BBC news 2008-04-29 加文本

The electoral commission in Zimbabwe says the final five parliamentary results in the recount from last month’s disputed elections have been collected and will be published on Tuesday. The candidates will then need to verify them, which could take up to a week. Earlier, Zimbabwe’s two rival opposition factions say they had reunited, and now held the majority in parliament. Correspondents are calling their move significant, as it would make it very difficult for President Mugabe to win a run-off.

The former pastor of the American presidential hopeful Barack Obama has defended one of his sermons by saying that criticism of it amounted to an attack on the entire black American church. The Reverend Jeremiah Wright had suggested that America brought the September 11 attacks on itself. The comments sparked the biggest crisis yet by Barack Obama's campaign. Reverend Wright said his critics should look at the context in which he was speaking.

"Black preaching is different from European and European-American preaching, it is not deficient, it is just different, it is not bombastic, it is not controversial, it's different. "

The American confectionery manufacturer Mars has launched a bid to buy the world's number one producer of chewing gum Wrigley for 23 billion dollars. The deal which has been partly backed by the investor Warren Buffet would create the world's biggest confectionary party. Roman Smith has more.

American family-owned Mars is the world’s largest chocolate bar company counting the autonomous Mars bars. M&M's , and Snickers, among its enticements, while Wrigley’s took the idea for its gum from native Americans well over a century ago. It’s started to making gum to hand out free as a marketing enticement，for its main product of that type, soap. Eating the reported mower and shaker behind the deal is no strange to confectionary. Warren Buffet was an earlier investor in Coca Cola, and his taste for popular American food, like hamburgers and hot dogs is legendary. Romney Smith’s reporting.

World news from the BBC.

Reports from Nigeria suggest that about half of country's oil production has been cut as a result of strike action and attacks on pipelines by militants. Exxon Mobil has shut down nearly all of its oil production, because of the strike by employees over pay and working conditions. Loyal Dutch Shell has had to cut its production because of a series of attacks by rebels on its pipelines. The problems in Nigeria have helped keep world oil prices at record heights.

The American military in Iraq says three US soldiers have been killed in an attack in east Baghdad. The death springs to 18 the number of US soldiers killed in the capital since fierce battles between in Iraqi and US soldiers and Shiite militants started three days ago. Earlier, American forces said 38 Shiite militia men had been killed in the fighting in Baghdad in the past two days.

A pro-Taliban tribal leader in Pakistan has pulled out of peace-talks with the government after it refused to withdraw troops from tribal lands on the Afghan border. Baitullah Mehsud, who was accused of having masterminded the assassination of the Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, announced a halt to attacks against the Pakistani army last week.  Barbara Plett sent this reports from Islamabad.

Baitullah Mehsud pulled out of talks after hearing from tribal elders who are mediating with the government. His spokesman Maulvi Omar said that’s because the authorities refused to withdraw troops from south Waziristan,a region bordering  Afghanistan with the Taliban hazard’s base. But the powerful militant commander made no explicit call to end a ceasefire that he unilaterally declared last week. So it’s not clear whether this is a negotiating tactic or the collapse of talks that appeared close to agreement.

The Indian Cricket Board has banned the star player, Harbhajan Singh, for the remainder of the season for slapping in an opponent. He clashed with Shanthakumaran Sri Sreesanth on Friday after a match in the new Indian Premier League, he will also be fined all his match weeks from the IPL’s 20-20 tournament.

BBC News.