BBC在线收听下载:社交网站Facebook的股价今天创新低

BBC news 2012-08-17

BBC News with Jerry Smit

South African police have opened fire on a crowd of several thousand striking workers at a platinum mine leaving an unconfirmed number of people dead or injured. An eyewitness told the BBC he counted 18 bodies lying on the ground outside the mine. Gordon Corera reports.
After first using water cannon, then stun grenades and tear gas, TV footage show South African police firing volleys of live rounds into the striking miners, some of whom, the police say, were armed with machetes and clubs. Bodies can then be seen lying on the ground in pools of blood. The unrest began nearly a week ago when 3,000 workers walked out in what management described as an illegal strike. The men were demanding a wage increase from the company that operates the mine. It is the third largest producer of platinum in the world – almost all of which comes from this one mine.

Britain and Sweden have criticized Ecuador's decision to grant political asylum to the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Mr Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London two months ago to avoid extradition to Sweden where he's wanted for questioning over sex assault allegations. The British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Mr Assange would not be allowed safe passage to Ecuador.
"Under our law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We must carry out the  obligation, and of course we fully intend to do so. The Ecuadorian government's decision does not change that, and nor does it change the current circumstances in any way."

Police in Chile have detained 139 people, most of them teenage students who are occupying three schools in the capital Santiago in continuing protest against the government's education policies. There were violent clashes as police moved into the buildings. Student leader, Camila Vallejo, criticized the action.
"It's a direct assault on public education, and on the chance to advance towards ending inequality in Chile."
Chilean students have held months of mass protest in the past year to demand free, high quality public education for all.

Eleven people have died after a military helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. Nato-led forces in the country said seven of the dead were American military personnel, three were members of the Afghan security forces, and one was an Afghan civilian interpreter. The Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Kandahar province.

The number of people killed in bomb and shooting attacks in Iraq on Thursday has climbed to at least forty-five. Most of the victims died in and around Baghdad and in the northern city of Kirkuk. Security forces and police appeared to be the targets of several of the bombings.

World News from the BBC

A British man paralyzed from the neck down has lost a High Court case in which he argued that doctors should be allowed to end his life without fear of prosecution. Judges ruled against Tony Nicklinson, saying the law was clear, and that voluntary euthanasia was murder. Fifty-eight-year-old Mr Nicklinson had described his life as a 'living nightmare' since a stroke in 2005 which left him with locked-in syndrome. He has said he will appeal against the decision.

A British judge has ruled that (in) an arranged marriage involving a British woman of Bangladeshi origin who has severe learning difficulties should be annulled. Her parents, who organized the marriage in Bangladesh nine years ago, had argued that it was in her best interests, and an annulment would shame their family.

Shares in the social networking site Facebook fell to a new low today as some of the restrictions on selling stock were lifted after the initial public offer in May. When the company floated, shares went on sale for $38 each. Today, the price dipped below $20, wiping $4bn of the company's market value. Here's our business reporter Karen Hoggan.
Until now, the investors who've been with Facebook since the company's early days have been prevented from selling their shares. This restriction is imposed to protect newly floated shares from extreme volatility if too many people sell at once. Often, when the ban is lifted, a company's share price drops sharply. However, some think many investors, who have seen the share price drop so much since May, may have hung onto their shares to avoid selling them at a loss.

The death has been announced of the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos, at the age of 76. The Ethiopian foreign ministry said the patriarch had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness in recent weeks. Abune Paulos led Ethiopia's 40 million Orthodox Christians – half of the population for 20 years.

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