NPR News 2011-03-04 加文本

NPR News 2011-03-04

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Pam Coulter.

President Obama wants to reduce drug voilence in the neighborhood. After a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the White House, Mr. Obama said US efforts are producing some success.

"The United States accepts our shared responsibility for the drug violence. So to combat the southbound flow of guns and money, we are screening all southbound rail cargo, seizing many more guns bound for Mexico, and we are putting more gun runners behind bars."

Three weeks ago, a US customs agent was shot and killed in northern Mexico with a gun smuggled in from the US. The two leaders also announced a deal to allow Mexican trucks in the US if they meet US safety standards.

There was more political turmoil in post-Mubarak Egypt. The prime minister was resigned and has been replaced by a former minister from ousted President Hosni Mubarak's administration. In Cairo, NPR's Jason Beaubien says the reshuffling comes as demonstrators call for even more changes in the government.

The military council that's ruling Egypt announced Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq's resignation in a brief statement on the Internet. The army said he'll be replaced by Essam Sharaf, who served as transportation minister for Mubarak. Shafiq was a controversial figure. He'd been appointed after the pro-democracy demonstration started as a gesture by Mubarak that he was delegating power away from himself. Protesters and opposition leaders, however, view Shafiq as a remnant of the Mubarak regime and have been calling for Shafiq to be fired. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Cairo.

Remember that big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year? Well, oil giant BP is withholding bonuses for two deported executives who were in charge of operations there. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports BP claims it's now a changed company.

It's BP's first annual report since the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing 11 rig workers and unleashing the worst offshore oil spill in US history. In a video introduction to the document, CEO Bob Dudley says the tragedy shocked and saddened the company.

"2010 stands as an inflection point for BP and our industry. We understand that a return to businesses as usual is not an option."

Dudley is not taking a bonus for 2010, and the two officers who left in the wake of the oil disaster, CEO Tony Hayward and head of exploration and production Andy Inglis, won't be getting bonuses either. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

A Salt Lake City jury is deliberating the case against an environmental activist who admits to purposely disrupting a 2008 federal oil-and-gas auction. Tim DeChristopher says he was taking a stand against climate change.

Stocks are a lot higher this afternoon. On Wall Street, the Dow is up 214 points, NASDAQ ahead 53, and the S&P up 23.

This is NPR.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and members of his inner circle are already facing sanctions by the international community. And now, they're facing possible prosecution in the Hague. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he'll investigate Gaddafi, some of his sons and closest associates for possbile crimes against humanity in the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

At least three people have been killed, and a score injured at a governing party rally in Nigeria. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the latest violence comes a month before a key presidential election and a charged political climate.

Witnesses say an explosive device was thrown from a car near the capital Abuja. It appears the target was an election rally held by the president's People's Democratic Party in the nearby town of Suleja. The police say the device landed close to where market women were trading. This is the latest apparent act of politcal violence in Nigeria, which has been blighted by sporadic bomb attacks since deadly explosions disrupted 50th independence anniversary celebrations last October. Election campaign period is often filled with disturbances in Nigeria, Africa's leading crude oil exporter and the continent's most populous nation. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Accra.

A Northwestern University psychology professor is in some hot water. The school's president says Professor John Michael Bailey showed poor judgment in allowing a couple to engage in a sex act in front of dozens of students. President Morton Schapiro ordered an investigation of the incident that occurred in Bailey's human sexuality class.

Pam Coulter, NPR news Washington.