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BBC news 2012-02-15

BBC News with David Austin

President Obama and the man expected to be China's next leader, Xi Jinping, have had their first ever meeting, taking in contentious issues including trade and human rights. Mr Xi admitted that there was room for improvement on human rights, but he said China had made tremendous achievements over the past 30 years. President Obama said that the United States saw China's peaceful rise as positive, but it should recognise that with increased power came increased responsibility. Adam Brooks reports from Washington.

Before the meeting, Mr Obama referred tactfully to the intractable differences between them on trade and human rights.

"On critical issues like human rights, we will continue to emphasise what we believe is the importance of recognising the aspirations and rights of all people."

The bigger problem is we know next to nothing about any of Mr Xi's opinions. Is he a bold reformer who'll take China's economy in new directions, or a cautious pragmatist who'll emphasise China's stability over everything else?

There's been a massive security operation in Bahrain to prevent mainly Shia protesters from marking the first anniversary of their uprising against the Sunni ruling family. The authorities have sealed off roads and deployed armoured vehicles in Manama and in Shia villages outside the capital. Police have used rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades against protesters who've been hurling petrol bombs.

Pakistan is extending the right to vote in general elections to overseas nationals. The decision was taken at a meeting of the election commission on Tuesday. Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad.

The move has been pushed through by Pakistan's electoral commission and will mean over three million overseas Pakistanis will now be allowed to vote from abroad, but there is a potential for many more to join them in the future. That's because the ruling not only allows Pakistani passport holders to vote, but also those who've got a Pakistani identity card, something that's available to all of those of Pakistani origin. The commission says that even a quota of seats in parliament for overseas Pakistanis is under discussion.

United Nations aid agencies are warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Sahel region of Africa following poor harvests in several countries. Speaking in Geneva, aid officials said up to 23 million people were at risk of serious food shortages in Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Momodou Lamin Fye of the Red Cross warned that there could soon be a major crisis.

"Last week, I was in Mauritania, and I saw for myself how serious the situation is, with children particularly vulnerable. The situation unfolding in the Sahel could quickly develop into a humanitarian disaster if the world does not start paying attention to the plight of these people. The amount of funding so far pledged is way below what is needed to save millions of lives."

This is the World News from the BBC.

The Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has withdrawn Rome's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games due to the difficult financial situation the country is in. Mr Monti said the government would not support the bid because it would be an irresponsible use of taxpayers' money to guarantee the funding of the games. The cost of hosting the games had been estimated at over $12bn. Rome last hosted the games in 1960.

Saudi Arabia's religious police have arrested 143 people for celebrating Valentine's Day. It's also confiscated all red roses from shops. Zoe Conway has the details.

The religious authorities say that Muslims who take part in the day of love are in fact weak, lacking imagination and are far removed from the sublime and virtuous objectives of their religion. The Organisation for Promoting Virtue and Discouraging Evil, or the religious police, published a six-page explanation of their decision to enforce the fatwa. It explained that it was saving women from deceiving men who used the day to give the fake impression that they love a woman and pretend to be a harmless lamb.

Zoe Conway reporting

Leaders of the Mormon Church in the United States have apologised for the posthumous baptism of the parents of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, Simon Wiesenthal. The church said the submission of the names for the ritual had been inappropriate and were against its policy. Last week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said it had been outraged by what it described as insensitive actions.

Football's governing body Fifa has asked the Argentine Football Association to explain reports that it's planning to rename the country's top league after a battleship sunk during the Falklands conflict with Britain 30 years ago. Fifa said that the Argentine FA could face sanctions if it named the league after the ship, General Belgrano. The sports rules forbid discrimination against other countries for political reasons.

Those are the latest stories from BBC News.