BBC news 2008-02-24 加文本

BBC News with Mary Small.

The authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have warned Turkey that its incursion into northern Iraq will be met with massive resistance if civilians or populated areas are attacked and the preparations to this effect are already in place. The statement comes after Iraq's Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, warned Turkey that any further escalation of its operation against Kurdish fighters could destabilize the region. The Turkish Army says the number of PKK rebels killed in the current offensive has risen to 79, though this is disputed by the PKK. Crispin Thorold reports.

The mountains where this fighting is taking place are really some of the most beautiful areas in the Middle East. There're lots of rivers that flow through the valleys. And at the moment, of course, it's winter. There’s heavy snow there which is going to make this already inhospitable terrain extremely difficult for the Turkish military. So the Turkish troops are going into inhospitable terrain in a difficult time of year and there will be fighting people whose home are these mountains.

The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has reacted defiantly to the latest report by the UN nuclear watchdog and statements from Washington that it will seek further UN sanctions. He said the Security Council could issue resolutions for 100 years and Iran would not be harmed. An Iranian government spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Elham, said the Americans were acting out of political motives.

The comments are political and have nothing to do with the IAEA report. We knew this before. They, the Americans, admitted that sending Iran's nuclear issue to the Security Council was political and without a legal and lawful basis.

The outgoing President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, says he has won the backing of top security and army chiefs for tough action against opposition supporters protesting against the recent election result. After about 50,000 people held the biggest demonstration so far in the four-day protest in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, Mr. Kocharian met security chiefs and accused the opposition of attempting to seize power by force. Matthew Collins reports from Yerevan.

The demonstrators have occupied a central square in the Armenian capital. Despite not having official permission, they have set up a tent camp and maintained their protests around the clock. Riot police have been on standby, but so far they've taken no action. An opposition spokesman told the BBC, the demonstrations would continue until the election results are overturned. He dismissed the warning from Mr. Kocharian and said any use of force would be catastrophic for the government.

Sport in the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship, England has beaten France in Paris, England won by 24 points to 13. In the day’s other games, Wales crushed Italy and Ireland beat Scotland.

World News from the BBC.

The government of Uganda and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army have agreed to a ceasefire which will be implemented once a full peace deal is signed. This is the latest in a series of key agreements reached in the past few days during peace talks in the southern Sudanese town of Juba. The only remaining issue to be agreed is the demobilization of LRA fighters and their integration into the Ugandan army. The former president of Mozambique, Joachim Chissano, who is mediating the talks, described the latest agreement as the end of the war.

Weeks after the suspension of regular rubbish collection in the southern Italian city of Naples, thousands of demonstrators are protesting at the authorities' continuing failure to resolve the problem. Ballads about rubbish collection are being sung at a pop concert in the city center, part of the spontaneous day of action over the issue. Naples has run out of landfill sites in which to dump its waste. From there, David Willey reports. Over 200,000 tons of rubbish has accumulated since regular rubbish collections were suspended in December. It lies stinking and rotting in the streets creating a health hazard. Almost every night, firefighters tackle blazes caused by candles, who frequently set alight the piles of trash. Police and demonstrators clash almost daily when the authorities try to reopen abandoned landfills. 

A man from the northeast of England has become the country's first betting shop millionaire. The man, who hasn't been named, placed a bet of just 50 pence, about one dollar, on eight horses. He'd been given odds of two million to one. A spokesman for the bookmakers which handled the bet described how it won through.

All eight selections had to win. He started with the unlikely name "Isn't That Lucky" and that proved to be an omen because he then got six more winners which meant that he needed the last selection to win to clinch his one-million-pound victory on horse we called "A Dream Come True", so what else could happen ..."

BBC News.