BBC news 2011-11-15 加文本

BBC news 2011-11-15

BBC News with Neil Nunes

King Abdullah of Jordan has told the BBC that if the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had the interests of his country at heart, he would prepare the way for wide-ranging political change and step down. The king said that if he were in President Assad's shoes, he would go. His comments come after Syria was suspended from the Arab League. Lyse Doucet reports.

King Abdullah's remarks coupled with the Arab League's decision marks a turning point in the Arab world's approach to Syria. King Abdullah admitted no one was clear how to move forward. He said the Syrian regime still believed it was in a fairly comfortable position. He warned that outside intervention in a country with so many ethnic and religious groups would be like opening a Pandora's box. Jordan has already taken in thousands of Syrian refugees and, like all of Syria's neighbours, will be affected by whatever unfolds across its borders.

Meanwhile, European ministers meeting in Brussels have agreed to tighten sanctions against Syria. They have frozen loans to it from the European Investment Bank and imposed travel and visa bans on a further 18 Syrians, mostly members of the military, accused of involvement in the violent suppression of protesters.

The new Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said current economic policies in Greece have worsened the recession and unemployment. Outlining his government's programme to parliament, he said the sacrifices of the Greek people must not be in vain. From Athens, here's Mark Lowen.

This was a defiant, ambitious speech from Lucas Papademos, who stressed that Greece's euro membership was now at stake. The urgent priority of his government, he said, would be to secure the country's international loan by implementing its recent bailout package. But he stated other goals too: to tackle unemployment and attract investment, to fight tax evasion and reform the judiciary and education. The only option, the prime minister said, was to stay in the euro and restore Europe's confidence in Greece.

The Supreme Court in the United States has agreed to hear arguments over whether or not a key provision of President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms is constitutional. The court will focus on the power given to the government to fine people who refuse to buy healthcare insurance. The Republican Party argues that this is unconstitutional. Paul Adams has this report from Washington.

At the heart of what are bound to be complex legal arguments is the question of whether or not the government can require individuals to buy health insurance and fine them if they don't. With judges across the country ruling one way and the other, it was always highly likely the Supreme Court would get involved. The nine justices will issue an opinion sometime in June. Their conclusions will be seized upon by politicians looking to bolster their arguments for and against President Obama just a few months before voters go to the polls.

World News from the BBC

A spokesman for Libya's new leadership has urged Niger to reconsider what he called its hostile and unjustified decision to grant asylum to Saadi Gaddafi, a son of the former Libyan leader. The vice-chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, said the move would affect relations between the two countries, and he urged Niger not to become an asylum for criminals.

The British government says surface-to-air missiles could be deployed to protect London Olympics next year if deemed necessary. Estimates suggest some 12,000 police could be needed to help provide security alongside at least 10,000 personnel from the private sector. With more details, here's our sports editor David Bond.

While this would be the first time London has put ground-to-air missiles on standby, it's not unusual for hosts to use such tactics. The Chinese used surface-to-air missiles to protect venues in Beijing in 2008 while officials ordered a 45-mile no-fly zone above Athens in 2004. London knows the risks posed by terrorists only too well. The 7/7 bombings happened a day after the city was chosen to host the 2012 Games.

A judge in Chile has dismissed a criminal case against a prominent Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting children. The judge said the case related to alleged events too long ago for the case against Fernando Karadima to go ahead. She did, however, say that the allegations of abuse brought by four parishioners were, in her own words, "truthful and reliable".

Police in Venezuela have detained five Colombians suspected of involvement in the kidnap of the US Major League Baseball player Wilson Ramos. The catcher for the Washington Nationals team was freed by the military on Friday two days after he had been abducted in the mountains northwest of the town of Valencia.

That's the latest BBC World News.