BBC news 2011-05-15 加文本

BBC news 2011-05-15

BBC News, this is Mike Cooper.

Army engineers in the American state of Louisiana have opened the first floodgate in an operation that will flood rural homes and large areas of farmland in order to protect cities on the Mississippi River. Heavy rain and melting snow have swollen the river to its highest level in decades. Opening a channel, the Morganza spillway, is meant to relieve pressure on the levees protecting the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Colonel Ed Fleming of the US Army Engineer Corps said people in the area had been evacuated.

"Some parishes have mandatory evacuations, and some have had voluntary evacuations. And I think it's important to remember that at this point in time, not only is public safety our No. 1 priority, but family has got to be the No. 1 priority as well. And when you have an evacuation order from a local elected official or a local law enforcement official, you need to understand what's important to you. Pack up a few important things, get your family and heed their advice."

Six people, nearly all members of the same family, have been charged in the United States with providing financial and material support to the Pakistani Taliban. The US authorities say the investigation was prompted by suspicious financial transactions. Natalia Antelava has the details.

All six people accused of providing support to the Pakistani Taliban are of Pakistani origin, but three of them are US citizens, who have been arrested. They face a range of charges, and if convicted, each offence could carry a 15-year prison sentence. The other three are at large in Pakistan. Among the six individuals is the 76-year-old imam of the Miami mosque; his son, also an imam at another mosque in Florida; and his daughter, who lives in Pakistan.

Reuters news agency is reporting that North Korea and Iran appear to have been exchanging ballistic missile technology in violation of United Nations sanctions. The allegation is said to be included in a report by a UN panel of experts monitoring compliance with sanctions imposed on North Korea. Barbara Plett reports.

Reports say the UN panel of experts suspects that prohibited ballistic missile technology has been transferred between North Korea and Iran on regular scheduled flights of the national airlines. The illicit goods are shipped through "a neighbouring third country", according to the experts. They don't name it. But one diplomat told the BBC some sanctions-busting takes place via China. He said Beijing was unhappy with the experts' report and the Chinese member of the panel hadn't signed off on it. The expert panel monitors sanctions imposed on Pyongyang after it conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed three cabinet ministers in what's seen as the latest stage of a power struggle with parliament. The sacking of the oil, industry and social security ministers comes weeks after the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei rebuked the president over a previous ministerial sacking.

BBC News

Hundreds of Syrians are fleeing across the border into Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials; most are women and children. There have been reports of heavy shootings in the Syrian border town of Talkalakh, where human rights activists say three people were killed when the security forces opened fire.

Delegates from across Libya have met for the first time in the eastern city of Benghazi to proclaim themselves the legitimate government of the country. The National Transitional Council, the provisional authority in Benghazi, insisted it now represented all the Libyan people rather than Colonel Gaddafi's government in Tripoli.

The new President of Haiti, Michel Martelly, has used his inaugural address to promise to change the country. Speaking to a crowd of thousands of supporters, he said he would bring an end to the instability which has beset Haiti since last year's devastating earthquake. Earlier, Mr Martelly, a singer with no previous experience of government, took the oath of office just moments after a power cut plunged the guests into darkness.

In football, Manchester United have won the English league title for a record 19th time. On the same day, their big-spending arch-rivals Manchester City won the FA Cup final, beating Stoke City 1-0. Here's Alex Capstick.

This is the season in which Manchester City finally re-emerged as a force in English football. Qualification for the Champions League had already been assured, but the 1-0 victory at Wembley, the club's first trophy in 35 years, was probably more important for the team's success-starved fans. The club has been rebuilt on the millions of their Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour. Significantly, the winning goal was scored by one of his big-money signings, the Ivorian Yaya Toure. The game was a big disappointment for Stoke City, who have surprised many by reaching the final. There will be celebrations all over Manchester. Earlier in the day, Manchester United's draw at Blackburn Rovers was enough to complete a record-breaking league title No. 19.

BBC News