BBC news 2010-01-03 加文本

[日期：2008-01-11]

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BBC 2008-01-03

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BBC News with Jonathon Weekley.

The Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has said his country is at a defining moment. Speaking in a BBC interview, he said Kenya had an irresponsible government willing to cling to power at all costs and irrespective of the wishes of the people. In defiance of a government ban, Mr. Odinga confirmed plans to hold a rally on Thursday in protest against what he called the fraudulent declaration of President Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the last week's election. Mr. Odinga said the government was trampling on people's fundamental rights of freedom of assembly and expression.

"I've just seen that security forces of Mr. Kibaki shooting innocent civilians who are basically just expressing their democratic right of protests against the rigging elections. So this is something that is not acceptable even internationally. And that's why we're appealing to international community to come to assistance of Kenya. "

And there's continuing uncertainty surrounding a planned international mediation effort to try to ease the crisis in Kenya. One of President Kibaki 's closest advisors said the proposed visit by the head of the African Union, John Kufuor, will not go ahead. From Nairobi, Grant Ferrett reports.

"After a day of confusion over when John Kufuor would arrive in Kenya, it now seems he won't be coming at all. President Kibaki 's Finance Minister, Amos Kimunya, said Kenya's problems were an internal matter which did not require international mediation. In contrast, the opposition said it would be happy to speak to Mr. Kufuor, and it stood by its insistence that there could be no direct talks with Mr. Kibaki, unless he acknowledged that the presidential election was rigged. "

President Pervez Musharraf has defended the decision to postpone Pakistan's general election until next month. He said the move was unavoidable in the sensitive political situation following the murder of Benazir Bhutto. And he called on Pakistanis to concentrate on reconciliation not confrontation. Opposition parties have reacted fiercely to the delay. But they say they will still take part in the vote. The opposition has also been calling for an independent inquiry into the death of Ms. Bhutto.

The Justice Department in the United States says it is launching a criminal investigation into the destruction by the CIA of videotapes thought to show the use of harsh interrogation techniques on two al-Qaeda suspects. The interrogations are thought to have included simulated drowning or water boarding. Andrew Gallagher now reports.

"The CIA admitted last month that it had destroyed hundreds of hours of footage from the questioning and interrogation of two al-Qaeda suspects in 2005, when that came to light and prompted an outcry from Democrats, human rights activists and some legal experts here . President Bush has said the United States doesn't use torture but hasn't been specific about interrogation methods. "

You're listening to the World News from the BBC.

The state of California has announced it's suing the federal government in Washington for refusing a permission to set strict limits on emissions from motor vehicles. California passed a law requiring a 30% reduction in GREenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by 2016, much tougher than President Bush proposes nationally. Several other states made moves to follow.

The Sri Lankan government has announced it is to formally withdraw from a ceasefire agreement with Tamil Tiger rebels. A government spokesman said escalating violence on the ground had made the agreement irrelevant. There was no immediate response from the Tamil Tigers, the Norwegian-brokered ceasefire was approved back in 2002 but broke down two years ago.

Women's activists in Saudi Arabia have sent a new petition to King Abdullah urging him to end a ban on women driving. The organizers sent a similar petition to the king last September signed by more than a thousand people. They say the new petition contains a further one thousand names.

The price of oil has hit a hundred dollars a barrel for the first time during trading in New York. Market analysts say the price rose above the psychological barrier because of concerns about violence in the oil producing area of Nigeria and falling supplies in the United States. Here's the BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker.

"There're some common factors behind the rising gold and oil prices. The persistent weakness of the dollar has affected both. Buyers outside the US can pay more dollars as the American currency declines. International political tensions, some affecting the Middle East, have enhanced gold's traditional status as a safe haven for investors and also raised concerns that oil supplies might be disrupted. Both price rises also reflect several years of strong global economic growth which has raised demand for the commodities. Of the two it's the oil price has the more obvious future potential to undermine the economy. "

Andrew Walker ending this BBC News.

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