BBC news 2009-05-14 加文本

BBC 2009-05-14


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BBC news with Sue Montgomery

President Obama says he's ordered lawyers to try to block the release of more than 40 photographs showing the abuse by American troops of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, reversing an earlier decision. US military commanders objected to their release and Mr. Obama now says publication of the photos could fuel anti-American sentiment.

It's therefore my belief that the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be the further inflamed anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.

A court had ordered the release of the photos in response to a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed five years ago. President Obama also called on the warring sides in Sri Lanka to end the suffering of the tens of thousands of civilians trapped by the fighting in the far northeast of the island. Mr. Obama said the government should stop the indiscriminate shelling of innocent people. He said the government should allow UN teams into the combat zone to assist refugees to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. He also said the Tamil Tigers should lay down their arms and stop using civilians as human shields.

Pakistan has rejected the findings of a survey carried out by the BBC which suggests that only 38% of northwestern Pakistan is fully under the control of the central government. The Pakistani army said the survey did not match its own reports and President Asif Ali Zardari dismissed the findings as incorrect. The survey was based on correspondents' reports and conversations with officials. It indicated that 24% of the region is either under Taliban control or the focus of military operations to oust the militants. Speaking on a visit to Britain, President Zardari reiterated his determination to defeat the Taliban.

"It is a challenge of the 21st century. We have to acknowledge, accept and work with it, which is there to stay, it is not a short-term affair; it is a long-term endeavor. And we both are united to fight against this endeavor which is challenging our way of life."

Militant Islamic groups fighting government forces in the Somali capital Mogadishu have advanced close to the presidential palace. In some of the worst clashes for months, more than 100 civilians have died in the violence. Peter Greste reports.

A combined force of militant Islamic groups, al-Shabab and Hasbo Islam began its offensive over the weekend. Now they have pushed the government forces and the African Union troops helping to defend them into an increasingly narrow pocket of territory inside the capital. Sources inside Mogadishu say many of the government’s own troops have defected and the leadership is showing signs of crumbling.

World News from the BBC

The American coast guard reports that at least nine people have died and another fifteen are missing after a boat carrying nearly thirty Haitian migrants sank off the southern coast of Florida near Fort Lauderdale. A search and rescue operation involving coast guard helicopters, a jet and a rescue boat is still under way. The boat which was carrying at least 28 people capsized in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The American space shuttle Atlantis has linked up with the orbiting Hubble's Space Telescope. One of the astronauts used the shuttle's robot arm to capture the giant telescope. The Atlantis’ crew will spend the next five days carrying out the first repairs to Hubble for 7 years. Sarah Rainsford reports.

The crew of Atlantis captured the Hubble telescope with a robotic arm, 560 kilometers above Australia. It's the first successful stage of a mission to repair and upgrade Hubble and allow it to continue sending its stunning images back to scientists on earth. But it's a risky operation in an unusually high orbit that is filled with space junk. The international space station is beyond reach as a refuge. So a second shuttle has been put on standby for any emergency.

Reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo say dozens of people were killed in attacks over the weekend in the east of the country. The reports from United Nations' agency, a UN-backed radio station and human rights watch say local chiefs and administrators blame the attacks on Rwandan Hutu rebels of the FDLR, the Democratic forces for the liberation of Rwanda.

President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia has signed into law a new security strategy which sees the country becoming one of the world’s most affluent and innovative. The document which sets out priorities for the next ten years calls for a move away from dependence on energy exports and proposes the development of an economy based on technology.

BBC News.