BBC news 2009-04-21 加文本

BBC news with Ian Perdon.

Many delegates have walked out of a United Nations conference on racism held in Geneva, because of a speech in which the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a racist country. Mr. Ahmadinejad accused Israel of exploiting the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews to justify the creation of a racist government in occupied Palestine. He was applauded by some in the conference hall. But the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was sharply critical.

I deplore the use of this platform by the Iranian President to accuse, divide and even incite. This is the opposite of what this conference seeks to achieve. This makes it significantly more difficult to build constructive solutions to the very real problem of racism.

A demonstration in Madagascar against the closure of two radio stations has led to violent clashes between the security forces and hundreds of anti-government protesters, at least 2 people were killed and 30 others wounded by bullets. The protesters support the exiled president Marc Ravalomanana who was forced from power in March by his rival Andry Rajoelina. Johnny Hook reports from Antananarivo.

The fighting broke out after the security forces attempted to disperse a peaceful sit-in outside the court buildings in the centre of the city. They initially used tear gas and detonators to drive back the crowds. But when protesters replied by throwing rocks, the military and police opened fire. The decision by the transitional authority's head to close two radio stations bears strong resemblance to former President Marc Ravalomanana's attempts to close Andry Rajoelina's radio station back in December which also sparked protests and eventually led to Mr. Ravalomanana being forced from the power.

A second woman in Paraguay has accused President Fernando Lugo of fathering her child while he was a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. President Lugo has already admitted fathering the first boy when he was a bishop. Canters Piet reports.

From a very poor background, the 27-year-old woman said after their child was born, President Lugo has sent her money till her boy was 2. But the money had stopped coming. She also said he'd asked her to keep quiet about the issue during last year's election campaign which he went on to win. In a statement, the president’s office said he was prepared to act within the bounds of truth that he established a special team to deal with illegal cases that might emerge around the subject.

Officials in Sudan say more than 170 people have died in clashes between rival ethnic groups in the south of the country. The commissioner of Akobo Country said whole villages have been burned to the ground in the attacks and warned that the number of dead was expected to rise. It's the latest in a series of battles between the Molo and Nuer ethnic groups.

World news from the BBC.

President Barack Obama has defended his decision to release government papers relating to the treatment of terrorism suspects by the Central Intelligence Agency. Speaking to CIA staff at their headquarters, Mr. Obama said he had acted because American foreign policy was changing. He said the United States believed in the rule of law, unlike Al-Qaida which had no such constraints.

What makes the United States special is precisely the fact that we're willing to uphold our values and our ideas even when it's hard, not just when it's easy; even when we're afraid and under threat. That's what makes us different.

The paper released by President Obama revealed that one leading terrorism suspect Halishad Muhammad was subjected to water-boarding more than 180 times in the space of a month. Another suspect was water-boarded 80 times. The technique was used during the Bush administration but since being banned by President Obama.

The renowned British physicist Steven Hawkins has been taken to hospital for test after feeling unwell for several weeks. Cambridge University where he works, said he was very ill. A later report said his condition was comfortable. Professor Hawkins suffers from motor neurone disease. He has been using a wheel chair for many years and speaks with the aid of a voice synthesizer. He is best-known to the general public for his book ‘’A Brief History of Time’’ about the development of the universe. (www.hXen.com)

A rare 2-seat version of Britain's most famous Fighter plane--The Spit Fire has been sold for a record sum at an auction in London. The Spit Fire discovered in a South African scrap yard in the 1970s and restored to full flying condition over the last 5 years, sold for almost 2.3 million dollars. The aircraft was built in 1944 and like most Spit Fires was a single seat fighter. It was sold to the South Africa Air Force after the war and converted to a two-seat trainer.