BBC news 2009-06-14 加文本

BBC 2009-06-14


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suppose and faces the consequences. This is the BBC in London. And first, a round-up of the latest World News.

BBC News with Debra MacKenzy.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has opened a climate change conference in Poland with a warning that countries should not use the economic crisis as an excuse to renege on existing commitments to tackle global warming. Mr. Ban said the economic downturn was serious but that the current and long-term stakes surrounding climate change were even more critical.

The world is watching us. The next generation is counting on us. We must not, we have 2 crises, climate change and the global economy. But these crises present us with a great opportunity, an opportunity to address all the challenges simultaneously.

European Union leaders are holding their own summit in Brussels to negotiate the EU’s climate and energy package. There are fears that EU ministers will have to water down commitments under pressure from Eastern European countries, Italy and Germany. And other big issue facing EU leaders is how to move forward the Lisbon Reform Treaty which was rejected in a referendum by Irish voters in June.

The Indian government has announced a sweeping overhaul of the country’s security and intelligence agencies in the wake of last month’s militant attacks on the city of Mumbai which killed more than 170 people. The new home minister, P Chidambaram told parliament that their government would implement a series of changes to reinforce coastal security, create a new national investigative agency, improve police training and strengthen anti-terrorism measures.

All aspects concerning intelligence are under my examination. While the basic structure seems sound, there is a need to make / intelligence gathering and intelligence sharing more effective and result-oriented. Some changes have already been made and more are underway.

The United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he’s aiming to get thousands of extra American troops into Afghanistan by next summer. Mr. Gates said he hoped to provide up to two additional combat brigades, each consisting of about 3,500 soldiers. Mr. Gates is in Afghanistan to meet military commanders. He’s to stay on as defense secretary when the Obama administration takes over next month. From Kabul, here is Martin Patience.

The announced US troop reinforcements have so far fallen short of the 20,000 soldiers requested by the most senior American commander in Afghanistan. While President-elect Barack Obama is making Afghanistan a top foreign policy priority, in recent days there have been questions about how much improvement additional troops would make here. Mindful of the failure of past foreign campaigns in Afghanistan, Mr. Gates said that the Obama administration would need to think carefully about the build-up troops in the country.

This is the latest World News from the BBC.

The United States is seeking international support for new action to combat the growing levels of piracy off the coast of Somalia where there have been more than 100 attacks this year alone. Washington has circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations, saying countries should be able to pursue pirates ashore in Somalia by land or air provided the Somali authorities agree.

In its latest report on the oil market, the International Energy Agency says that it expects that for the first time in 25 years global demand for oil has been contracting. Here’s our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.

Slower economic growth in the developing world and recession in the industrial countries has undermined demand for fuels to transport goods and people. It’s been clear for some time that demand in the rich countries had declined. But now the IEA says the economic downturn has done enough to reduce the global use of oil for the year as a whole. If that projection turns out to be right, it will be the first time in a quarter of a century. The last time oil demand decline was 1983 in the aftermath of a major oil price rise and a global recession.

There have been further clashes between police and students at a number of locations in the Greek Capital Athens following several days of violent protests over the killing of a teenager last Saturday. Disturbances occurred outside a university and a prison and several police stations are reported to have been attacked. A Greek policeman has been charged in connection with the youth’s death. A lawyer for the policeman said that a ballistics report showed the boy was hit by a bullet that ricocheted.

One of Indonesia’s best known political figures Ali Alatas has died at the age of 76. He was best known as his country’s Foreign Minister serving during the violent withdrawal in 1999 from East Timor which Indonesia had invaded and occupied in 1976. He later wrote a book about it which caused many Indonesians to address their country’s repressive role in the territory.

BBC News.

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