[新闻] News on 8th, Nov, 2009

Dozens of military chaplains and grief counselors are heading to the Fort Hood army base in the U.S. state of Texas where a shooting rampage left 13 people dead and 30 wounded. Authorities say the alleged shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, fired at soldiers and civilians inside a building before he was shot by a civilian police officer. The army refuses to discuss possible motives for the shooting and President Barack Obama and other officials are warning the public not to jump to conclusions as the investigation proceeds.

"We do not all the answers yet. And I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts. What we do know is that their families, friends and an entire nation are grieving right now for the valiant men and women, who came under attack in one of the worst mass shootings ever to take place on an American military base. "

Mr. Obama ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings flown at half-staff until November 11 in honor of the dead. A moment of silence also was held at Fort Hood and other U.S. military bases Friday as a show of respect for the victims. Reports say the alleged gunman is a 39-year-old psychiatrist who specializes in trauma counseling and was about to be deployed to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says a NATO air strike has mistakenly killed seven members of the Afghan security forces. Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry has rejected comments from a top U.N. official, Kai Eide, who warned President Hamid Karzai that he must do more to combat corruption or risk losing international support. A Foreign Ministry statement says that Eide exceeded his authority as a representative of an impartial international organization.

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to meet this weekend to debate a sweeping measure to reform the US healthcare system, a major objective of President Barack Obama. VOA congressional correspondent Dan Robinson has the details.


Though they are planning for a Saturday evening vote, Democrats are also preparing for any delaying tactics that minority Republicans may employ against the bill. Saying Democrats were very close to the 218 votes needed for approval, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer warned that if necessary, he would keep lawmakers in session until the legislation is passed on Sunday and into next week if needed. President Obama is now scheduled to go to Capitol Hill on Saturday, a visit aimed at helping Democrats ensure that they have the 218 votes needed for passage. However, House approval doesn't ensure victory on what is perhaps the most crucial legislative test of his first year in office. The U.S. Senate must still pass its own healthcare reform bill which contains similarities and also differences with the House version and no final bill can go to the president for signature until lawmakers work out differences between separate versions. Dan Robinson, VOA News at the Capitol.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo ended a crucial visit to Kenya Saturday. VOA's Alan Boswell has more.

Ocampo announced on Thursday that he was invoking his prosecutorial powers to ask the court to authorize investigations into crimes committed during the violence following the disputed December 2007 presidential election. The International Criminal Court announced on Friday that the Kenyan case had been assigned a pre-trial chamber at the prosecutor's request. The statement from Ocampo came after Kenya's president and prime minister informed the prosecutor during a face-to-face meeting that they would not refer the case themselves to the ICC.

Kenya is a signatory to the court's governing statute and is legally obliged to cooperate with the court's proceedings. The two Kenyan leaders announced they would fulfill their legal requirements under international law. The findings of the report were kept under seal and handed over to former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who in July shocked the Kenyan political establishment by handing over the collected evidence to the ICC prosecutor.

Ocampo plans to charge the Kenyan suspects with committing crimes against humanity. He says if the investigation is approved, he will return to Kenya to meet personally with the violence victims. Alan Boswell for VOA News, Nairobi.

The police chief in the Iranian capital, Teheran, says 109 people were arrested during mass rallies this week.

And the U.N. refugee agency says it's contributing five machines to help clear landmines from Tamil areas in northern Sri Lanka.