BBC news 2008-05-19 加文本

BBC news with Marian Marshall

Foreign Ministers from the Association of South Eastern Nations are holding an emergency meeting in Singapore shortly, to discuss ways of helping victims of the cyclone which hit Burma two weeks ago. The ministers would be hoping that Burma's generals who blocked all but a fraction of the foreign aid offered so far might accept the help from Asian countries. Jonathan Head reports from Singapore.

The humanitarian crisis in the Irrawaddy Delta is causing such a storm of international outrage, that some ASEAN governments recognize that they have to act. This is likely to take the form of an ASEAN-led emergency relief effort, using Asian organizations to channel international aid, as their citizens may be more acceptable to Burma's xenophobic generals. The meeting in Singapore will also provide an opportunity for the ASEAN foreign ministers to make their abhorrence known to their Burmese colleague, although such protest have had little impact in the past.

China has started three days of national mourning for the victims of last week's massive earthquake in Sichuan, which killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. All public entertainment has been cancelled, and national flags at home and abroad are flying at half-mast. Three minutes of silence will be observed, starting just before half past two in the afternoon, the moment the earthquake struck last Monday.

The government spokesman Guo Meiwen says the rescue effort will continue. “There are still a lot of people trapped under the rubbles. We are going to spare no effort to rescue these people so long as we've got one percent of hope, we will embrace one hundred percent of efforts, and we, we feel that we are not alone at this moment. I mean the international assistance keeps flowing to China."

A leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq has been sentenced to death for the murder of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho. The Archbishop was kidnapped in the northern town of Mosul in February and his body was found two weeks later in a shallow grave close to the city. Caroline Wyatt reports from Bagdad.

The government spokesman said that Ahmed Ali Ahmed had been sentenced to death for his involvement, and had been a wanted man for several other crimes against the people of Iraq. In the past, Mr. Maliki’s government has been accused by Iraq Christian minority of not doing enough to protect them. Churches, priests and businesses owned by Christians that make up 3% of Iraq's population have been attacked repeatedly. Many Christians have fled abroad.

South African police said at least 12 people had been killed in continuing attacks on migrant workers in and around Johannesburg. The violence started in outlying townships a week ago and spread to the city centre. Police used teargas and rubber bullets to try to stop armed youths attacking foreigners and looting and burning their property. Hundreds of migrant workers took refuge in police stations and churches.

World news from the BBC .

New research in India suggests that the exposure to pesticide could have caused damage to the DNA of people in agricultural communities, leading to increase rates of cancer. The study was carried out by scientists of Patiala University and the state of Punjab, who followed a group of farmers for several months. David Loyn reports.

There have been concerns about potential links between agricultural pesticide and cancer for several years. This new study discovered that the DNA of farmers in Panjab has been altered, making them susceptible to cancer , and this study ruled out other factors such as age, alcohol intake and smoking, concluding the probable cause of this fundamental change in the building block of life was the use of pesticide sprays. Salil Singhai of the industry trade association, the Crop Care Federation of India said this causal link could not be possible.

The High Court in Bangladesh has ruled that some 150,000 Urdu speaking Muslim refugees have the right to be Bangladeshi citizens. The court said those who are minors of the town of the Bangladesh's War Independence in 1971 and those who were born after would also gain the right to vote. The court ruling benefits Muslim refugees known locally as Biharis.

The authorities in Pakistan have warned the people hoarding wheat will have their stocks confiscated, unless they sell it to government agencies. The government has predicted in the production of wheat stable in Pakistan, will fall one million ton short of what the country requires. It’s thought some traders are illegally selling wheat intended for domestic use to other markets in Central Asia.(Www.hxen.net)

At least twenty thousand people have marched to central Paris against the French government’s plans to cut more than ten thousand posts in the education sector. The protesters are also unhappy about the proposal by President Sarkozy to change the law to force classrooms to stay open in the event of strike action.

BBC News.