BBC news 2009-03-31 加文本

BBC news with Marian Marshall

A senior Pakistani official has called for unity, following an attack by militants on a police academy in Lahore that left 8 police recruits and 2 passers-by dead. The assault ended in a major gun battle with the security forces, in which 8 of the gunmen were killed. The head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry Rehman Malik said the country had a choice: let the Taliban take over, or unite to fight them. Our correspondent in Lahore, Damian Grammaticas watched the event unfold.

It was just after 7:00 in the morning when the attackers launched their commando-style assault. The guards outside the police training school were armed with nothing more than sticks, so at least half a dozen gunmen scaled the walled compound, hurling grenades and firing at the ranks of police cadets gathered for early morning parade. Terrified young cadets leapt over the walls trying to flee. Those who survived said it was clear the gunmen were trying to kill everyone they could. Some cadets were taken hostage. Up to 50 hid in an office room while the battle went on around them. It lasted almost 8 hours as Pakistani forces had to fight their way into the compound.

President Obama has given two ailing American motor corporations tight deadlines to safeguard their future. He said General Motors must come up with new restructuring measures in 60 days and Chrysler must finalize a partnership with the Italian Fiat company in 30.Mr Obama said the plans already submitted by General Motors and Chrysler didn't warrant another bailout.

“GM has made a good faith effort to restructure over the past several months, but the plan that they put forward is in its current form not strong enough. However, after a broad consultation with a range of industry experts and financial advisers, I am absolutely confident that GM can rise again, providing that it undergoes a fundamental restructure.”

A boat carrying more than 250 illegal migrants heading for Europe is reported to have sunk off the Libyan coast. An Egyptian government official has said at least 10 Egyptians were among the dead. From Cairo, Ulan Nile now reports.

The boat is said to have capsized some 20 miles off the coast after setting off from Sidi Bilal near the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday morning. It's not known how many passengers drowned or their nationalities. However, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said the bodies of 10 Egyptians were recovered and that further 6 had been rescued. Libya has become a popular transit point for illegal migrants hoping to start a new life in Europe. Many come from Egypt where there is a high rate of youth unemployment, they usually head for Italy.

Southern African leaders have suspended Madagascar from the 15 nations Southern African Development Community, and called on its new leader Andry Rajoelina to step down. The African Union had already suspended Madagascar over the ousting of President Marc Ravalomanana earlier this month.

World news from the BBC

Arab leaders have ended their annual summit in Katar with a strong message of support for the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who’s facing an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Darfur. The summit had been scheduled to last 2 days but ended early. Our Middle East correspondent Katya Adler reports from Doha.

Arab states united in rejecting the arrest warrant for Sudan's president, they also all agreed Israel was running out of time to benefit from a 7-year-old Arab offer--a full diplomatic recognition if it withdraws from the occupied territories, otherwise, deep rifts remain in the Arab League. Egypt’s president, a key player, never turned up. Egypt is among a number of western-backed Sunni nations that are fearful of Iran's spreading influence in Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq and suspicious of those seen as Iran’s Arab friends, such as Syria, and the summit host Katar.

The Mexican President Felipe Calderon has rejected the idea of joint patrols with US forces, to combat drug traffickers who are fighting bloody battles along the border. Mr. Calderon said the two sides should cooperate by sharing intelligence, but each country needed to be responsible for its own territory. He said Mexico had the problem of sharing a border with the world's largest drug’s market and its largest producer of weapons, the United States.(www.hXen.com)

A court martial at a United States military base in Germany has convicted a second American soldier Sergeant Joseph Mayo of murdering 4 Iraqi detainees in 2007.He was sentenced to serve up to 35 years in jail. Last month a military court sentenced another soldier to life in prison for his involvement. The Iraqi detainees were bound and blindfolded then shot in the head and dumped in a canal following an attack on an American patrol in Bagdad, in which 2 soldiers died. A third accused is to face trial soon.2 soldiers have previously admitted lesser charges over the killings and charges were dropped against 2 others.

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