BBC news 2009-08-17 加文本

BBC 2009-08-17


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BBC News with Marian Marshall

Senior figures in President Obama’s government have indicated that his health care reforms may be diluted, a day after he robustly defended them at a public meeting. The government-brand scheme to extend health insurance to the 45 million uninsured Americans had emerged as a key component of the reforms. But speaking on American television, the Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that creating an additional government-run insurer had never been the President’s top priority. She said the reforms weren’t meant to replace private health care.

Small-business owners would be encouraged to actually stabilize their insurance plans to offer coverage to their employees. They’d have tax credits; they’d have some help for the low-income employees to be able to afford the coverage. So I think, if anything, it wouldn’t dismantle the private market, it would actually help to provide a more stable private marketplace.

Three more British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, the latest in a surge of casualties. They were killed in Sangin in Helmand Province where a British soldier died on Saturday. Earlier, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain’s military operation in Afghanistan would continue. He said it was vital to protect Britain.

The American man, John Yettaw, who was jailed in Burma last week for illicitly visiting the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been flown to hospital in Thailand. Mr. Yettaw was let off his seven-year sentence by Burma’s military leaders following the intervention of a visiting US Senator Jim Webb.  Alastair Leithead reports.

John Yettaw’s time in jail had obviously taken its toll as he was helped off the plane in Bangkok after being released from prison and deported. The man who secured his release, Senator Jim Webb is the most senior US official to ever meet the ruling generals and Than Shwe, the reclusive No.1 of Burma’s leadership. They also let him meet Aung San Suu Kyi, something even UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon couldn’t do. It’s a sign American efforts towards engagement suited the generals’ purposes. The Senator is a man known to oppose extending sanctions.

The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has won the 100 meters final at the World Athletics Championship in Berlin in an impressive manner. He beat his own world record with a time of 9.58 seconds. Bolt dominated the race from the start, leaving no chance for his American rival Tyson Gay. Alex Capstick was there.

Another astonishing performance from an incredible athlete, exactly 12 months since he became the fastest man in history, Usain Bolt has once again defied all common sense by lowering his world mark. The final was billed as a duel between the Jamaican and Tyson Gay. And even though the American ran the fastest race of his life, he was always trailing Bolt. The now trademark dancehall routine was again part of the celebrations. 73 years ago, Jesse Owens became a legend in this stadium and now Usain Bolt has surmounted his place as a sporting icon.

World News from the BBC.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called on the country’s Judiciary to address, as a matter of urgency, the massive backlog of  pending cases. Official figures show that more than 30 million cases are pending, some since 1950. Mr. Singh said the problem had to be tackled.

India has to suffer the scourge of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timeliness which generate surprise globally and great concern at home. The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge for such conferences and should constitute the highest priority.

Iran has released on bail a French teaching assistant who’d been accused of involvement in the protests that followed the disputed presidential election in June. The arrest of Clotilde Reiss along with Iranian employees at the French and British embassies in Tehran triggered strong diplomatic protests from the European Union.

There have been angry scenes at Cairo airport where the Egyptian security forces have prevented Muslim pilgrims from traveling to Mekka because of fears over swine flu. About 300 pilgrims staged a sitting after the Egyptian authorities began implementing plans to stop those under the age of 25 or over 65 from traveling. Restrictions could affect large numbers of people because many elderly Muslims want to visit Mekka before dying.

The Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has told the country’s police and courts to help recover billions of dollars in bad loans made by five of the country’s major banks. The banks handed out loans in excess of 17 billion dollars, bringing them close to collapse. The Central Bank was forced to intervene with an injection of emergency funds.

BBC World Service News.