BBC在线收听下载:南非人民自发聚集悼念前总统曼德拉

BBC news 2013-12-07

BBC News with Jerry Smit.

The South African President Jacob Zuma has been leading the tributes to Nelson Mandela who died on Thursday night at the age of 95. Mr. Zuma said the outpouring of love from home and abroad was uNPRecedented.  He said Nelson Mandela, who led South Africa to freedom from white minority rule and was its first black president, had taught South Africans that it was possible to overcome hatred to build a new society.

We sincerely thank all South Africans for the dignified manner in which they have respected and responded to the monumental loss of this international icon who is(are) the symbol of reconciliation, unity, love, human rights, and justice.

Across South Africa, people have gathered to mourn and celebrate Nelson Mandela's life. Crowds formed outside his house in Johannesburg to pay their respects. From there, Mike Wooldridge sent this report.

It is spontaneous, sorrowful and celebratory at the same time. The more formal marking of Nelson Mandela's passing is to come. This is the people of South Africa wanting to demonstrate the regard they had for their first democratically elected, their first black president. This was the scenes in Houghton, the leafy and usually quiet suburb of Johannesburg where Nelson Mandela lived during the latter years of his life. Mandela family members kept their privacy as preparations begin for the official mourning.

Mourners also gathered outside Mandela's former home in Soweto to pay their respects. These people were among them.

"I came here so far just to celebrate our hero. So I saw it as a need for me to be here in Vilakazi Street in Soweto."

"We just had to come as family to support and celebrate his life and show what he has taught us: forgiveness."

"The atmosphere here is just as good as when he was released. The inspiration, the positiveness. And although we are mourning, (but) we are celebrating a true legend.

The South African Communist Party has said that Nelson Mandela was in fact a member of its central committee at the time of his arrest in 1962. Although it's been the subject to much debate among historians and academics, Mandela himself always denied being a member of the communist party. At his trial, he dismissed the allegations, saying they were a smear by the apartheid government to discredit him.

The White House has announced that President Obama and his wife Michelle will travel to South Africa next week to join the memorial services. Tributes to the former South African president have continued to pour in from leaders around the world.

World News from the BBC.

The death of Nelson Mandela is overshadowing a two-day summit in Paris where African leaders have gathered to discuss peace and security on the continent. The French President Francois Hollande who called the meeting urged the African leaders to help create a continental security force. He said France was ready to train up to 20,000 African soldiers per year.

Hundreds of additional French troops have arrived in the Central African Republic as a part of a United Nations backed operation to restore security. French soldiers in armored vehicles are patrolling the capital Bangui and fighter jets have flown over the city. The Red Cross says about 300 people were killed in Bangui in sectarian violence on Thursday. The UN says it has reports of hundreds of homes burnt in the northern town of Bossangoa.

Six people in Mexico have been admitted to hospital for possible radiation poisoning. Police are blocking access to the hospital in Hidalgo state. Earlier this week, a truck carrying medical equipment with radioactive material inside was stolen in the area. It was found abandoned a couple of days later.

The draw for the 2014 World Cup Finals has taken place in Brazil. The 32 teams were split into 8 groups of 4. Our sports reporter Alex Capstick has some of the highlights.

Games against Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon should pose few problems for Brazil in the early stages of the tournament. But it's looking more difficult for the defending champions, Spain will open their campaign against the team they defeated in a bad-tempered final 3 years ago, the Netherlands. The USA's coach Jurgen Klinsmann can ponder a fixture against his native Germany. Group G also includes Portugal and Ghana and it's considered one of the toughest along with Group D which has drawn Uruguay with Costa Rica, England and Italy. The two European nations will face extreme humidity when they clash in the Amazonian city of Manaus in their first match.

Alex Capstick. BBC News.