BBC news 2008-03-28 加文本

BBC News with Jonathan Izzard.

The Iraqi authorities have imposed a three day curfew in the capital Baghdad after fighting intensified between the Iraqi Army and Shiite militiamen. The United States has told all personnel at its embassy in Baghdad not to leave reinforced structures in the Green Zone .President Bush has praised the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for vowing to fight Shiite militias to the end .The Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr has called for a political solution. Crispin Thorold reports from Baghdad
 
All movement has been banned in Baghdad from now until early on Sunday morning. The enforcement of curfew is an indication of how insecure the capital has become .There have been several clashes here including one between American forces and the fighters from the Mahdi army .Throughout the day rockets and mortars were fired towards the Green Zone where the governments and embassies are based. Many reached their targets but some fell short, killing civilians. There has also been extensive fighting in Basra, where the number of dead has risen steeply. Local people say that they are beginning to run out of food and water.
 
The price of crude oil has risen 2 dollars a barrel after a key Iraq oil pipeline was blown up in Basra .The attack is said to have reduced exports by a fifth. The price went up to about 108 dollars a barrel in New York because of fears that the fighting in southern Iraq might disrupt the global oil market. Our BBC correspondent says disruptions in any producer country are often quickly reflected in higher prices because there isn’t much spare production capacity.(www.hXen.com)
 
A right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders has posted on the Internet a film that is highly critical of Islam. The 16-minute video intercuts passages from the Koran with footage of speeches by radical Muslim clerics. The Dutch government had appealed for it to be abandoned .From the Hague, Geraldine Coughlin reports.
 
Geert Wilders says he doesn’t intend his film to be a provocation. And that he wants to discuss it in a debate with Muslims. The film “Fitna” begins with images of the September the 11th attacks in New York in 2001. It contains shocking clips from media archives and news headlines and Geert Wilders' opinion that Islam is dangerous for the West.
 
The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had announced a plan to help educate children in Africa. Mr. Brown said the two countries and their football authorities would finance the schooling of 16 million children by the start of the Football World Cup in South Africa in 2010. They were speaking at the stadium of Arsenal football club in London which has a French manager and some French players .Gordon Brown said the two countries needed to work together to face global challenges. 
 
Together, We will address the challenges of this new global era .Together we are well-placed to do so. Our two countries are at the heart of what we want to be---an outward looking and globally focused Europe.
 
World News from the BBC
 
A newly published report says gangsters and prominent politicians in Nigeria formed a dangerous alliance during an outbreak of violence that killed dozens of people. The report investigates clashes between rival gangs, armed with assault rifles, machine guns and machetes in the oil-rich delta region following elections last year. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch says none of the gang leaders or their powerful political backers has been prosecuted. It said promises by President Umaru Yar'Adua to end the violence in the Niger Delta have come to nothing.(www.hxen.net)
 
Two days before elections in Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe has blamed western sanctions for the economic crisis in the country. Speaking at an election rally in the capital Harare, Mr. Mugabe said sanctions were depriving Zimbabwe of essential medical supplies. At the event, Mr. Mugabe gave away more then 400 cars to doctors in government hospitals. Grant Ferrett reports from neighboring South Africa.
 
Doctors and nurses have frequently gone on strike in recent years, complaining that their salaries haven’t kept pace with hyperinflation in Zimbabwe .Thousands of qualified medical staff have left the country. Essential drugs and other supplies are largely absent. President Mugabe says it is not the fault of his government. Instead, he accuses Britain and the United States of being behind the problems because of sanctions. In fact, the sanctions applied only to members of Zimbabwe's ruling elite. Restrictions on trade are confined to arms sales.
 
The long-awaited opening of a 5th terminal of London's Heathrow airport has been marred by queues, disruption and cancellations .The check-in of all non-hand luggage just to be suspended. British Airways, which has exclusive use of the new terminal, has apologized for what it called "teething problems". Terminal Five, which is Britain's biggest enclosed space, cost more then 8.5 billion dollars to build. Heathrow is one of world’s busiest airports and has suffered from overcrowding due to the increasing demand for air travel.

BBC News.