BBC news 2009-04-01 加文本

BBC 2009-04-01


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BBC News with Mary Small

The Israeli parliament has approved the incoming government formed by Prime Minister - Binyamin Netanyahu. In a speech earlier Mr. Netanyahu said he’d pursue talks with the Palestinians on economic, security and political issues. Mr. Netanyahu, who leads the right-wing Likud Party, will head the biggest government in Israel's history. Tim Franks reports.

Binyamin Netanyahu appealed directly to the leaders of the Palestinian authority if you really want peace he said, we can achieve it. The new Israeli prime minister would pursue parallel tracks with the Palestinians on the economy, on security, and in politics. Mr. Netanyahu insisted that Israel didn’t want to control or reign over another people. Although he didn’t explicitly state in his speech, Binyamin Netanyahu has previously made it clear that his ambition for the Palestinians does not extend to full statehood, a position which appears to put him at odds with the White House.

As world leaders gather in London for this week's G20 summit, the Pope has called for a return to ethics in finance. He told Gordon Brown that it was important for world leaders to listen to the voices of the unrepresented poor. David Willie reports from Rome.

In his letter to Mr. Brown, the Pope insists his conviction that protectionists' solutions to the world's financial meltdown must be avoided. But above all, the Pope says what’s needed is a new sense of ethics. The financial crisis has been caused by decline in ethical conduct, not by money given to development aid, the Pope argues. Solutions proposed by the summit must give security to families and stability to workers, he says. The Pope agrees with Mr. Brown that the elimination of extreme poverty, particularly in Africa is the top priority of our times.

An American woman has won her 10-year legal battle with the cigarette maker Philip Morris and has been awarded 145 million dollars. Belt Williams sued the company after her husband died of lung cancer in 1997. She said she’ll give most of the money to charity.

One of the leading opposition leaders in Venezuela Manuel Rosales who faces a series of corruption charges is reported to have gone into hiding. Party official said he’d taken refuge for his own safety but hadn’t fled the country. Will Grant reports

Manuel Rosales is in a safe location for his own protection according to the president of his party, Omar Barboza. His party said that Mr. Rosales would not hand himself over to what they called the pack of wolves of the judiciary, unless his personal safety and a fair trial could be guaranteed. The charges against Mr. Rosales related to his time as the governor of the oil-rich state of Zulia in which he is accused of illicit enrichment of millions of dollars as well as the illegal ownership of 14 properties in the state of Zulia. Manuel Rosales denies any wrongdoing.

World News from the BBC

The three men accused of murdering the South African reggae star Lucky Dube in 2007 have been found guilty by a court in Johannesburg. They’re due to be sentenced on Wednesday. Court proceedings were delayed by the attempted escape of two of the accused. Lucky Dube, who was South Africa's best selling reggae artist, was shot dead in front of his children by men trying to steal his car. 

A Canadian whom the authorities describe as a contract killer has admitted to nearly 30 charges of first-degree murder. The man Gerald Gallant who’s already serving a life sentence also pleaded guilty to 12 charges of attempted murder and several other offenses. The killings occurred over a period of 25 years beginning in 1978. His victims included members of biker gangs and alleged members of the Mafia, but also some innocent bystanders. Gallant apologized for his crimes and read out a prepared statement in front of survivors and relatives of victims.

A bipartisan group of US senators is introducing a bill to lift restrictions on Americans' traveling to Cuba. There’s been an embargo on trade and travels since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Previous proposals to lift the sanctions failed because of stiff resistance from the influential Cuban-American community in Florida. From Washington here is Kim Haters.(www.hXen.com)

When something hasn’t worked for 50 years, it’s time to try something different. This was the very simple explanation lawmakers gave on Capitol Hill when they explained why they were introducing the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act. Calls have been growing here for a change in Washington’s policy towards Cuba. Earlier this month, Congress voted to ease restrictions imposed by President George W. Bush in 2004 on travel and remittances for Cuban-Americans. This bill would allow unrestricted travel for everybody from the US to the communist island, although no one is yet calling to lift the trade embargo.

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