BBC news 2009-03-11 加文本

BBC News with Cathy Clarkson.

Climate scientists meeting in Denmark say global sea levels could rise by twice as much as originally thought by the end of the century. The projection, based on new satellite studies and measurements in Greenland and Antarctica, say ocean levels could rise by a meter or more with huge implications for coastal communities. From the conference, our environment correspondent David Shukman reports.

Six hundred million people live in low-lying areas around the world. So a future rise in sea level is among the most dangerous aspects of climate change. Now, new studies by satellites and measurements in Greenland and Antarctica show that the ice sheets are breaking into the ocean faster than previously estimated. So the prediction of a rise of 59 centimeters made by the UN's climate panel two years ago looks too low according to researchers at this conference. They estimate that the rise could be one meter or more, and as a result they warned the impacts could be devastating.

The Director of US National Intelligence Dennis Blair says he believes that Iran does not possess any of the highly enriched uranium needed to make a nuclear bomb, nor has it yet decided whether to produce any. Mr. Blair's comments were echoed by Lieutenant General Michael Maples, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, as the two gave testimony to Congress. From Washington, Kevin Connolly.

Lieutenant General Maples and Dennis Blair, the National Director of Intelligence, said they believed Iran had only low enriched uranium which would have to be refined into a more highly enriched form before it would become usable in a weapons program. They said there was no indications that such refining had occurred. That position contradicts the view of Israeli intelligence which is that Iran has already crossed the technical threshold and is capable of making a nuclear weapon. It's clear that the Americans and Israelis are working from the same factual information but reaching different conclusions.

A lawyer acting for the disgraced American financier Bernard Madoff says he expects him to plead guilty to 11 counts of fraud when he appears in court later this week. Prosecutors believe Mr. Madoff may have spent or misappropriated billions of dollars entrusted to him by his clients. Greg Wood reports.

Bernard Madoff, who is accused of swindling investors out of $50 million, attended a court hearing at which details of criminal charges were filed against him for the first time. They include fraud, money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with US regulators and theft from an employee benefit plan. Mr. Madoff will answer these charges carrying a maximum sentence of 150 years at the hearing on Thursday at which he is expected to plead guilty.

Shares have surged higher on stock markets in the United States and Europe, reversing some of the huge losses of recent weeks. The surge came after the beleaguered US banking giant Citigroup said it was on course for its best financial performance for nearly two years.(wwW.hxen.net)

World News from the BBC.

The head of the army in Madagascar has given civilian leaders until Friday to resolve the political crisis in the country. Brigadier General Edmond Rasolomahandry said that if no solution could be found within 72 hours, the army will take responsibility for running national affairs and protecting national unity. Asked whether that meant the army would take power, he said it would not.

The rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Humans have begun talks aimed at reconciliation in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Opening the ten-day event, the chief Egyptian mediator Omar Suleiman said the meeting had to lead to a unity government which was not factional. He warned against failure, saying that such an opportunity to reconcile the two sides might not occur again. Christian Fraser reports from Cairo.

The scars are still visible. The recriminations echo on both sides. But there is at least a wave of optimism surrounding these talks which all sides are desperate to harness. The deadline they set is at the end of this March. But a senior Hamas official says it will take more than just a few days to agree on a new government. The Palestinian groups are divided into five committees. They will concentrate on the formation of a unity government, elections, general reconciliation, and two key issues — the reform of the security services and the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization.

State prosecutors in Turkey have charged a further 56 people in an alleged ultra-nationalist plot to remove the government by force in 2007. Twelve are charged with being leaders of the suspected coup, two others are said to be retired generals.

Seven leading British and American media organizations, including the BBC, have issued a statement calling on the Iranian authorities to allow independent access to an American journalist Roxana Saberi. She's been detained in Tehran since late January on unknown charges. Iranian officials say she was arrested for continuing to work in Iran after her press credentials were revoked.

BBC News.

Glossary:

projection: A projection is an estimate of a future amount. =forecast, estimate

implication: The implications of something are the things that are likely to happen as a result. =consequence

low-lying: Low-lying land is at, near, or below sea level.

ice sheet: An ice sheet is a large thick area of ice, especially one that exists for a long time.

echo: If you echo someone's words, you repeat them or express agreement with their attitude or opinion.

threshold: A threshold is an amount, level, or limit on a scale. When the threshold is reached, something else happens or changes.

disgraced: You use disgraced to describe someone whose bad behaviour has caused them to lose the approval and respect of the public or people in authority.

entrust: If you entrust something important to someone or entrust them with it, you make them responsible for looking after it or dealing with it.

swindle sb out of sth: to get money from someone be deceiving them

perjury: If someone who is giving evidence in a court of law commits perjury, they lie. (LEGAL)

beleaguered: A beleaguered person, organization, or project is experiencing a lot of difficulties, opposition, or criticism. (FORMAL)

on course for: If you are on course for something, you are likely to achieve it.

brigadier: A brigadier is a senior officer in the British armed forces who is in charge of a brigade and has the rank above colonel and below major general.

recrimination: Recriminations are accusations that two people or groups make about each other. 

harness: If you harness something such as emotion or natural source of energy, you bring it under your control and use it.

credentials: Someone's credentials are a letter or certificate that proves their identity or qualifications.