BBC news 2011-06-24 加文本

BBC news 2011-06-24

BBC News with Jonathan Izard

Syrian troops and tanks have moved into areas along the border with Turkey, where thousands of people had taken refuge from the campaign against political protests. Witnesses on the Turkish side of the border saw Syrian troops patrolling the village of Khirbet al-Jouz and snipers positioned on rooftops. From Istanbul, Jonathan Head reports.

For weeks, the strip of Syrian land in the northwest lying next to Turkey has been a de facto buffer zone. Thousands of Syrians fleeing from their own army have camped out there, assuming they were protected by the Turkish military bases across the border. But today, Syrian forces move right up to that border, clearly visible from the Turkish side. And the refugees who'd been living just inside Syria with their cars and farm animals rushed through the barbed-wire fence into Turkish territory, from where they were driven to one of the five camps being run by the Turkish authorities.

The United States top military officer Admiral Mike Mullen has admitted that President Obama's decision to accelerate the withdrawal from Afghanistan is riskier than he originally wanted. A third of the force is to be brought home by September next year. Speaking in Congress, Admiral Mullen said ultimately it was for the president to decide the acceptable level of risk America should take.

"I do not intend to discuss the specifics of the private advice I rendered with respect to these decisions. What I can tell you is the president's decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than I was originally prepared to accept. More force for more time is, without doubt, the safer course. But that does not necessarily make it the best course. Only the president, in the end, can really determine the acceptable level of risk we must take."

Iraqi officials say at least 23 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts in the capital Baghdad. The explosions took place in quick succession near a crowded market and a mosque in the south of the city.

Iranian state media have reported the arrest of an ally of the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It's the latest in a number of dismissals and arrests of figures close to Mr Ahmadinejad. Marcus George reports.

According to the reports, Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh was arrested and detained for corruption. There were indications, however, that his arrest was motivated not so much by what he'd done but who he was. Just last week, Mr Malekzadeh had been appointed as the deputy foreign minister, only to resign three days later following pressure from the Iranian parliament. It appears to be another example of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, using his powers to rein in a president, who's increasingly challenged his authority.

The United States and other industrialised nations are to release 60 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves to try to push down prices. The International Energy Agency said the measure was a response to the disruption in the oil supply from Libya. The price of crude responded with a 5% fall. The move follows Opec's failure earlier this month to agree an increase in production quotas.

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European Union leaders have begun a summit in Brussels that will be dominated by the Greek debt crisis. Ahead of the meeting, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said the Greek opposition must get behind the government's austerity measures, a precondition for releasing blocked loans to Greece. The Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the eurozone finance ministers, said there was no alternative to Greece cutting spending and raising taxes.

"All conditions must be met. When you want all conditions to be met, you can't let anyone believe there is a plan B. There isn't a plan B. If Greece does what it has to do, we will do what we have to do. This is not a threat. It's just a confirmation that we are continuing our efforts."

President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal has completely withdrawn proposals for constitutional reform in the face of widespread protests. President Wade first gave up plans to reduce to 25% the minimum percentage score needed to win the first round of next year's presidential election. As riot police battled protesters outside parliament in Dakar, he then agreed to abandon plans to create a new post of vice president.

A report containing leaked US embassy cables suggests that both the king of Thailand and the country's crown prince are suffering from health problems. The documents quote American diplomats as saying Thailand will face a moment of truth when King Bhumibol dies and that a succession crisis is inevitable. The documents have been leaked just 10 days before a general election in Thailand.

The Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton has been jailed for 10 years in the United States for his role in the setting-up of a cocaine deal in 2009. Buju Banton, who's a Grammy award winner, will spend a further five years on probation when he's released. In February, he was convicted by a Florida court of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it, along with a further drug trafficking offence and a gun charge.

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