BBC news 2011-01-22 加文本

BBC news 2011-01-22

BBC News with Marion Marshall

The American congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head while meeting voters almost two weeks ago, has left hospital in Arizona to go to a rehabilitation centre in Texas. The shooting, in which Ms Giffords was injured and six others were killed, led to concerns about the harsh political debate in the United States. Some people said it had contributed to the incident. Rajesh Mirchandani reports.

People lined the streets as a motorcade ferried congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords from the hospital in Tucson to a military airbase. Her ambulance was escorted by a group of army veteran motorcycle riders. Ms Giffords had previously ridden with them. She'll be flown to a renowned rehabilitation centre in Houston, Texas, but doctors warn she'll need weeks, if not months, of treatment, and it's still too early to say what long-term damage there might be.

Hospital officials in the Albanian capital Tirana say three people have been shot dead in clashes between riot police and thousands of anti-government protesters. More from Mark Lowen.

Several policemen and civilians have also been injured in the violence, which began in the early afternoon when supporters of the opposition Socialist Party gathered outside the prime minister's office. They hurled stones and set cars alight before the police used tear gas and water cannons. The protesters are calling for the resignation of the government, which they believe stole the last election and is mired in corruption. Several street demonstrations have taken place in the Albanian capital since the 2009 disputed election, but this is the only one which has descended into such chaotic scenes.

A spokesman for UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo says the Congolese army has arrested an officer accused of leading the mass rape of 50 women on New Year's Day. Lt Col Kibibi Mutware is being held in connection with the rapes in the eastern town of Fizi. Col Kibibi has dismissed all allegations against him. From Kinshasa, Thomas Uebel reports.

The head of Fizi's municipal administration confirmed that he had seen Kibibi being handcuffed and driven away on Friday, along with around 10 other soldiers arrested in connection with the violence on New Year's Day. Military and humanitarian sources said the events over the New Year period began when a mob lynched a soldier who had shot a civilian. A group of soldiers then took revenge on the people of Fizi. The UN's humanitarian coordination office said the soldiers stabbed 26 people, including a four-year-old child, looted more than 20 homes and shops and raped dozens of women.

The Costa Rican president has accused Nicaragua of spending money on irresponsible military adventures abroad, despite being one of the poorest countries in Latin America. President Laura Chinchilla Miranda told the BBC Nicaragua should concentrate on improving the lives of its citizens instead of occupying Costa Rican territory. Mrs Chinchilla Miranda was commenting on the dispute over Isla Calero, an island on the border river between the two countries. Nicaragua occupied it last year on the basis of a Google map.

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Cuba has suspended all postal deliveries to the United States until further notice. The suspension follows stricter security measures imposed by the US last year after the attempted mailing of explosives from Yemen. The Cuban postal service says large amounts of mail were refused entry and returned. Correspondents say the cost of so many returns may have led to the decision to stop the service.

The founder of an Italian luxury leather goods company has announced that he'll foot the bill so that urgently needed restoration can get underway on one of the world's most famous monuments, the Colosseum in Rome. The donor is offering $34m, the largest injection of private money for the upkeep of any of Italy's many ancient but crumbling monuments.

A French court has convicted the former boss of the French-American media giant, Vivendi Universal, of embezzlement and false reporting to the stock market. Jean-Marie Messier was ousted in 2002 following the purchase of Universal when it had debts of $47bn. He's been given a three-year suspended prison sentence and fined $200,000. A lawyer representing the small shareholders, Frederik Karel Canoy, said it was a hard-fought victory.

"We won. It's a victory we've been waiting for eight years. We have a total answer from the tribunal, so I'm proud to be French. We don't need to bring the case to the United States to have a judicial answer."

Staff at an aquarium in Ukraine are worried about the health of one of their crocodiles after it ate a mobile phone accidentally dropped into its enclosure by a visitor. The 14-year-old crocodile, known as Gena, has been refusing food for a month. Aquarium employees initially didn't believe a woman's complaints that her phone had been eaten until it began ringing. Crocodiles usually eat fish, birds and types of mammals, including people. The crocodile may need surgery.

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