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BBC news 2009-01-18 加文本

2009-01-18来源:和谐英语
BBC 2009-01-18


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BBC News with David Legg.

The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has started making a televised address in which he's expected to announce a ceasefire in Israel's three-week conflict with Hamas. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned as "outrageous" an Israeli attack on a UN school that left two young children dead. Speaking to reporters in Beirut, Mr. Ban demanded a thorough investigation and the punishment of those responsible. Laura Trevelyan reports from the Lebanese capital Beirut.

This latest attack on a UN school, the third to take place during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, has left Mr. Ban visibly angry. Only two days ago, he was in Tel Aviv when a UN compound in Gaza was shelled by the Israeli military. He received apologies from Israel's prime minister and defence minister, and assurances that UN facilities would be respected in future. The UN Secretary General condemned what he called this outrageous attack, demanded an investigation and the punishment of those responsible.

The Israeli prime minister said Israel had achieved all its goals in Gaza, badly damaging the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been firing rockets at Israel for years.

The American President-elect Barack Obama is making a historic train journey from Philadelphia to Washington where he will be inaugurated on Tuesday as the 44th president of the United States. Using the same route as President Abraham Lincoln used 150 years ago, the train will make a number of stops of public events. Before leaving Philadelphia, Mr. Obama said all Americans needed to do their part to rebuild the country.

"Starting now, let's take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union. Let's build a government that's responsible to the people. Let's accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable. Let all of us do our part to rebuild this country. Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but just the beginning. "

Russia and Ukraine have struggled to make progress in top-level talks in Moscow aimed at ending the gas dispute that has disrupted supplies to much of Europe for the past eleven days. The European Union's executive has called the meeting the last best chance to restore supplies. Richard Galpin reports from Moscow.

Ahead of their meeting, the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko talked up the chances of an agreement, but it soon became clear the two sides were still far apart in this dispute, which is ostensibly about the price Ukraine will pay this year for its supplies of Russian gas. Moscow indicated the Ukrainian prime minister did not have the full authority needed to negotiate a deal, something the Ukrainians have now denied.

World News from the BBC.

The Vatican is to get its own channel on the video-sharing website Youtube. Now under an agreement between Google, the owners of the Youtube, and Vatican TV & Radio, papal speeches and church events will be made available to a world audience. The Vatican set up its first website 13 years ago and gets millions of hits every week.

The Sri Lankan government says that over the past few days, hundreds of civilians have been emerging from Tamil Tiger-held territory and crossing into areas controlled by the Army. International human rights organizations have expressed grave concern for what they say of as many as a quarter of a million civilians trapped in rebel territory. Warren Boo reports.

Senior officials in the north of Sri Lanka say over 700 people have crossed the front lines from Tamil Tiger-held territory since Thursday, and more are fleeing, some are reported to have walked many kilometers, carrying white flags to help them reach safety. The Sri Lankan army has made rapid advances into rebel-held territory in the last few months. And the human rights organization, Amnesty International, says as the fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers intensifies, those who remain in the shrinking rebel-held areas face immense hardship including food shortages, and are running out of what it calls safe space.(www.hxen.net)

The American military has signed an agreement with Tajikistan that will enable it to ship non-military supplies into Afghanistan via Tajik territory. The deal was signed by the top US commander in the region, Gen. David Petraeus. At the moment, they are heavily dependent on routes that come in from the south via Pakistan.

Well, finally more on our top story that the Israeli prime minister has now announced a ceasefire in Gaza. He says from two o'clock in the morning, Israel will stop its actions in Gaza and will continue to maintain its positions there.

And that's the latest BBC News.