BBC news 2010-08-28 加文本

2010-08-28 BBC

BBC News with Gaenor Howells

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, says he is ready to take further action to boost economic growth after new figures show the American economy grew at an annual rate of 1.6% in the second quarter of this year. Mr Bernanke said he was considering unconventional measures. Here is Paul Adams.

The latest growth figures are not quite as bad as everyone expected, but they still make grim reading. Speaking at an annual gathering of central bankers in Wyoming, the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke admitted there was still a long way to go. But he gave his clearest indication yet that if the economy continues to slow, he'll consider another major purchase of debt or mortgage securities which could stimulate activity but would add to the country's already enormous deficit.

The United Nations says fresh flooding in southern Pakistan has displaced almost a million people in the past 48 hours. In one town in Sindh province, Thatta, tens of thousands have been forced to flee after the swollen river Indus burst its banks. Aid is getting through to some, but for many the situation is still desperate. Syed Shoaib Hasan reports from Islamabad.

Pakistan's army and international humanitarian agencies have been airlifting food supplies to sustain them till road links are restored. That may take several weeks as entire highways have been washed away by the Indus River. Not all the supplies get to those in need. Fights are common over the food that is delivered. Pakistan's government has already said the need for food supplies has increased far beyond the initial forecast. Officials say thousands of people will starve to death if the aid does not materialize.

The drilling of an escape shaft to rescue 33 miners in Chile could begin as soon as Sunday. Heavy machinery from Spain and Australia including a 29-ton hydraulic ball is being assembled at the mine. It'll have to create an underground passage of 700 metres to reach the miners. James Reynolds reports.

For men who spent three weeks underground starving in the near dark, the miners of San Jose look remarkably well. The miners have all lost a lot of weight, but they tell their families they'll be OK. For the families watching the video above the mine in what they call "Camp Hope", this is another emotional experience. In the next few days, work will begin on the main rescue shaft. Till then, the miners will have to wait.

France has angrily dismissed a United Nations report which called for an end to what it described as the collective deportation of Roma people. The French European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche said the report by the UN's anti-racism committee had been excessive and caricatured and had contained numerous factual errors. The committee said some Roma flown out of France in recent weeks haven't been fully informed of their rights.

World News from the BBC

Police in Mexico say they are deeply concerned for the safety of a senior detective who's been leading an investigation into the mass killing of foreign migrants, whose bodies were found at a ranch in the north of the country on Tuesday. The wife of the detective Roberto Suarez said he'd been missing since Wednesday, the day after the bodies of 72 Latin American migrants were discovered.

An American detained in North Korea since January has arrived back in the United States after being granted a pardon. Aijalon Gomes was freed after the former US President Jimmy Carter went to Pyongyang to negotiate his release. Iain MacKenzie reports.

A small white private jet touched down at Boston's Logan Airport, having flown from the North Korean capital Pyongyang. Stepping out, Aijalon Gomes was greeted by family members. However, neither he nor President Carter spoke to the waiting media. The 31-year-old had been teaching in South Korea. He somehow ended up crossing the border and was arrested and put on trial. A court sentenced him to eight years' hard labour as well as a $700,000 fine. North Korean state television reported he had tried to commit suicide in jail.

The International Criminal Court has reported Kenya to the UN Security Council over a visit to the country by the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. He is wanted on charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur. President Bashir was in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for the signing of the country's new constitution.

Army officers in the American city of New Orleans say the area should be able to withstand storms as strong as Hurricane Katrina when work on new defences is completed next year. The comments come two days before the fifth anniversary of Katrina which killed 1,800 people and left most of New Orleans under water. Some experts say they doubt the new defences will offer sufficient protection.

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