BBC news 2010-11-08 加文本

BBC news 2010-11-08

BBC News with David Legge

People in Burma have voted in the country's first general election for two decades amid reports of low turnout and irregularities. Two large parties linked to the military dominated the poll while opposition candidates faced obstacles to taking part. Some voters told the BBC they couldn't vote in private while opposition groups alleged many state employees were pressured to vote in advance for the main pro-military party. Reports from Burma's largest city Rangoon suggest turnout was light. One soldier said that 10 army regiments had refused orders to vote.

People have been voting in large numbers in Guinea's presidential run-off, the culmination of the country's first free election since independence more than 50 years ago. The head of the Carter Center's observer mission said things had gone smoothly so far. Mary Harper reports.

Turnout has been high in this crucial election with long queues of people waiting to vote. They are choosing between two candidates - Cellou Dalein Diallo, who won more than 40% of the vote in the first round, and Alpha Conde, who won 18%. The candidates come from two of Guinea's largest ethnic groups, and there have been clashes between their supporters in the past few weeks. The key question now is whether the losing side will accept the election results or inflict yet more violence on this unstable country.

President Barack Obama has called on India and Pakistan to restart formal talks. Speaking to students in Mumbai, he said India was the country with the biggest stake in Pakistan's success. Mr Obama argued it was vital to avoid instability in the region.

"My hope is that over time, trust develops between the two countries, that dialogue begins perhaps on less controversial issues building up to more controversial issues and that over time there's a recognition that India and Pakistan can live side by side in peace and that both countries can prosper."

The main focus of President Obama's visit to India is on fostering trade ties, and he praised India lavishly.

The men's marathon world record holder and celebrated distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie, says he's retiring from athletics. Gebrselassie announced his decision after pulling out of the New York City marathon in the middle of the race with a knee injury.

"I never think about to retire, but for the first time, this is the day. Let me stop and do other work after this. Let me give a chance for the youngsters."

Widely considered one of the world's greatest distance runners, Gebrselassie won two Olympic golds and set 27 world records over different distances in a career spanning almost 20 years. He set the current world marathon record of 2:03:59 in 2008.

World News from the BBC

The Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has visited thousands of people who fled the continuing eruptions from the Mount Merapi volcano. Speaking to refugees in Yogyakarta province, President Yudhoyono said 283,000 people had now been displaced by the volcano, a figure far larger than for previous eruptions.

Partial results in Greece's local elections, widely seen as a test of the Prime Minister George Papandreou's controversial austerity programme, indicate that his Socialist party has an early lead. With more than 10% of votes counted, interior ministry officials said their projections showed the Socialists winning 8 of the 13 regional races. This includes the key seat of Attica, the wide Athens region where Pasok said their candidate was in the lead. Mr Papandreou had threatened to call a snap general election if Pasok party fared badly.

Police in Sweden have detained a 38-year-old man in connection with a series of shootings targeting immigrants in the southern city of Malmo. One person was killed, and at least seven others targeted in the attacks. Ristow Pirker has the details.

Parts of Malmo have been on high alert since the shootings began in October last year, and police are still urging people to stay vigilant. But they are describing the arrest, which took place after a tip-off from a member of the public, as "significant". Two fire arms were found during a house search that was carried out when the man was arrested. Despite this, the police stress the investigation is still ongoing, but many immigrants in Malmo will be breathing a sigh of relief. The suspect is said to be of Swedish origin. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Opposition activists in Cuba have urged the government to honour its promise to release 13 jailed dissidents by the end of the day. President Raul Castro agreed in July to free 52 political prisoners within four months. Most have been released into exile in Spain, but 13 are still in prison because they refuse to leave Cuba.

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