当地时间24日，美国总统奥巴马为到访的印度总理辛格举行了正式欢迎仪式，并称在应对全球挑战和构建未来的过程中，印度是美国“不可或缺”的伙伴，美印两国加强合作有助于世界的安全与繁荣。

　　BBC News with Michael Poles。

　　President Obama has underlined his country's strong ties with India.Speaking after talks in Washington with the visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Obama said the two leaders had agreed to strengthen cooperation on a range of issues. Paul Adams reports fromWashington。

　　Barack Obama describes India as indispensable.Speaking after a morning of talks, the president said the US-Indiapartnership will be one of the defining relationships of the 21stcentury. He described Mr. Singn as a wise leader and said they had talkabout cooperation on trade, climate change, terrorism and nuclear nonproliferation.For his part, Mr. Singh said he was very satisfied with the outcome oftheir discussions on security. President Obama was asked not for thefirst time when he would announce the conclusions of his lengthy reviewof strategy in Afghanistan. He said this would come shortly。

　　More than six years after the invasion of Iraq, a long awaitedinquiry into Britain's role in the war has opened in London. On itsfirst day, it heard from senior civil servants and a formalintelligence chief. The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair isalso being called as a witness. / reports。

　　The first day of this inquiry looked at how British and American attitudes towards Iraq began to shift in early 2001. Former officialstold how they are being growing frustration in London that the oldpolicy of containing Saddam Hussein wasn't working. The inquiry heardthat British diplomats was still reluctant to embrace a policy of regime

　　change despite what warm witness called the drumbeats from Washington.Earlier the inquiry's Chairman Sir John Chilcot says his final reportwouldn't shy away from making criticisms of individuals, if they were warranted。

　　Pirateshave attacked an oil tanker near the West African state of Benin. Itwas sailing from Nigeria's Niger Delta region when it was attacked. Acrew member was killed and the contents of the ship's safe was stolen.This report from Casper Leighton。

　　The pirates who are believed to be from Nigeria, aboarded the shipin darkness after coming along side in a speed boat. It's not clear howthe crew member lost his life but it seems there wasn't an attempt toconfront the armed pirates as one of them was captured by the ship'screw and handed to local authorities. Medics on the German owned tankersaid four other crew members were injured in the attack. There areincreasing concern about rising piracy off the coast of West African asthe region grows an importance as an oil producer。

　　A Sudanese woman convicted of breaching the country's decency laws by wearing trousers has defied a travel ban by going to France topublicize her new book. Lubna Hussein, a journalist who worked for theUN, faced 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public. But in September, a Sudanese courtordered her to pay a fine instead. Refusing to pay the fine, she choseto serve a day's imprisonment。

　　You are listening to the World News from the BBC。

　　About 150 prominent Arabic writers and academics were signing an online petition appealing for an end to a growing row between Algeria and Egypt over two football matches. Madeline Morris reports。

　　The appeal calls for reason and conscience

　　to rise above what it calls pettiness and nonsense. The signatoriesblamed the media for fanning the flames of nationalism and criticizethe Algerian and the Egyptian elite for failing to show leadership overthe issue. It says those behind the violence in the World Cup qualifierlast week which Algeria won represented only themselves and not theirteams. In the ensuing row which has seen further violence, Cairo hasrecalled its ambassador to Algeria's, and the Egyptian president's sonhas accused Algerian football supporters of being terrorists。

　　A court in Poland has begun hearing a libel case against PresidentLech Kaczynski, brought by former President Lech Walesa. The actionrelated to a television interview last year in which Mr. Kaczynski saidMr. Walesa was a communist ear of spy. Mr. Walesa said the solidarity movement against communist rule in Poland and denies the claim. He's demanding an apology and 36,000 dollars in damages。

　　A human rights group in the Czech Republic has said an expression of regret by the government on Monday for the illegal sterilization of Roman woman does not go far enough. Coercive sterilization wasallegedly used to curb the traditionally high fatality rate among theRoma prior to the collapse of communism in 1989. However human rightsgroup say the last recalled case occurred as late as 2008.

　　Members of the Shining Path guerrilla movement in Peru say theyintend to form a political party to stand in general elections in 2011.The movement called off its armed insurrection 17 years ago after tens of thousands of people were killed in a civilwar. But two factions of the group have continued to kill soldiers andpolice in remote areas where junk traffickers are active。

　　And that's the latest BBC News。