BBC news 2009-02-17 加文本

BBC 2009-02-17

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BBC News with Blerry Gogan.

The United Nations says Sri Lanka says its concern by reports that a growing number of people trying to escape Tamil Tiger-held territory in the north have been shot at and sometimes killed by the rebels. The Tigers have been forced into an enclave by the Sri Lankan army during fierce fighting in recent weeks. Sanjoy Majumder reports.

A statement from the United Nations in Sri Lanka says its concern for the safety of civilians caught up in the fighting has been heightened, based on reports that it's received over the past few days, many of them based on testimony from people who've managed to come out of the conflict zone. It says there're credible reports to suggest that the Tamil Tigers are preventing civilians from leaving, and a number of those trying to get away have been shot at and in some cases killed. The U.N. is calling on both sides to refrain from fighting in areas with large civilian concentrations.

A detailed study of anti-terrorism laws and other measures introduced in more than forty countries calls for many of them to be repealed as a matter of urgency saying that it could do lasting harm to human rights principles. The report comes from the International Commission of Jurists or ICJ, an independent body based in Geneva which brings together some of the world's most eminent human rights lawyers, judges and academics. Imogen Foulkes reports.

The ICJ inquiry revealed counter-terrorism measures in over forty countries. It heard from government officials, victims of terror attacks and from people detained on suspicion of terrorism. Its findings are highly critical. Many states that report claims have used the fear of terrorism to introduce measures which are illegal, such as torture, detention without trial and enforced disappearance.

The highest court in France has officially acknowledged the French state's responsibility for the deportation of thousands of Jews to Nazi German concentration camps during the Second World War. Only 3,000 of the 76,000 deportees survived. But the court, the Council of State, ruled out any further payments to survivors or relatives, saying France had already compensated victims.

An international fast food chain, KFC, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, has announced plans to invest more than 300 million dollars in new restaurants and jobs in Britain over the next five years despite the global economic downturn. Other fast food chains have also recently reported rising global sales as have some super markets, as people forgo expensive restaurant meals and buy cheaper food. Maryam Moshiri reports.

The recession may have claimed some notable victims but it's not spelled hard times for everyone. Fast food chain KFC is creating 9,000 jobs off the back of its recent success. The fried chicken chain says business is booming, thanks to an increased appetite for cheaper fast food during these tougher times. KFC says its expansion will lead to 300 new shops opening to cater for our ever-growing taste for value over luxury.

World News from the BBC.

The Russia says it's planning to supply helicopters to Bolivia to help combat the drug trade, the latest sign that it's aiming to step up its military and economic influence in Latin America. During talks in Moscow, President Dmitri Medvedev and the Bolivian President Evo Morales also agreed on closer energy cooperation. Russia is reported to be planning major investments in Bolivia's large natural gas reserves.

The Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has replaced four of the country's regional governors in what correspondents say is a sign of the Kremlin's concern that the economic slump could lead to social unrest. President Medvedev has warned at the weekend that he would not tolerate third-raters, slackers or slovenliness. And among those ousted is 71-year-old Yegor Stroyev, the oldest of the governors. The youngest of the replacements, it was 33.

The American swimmer Michael Phelps, who was photographed inhaling from a pipe of a kind often used for smoking marijuana, will not be charged with any offence. The swimmer, who won eight gold medals at last year's Olympic Games, had apologized for what he called "regrettable behaviour", but had not said whether he'd taken drugs. Peter Bowes reports from Los Angeles.

The picture was published in a British tabloid newspaper and prompted the swimmer to issue a statement, saying he used bad judgment and that he would learn from his mistake. Now the local sheriff has said that after a full investigation there was not enough evidence to charge anyone that was present at the party. USA Swimming suspended Phelps for three months following the publication of the photograph and a corporate sponsor said it would not renew its endorsement deal with the swimmer.

British Customs officials have arrested 15 crew members of a South African Airways plane after cocaine was found aboard their flight. It's a second incident of this kind in a month. The officials found five kilograms of the drug in a bag on a flight into London from Johannesburg.

BBC News.

Glossary:

refrain from: If you refrain from doing something, you deliberately do not do it.

repeal: If the government repeals a law, it officially ends it, so that it is no longer valid.

deportation: a situation in which someone is deported from a country

rule out: If you rule out a course of action, an idea, or a solution, you decide that it is impossible or unsuitable.

forgo: If you forgo something, you decide to do without it, although you would like it. 

ever-growing : You use ever in adjectives such as ever-increasing and ever-present, to show that something exists or continues all the time.

third-rater: 平庸之才

slacker: If you describe someone as slacker, you mean that they are lazy and do less work than they should.

slovenliness: 懒散，马虎

of a kind: You can use of a kind to indicate that something is not as good as it might be expected to be, but that it seems to be the best that is possible or available.

tabloid: A tabloid is a newspaper that has small pages, short articles, and lots of photographs. Tabloids are often considered to be less serious than other newspapers.

Other fast food chains have also recently reported rising global sales as have some super markets, as people forgo expensive restaurant meals and buy cheaper food.(www.hXen.com)

as: You use as to say how something happens or is done, or to indicate that something happens or is done in the same way as something else.

as: You can use as to mean `because' when you are explaining the reason for something.

off the back: