2010-01-29 BBC
BBC News with Deborah Mackenzie.
Foreign ministers from some 70 countries meeting in London have backed a new strategy they hope will bring an end to the conflict in Afghanistan. Under the plan, Afghan forces will increase to more than 300,000 by next year. A timetable for handing over security of certain areas to Afghan government forces is to begin later this year, with the process completed in the whole country within five years. 140 million dollars has been pledged to a fund to reintegrate Taliban fighters. Our diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus reports.
This meeting was all about charting a course for the crucial year ahead as NATO-led military operations move into high gear. Afghanistan's own security forces are to be expanded significantly. But much of the emphasis here was on reconciliation and recognition that there was no military solution to the country's problems. A national council for peace, reconciliation and reintegration is to be established with foreign funding to assist in finding jobs for those fighters who lay down their arms. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai also mentioned his desire for Saudi diplomatic involvement, a clear hint that he hopes to engage with more senior Taliban leaders as well.
A court in Paris has acquitted the former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin of plotting to discredit President Sarkozy five years ago when both men were hoping to succeed Jacques Chirac as president. Mr de Villepin has been accused of failing to stop a corruption inquiry into Mr Sarkozy, knowing the accusations against his rival to be false. But the judge said there was no proof that Mr de Villepin had acted in bad faith. Mr de Villepin said he held no grudges and that he was looking forward to serving the French people.
"Justice was done. After several trying years, I have been recognized as innocent. At the current moment, I'm thinking of my family, which has experienced day after day of rumor and suspicion. I pay tribute to the courage of the court, which has allowed justice and law to triumph over politics."
The American author JD Salinger has died at his home in New Hampshire at the age of 91. He won lasting international fame with his novel "The Catcher in the Rye" written in 1951. Charles Scanlon reports.
JD Salinger was a hero to generations of adolescents, who identified with the youthful protagonist in his classic novel The Catcher in the Rye. The story of teenage alienation had generated some controversy in the 1950s for its use of swearwords and references to casual sex and prostitution. More than half a century later, it still sells more than 200,000 copies a year. JD Salinger rejected the fame that the book brought him and did no interviews in the last three decades of his life.
Charles Scanlon reporting there on the death of the American author JD Salinger.
World News from the BBC.
Members of parliament in Kenya have agreed on a new draft constitution for the country after nearly 20 years of trying. A parliamentary committee has produced a document which allows for a more devolved system of government and gets rid of the position of prime minister. The draft constitution will be submitted to parliament for debate before being put to a national referendum.
The new head of UNAMID, the international peacekeeping mission in Darfur, says he wants it to become more involved in mediation. In an interview with the BBC, the Nigerian diplomat, Ibrahim Gambari, said he's hopeful a solution to the conflict can be found. Until now, the joint UN and African Union mission has been limited to operational issues on the ground.
Salvage crews in Haiti are being urged to be careful in their clearance work following the rescue of a girl from the rubble on Wednesday, more than two weeks after the earthquake. Doctors treating the 16-year-old girl on a French medical ship said her survival was medically inexplicable.
Ghana's footballers have won the first semi-final of the African Nations Cup, beating their West African rivals Nigeria in Angola. A single goal in the first half was enough to send Ghana through to the final of the competition for the first time since 1992. Alex Capstick reports from Luanda.
This was a famous victory for Ghana. A young team without as many as six first-choice players have defied the odds to reach their first Cup of Nations final in 18 years. Asamoah Gyan scored the only goal early on. Nigeria spent the rest of the game pressing forward. But despite a number of excellent scoring opportunities, they failed to breach the Ghanaian defence. At the final whistle, the tiny knot of Ghanaian fans, who have made the trip to Angola, enjoyed their celebrations. They'll be back here on Sunday when Ghana will meet either Algeria or Egypt in the final.
And with about 15 minutes to go in that second semi-final, Egypt are leading Algeria with still two nil.
BBC News.