BBC news 2011-06-25 加文本

BBC news 2011-06-25

BBC News with Nick Kelly

Reports from Syria say at least 12 people have been killed in the latest protests calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

The kind of sounds that have now become all too familiar, along with video footage posted on the Internet which, while it can't be verified, would be hard to fake. A young man lies mortally wounded on the ground, his head and upper body soaked in blood. This was in the town of Kiswah, just to the south of Damascus. Activists said that several protesters were shot dead here, others closer to the centre of the capital and more in Homs, Syria's third biggest city, where demonstrations were reported in virtually every quarter.

The US House of Representatives has dealt a symbolic blow to the American military intervention in Libya by rejecting a resolution to authorise operations for one year, but a second resolution which aimed to limit funding for military action in Libya was also rejected. From Washington, Kim Ghattas reports.

Members of Congress are angry with President Barack Obama for failing to consult with them before getting involved in Libya. First, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly against a resolution authorising American military action with time limits. Then came the vote to cut funding for some aspects of the military mission. That, too, was rejected overwhelmingly. Lawmakers are often wary of looking like they don't support American troops abroad. But some of the 89 Republicans who voted No also thought the resolution wasn't tough enough.

The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says two of its members have confessed to spying for the American CIA. Hassan Nasrallah said a third member was also under investigation. He said none of the alleged spies was a senior Hezbollah leader or had access to sensitive military information. There's so far been no response from Washington.

A four-day international meeting of nuclear experts has called for a tightening of safety standards at nuclear plants across the world following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in March. The meeting organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency proposed better checks on plants and random reviews by the agency.

The American actor Peter Falk has died at the age of 84. He was best known for his role as the dishevelled and eccentric television detective Columbo, which he played for more than 30 years. Natasha Gruneberg looks back on his life.

The rumpled, crumpled Columbo was one of the small-screen's most distinctive policemen. Playing him made Peter Falk famous the world over, and he was always grateful for the role he performed in his own battered mackintosh. Half Polish, half Russian, Falk had lost his right eye to a tumor at the age of three. Despite this, he was Oscar-nominated twice in the 1960s. But to many, Peter Falk will always be a dishevelled detective with a raincoat and a cigar.

World News from the BBC

An American court has sent the former newspaper baron Conrad Black back to prison for a further 13 months after ruling that he had not served enough time for defrauding investors. The Canadian-born businessman was released from prison last year after two of his four convictions were struck down on appeal.

Police in Zimbabwe have arrested a government minister on suspicion of undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe. The minister, Jameson Timba, is an ally of the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government. Mr Mugabe's supporters have accused him of coordinating a media campaign against the president.

Archaeologists in Mexico have used a tiny video camera to explore a Mayan tomb under a pyramid that had been sealed for 1,500 years. The remote-controlled camera revealed brightly painted murals of human figures in a largely intact chamber. The researchers say the images will shed new light on the Mayan civilisation. Warren Bull reports.

Archaeologists first discovered this Mayan tomb in the jungle covered mountains of southern Mexico in 1999, but they have not been able to excavate it for fear of undermining the pyramid which lies on top. By lowering a camera the size of a matchbox five metres down into the chamber, they discovered nine black figures painted on blood-red walls, along with jade and shell fragments, which appear to be part of a funerary costume. Experts say the tomb could belong to the first ruler of the Mayan city state of Palenque - K'uk Bahlam I.

And the government of Spain has removed a controversial temporary speed limit on motorways introduced in March to cut fuel consumption because of rising oil prices. The speed limit was cut to 110km/h, drawing protests from motorists including the Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso. But the Spanish government says the petrol price has now fallen and from next Friday motorists can again drive at 120km/h.

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