BBC news 2009-09-27 加文本

BBC 2009-09-27


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BBC News with Michael Poles.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has welcomed the decision by Iran to admit international inspectors to its newly revealed uranium enrichment plant. The Iranians insist the plant will be used only to generate electricity. From Washington, Imtiaz Tyab reports.

The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters it was always welcome when Iran makes a decision to comply with international rules and regulations. The comment came after Tehran agreed to admit inspectors from the IAEA to its second uranium enrichment plant constructed under the mountains near the historic city of Qom. The White House also responded to the move by saying it was time for the country to play by the rules like everyone else. According to reports, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the disclosure of Iran's new plant as a firm blow to those opposed to Tehran's atomic work.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says one of its delegates has been inside the Brazilian embassy in Honduras where the deposed Honduran President Emule Zelaya has sought refuge. Emilio San Pedro reports.

The visit was in response to a call from Emule Zelaya himself who in several media interviews on Friday accused the country's interim authorities of violating the rights of those inside the embassy. He said toxic gases were fired at the Brazilian embassy making many of those inside turn ill. In a BBC interview, a spokesman for the ICRC, Marcal Izard, said that the delegate, who met Mr. Zelaya, did not find any urgent humanitarian needs inside the embassy. However, Mr. Izard would not confirm or deny any of Mr. Zelaya's allegations.

The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has opened a summit of African and South American leaders with a rallying cry for greater unity between the two continents. It’s expected that the political crisis in Honduras would also figure prominently at the meeting which has been held on the Venezuelan island of Margarita. Our reporter Will Grand is there.

Admit very tight security, more than 50 heads of state and governments have descended on the island bringing with them hundreds of members of their entourages and local business leaders. All of them hosted by Washington's most outspoken regional critic Hugo Chavez. But President Chavez says this meeting will be more than what he calls just another summit. “We want to mark the path for the next ten years”, he said, referring to inter-continental dialogue on poverty eradication, mining and energy resources, trade and agriculture.

More loss of life has been reported from the Philippines where torrential rain from a tropical storm has caused widespread flooding. At least 50 people are known to have been killed and many more are missing. Some swept away after clinging to rooftops. The capital Manila and nearby areas were deluged by a month’s worth of rain falling in six hours, the most for 40 years. Strong winds brought down power lines and some ferries and flights were cancelled. The government declared what it called a state of calamity in Manila and 25 provinces.

World News from the BBC.

Pope Benedict has addressed Czech leaders in Prague on the first day of a three-day visit to the Czech Republic. He said the country had suffered painful chapters, but its Christian roots had nourished forgiveness, reconciliation and what he termed “the renewal of hope”.

Talks are under way between political parties in Sudan on the fragile peace process between the North and the South. However President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party is boycotting the talks which have been organized by the southern partner in the peace process, the SPLM. James Copnall is at the meeting in southern town of Juba.

Former enemies were smiling together as a historic conference opened in Juba. Over the next three days, the delegates will discuss the key issues in Sudanese politics, including the faltering north-south peace process, and the ongoing civil war in Darfur. The SPLM's Malik Agar has said the parties will not sign an alliance for next April's general elections. But the gathering of so many political heavyweights in one place can only be of concern to those not there, and notably President Bashir and his party.

As the governing Labour Party in Britain gathers for its annual conference, one of its senior figures, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has accused the party of handing power to the opposition Conservatives without a fight. With just months to go before a general election in Britain, Mr. Darling in an interview with the Sunday Newspaper rebuked the entire Labour hierarchy which he said appeared to have lost the will to live.

Germany's two largest parties have been holding campaign rallies on the eve of the general election on Sunday. Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking in Berlin urged undecided voters to support her centre-right Christian Democrats. Her main challenger, the Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier, told a rally in Dresden that voting for a centre-right government would mean that Germany divided between winners and losers. The two parties have been governing in a grand coalition. But Mrs. Merkel, who is ahead in the opinion polls, hopes to win enough support to form a new alliance with a smaller party.

BBC News.