BBC 2007-04-20 加文本

BBC 2007-04-20



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BBC World News with Joe Mackintosh.

The United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been defending himself in front of a senate committee investigating the possibility that politics played a role in the dismissal of 8 federal prosecutors. Critics have been calling for the resignation of Mr. Gonzales who has repeatedly denied that the prosecutors were dismissed because of political considerations. Fenasy Hiney reports from Washington.

The Attorney General has admitted that while the process that led to the resignations was flawed, he believed that nothing improper occurred. The decision to fire the prosecutors was justified and should stand. He apologized to the families of the eight and said he never sought to mislead or deceive Congress or the American people. At the centre of this row is whether the prosecutors were fired because the Bush administration thought they were unreliable and not loyal enough to the president. Today's testimony is seen as the attorney general's last chance to save his job in a scandal which has threatened the credibility of the Justice Department in the United States.

The United Nations has warned of a looming catastrophe in Somalia where more than 200,000 people have fled their homes to escape the fighting in the capital Mogadishu. A UN official said that most people lacked food and water and were threatened by disease. Our East Africa correspondent Aden Minero reports.

The United Nations says at least 200,000 people have fled Mogadishu. Others say it's many more. They are leaving scattered across southern and central Somalia in appalling conditions. The fighting has made it very difficult for aid agencies to get help to those who need it. Tens of thousands are destitute, many are injured, and diseases like cholera have broken out. There are also claims that the transitional government has blocked aid from getting to some of those who need it.

The leading candidate in France's presidential election, the right winger Nicolas Sarkozy has told his final election rally in Marseilles that the campaign has become a test of truth. Mr. Sarkozy had this explanation for his supporters.

"A proof of truth for me because it brought me towards the French, towards their joys and sorrows, their hopes and sufferings, and needs one to reach deep inside oneself."

Mr. Sarkozy's main rival, the socialist Segolene Royal maintained her attacks on him, saying he was a worrying candidature which would divide the nation. At her final rally in Toulouse, Mrs. Royal said France's future was in Europe and it did not need closer links with United States.

"And we, we will not bow down on bended knee in front of George Bush."

Two British soldiers have been killed in the southern Iraqi province of Maysan a day after Britain handed over responsibility for security there to the Iraqis. The two were on a routine patrol when a roadside bomb exploded.

World News from the BBC.

Nigeria's Vice President Atiku Abubakar who is now an opposition leader has said he'll contest Saturday's presidential election but only in order to challenge the result. Mr. Abubakar told the BBC he expected the presidential elections to be even more rigged to the last weekend's state elections which he said was the most corrupt in the country's history.

A Cuban exile who is wanted by the authorities in Venezuela and Cuba Luis Posada Carriles has returned to Florida after being released from a detention centre elsewhere in the United States. Mr. Posada, who is a 79, will be held under house-arrest in Miami after posting 350,000 dollars bail. Our Americas editor Mileo Sanpetra reports.

News of Mr. Posada's release came as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in the middle of a speech in Caracas, demanding his extradition and accusing the Bush administration of offering protection to the man Mr. Chavez referred to as a murderer and the father of terrorism in Latin America. For Mr. Posada, his release is a legal victory, as he now goes to travel to Miami to be with his family in the heart of the Cuban exile community.

Supporters of the Romanian President Traian Basescu have held a rally in the capital Bucharest after Parliament voted to suspend him on the grounds of abuse of power. The speaker of Parliament Bogdan Olteanu said the vote against the president showed that Romanian institutions were working properly.

"We certainly hope that the decision of the Parliament today will bring back the peace and tranquility that we need in order to provide economic development."

The leading all-time run scorer in test cricket, the West Indy's captain Brian Lara has announced his retirement. Lara said he'd stop playing international cricket after the current World Cup. In his 17 years as a batsman, he has become the highest scorer ever.