BBC news 2008-02-25 加文本

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BBC news with Jonathan Weekley.

The National Assembly in Cuba has, as is expected, selected Raul Castro to succeed his elder brother Fidel as the country's new president. The real shock was his choice of vice president. Instead of one of the younger generation of communist leaders, Raul Castro picked Jose Machado Ventura, a 78-year-old hardliner, another sign of continuity. The National Assembly has approved Raul Castro's request that he consult his brother on major policy issues. In the United States, the chairman of the US Senate's Foreign Affair Committee Joseph Biden said that the US should now be preparing for the prospect of change in Cuba, but that for the moment it should not substantially alter its relations with Havana.

"We should be setting up a mechanism for enterprise zone being able to help promote the Cuban economy if and when they move to a more rational system. But I do not think we should lift the embargo until the political circumstance in Cuba change significantly."

 The man whom many democrats in the United States blamed for their defeat in the 2000 presidential election, Ralph Nader, has said he's running again for the presidency. Mr. Nader denied that he would split the liberal votes and increase the chance of a Republican victory. Kevin Connolly reports from Washington.

"Ralph Nader's announcement that he's once again running for president was not perhaps much of a surprise. He's played some sort of role in every campaign since 1992. But it does bring a new set of political ideas to campaign 2008, and raises the possibility that he could influence the outcome. Mr. Nader believes that corporations are too strong in America, that military spending is too high and that not enough is done to protect the environment. His supporters argue that over the 40 years of his career as an activist, many of his ideas have been absorbed into the political mainstream."

A suicide bomber in Iraq has killed at least 40 people and injured many more during a major religious festival attended by Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad. The bomber wearing an explosive vest infiltrated a group of pilgrims who were walking towards the Shiite city of Karbala and detonated his device among them. The pilgrims were marking the final day of the annual mourning for Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson.

The Iraqi government says the Turkish Prime Minister will send a special envoy to Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss security issues arising from Turkey's incursion into northern Iraq. In a separate statement, the government in Baghdad has formally urged Ankara to withdraw its ground forces as soon as possible. It called Turkey's operation against Kurdish PKK rebels a threat to regional stability and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

China has made a rare call on its ally Sudan to do more to facilitate the deployment of international peacekeepers in Darfur. During a visit to Sudan, the Chinese envoy to Darfur said Khartoum should do more to cooperate with the international community.

You're listening to the world news from the BBC here in London.

Greek voters on the divided island of Cyprus have elected the communist party leader Demetris Christofias to be their new president. Soon after the result was announced, officials in both Greek and Turkish parts of the island said their leaders were to meet to revive unification talks. Tabitha Morgan reports from the capital Nicosia.

"Exit polls showed only a whisker separating the two candidates. But when the votes were counted, it emerged that Mr. Christofias had won by a comfortable margin. The defeat of President Papadopoulos a week ago was a sign that most Cypriots had rejected his inflexible attitude towards negotiations on reuniting the island. Both Mr. Christofias and his challenger Mr. Kassoulides promised to reactivate the diplomatic process if elected."

Final preparations are underway in Los Angles for the Oscar ceremony, the 80 years academy awards event honoring the year’s best films. From Los Angles, here's Vincent Dowd.

"Outside the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood boulevard, the giant Oscars have been polished one last time, the red carpet re-vacuumed, and the audience in the adjacent seats has been practicing its cheering. All the hoopla of Oscar day is here. And so far, the threatened torrential rain has held off, the writer strike settled. Hollywood needs to reassure itself. For now its business is usual, though an actor strike remains possible this summer. Most critics expect the big winners here tonight to be the comedy Juno, and two heavyweight dramas, There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men."

Police in Belgium have stopped and arrested a French driver who was so drunk that he drove more than 40 kilometers from the French border in the wrong direction along a motorway reaching speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. An official at the local prosecutor's office said the motorist's blood alcohol level was five times the legal limit, and he had trouble speaking.

And for the moment, that’s the latest BBC world news.