from their families. Nick Bryant reports.

For over a decade, the former Australian Prime Minister John Howard refused to apologize to members of the stolen generations. His successor Kevin Rudd decided to open the new parliament with that long awaited five-letter word "sorry". The stolen generations were victims of a policy lasting until the end of the 1960s which removed many thousands of young aboriginals from their parents. The statement apologized for the laws and policies of successive governments that had inflicted such profound grief, suffering and loss.

As voting closes in the latest round of primaries for the United States presidency, exit polls suggest that Barack Obama has won the Democratic race in the state of Virginia against his main rival Hillary Clinton. The two are neck and neck in the Democratic contest. The other two primaries being decided are in the federal capital Washington D.C. and Maryland. Mr. Obama is tipped to win all three. James Coomarasamy in Washington reports.

After battling her younger Democratic rival to a draw on Super Tuesday a week ago, the former First Lady has lost very single primary, a trend which the polls suggest looks set to continue in these latest contests. So while Senator Clinton has been campaigning in and around the US capital, she has been looking beyond these Potomac primaries to next month's contests in Texas and Ohio, big states which she believes she has a better chance of winning.

The Bolivian President Evo Morales has declared a national disaster in parts of the country affected by weeks of flooding. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes. Daniel Schweimler reports.

Rivers have burst their banks, whole community has been evacuated and the damage to crops and livestock runs into millions of dollars. The country is already receiving substantial aid from neighboring countries and from Europe, but many Bolivians are complaining that food is not reaching them. Bolivia had barely recovered from last year's floods when the rains began again, only this time stronger and more relentless. The United Nations has said the flooding is likely to get worse with more heavy rain forecast in the coming weeks.

Venezuela’s state oil company says it is suspending commercial relations with the US-based oil giant Exxon Mobil. The move comes in retaliation for the freezing of billions of dollars of Venezuelan assets in the continuing legal fight between Exxon and the Venezuelan government. Exxon has been taking court action against Venezuela because it says that compensation it's been offered for the nationalization of its oil installations has been insufficient.

World news from the BBC.

The Bush Administration has announced a new measure aimed at helping homeowners struggling with repayments. The program, which is also intended to calm the turmoil in the US housing market, will allow homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments a 30-day reprieve to negotiate a more suitable repayment plan.

President Putin has reiterated his opposition to neighboring Ukraine becoming a member of NATO. Mr. Putin added that any move by Ukraine to deploy elements of the planned American missile defense system on its territory would inevitably raise the question of Russian retaliatory action. Mr. Yushchenko responded by saying that Ukraine has the right to form its own foreign and defense policies and noted that the Ukrainian constitution does not allow for the deployment of foreign bases on its territory.

"The Ukrainian constitution does not provide for the creation of bases of other states and alliances on Ukrainian territory. Other less sensitive issues can be understood and discussed with partners. There is an understanding that what Ukraine is doing is in no way against any other country, let alone Russia."

A news just in. Barack Obama is predicted to win Washington D.C. for the Democrats.

The United Nations has warned that sexual violence is spreading in African conflict zones like an epidemic. The UN's children fund UNICEF says rape is no longer exclusively perpetrated by combatants, but also by civilians in the area of fighting. UNICEF said there appeared to be a license to rape when armed conflict caused social order to collapse.

Arab governments have adopted a charter aimed at regulating output of satellite television channels. The charter authorizes governments to suspend or withdraw the licenses of broadcasters if they criticize the leaders or national or religious symbols of Arab countries. The Gulf State of Qatar where the Al-Jazeera network is based refused to endorse the document.

BBC news.