BBC news 2009-11-15 加文本

BBC 2009-11-15


Download Audio

BBC News with Debora MacKenzie.

President Obama has joined leaders from the Asia-Pacific region in Singapore for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation Summit. They’ve so far been discussing how best to steer the global economy towards recovery. From Singapore, here is Rachel Harvey.

With the leaders summit now underway, other issues would also press their way onto the agenda, North Korea, regional security, climate change and investment in new technologies. But the big issue in the background is how to manage the shifting balance of power in the region. East Asia is recovering faster from the financial crisis than its neighbors on the other side of the Pacific, with China, the rising power. But countries here still need American markets to export to, so leaders will be hoping that President Obama follows his message of seeking greater engagement with Asia with some concrete action.

An explosion in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least ten people and injured more than 25 others. The police chief of Peshawar Liaqat Ali Khan, said a suicide bomber blew up his car at a checkpoint.

The duty policemen were ordered to check vehicles entering the city. Our constable on duty got suspicious when this car arrived. He stopped the car and questioned the driver. The driver realizing he was caught suddenly detonated himself. The Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and said the government would step up efforts to rid the country of extremists.

A mock funeral has been held in Venice by residents wanting to highlight the problem of the city’s depopulation. Figures show that less than 60,000 people now live in Venice, a third of the population in the 1950s. Our correspondent in Italy, Duncan Kennedy reports.

Dozens of gondolas took part in the stage funeral procession led by a pink one, carrying a coffin covered in flowers. The water-borne cortege(这是一个法语单词，意为“送葬行列”) then docked to allow hundreds of local residents to join the march. City officials question whether the population in Venice has dipped below 60,000 and they say the numbers don’t take into account surrounding islands. But this demonstration shows local people have real concerns about their iconic city becoming no more than a living museum inhabited by outsiders.

The British government has defended the conduct of its soldiers in Iraq following the publicizing of further abuse allegations against British troops. Lawyers acting for former Iraqi detainees say 33 new claims have surfaced since British troops withdrew in June from the main southern city of Basra. They say many appear to have parallels with the sexual humiliation techniques uncovered among American troops. The Defense Ministry has promised to investigate all the claims but says many are not new. He’s also rejected calls for a full public inquiry. The Armed Forces Minister said there was no evidence that abuse was an endemic problem.

World News from the BBC.

In a football Worlds Cup qualifying game played amid tight security in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Egypt have dramatically secured a last chance to book a place in next year’s finals in South Africa. They beat Algeria by two goals to nil to finish joint leaders of their qualifying group with Algeria with the same goal difference. This means the two will meet again in Sudan on Wednesday for a deciding game. Christian Fraser in Cairo was watching the game.

Deep into injury time, the Egyptians were heading out of the competition still needing a second goal to force the sudden death playoff with the Algerians on Wednesday. But 30 seconds from the end, up popped the Egyptian substitute Emad Moteab to head home the goal they needed, sending 72,000 Egyptian fans into rapture. For the 2,500 traveling Algerians, it was heartbreak. The frustration’s evident in the press box where fighting broke out between rival correspondents.

Slovenia has signed an agreement with Russia for a massive gas pipeline to run through its territory. The pipeline, known as South Stream, will carry gas under the Black Sea from Russia to Europe. The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia had now signed agreements with all the European countries which he described as vital to the project. Russian gas supplies are currently piped through Ukraine, and disputes between the two countries have disrupted supplies to Europe. South Stream bypasses Ukraine and it’s designed to compete with a planned western-backed pipeline.

Hundreds of ancient Namibian trees held sacred by local people have been illegally felled. Some of the trees have been dated as being a thousand years old. The timber from the Leadwood trees which is so heavy it cannot float was confiscated by government officials. A local journalist told the BBC it appeared the wood was to be exported to China. Namibian legend has it that a Leadwood tree gave birth to the first man and woman.

BBC News.