BBC News:总统奥巴马授权对叙利亚进行军事干预
The White House says that President Obama authorizes military intervention against Syria, itwill be solely in response to last week's apparent chemical weapons attack on the outskirts ofDamascus. Earlier, the US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the US armed forces were readyfor military action. From Washington here's David Willis.
There is growing sense the United States is preparing for the possibility of a military strikeagainst Syria. A White House spokesman said the Obama administration was firmly of theview, not only that chemical weapons had been used in Syria but that it was the Syriangovernment that used them. The US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told the BBC that thearmed forces were ready to go should the president give the order. But Mr. Obama is still saidto be weighing his options.
The British Prime Minister also stressed that any military action would aim specifically deterringthe future use of such weapons. Meanwhile, Syria's key allies - Russia, Iran and China - havestepped up their warnings against the intervention. The Syrian Foreign Minister, WalidMuallem, said that his country would defend itself by all possible means for attacked. Hedescribed the allegations about chemical weapons as lies.
Police in Spain have arrested a former investment banker wanted by the US over a 2012 forgedscandal which led to senior resignations of JP Morgan and several government probes intobank practice. Here's Tom Burridge.
Javier Martin-Artajo, a former investment banker JP Morgan Chase, handed himself in to policein Madrid. He is wanted in the United States on charges that he and former colleague fixedbank records on a portfolio of investments to high losses amounting to more than $6bn. Afterhis arrest, Javier Martin-Artajo was released on bail, and his case is now being considered bySpain's High Court which will decide whether he should be extradited to the United States.
A former bank executive in the United States has admitted using nearly $400,000 ofgovernment bailout money to buy a luxury holiday home in Florida. Darryl Layne Woods was achairman of a bank in Missouri has pleaded guilty to misleading investors of the use of thefunds. Andrew Walker reports.
In late 2008, the global financial system was reeling from the collapse of the Americaninvestment bank Lehmans and the US government set up a program using taxpayers' money torestore its ability. The owner of Mainstreet Bank in Ashland, Missouri sought help, but thebank's chairman Darryl Woods now admits that he used $380,000 of the funds to buy aluxury waterside home in Florida. The US prosecutor described him as a disgraced businessleader who took advantage of the situation to benefit himself and other executives. He hasnot been sentenced yet, but could face up to a year in prison.
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Colombia's second largest rebel group, the ELN, had freed a Canadian hostage seized sevenmonths ago. The Vice President of a Toronto-based mining company Gernot Wober was handedover to the international committee of the Red Cross at an undisclosed location in the north ofthe country. Mr.Wober was taken hostage by the left-wing rebels in January alongside five otherworkers who were released shortly after. The Colombian government has said that the ELNwould only be allowed to take part in peace talks if they release all their hostages.
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the killings by the Taliban of 12 Afghancivilians while he held two days of talks in Pakistan with the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. KarenAllen reports on the Mr. Karzai's comments.
He's condemned the attacks in Herat, in the west of the country, and also attacks in the eastof the country. And he basically said that there were some countries want to keep Afghanistanunderdeveloped now, that was a fairly, clearly pointed to dig neighbouring Pakistan whichAfghanistan has long accused of having links to the insurgency here in Afghanistan. Interestingbecause he comes just as he was leaving two-day talks in Islamabad, of course, he's beenmeeting Nawaz Sharif, the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Both sides are saying that they had not root out the possibility of further discussion to putstalled negotiations with the Taliban back on track.
The French President Francois Hollande has urged the United Nations and the African Union totake immediate action to bring stability to the Central African Republic which he said was atrisk of going the way of Somalia. The country has become increasingly lawless since thesuccessful rebel coup in March with accusation of widespread recruitment of child soldiers,weapons proliferation, rape and population displacement. The UN officials have warned thecountry on the verge of collapse, saying the crisis could affect neighbouring countries.
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