BBC在线收听下载:奥巴马敦促欧洲加紧解决危机

BBC news 2012-06-09

BBC News with Julie Candler

United Nations monitors have finally been able to enter the Syrian village of Qubair, the scene of Wednesday's alleged massacre by a pro-government militia. A BBC reporter travelling with them has described the scene of devastation: one house contained pieces of brain and congealed blood while in another the stench of burnt flesh still hung in the air. The findings were confirmed by Sausan Ghosheh, a spokeswoman who visited Qubair with the monitors.

"What we were able to see was some homes that were damaged from shelling as well as other calibre bullets. In addition to homes that were burnt, there seemed to be like bodies inside. There was a very heavy stench of burnt flesh as well as other body parts scattered around the village, and the blood flooded on the walls and floors."

The United States has expressed concern about reports that Russia could be helping Syrian institutions evade financial sanctions. After a visit to Moscow, David Cohen, a top US Treasury official, told the BBC he was concerned about reports that Russian banks are offering assistance to the Syrian central bank. He said there's evidence that financial sanctions against Syria are having an impact, but said the US is worried that Russia's close economic ties with Syria are undermining the sanctions programme.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says a million and a half people in Syria are in need of relief aid because of the conflict. That's half a million more than the UN's estimate. John McGuire is a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"We're particularly concerned about the high number of civilian casualties. The civilians seem to be disproportionately caught up in the fighting. We're also concerned that people are unable to access medical services they need in those areas where the fighting is particularly intense. We're not even able to get food in there."

President Obama has said European leaders must act urgently to solve the financial crisis facing the continent. He warned that the solutions would be hard but said they could be found, and stressed that Europe's leaders understood the seriousness of the situation and the need to act now. Paul Adams reports.

This isn't the first time Mr Obama has sounded a note of impatience at the inability of European leaders to chart a way out of their debt crisis. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he did his best to sound optimistic. European leaders knew there were specific steps, he said, that they could take right now to stabilise the situation, including injecting capital into weak banks and laying out a vision for a stronger eurozone. But the president urged them to think about ways to generate jobs and growth too. The sooner they acted, he said, the quicker people and markets would regain confidence.

The United Nations says seven of its peacekeepers have been killed in an ambush in the southwest of the country near the Liberian border. All seven were from Niger. The UN recently strengthened its presence in the area.

World News from the BBC

Suicides among American troops on active service have surged this year, far outstripping the number killed in Afghanistan. Figures released by the Pentagon show suicides averaging one a day in the first five months of this year, 50% more than deaths in action. The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. There's also been a rise in sexual assaults, domestic violence and alcohol abuse.

A court in New York has sentenced the notorious Jamaican drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke to 23 years in prison. Coke had pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to commit assault. He was extradited from Jamaica nearly two years ago after a bloody standoff between government forces and gunmen loyal to him in a poor neighbourhood of Kingston. Nearly 70 people died during four days of fighting.

Britain has signed a deal with Mauritius allowing suspected pirates caught by its Royal Navy to be transferred to the Indian Ocean Island to face prosecution. Peter Biles reports.

Mauritius is the latest country to agree to take suspected pirates for prosecution. There's no international legal system for people accused of piracy, but Britain has been working with countries in and around the Indian Ocean to deal with the threat. The British government says today's agreement with Mauritius is a significant step forward. It comes after two international conferences on Somalia this year. And according to Prime Minister David Cameron, it's another sign that countries in the Indian Ocean region are stepping up their efforts against piracy.

The European Football Championship has begun in Warsaw with an opening ceremony followed by the first match between Greece and the co-hosts Poland. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. In Wrocław, in southern Poland, Russia beat the Czech Republic 4-1. Games will also be played in Ukraine. Both Poland and Ukraine hope the tournament will be a showcase for their nations, but there's been controversy over racist football fans.

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