BBC 2007-04-26 加文本

BBC 2007-04-26



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With just hours to go before a crucial vote on Iraq in the United States House of Representatives, the most senior military commander there has sought to convince congressmen not to set a timetable for troop withdrawal. General David Petraeus briefed lawmakers behind closed-doors just as they prepared to debate a bill making further war funding conditional on the gradual pullout starting next October. The Democratic congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee has told the House of Representatives that American soldiers should start leaving Iraq. "We need to save lives, we need to restore the confidence in the leadership in Iraq, but we need to claim victory for our soldiers. They have done their job. It's time to bring them home now." But the Republican congressman John Carter says troops need to be assured of funding and any decision about /withdrawal should be made by the commanders on the ground, not Congress. "We don't need 535 generals in Washington commanding our troops. We need the professionals. It's past time for the Democrats to do the right thing and pass a bill which funds our troops in harm's way." President Bush has strongly condemned the move and threatened to veto the bill which the Senate is also expected to pass on Thursday.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has criticized US lawmakers' attempts to hasten troop withdrawals from his country. Speaking to the BBC during a visit to Iran, Mr. Zebari said he was amazed the idea was being debated when the UN was soon due to review America's mandate in Iraq anyway. He added the US troops should not pull out before the Iraqi military had become self-reliant.

The President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko has postponed parliamentary elections after street protests and concerted opposition from his critics. He said he was issuing a decree to reschedule the elections which were supposed to be held next month for the 24th of June. Reporting form Kiev, Helen Fox.

Speaking in an unscheduled address to the nation, the Ukrainian president said it was impossible for the snap vote be held next month because the official election body would not be ready. Viktor Yushchenko explained that the new date would ensure that there was adequate time for preparation. Mr. Yushchenko had initially called for the fresh ballot to be held on May 27th. The demand by the president to dissolve parliament sparked a political crisis and has led to / mass street protests in the capital by supporters of both sides.

The UN staff union in New York has overwhelmingly rejected a plan by the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to move employees around the organizations' various offices and field operations. Mr. Ban who was elected on a strong pro-reform mandate says rotating staff every five years would improve efficiency and motivation.

World news from the BBC.

Peacekeeping troops serving with the African Union say they are alarmed that the deterioration of security in the Darfur region of Sudan. They told the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres that rebel-held zones are now no-go areas for African Union troops.

In the reversal of policy, the interim government in Bangladesh says it's lifting all restrictions on two of the country's most powerful politicians. It says the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now free to return home from a trip abroad, overturning an earlier ban. Sheikh Hasina identified international media coverage as a key factor in the government's decision. "The main thing is I'm now be able to return and be with the people of my country. I thank the people of my country for their support and I'm grateful to all world media including the BBC for the way they have treated this story which has helped create public opinion. I'm grateful to the leaders of friendly countries such as Britain and the US where members of parliament, congress and senate have treated this issue with due importance." The government also announced that there were no curbs on the movement of another former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill which outlaws the use of genetic information to deny someone work or health insurance. The legislation is partly intended to prohibit health insurance from discriminating against people because of genetic information about them and members of their family. It's also designed to stop employers from using genetic information in their recruitment processes.

The American space agency NASA has launched a satellite which it hopes will help solve the mystery of the spectacular silvery blue clouds found high above the Earth's poles with increasing frequency. Some scientists believe the clouds which are made of ice particles may be a product of global warming.