BBC 2008-05-14
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BBC News with Nick Kelly.
The Chinese authorities say that the devastation of the city at the epicenter of the Sichuan earthquake is even worse than expected. In the devastated town of Yingxiu, an army team said they could hear cries under the rubble of collapsed buildings. The official number of dead 12, 000, is certain to rise, with tens of thousands still missing. From Beijing, Quantin Summerville reports.
China's now focusing on getting help to the very epicenter of the earthquake deep in the mountains of Sichuan. Rescue workers overcame blocked roads and terrible weather conditions to reach Wenchuan. About 30 soldiers made it to Yingxiu town and found most of the roads and nearly all of the bridges destroyed. Of the town's ten thousand people, only 2, 300 are thought to have survived. More help is arriving though supplies have been airlifted in. The priority is getting food and water to the survivors, a military commander on the scene told state television.
Indian police have been searching the sites of 8 bomb attacks which killed at least 60 people in the northwestern city of Jaipur. More than 150 people were injured. The bombs went off within 20 minutes of each other in the heart of the old city. Our correspondent Sanjoy Majumder's in Jaipur.
I'm standing in the main square in Jaipur's old city, one of the areas hit by Tuesdays's deadly blasts. In front of me is the city landmark the Wind Palace and behind me is the city's main jewelry market. Both places are visited by thousands of tourists every day. But this morning, there's an overwhelming security presence. Local police, as well as the federal riot police, distinctive in their blue battle fatigues, they are warning people to stay off the roads. A curfew that was imposed overnight, was briefly lifted this morning, but is in place once again.
Hillary Clinton says she is more determined than ever to continue her presidential bid after her resounding victory in the Democratic Party primary in West Virginia. She told / cheering supporters that the contest between her and the front runner Barack Obama was good for the Party. Our correspondent James Coomarasamy was there.
"She fights on. That was Hillary Clinton's message after her big as expected win here in West Virginia. In a defiant speech, she repeated her belief that her victories in states such as this proved that she is the strongest candidate, the best placed Democrat to beat the Republican candidate John McCain in November's general election, even if she does trail Barack Obama by most measures. A message was directed at those party officials as super-delegates who will decide this nominating contest. She did not envy, she said their awesome responsibility of choosing between her and Senator Obama. (Www.hxen.net)
President Bush is arriving in Jerusalem late today, 60 years to the day after Israel declared independence. Mr. Bush says he wants to reinvigorate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and wants a full agreement on the future Palestinian state by the end of his presidency this year.
World News from the BBC.
The Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has traveled to Rangoon to press Burma's ruling generals to allow in more foreign aid workers. Mr. Samak was asked to carry out the mission by donor countries and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. An envoy from the European Union Louie Michelle is also due to arrive in the region. From the Thai capital Bangkok, Chris Holk reports.
The European Union envoy is coming here, a spokesman said, to try to press the Burmese authorities to open a so-called humanitarian aid corridor to ensure adequate supplies can be brought into the country and distributed. International organizations working in the country say that while some aid is getting into Rangoon, it's a fraction of what‘s needed. For instance, the World Food Program believes around three quarters of a million people in the Irrawaddy Delta, the area worst affected by the cyclone, need food supplies. So far, they've been able to get rations to around one in ten of them.
A bomb has exploded at a police barracks in the northern Basque region of Spain. One policeman was killed and three other people were injured. No warning was given and no group has said it was responsible. The attack took place in an area which is often been targeted by a Basque separatist groups.
The president of the region surrounding the Italian city of Naples goes on trial today along with 27 others over the accumulation of mountains of uncollected rotting rubbish. Antonio Basolino is charged with defrauding the state and abuse of office. He's denied any wrongdoing. The other defendants are employees of companies that won contracts for the disposal of the rubbish.
A painting by the British artist Lucian Freud has become the most expensive work by a living artist ever sold at auction. The life-size nude of a fat middle-aged woman was sold in New York for $33. 6 million. It's seen as an example of the artist's much admired obsession with capturing the look and feel of human flesh. The sale easily surpassed the previous record set less than a year ago.
BBC News.
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