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BBC news 2008-09-10 加文本

2008-09-10来源:和谐英语
BBC 2008-09-10

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BBC News with Julie Candler.

The price of oil has dipped below the key $100-a-barrel mark for the first time since April, amid signs of the oil producers' group OPEC meeting in Vienna will not reduce capacity. Our business correspondent Andrew Walker reports.

The price of oil fell as traders began to think it increasingly likely that Hurricane Ike would not affect oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and in Vienna there were signs from a meeting of the oil producers' group OPEC that they might not after all cut production, something that many observers previously thought that they could well decide to do. So with supplies looking less likely to be reduced, the price of North Sea Brent crude oil dipped below $100 a barrel. The main New York price also fell substantially, but remained above that level.

Shares in one of the leading American investment banks Lehman Brothers hit their lowest level in more than a decade on Tuesday, raising fears for its future. The bank had been badly hit by the crisis in the US mortgage and credit markets, and it's struggling to find investors willing to inject fresh capital. Shares in Lehman Brothers have plunged more than 80% since early this year. A rival financial house Bear Stearns came close to collapse in March until the Federal Reserve backed a last-minute takeover.

Hurricane Ike has moved into the Gulf of Mexico from Cuba, where the capital Havana was spared the extensive damage suffered by other parts of the country. More than a tenth of the Cuban population was moved to special shelters, and four people died as a result of the hurricane, the first storm-related casualties for several years. From Havana Michael Vossreports;

Storm waves continue to pour over the seawall along Havana's famous promenade, the Malecon, but the eye of the storm has now left Cuba and moved into the Gulf of Mexico on a projected heading towards the United States. There is no power in the city, and many streets are blocked by fallen branches and other rubble. But Havana has been spared the worst; Ike had weakened to a Category-one hurricane by the time it passed just the west of the capital.

There's growing speculation about the state of heath of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, after his failure to appear at a triumphant military parade in the capital Pyongyang to celebrate the country's 60th anniversary. From South Korea John Subworth reports;

Rumors were already rife about the wellbeing of the 66-year-old. Recent newspaper reports, quoting an unnamed South Korea official, say Kim Jong-il suffered some kind of collapse on 22nd of August. Such rumors are nothing new and are often unfounded. But nonetheless the country's 60th anniversary celebrations were being closely watched by outside observers. There was no sign of the North Korean leader replaced this year by the country's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam. John Subworth reporting.

World News from the BBC;

Human rights campaigners in Namibia say they've uncovered mass graves containing the remains of up to 1600 people, who are thought to have disappeared during operations by the Namibian defense force. The graves, which are on both sides of the country's border with Angola, are believed to hold the bodies of civilians who disappeared between 1994 and 2003.

A school in Nigeria has impounded a helicopter hired by one of the country's best-known female Hip-pop stars because the pilot landed on a playing field without permission. The British international school in Lagos is reported to be asking $100,000 to release the helicopter used by the Singer Sasha for a shopping trip. Helicopters have become a popular way for the rich in Lagos to get around because the city's streets are so congested. (Www.hxen.net)

The Mayor of Mexico city, Marcelo Ebrard, has said the city authorities will use technology to tackle violence in the capital. He told the BBC that the city authorities would install 1000 closed-circuit TV cameras across Mexico City. Last month more than 100,000 people held a march in Mexico City calling for tougher measures against violence.

The American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who overcame cancer to win the prestigious Tour de France for a record seven consecutive times, has announced he's coming out of retirement. In a statement, Armstrong, who retired in 2005 said he was returning to professional cycling to raise awareness of cancer. He made the announcement in a personal message on his website.

I just wanna let you know that after long talks with my kids, the rest of my family, close group of friends. I have decided to return to professional cycling in 2009. The reason for this is to launch an international cancer strategy based on the fact that we’ll lose eight million people around the world to this disease, more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

The American cyclist Lance Armstrong.

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