英国新闻听力 奥巴马求国会授权对IS动武（在线收听）

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia which ran aground off the Italian coast three years ago, has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Thirty two passengers and crew died when the ship hit rocks off the Italian island of Giglio. Allan Johnston reports from outside the court.

Francesco Schettino attended to take his huge ship very very close to the island of Giglio. He was on the bridge and in command when she ran a reef and sank on that winter's night. Thirty two people drowned. Now Schettino has been convicted of their manslaughter and of abandoning ship, saving himself while many of his passengers were still in danger during a chaotic evacuation. Schettino had denied the charges. He's always argued that others should share the blame for what happened.

President Obama has asked the US Congress to authorise a three-year military campaign against Islamic State militants. The plan could include limited ground operations by American forces. The president says he already has the statutory authority to attack IS, but he wants the clear backing from Congress. Mr Obama said he was not requesting the deployment of US ground forces to Iraq or Syria.

"It is not the authorisation of another ground war like Afghanistan or Iraq. As I said before I'm convinced the United States should not get dragged back into another prolonged ground war in the Middle East. It's not in our national security interest, and it's not necessary for us to defeat Isil."

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France have begun talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to try to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. President Poroshenko and President Putin briefly shook hands at the start of the meeting. Mr Poroshenko has warned that achieving a ceasefire is essential to prevent the situation getting out of control. Lyse Doucet is at the talks in Minsk.

There is still a huge and very dangerous gap between all the sides, most of all between the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who represent two very different sides in this escalating war. Petro Poroshenko wants to regain the territorial integrity. He is talking about greater autonomy, but the rebels want to control the areas. They are talking about federalism and decentralisation.

Thousands of people are taking part in rallies in Greece in support of the new government's anti-austerity policies. The demonstrations were timed to coincide with the meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels to discuss changes to the international bailout, which Greece says is unsustainable. Before the meeting, the head of the IMF Christine Lagarde praised Greek officials.

World News from the BBC

The army in Niger says it spoiled an attack by a female suicide bomber in the town of Diffa. An army spokesman said a military vehicle followed a veiled woman who'd been asking for the whereabouts of soldiers. He said when she failed to give herself up they shot her dead, and then found a belt of explosives on her. The violence on Nigeria's borders with Niger and Cameroon has intensified as regional armies mobilise to fight Boko Haram militants.

American diplomats have flown out of Yemen after the closure of their embassy as rival demonstrators took to the streets of capital Sanaa. The State Department confirmed that the diplomats' vehicles had been seized apparently by Houthi rebels. The Houthi advance into Sanaa led to the resignation last month of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, a US ally.

Ivory Coast's government is to reward its football team with millions of dollars in prizes for winning the Africa Cup of Nations. The team beat Ghana in the final in Equatorial Guinea. Here is Richard Hamilton.

President Alassane Ouattara is giving each member of the 23-man squad a house worth about $50,000 and the same amount in cash. There will also be six-figure rewards for the football federation and technical staff. In total the government is spending more than $3m on its celebrations, which included Monday's National Holiday. Some might question the wisdom of this expenditure in a country that had been ravished by civil conflict, but there is undoubtedly a feel-good factor in Ivory Coast.

The European Space Agency says its prototype miniature space plane has splashed down successfully in the Pacific Ocean in an experiment to help scientists develop reusable spacecraft. The plane reached an altitude of about 400km before descending rapidly. The flight will allow scientists to analyse the strains of returning through the atmosphere at great speed.

三年前撞到意大利沿海地区的游轮歌诗达协和号的船长斯凯蒂诺被判过失杀人罪，判刑16年。当时这艘船撞到意大利吉利奥岛的岩石上，导致32名乘客和船员遇难。艾伦·约翰逊在法庭外报道。

斯凯蒂诺当时将这艘游轮驶到距离吉利奥岛很近的地方，他当时在桥上指挥，这时游轮撞到礁石上并沉没在冬夜的海水中。32人被溺死，现在斯凯蒂诺被判过失杀人罪和弃船罪，在当时混乱的撤离中他自己获救了，但很多乘客被困在危险中。斯凯蒂诺否认这些指控，称其他人也应该承担罪责。

奥巴马总统请求美国国会授权对IS武装分子进行三年的军事行动，该计划包括美军有限制的地面行动。总统称他已经有袭击IS的法定权力，但他希望得到国会的明确支持。奥巴马说他不会请求部署美军到伊拉克或叙利亚。

“这并不是要授权进行另一场阿富汗或伊拉克地面战争，正如我所说的那样，我相信美国不应该回到中东另一场旷日持久的地面战争中，因为那不符合美国的国家安全利益，也不是击败IS所必须的。”

乌克兰、俄罗斯、德国和法国领导人开始在白俄罗斯明斯克进行会谈，努力解决乌克兰东部的冲突。在会议开始之前，波罗申科总统和普京总统简短握了手。波罗申科警告说，实现停火是预防局面失控所必须的。Lyse Doucet在明斯克报道。

各方之间仍存在着巨大且非常危险的分歧，主要分歧存在于乌克兰总统波罗申科和俄罗斯领导人普京之间，他们在这场日益升级的战争中代表截然不同的两方。波罗申科希望重新获得领土完整，他谈到更大的自治权，但叛军希望控制这些地区，他们还谈到联邦制而非地方分权。

数千人在希腊集会支持新政府的反紧缩政策，游行举行时，欧元区财长们恰好在布鲁塞尔商谈改变国际纾困政策，希腊称该政策不可持续。在会议之前，IMF总裁克里斯汀娜·拉加德赞扬了希腊官员们。

BBC世界新闻。

尼日尔军方称击败了一名女性自杀爆炸者在迪法镇的袭击，军方发言人称一辆军车跟踪了一名蒙面妇女，她一直在询问士兵们的下落。他说当她未能引爆自己时，士兵们将她击毙，然后发现她身上有炸药。由于地区军队集结前去与博科圣地武装分子战斗，尼日利亚与尼日尔和喀麦隆接壤处的暴力事件开始加剧。

由于游行者走上首都萨那街头，美国外交官们在关闭使馆后就逃离了也门。国务院确认外交官们的车辆显然已被胡塞叛军控制，上月胡塞叛军向萨那挺进导致总统哈迪辞职，他是美国的盟友。

科特迪瓦政府将向其足球队授予数百万美元奖金作为对赢得非洲国家杯的奖励，该国球队在赤道几内亚举行的决赛中打败加纳。理查德·汉密尔顿报道。

总统乌阿塔哈给球队的23名球员每人一套价值5万美元的房子，还有等量的现金。同时还将给足球联盟和技术人员六位数的奖励，政府总共将花费300多万美元来庆祝成功，包括周一的国庆节也要庆祝。有些人质疑这样的开支是否明智，因为该国已被国内冲突折磨不堪，但无疑这对科特迪瓦来说是个利好因素。

欧洲航天局称其微型航天飞机原型已经成功落到太平洋，这次试验是为了帮助科学家开发可重复使用的航天器。这架飞机在很快降落之前达到约400千米的高度，这次飞行将帮助科学家们分析高速下返回的压力。