BBC在线收听下载:美国将提供军事资源帮助对抗埃博拉

BBC news 2014-09-08

BBC News with Julie Candler

President Obama has said he'll present a much anticipated strategy next Wednesday to defeat the Islamic State group. In an interview on US television Mr Obama said it would be a political, economic and military strategy.

"More than that, I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we are going to deal with it, and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it. We have not seen any immediate intelligence about threats to the homeland from ISIL. That's not what this is about. What it's about is an organisation that, if allowed to control significant amounts of territory, to amass more resources, more arms to attract more foreign fighters, including from areas like Europe, who have visas and then can travel to the United States unimpeded, that over time that can be a serious threat to the homeland."

More details have emerged about US air strikes in western Iraq targeting Islamic State militants. The US military says a mix of attack, bomber and fighter aircraft carried out five raids in support of Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribes protecting the Haditha Dam, a major source of power in Iraq. It said a number of armoured vehicles, some carrying anti-aircraft artillery, were destroyed. The US said all the aircraft involved left the area safely.

Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have agreed to take all necessary measures to confront Islamic State and cooperate with international, regional and national efforts to combat the militants. Our Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher has this report.

The message from the Arab League meeting in Cairo is one that will hearten President Obama as he prepares to set out his strategy to counter Islamic State to the American people. The Arab ministers' endorsement of the UN Security Council resolution urging member states to stem the flows of support to the extremists will also be welcome. Funds from private Gulf citizens have helped fuel the group. But this kind of rhetoric has already been heard from Arab states along with strong new measures to tackle the threat. The question is whether they'll now fully act on them and act in unison.

President Obama has said the US could deploy its military assets to help combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He said a short-term investment was necessary to prevent Ebola spreading throughout and beyond Africa, potentially threatening America. Medical experts in the region have warned the outbreak, the worst to date, was spiraling out of control and could take months to contain. This report from Thomas Fessy in Dakar in Senegal.

President Obama didn't give any more details or time frame for a potential deployment, but there is no doubt that it would be welcomed with relief if such a plan came to pass.  He said the US would have to use the military to set up equipment and isolation units. These assets would also be used to provide security for public health workers coming in from around the world.

World News from the BBC

European observers from the OSCE in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine say Sunday's exchanges of mortar fire between government forces and pro-Russia rebels are violations of the ceasefire agreement, but not serious enough to make the deal collapse. The head of the OSCE mission on the Russian side of the border said that more people have been crossing back into Ukraine since the ceasefire was signed on Friday. Paul Picard said that the traffic into Ukraine increased significantly on Saturday.

Lesotho's army commander said efforts to negotiate with the renegade general have failed. A military action against him is the only operation. General Tlali Kamoli is accused of masterminding a failed coup in the kingdom last week. He is now believed to have fled to the mountains with a few loyal elite special forces armed with weapons stolen from the barracks.

Seven men have been sentenced to death after the gang rape of four women outside the Afghan capital Kabul last month. The women were taken from their husbands, robbed and assaulted as they returned from a wedding party. There have been protests insisting that the men be publicly hanged. This woman expressed the protesters' mood.

"We want the perpetrators to be punished because if this act goes unpunished like a number of other acts, then it will only keep continuing. And as a result the women of Afghanistan in particular will continue to be the victims. Here in Afghanistan, it is an Islamic society; and if a woman committed this kind of crime, then she would be stoned. So what we want, without any further delay of their cases, there should be their public execution."

The crew of an Italian frigate which rescued a heavily pregnant would-be migrant from the Mediterranean Sea have delivered her baby girl on board the ship. The woman from Gambia was among a group of more than 600 people who were picked up over the weekend off the coast of Sicily when the over-crowded boat got into difficulty.

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