bales is the suspect in the killing deaths of afghan civilians. there s no explanation so far why he could face 17 murder charges. bales is being held in a military prison in the u.s. the u.s., france, and other countries are condemning the overthrow of the government in mali. there s been no sign of mali s president since renegade soldiers staged the coup on thursday. the borders are closed. those are the top stories from cnn, the world s news leader. i m zain verjee and world business today starts now. good morning, from cnn london, i m nina dos santos. and good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i m andrew stevens. you re watching world business today. and the top stories this friday, march the 23rd. the u.s. president talks up his energy policies throwing his support behind part of a controversial oil pipeline. hong kong s top job goes to a vote this weekend, but a string of scandals has turned this election on its head. and fans line up for the hunger games.