BBC news 2008-09-28 加文本

BBC News with John Jason.

Tributes have been paid to Paul Newman, the star of some of Hollywood's best-known films who’s died of cancer aged 83. Paul Newman was nominated for Oscar ten times, finally winning Best Actor in 1987 for "the Color of Money". Robert Redford, his co-star in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" said he had lost a real friend. Our arts correspondent, Rebecca Jones, looked back at Paul Newman's career.

With his brilliant blue eyes, boyish good looks and easy charm, Paul Newman was one of the world's most popular and enduring film stars. He made his name in films like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", "The Hustler" and "Cool Hand Luke", but he is probably best-known for his on-screen partnership with Robert Redford. Off screen, Paul Newman was a successful racing driver, and he also co-founded a food company which raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charity.

In another sign of continuing financial turmoil, the BBC has learnt that the British government’s decided to nationalize another bank, the Bradford & Bingley. It's the second time this year the government has taken control of a private bank following the nationalization of Northern Rock in February. Here is our business correspondent, Robert Peston.

I have learnt that the Treasury has decided to go for that last resort. It has decided to nationalize Bradford & Bingley using the special legislation it put through when it took Northern Rock into public ownership earlier this year. This nationalization could be announced tomorrow night, first thing in Monday morning, really underlined the scale of the global banking crisis.

Meanwhile, in the United States, President Bush has again urged members of Congress to work together to agree a 700-billion-dollar bailout for the American financial system. However, senators and congressmen from both parties have sharply criticized the plan.

The Mayor of the Mexican city of Villahermosa, has warned that 50, 000 families are at risk of flooding similar to that which caused devastation in the area last year. The authorities say 7,000 people have already been affected by the flooding. From our America's desk, Warren Bull reports.

Mexico's water authorities say more heavy rains are expected over the weekend in southern regions where several rivers have broken their banks. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from outlying areas of Tabasco State to the capital Villahermosa. Last year's rains in southeastern Mexico left three quarters of Tabasco State under water, devastating crops and industrial output and leaving one million people homeless.

Mathematicians at the University of California could be in line for a 100, 000-dollar prize for finding a new prime number which has 13 million digits. Prime numbers are those which can be divided only by themselves and one. The prize was set up by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to promote cooperative computing on the Internet. The team in Los Angeles linked together 75 computers, harnessing their computers’ normally unused power to find and verify a new prime.

World News from the BBC.

There has been international condemnation of a car bomb attack in Syria which kills 17 people. The attack happened on the main road to Damascus airport near buildings used by the Syrian security forces. It was close to a Shia Muslim Shrine. The Syrian Interior Minister, General Bassam Abdul-Majid, described the attack as an act of terrorism.

"It is of course a terrorist act. It targeted a crowded area on the way to the airport, opposite to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine. We are now investigating this cowardly act. The counter-terrorism unit is trying to establish the identity of the perpetrators. At the moment, we cannot point to a particular party."

The Sri Lankan military says 60 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed in fighting which left three government soldiers dead. A military spokesman said the fiercest battles took place in Kilinochchi district in the north. He said air strikes had been launched against rebel gathering points. But a pro-rebel website TamilNet said the bombs hit civilian targets, killing one person and injuring eight.

Somali pirates are reported to have released two of the ships they have been holding, but one group is still demanding a ransom for a Ukrainian vessel loaded with tanks and other military hardware for the Kenyan army. The official Egyptian news agency said that an Egyptian ship with 25 crew was now free. A local official in Northern Somalia said a Japanese cargo vessel had also been released after a ransom was paid. (Www.hXen.com)

A Chinese astronaut has undertaken the country's first-ever spacewalk. The achievement puts China alongside the United States and Russia as the only countries ever to conduct such a mission independently. The astronaut Zhai Zhigang waved a red Chinese flag as he orbited high above the Earth tethered to the outside of his craft Shenzhou VII. After 15 minutes, he climbed back inside. The Chinese President Hu Jingtao watched the mission from the control room on the ground.

BBC News.