BBC news 2009-07-03 加文本

BBC 2009-07-03


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BBC News with Marian Marshall.

The British government says one of two soldiers killed on Wednesday in Afghanistan was the most senior British officer to die there since the US-led invasion in 2001. He was Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the commanding officer of the Welsh Guards. He was the first British commander to be killed in action for 27 years. Our defense correspondent Caroline Wyatt reports.

The men were traveling in a Viking armored vehicle when it hit an IED, or improvised explosive device. The commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe has joined the supply convoy to go and see his men, deployed on operation Panther's Claw, aimed at ousting the Taliban from the area around Lashkar Gah. He leaves behind two daughters and a widow Sally. She described him as an inspiration, while his colleagues called him a born leader. Killed with him was Trooper Joshua Hammond, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, who died just a week before his 19th birthday. Another 6 soldiers were also injured in the blast.

French investigators say the Air France plane which crashed into the Atlantic last month was destroyed on impact and did not break up in mid-air. All 228 people on board the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris died in the accident. The leader of the investigation said they were a long way from establishing the causes of the accident. Tom Simens reports.

The French accident investigators said this was an extremely difficult crash to understand. The plane's flight recorders have not been found, but analysis of the wreckage has provided some clues. The aircraft, as thought, did not break up in the air, if it had, pieces of the fuselage would have been found twisted in a variety of directions. Instead, they showed signs of compression in one direction, resulting from the plane hitting the water on its belly at high speed.

The former wife of Michael Jackson, Debbie Rowe says she will fight for custody of the two children, born during their three-year marriage. Peter Bowes reports from Los Angeles.

Debbie Rowe is the mother of Michael Jackson's eldest children, Prince Michael who is 12 and Paris, aged 11. In a telephone interview with the Los Angeles TV station NBC, LA, she’s quoted as saying" I want my children". She’s said to be willing to submit to DNA testing to prove that she is the children's biological mother. She also said she would seek a restraining order to keep Michael Jackson's father Joe away from the children. In his will, the singer asked for his mother Katherine Jackson to be appointed guardian to all three of his children.

The British government says swine flu can no longer be contained and there could be a hundred thousand new cases every day by the end of next month. The Health secretary told parliament a new stage in managing the disease had begun with the focus on treating the illness rather than preventing its spread. There are about 7,500 confirmed cases in Britain, out of 80,000 worldwide.

World News from the BBC.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will arrive in Burma on Friday for a two-day visit to urge the military government to release all political prisoners, including the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. Ban will hold talks with the leader of Burma's military government, Senior General Than Shwe. Although our correspondent says it's unclear whether he will meet Ms Suu Kyi, her trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest resumes on Friday.

A leading regional diplomat says he will travel to Honduras on Friday to demand the restoration of the deposed President Manuel Zelaya, who was expelled from the country in a military coup on Sunday. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States Miguel Insulza said he was not going to negotiate and wouldn't give the legitimacy to the interim government by meeting its members. Rival groups of demonstrators have again taken to the streets of the main cities in Honduras, as international pressure on the coup leaders continues to grow. Stephen Gibbs reports from the Honduran capital.

A substantial number of the demonstrators had come from poor rural communities outside the capital. They said Mr Zelaya had always been on their side. The march appeared well-organized, direct confrontation with the police and soldiers who were guarding government buildings was avoided. But pamphlets were distributed, saying people had no duty to obey a government which came to power through force. Those many Hondurans who don't agree with the protesters, watched with dismay from the sidelines.

The head of Spain's Intelligence Service has resigned, over allegations that he misused public funds. Alberto Saiz said he was stepping down to avoid damaging the secret service. El Mundo Newspaper accused Mr Saiz of using public money to go hunting and fishing, including, on one occasion, to Senegal. The Spanish National Intelligence Agency has denied the allegations.

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