BBC news 2009-07-30 加文本

BBC 2009-07-30


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BBC News with Sue Montgomery.

Reports from northern Nigeria say that the fighting between the security forces and militant Islamists who were blamed for fomenting violence across several northern states has worsened. Latest reports from the town of Maiduguri where the militants are based say that fierce fighting is continuing with the militants still holding several areas of the town although it’s difficult to assess exactly what’s happening. Caroline Duffield is in the commercial capital Lagos.

The military say that they have crushed the militants. They have certainly clear reports that the shelling has dismantled the enclave area. Many buildings apparently flattened and they bombarded the headquarters of the sect. They’ve damaged the family home of the leader Mohammed Yusuf's very badly. Apparently the mosque is completely destroyed and the military also say they have destroyed a local bomb-making factory. And there are other reports also the clinic in which people were hiding have been totally destroyed.

More than 200 people have been killed in four days of clashes since the militants began attacking official buildings.

The International Monetary Fund has announced it’s increasing the support it gives to poorer countries to help them deal with the global economic crisis. By selling some of its gold reserves, the IMF plans to increase lending by up to 8 billion dollars over the next two years. Mark Gregory reports.

The IMF says it will increase loans to low income nations over the next couple of years by 2 billion dollars more than what’s called for by the Group of Twenty leading economies at their summit in April. By 2014 the increase in loans could amount to additional 17 billion dollars. The IMF also plans to suspend interest rate payments on some loans until the end of 2011.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticized the alleged abuse of political prisoners in Iran following the recent disputed presidential election. Mrs. Clinton urged the Iranian authorities to treat the inmates with respect.

"It is imperative for the Iraqi authorities to release political prisoners, to treat them appropriately and humanely. It is something that is very much telling their continuing detention and abuse of political prisoners certainly suggest that the political situation inside of Iran has not yet resolved itself.”

Meanwhile, the Iranian authorities say they plan to put on trial 20 opposition figures starting on Saturday.

President Obama has launched a sweeping defense of his efforts to stimulate the American economy, saying the US may now be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession. The market is up, he said, and the financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse. Mr. Obama also defended the government’s bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.

World News from the BBC.

Shares of the American Internet company Yahoo have fallen 12% on the day the firm announced a long-awaited partnership with the technology giant Microsoft. The two companies said they would form an internet search partnership in an attempt to take on the market’s leading search engine Google. Under the deal, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine will be used in Yahoo sites, while Yahoo will handle its advertising sales using Microsoft computer technology.

Preliminary results from the parliamentary elections in Moldova indicate that the Communists haves won just over 50% of the vote, however, it remains unclear whether they will reach the 3/5 majority of seats in parliament required to elect a new president. Wednesday’s vote was a rerun of the elections in April which was followed by days of violent protests. Tom Esslemont reports.

With results still coming in, the Communists appear to have come close to gaining the number of seats required to be able to elect a president, but it is uncertain whether they have surpassed the critical 61-seat threshold. Four out of seven opposition parties appear to have won seats in parliament, though they would have to form a coalition government if collectively they end up with more votes than the Communists.

Israel has agreed to allow a one-off delivery of cement to the Gaza Strip in what would be the first such shipment since its offensive against the Palestinian territory at the beginning of the year. Israeli official said 310 tons of cement would be transferred to Gaza to help rebuild a flour mill, a sewage treatment plant and a cemetery. United Nations officials have repeatedly urged Israel to end its blockade of the Hamas control territory.

The Ferrari motor racing team has announced that the seven-time Formular-1 champion, Michael Schumacher is to come out of retirement to race for the team again. He will replace the Ferrari driver Felipe Massa who was injured in an accident in the recent Hungarian Grand Prix.

BBC New.