BBC News with David Austin.
Drug enforcement officers in the United States say they have arrested more than 2,000 people in a lengthy investigation targeting Mexican trafficking rings. They said the joint operation also involving the FBI, the Mexican government and other American agencies has lasted almost two years and culminated on Wednesday with more than 400 arrests across 16 states. The Assistant Secretary and Director of Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security John Morton said the United States was serious about tackling the problem of drug crime.
"We face a serious, sustained challenge along our border with Mexico. The drug cartels and their brethren, the ailing smugglers, the money launderers, the gun traffickers all make a living, violating US and Mexican law on a daily basis. It's a violent business, it's a corrupt business. It's a business that demands our full attention. As you see here, it has our full attention."
The American State Department says the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the British energy giant BP is not a source of tension between the two countries. Some American politicians have suggested BP should be forced to suspend dividend payments until it's clear that the oil giant is able to cover all possible compensation claims for the disaster. Earlier, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he didn't think there was anything anti-British about the American response. The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had a similar message.
"I don't think anybody on either the side of the Atlantic are believed that it will help deal with the problem at hand if we allow this to escalate into a major, a diplomatic incident. It isn't, it's a practical, urgent need to deal with the problem and that is what I'm sure BP is trying to do."
A group of well-known Cuban dissidents has written an open letter to the United States Congress, urging it to pass legislation which would allow American citizens to travel to Cuba freely. Under US sanctions, American nationals are not allowed to spend money in Cuba without securing special permission, making travel there very difficult. Michael Voss reports from Havana.
The open letter is signed by 74 Cuban opposition activists, many of them well-known abroad. Their message to the US Congress is that isolating Cuba is playing into the hands of hardliners. Their intervention is in support of proposed legislation which would effectively end the US ban on its citizens visiting Cuba and make it easier to finance food sales to the island.
Michael Voss reporting.
Commercial farmers in Zimbabwe said they were under a renewed wave of attacks from groups linked to the party of President Robert Mugabe. The mainly white farmers said that at least 16 farms had been attacked in the past week. They said many were evicted, despite having court orders granting them possession of their property.
This is the latest World News coming to you from the BBC in London.
The two main opposition leaders in Iran have called off demonstrations planned for Saturday to mark the anniversary of last year's disputed presidential election. The two, Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, said it had become obvious that they would not receive official permission. People in Tehran said there were already unprecedented numbers of police and security forces on the streets.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the new United Nations sanctions against Iran will not affect / Russia's contract to supply it with advanced missiles. Mr Lavrov said the resolution only refers to offensive weapons whereas the S-300 missiles Russia is selling to Tehran are classified as defensive. Correspondents say there is however some concern in the United States that the Russian missiles could be used to protect Iran's nuclear facilities from a possible attack.
The head of the world football body FIFA Sepp Blatter has told thousands of people attending a concert on the eve of the World Cup that football is not only a game, but a way of connecting people. The South African President Jacob Zuma told the audience the Cup had shown that South Africa could handle big events. Jonah Fisher reports from outside the concert at the New Orlando Stadium.
The sound of this World Cup is said to be the vuvuzela, the wasp-like horn loved by local football fans, so this pre-tournament concert is probably the one and only time that the world music will be associated with South Africa 2010. Hopes are that the World Cup will be hitch-free without a blow by a power cut outside Orlando Stadium. The concert is continuing, but those unable to afford a ticket have so far not been able to watch on a big screen.
Ten Somalis arrested by the Dutch navy in April have been extradited from the Netherlands to Germany to face piracy charges. They were accused of attacking a German cargo ship off Somali coast and will be tried in Hamburg's first piracy trial for 400 years.
That's the BBC News.
美国毒品管理官员表示,在针对墨西哥贩毒团伙进行的漫长的调查中已经逮捕了超过2,000人。他们表示,参与这次联合行动的还有FBI,墨西哥政府和美国其他机构。这次行动历时两年,截止到周三,共在16个州实施了400多次抓捕行动。国土安全部助理部长兼海关执法局长莫顿(John Morton)表示,美国政府以非常严肃的态度解决毒品犯罪问题。
“在与墨西哥接壤的边境处,我们面临着严峻,持久的挑战。所有的毒品卡特尔都是同党,病态的走私者,洗钱者,偷运枪支者每天都通过违反美国和墨西哥法律来谋生。这是暴力的生意,是腐败的生意。这种生意必须引起我们的全面警惕。就像你看到的,这个问题确实引起了我们的极大关注。”
美国国务院表示,英国石油公司导致的墨西哥湾漏油事件不会影响两国的关系。美国一些政治家建议,在确定BP公司能够支付这场灾难引发的所有可能的索赔之前,BP应该被迫暂停股息支付。此前,英国外交大臣威廉·黑格(William Hague)表示,他认为美国的反应没有任何反对英国的因素。副首相尼克·克莱格(Nick Clegg)也表达了同样的看法。
“我认为,任何一方都不认为如果把这个问题上升为重大的外交事件有利于处理该问题。解决该问题是最实际,最迫切的需要。我认为BP也正在努力解决该问题。”
古巴一些著名的政见不同者向美国国会致公开信,敦促他们通过立法,允许美国公民自由地前往古巴。根据美国实施的制裁,在没有获得特殊许可证的情况下,美国公民不允许到古巴消费,使得前往古巴的旅程非常困难。Michael Voss在哈瓦那报道。
这封公开信由74名古巴反对派积极分子签署,其中许多人在国外广为人知。他们传达给美国国会的信息是,孤立古巴是对强硬派有利的。他们的干预是为了支持一项提案,该提案将有效终止美国对其公民访问古巴的禁令,使向该岛提供食品销售更加容易。Michael Voss报道。
津巴布韦商业农民表示,他们受到总统穆加贝党派下属组织新的袭击风暴。白人农民表示,在过去的一周,至少16座农田受到袭击。他们表示,尽管法院命令赋予他们持有自己财产的权利,他们的土地仍然被收回。
这里是最新的BBC世界新闻。
伊朗两名主要的反对派领袖取消了原计划于周六举行的纪念去年有争议的总统选举的示威游行。穆萨维和卡洛比表示,很明显,他们不可能获得官方许可。德黑兰民众表示,目前街道上警察和安全部队的人数已经达到前所未有的数量。
俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫表示,联合国对伊朗实施的最新制裁不会影响俄罗斯对其提供先进武器的合同。拉夫罗夫表示,该制裁决议指的是攻击性武器,而俄罗斯向德黑兰出售的S300导弹是防御级别。记者表示,然而,美国还有一些担忧。但是俄罗斯导弹可以用来保护美国核设施免于可能的袭击。
在世界杯比赛前夜的音乐会上,国际足协主席布拉特告诉数千名观众,世界杯不只是一场比赛,而是将民众联系起来的方式。南非总统祖马告诉观众,世界杯表明,南非有能力组织大型赛事。Jonah Fisher在新奥兰多体育馆音乐会现场外报道。
本次世界杯之声是Vuvuzela,当地球迷喜爱的震耳欲聋的乐器。所以,这次赛前音乐会是世界音乐与南非联系起来的唯一的一次。希望这次世界杯能够顺利举行,不会受到奥兰多体育馆外电力中断的影响。音乐会仍在继续进行,但是未能获得门票现场观看的民众目前为止仍未能在大屏幕上观看到现场直播。
四月份荷兰海军逮捕的失明索马里人被从荷兰引渡到德国,面临海盗指控。他们被控在索马里海岸袭击德国货船,将在汉堡接受审判,这是近400年来首宗有关海盗的案件。