BBC news 2011-06-04 加文本

BBC news 2011-06-04

BBC News with Nick Kelly

State television in Yemen has broadcast a brief message from President Ali Abdullah Saleh more than six hours after he was injured in a rocket attack on his compound in the capital Sanaa. But President Saleh was not seen in vision; only his words were heard, blaming the attack on an outlawed gang of his tribal foes. Lina Sinjab reports from Sanaa.

The audio message from President Ali Abdullah Saleh was brief. He said he was lightly wounded in the attack on his compound, adding that seven people had been killed. Earlier, a Yemeni minister, Hisham Sharaf, told the BBC the speaker of the Yemeni parliament was seriously wounded. The attack is the most significant escalation in days of the fighting between President Saleh's forces and armed tribesmen allied to his main rival Sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar. Government forces have accused them of carrying out the attack, but they've denied it.

Human rights activists in Syria say security forces have opened fire on demonstrators in the central city of Hama, killing at least 34 people. They say 100,000 people attended the anti-government protests in the city. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets after Friday prayers, some of them coming in from the surrounding countryside. Syrian state television said crowds attacked public buildings including the courthouse and set fire to them. It said armed men took advantage of the crowds to carry out attacks and that about 80 security forces personnel were wounded, trying to bring the situation under control. Protest websites said that several hundred demonstrators were wounded, in addition to those killed when security forces opened fire.

Bomb attacks in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, have killed at least 21 people. Fifteen died when a bomb exploded outside a mosque after Friday prayers. Reports say several senior provincial officials were among more than 60 people injured in the blast.

The world motor racing authorities say the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was called off in February at the height of the pro-democracy protests there, will now take place in October. The state of emergency in Bahrain was lifted earlier this week, but human rights groups say serious human rights abuses are continuing.

The United Nations report issued to mark 30 years since the first recorded case of Aids says the rate of new infections has fallen dramatically over the past 10 years. Barbara Plett reports from the UN in New York.

Most of the gains in the battle against Aids took place in the past 10 years. The UN report says during that time, the rate of infection has fallen by 25% and there's been significant progress in preventing the transfer of the HIV virus from mothers to children. Nearly seven million people in low- and middle-income countries are receiving antiretroviral drugs. However, there's still a big gap between rich and poor nations. At the end of last year, nearly nine million people who needed treatment weren't getting it. And the UN is calling for $6bn in additional funding.

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Official figures from the United States show that the job market there has weakened last month, adding to evidence that the US economy may be slowing. Unemployment rose to 9.1%. The number of new jobs created was sharply down from previous months. Jonny Dymond reports from Washington.

Foul weather, high energy prices and the earthquake in Japan are being blamed for the bad news on jobs. But the broader picture is most troubling. The US economy has softened. The manufacturing surge is tailing away, and the property market still on its knees is dragging down growth. Unemployment had fallen steadily from December to April, but since then it has climbed. The new jobs created this month won't soak up new entrants into the labour market, let alone re-engage the millions that lost their jobs in the recent severe recession.

A senior European financial official says Greece is likely to receive additional assistance from the European Union. Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the EU's group of finance ministers, told reporters that the additional support should be available in early July, subject to strict conditions. He added that the private sector should be encouraged to contribute.

European Union health officials say the rate of infection from the highly-toxic strain of E.coli which has hit Germany and killed nearly 20 people has fallen in the past two days. Doctors warn that it's unclear if the decrease marks a permanent decline. Optimism has been further tempered by one European labouratory which says it can't be sure that, as thought, contaminated vegetables were definitely the source of the E.coli outbreak.

And the veteran American actor James Arness, who starred for 20 years in the hit television Western Gunsmoke, has died in California. He was 88. James Arness played US Marshal Matt Dillon from 1955 until 1975 and helped make Gunsmoke one of the longest-running shows on American prime-time network television. John Wayne recommended him for the role.

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