BBC 2007-04-22 加文本

BBC 2007-04-22



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BBC World News with John Jason.

Violence and delays have marred elections in Nigeria for a new president and parliament. There was wide-spread disruption in many areas as / officials struggled to deliver 60 million late ballot papers. These had been nearly reprinted in the past few days to improve the Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a candidate for the presidency after a ruling by the Supreme Court. In the central state of Nassarawa, seven policemen were killed while escorting election officials with ballot papers. Four people were killed in the northern state of Katsina in clashes after only half the allotted voting papers arrived. The head of the European Union Monetary Mission Max Van Den Berg said the observers had not seen the massive improvements they hoped for after last week's state elections which were marked by fraud and widespread violence.

"What we do know is that there are cases of rigging, of bribery, of a lack of papers for the ballot boxes especially / presidential ones, and now it's delayed, less violence, in general, than last Saturday, although there are serious incidents in some states. "

At least 52 people have been killed in one of the fiercest days of fighting that the Somali Capital Mogadishu has seen in recent years. Hospitals say they've been overrun with casualties. Ethiopian troops which are supporting the transitional government have been battling Islamist insurgents for four days with thousands fleeing the city, Jane Wolf reports:

Residents of Mogadishu said they heard mortar shells overhead fired by Ethiopian troops from the nearby presidential palace. Local radio stations carried reports of street battles between the insurgents and Ethiopian troops. Hundreds of people have fled the capital, either on foot or in trucks. Some said they haven't eaten for days.

The Washington Post newspaper obtained a copy of a US army report on the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005 that condemns the US Marine Corps' handling of the incident. The report did not accuse the marines of covering up the killings which took place in the town of Haditha, after a marine had died in a roadside bombing. But it says senior officers fostered a climate that devalued the lives of Iraqis and their men considered the deaths insignificant. James Coomarasamy reports from Washington:

According to the newspaper, the report doesn't accuse the marines of intentionally covering up the 24 civilian deaths, but does conclude there was little interest in following up the allegations of a massacre, partly to protect commanders, and partly because of the scant attention paid by marines to civilian casualties. It accuses senior officers of ignoring obvious signs of misconduct and states that those in the chain of command to an interview for the report saw the deaths of Iraqi civilians as less important than those of Americans.

World News from the BBC.

An Israeli aircraft has fired a missile at a car in the northern Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad and wounding another. The attack came shortly after rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel, hitting a house. No one was killed in that attack, though there are conflicting reports about injuries. In the West Bank, Israeli forces have killed five Palestinians in the town of Jenin.

The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina has again insisted that she return to her country despite her government ban. Sheikh Hasina faces murder charges in Bangladesh in connection with the deaths of four protesters who had died during a riot in the capital Dacca last October. She denies the charges. She told the BBC she would return whatever the consequences.

"Yes I'm going back, I know that those charges are all false and fake, so they can arrest me, they can kill me, they can do whatever they like, but still I have to go back to my people and my country. This is my country. "

Police in Texas say the gunman who killed a hostage at the NASA Space Center in Huston on Friday and then shot himself was facing a review of his performance of work, and apparently feared he would be sacked. The man, William Phillips, was said to have bought a revolver and ammunition on the same day that he printed an e-mail from a man he later took hostage David Beverly, detailing his shortcomings. Phillips confronted Beverly and shot him several times as he tried to barricade himself in his office. A second hostage, a woman, was bound with tape but escaped without injury.

The leading all time run scorer in test cricket, the West Indies Captain Brian Lara has played his last ever international match. Lara, who announced his retirement from a game on Thursday, was run out for 18 in his final World Cup Super 8 match against England in Barbados. He received a massive ovation from a packed stadium and a "guard of honor" by both teams. The game itself ended with a narrow win for England by one wicket in the final over.

BBC World News.

rigging
Vote or ballot rigging is the act of dishonestly organizing an election to get a particular result.

guard of honour
a group of soldiers ceremonially welcoming an important visitor. 仪仗队