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听力文稿 ( Transcript )
The Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has called on the United Nations to intervene to prevent violence escalating in the Gaza strip. The Hamas leader was speaking as Israeli forces dug into positions in southern Gaza, following an incursion launched on Tuesday night to try to free a kidnapped Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants. From Gaza, Allen Johnson reports.
Mr. Haniyeh's appeal came in a statement issued to the media. He called on the United Nations to step in and somehow, as he put it, deter Israel and protect his people. Mr. Haniyeh also expressed his sorrow at Washington's position. President Bush's spokesman has said that Israel had the right to defend itself and lives of its citizen. The spokesman said that Hamas militants had precipitated the crisis to their involvement in the abduction of the Israeli soldier. For its part, Hamas says that it was retaliating for Israeli attacks on militant targets in Gaza, in which a number of civilians have been killed in recent weeks. In the West Bank meanwhile, Palestinian officials said Israeli soldiers had detained the labor minister in the Hamas-led Palestinian government Mohamed Baguti after stopping his car near Ramalla.
In another development, the United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned that the danger of the conflict in Gaza spreading acorss the region. Mr. Annan's comments came after Israel said it'd sent military jets to fire over the home of the Syrian President Basha Lasha in north-western Syria.
The Russian authorities have vowed to track down and kill the kidnappers responsible for the death of 4 Russian diplomats in Iraq earlier this month. President Vladimir Putin ordered the secret services to find and eliminate the insurgents. Some of the observers have dismissed Mr. Putin's tone as one of a blaster. But as our Russian affairs analyst Steven Eke reports, Moscow's history of avenging such attacks suggest that Russia is serious about finding the culprits.
Russia appears to have been quite unprepared for the killing of its diplomats in Iraq, following their capture, Moscow made a number of appeals to what it's called, it's our friends, stressing that it had always resolutely opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq. So what are the chances if Russia are now doing something to avenge the killings. Most Russian security analysts say their country wants significant intelligent presence in Iraq. It is likely to have been dramatically scaled down since the invasion. But they suggest that Mr. Putin's appeal for what he called Russian's friends to share any available information on the hostage takers is a sign that Russia's secret services are still active.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said a number of insurgent groups have responded to his offer for amnesty. He said he was optimistic about the prospect for reconciliation and he'd offered to meet the groups, provided that they hadn't been involved in blood shadow crimes. Reports have said there are a number of smaller nationalist Iraqi groups involved in the insurgency have expressed interest in the amnesty. But our BBC correspondent in Baghdad says the overall impact of the initiative is still unclear.
You are listening the world news from the BBC.
The Belgium Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has made a televised address to the nation to express his sense of repugnant and sorrow at the discovery of the bodies of 2 young girls who disappeared nearly 3 weeks ago. The remains of 7-year-old Stacy Lemmens and her 10-year-old step-sister Nathalie Mahy were discovered near their home Liege. A convicted child rapist has been charged with the girls' abduction, he gave himself up 2 weeks ago, but denies any involvement in their disappearance.
Storms in the northeastern of United States have killed at least 9 people and forced hundreds of thousands to leave their homes. The authorities in several counties in New York state declared a state of emergency. From Washington Anne Galik reports.
From upstate New York to the Virginia coast line, creeks, rivers and dams have been bursting their banks after storms brought record rainfall. Almost all the counties that make up the state of Pennsylvania have now been declared disaster areas. In northeastern Pennsylvania up to 200, 000 residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes. There are concerns that local river will burst it's banks. Forecasters say the conditions are more suited to the tropics and it thought thunder storms and showers could continue for the rest of the week.
The American Supreme Court has ruled the local lawmakers can redraw electoral constituencies as often they like. The US constitution says the process known as redistrictings take place every 10 years to reflect democratic shifts. The ruling said however there was nothing illegal about making changes more frequently. The court was considering a case from Texas where the newly elected Republican majority redrew the electoral map just 3 years after previous routine redistricting. Redistricting is one of the most contentious issues in American political system.
words and expressions
culprit: One charged with an offense or crime. precipitate: To cause to happen, especially suddenly or prematurely repugnant: Arousing disgust or aversion; offensive or repulsive redistricting: To divide again into districts, especially to give new boundaries to administrative or election districts. upstate: The northerly section of a state in the United States
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