BBC在线收听下载:美国小学枪击案死者身份确认

BBC news 2012-12-16

BBC News with Iain Purdon.

Police in the U.S. state of Connecticut have been speaking about the ongoing investigation into the shooting of 20 young children and 6 adults at an elementary school in Newtown Connecticut on Friday. Those killed at the school have now been identified and their next of kin informed. This report from Jonny Dymond.

All night police worked at Sandy Hook Elementary School, gathering evidence and removing the bodies of the children and their teachers. All the families have now been told of their loss. The state police say they have what they call very good evidence from both the school and the alleged killer's home, where his mother's body was found. The gunman, they say, forced his way into the school yesterday by breaking a window. The town of Sandy Hook is quiet. Many shops are closed today. And many residents have appeared to be staying in their homes.

Several politicians have called for changes to America's gun laws to prevent shootings similar to Friday's. President Obama made an appeal for meaningful action to prevent more deaths, regardless of politics. From Washington, Paul Adams.

In his weekly address from the White House, President Obama repeated the language he used last night. Free from the constraints of re-election, it's possible he'll try to act more forcefully.But Support for stricter gun legislation has actually fallen, not risen, in recent years, along with the steady decline in overall levels of violent crime. The gun lobby has a powerful grip on Congress. And the last time the issue came before the Supreme Court, the justices ruled in favor of the individual's right to bear arms.

The governor of Nigeria's central Kaduna State, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, has been killed in a helicopter crash along with five other people, including a former national security advisor. The navy helicopter, which was on its way to Port Harcourt, came down in Bayelsa State in the oil-rich southern delta region. A spokesman for Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency said rescuers had been sent to the crash site. A statement by the Nigerian People's Democratic Party said the death of governor Yakowa was a colossal loss.

At least 4 people have been killed and more than 30 injured in a rocket attack on one of Pakistan's key regional airports in the city of Peshawar. Women and children are thought to be among the casualties. Tulid Merzander reports from Islamabad.

The airport is in a military zone and it's just a few kilometers from the tribal areas where militants have safe havens. It's used for both commercial and military flights. A spokesperson for the Pakistani Air Force said none of the attackers managed to get on to the site. There have been repeated bombings in Peshawar in recent years, mainly carried out by the Pakistani Taliban. But attacks on airports are rare.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban told the BBC that they had carried out the attack.

World news from the BBC.

With polling stations closing in the Egypt's constitutional referendum, there have been reports of trouble in the capital of Cairo. Members of the opposition Wafd Party said Islamists had attacked the party's headquarters in the center of the city with petrol bombs. A fire took hold but was later said to have been put out. Across the country, voting generally proceeded smoothly amid tight security. A high turn-out meant that polling stations were kept open for another two hours. It's the first round of voting on the proposed new constitution. A second round will be held next Saturday.

The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela has undergone a successful operation in Pretoria to remove gall stones. He's said to be recovering well. Karen Allen reports from Johannesburg.

It's been much concern about the ailing former president's health after he was admitted to a hospital in Pretoria a week ago. There has been limited detail about his medical condition or even which hospital the former president is being treated in. But today the government shed more light, revealing the test showed the recurrence of lung infection and the presence of gall stones. Doctors decided to treat Nelson Mandela's lung problem first before determining whether to attend the gall stones.

Turkish police and special forces have seized 20 tons of marijuana worth about 22 million dollars, in a series of raids targeting the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, around the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The governor of Diyarbakir province said the raids were a huge blow to what he called the terrorist's income.

A report by the governing body of world football FIFA has found what it termed compelling evidence of match fixing in several international friendlies that South Africa played before hosting the 2010 World Cup. The South African Football Association, which was handed the report on Friday, said it showed it had been infiltrated by a now convicted Singaporean match fixer, Wilson Perumal.

BBC News.