BBC news 2009-12-03 加文本

BBC 2009-12-03

BBC News with Zoe Diamond.

In Washington, top administration officials have been giving more details of President Obama’s new Afghan strategy. The Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee the new approach which means sending 30,000 extra troops, didn’t involve what he called "open-ended nation building". The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen have also been addressing the committee. Kim Ghattas reports.

The three senior US officials were grilled by the high-profile committee members. Robert Gates, the defense secretary insisted that decisions would be made based on the conditions on the ground. He said that July, 2011 would be the beginning of a transitional responsibility to Afghan forces. Hillary Clinton also said that Washington had not locked itself into leaving. A failed state in Afghanistan, she added, would be a direct high level threat to the security of the United States.

A Taliban commander in Afghanistan has told the BBC that they are ready for any surge in American troop numbers. The commander, based in Wardak province, said President Obama’s strategy meant more American soldiers would die.

"Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan, and that means more Americans will die. With just a handful of resources, we can cause an even more casualties and deaths. If they increased again, we'll increase the casualties too. And we are ready for it.”

Earlier the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal had said he wants to convince the Taliban that they can’t win.

The Nigerian cabinet has rejected calls for President Umaru Yar’Adua to resign on grounds of ill health. The country’s Information Minister Dora Akunyili said there was no basis to consider a resignation and that all aspects of government were functioning. About 50 senior Nigerian politicians had issued a statement saying the president’s illness left a dangerous vacuum with no one in charge of the affairs of state. Mary Harper has more.

The wording of the statement is blunt into the point. The president’s illness, it says, has created a dangerous situation whereby no one is in charge of the affairs of state. It talks about a vacuum of leadership, whereby ministers are engaged in fighting and routinely flout the orders of the president. Many of the people who’ve signed the statement are prominent figures in Nigeria. Their words reflect the general mood in the country where there’s real concern that the president’s recurring health problems have frequently rendered him incapable of doing his job.

The United Nations has predicted a fragile recovery from the global economic crisis led by Asian nations. In its annual report entitled World Economic Situation and Prospects, the UN said stimulus packages deployed by many countries have played a part in reversing the downturn but it warned that if the packages were withdrawn too soon, any recovery would come to an abrupt halt.

This is the latest World News from the BBC.

The American golf star Tiger Woods has issued a statement apologizing for what he’s called his transgressions. On his website, Woods says he was dismayed by the extent of the tabloid scrutiny after he crashed his car near his home on Friday. Andy Gallagher has more.

The statement from Tiger Woods offers an apology to his family and states that he regrets those transgressions with all of my heart. The player goes on to say that he hasn’t been true to his values and behavior his family deserves. The statement on the golfer’s personal website comes after an article in a tabloid magazine alleging that Tiger Woods had an affair with a cocktail waitress in California. In the early hours of Friday morning, the golfer crashed his car into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his home in Florida. The 33-year-old hasn’t been seen since. He offered an apology to his fans and has pledged to be a better husband and father.

The United Nations has proposed February the 27th as the new date for Iraqi parliamentary elections, nearly a month later than a deadline set by the constitution. The Iraqi President Jalal Talibani called on members of Parliament to approve a law to govern the polls to avoid further delays. Our BBC correspondent in Baghdad says even the February date is regarded by some as too optimistic.

Colombia has accused Venezuela of imposing an illegal blockade amid escalating tensions between the South American neighbors. President Alvaro Uribe compared Venezuela’s trade restrictions to Washington’s trade embargo in Cuba. Venezuela had earlier accused Colombia of planning an attack similar to its rate on rebel bases in Ecuador last year.

A leading Roman Catholic cardinal has said homosexuals and transsexuals will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan from Mexico who has recently retired as an advisor to the Vatican quoted from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. He called homosexuality an insult to God, but said discrimination against gay and transsexual people was not justified.

BBC News.