BBC news 2010-09-02 加文本

2010-09-02 BBC

BBC news with John Jason.

At the opening of a new round of Middle East peace talks, President Obama’s denounced the killing of four Jewish settlers in the West Bank by the armed wing of Hamas. Speaking at the White House with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beside him, Mr Obama said such attacks wouldn't stop peace efforts.

“There are going to be extremists and rejectionists who, rather than seeking peace, are gonna be seeking destruction. And the tragedy that we saw yesterday, where people were gunned down on the street by terrorists who are purposely trying to undermine these talks, is an example of what we’re up against. “

Ahead of the peace talks, the Israeli said they wouldn't extend their temporary building freeze on settlements, which is one of the Palestinians' key demands.

The American Vice President Joe Biden has said he believes Iraqi politicians are close to agreeing on forming a new government. Mr Biden is in Iraq to attend ceremonies that mark the end of US combat operations there. He told an American television he met leaders from all sides during his visit and was convinced they’d soon be able to form an administration. The fact that months after the parliamentary elections in March, Iraq's politicians have still not agreed a governing coalition has heightened concern about what will happen. Now the US has declared an official end of combat operations.

Three bombs have exploded in the Pakistani city of Lahore during a procession by thousands of Shia Muslims. Police said at least 18 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the blast and a stampede that followed. Police said two suicide bombers were involved in the attacks. Sunni militants have targeted Shia Muslims in the past. The Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said the perpetrators would not escape punishment.

Protests in the Mozambican capital Maputo against rising bread and fuel prices have left at least 6 people dead including 2 children. They were killed as police opened fire in response to demonstrators who blocked roads with burning tyres and threw stones. Dozens of others were injured. The Mozambican Interior Minister Jose Pacheco condemned the demonstrators.

“These are acts of vandalism against honest citizens and workers who are seeing their personal goods damaged and all pillaged by fortune hunters and miscreant bandits, as well as seeing the damage being done to public property.”

The miners trapped underground in Chile have had their first hot meal in almost four weeks. Meat balls with rice were sent in small parcels 700 metres down a pipe to the miners. Experts from the American space agency NASA have spent their first day at the mine. During the next three days, they will try to simulate night-and-day conditions down the copper mine. One opinion is to use artificial lighting for replace the missing rays of the sun.

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The car maker Ferrari has decided to recall one of its newest models following reports of a number of cars catching fire. More than 1,200 owners have been asked to return their cars for modification work. Duncan Kennedy reports in Rome.

The high-performance Ferrari 458 was launched to high acclaim, with some journalists calling it one of the “old time greats”. Each one costs around $260,000, but at least five have burst into flames, leaving them as burnt-down shells. Ferrari says its engineers have flown around the world to investigate what it calls these “thermal incidents”. It now says the problem is the adhesive used in the wheel arch assemblies which can overheat and catch fire.

An inquiry by the International Monetary Fund suggests the financial markets have been too pessimistic about the possibility of countries like Greece and Portugal defaulting on their debts. A new IMF report says it’s unlikely that any developed country will default on government debt. Andrew Walker reports.

Concerns about government debt in Greece, Portugal and some other European countries have been reflected in the financial markets in the interest rates those countries have paid on new borrowing and in what it costs to buy insurance against a default. The worry is that the cuts in public spending and tax rises needed to stabilise the debt might be politically too difficult. The IMF's new report argues those fears are exaggerated. It acknowledges that the adjustment required is very large, but it's been done before. The IMF says there have been 40 occasions in the last three decades where such large changes have been made.

Senegal’s most famous musician, Youssou N'Dour, is launching his own television station. The singer already owns a media group in the capital Dakar which is critical of the government. He's struggled to get a licence for the TV station from the authorities for several months.

That's the latest BBC news.