BBC在线收听下载:法国新总统奥朗德组建其政府

BBC news 2012-05-17

BBC News with Julie Candler

The former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic has gone on trial at The Hague on war crimes charges. General Mladic, who's now 70, faces 11 charges, including genocide and the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995. The BBC's Allan Little was in court.

Mladic is physically diminished, but he's no less defiant. He came into court gesturing to the public gallery, a sarcastic slow handclap and a thumbs up - aimed almost certainly at the widows of men killed at Srebrenica. The prosecution in chilling detail described the progress of the Serb war effort that Mladic had directed. Its purpose was to separate Bosnia's Serbs from its Muslims and Croats. Mladic denies all the charges and insists he was merely defending the Serb people. But tomorrow the court turns its attention exclusively to the massacre at Srebrenica in July 1995. By then, the prosecution said today, Mladic's men were "well-rehearsed in the craft of murder".

As Greece struggles to deal with its massive debt problems, a caretaker prime minister has been sworn in after the main parties failed to form a coalition government in the wake of inconclusive elections. Panagiotis Pikrammenos, a senior judge, will oversee the period before fresh elections are held on 17 June. The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the Greek people had to realise that Greece's future in the euro was at stake.

"We have always made clear that the eurozone, that Europe, needs to stick together. But solidarity is not a one-way street. The Greek people must know what they are voting on. It's not about party politics, but about Greece's future in Europe and with the euro."

The French President Francois Hollande has unveiled his new government. From Paris, Hugh Schofield has more.

After naming Jean-Marc Ayrault as his prime minister on Tuesday, President Hollande has now drawn up the whole of his government. The most eye-catching appointments are at the foreign ministry, where Laurent Fabius takes over - he was once France's youngest ever prime minister - and at the finance ministry, where the new chief is Pierre Moscovici. He's a former European affairs minister, a fluent English speaker and a close ally of Francois Hollande.

The Italian authorities say Umberto Bossi, the founder of the opposition Northern League, is to be investigated for fraud. Mr Bossi resigned last month after allegations that state funds meant for electoral campaigning were used to renovate his home and pay for cars and travel for his sons. The family denies this. For years, Mr Bossi portrayed himself as a champion of northern Italy against what he alleged was the corruption of the south.

World News from the BBC

The United Nations refugee agency says fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo between the army and mutineers loyal to General Bosco Ntaganda has forced tens of thousands of people to flee into neighbouring states. Martin Plaut reports.

The UNHCR reports that more than 8,000 Congolese refugees have been registered in Rwanda, and a much larger number have crossed into Uganda. Many are women and children with men going back into Congo to tend their crops and cattle during the day. The Congolese army is continuing to hunt down General Ntaganda, who is believed to be in the Virunga National Park, home to the rare mountain gorillas. He's wanted by the International Criminal Court for recruiting child soldiers.

The FBI director in the United States, Robert Mueller, has condemned recent leaks of information about an al-Qaeda plot to put an explosive device aboard a plane bound for the US. Mr Mueller confirmed that the affair was under investigation. The leaks last week revealed that a British national working undercover in Yemen had volunteered to carry a bomb before turning the device over to the US authorities.

Brazil has inaugurated a truth commission created to investigate abuses of human rights, including those committed under military rule. In a ceremony attended by all living former Brazilian presidents, the current leader Dilma Rousseff said the Brazilian people deserved to know the truth. A military-era amnesty means there will be no trials.

The manager of Liverpool Football Club, Kenny Dalglish, has been sacked, ending his second period in charge there. Alex Capstick reports.

Kenny Dalglish is revered at Liverpool, but his second spell as manager of the club proved troublesome: eighth place in the Premier League table, and the failure to secure Champions League football for a third consecutive season was deeply disappointing. Some of his big-money signings have not worked out. There's been uncertainty over his position ever since the defeat against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

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