BBC news 2009-03-01 加文本

BBC 2009-03-01

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BBC News with Aleem Maqbool.

The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered the holding of presidential elections by the end of April despite concerns from the country’s Independent Election Commission over security and logistics. In January the commission delayed the vote to August in a move which was backed by the United States. Ian Pannell reports.

The presidential decree calls for the election to be held according to Article 61 of the constitution that clearly states that the vote can be held no later than April the 21st. But last month, the Independent Election Commission pushed that date back until late August fighting security and logistical problems. Hamid Karzai has been under considerable pressure over the delay accused of trying to extend his rule in breach of the constitution. This announcement seems to be a calculated response to that.

The Pakistani Army says its six-month offensive against Taliban militants in an area bordering Afghanistan has been successful. Major General Tariq Khan told journalists on a military trip to the Bajaur tribal region that security forces had broken the resistance of Taliban groups operating there. The regional authorities say that 1500 militants and nearly 100 Pakistani troops were killed in the offensive. America sees Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas as a safe haven for insurgents.

The President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez has ordered the army to take control of all rice processing plants in the country in a controversy over prices. Mr. Chavez did not say whether the government intervention would be temporary or an initial step towards nationalization. Will Grand reports.(www.hXen.com)

President Chavez ordered the military intervention during a live address to the nation. He said the measure was necessary as the processing companies were refusing to produce rice at the government controlled prices. If they try to stop production he said, I’ll expropriate them and pay nothing. The situation with basic foodstuffs in Venezuela is becoming ever more complicated. The government provides basic food for the poor in state-run markets called ‘mercales’. But many producers of rice, wheat and meat complain that the price regulations leave them without a profit and that many are facing bankruptcy.

The President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe has told his supporters to accept the new power sharing government and not complain too much. Mr. Mugabe was speaking at a rally to celebrate his 85th birthday. He also said he’d continue seizing land from white farmers. The BBC is banned from Zimbabwe so Peter Biles sent this report from Johannesburg.

There’re around 400 white farmers remaining in Zimbabwe and over the past month there has been a first spate of so called farm invasions about 150 of those 400 farms have had their operations disrupted and some of the farmers have been evicted. And today, at his birthday celebrations in Chinhoyi, Mr. Mugabe said there is no going back on land reform, farms will not be returned to former white farmers, land distribution or land redistribution will continue; it will not stop.

World News from the BBC.

The European Commission says it’s satisfied with guarantees by France that a new state loan plan to its car-making industry does not amount to protectionism. The commission said that France had spelled out the details of the plan to show that it did not contravene the principles of the internal market.

The Indian government says it’s gravely concerned about the safety of civilians caught up in the fighting in Sri Lanka. Analysts in Colombo say the conflict is causing concern in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the home to millions of Tamils which has been putting pressure on Delhi to intervene. Anbarasan Ethirajan sent this report.

In his statement, the Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, Delhi viewed with the grave concern the humanitarian crisis that was building up with every passing day in Sri Lanka and that many innocent lives had been lost in the conflict zone. He said the pause in hostilities must be used to evacuate Tamil civilians out of the war-affected areas to secure locations where proper rehabilitation was possible.

The Vatican says that the number of priests around the world is slowly but steadily rising. In its yearbook of statistics presented to Pope Benedict today, the Holy See says the number of priests has gone up by several hundred each year since 2000 after two decades of decline. The percentage of Roman Catholics around the world remains stable at just over 1.1 billion.

Officials who oversee the laws of international football have agreed to an experimental rule change next season that would allow an extra assistant referee behind each goal. The experiment will take place in one of Europe’s top leagues yet to be decided. The officials have rejected other proposed changes to the rules including the idea of allowing a fourth substitute if a match goes into extra time and making a player cautioned for foul play leave the field for a period as punishment.

BBC News.

breach：an action that breaks a law, rule, or agreement

be in breach of something  e.g. He was clearly in breach of the law.

spate: (spate of sth)  a large number of things, which are usually unpleasant, that happen suddenly within a short period of time:
The bombing was the latest in a spate of terrorist attacks.

spell out:  to explain something clearly and in detail

The report spelled out in detail what the implications were for teacher training.

Contravene: (formal) to do sth that is not allowed by a law or rule

The company was found guilty of contravening safety regulations.

build up: to make sth higher or stronger than it was before

foul play: dishonest or unfair behaviour, especially during a sports game(严重犯规)