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2008-11-04来源:和谐英语
BBC 2008-11-04
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BBC News with Neil Nunes.
As the two main presidential candidates in the United States, the Republican John McCain and the Democrat Barack Obama, go into the final hours of their campaign for the White House, it's been announced that Mr. Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died at the age of 86. She played a key role in Mr. Obama's early upbringing. As James Coomarasamy reports.
Madelyn Dunham died in the early hours of Monday morning at her home in Hawaii, just as the grandson she had helped to raise was about to embark on his final day of campaigning for president. In a joint statement with his sister, Barack Obama described his grandmother as a cornerstone of their family, a woman of extraordinary accomplishment and humility. His Republican rival, John McCain, has released his own message of condolence. Ten days ago, Barack Obama broke away from the campaign trail to pay one last visit to a woman who had a great influence on his life and whom he had mentioned at several key moments during his run for the White House.
Opinion polls still show Mr. Obama ahead, but Mr. McCain insists the race is tighter than the polls suggest. The 72-year-old senator is visiting seven states from Florida to New Mexico. Senator Obama is attending rallies in three east coast states which went for President Bush in 2004.
Two of the world's biggest car makers, Ford and General Motors, have announced huge falls in sales in the United States. General Motors said its vehicle sales plummeted by 45% in October, Ford reported a 30% drop. Gred Wood has this report.
The US motor industry was in deep trouble even before the present credit squeeze as consumers turned away from fuel-hungry trucks and SUVs. But with car loans drying up in recent weeks and consumer confidence hitting a new low, Detroit has gone into a decline, the like of which has not been seen for a generation. General Motors is discussing a merger with the No.3 producer Chrysler, which would see widespread plant closures and tens of thousands of job losses.
In a fresh diplomatic move aimed at ending the crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he is prepared to travel to the region. Mr. Ban said he was trying to arrange meetings with both Congolese President Joseph Kabila and his counterpart from neighboring Rwanda Paul Kagame.
"I urge again all parties to stick to the current, uh, cease-fire and devote their best efforts to this nascent political process. Presidents Kagame and Kabila have also expressed their willingness and readiness to meet with me possibly (at) this week or early next week."
Earlier, the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, said that the UN peacekeeping force in eastern Congo needed different rules of engagement, so they could robustly defend the people displaced by the conflict.
World News from the BBC.(WWw.hxen.net)
A US military jury at the Guantanamo Bay detention center has sentenced a man accused of being an aide to Osama Bin Laden to life in prison. The man, Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, was charged with conspiracy, soliciting murder and providing material supports to terrorism. Each count carried a possible life sentence. Mr. al-Bahlul, who is 39 and from Yemen, was also accused of making propaganda videos for al-Qaeda.
Gunmen have kidnapped a French aid worker and shot one man dead in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The authorities said the kidnappers killed the man who worked as a driver for the Afghan intelligence services when he tried to prevent the abduction. There has been an increase in kidnappings in Afghanistan in recent months, both by criminal gangs seeking ransoms and by insurgents.
The authorities in California say DNA tests have confirmed that human bones found in the wreckage of a light plane that went missing nearly a year ago belong to the millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett. Peter Biles reports.
According to a spokesman for the local sheriff's department, laboratory tests prove positive for DNA matching that of Steve Fossett. The bones, along with Mr. Fossett's tennis shoes and driving licenses, both with animal bites on them, were discovered half a mile from where the adventurer's plane crashed last year in California's Sierra Nevada. The spokesman said Mr. Fossett would have died on impact and that it's not unusual for animals to drag away remains. The record-breaking adventurer was declared legally dead earlier this year.
At least one man has been killed during a further day of violent protests against high fuel prices in the West African state of Guinea. Police say the man, an off-duty police officer, was killed by a stray bullet fired by soldiers in the capital, Conakry. At least 20 people were injured during the violence which began when youths took control of streets, setting up barricades and stoning vehicles.
BBC News.
Download Audio
BBC News with Neil Nunes.
As the two main presidential candidates in the United States, the Republican John McCain and the Democrat Barack Obama, go into the final hours of their campaign for the White House, it's been announced that Mr. Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died at the age of 86. She played a key role in Mr. Obama's early upbringing. As James Coomarasamy reports.
Madelyn Dunham died in the early hours of Monday morning at her home in Hawaii, just as the grandson she had helped to raise was about to embark on his final day of campaigning for president. In a joint statement with his sister, Barack Obama described his grandmother as a cornerstone of their family, a woman of extraordinary accomplishment and humility. His Republican rival, John McCain, has released his own message of condolence. Ten days ago, Barack Obama broke away from the campaign trail to pay one last visit to a woman who had a great influence on his life and whom he had mentioned at several key moments during his run for the White House.
Opinion polls still show Mr. Obama ahead, but Mr. McCain insists the race is tighter than the polls suggest. The 72-year-old senator is visiting seven states from Florida to New Mexico. Senator Obama is attending rallies in three east coast states which went for President Bush in 2004.
Two of the world's biggest car makers, Ford and General Motors, have announced huge falls in sales in the United States. General Motors said its vehicle sales plummeted by 45% in October, Ford reported a 30% drop. Gred Wood has this report.
The US motor industry was in deep trouble even before the present credit squeeze as consumers turned away from fuel-hungry trucks and SUVs. But with car loans drying up in recent weeks and consumer confidence hitting a new low, Detroit has gone into a decline, the like of which has not been seen for a generation. General Motors is discussing a merger with the No.3 producer Chrysler, which would see widespread plant closures and tens of thousands of job losses.
In a fresh diplomatic move aimed at ending the crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he is prepared to travel to the region. Mr. Ban said he was trying to arrange meetings with both Congolese President Joseph Kabila and his counterpart from neighboring Rwanda Paul Kagame.
"I urge again all parties to stick to the current, uh, cease-fire and devote their best efforts to this nascent political process. Presidents Kagame and Kabila have also expressed their willingness and readiness to meet with me possibly (at) this week or early next week."
Earlier, the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, said that the UN peacekeeping force in eastern Congo needed different rules of engagement, so they could robustly defend the people displaced by the conflict.
World News from the BBC.(WWw.hxen.net)
A US military jury at the Guantanamo Bay detention center has sentenced a man accused of being an aide to Osama Bin Laden to life in prison. The man, Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, was charged with conspiracy, soliciting murder and providing material supports to terrorism. Each count carried a possible life sentence. Mr. al-Bahlul, who is 39 and from Yemen, was also accused of making propaganda videos for al-Qaeda.
Gunmen have kidnapped a French aid worker and shot one man dead in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The authorities said the kidnappers killed the man who worked as a driver for the Afghan intelligence services when he tried to prevent the abduction. There has been an increase in kidnappings in Afghanistan in recent months, both by criminal gangs seeking ransoms and by insurgents.
The authorities in California say DNA tests have confirmed that human bones found in the wreckage of a light plane that went missing nearly a year ago belong to the millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett. Peter Biles reports.
According to a spokesman for the local sheriff's department, laboratory tests prove positive for DNA matching that of Steve Fossett. The bones, along with Mr. Fossett's tennis shoes and driving licenses, both with animal bites on them, were discovered half a mile from where the adventurer's plane crashed last year in California's Sierra Nevada. The spokesman said Mr. Fossett would have died on impact and that it's not unusual for animals to drag away remains. The record-breaking adventurer was declared legally dead earlier this year.
At least one man has been killed during a further day of violent protests against high fuel prices in the West African state of Guinea. Police say the man, an off-duty police officer, was killed by a stray bullet fired by soldiers in the capital, Conakry. At least 20 people were injured during the violence which began when youths took control of streets, setting up barricades and stoning vehicles.
BBC News.
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