BBC news 2009-07-04 加文本

BBC 2009-07-04


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BBC News with Aleem Maqbool.

African leaders meeting at the African Union summit in Libya have agreed not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s attempt to extradite President Bashir of Sudan to face charges of war crimes in Darfur. They say the arrest warrant compromises peace efforts. President Bashir denies the charges. Sudan has welcomed the decision. Human rights activists called it a gift to a dictator. Our Africa editor Martin Plaut has more.

The African Union’s decision comes after intense debate among the continent’s leaders. It means there will be no cooperation by African States with the International Criminal Court over the arrest of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir or his transfer to the court’s prison in the Hague. A number of countries, including Chad and Benin are reported to express disquiet about the text and it’s important to point out that their resolution is limited in its scope. It does not ask the 30 states that signed up to the International Criminal Court to end their relationship with it.

Reports from Sudan say unknown armed men have kidnapped two foreign aid workers in the western region of Darfur. The reports, quoting United Nations’ sources, say the man seized the two women, one Irish and one Ugandan in the northern Darfur town of Kutum. The woman worked for an Irish charity.

The Pakistani military says 26 people were killed when a helicopter crashed near the Afghan border. A spokesman said the helicopter came down in a hostile area. From Islamabad, Mike Wooldridge reports.

The armed forces spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas said the MI-17 helicopter was flying back from the tribal belt along the Afghan border to the main regional town of Peshawar when the pilot put out a mayday distress call. The helicopter crashed in what General Abbas described as a hostile area. There was firing from militants. Troop reinforcements were sent in and traded fire with the militants as they sought to secure the wreckage and the surrounding area. No survivors could be seen.

The defeated U.S. Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has abruptly announced she is resigning as Governor of Alaska at the end of the month. She will have served less than one complete term in office. Kevin Connolly listened to her resignation speech and sent this reports.

She's spoken emotionally and without notes, offering no single clear reason for stepping down and acknowledging that her decision was, in her words, “unconventional and not so comfortable”. She did speak of her readiness to campaign for conservative candidates in forthcoming American elections, but did not say that she would be a candidate in 2012. Walking away from elected office would be seen as a perplexing way to prepare for a presidential run. The strongest clue Mrs. Palin offered as to motive was her depiction of what it had been like to be the subject of sustained attack by liberals since she appeared on the national stage at the Republican convention last August. She said she and her husband had spent half a million dollars on legal fees defending their reputations. Kevin Connolly reporting from Washington.

World News from the BBC.

A senior official in the Obama administration has told the BBC that Russia has agreed to allow American troops and combat equipment bound for Afghanistan to fly over its airspace. The official said the agreement, which will open up a vital new supply corridor for U.S. operations, will be formally announced during President Obama’s visit to Moscow next week.

The head of the Organization of American States Hussein Miguel Insulza has arrived in Honduras to try to resolve the political crisis there. The OAS has called for the interim government to reinstate President Zelaya who was forced out of office last weekend or face possible sanctions. Stephen Gibbs reports.

The OAS Secretary-General arrives in the country which is becoming dangerously polarized as this political crisis drags on. In front of the presidential palace, thousands of supporters of the interim government spent the morning celebrating the ousting of Mr. Zelaya, nearby a smaller group of marchers called for the reinstatement of the former president. World governments say the manner in which the Honduran government took power means that it cannot be recognized as legitimate. For that reason, Mr. Insulza is not expected to hold meetings with the current President Roberto Micheletti.

Michael Jackson fans have been urged to stay away from his memorial in Los Angeles next week if they don’t have a ticket. 17,500 tickets will be distributed through an online lottery. But local government officials and police are worried that hundreds of thousands of people will try to attend. The head of the Los Angeles police department said those without tickets wouldn’t be allowed in the area.

The America tennis player Andy Roddick has beaten Britain’s NO.1 Andy Murray in four sets to make it through to Wimbledon men singles final. He will face the Swiss player Roger Federer in Sunday’s match. Federer, who is aiming for his sixth Wimbledon title overcame Tommy Haas of Germany in straight sets in the other semi-final.

And that’s the latest BBC News.

arrest warrant: 逮捕令

compromise: vt. 削弱，损害

as to : relating to; concerning, 关于