BBC在线收听下载:伊拉克首都发生发生汽车炸弹案

BBC news 2014-08-26

BBC News with Stewart Macintosh

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has dissolved parliament and called a snap election as his forces continue to fight pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. Mr Poroshenko said a new parliament was necessary in part to remove members who were blocking reform. Elections will be held on 26 October. The Ukrainian government said early on Monday that its forces had clashed with a column of tanks and armoured vehicles that crossed into the rebel-held east from Russia. David Stern reports from Kiev.

Mr Poroshenko's announcement was expected. In July parliamentary coalition fell apart, requiring the president to call new elections if a new coalition could not be formed. However, new elections do hold some risks for Mr Poroshenko. If he is unable to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine before the October vote, he risks a voter backlash. Anger is also rising among Ukrainians at the government's inability to introduce reforms and tackle corruption, which were key demands of the country's revolution.

The leaders of the campaigns for and against Scottish independence have held a final televised debate before a referendum on the issue next month. Debate is seen as a key event of the campaign. Recent polls show the anti-independence group in the lead. In his opening statement Alistair Darling, the leader of the No campaign, set out why he opposed independence.

"The United Kingdom is about sharing risks and rewards with our neighbours. Being part of something bigger gives us opportunity and security as well as our Scottish identity and decision making. This is a decision for which there is no turning back, but our children and the generations that follow will have to live with that decision."

Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister who is leading the call for independence, set out why he believed in a Yes vote.

"We are a rich nation and resourceful people. We can create a prosperous nation and a fairer society, a real vision for the people of Scotland. This is our time. It's our moment. Let us do it now."

Cameroon says nearly 500 Nigerian soldiers have fled across the border to escape fighting with Islamist militants from Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. Cameroon's army said the Nigerian troops deserted after clashes in the town of Banki and had been disarmed since arriving in Cameroon. Tomi Oladipo reports from Lagos.

We are hearing from the Cameroonian army that these men fled and came into Cameroon. Obviously the Cameroonian military had to disarm them and then kept them there. So what we are now hearing from the Nigerian military is that this was not a group who deserted or who escaped, but rather was a tactical manoeuvre as they say in the statement. And these soldiers ended up charging through the borders and found themselves on Cameroonian soil, and the Nigerian military now says that very soon these troops will find their way back to the units in Nigeria.

World news from the BBC

Two car bombs in a mainly Shia district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad have killed at least 11 people. Earlier in the day a series of explosions in Baghdad and towns south of the Iraqi capital killed dozens of people. In a worst attack at a Shia mosque in the New Baghdad area at least 15 people were killed.

Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, a suburb of St Louis. Gospel music filled the church as speakers asked the congregation to remember Michael Brown not with violence but with peace. His killing earlier this month sparked protests and violent riots in Ferguson. Aleem Maqbool reports. 

Outside the church local people said the funeral and the story of Michael Brown had brought their community together. Many who attended the funeral said they're glad the case has brought national attention, but they still want justice and still need to see real change in the way they feel African-Americans who are unfairly treated by police across the country.

The two sides in South Sudan's civil war have reaffirmed their commitment to a ceasefire under pressure from East African leaders. A regional summit in Addis Ababa gave President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar 45 days to form a transitional government of national unity. It said anyone obstructing the peace process would be excluded from power. Eight months of fighting in South Sudan have left thousands dead and millions facing famine.

A United Nations' official appointed to coordinate the global response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has described it as a war that could take another six months to win. Dr David Nabarro said airlines that had stopped flying to affected countries were hampering the effort. As the race to find an effective treatment continues a Canadian firm says four monkeys injected with an experimental vaccine have survived what would have been a lethal dose of the virus.

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