BBC news 2012-01-21 加文本 讲解翻译

音频与PDF文档打包下载

BBC news 2012-01-21

BBC News with David Austin

The biggest city in northern Nigeria, Kano, has been hit by a series of bomb attacks. The regional police headquarters and police stations were among the targets. Gunfire was heard in several locations. Reports from Kano suggest at least six people have been killed. The BBC's Mark Doyle is in Kaduna in northern Nigeria.

What appears to have been a coordinated series of attacks against police stations has taken place in the last couple of hours. We've been speaking to residents in Kano. It's about three hours' drive from where I am now. Residents confirm and eyewitnesses confirm that at least six blasts took place, at least five of those at police stations. One of the police stations is reportedly very, very badly damaged. It may have been some sort of car bomb, and it may be many more police stations, but as (I say) residents say at least six.

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has carried out attacks across northern Nigeria in recent months, says it was behind the latest bombings.

France is suspending its training programme and joint military operations with the army of Afghanistan after a rogue Afghan soldier killed four French soldiers and wounded about 15 others. It's the second time in three weeks that French soldiers have been killed by men that they are trying to train. President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would consider an early withdrawal of French units from Afghanistan, but the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she doesn't think that'll happen.

"I am in greater sympathy with what happened to the French soldiers. We are in close contact with our French colleagues, and we have no reason to believe that France will do anything other than continue to be part of the very carefully considered transition process as we look at our exit as previously agreed upon."

Three British Muslim men have been found guilty of stirring up hatred against homosexuals. They distributed leaflets which argued that the death penalty was justified to rid society of gay men and women. The verdicts were made at a court in the city of Derby, from where Chris Buckler reports.

Eighteen months ago, Kabir Ahmed, Razwan Javed and Ihjaz Ali had handed out leaflets outside the Jamia Mosque in Derby and put them through letterboxes in the surrounding streets. Titled Death Penalty?, the leaflet featured a picture of a mannequin with a noose around its neck. It stated that homosexuals would be punished by execution in an Islamic state. At Derby Crown Court, a jury found all three guilty - the first people to be convicted of stirring up hatred on the grounds of someone's sexual orientation.

Iran's English language television station Press TV has lost its licence to broadcast in Britain. The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said editorial control of Press TV came from Tehran, breaking British broadcasting rules. Press TV has responded by accusing Britain of censorship.

World News from the BBC

The United Nations has warned of worsening humanitarian problems in South Sudan as a result of ethnic violence. It says tens of thousands of people need urgent help. Most need food aid after fleeing their homes. Barbara Plett reports from the UN in New York.

Two weeks ago, the UN launched an emergency operation to help 60,000 people displaced by tribal fighting over ongoing cattle raids between the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes in Jonglei state. At that time, the Lou Nuer had launched a massive attack, but the violence has continued with reprisal attacks by the Murle. Because of this, the UN's regional humanitarian coordinator Lise Grande says 120,000 people now desperately need help.

The leader of the United States Senate, Harry Reid, has postponed a vote on a bill that seeks to restrict Internet piracy. It follows a coordinated online protest earlier this week by several major Internet companies, including Wikipedia and Google. They fear the legislation would damage Internet freedom. Jonathan Blake reports from Washington.

The question of how to stop people illegally copying and sharing films, TV shows and music online is one which US lawmakers have been grappling with for some time. The two bills going through Congress - the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) - were supposed to be the answer. But whilst Hollywood studios and record companies agree the tougher powers proposed to shut down sites linking to illegal material are needed, others disagree.

The American rhythm and blue star Etta James has died at the age of 73. Her manager said she'd been suffering from leukaemia. James used her powerful soulful voice to emerge from a deprived background, rising to success with hits such as At Last and I Just Wanna Make Love to You. But she battled with heroin addiction and obesity for much of her life.

Those are the latest stories from BBC News.