2010-04-17 BBC
BBC News with Fiona McDonald
Financial regulators in the United States have accused the investment bank Goldman Sachs of fraud related to the collapse of the American housing market in 2007. The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking civil action against the bank. Michelle Fleury sent this report from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the bank sold investors a financial product based on subprime mortgages that was designed to lose value. Goldman Sachs has denied the allegations and says it will defend the firm and its reputation. This is the first time that the US government has explicitly accused one of Wall Street's premier institutions of fraud relating to the collapse of the US housing market.
The Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva has put the head of the army in charge of national security as he fights a campaign by opposition protesters demanding that he step down. Mr Abhisit made his decision hours after the security forces publicly failed to arrest leaders of the rallies that have paralyzed parts of the capital Bangkok for weeks. Clashes last week during protests left more than 20 people dead. From Bangkok, here is Rachel Harvey.
The prime minister said he was appointing the head of the armed forces General Anupong to take charge of national security in order to streamline operations. A government spokesman contacted by the BBC said the general would be better able to deal with what he calls the terrorist threat. "He now has the power to make decisions directly," the spokesman said. The move comes amid fevered speculation that the security forces might be planning another operation to evict protesters from the sites they are currently occupying in the commercial heart of Bangkok.
Aviation experts have warned that a drifting cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland will continue to cripple air transport over much of Europe at the weekend. The European air traffic agency said there would be further significant disruption. Britain has extended the closure of much of its airspace until mid-day on Saturday. The International Air Transport Association said the disruption was costing airlines more than 200 million dollars a day.
The number of people known to have died in the earthquake in Northwest China has risen to more than 1,100 with over 400 others still missing. Rescuers fear the figure is likely to rise again. Heavy earth-moving equipment has been used in the search for trapped survivors. In the worst-hit town of Jiegu, a former local official told the BBC that they badly needed supplies.
"The security situation is good in the town. There is no looting or rioting. Security forces are out on patrol. The main priority for us is relief work to rescue people. We urgently need tents and food and drinking water. We urgently need these supplies."
World News from the BBC
A BBC investigation has found that months before a Georgian luger crashed and died during a training session at this year's Vancouver Winter Olympics, several top athletes warned organizers that the luge and bobsleigh tracks were dangerous. Olympic officials initially said the death of the luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili， was down to human error. Rebecca Kesby reports.
Twenty-one-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed when he crashed on the final bend during training. He was thrown from the track at more than 100 kilometres an hour and collided with a steel pillar. Test athletes in all three of the sliding sports, bobsleigh, skeleton and luge say they told organizers the track was too fast, too difficult and that less experienced athletes would be the most vulnerable to accidents. A spokesman for the International Bobsleigh Federation told the BBC that some changes were made in response to concerns and that safety of athletes was absolutely paramount.
Italy says two of its citizens who were kidnapped last year in Mauritania by al-Qaeda have been freed. The Italian government said the hostages were released after intense diplomacy and were being taken to a safe place.
Reports from Iran say the former President Mohammad Khatami has been barred from leaving the country to attend a nuclear disarmament conference in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Mr Khatami's lawyer has told the BBC that there'd been no legal order, but Mr Khatami had decided not to travel after receiving what he called “official advice” to cancel his trip.
And finally, while volcanic ash from Iceland is causing unprecedented disruption to air travel across Europe, a taxi driver in Moscow has seen it as a business opportunity. He's offering to drive people to any location in Europe for a fare of 1,300 dollars. He said that for a person who really wanted to get somewhere, then that was a reasonable price to ask.
BBC News