BBC news 2008-02-29 加文本

BBC 2008-02-29


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BBC News with Jonathan Izzard.

Kenya’s rival leaders have signed a breakthrough deal to share power and move to bring the country political crisis to an end. The Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki and the opposition leader Raila Odinga shook hands on the agreement after two months of violence and stalemate sparked by a presidential election that both side said they had won. As a part of the deal, there will be a new post Prime Minister, one of the opposition’s key demands. The mediator Kofi Annan said the foundation have been laid for national reconciliation and economic recovery in Kenya.

“In all successful negotiations, there is give and take. Invariably, some supporters on each side feel that their negotiators gave too much. To those people in Kenya, I will say this, compromise was necessary for the survival of this country.”   (www.Hxen.com)

Medical workers in the Gaza Strip say four Palestinian children have been killed in an Israel air strike. They were playing in a field in northern Gaza when they are struck by a missile. As Ali Marcbu reported the attacks are continuing.  

“Well into the night, Israel’s air attacks are still being heard in the Gaza. Their explosions have regularly punctuated the last 48 hours. People are now staying off the streets where their vehicles may be targeted. Since Wednesday morning, nearly 30 Palestinian have been killed, among them, a six-month-old baby. Militants including a local Hamas commander have also died though. And it’s they that the Israel says the intended target. The Israel government has vowed to keep up its tough military action on Gaza unless Palestinian rockets fire into Israel stops.” 

It's emerged that Prince Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles, and third in line to the throne has been serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense in London said the prince had been deployed in Helmand Province of the Taliban stronghold for the past 2 months. There had been a news blackout on his activities, but the officials confirmed the story after it appeared on an American website. Prince Harry said he was happy to be among his colleagues. (www.Hxen.com)

“I don’t know is there any words sort of describe it. It’s just...it’s just really nice to be out here. I mean I’ve really been out here for a short time and I hope to be out here a lot longer. I’m ..and ..so to go through with everybody else. It’s nice to see what’s all like. Father is very keen on me reporting back as the mole. So that you know he's got his...sort of ends tied up. And yeah, I know, as I say, it’s much better being out here experiencing it rather than hearing all the stories of people going back.”   

In Iraq, the political bloc loyal to be Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadry has angrily criticized the decision to reconsider key legislation to set out some of political powers of the country’s 18 provinces. The Sadry blocs said the decision by Iraq Presidential Council to send it back to the parliament for  evasion was a form of dictatorship. The provincial law was one of the free pieces of legislation seen as crucial to national reconciliation.

World News from BBC.

The Turkish military says it’s killed another 7 Kurdish rebels from the PKK in renewed clashes in northern Iraq. The deaths take the number of rebels killed in the past week to 237 according to Turkey. The figures are disputed by the PKK which says it’s killed about 100 Turkey soldiers. British e..(口误) President Bush has urged Turkey to achieve its military objectives and leave Iraq as soon as possible.

“The incursion must be limited and must be a temporary nature and shouldn’t be long lasting. Turks need to move quickly, achieve their objectives and get out.”

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France intends to renegotiate all its defense agreements with African countries. In a speech to parliament in South Africa, Mr. Sarkozy said the defense arrangement would not simply be scrapted, but France had no reason to keep armed forces in Africa indefinitely.

“I purpose French military in Africa serves first and foremost to help Africa achieve what it wishes to achieve. Namely, its goal of building it own collective securities arrangements. France has no call to maintain armed forces in Africa indefinitely.”

The United States has sent its warship USS-Cole to waters off the coast to Lebanon and an American official said the US was concerned about the situation in Lebanon and deploying the USS-Cole was show a support to regional stability.

Cuba has signed two key human rights agreements at the United Nations in New York just days after the Raul Castro was sworn in as the new president. The legally binding agreements form part of UN Bill of human rights.  Here is Lora Travallian: “The agreements include the right to hold genuine elections and form trade unions. Fidel Castrol always said trade unions had no place in a communist society. It was Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque insisted the move was not linked to the shift of power in Cuba. He said the convention formalized rights.”