News story scripts
12 July
He's been stuck in the transit zone of Moscow
airport for nearly three weeks - unable to enter
Russia or to fly out. Now it appears that Edward
Snowden has called a meeting at the airport to
discuss his predicament.
Among those he has reportedly emailed invitations
to are representatives of human rights
organisations and prominent Russian lawyers. In
one email, allegedly from Mr Snowden, which has
been made public by the group Human Rights
Watch, the 30-year-old American complained that
the US government was waging an
"unlawful campaign" to prevent him from
securing asylum.
The head of the press office at Sheremetevo airport
confirmed a meeting would take place in the transit
area. It's scheduled for 5 o'clock this afternoon
Moscow time.
21 June
Singapore says its citizens should remain indoors if
they can - cautioning that the thick smog that
has blanketed the island could go on until the dry
season ends in Sumatra in September.
The smog has strained diplomatic ties between
Singapore and Indonesia - two countries that
usually share good relations. Singapore says it is up
to Indonesia to stop the fires, while Indonesia says it
is doing all it can and its own citizens are suffering
too.
The haze is an annual problem for this part of the
world, caused by smouldering forest fires in
Sumatra. Strong winds carry the smoke from the
fires to neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
This year though, the levels of air pollution are
particularly hazardous. The last time this region
was so badly affected was in 1997 when the South
East Asian haze lasted for months, and reportedly
made 20 million people ill.
22 April 2013
Rescue teams had already reached the remote
villages in mountainous Baoxing County on foot,
but landslides were blocking access to aid trucks
and preventing some of the casualties from being
brought out.
Now state media is reporting that a path has been
cleared, although, in heavy fog, and with
regular aftershocks, the going is slow. Even in the
more accessible areas of neighbouring Lushan
county the aid effort has been hampered by
congestion on the single road in, and some of those
who've been made homeless are complaining that
they've not yet received food or water.
Although on the same fault line, this earthquake
was much less powerful than the one that struck
Sichuan Province in 2008, and the death toll is not
expected to rise significantly.
Once again though it is the poor who have borne
the brunt of the disaster, with the biggest killer not
the earthquake itself, but poorly constructed houses.
8 April 2013
The former British Prime
Minister Baroness Thatcher has died at the age of
87 following a stroke. Her spokesman Lord Bell
said: "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol
Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness
Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this
morning."
Baroness Thatcher, who was the leader of the
British Conservative Party, served as prime minister
from 1979 to 1990. She was the first woman to
hold the post.
Baroness Thatcher, who was born Margaret
Roberts, became the Conservative MP for Finchley
in north London in 1959. She retired from
the House of Commons in 1992. She won general
elections in 1979, 1983 and 1987.
Baroness Thatcher's government privatised several
state-owned industries. She was also in
power when the UK went to war with Argentina
over the Falkland Islands in 1982.
11 February 2013
It is a convoluted supply chain involving Dutch
and Cypriot agents, two French processing
companies and Romanian abattoirs. But where in
that complex network did horse become beef?
The investigation is focused on the paperwork, the
export documents which should certify what kind of
frozen meat is being transported. In Romania two of
the 35 European approved abattoirs were involved:
one that deals only in horses has now been cleared–
the other, some 450km from
Bucharest, slaughters both cattle and horses and
remains part of the inquiry.
In France, where six supermarket chains have
withdrawn products, the Prime Minister has called
an emergency meeting.
The Romanian President is also deeply concerned.
“I hope the false labelling of meat does not come
from this country,” he said. “False labelling for
financial profit would harm
Romania’s credibility for years to come - with
serious implications, he added, for our export
market.”
4 March 2013
David Beckham says he's 'honoured' and 'excited'
by this new role, as part-time
global ambassador for Chinese football. It could be
one of his toughest yet.
In the world's most populous country, football has
struggled for popularity. Corruption and matchfixing have tainted Chinese football. And recent
attempts by Chinese clubs to hire star players from
abroad, including Didier Drogba and Nicolas
Anelka have foundered. The big foreign names have
left after just a few months, disappointed by their
new clubs or the standard of the game in China.
In the same way he was an ambassador for the
London Olympics, David Beckham's role will be to
promote China's Super League inside and outside
the country. In particular he’ll try
to encourageChinese children to get interested in
the game.
It's not clear how much he'll be paid by China's
League to be its ambassador, but he'll continue to
play football for his new French club Paris St.
Germain.