BBC News:美联储新主席称进一步减少刺激项目
Aid workers have failed to evacuate any more people from the besieged Syrian city of Homs orto deliver any food, despite a day of talks between UN officials and representatives ofgovernment and oppositions. A spokesman for the Syrian Red Crescent said all activities havebeen postponed until Wednesday. There has also been no progress at the Syrian peace talks inGeneva. Our chief correspondent Lyse Doucet is in Homs.
The UN had hoped to go into the old city of Homs today, but negotiations are still continuingwith the government and the opposition to ensure that aid convoys will not come under fire asthey did this weekend and to ensure aid can be distributed to the more than 1,000 people stillliving in the ruins of the old city. There's also growing concern among UN officials about the fateof hundreds of young men who've left this besieged area during the temporary ceasefire.
The defense ministry in Algeria now says 77 people died when a military transport planecrashed in the Atlas Mountains. Earlier, local media estimated that more than 100 people havebeen killed. Our correspondent Paul Adams has more details.
The Algerian aircraft, an American made Hercules much like those flown by air forces aroundthe world crashed towards the end of a flight from Tamanrasset, deep in the southern SaharaDesert to the northeastern city of Constantine. There's been very little official word about whathappened, but the state news agency said it crashed near the town of Ain Kercha about 35miles short of its destination. It's thought there were military families on board includingwomen and children, dozens of bodies have already been recovered.
The new chair of the US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen has signaled that the bank will take furthersteps to reduce its stimulus program if the economy continues to improve. In her firsttestimony to Congress as Fed chair, she said that the recovery in the labor market is far fromcomplete. Here's our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.
The Fed has already reduced the amount it's pumping into financial markets. And Janet Yellenmade it clear she expects further similar steps, provided there are continued signs andimprovement on jobs and on inflation, which is currently below the Fed's target. But it wasalso clear that she's on a long way from being ready to raise interest rate from their currentvery low levels. Although the number out of work has come down. She suggested it is still toohigh as a problem with long-term unemployment and too many people currently get part-timework.
Changes to Nicaragua's constitution have come into effect, paving the way for the country'sleader Daniel Ortega to run for a third consecutive term in 2016. The signs scrapping term limitsfor Nicaraguan presidents and doing away with a minimum number of votes required to elect thePresident. They also allow the President to issue decrees. The amendments were approved lastmonth. Mr. Ortega says the changes were needed for stability, but the opposition claimedthey are threats to democracy.
World News from the BBC
The British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he's cancelling a planned trip to the MiddleEast next week as his government seeks to deal with serious flooding in parts of the country.The rising water levels have seen more than 1,000 homes evacuated, mostly along the RiverThames. After visiting stricken areas in southern England, Mr.Cameron said it would take timefor the situation to improve for some communities, but help would be offered.
“There is absolutely no sign of this threat abating. And with further rain and strong windsforecast thoughout the week, things may well get worse before they get better. And mymessage to the country today is this: Money is no object in this relief effort, whatever moneyis needed for it, will be spend.”
A war crimes court in Serbia has found 9 members of a paramilitary unit guilty of killing morethan 100 ethnic Albanian civilians during the conflict in Kosovo 15 years ago. The members ofthe group were given sentences of up to 20 years in prison. Guy De Launey reports fromBelgrade.
Members of the unit called themselves the Jackals, and they committed some of the mostserious crimes of the conflict in Kosovo. The judges ruled that they had raped, murdered androbbed ethnic Albanian civilians. That ultimate aim had been to create such a frighteningsituation that other Albanians would flee Kosovo. Although 9 men were convicted, several othermembers of the Jackals are still on the run. Interpol has issued arrest warrants for them.
The first-ever women's Olympic ski jumping competition has been won by Germany's CarinaVogt. With the last jump of the event, she beat the Australian Daniela Iraschko-Stolz. Earlier,the hotly tip snowboarder Shaun White of the USA failed to win a third successive gold medalin one of the most keenly awaited events of the Sochi Games，the men's half pipe. He missedout on the medals coming forth.
And that's the latest BBC World News.
