BBC News:瑞士公投支持限制欧盟移民数量
The European Union says it regrets the decision by Swiss voters to abandon an agreement onthe free movement of people. The vote passed by the narrowest of margins 0.3 of a percent,with rural areas said to be in favour of prestoring quotas and cities against. Imogen Foulkesreports from Berne.
This is a result the Swiss government and business leaders most feared, a yes to immigrationquotas. The government will have to tell the EU that Switzerland does not want free movementof people. Already, Brussels has said it regrets the vote, adding ominously that it will examinethe implications on EU-Swiss relations as a whole. That means all Switzerland’s other treatieswith the EU are at risk, including its crucial access to European single market where over half ofall Swiss exports are sold.
The Syrian Red Crescent says that about 600 women, children and elderly men have beenevacuated today from a besieged area in the Syrian city of Homs despite shelling and gunfire.Jim Muir is following events from Beirut.
As happened the day before, mortars were fired into the old city as civilians were assembling forevacuation and there were reports of casualties. But that didn't deter the UN and Syrian RedCrescent from pushing on with their mission. A convoy with released supplies went in and thengroup by group, vulnerable civilians were brought out. This was the final day of what wasagreed at a three-day humanitarian truce. Although hundreds of civilians were evacuateddespite the shooting and shelling today, the governor of Homs said the ceasefire may beextended by a further three days to allow all those who might want to leave the chance to doso.
At least 8 people, including an eight-year-old girl have been shot dead by unidentified gunmenat a faith healer's house in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. Officials said 12 others werewounded when the armed men broke into the house of a Sufi cleric, the cleric was seriousinjured. No group has admitted responsibility for the attack. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city hasbeen rocked by sectarian, ethnic and political violence in recent years.
British officials have met flood control experts from the Netherlands and the United States,seeking advice on how to deal with continuing severe floods affecting the south and southwestof Britain. A wide area known as the Somerset Levels has been underwater for weeks. TheBritish Meteorological Office senior scientist Julia Slingo says climate change has almost certainlycontributed to the storms.
“We're beginning to detect an increase in intensity of daily and hourly rainfall rates over the UK.We're looking at ongoing sea level rise and there are now some studies emerging that suggestthe storminess is increasing if we look at the long-term trends over the last century also.” ——Julia Slingo
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Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been holding a protest rally against President ViktorYanukovych in Kiev. At the rally, the leader of the Fatherland Party, Arsenyi Yatsenyuk gave thiswarning.
“My true will depends on whether this president is ready yet to hammer out the deal. If no,Ukraine is to face another circle of violence, and this will be the personal responsibility of thispresident.”
Ukraine's state security service placed anti-terrorist units on alert, saying it'd received threatsto airports and transport hubs, but it's not clear if it was related to the rally. The protestsbegan in November after the President abandoned a trade agreement with the EU in favor ofcloser ties with Russia.
Protesters in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo have accused the police of assaulting peoplearrested following Friday's violent demonstrations. Parents of teenagers detained during theunrest gathered outside the city's main police station after rumours had spread that the policehad been beating them in custody. A 15-year-old who just has been released told the BBC thathe'd been kicked unconscious, the police deny any wrongdoing.
Russia has won its first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in team figure skating, anew event. From Sochi, here's Alex Capstick.
A blissful moment for Russian sports fans, the ice dance pair of Elena Ilinykh and NikitaKatsalapov had held their nerves. It was the final events of the competition, the mainlyRussian crowd, including President Vladimir Putin inside the iceberg arena roared his approvalat every twirl, every lift and every embrace. Relief and joy for the Russians, they hope this willbe the first of many celebrations over the next two weeks. Alex Capstick reporting.
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