BBC news 2009-08-03 加文本

BBC 2009-08-03


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BBC News with Ian Perdon.

 Two prominent opposition figures in Iran have denounced the trials of leading reformists and activists detained during the unrest that followed the disputed presidential election in June. The main opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has said the confessions were the product of torture. The former President Mohammad Khatami described the trials as a show. Sebastian Nasha reports.

These condemnations by two highly-respected Iranian political figures of the mass trial of opposition protesters will deepen the split in religious elite that rules Iran. Mir Hossein Mousavi who many Iranians say was cheated of victory in the election, has said the trial is fraudulent. The former reformist President Mohammad Khatami says it will further undermine confidence in the country's religious leaders. Hardliners have accused both men of treason. The country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will formally approve Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in his second presidential term on Monday.

There has been international condemnation of Israel's eviction of nine Palestinian families from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers. The United Nations said it was unacceptable, while the United States said the eviction was not in keeping with Israel’s obligations in the peace process. Rafi Kusainee, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, called the eviction illegal and inhumane.

"The Israeli police have attacked the area Sheikh Jarrah, have evicted seven families from two houses that they have lived in for over 50 years, claiming that this land belongs to a Jewish organization, of course this is not only illegal, this is Jerusalem occupied territory not only illegal by International Law but also inhumane because their children have been thrown and their furniture have been thrown in the street.”

Police in Israel recommended that the country's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering. But Mr. Lieberman says the police have no real evidence or basis for an indictment. Mr. Lieberman has long been a divisive figure in Israeli politics.

The United Nations and Aid Groups say people in the Central African Republic have been forced to flee their homes after coming under attack by the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army. James Copnall reports from Khartoum.

The Lord's Resistance Army has attacked several towns in the Central African Republic according to Aid Groups and the UN in the country. According to some sources both LRA rebels and locals died as the town's people tried to protect themselves. The government has only limited control over the east of the country. Recently, LRA troops also attacked the town of Ezo in Southern Sudan. The lack of infrastructure makes it difficult for the semiautonomous government in south Sudan to secure its borders.

World News from the BBC.

French scientists say they've detected a new strain of the virus that causes AIDS. They say it appears to have been transmitted to humans from gorillas unlike the existing strains which originated in chimpanzees. John Donaldson reports from Washington.Up until now there’ve only been three known strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Now the researchers based at the University of Rouen in France say they’ve discovered a 62-year-old Cameroonian woman who is contracted a previously-unknown strain. The woman tested positive for HIV in 2004 when she moved to Paris. The researchers say the virus is similar to one found in gorillas. But doctors say it highlights the need to watch closely for the emergence of new forms of HIV which could be more difficult to treat.

Five hundred firefighters are continuing to battle against wildfires which have destroyed thousands of hectares of forest on the La Palma in the Canary Islands of west coast of Africa. More than 4, 000 people have been forced to flee their homes over the last two days. At one point, the firefighters had to withdraw from one of the worst affected areas because of intensity of the flames.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry has accused Russia of trying to move the border with the break-away territory of South Ossetia further into Georgia. The ministry in Tbilisi said Russian troops entered the village of Kveshi in Gori district and marked off the territory of the Georgian village with posts. There has been no Russian reaction to the accusation.

The British Government has rejected criticism from a parliamentary committee about the role of the foreign forces in Afghanistan and particularly the part played by British troops. The report said the Afghan operation had achieved much less than was promised. And the British forces have been undermined by a political failure to provide clear direction.

BBC News.