BBC news 2011-05-10 加文本

BBC news 2011-05-10

BBC News with Fiona MacDonald

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has rejected accusations that Pakistan was either complicit in helping to hide Osama Bin Laden or guilty of incompetence in failing to find him. Speaking to parliament, Mr Gilani said an investigation would be launched into how the al-Qaeda leader remained undetected in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad until he was killed in an American raid a week ago. From Abbottabad, Aleem Maqbool reports.

Prime Minister Gilani spoke with passion as he talked of the sacrifices Pakistan had made in the so-called "war on terror". He mentioned the many thousands of civilian and military deaths here and said his country looked to no one for recognition. But what of the key question: how could Osama Bin Laden had been living here, a city with such a large military and intelligence presence, without the authorities knowing or even supporting him? He gave no new specifics about what he did know of Bin Laden's time here in Abbottabad, only saying an investigation would be launched. So many wanted to hear so much more.

The United Nations refugee agency says a ship carrying up to 600 migrants broke up and sank off the Libyan coast late last week and that many of those on board died. Duncan Kennedy reports from Rome.

The UN says the ship foundered off the coast of Libya late last week, but the witness accounts are only emerging now. It says the ship broke apart not far from the shore. One Somali woman said she swam to safety but her four-month-old baby drowned. The UN says as many as 600 people could have been on board, with other witnesses speaking of seeing bodies in the water. The Italian coastguard, which carries out numerous patrols of the Mediterranean, says it has no knowledge of the accident.

The European Union is imposing an arms embargo on Syria following weeks of unrest there. A travel ban and asset freeze have also been issued against 13 Syrian officials. In the latest move to crush anti-government protests, tanks are reported to have entered a western suburb of Damascus.

The US Vice President Joe Biden and the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have renewed American criticism of China over human rights. They were speaking during a bilateral summit in Washington. A senior Chinese official said China had made progress in many areas. Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.

Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton were unusually blunt in their criticism of China's human rights record, and they did it in the presence of top Chinese officials. The American vice president spoke of vigorous disagreement on the issue. The secretary of state talked about Washington's concern about lawyers and writers being detained or disappeared. With an eye on the unrest in the Middle East, Mrs Clinton said the United States worried about the impact the Chinese crackdown would have not only on US domestic politics but also on the stability of China and the region.

World News from the BBC

The government of Cuba has for the first time announced plans to let its citizens leave the country as tourists. The Communist Party approved the preliminary measure about two weeks ago behind closed doors as part of a number of reforms. The BBC Havana correspondent says the planned travel reform took most observers by surprise. Under the current system, Cubans need to file an exit request that can be turned down.

At least 12 suspected members of a Mexican drugs cartel have been killed in a firefight with security forces near the border with the United States. A navy unit patrolling a river came across an encampment belonging to members of the Zetas drugs cartel. They were apparently trying to use speedboats to smuggle marijuana into the US.

A major credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's, has downgraded the status of Greek government debt. It took the action after saying it believed there was an increased likelihood that Greece would have to restructure its debts. Our economics correspondent Andrew Walker reports.

The Greek government's financial problems are getting worse. At the weekend, a senior euro area official acknowledged that Greece is likely to need further help. Without it, Greece would have to go back to the markets to borrow next year. It might be impossible, and even if there were willing lenders, the interest rates would be painfully high. In the markets, it is increasingly thought that Greece will in effect default on some of its debts at some stage. Agreeing further help for Greece will be very challenging. There's widespread public hostility to the bailout in other parts of the euro area.

A Belgian cyclist, Wouter Weylandt, has died after a crash during the Tour of Italy. Weylandt fell from his bike at high speed during a speed descent about 20km from Rapallo, where the tour's third stage ended. Medical staff gave him emergency treatment at the scene, but he was later pronounced dead. The Tour of Italy, or Giro d'Italia, is one of the three most important cycle races.

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