BBC在线收听下载:飓风过后 奥巴马重回竞选

BBC news 2012-11-02

BBC News with Marion Marshall.

A Greek journalist accused of breach of privacy after he published a list of suspected tax evaders has been acquitted. Costas Vaxevanis had revealed the names of 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts. From Athens, Mark Lowen has the details.

Costas Vaxevanis was visibly delighted as he left court, telling reporters that his acquittal had liberated Greek journalists. He thanked the judge for standing up to what he called powerful forces within society. His lawyers had argued that the charge against him was outrageous and invalid that by publishing the names of over 2,000 Greeks said to / hold bank accounts in Switzerland, many suspected of tax evasion, he was uncovering what Greek government had hidden for two years.

President Obama has resumed his campaign for next week's US election after suspending it because of the huge storm that wreaked havoc along the northeast coast. With opinion polls predicting a very tight race, he's targeting voters in four vital swing states. His Republican rival, Mitt Romney, is campaigning in Virginia. The Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg has given his backing to Mr. Barack Obama, calling him the best candidate to tackle global climate change, something he said may have contributed to storm Sandy. From Washington, Adam Brooks reports.

Michael Bloomberg said he was supporting Barack Obama for president because of Mr Obama's policies on climate change, as well as on education and healthcare. Mr Bloomberg accused the Republican challenger for the presidency Mitt Romney of reversing course on key positions.  Mr Bloomberg used to be a Republican, but sought reelection in 2009 as an independent. His endorsement comes in the wake of hurricane Sandy which so badly affected New York city. Mr Bloomberg   said that the climate was changing and hurricane Sandy should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.

Military censors in Israel have allowed the country's best-selling newspaper to publish a detailed account of the assassination of a senior figure in the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988. Abu Jihad was shot dead in a raid on the PLO headquarters. Israel has always been blamed for his assassination but had never acknowledged it. Ronen Bergman is the journalist who broke the story.

I had the interview with the commander of the operation, and ever since we have been trying to publish the details of intelligence collection. I think that in the last six months, their position has changed, we were able to convince them to, at last, publish these details. Israelis were hoping that Abu Jihad was in charge of the uprising, they didn't understand that in fact this was a popular uprising, popular intifada.

The computer giant Apple has been ordered to rewrite a statement on its website relating to its dispute with its rival Samsung. Last month, judges in Britain ruled that Apple should publish a message making it clear that Samsung hadn't copied its iPad designs, but Samsung complained that the statement Apple had posted was inaccurate.

World news from the BBC.

A retired British businessman who fought extradition to the US on arms dealing charges has changed his plea to guilty at a court in Taxes as part of a deal with prosecutors.  Christopher Tappin agreed to a 36-month prison sentence and three years of probation. Alastair Leithead / reports from Los Angeles.

When he arrived in the US after two years of fighting extradition from Britain, Christopher Tappin pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to sell batteries for use in missiles by Iran after a sting operation by undercover US agents. But he's now changed his plea to guilty as part of a deal which will see him serve 33 months in jail. As part of the arrangement, prosecutors said they would not oppose his request to serve his sentence in Britain. His lawyer said that he had pleaded guilty because he was guilty. If convicted after a trial, his sentence could have been considerably longer.

An American aid organisation says aid to many refugees in Somalia is being systematically diverted. Refugees International says camps for the displaced in the capital Mogadishu are being controlled by people with links to militia who intimidate refugees and siphon off food and other assistance. It described what's happening in the camps as virtual slavery, and urged the new Somali government to clamp down on local militia. Nearly 200,000 people are thought to live in such camps in the city.

A plan to conserve marine life in the Antarctic Ocean has been put on hold as 24 countries and the European Union failed to reach an agreement on how to develop a network of protected zones. The proposals included creating two huge no-fishing areas. But at their meeting in Australia, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources decided to defer a decision until July next year. Environmental groups blamed Russia, China and Ukraine for blocking a deal and putting commercial interests ahead of conservation.

BBC News.