BBC news 2010-02-23 加文本

2010-02-23 BBC

BBC News with David Austin.

An Afghan immigrant to the United States has admitted plotting to use weapons of mass destruction against New York City. Najibullah Zazi was arrested last September in the state of Colorado. Matthew Price reports from New York.

Najibullah Zazi once worked at Denver airport driving a shuttle bus. Today the 25-year-old Afghan immigrant pleaded guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. He told the judge he'd planned to sacrifice himself in a martyrdom operation, the target---New York City's subway system. Zazi told the judge he had received weapons training from al-Qaeda. Zazi said he had agreed to carry out the attack as a protest against American military action in his native Afghanistan.

Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean are meeting at a summit in Mexico where the Argentine government is trying to gain regional support in a growing row with Britain. A British rig began drilling for oil off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic which Argentina claims. It calls them Malvinas. Andy Gallacher is at the Mexican resort of Cancun.

In his opening remarks, the President of Mexico Felipe Calderon talked about dreams of unity and plans to form a post-colonial organization of Latin American and Caribbean countries, one without the United States and Canada. Heads of state from the 15-member Caribbean community are here for the first time. But there are other items high upon the agenda. The Argentine government is busy pressing for member support in their diplomatic spat with the British government over territorial claims to the Falkland Islands. They are hoping for unanimous support from all the countries in attendance.

The Italian carmaker Fiat has temporarily closed all its car factories in Italy after a big drop in demand. Analysts believe 350,000 fewer cars will be sold in Italy this year, a third of which would have been Fiat's. Duncan Kennedy reports from Rome.

The total shutdown of production at Fiat's five main car plants in Italy will last two weeks. Thirty thousand workers have been told to stay at home on reduced pay. Orders for new cars in January dropped by half compared to the same period of last year. That fall follows the government's decision to hold an incentive scheme where customers could trade in old cars for new ones.

Pilots of the German Airline Lufthansa have suspended strike action which led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights. They have planned four days of strikes, but will now resume talks with management. The dispute centers on the transfer of jobs to foreign subsidiaries. Elsewhere, cabin crew at British Airways have voted to strike over job's pay and working conditions. Their union Unite has not yet announced strike dates, but has ruled out taking action over Easter. In Greece, meanwhile, the two major airlines Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines are to merge.

This is the World News from the BBC.

Troops who overthrew the president of Niger last week say the leader of a new military government will act as head of state until a transition to democracy. The announcement came after Mamadou Tandja was removed from the presidency last Thursday and replaced by a military junta.

Reports from Ivory Coast say at least three people have died in clashes between demonstrators and police. Protests have been held almost every day since President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved Ivory Coast's government and the electoral commission 10 days ago.

Video footage has emerged from Iran that's believed to show security forces violently raiding a university dormitory in Tehran a few days after last year's disputed presidential election. Students said seven people were killed in the raid, but there's no confirmation. Marcus George watched the footage.

At the gates of the dormitory compound, the film shows chaotic scenes. Dozens of riot police and plain-clothes militia attempt to enter a students' bombard them with petrol bombs. The police counter with tear gas and tentatively move forward. Later on in the film, there are scenes of police kicking and beating students to the ground and shouting obscenities at them. "Let your mother mourn for you," screams one. In the gloom, some militia trying to prevent further violence shouting to others, "Not to beat those lying on the ground."

Iran's interior ministry opened an investigation after the incident, but no findings have been published.

Bank of America, the largest US bank, has ended a public battle with the securities regulator over its takeover of the investment bankers Merrill Lynch in 2008. The bank has agreed to pay 150 million dollars to settle charges that it had misled shareholders over both the scale of Merrill Lynch's losses in the home loans crisis and over the size of Merrill’s staff bonuses. The bank had initially offered 33 million dollars in settlement.

That’s the latest BBC News.