BBC news 2010-10-28 加文本

BBC news 2010-10-28

BBC News, this is Mike Cooper.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has secured final approval by parliament for his controversial pension reforms. The National Assembly has followed the Senate in voting to change the retirement age from 60 to 62 after the law was fast-tracked through parliament to try to end a wave of strikes and demonstrations. France's labour minister is Eric Woerth.

"This was difficult to do and not necessarily popular. People don't come to you and say 'Fantastic. I really want to work longer. Thanks.' It's a lot more complicated than that, but we did it. Most people were remarkably united behind the president of the republic, and we proved that we can carry out reforms in France."

The trades unions have called another day of action on Thursday. Jean-Luc Hacquart of the General Federation of Labour union explained why.

"This bill is unfair. I don't want to work until I'm 67 years old, and I don't want my son to be unemployed. That's it. That's why I'm here. No way. It's not legitimate. It's not fair. They do what they want. We knew that this bill would be approved, but democracy is not a carte blanche given to people who do what they want in-between each election. It doesn't work like that."

The former president of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, has died of a heart attack. Mr Kirchner, the 60-year-old husband of the current President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, died suddenly in hospital. She took over from her husband as president in 2007 after he'd overseen the country's recovery from a severe economic crisis. He'd been expected to stand for the presidency again. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez praised Mr Kirchner as someone who fought for international justice.

"We have already announced three days of national mourning. I think the bells should chime in Venezuela, in all of Latin America and in all the places where they struggle for a world of equals, for a world of peace. A great man has died. A patriot has died, a great patriot."

The American Justice Department says a man has been arrested over an alleged plot to attack subway stations in the Washington area. It named him as Farooque Ahmed, a 34-year-old Pakistani-American living in Virginia. Iain MacKenzie reports from Washington.

According to the Department of Justice, Farooque Ahmed engaged in a six-month reconnaissance exercise, taking photographs, making videos and drawing maps of possible targets on the DC Metro. Among them was the underground station serving the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Defence Department. It's alleged that Mr Ahmed would regularly pass on the information to a contact, who he believed worked for al-Qaeda. Although not officially confirmed, it's likely that individual was in fact an FBI agent.

Officials said members of the public were at no time at risk as law enforcement agencies were aware of the plot from the beginning.

This is Mike Cooper in London with World News from the BBC.

Officials in Indonesia say an early warning system put in place after the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami six years ago wasn't working when Monday's tsunami struck the Mentawai Islands off Sumatra. An official said two devices that measure waves had been vandalized. More than 270 people were killed, and another 400 are missing. Meanwhile, survivors of Tuesday's volcanic eruption in central Java are returning to their villages to find their homes destroyed by volcanic ash. More than 20 people died in the eruption.

Armed men have killed at least 15 people at a car wash in Mexico. Most of the victims were young people who worked at the facility in the western coastal town of Tepic. And a Mexican newspaper says the youngsters lived in a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. It's the third shooting of this kind since last Friday when 14 were killed at a party in Ciudad Juarez. On Saturday, 14 people were shot dead.

The Rwandan hotel manager, whose efforts to save thousands of Tutsis during the genocide were portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, has denied government allegations that he's sending funds to the main Rwandan opposition leader. In an interview with the BBC, Paul Rusesabagina said the Rwandan President Paul Kagame was attempting to silence all his critics.

"His plan is more than clear. He's clearing all the bushes around him. He wants to be the only leader without opposition, without anyone being a Hutu or a Tutsi who, one day, might raise voice and say no to whatever he states or does."

The World Cup medal won by the England footballer Nobby Stiles as a member of the victorious 1966 national side has been bought at auction by his former club Manchester United. The price paid, nearly $300,000, is the highest so far for a World Cup winner's medal. This small gold item will be put in the Manchester United museum.

BBC News