BBC news 2010-03-30 加文本

2010-03-30 BBC

BBC News with Eileen MacHugh.

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have vowed to track down those behind the suicide bombings on the Moscow underground. The attacks by two female suicide bombers killed at least 37 people. President Medvedev spoke to reporters outside the Lubyanka underground station where one of the bombs exploded.

"These were simply beasts and regardless of their motives, what they did is a crime under any law and in accordance with any morals. You know I have no doubt that we will find them and destroy them all."

Russia officials believed the bombs were the work of Muslim groups from the Northern Caucasus where rebels in a number of regions including Chechnya and Ingushetia have been waging violent campaigns for independence from Moscow.

The American government says it will begin selling its mass shareholding in Citygroup, once the world's biggest banking firm which it bought in 2008, the height of the US financial crisis. The shares are worth about 33 billion dollars at current prices and would yield several billion dollars in profit for the US treasury and will be one of the largest share sales ever. However, it will be faced over the rest of this year and will be subjected to market conditions.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeated her belief that Turkey should not be a full member of the European Union. On an official visit to Ankara, Mrs.Merkel again suggested a partnership agreement, saying the idea should not be viewed negatively. But Turkish officials have dismissed it as an insult. From Ankara, here is Jonathan Head.

For two countries with such deep-rooted historical and economical ties, Germany and Turkey struggled to find the common voice today. On every important issue, Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Erdogan seemed to be at odds with each other. Speaking at a press conference alongside Mr.Erdogan in Ankara, Mrs.Merkel tossed in the verbal hand grenade of her proposal that Turkey be offered only a privileged partnership with the European Union despite having started negotiations on full membership five years ago. Mr.Erdogan said nothing, but has in the past expressed his outrage over what he calls "shifting the goalposts".

A Cuban dissident, who is seriously ill after being on hunger strike for more than a month, has rejected an offer by the Spanish government to give him sanctuary there. The dissident, Guillermo Farinas said he preferred to remain on hunger strike rather than leave his homeland. Mr.Farinas has vowed not to end his protest until the Cuban authorities released from prison 26 other dissidents who are in ill health.

The Mexican authorities say they have arrested a man in connection with the killing earlier this month of two Americans and a Mexican in the border city of Ciudad Juarez. Local media report suggests that the suspect is a leading member of a local drugs gang.

This is Eileen MacHugh with the latest World News from the BBC.

The Greek government has once again been forced to raise billions of dollars on the international financial markets as it continues efforts to escape from an economic crisis. The offer for over 6.5 billion dollars was oversubscribed. Andrew Walker has more.

Greece received office from investors for more than they amounted thought. So in that sense, the exercise was a success. But the interest rate is said to be about 6% to borrow money for seven years which is high. The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has warned of a danger that high interest rate might make the government's financial position unsustainable. And it's not at all clear that the Europe group rescue package would be available just because borrowing costs are painfully high.

Nine alleged members of a radical American Christian militia group have been charged with conspiring to kill police officers and wage war against the United States. Steve Kingstone reports.

Prosecutors say the eight men and one woman were members of a group called Hutaree, described in the indictment as an anti-government extremist organization advocating violence against the police. It's alleged they conspire to murder an unidentified police officer and then staged a second attack on the resulting funeral procession, using landmines and roadside bombs. Over the weekend, the FBI raided properties in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana in the belief that the group was planning a reconnaissance exercise.

A senior Roman Catholic leader has defended Pope Benedict's record on tackling child abuse within the church, saying his efforts to investigate one case were blocked by his predecessor John Paul. The Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said that Joseph Ratzinger as the current Pope was then known had wanted to investigate a previous Archbishop of Vienna in the 1990s. Only to be told that allegations of abuse against him were exaggerated. Cardinal Schoenborn said the Vatican argued that investigation will generate bad publicity.

BBC News.