BBC news 2008-10-04 加文本

President Bush has signed into law a controversial 700-billion-dollar rescue package for America's stricken financial system less than two hours after the House of Representatives approved a revised version. Mr. Bush said the law would help ease the credit crunch threatening the US economy, and show the world that America could deal with the crisis. But President Bush said he understood people's concerns over the package. 

"I know some Americans have concerns about this legislation, especially about the government's role and the bill's cost. As a strong supporter of free enterprise, I believe government intervention should occur only when necessary. In this situation, action is clearly necessary. Ultimately, the cost of taxpayers will be far less than the initial outlay."

Share prices in New York ended the day down. The Dow Jones closed 1.5% lower after figures showed the biggest drop in the number of Americans with jobs for more than five years. Gred Wood reports.

Nearly 160,000 American jobs were lost in September, the biggest jump in unemployment for five and a half years, and a clear sign that the credit crunch is biting where it hurts most. Added to that are worries about whether the bail-out plan itself will work. It will involve a complex process of auctions, run by private asset management companies and overseen by the US Treasury. The first auction will not take place for at least a month, so it’ll be some time before any results are seen. (Www.hXen.com)

At least 20 people have been killed along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan after air strikes suspected to have been carried out by US forces. Here is Sebastian Ashier.

Intelligence officials in Pakistan say two air strikes were carried out by US aircraft on targets in the unstable region of North Waziristan. One report said at least five people in a local tribesman’s house were among those killed. Other reports said a number of militants were killed, too. There has been no confirmation from the Americans. In recent weeks, U.S. forces have mounted a series of attacks against militants inside Pakistan, creating new tensions between the two countries. Islamabad says the strikes are an infringement of its sovereignty and are counterproductive in the battle against extremists.

The Indian car company Tata Motors is abandoning plans to build its low-cost Nano vehicle in the state of West Bengal where violent protests by farmers over land have halted construction of the factory. The company chairman, Ratan Tata, said it was impossible to run a factory with police protection all the time.

The authorities in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia say seven soldiers were killed when a military vehicle exploded inside the Russian Army base in the capital Tskhinvali. Reports say Russian troops had confiscated the vehicle from an ethnic Georgian village when they found it was carrying weapons.

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Russia has called for joint international action to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. The Russian Foreign Minister said Moscow would work closely with America and the European Union to stop what he described as "the outrageous actions of Somali pirates". The European Union on Wednesday agreed to set up a maritime security force.

A new study suggests tens of millions of people in China will die in the next 25 years as a result of lung disease, and the vast majority of those premature deaths are preventable. The study was carried out by researchers of the Harvard School of Public Health. The author, Majid Ezzati, says dramatic intervention now could save many millions of lives. 

"If China manages to control tobacco through taxation, through health education, through advertising ban, and if it manages to get clean fuel to the 70% of its population that need cleaner fuels, or ways of burning their current fuels more cleanly, they have a lot of health gains to make."

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has reshuffled his cabinet and in a surprise move he has brought back Peter Mandelson, the European Union Trade Commissioner. Mr. Mandelson, who’ll be Business Secretary, twice held ministerial posts in the former Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet, but both times he resigned over perceived conflicts of interest.

The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, has provoked strong opposition by calling for a rule change to allow him to stand for a third term. His critics on the New York City Council say the proposals amount to a subversion of democracy. The billionaire businessman is due to stand down next year at the end of his second term.

The United States government has notified the Congress of plans to supply Taiwan with arms worth more than six billion dollars. The planned sales include advanced interceptor missiles and submarine-launched missiles. The U.S. Defense Security and Cooperation Agency said the sales were aimed at improving Taiwan's defenses.

And that’s the latest BBC News.