BBC news 2008-07-27 加文本

BBC 2008-07-27

Download Audio

BBC News with John Jason

The Indian President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have appealed for calm after a series of explosions killed at least 29 people in Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat. About a hundred more people were wounded. There is a report from our South Asia editor Echijiran Ambaronson.

In what appears to be a well-coordinated attack, more than 15 explosions shook Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of the state of Gujarat. The bombs went off within minutes of one another in the space of an hour targeting public places. There were explosions in some hospitals where injured people were being treated. The aim seems to be to inflict the maximum number of casualties. Some Indian television stations say they received an e-mail shortly before the explosions claiming to be from an organization called the Indian Mujahadeen.

The American Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama is heading back to the United States after completing a one-week tour of Europe and the Middle East. David Banfer reports.

During his whirlwind global trip, Barack Obama addressed a crowd of thousands in Germany, almost seen alongside presidents and prime ministers from Afghanistan to London. It's widely being seen in Europe as a public relations triumph, but as the senator flies back to America struggling with economic problems, some there are warning his trip risks being seen as unseemly, an attempt to become a world leader before American voters have decided whether they actually want him as their president.

The United States Senate has approved a bill to help the rising number of Americans at risk of having their homes repossessed. It means Congress has now passed the bill as the House of Representatives gave its approval on Wednesday. President Bush is now expected to sign it into law.

The Cuban President Raul Castro is due to address the nation shortly in a televised speech in which he may outline further economic reforms. The speech is part of the celebrations of the 55th anniversary of the beginning of the Cuban revolution. Michael Voss reports from Santiago.(Www.hXen.com)

Some 10,000 Cubans have packed into the grounds of the Cuba's historic Moncada Barracks, birthplace of the revolution. They are waiting for President Raul Castro to take the platform and give his televised speech. Above him will be a portrait of his brother Fidel who led this Communist island in the Caribbean for almost half a century. Since taking over the presidency, Raul Castro has pushed through a series of small but symbolic reforms. Now everyone is waiting to see if he will use this event to give a clearer implication of just how far and fast he is prepared to push the pace for change.

A day after the European Union's Trade Chief Peter Mandelson said he thought an agreement might be possible in the latest round of world trade talks, some EU countries have expressed concerns he may be conceding too much, but Mr. Mandelson has again insisted agreement at the talks in Geneva is very close.

World News from the BBC.

The Palestinian Centre of Human Rights says about 160 supporters of the Fatah faction have been detained in the Gaza Strip by forces loyal to the rival Hamas movement. Hamas disputes the figures, but says those it has detained are suspected of involvement in a bomb blast on Friday that killed five Hamas men and a young girl. Fatah has denied any involvement in the attack.

Spanish police say they have arrested the representative of the Colombian rebel group FARC in Spain. Maria Remedios Garcia, a Spanish national, was detained near Madrid as part of a joint operation by the Spanish and Colombian authorities. Steve Kingstone reports from Madrid.

It's alleged that under the cover of her job with a non-governmental organization, 57-year-old Maria Remedios Garcia provided organizational support and funds to the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia or FARC. In a statement, the Spanish police said Ms Garcia had traveled to Colombia last year and held operational meetings with the militant group's secretariat. She is said to have taken direct orders from Raul Reyes, a senior FARC commander who was killed by the Colombian army in March. Information from his computer hard drive led the police to make this arrest.

Thousands of supporters of the former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, have continued protests at his arrest and pending transfer to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Demonstrations were held across the Serb half of Bosnia, the biggest in Pale where Mr. Karadzic had his headquarters during the war in Bosnia as the governor in the 1990s.

Police in Germany have arrested two young British women after one of them allegedly tried to open a cabin door on a passenger plane in mid-flight forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at Frankfurt airport. A spokesman said the women became violent towards flight attendants after being refused more alcohol during the flight between Kos in Greece and Manchester.

BBC News.