BBC news 2009-12-28 加文本

2009-12-28 BBC

BBC News with David Legg.

Police in the Iranian capital say five people have been killed and more than 300 arrested during the most violent anti-government protests for several months. Earlier, opposition sources said at least four demonstrators were killed when police shot directly at crowds in central Tehran. The dead include a nephew of the main opposition leader, Mir Hossein Moussavi. The BBC’s Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne has been following events from London.
In Tehran and a number of cities across Iran, the opposition staged massive protests. Security forces took up position early and used tear gas and batons to try to disperse the demonstrations. But in some places they lost control, surrendering possession of the streets for several hours. A number of police motorcycles and police cars were set on fire. In one area, the protestors even torched a police station. Witnesses reported that the police began firing directly into the crowd. Among those killed was Syed Ali Mousavi, nephew of the opposition presidential candidate, Mir Hossein Moussavi.

United States government has ordered a new review of security into how a Nigerian man who’s been accused of trying to blow up an airliner had been able to obtain a visa. Senior Republicans were also asking how the man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was able to smuggle materials for an explosive device. Andy Gallagher reports from Detroit.
Despite being on a terror watch list, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was still allowed to board a plane to the United States. Now President Obama has ordered a full review of airline security, which will look at the effectiveness of current procedures. The list of people thought to pose a risk has over half a million names on it. And the measures that are currently used are said to be several years old. The authorities here don’t believe that Abdulmuttallab was part of a wider plot. But despite assurances that travel in public here are safe, this alleged attack leaves some tough questions unanswered.
Meanwhile reports are emerging of a disruptive passenger on the same flight being taken into custody in the last few hours. Officials say a Nigerian man had aroused suspicions by locking himself in the toilet on board.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has praised what he called the exceptional efforts of the security forces in averting attacks on mourners taking part in ceremonies in the city of Karbala for the final day of Ashura. The annual event passed off without violence after tight security measures were put in place following large-scale attacks in previous years. Rob Walker reports from Baghdad.
The streets of Karbala were crammed for this, the climax of Ashura. Many pilgrims paraded through the city dressed in black, some beating their heads and chests, others waving black flags. The government would be relieved that events in Karbala have so far passed off peacefully. But while there’d been no major incidents in Karbala, there have been bomb attacks on pilgrims in other parts of the country. Police say four people marking Ashura were killed by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq this morning.

World News from the BBC.

Police in Pakistan-administered Kashmir say a suspected suicide bomber has blown himself up outside the Shiite Muslim prayer hall, killing at least five people. Officials said more than a dozen people were injured in the attack in the regional capital Muzaffarabad. It took place at the end of a procession on Ashura. Security forces have been on high alert across Pakistan for the event.

There was heavy security presence around Pope Benedict when he had lunch at a soup kitchen in Rome on Sunday. It was his first engagement outside the Vatican since he was attacked during a Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peters Basilica. The court authorities say a judge will decide in the next few weeks whether to charge a woman over the incident. David Willey reports from Rome.
The Pope stopped to greet people who had gathered outside the soup kitchen under the keen surveillance of Vatican and Italian security agents. Then he had lunch at a table seating next to a man from Afghanistan and a young family from Romania. In a short speech, the Pope urged that no one should be marginalized, abandoned or left alone in Italy today. The 25-year-old Swiss woman, Susana Maiolo, who leapt over a security barrier and brought the Pope to the ground at the beginning of Christmas Eve Mass, is still under detention and psychiatric observation.

Officials in Italy say they’ve recovered the bodies of six people who were killed in an avalanche in the Italian Alps. The victims, all of whom were Italian including rescue workers who were trying to find two tourists, have gone missing in Trentino Alto Adige region on Saturday.

Chinese archaeologists say they’ve unearthed a tomb they believed may belong to a legendary third century politician and general. They say the tomb in Henan Province has an epitaph and inscription which suggest it may belong to Cao Cao, the founder of the ancient state of Wei. It’s reported to house the remains of a man in his mid-60s, the age at which Cao Cao is said to have died.

BBC News.