BBC news 2011-04-17 加文本

BBC news 2011-04-17

BBC News with David Legge

The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, has announced that long-standing emergency laws will be lifted in the next week. In a televised address to the newly-formed Syrian government, President Assad said the measure, which has been one of the main demands of anti-government protesters, would strengthen unity in the country, but he said new security legislation would be introduced in place of the emergency laws.

"The law should be firm with those who are aiming to sabotage or follow destruction. Reform is reform; destruction is destruction; sabotage is sabotage. We cannot allow people's security to be at stake. People, Syrian people, is organised. It needs law. It doesn't accept chaos."

An Egyptian court has ordered the dissolution of the political party of the former President Hosni Mubarak. The court said the assets of the National Democratic Party will be confiscated. The party has ruled Egypt for more than 30 years. Yolande Knell reports from Cairo.

The site of the National Democratic Party headquarters in flames at the edge of Tahrir Square in Cairo was one of the defining early moments of Egypt's popular uprising. Local offices across the country were also attacked in anti-government protests. Egyptian state television said the Higher Administrative Court had now ruled to officially dissolve the NDP and have its considerable assets handed over to the state.

International monitors say Saturday's presidential election in Nigeria appears to have gone largely without incident, as tens of millions of people cast their ballots. Caroline Duffield spent the day in the capital Abuja.

This was Nigeria's big day, a chance to prove that Africa's giant could hold a credible election. In the capital, there was a sense of thrill and excitement as people poured out to vote. Across the country, there were occasional disturbances. In Maiduguri, a bomb attack at a police station alarmed voters, although no one was killed. In Bauchi, there were reports that police had foiled an arson attack on an election centre. But overwhelmingly the signs of a calm and peaceful election are encouraging election observers, who say that this day could be a historic step forward for Nigeria's democracy.

A curfew has been imposed in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, to try to curb several days of continuing violence. Soldiers protesting about housing allowances looted shops and market stores. Shopkeepers responded by ransacking buildings and setting fire to the headquarters of the Burkinabe governing party. Police fired tear gas at the angry crowds.

Reports from Algeria say at least 13 soldiers were killed by rebels at a military base as they watched a televised speech by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Friday night. Local people said a two-hour gunfight followed the attack by Islamist insurgents on the compound in Azazga.

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A rebel spokesman has accused the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi of being bent on creating a huge humanitarian crisis in the city of Misrata, besieged by government forces since February. Peter Biles reports from rebel-held Benghazi.

At a news conference in Benghazi, a spokesman for Libya's Transitional National Council said the people of Misrata were exposed to random shelling. He called on Nato to destroy Colonel Gaddafi's long-range Grad rocket launchers. The rebel spokesman said no one in the international community should now have any reservations about helping to protect Libya's civilian population. But the government in Tripoli says it's committed to helping the people of Misrata after having facilitated a visit to the town by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Cuba has begun the first congress of the ruling Communist Party in 14 years. The meeting is expected to endorse market economic reforms, which President Raul Castro says are needed to save the socialist system. Delegates are also expected to select new party leaders. The congress was preceded by a huge military parade to mark 50 years of socialism in Cuba and the defeat of the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion.

Belgrade has seen one of the biggest rallies by the Serbian opposition in years. Tens of thousands of flag-waving activists called for early elections. They are unhappy about corruption and the government's handling of the economy. President Boris Tadic says early elections could endanger Serbia's hopes of joining the European Union.

The British government says it's consulting with 15 other Commonwealth countries, where Queen Elizabeth is head of state, about possible changes to the ancient laws of royal succession. At present, a male royal heir would always accede to the throne ahead of an older sister. The issue is in the spotlight as Prince William prepares to marry Kate Middleton this month. If the couple's first child is a girl, she would not eventually become Queen if her parents subsequently have a boy.

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