BBC news 2009-05-17 加文本

BBC 2009-05-17


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BBC News with Nick Kelly

The Sri Lankan President says the Tamil Tigers have been defeated militarily after army unites captured the last section of coastline held by the rebels. Speaking on a visit to Jordan, President Mahinda Rajapakse said he will be returning to a country free, as he put it, from the barbaric acts of the Tamil Tigers. Aid agencies have warned that tens of thousands of civilians may still be trapped in the remaining warzone. The UN’s Humanitarian Envoy John Holmes warned of a possible guerrilla war.

I am afraid it is gonna be very difficult given the casualties and the violence to the range of a kind of compromise which is going to be needed on a political front for a proper autonomy for the Tamils. That’s what needs to happen otherwise whatever the military victory now, we will simply go back to a kind of guerrilla war, some kind or other, and the government would’ve won the war then lost the peace, that’s a very great danger.

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he’s appalled and angered by revelations of the extent to which some Members of Parliament have abused the system of claiming expenses. On the day a second MP from the governing Labour Party was suspended for claiming on an already repaid mortgage, Mr. Brown promised that unacceptable behavior will be investigated and disciplined. One Labour MP Martin Salter who doesn’t claim a second home allowance suggested many MPs were not playing an expenses game and he was angry that the reputation of MPs in general was being tarnished.

I think it is pretty lamentable for senior politicians to blame，you know an overwork to underpaid crock in the senior office. We are all there to exercise judgment, judgment on behalf of their constituents, judgment when we scrutinize legislation we have to be prepared to exercise judgment over our own, over our own affairs, and how we spend and use taxpayers’ money.

The United Nations’ report says the risk of disaster around the world is increasing due to a combination of climate change, environmental degradation, and bad planning. The report suggests millions of lives have been put in jeopardy because proper risk assessment is rarely carried out. It also highlights the differences in policies between rich and poor countries. The UN’s Assistant Secretary General Margareta Wahlstrom said most countries had failed to assess how climate change would affect their own towns and cities.

We know a lot about the impact of climate change already, but we don’t know enough of the impact of climate change at local level. We know a lot about the global parameters but how it is going to play out in local communities, we don't have enough research, knowledge and scientific basis for that yet.

Singers and bands from 25 countries have been contesting the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, one of the most watched television events in Europe. The stage in Moscow resonated to high-energy pop, impassioned ballads and folk-rock motifs since the national acts did battle. As voting in progress, Norway’s entry performed by Alexander Rybak has taken a commanding lead. Under new rules, the winner of this year has been picked up expert juries as well as public telephone votes.

World News from the BBC.

An armed gang has broken into a jail in northern Mexico and freed more than 50 prisoners, thought to be members of the powerful drug cartel. Stephen Gibbs reports from Mexico City.

At dawn, a convoy of at least 15 vehicles arrived at the prison in northern Mexico. The gang members all apparently disguised as federal police officers managed to persuade the authorities that they were undertaking an inspection of the jail. Once inside they overpowered the guards and drove off with at least 50 inmates. All those now on the run are believed to be linked to the Gulf Drug Cartel, one of the main narcotics smuggling organizations in Mexico. A major manhunt involving the army and the police is now under way.

President Obama will visit Ghana in July making his first trip to a sub-Sahara African nation since his inauguration. David O’Byrne reports from the Ghanaian capital Accra.

Although some Kenyans might feel disappointed, given their claims to the US president’s paternal roots, the choice of Ghana shouldn’t be altogether surprising. Ghana the first independent black-African nation was host and in some cases a second home in the 1950s and 60s to a celebrated list of American civil rights activists. These include W.E.B.Du Bois Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and the boxing world champion Muhammad Ali.

The President will arrive in Ghana after a previously announced visit to Moscow for talk with Russian leaders on reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles and other security issues.

Two of Europe’s biggest football teams have retained their domestic league titles. Manchester United won the English Premier League for third successive season, and Inter Milan secured their fourth consecutive Italian Serie A crown. Inter’s victory came without the matchly playing when their nearest rivals AC Milan lost at Udinese.

And some news just in. Norway has won the Eurovision Song Contest, one of the most watched annual television events in Europe. That’s Norway winning this year’s Eurovision.