BBC news 2008-05-15 加文本

BBC news with David Legg.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he is to send one of the UN’s most senior officials to Burma as pressure grows on the military governments to allow in more help for the country’s cyclone victims. Laura Trevelyan reports.

Ban Ki-moon who is clearly frustrated by the delays in getting help to those in need says he’ll send the UN’s head of Humanitarian Assistance John Holmes to Burma. Whether Mr. Holmes will be allowed in without holdups is an open question. Mr. Ban also called for a pledging conference so countries could donate more aid to Burma. But clear differences remain between western countries who want more forceful approach and Burma’s neighbors. Ambassadors from China and Burma reiterated it was important not to politicize a humanitarian crisis while the US and British ambassadors said what would politicize this would be further delays in getting aid to the needy. (Www.hxen.net)

The Chinese government has estimated that 10 million people were affected by the devastating earthquake that struck southwestern Sichuan province three days ago. Many of the survivors are staying in refugee camps. Quentin Sommerville reports from Beijing.

90 extra helicopters have been sent to Sichuan to bring extra food and water and help rescue victims of China’s earthquake. Troops have also been drafted in to secure massive hydroelectric and reservoir dams that have been damaged by the quake. China’s enormous army has been quick to mobilize but it’s been stretched thin by the scale of the disaster. Around 10 million people have been affected by the earthquake. Many are in refugee camps without proper shelter, food or clean water.

The former United States Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards says he endorses Barack Obama’s bid for the White House. He made his announcement to the rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There is one man who knows and understands that is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting change that you have to build from the ground up. There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time to create one America, not two, and that man is Barack Obama.

The Zimbabwean authorities say the presidential run-off election which should have been held later this month may be delayed until the beginning of August. The electoral commission has ruled that the poll would not take place within 90 days of May 2 when official results of the disputed the election were first released. The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the decision was illegal and was part of a program to give President Robert Mugabe time to continue a campaign of violence against the MDC. Under Zimbabwean law, the election should take place within three weeks of the official announcement of the result.

This is the world news from the BBC.

The Lebanese government has canceled measures against the militant group Hezbollah that triggered six days of fierce sectarian clashes. Fighting that killed at least 60 people erupted after the Western back government outlawed the groups’ private phone network and reassigned an airport security chief for alleged ties to Hezbollah.

The US Congress is considering a plan to make it easier for people from eastern and central Europe to visit the United States without requiring visas. The plan has been analyzed by a congressional committee, and is not expected to become law before next year. From Washington, Jack Izzard reports.

If the plan is approved, travelers from the EU’s new member countries together with South Korea would have to fill in an online form before traveling to America. The US authorities will then check their details against a security data-base before they even board the plane. The European Commission is negotiating on behalf of EU countries and is keen to ensure that the passengers’ personal data will be protected. From the US point of view, the plan offers a chance to attract more tourists to America while giving authorities greater scope to vet visitors.

The family of an Austrian man who is accused of imprisoning and raping his daughter in a cellar for 24 years has released his first public message. Josef Fritzl’s daughter Elizabeth Fritzl, her six surviving children and her mother Rosemarie Fritzl have hand-written a poster thanking the public for its support. The poster features outlines of the family members' hands with messages written inside.

United States government has placed the polar bear on its list of threatened species a year and half after it accepted there was a link between global warming and the melting of the bears’ habitat. However, announcing the decision, the Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne made it clear that the campaigners should not use it to hamper American oil and gas operations in Alaska.

BBC News.