BBC news 2008-03-23 加文本

The Pakistan People's Party of the assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has announced its candidate for the post of Prime Minister。 He's Yusuf Raza Gillani who will lead a coalition government that's aiming to reduce the powers of President Pervez Musharraf. Bob Replate reports from Islamabad.

This ends weeks of speculation about who will lead Pakistan's new coalition government. The party's press spokesman read out the announcement after plans for Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal to do so were dropped. The candidate Yusuf Raza Gillani was a speaker of parliament and the Federal Minister during Mrs. Bhutto's terms in office. Insiders say his loyalty to the People's Party helped earn him the nomination. It's believed he will abide by party decisions and that he will quietly step aside if the PPP leader Asif Zardari decides to go for the top job himself, after entering the assembly through a by-election. (wwW.hxen.net)

The President-elect of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou says he wants peace and better economic ties with China. But he has warned that peace talks could only begin if Beijing stops aiming missiles at Taiwan.

"We would like to start preliminary contact with the mainland on how a peace treaty could be signed, particularly, when we already said very clearly, if, if we are to negotiate a peace treaty, they have to remove the missiles targeted against Taiwan, because we don't wanna negotiate peace under the threat of war."

Mr. Ma of the opposition Kuomintang Party won the presidential vote by a landslide over his rival Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party which favors formal independence from China. (wWw.hxen.net)

The American Vice President Dick Cheney says he believes Israel is prepared to make, what he called, "wrenching national sacrifices" in return for a lasting peace with the Palestinians. Mr. Cheney said he thought the Palestinians were also ready to make concessions. He was speaking at a joint news conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. From Jerusalem, Tim Franks reports.

Dick Cheney has come to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to try to help push peace talks forward. The vice president opened his day and a half of meetings by declaring that America's commitment to Israel security is enduring and unshakable. He contrasted efforts to negotiate peace with a refusal to ignore what he called "the darkening shadows in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria and Iran". Mr. Cheney insisted though that Israel was ready to make significant moves to reach a settlement with the Palestinians.

The United States air strike near the Iraqi town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, has killed six people. But it's not clear whether they were allies or opponents of the Americans. Leaders of the Sunni group set up to fight with the US against al-Qaeda, the awakening movement, said the six dead were their people and they've been operating a legitimate checkpoint, the Americans said the checkpoint was bogus and a helicopter crew attacked after noticing suspicious activity.

World News from the BBC.

The President of Ecuador Rafael Correa has warned of grave diplomatic consequences if an Ecuadorian is found to be among the casualties of the Colombian bombing raid on rebels inside its territory earlier this month. Mr. Correa said Ecuador would not forgive the killing of a citizen by foreign troops. Ecuador has ordered an investigation after the family of an Ecuadorian man said he lost his life in the Colombian attack, which also killed a senior Colombian rebel commander.

The Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim has offered military assistance to the city authorities in Rio de Janeiro to help them deal with an outbreak of dengue fever. At least 40 people have died across the state of Rio since the start of the year, but most victims come from the city itself where hospitals are struggling to cope. From Sao Paulo, Gary Duffy reports.

There has been growing criticism of the authorities for their handling of the crisis with the local doctor union urging prosecutors to charge officials with criminal negligence. Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim has now said military hospitals could be set up in the areas which have been worst affected. Although he did not apportion blame to any specific authority, the minister said there had been, what he called, a lenience in the campaign against dengue, and because of this, he added, we are now paying the price. (www.hXen.com)

Police in Belgium have detained more than 100 protestors as they tried to climb security fences outside NATO headquarters in Brussels. Organizers of the protest said they wanted to draw attention to, what they called, NATO's role in promoting war. Police used water cannon to prevent the demonstrators entering the grounds around the NATO building. And the Lower House of the Belgium Parliament has given its approval to a new coalition government helping to bring an end to a nine-month long political stalemate. The Upper House is expected to approve the government later. The five-party coalition of Dutch and French-speaking parties will be led by the Flemish Christian Democrat leader Yves Leterme.

And that's the latest BBC News.