BBC news 2009-05-20 加文本

BBC 2009-05-20


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BBC News with Neil Nunes

President Obama has announced tough new measures on vehicle pollution and fuel efficiency to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce American dependence on oil. Mr. Obama said a national standard would be introduced for the first time to cut emissions from cars and trucks by 2016. Richard Lister has this report.

These new standards are the most stringent ever implemented by a US government. By 2016, any manufacturers selling vehicles in America will have to ensure that its fleet of cars averages almost 17 kilometers per liter while SUVs and pickups must do around 13 kilometers per liter averaged across the range. For the first time, a nationwide standard for exhaust emissions is also being established, cutting the amount of carbon dioxide produced by new passenger vehicles by 34%.

The Speaker of Britain’s lower house of parliament has announced his resignation following intense criticism of his handling of a major scandal over MPs’ expenses. The Speaker Michael Martin was accused of blocking reforms to the expenses system under which many MPs were revealed to have made excessive claims. He's the first speaker to be forced from office in more than 300 years. And this is how he announces his departure.

"Since I came to this house 30 years ago, I’ve always felt that the house is at its best when it is united. In order that unity can be maintained, I have decided that I will relinquish the office of speaker on Sunday, June 21."

Following a meeting with British party leaders in Parliament, the Speaker has outlined interim measures to tighten the rules on expenses. With immediate effect, MPs will be banned from claiming money for furniture, household goods and home improvements, and there will be new restrictions on the mortgage payments they can claim for second homes. The speaker said a more fundamental reform of the expenses system would follow leading to regulation by an independent body.

The United States says it’s giving Pakistan millions of dollars to help people displaced by fighting in the Swat Valley. An estimated 1.5 million people have been displaced in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province as Pakistani forces wage a big offensive against Taliban militants. The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her country would give more aid as necessary.

"The people of the United States are responding to a request for assistance from the government of Pakistan with more than 100 million dollars in humanitarian support. Now this money comes on top of almost 60 million that the United States has provided since last August, to help Pakistanis who’ve been affected by the conflicts, and in addition to the other funding for Pakistan that we are already seeking from the Congress."

Hillary Clinton. This is the latest World News from the BBC.

Sri Lankan television has shown pictures of what appears to be the body of the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran dressed in camouflage uniform. The Sri Lankan Army Chief said DNA test confirmed his identity, but there is confusion over how the rebel leader and hundreds of his followers died. The military announced his death on Monday, but a former Tamil Tiger commander said he had only been killed today.

The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service Yuval Diskin has said there is no security reason for continuing construction of the barrier that  Israel is building through the West Bank. Here is Bob Trivalian.

The Shin Bet chief said Israel’s military and intelligence capabilities were already sufficient for preventing attacks from the West Bank and that therefore there was no need on security grounds to finish building the barrier, whether intentionally or not, this may be seen as undermining the Israeli government’s position that the barrier is purely a security measure. Palestinians argue that the project has a strong political dimension and is in effect a land grab. About 60% of the barrier has now been built, the vast majority of it within the West Bank and not on the territory's border with Israel.

Fresh violence is reported to have broken out in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, the scene of fierce gun battles in recent days between the Nigerian military and local militant groups. Eyewitnesses in a village in Delta state in the west of the region say naval gunboats attacked their homes, killing some people.

Astronauts aboard the space shuttle have released the Hubble Telescope back into its orbit after five days of repairs. NASA says the Hubble Telescope is now more powerful than ever after its extensive final overhaul carried out during some of the longest spacewalks in the agency’s history. The astronauts added its 200 million dollars worth of new instruments.

And that’s the latest from the BBC.