BBC news 2010-11-06 加文本

BBC news 2010-11-06

BBC News with Zoe Diamond

Officials in Pakistan say at least 59 people have been killed in attacks at mosques in the northwest of the country. In the second attack, a grenade was thrown into a mosque on the outskirts of Peshawar, killing at least four people. In the earlier incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up as people were leaving a mosque after Friday prayers in a suburb of Darra Adam Khel, killing 54 people, including the son of this eyewitness, Fazal Ur Rehman.

"The prayers finished and the Mullah stood to offer a khutbah, the speech for the Jummah prayer. He, the suicide bomber started running on the steps. He was wearing a red shirt and he had a long beard. And as he reached the door, suddenly the blast occurred, and it became dark everywhere. In this incident, my child died."

For a second successive day, a plane operated by the Australian airline Qantas has made an emergency landing in Singapore. The Boeing 747-400 bound for Sydney landed safely. A Qantas spokesman said that shortly after take-off, the captain reported a concern about one of the engines. On Thursday, a Qantas Airbus A380 was forced to land in Singapore after an engine broke up in flight.

President Barack Obama has described new job figures in America as "encouraging" but said they didn't make a difference if you were still one of the millions looking for work. In its monthly report, the US Labor Department outlined a net rise of over 150,000 jobs, the first time since May that there have been more jobs created than lost. However, the overall rate of unemployment remains at 9.6%. President Obama warned that there was more work to be done and that would require bipartisan cooperation.

"The most important competition that we face in this new century will not be between Democrats and Republicans. It's the competition with countries around the world to lead the global economy. And our success or failure in this race will depend on whether we can come together as a nation. Our future depends on putting politics aside to solve problems, to worry about the next generation instead of the next election."

The US television network MSNBC has suspended one of its main presenters, Keith Olbermann, without pay for making contributions to the election campaigns of three Democratic Party candidates. The company prohibits its employees from donating to political campaigns because of the dangers of conflict of interest.

North Korean gymnasts have been banned from competing in international events for two years, including the 2012 London Olympics. The ban followed the suspension of Hong Su Jong by the International Gymnastics Federation for lying about her age. It said that she had listed three different birth dates when registering for competitions. Hong won the silver at the 2007 world championships. North Korea was already barred from sending full teams to London.

World News from the BBC

Georgia has confirmed the arrest of 13 people it accuses of spying for Russia, including a number of Georgian air force pilots. The others are described as businessmen. At least four of those arrested are Russian citizens. The Russian deputy foreign minister called the arrest a farce and a provocation.

Russian prosecutors have launched an investigation into the killing of 12 people, including four children, at a house in a village in southern Russia. Investigators say 10 had multiple knife wounds, and fires were started in different parts of the building. Local reports say members of three families were at the house.

Heavy rain from Hurricane Tomas has battered western Haiti, causing flooding in which one person has died. Hundreds of thousands of people living in tents in makeshift camps since the earthquake in January have ignored official pleas for them to seek shelter elsewhere. The eye of the storm clipped the western end of the island, and it's heading towards Cuba. Laura Trevelyan reports from the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

Opposite the ruins of the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, the symbol of the earthquake's destruction, the survivors camp was flooded by the rain from Hurricane Tomas, Haiti's latest challenge. After a windy, rainy, frightening night, people woke up to the leaking tents and mud. The hurricane passed 150 miles west of here, so the camps were spared the most ferocious winds. But now there are fears that the pools of stagnant water could incubate cholera.

Journalists at the BBC are taking part in a 48-hour strike over changes to the corporation's pension scheme. The action has affected all services on radio and television, as well as the news website. The BBC says that it has made its final offer on pensions and points out that other unions representing its workforce have accepted the plans.

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