BBC News with Iain Purdon
President Obama has named the former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his choice for America’s new defense secretary. But he may face a battle with Congress to get the nomination confirmed. President Obama also said he was choosing his counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the CIA. Paul Adams reports from Washington.
Mr. Brennan has worked closely with the president during Mr. Obama’s first term. He’s been a leading figure behind the administration’s use of drone strikes against al-Qaeda and its allies--a policy more controversial abroad than it is here. He doesn’t appear to face any serious opposition in Congress. Mr. Hagel is more controversial. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran, but many of his fellow Republicans don’t like him. They believe he’s hostile towards Israel and not strong enough on Iran. If appointed, he'd be responsible for implementing deep cuts in the military’s budget, another reason many Republicans mistrust him.
A senior Iranian MP says the country’s oil and gas revenues have suffered sharp falls. This report by James Reynolds.
Western oil sanctions are clearly hurting Iran and now a leading Iranian politician has revealed an important statistic. Gholam Reza Kateb, who’s a member of the planning and budget commission of Iran’s parliament, says that oil exports have fallen by around 45% in the last nine months and the country’s economy as a whole is in trouble. In 2012, Iran’s currency, the rial, collapsed and provoked unrest in Tehran. The export of oil has been vital to the Islamic republic. Oil exports have accounted for around half of state revenue.
Most flights by Iranian airlines were cancelled during the day as the oil ministry refused to supply them with fuel because of unpaid debts. The government says private Iranian airlines owe the state nearly 150 million dollars. The price of fuel in Iran has soared mainly because of international sanctions.
In one of his strongest public appeals, Pope Benedict has urged the international community to end what he called the endless slaughter in Syria. His comments come a day after the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad laid out terms for a peace plan but dismissed any prospect of dialogue with the rebels. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called President Assad’s speech disappointing. As our UN correspondent Barbara Plett reports.
The secretary general said Mr. Assad’s recent speech rejected the political transition spelled out in what’s known as the Geneva communique, an internationally agreed blueprint for change in Syria. It calls for a transitional governing body that includes members of both the government and the opposition and forms the basis of mediation efforts conducted by Mr. Ban’s Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. But the Syrian president refused peace talks with the armed opposition in a defiant speech just days after Mr. Brahimi visited Damascus. World News from the BBC
The Venezuelan Catholic Church has said it would be morally unacceptable to override the constitution to allow President Hugo Chavez to remain in power if he cannot be inaugurated owing to ill health. The head of the Venezuelan Conference of Bishops, Diego Pardron, said the constitution was clear. Mr. Chavez must attend his inauguration on Jan. 10. The Venezuelan attorney-general has said the inauguration could take place at a later date. The opposition says a new election should be called in 30 days if Mr. Chavez is unable to attend the ceremony.
Scientists say the first full chemical analysis of medicine tablets found in an ancient shipwreck suggests that health care in the Roman world was surprisingly sophisticated. Our science reporter Rebecca Morelle has more.
For more than 2,000 years, six grey tablets lay locked away inside a small tin box kept safe from the corrosive seawater all around. The Roman shipwreck they were found on called the Pozzino was first discovered in the 1970s off the west coast of Italy. But it’s only now that the medicine has been fully analyzed. An Italian team of scientists carefully took samples from the fragile material and discovered it was packed full of different ingredients. They found pine resin which has anti-bacterial properties, animal fats and possibly olive oil, known for its use in ancient perfumes and medicinal preparations. They also found zinc compounds. The scientists said the composition of the tablets suggested that they could have been used to treat eye infections.
Crowds of people in southern China have rallied in support of journalists who called a strike to protest against censorship. Some carried posters demanding freedom of expression as hundreds gathered at the offices of the Southern Weekend newspaper in Guangzhou. The strike at the influential weekly followed the censorship of a hard-hitting editorial on political freedom.
BBC News