BBC news 2010-06-11 加文本

2010-06-11 BBC

BBC News with David Austin.

Drug enforcement officers in the United States said they have arrested more than 2,000 people in a lengthy investigation targeting Mexican trafficking rings. They said the joint operation also involving the FBI, the Mexican government and other American agencies has last almost two years and commentated on Wednesday with more than 400 arrests across 16 states. The Assistant Secretary and Director of Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security John Morton said the United States was serious about tackling the problem of drug crime.

"We face a serious, sustained challenge along our border with Mexico. The drug cartels there are brethren, the ailing smugglers, the money launders, the gun traffickers all make a living violating US and Mexican law on a daily basis. It's a violent business, it's a corrupt business. It's a business that demands our full attention. As you see here, it has our full attention."

The American State Department says the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the British Energy Giant BP is not a source of tension between the two countries. Some American politicians have suggested BP should be forced to suspend dividend payments until it's clear that the oil giant is able to cover all possible compensation claims for the disaster. Earlier, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he didn't think there was anything anti-British about the American response. The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had a similar message.

"I don't think anybody on either the side the Atlantic are believed that it will help deal with the problem at hand if we allow this to escalating to a major, a diplomatic incident. It isn't. It's a practical, urgent need to deal with the problem and that is what I'm sure BP is trying to do."

A group of well-known Cuban dissidents has written an open letter to the United States Congress, urging it to pass legislation which would allow American citizens to travel to Cuba freely. Under US sanctions, American nationals are not allowed to spend money in Cuba without securing special permission, making travel there very difficult. Michael Voss reports from Havana.

The open letter is signed by 74 Cuban Opposition activists, many of them well-known abroad. Their message to the US Congress is that isolating Cuba is playing into the hands of hardliners. Their intervention is in support of propose legislation which would effectively end the US ban on its citizens visiting Cuba and make it easier to finance food sales to the island. Michael Voss reporting.

Commercial farmers in Zimbabwe say they are under a renewed wave of attacks from groups linked to the party of President Robert Mugabe. And mainly white farmers said at least 16 farms had been attacked in the past week. They said many were evicted, despite having court orders granting them possesion of their property.

This is the latest World News coming to you from the BBC in London.

The two main Opposition leaders in Iran have called off demonstrations planned for Saturday to mark the anniversary of last year's disputed presidential election. The two, Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi said it had become obvious that they would not receive official permission. People in Tehran said there were already uNPRecedented numbers of police and security forces on the streets.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the new United Nations sanctions against Iran will not affect Russia's contract to supply it with advanced missiles. Mr.Lavrov says the resolution only refers to offensive weapons whereas the S300 missiles Russia is selling to Tehran are classified as defensive. Correspondents say there is however some concern in the United States. But the Russian missiles could be used to protect Iran's nuclear facilities from a possible attack.

The head of the World Football body FIFA Sepp Blatter has told thousands of people attending a concert on the eve of the World Cup that football is not only a game, but a way of connecting people. The South African President Jacob Zuma told the audience the cup had shown that South Africa could handle big events. Jonah Fisher reports from outside the concert at the New Orlando Stadium.

A sound of this World Cup is said to be the vuvuzela, the raucous Black Horn loved by local football fans. So this pre-tournament concert is probably the one and only time that the world music will be associated with South Africa 2010. Hopes that World Cup will be hitched free without a blow by a power cut outside Orlando Stadium. The concert is continuing, but those unable to afford a ticket have so far not been able to watch on a big screen.

Ten Somalis arrested by the Dutch navy in April have been extradited from the Netherlands to Germany to face piracy charges. They are accused of attacking a German cargo ship off Somali coast and will be tried in Hamburg's first piracy trial for 400 years.

That's the BBC News.