BBC News:日本首相称该国将在亚洲安全发挥更大作用
President Obama has announced that his veteransaffair secretary has resigned after a scathing reportfound widespread failings in healthcare treatmentfor retired US service men and women. RajiniVaidyanathan reports from Washington.
President Obama said it was with considerableregret that he was accepting the resignation of theman responsible for the welfare of military veteransGeneral Eric Shinseki. It follows a report that showed1,700 veterans in Phoenix, Arizona who've been trying to get a primary care appointmenthaven't ever been placed on a waiting list. Others had spent months instead of weeks waiting tobe seen by a doctor. And there were claims as many as 40 veterans may have died becausethey didn't get care.
The authorities in Libya say they are being overwhelmed by huge increase in the number ofpeople trying to enter Europe illegally. It's thought as many as 300,000 people may be waitingin Libya to cross the Mediterranean. The Libyan coast guard has told the BBC that many aredying on the journey. Paul Adams reports.
The grim scenes in Libya lie at the heart of a complex web of migration routes all of whichhave Europe as their destination. According to Frontex, the European agency responsible forborder security, 42,000 refugees and other migrants entered Europe in the first 4 months ofthis year, 2/3 of them crossed from Libya. But a month later, the total is much higher. TheItalian government says more than 39,000 people have now reached its shores. This means theoverall total is now around 60,000, and this is before the peak migration period over thesummer.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said his country intends to play a greater more proactiverole in the security of Asia. In a major foreign policy speech delivered in Singapore, the primeminister promised Japan would give its utmost supports to other East Asian countries, andmaintain the freedom of navigation at the sea and the air. Mr. Abe recently announced thathe wanted to reinterpret Japan's pacifist constitution to give its armed forces more power.
Thailand's new military ruler says he does not expect to hold elections for at least a year. In atelevised address to the nation, General Prayuth Chan-ocha said time was needed to achievereconciliation, draft a new constitution and mend Thailand's democratic system. GeneralPrayuth who overthrew the government last week, said all sides had to cooperate and stopprotesting in order for the plan to succeed.
A traditional Muslim ruler has been killed in northern Nigeria by suspected members of theIslamist group Boko Haram. The emir of Gwoza was in a convoy heading towards the funeral ofanother emir in Gombe state when he was ambushed. In another incident, a resident of thevillage of Koma near the border with Cameroon told the BBC that at least 17 local people werekilled when the village was raided by militants on Thursday.
World News from the BBC.
A federal judge in Argentina has summoned vice president Amado Boudou to appear in court inJuly to defend himself in a corruption case. Mr. Boudou is seen as a strong contender in nextyear's presidential election. Leonardo Rocha has more details.
The case has been under investigation since 2010 when Mr. Boudou is alleged to have used thefront man to buy a bankrupt printing company. He's accused of using his influence as theeconomy minister at the time to grant the company illegal tax breaks in a lucrative contract toprint Argentina's bank notes. Mr. Boudou is due to appear in court on July 15th. He hasrejected calls from the opposition to step down and says he will prove his innocence.
Police in Malawi have shot dead a protester after clashing with dozens of people who weredemanding a recount of the disputed election. Malawi's electoral commission has told thehigh court it's not yet in a position to announce the result as it examines alleged irregularities.
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where 2 teenage girls were gang-raped and then hanged froma tree has pledged to set up a special fast-track court to try the suspects. Two policemen havebeen sacked and charged with criminal conspiracy for failing to pursue the case. ChuckSundroy Majimda reports from Delhi.
There's wave of anger at the police who took 12 hours to respond when the parents of thevictims approached them to report their girls were missing. The father of one of the girls saysthe police refused to help him. The girls aged 14 and 15, had gone to a nearby field becausethey had no toilet at home. They were found hanged from a mango tree the next morning. Apost-mortem examination confirmed that they had been raped multiple times.
Stock markets in the United States have risen to a record high. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage closed the day at nearly 17,000 points. The rise came despite figures on Thursdayshowing that the American economy shrank by 1% in the first 3 months of this year.
And that's latest BBC News.
