BBC news 2008-11-13 加文本

BBC 2008-11-13

 
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BBC News with Zoe Diamond.

Democratic Party leaders in the United States which now has a majority in both Houses of Congress (lower and upper) has confirmed that they are working on a bail-out package for the troubled car industry. Earlier, the United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has acknowledged for the first time that the 700-billion-dollar rescue program approved by Congress will not now be used to purchase troubled mortgage assets as originally planned. Justin Webb reports from Washington.

The 700 billion dollars was going to be spent buying bad loans from banks, allowing them to get them off their balance sheets. Now quite suddenly, that plan is history. Mr. Paulson said the money would be better used directly investing in banks, the European approach, and in the nonbank sector trying to keep consumer, finance, car loans and student loans for instance widely available. Mr. Paulson suggested as well that part of the money might also be used to help keep people facing repossession in their homes.

Shareholders have approved a deal that could create the world's largest brewing company. Investors in the American drinks giant Anheuser-Busch have voted in favor of a 15-billion-dollar takeover bid by the Belgian brewer InBev, Mark Gregory has more.  

Anheuser-Busch is probably best known for its Budweiser and Bud Light beer brands. The company has been in business for 150 years, and still has close ties with the family that founded it. Opponents of the takeover by the Belgian group InBev argued the deal would bring job losses and could undermine the economy of the state of Missouri in the US Midwest where Anheuser is based. But now the deal looks set to go through.

The United States Supreme Court has ended a long-running legal battle by lifting restrictions on the US Navy's use of sonar during training exercises in the Pacific Ocean. The overturning of a lower court's ruling is a defeat for environmentalists who say the intense sound waves can harm or even kill marine mammals, including endangered blue whales. Richard Lister has more.

President Bush granted the navy exemption to the ruling, saying it was of paramount interest to the United States that it can carry out full scale military exercises. His administration says in the 40 years that the US submarines have been operating in the area there have been no documented cases of sonar causing injuries to animals. In a majority decision, the Supreme Court argued that even if there was evidence of such injuries, it would be outweighed by the public interest in having navy crews who have been given effective and realistic training.

The UN's World Food Program says it's delivered some of its first food supplies to the rebel-held town of Rutshuru in eastern Congo. The WFP delivered a ton of high-energy biscuits for children and says it hopes to get bigger aid convoys into the area on Friday. Our BBC correspondent in the region says aid agencies are struggling to supply the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting.

This is the World News from the BBC. (WWw.hXen.com)

Iran says it's successfully test fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2000 kilometers. This means it could reach Israel, southeast Europe or United States bases in the Gulf. Iran has expressed concerns at possible American or Israeli strikes against its nuclear facilities which Western countries say form part of a covert weapons program. Iran says its nuclear program is aimed only at generating electricity.

Japan's greenhouse gas emissions have risen sharply, meaning it will find it even more difficult than expected to meet its targets under the Kyoto Climate Treaty. The authorities have blamed a closure of Japan's biggest nuclear power plant. Here is Steve Jackson from our Asia Pacific desk.

The Japanese government is now facing the embarrassing prospect of missing its target by a wide margin. Japan is committed to a 6% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2012. But so far they have risen by 8%. The government says Japan's emissions went up significantly last year, largely because of the closure of the country's biggest nuclear power plant which was damaged in an earthquake.

Thousands of Colombians have taken part in violent protests to demand the return of money invested in pyramid financial schemes. In some cities, police used batons and tear gas to control angry investors. In the province of Cauca, in southwestern Colombia, depositors stormed the offices of an investment company whose owner has disappeared after leaving a note, thanking people for believing in financial witchcraft.

Another school in the capital Haiti, or in the capital of Haiti ,rather Port Au-Prince ,has partially collapsed, injuring at least seven people. Police say most of the pupils at the school were in the play area outside when the building collapsed. Five days earlier, at least 90 people died when a school in a poor suburb of the Haitian capital collapsed completely.

That's the latest world News from the BBC.