BBC news 2008-10-20 加文本

The chairman and two senior executives of one of France’s leading banks Caisse d'Epargne have resigned over a multi-million dollar loss connected with the global financial crisis. The Chairman Charles Milhaud said the loss of some 800 million dollars occurred earlier this month as share markets crashed around the world. Duncan Bartlett has more:

The news that the French bank Caisse d'Epargne has lost millions of dollars in a trading scandal could not have come at a worse time for the country’s reputation. The French government had already told its banks not to be reckless with their customers’ money. But it seems that traders ignored the warnings, and bet a huge sum of money in the hope that stock markets would rise, just before the global financial crisis sent share prices tumbling. The bank, which is mutually owned, looks after the savings of millions of ordinary French people, and is supported by the government.

The Dutch government says it’s injecting 13 billion dollars into the country’s largest bank ING to shore up its finances. The move comes just after ING took over the assets of the failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Joe Leyne reports:

Ten days ago, ING the Netherlands’ largest bank took over the assets of the failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing including 4 billion dollars in savings held in Britain. In their statement at that time, ING said it was doing so from a position of strength with assets in excess of 1.8 trillion dollars and 85 million customers worldwide. Now the bank is accepting a bail-out from the Dutch government of 13 billion dollars to shore up its accounts in what was described as a dramatically changing environment.

The former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, calling him a transformational figure. Mr. Powell, who served in Present Bush’s first Republican administration, said both Johan McCain and Barack Obama were qualified to lead the country. But he believed that Mr. Obama was better equipped to handle the current economic crisis. Mr. Obama said he was honored to have Colin Powell’s support. From Washington, here is Justin Webb.

This is an important moment in the campaign. Colin Powell dose not bring a state, and he probably doesn’t bring many additional supporters, but what he does do is solidify Barack Obama’s appeal with the middle-of-the-road voters who are worried about whether or not he has sufficient experience for the job. One interesting sideline to the Powell endorsement, he said one of the reasons he decided to make his choice was Sarah Palin’s presence on the Republican ticket. He said she was a very distinguished woman and she was to be admired but I don’t believe she’s ready to be president of the United States.

Meanwhile aids to Barack Obama say his election campaign raised a record 115 million dollars from supporters since September, giving him far more resources than John McCain. Mr. Obama’s decision earlier this year not to receive federal funding allows him to raise funds privately.

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Senior members of the Iraqi government have been reviewing the terms of the planned new security agreement with the United States. The review comes after the main Shiite Muslim grouping in the Iraqi coalition government said it wanted to make changes to the draft agreement, which calls for the complete withdrawal of American troops from Iraq by 2011. The plan is strongly opposed by the Shiite faction led by the militant cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who brought thousands of supporters onto the streets of Baghdad on Saturday.

Greek police are investigating reports that officers forced a man they were searching to strip off his trousers and underpants in the middle of a busy Athens neighborhood popular with immigrants. Reports add the man appeared to be of Asian or Middle-Eastern appearance. A newspaper published photographs of the incident. As our correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Athens:

According to the Ethnos newspaper, the man who appears to be of Asian or Middle-Eastern extraction is ordered to drop his trousers and underwear in the middle of the street in broad daylight. The newspaper’s headline reads: Guantanamo Images in the Center of Athens. The pictures were taken from the offices of a leftwing organization which campaigns on behalf of immigrants’ rights. Its spokesman Petros Constantinou describes the incident as a case of extreme racism.

Scientists studying Alzheimer’s disease say they found new evidence that the omega-6 fatty acid found in eggs, nuts and vegetable oil could damage the memory function of the brain. Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers in California said tests with mice showed that omega-6 interfered with the membrane that protects the brain from the effects of toxins. The researches are at an early stage, but a BBC science correspondent says it raises the possibility that changing diet in middle age could lower the risk of getting Alzheimer’s, which usually affects older people.(Www.hxen.net)

BBC News.