BBC在线收听下载:奥巴马授权向伊拉克增派1500名军事人员

BBC news 2014-11-08

BBC News with Jerry Smit.

President Obama has authorized the deployment of an extra 1,500 military personnel to Iraq. The Pentagon said the troops will have a non-combat role and their main duty would be to expand the existing mission to advise and assist Iraqi armed forces fighting Islamic State militants. They'll join the several hundred US troops already in Iraq. Tom E. reports from Washington.

The Pentagon said the request for the additional troops was based on its own assessment of Iraqi armed forces and the progress they've made. The personnel who will join the several hundred US troops already there are to help set up two training centers outside Erbil and Baghdad. It's said several other locations around the country will be identified at which 12 Iraqi brigades including three Peshmerga brigades can be trained. In addition, the White House said it would ask Congress for more than five billion dollars to help fund the fight against the Islamic State militants.

European politicians are examining Britain's claim that it's halved its additional contribution to the European Union budget. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said Britain would only pay 50% of the bill. But that's not exactly how other EU ministers said. D. D. reports.

George Osborn said he secured the outcome far beyond their expectations. The bill of a 2.7 billion dollars the UK owes the EU contribution have been halved, he said. The payment delayed and there would be no interest levy. Other finance ministers who'd been around the table put it all simply. There was agreement they said there only on one of Britain's demands. The UK is being given leniency because the sum is so large. Instead of having to pay by December 1st this year, it will have until September next year. But there was no agreement on the UK's second demand to reduce the total the UK owes. However by delaying its payments, the UK will be able to deduct the money EU owes it in rebate and so hand over less actual cash.

International Police have closed down 400 websites operating on the hidden side of the Internet, readily used to trade child pornography, drugs and arms. Several vendors and administrators linked to what's known as the dark web had been arrested. D. U. is the head of Europol's European Cybercrime Unit.

This website that we have identified has been removed. So the whole infrastructure has also gone. We hope this will also be a significant boost to the weakened course to repair this. Those we haven't caught can be up and running again. But then we will take them down once again. And this will be a costly affair. So it's not risk-free and it's not cost-free to run businesses on the dark and this is also a politic signal.

The medical charity Médecins sans Frontières says there has been a very significant reduction in cases of Ebola in Liberia. However, MSF warned that the number of cases was increasing in Guinea and Sierra Leon, and that a previous drop in infections in Guinea had flared up again.

World News from the BBC.

Ukraine has accused Russia of sending a heavily armed column of troops into its territory. A Ukrainian military spokesman said a convoy made up of tanks, heavy artillery and trucks crossed its eastern boarder into the rebel-held Luhansk region. NATO said that if confirmed, it would be further evidence of Russia's direct involvement in destabilizing Ukraine.

The interim leader of Burkina Faso, Lieutenant Colonel Izzag Zida has rejected a two-week deadline by the African Union to transfer power to civilians. Speaking after talks with the opposition leaders and civil society groups, Colonel Zida said he was not worried about the threat of sanctions. The AU has said it stands by its decision to impose sanctions. The AU's deputy chairman E. M. told the BBC the sanctions would include suspension from the organization.

I think at this time we want to refrain from putting a gun on their head and allow them to discuss. But of course, I mean, at the end of the two-week period, we will meet and reveal and obviously the sanctions will kick in. And the standard of sanctions of course we start with the suspension from membership of the African Union and then other sanctions would follow.

A new government has been announced in Yemen with the aim of defusing the country's political crisis. It's headed by Prime Minister designate H. B., a former envoy to the United Nations. The 34-strong cabinet includes figures from the rebel S. H. Group which captured last parts of the capital Sana two months ago.

The United Nations says two of its experts on investigating torture and killings have been prevented from doing their work in the Gambia. Earlier this year, the Gambian government agreed to let the two special reporters visit the country. However the UN said that once the inspectors arrived, the authorities denied their access to parts of the first prison they tried to visit.

BBC News.