BBC news 2014-05-31 加文本

BBC news 2014-05-31

BBC News, I'm John Shea.

President Obama has announced that his veterans affair secretary has resigned after a scathing report found widespread failings in healthcare treatment for retired US service men and women. Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from Washington.

President Obama said it was with considerable regret that he was accepting the resignation of the man responsible for the welfare of military veterans General Eric Shinseki. It follows a report that showed 1,700 veterans in Phoenix, Arizona who've been trying to get a primary care appointment haven't ever been placed on a waiting list. Others had spent months instead of weeks waiting to be seen by a doctor. And there were claims as many as 40 veterans may have died because they didn't get care.

The authorities in Libya say they are being overwhelmed by huge increase in the number of people trying to enter Europe illegally. It's thought as many as 300,000 people may be waiting in Libya to cross the Mediterranean. The Libyan coast guard has told the BBC that many are dying on the journey. Paul Adams reports.

The grim scenes in Libya lie at the heart of a complex web of migration routes all of which have Europe as their destination. According to Frontex, the European agency responsible for border security, 42,000 refugees and other migrants entered Europe in the first 4 months of this year, 2/3 of them crossed from Libya. But a month later, the total is much higher. The Italian government says more than 39,000 people have now reached its shores. This means the overall total is now around 60,000, and this is before the peak migration period over the summer.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said his country intends to play a greater more proactive role in the security of Asia. In a major foreign policy speech delivered in Singapore, the prime minister promised Japan would give its utmost supports to other East Asian countries, and maintain the freedom of navigation at the sea and the air. Mr. Abe recently announced that he wanted to reinterpret Japan's pacifist constitution to give its armed forces more power.

Thailand's new military ruler says he does not expect to hold elections for at least a year. In a televised address to the nation, General Prayuth Chan-ocha said time was needed to achieve reconciliation, draft a new constitution and mend Thailand's democratic system. General Prayuth who overthrew the government last week, said all sides had to cooperate and stop protesting in order for the plan to succeed.

A traditional Muslim ruler has been killed in northern Nigeria by suspected members of the Islamist group Boko Haram. The emir of Gwoza was in a convoy heading towards the funeral of another emir in Gombe state when he was ambushed. In another incident, a resident of the village of Koma near the border with Cameroon told the BBC that at least 17 local people were killed when the village was raided by militants on Thursday.

World News from the BBC.

A federal judge in Argentina has summoned vice president Amado Boudou to appear in court in July to defend himself in a corruption case. Mr. Boudou is seen as a strong contender in next year's presidential election. Leonardo Rocha has more details.

The case has been under investigation since 2010 when Mr. Boudou is alleged to have used the front man to buy a bankrupt printing company. He's accused of using his influence as the economy minister at the time to grant the company illegal tax breaks in a lucrative contract to print Argentina's bank notes. Mr. Boudou is due to appear in court on July 15th. He has rejected calls from the opposition to step down and says he will prove his innocence.

Police in Malawi have shot dead a protester after clashing with dozens of people who were demanding a recount of the disputed election. Malawi's electoral commission has told the high court it's not yet in a position to announce the result as it examines alleged irregularities.

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where 2 teenage girls were gang-raped and then hanged from a tree has pledged to set up a special fast-track court to try the suspects. Two policemen have been sacked and charged with criminal conspiracy for failing to pursue the case. (Chuck Sundroy Majimda) reports from Delhi.

There's wave of anger at the police who took 12 hours to respond when the parents of the victims approached them to report their girls were missing. The father of one of the girls says the police refused to help him. The girls aged 14 and 15, had gone to a nearby field because they had no toilet at home. They were found hanged from a mango tree the next morning. A post-mortem examination confirmed that they had been raped multiple times.

Stock markets in the United States have risen to a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day at nearly 17,000 points. The rise came despite figures on Thursday showing that the American economy shrank by 1% in the first 3 months of this year.

And that's latest BBC News.