BBC news 2011-11-12 加文本

BBC news 2011-11-12

BBC News with Sue Montgomery

The Italian senate has approved a long-delayed economic reform package demanded by the European Union to end the country's debt crisis. The final vote is expected in the lower house over the weekend. Parliamentary approval of the package should lead to the promised resignation of the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. From Rome, Alan Johnston reports.

Italy's politicians are desperate to show that they are responding urgently to the economic crisis, so they are racing this austerity package through the two houses of parliament. The measures include moves to sell off state assets and changes in the tax and pension regimes. But this may be just the start of wider and deeper efforts at reform. It's expected that the new government will be led by Mario Monti, a tough well-respected economist. And he's thought likely to cut back on the cost of the bureaucracy that weighs heavily on business here and to challenge vested interests in the professions and elsewhere.

The new Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has been sworn in as the head of an interim coalition government that'll try and push through the bailout package agreed with European leaders last month. Evangelos Venizelos stays on in the key post of finance minister while the foreign ministry goes to the former opposition.

Stock markets have responded positively to the change of leadership in Greece and the Italian senate approving economic reforms. Shares in most European markets rose between 2% and 3%. Here's Andrew Walker.

The rise in share prices is a sign that markets think Italy may now be beginning serious efforts to improve the government's finances. Another more direct indication from the markets of that is a decline in the interest rate on the debt. For 10-year Italian government bonds, it's still uncomfortably high, but well below the 7% threshold that caused alarm across Europe earlier this week. Implementing these measures will be a challenge, but the senate's move is seen in the markets as a small welcome step.

The United Nations Security Council has taken a decision that in effect ends the current Palestinian bid for UN membership. A Security Council committee approved a report summing up the deep divisions within the council without recommending any action on the Palestinian request. More from Barbara Plett at the UN.

Approving the report was a formality. The next step is up to the Palestinians. They could still push for a symbolic vote; they could decide to try again for full UN membership in a few weeks or months; or they could seek status as a non-member observer state, which would upgrade their current position as observer entity. The Palestinians never expected to win at the Security Council. The US had said it would veto the request. They had, however, hoped to muster the nine votes needed to pass a resolution and so expose America as the main obstacle to their bid for UN membership.

World News from the BBC

The Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora has been killed in a helicopter crash outside Mexico City. Mr Blake Mora was one of President Felipe Calderon's closest political allies and played a leading role in the fight against drugs cartels. This report from Ignacio de los Reyes in Mexico.

Francisco Blake Mora was a key member of Mr Calderon's cabinet. He was found dead in central Mexico along with the secretary of human rights and two members of the crew. National TV footage showed the helicopter was completely destroyed after the crash. The president's spokeswoman said the incident was still under investigation. A former Mexican interior minister died in a plane accident in Mexico City exactly three years ago.

A passenger ferry in Turkey has been hijacked off the northwestern port of Izmit. The city's mayor said the hijacker had told the crew he was a member of the Kurdish militant group, the PKK. Turkish media said he claimed to have a bomb and four accomplices. The ferry is being shadowed by three coastguard vessels.

London has beaten the Qatari capital Doha in the bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 2017. The event will be staged in the stadium that's the centrepiece of next year's Olympic Games. The British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was delighted by the decision.

"People often ask what will be the legacy from the Olympics, how will we use these facilities in the future. Well, just a few years on from 2012, we are going to be welcoming back the world's athletes to the world's greatest city."

A newborn baby in Nigeria has been added to a government payroll, earning about $150 a month. The discovery was announced by the attorney general of the northwestern Zamfara state. He said the baby was one of many so-called "ghost workers" found to be getting salaries without performing a job. Records also show that the baby has a diploma.

BBC News