BBC News:联合国安理会允许欧洲派兵中非共和国
Opposition demonstrators in Ukraine have welcomedgovernment moves to meet two of their keydemands with the prime minister's resignation andrepeal of anti-protest laws. But demonstrators saythey will stay on the streets until President ViktorYanukovych resigns and calls early elections. DavidStern reports from Kiev.
In a statement, President Yanukobyvh said heaccepted the resignations of Mr. Azarov and hisentire cabinet, although they would continue in their positions until a new government wasformed. The announcement followed parliament repeal on Tuesday of controversial laws,passed 2 weeks ago which reviewed a severely restricting the speech/ in the country. The laws'introduction helped spark violence clashes between riot police and demonstrators in centralKiev. Protests have spread to other cities, including some in the east of Ukraine where Mr.Yanukovych enjoys his stronger support.
President Putin has rejected what he called foreign interference in Ukraine, saying visits byoverseas envoys were adding to the unrest there. The comments at an EU-Russia summitappeared to be a thinly veiled criticism of European policy. The EU foreign policy chief is on herway to Kiev.
United Nations Security Council has approved a resolution, allowing European troops to useforce in the Central African Republic. The EU has sent up to 600 soldiers to help African andFrench troops already deployed in the country. The resolution also allows for sanctions againstthe ringleaders of the groups in the alliance of militias or Salaka blamed for massacres andhuman rights abuses. The French ambassador to the UN Gerard Araud said the troops wereneeded not only to defend the people but engage in rebuilding the country.
“People forget also that, basically what the Salaka did when they arrived in Bangui is that in aviciously deliberate way, they destroyed everything which was linked to the state, you know,they burnt the archives, they are burnt built* . So there's no state left. So it means that theinternational community, the UN, but also European Union, we have to start I think longer-term endeavor to rebuilt a state you know, really in Central African Republic.”
Police in Togo said they've arrested 3 men after discovering nearly two tons of ivory in acontainer destined for Vietnam. Conservationists say the West African country is a transitpoint between Central Africa and Asia. With more, here's Richard Hamilton.
Last August, Togo announced that it'd arrested a man known simply as the boss of thecountry's ivory trade, believed to be responsible for the slaughter of thousands of elephants.Despite a global ban nearly a quarter of a century ago, Africa's elephant population isheading towards extinction. The numbers of forest elephants in Central Africa for examplehave decreased by more than 60% over the last 10 years. Across the continent, there's acontinuing battle against poachers.
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A court in Jerusalem has sentenced an Israeli man to 4 years in prison for offering to spy forIran. Yitzhak Bergel who's 46 met Iranian diplomats at their embassy in Berlin 2 years ago, andoffered collecting intelligence about Israel. He admitted charges of contacting a foreign agent,intent to commit treason and attempting to aid an enemy in Israel.
New figures released by the International Organization of Migration revealed that more than45,000 people risked their lives last year, trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy andMalta from North Africa. 1/5 of them, children. More than 700 of the migrants died at sea and aspokesman for the IOM said ways needed to be found to save people from drowning. AlanJohnston reports from Rome.
Every few days, migrants arrive on Italy shores. Each overcrowded fishing boat or unseaworthyrubber dinghy brings dozens of people. And this latest report gives an overall sense of thescale of the numbers involved in 2013. Of those 45,000 who made the crossing, the largestsingle group were people fleeing warring Syria. There are more than 11,000 of them. ButEritreans and Somalis were also heavily represented.
United States custom officials say they've grounded all ten of their drone aircraft, used tomonitor the border with Mexico after one of the planes crashed in the Pacific. The unarmedpredator aircraft, worth about $12m, had a mechanical failure on Monday night.
One of the most celebrated artists from Ivory Coast Frédéric Bruly Bouabré has died，he was91. Bouabre created many of his hundreds of small drawings while working as a clerk in variousgovernment offices. He also created his own alphabet which he used to transcribe the oraltraditions of his people, the Bétés.
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