BBC news 2010-08-03
BBC news with David Legge.
Israel says it’s decided to cooperate with the United Nations’ investigation into its commando raid on a Gaza aid flotilla in May. Israel had previously said there was no need for an international probe into the incident in which 9 activists from Turkey and the United States were killed. Turkey has welcomed the UN investigation. Here’s our UN correspondent Barbara Plett.
The panel's mandate is to review the results of the two national inquires into the raid, ask for additional information if necessary and recommend ways of avoiding such incidents in the future. The UN officials insist this is an investigative body, not simply an international review panel to supervise the Turkish and Israeli inquires. However, that appears to be a matter of interpretation for the two countries, with the Turks stressing the “investigation” and the Israelis stressing the “review”. But both see this as the crucial step necessary to defuse tensions between them. UN diplomats say that’s one of the reasons Israel dropped its refusal to participate. .
Seven years after the American-led invasion of Iraq, President Obama has confirmed that all US combat troops will be withdrawn by the end of August. Mr Obama said this would fulfill a pledge he made shortly after taking office. He described how the role of the American forces would change during the phased withdrawal.
“As agreed to with the Iraqi government we will maintain a transitional force until we remove all our troops from Iraq by the end of next year. And during this period, our forces will have a focused mission - supporting and training Iraqi forces, partnering with Iraqis in counter-terrorism missions, and protecting our civilian and military efforts.”
Some 50,000 American troops will stay on until the end of next year to train Iraqi forces and help conduct counter-terrorism operations.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says as many as 2.5 million people in Pakistan have been affected by the worst flooding in a generation. Pakistan’s Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the severity of the flooding was putting relief operations under intense strain.
“In just one province, 30 helicopters are operating. Unfortunately, when the weather is bad, the helicopters can’t fly. And the roads, the links, the bridges, those are vanished and those have been damaged. So by road the approach is very difficult, and by helicopters - this is only way to approach in those areas, and if there are heavy clouds in the mountains, it’s very difficult to fly. “The chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir Omar Abdullah has called for urgent reinforcements to tackle the worst violence in Kashmir for 2 years. At least 5 people have been shot dead and 50 wounded in the latest clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against Indian rule. Mr Abdullah urged people to stop taking the law into their own hands, following a series of attacks on police stations.
World News from the BBC.
The municipality of Chongqing, an industrial powerhouse in southwestern China, has begun easing the country’s tough restrictions on internal migration. The local authorities are reclassifying migrants from rural areas and say they will recognise 10 million people as city dwellers over the next decade. China’s rigid registration system which ties people to their place of birth has come under huge strain in recent years.
A United States court has convicted 2 men of plotting to cause explosions at JFK International Airport in New York. Russell Defreitas and Abdul Kadir were found guilty of conspiring to blow up jet fuel tanks and buildings to avenge what they saw as "US oppression of Muslims". The defence argued that they were led astray by a police informant.
The head of the American Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke says the United States has a considerable way to go to achieve a full economic recovery. Mr Bernanke said unemployment was still high and housing market was weak. However, two encouraging economic surveys in the United States and Europe have helped global stock markets begin the week with rises after recent losses. Our business reporter Theo Leggett has more.
Over the past few weeks, leading stock markets have been weighed down by concerns that the global economic recovery could be weakening. On Monday, there were signs that this may not be the case. A monthly index of manufacturing activity in the 16 countries that use the Euro was revised upwards, while a similar survey in the United States proved more positive than expected. Strong earnings from the British bank HSBC and the French bank BNP Paribas gave a further boost to share prices. Analysts say the news has increased investor confidence and tempered fears of a so-called “double-dip recession”.
The takeover of the Swedish carmaker Volvo by the Chinese company Geely has been completed. It’s the biggest takeover so far of a foreign brand by China's expanding automotive industry. Geely paid $1.3 billion.
BBC News.