2010-06-29 BBC
BBC News with Gaenor Howells.
Ten people have been arrested in the United States on suspicion of spying for Russia. The Justice Department said they’d been detained in raids on Sunday. An official statement said eight of those detained were believed to be engaged on “long-term, deep-cover assignments”. Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.
It’s an espionage story with all the tools and technology of the 21st century. These ten people were arrested by the Department of Justice. It was a spy-ring. They had been here, we understand, since the early 1990s. They’d been sent to the United States to infiltrate policy-making circles, collect information for Russia, and they were using codes and ciphers, advanced computer operations. They were arrested in New Jersey, New York and Virginia, and they are already appearing in court today.
The Supreme Court in the United States has ruled that no individual city or state can stop American citizens owning guns. The court said the constitutional right to carry arms for self-defence applied nationwide, and a ban on handgun ownership in the city of Chicago was therefore unconstitutional. From Washington, here is Paul Adams.
By a majority of 5-4, the Supreme Court has decided that Americans have the right to own guns wherever they live. Two years ago, the same court issued a ruling which applied only to the District of Columbia. It’s a hugely symbolic victory for those who interpret the US Constitution to mean that individuals have the right to bear arms, but what it means in practice is less clear. Cities and states have a variety of rules which govern gun ownership - some will doubtless now be challenged, but the Supreme Court’s ruling makes it clear that it’s not trying to do away with all regulation.
A Mexican politician who was expected to win a state election has been killed on the campaign trail. Rodolfo Torre Cantu, who was running for governor in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, was shot along with four of his supporters on their way to a series of campaign meetings. From Mexico City, Julian Miglierini reports.
Rodolfo Torre Cantu was the favourite to win Sunday’s regional elections in Tamaulipas state. He was travelling to attend a campaign rally when his convoy was attacked near the airport of Ciudad Victoria. Unidentified gunmen opened fire and killed Mr Torre Cantu and four other people. The Zetas and the Gulf drugs cartels are fighting a turf war in the state to control what they see as a crucial drug's route into the United States. Fighting the drug-related violence was one of Mr Torre Cantu’s central campaign promises.
The French oil giant, Total, has stopped selling oil products to Iran. The move comes a week after the United States Congress adopted new economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme. Under those American sanctions, oil firms and banks that do business with Iran face penalties.
World News from the BBC.
The Lebanese authorities say they’ve arrested a man accused of spying for Israel for more than 15 years. The Lebanese Telecommunications Minister told the BBC that the suspect was a technician with one of the country’s main mobile networks and could have had access to sensitive information.
The Belgian King Albert II has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of celebrations to mark 50 years since the country’s independence from Belgium. His visit has angered some Congolese who say it's inappropriate, given the killings and brutality inflicted on the country by the king’s predecessor Leopold II. Thomas Fessy reports from Kinshasa.
It is a symbolic occasion King Albert II has been invited by the Congolese authorities to celebrate 50 years of independence from the former Belgian colonial ruler. King Albert will meet President Joseph Kabila, but Belgian officials say that he would not give a speech. After 50 years of difficult relations, the Belgian ambassador to Congo, Dominique Struye said that he hoped this visit could be a turning point in the relationship between the two countries.
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has demanded that ministers cut their spending to set an example for the country, as the government extends the retirement age as part of its budget squeeze. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Sarkozy set out new cabinet rules requiring ministers to take the train for short journeys, use embassies instead of five-star hotels when abroad, and cut their staffing budgets.
The president of the French Football Federation Jean-Pierre Escalettes has resigned after his national team’s poor performance at the World Cup in South Africa. The French squad became entangled in internal disputes and were eliminated in the group stage, scoring only one goal in three games. In the latest match of the tournament, Brazil beat Chile by three goals to nil to reach the quarter-finals. They’ll now face the Netherlands.
BBC News.