BBC News:微软首席执行官鲍尔默宣布12个月内辞职
A former US army psychiatrist who admittedshooting dead 13 people at a military base in Texashas been found guilty. Maj Nidal Hasan could nowface the death penalty. Alastair Leithead reports.
Maj Nidal Hasan refused army lawyers and defended himself at the military trial at Fort Hoodbase in Texas where the shootings took place in 2009. But he called no witnesses, did nottestify and made no closing statements. He even admitted responsibility. Thirteen people werekilled and 32 others injured when Hasan, an American-born Muslim, opened fire on the crowdedbase as fellow troops were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.
In a separate court case, an American soldier, who was found guilty of murdering 16 unarmedAfghan civilians in a shooting spray in Kandahar province, has been sentenced to life in prisonwith no chance of parole. Peter Bowes has more.
When he appeared on the witness stand, Staff Sgt Robert Bales apologised for the pre-dawnattack which took place in March of last year. He described it as an act of cowardice. He wasserving his fourth combat deployment in Kandahar province when in the middle of the night, heattacked two villages. During questioning from one of his lawyers, Bales said he was trulysorry to those people whose families were taken away. Nine villagers travelled from Afghanistanto testify against Bales. One said he lost 11 relatives, including his mother, wife and six of hisseven children.
The UN Security Council has strongly condemned two bomb attacks near mosques in theLebanese city of Tripoli. They killed at least 40 people and injured around 400 others. Theexplosions came a week after a bomb in a Shiite district of Beirut killed 27 people. Nada Tawfikreports from New York.
With no immediate ending sign to the Syrian conflict, the United Nations Security Council hasbeen increasingly alarmed by the spill-over effects of the violence to neighbouring Lebanon.The Security Council said the attacks were unjustifiable and one of the most serious threats tointernational peace and security. But fearing continued sectarian strife, members urged theLebanese people to maintain national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country’sstability and to distance themselves from the crisis in Syria.
A bomb blast in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has killed at least 25 people and injured many more.Reports say a suicide bomber struck at a cafe in a park in the north of the city. Political andsectarian tensions across Iraq in recent months have led to a wave of violence.
The chief executive of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, has announced he’s stepping down within thenext 12 months. Microsoft has not yet named a replacement for Mr Ballmer, but shares in thesoftware giant rose by about nine per cent on the news. Critics say that under his leadership,Microsoft has fallen behind.
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Russia says there’s growing evidence that Syrian rebels were behind an alleged chemical attackin Ghouta near the capital Damascus. At the same time, Moscow has urged President Assad tocooperate with a UN investigation into the incident. The opposition Syrian National Coalitionsays it will do anything to assist the UN chemical weapons inspectors currently in Syria toconduct the investigation.
The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde has urged central banks inEurope, the United States and Japan to continue monetary easing policies designed tostimulate economic growth. Ms Lagarde made her remarks at a meeting of central bankers inthe American state of Wyoming. Marie Colvin reports from New York.
As the best and brightest financial minds from around the world gather in Wyoming thisweekend, their focus is on the US monetary policy. The Federal Reserve has signalled it willslow down stimulus measures which have been affecting stock prices and currencies around theworld. But the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, says stimulativepolicies have been successful and they are still needed in key visions. She’s cautioned centralbanks not to withdraw their support for weak economies too soon and urged policymakers towork more closely together.
The military in Nigeria says suspected members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram haveattacked a village in the north-east of the country, killing at least 35 people. An armyspokesman said that Boko Haram attacked the village because locals refused to cooperate withthem. He said a further 14 people have been wounded.
The veteran British cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who worked with Alfred Hitchcock andStanley Kubrick, has died aged 99. Gilbert Taylor won Oscar nominations for his special-effectswork on the Second World War film “The Dam Busters” and The Beatles’ musical “A Hard Day’sNight”.
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