BBC news 2009-09-02 加文本

BBC 2009-09-02

BBC News with David Austin.

Leaders from Poland, Russia and Germany have commemorated the anniversary of the start of the Second World War with a series of ceremonies in the Polish city of Gdansk. The first shots were fired there 70 years ago. Johnny Diamond was in Gdansk and watched the day’s events.

At a ceremony in the dark, the heroism of those Polish soldiers who withstood the first onslaught of the Wehrmacht was remembered. The Polish president and prime minister spoke at the senior military and religious figures. In a background, a simmering row with Russian leaders and academics over responsibility for the war. The Polish president spoke of betrayal of a knife in the back when the Soviet Union invaded his country two weeks into the German attack. In amongst the accusations and counteraccusations the German chancellor spoke. Angela Merkel’s theme was remembrance and at the heart of her speech one line. “I bow my head,” she said, “before the victims.”

A judge in Chile has ordered the arrest of at least 120 former military and secret police officials on allegations of human rights abuses committed during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet. Our America’s editor Emilio San Pedro reports.

The arrest warrants from part of a long-running investigation into the human rights abuses committed under military rule in Chile during which approximately 3,000 government opponents were killed. Among those names is Manuel Contreras who is already serving a life sentence in connection with other crimes he committed as head of the Chilean secret police. This is the largest number of arrest warrants issued so far in connection with the military government of General Pinochet who took power in a coup in 1973. The warrants also include dozens of former military and secret police officials who have never faced charges before.

Thousands of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia have been demonstrating against a controversial new law that imposes strict limits on the use of minority languages. Our correspondent, Nick Thorpe was at the rally in the town of Dunajska Stredan.

Around 10,000 Hungarians packed into the main football stadium in this majority Hungarian town to hear speech after speech denouncing the new law. “We respect the Slovak language.” Kalman Petocz, a former Slovak ambassador to the United Nations said “All we are asking for is the Slovak leaders to respect ours. The only Slovak speaker at the rally, Ondrej Dostal of the conservative institute said that the law was unnecessary. But said he believed it would only be changed if the current Slovak government is replaced.

President Obama has said latest figures showed that the United States economy is on the path to recovery. He made his comments after new data indicated that the manufacturing sector was growing for the first time in 18 months. Mr. Obama warned that there would still be a long way to go but he added that America was heading in the right direction.

This is the World News coming to you from the BBC.

The British and Scottish governments have published letters between them relating to the release from a Scottish prison of the Lockerbie Bomber the Libyan Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. London has rejected allegations that his release was connected to trade with Libya and the pressure was put on Scotland. The letters from British officials in London to Edinburgh show relations with Libya were an important issue but stressed that any decision on release was purely for the devolved Scottish administration to take.
       
The Commonwealth has suspended Fiji because of a military’s refusal to restore democratic rule. The organization had demanded elections by next year and dialogue with the opposition. The Commonwealth said that while the military leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama had said he was committed to the principles set up by the organization. The concrete steps he’d taken were not sufficient.

A court in Georgia has sentenced a ship’s captain to 24 years in prison for trying to deliver fuel to Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. The Turkish captain was arrested when a ship was detained in the Black Sea by the Georgian coast guard last month. Georgia has banned trade with breakaway regions such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Legendary American boxer Mohammad Ali has unveiled a plaque commemorating his Irish roots during a visit to the town from where his great grandfather emigrated to the United States. Thousands of people turned out to see Ali during his visit to the western Irish town of Ennis, in County Clare, where the streets were decorated with pictures of the boxer in his prime. Ali’s Irish ancestor Abe Grady emigrated to the United States in the 1860s and married an African American freed slave. One resident in Melda O Grady says she’s proud of the connection. “Indefinitely related to Mohammad Ali so could make me a cousin somewhere along the line of Mohammad Ali and I am so proud so proud that I am. “ In Melda O Grady.

 And that’s for latest BBC News.