BBC news 2011-07-14 加文本

BBC news 2011-07-14

BBC News with Marion Marshall

Three bombs have gone off in India's main commercial city Mumbai, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 100. From Mumbai, here's Rajini Vaidyanathan.

The bombs went off at a busy time of day - 7:00pm in the evening rush hour - at three very busy locations here in Mumbai. One was a car bomb in the Dadar area. Witnesses there described seeing bus-stops, shop fronts and vehicles blown apart by the force. Another explosion was in the busy jewellery district in the south of the city, which is usually crammed with shoppers and traders. India's Home Minister P Chidambaram described the explosions as "a coordinated attack by terrorists". The entire city has been put on a state of high alert.

Mumbai has seen a number of bombings in recent years, including coordinated attacks by Islamic extremists in 2008, in which more than 150 people died.

Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corp has withdrawn its controversial bid for a full takeover of the British broadcaster BSkyB. The company said the present mood was not conducive to the bid. In a parliamentary debate after the announcement, MPs vied with each other to denounce Mr Murdoch. Allegations of phone hacking have enraged public opinion and led to the closure of the most compromised Murdoch newspaper, the News of the World. Here's Tom Esslemont.

With the phone hacking scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch's media empire, it had become almost inconceivable that the bid would go ahead. In a short statement, News Corp said that it was now clear it had become too difficult to progress in this climate. The news came just two hours after the British Prime Minister David Cameron gave his own damning response to the scandal, calling on Rupert Murdoch to stop thinking about the bid to buy out BSkyB and focus instead on putting his own house in order.

The Egyptian government says more than 600 senior police officers are being removed from their jobs. Their dismissal has been a key demand of protesters, who believe the officers were involved in the killing of hundreds of people during the uprising against Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. From Cairo, Jon Leyne reports.

With protests in Tahrir Square being stepped up daily, the interior ministry has announced a major purge of officers. Five hundred and five generals and 160 other officers are to end their service. According to the interior minister, 18 of the generals are accused of having a role in the killing of protesters during the revolution earlier this year. It's not been specified whether the officers are being sacked or just retired early.

A woman in Bahrain who was jailed for reciting poems criticising the king and prime minister during anti-government demonstrations has been released from prison. Ayat al-Qurmezi was sentenced last month to a year in jail for anti-state crimes. At least 32 people have died during five months of protests demanding government reform in Bahrain. http://www.hxen.net

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The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has acknowledged that he'll need further treatment for cancer. In his most frank comment so far, Mr Chavez said he may need to undergo radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Mr Chavez is expected to run for re-election for a fourth term next year. But correspondents say the prospect of long-term medical treatment could undermine his ability to govern Venezuela.

Meanwhile, police in Venezuela have regained control of a prison east of the capital Caracas after a 27-day-long uprising, in which at least 25 people were killed. The Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami said that more than 800 inmates of the El Rodeo prison had given up their weapons. He said the prisoners surrendered after being given guarantees that their human rights would be respected.

The United Nations Security Council has formally recommended that South Sudan should join the United Nations. However, there are still major concerns over the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei and the simmering conflict in South Kordofan. From New York, here's Barbara Plett.

There is a sense in the Security Council that a milestone has been reached. Since 2005, the UN has monitored the agreement that ended the civil war between north and south, and it oversaw the referendum that led to the south's secession. Bestowing UN membership on the new nation should be a formality, starting with the council's recommendation and ending the next day with the endorsement of the 192 UN member states. But many look to the future with apprehension because in the past few weeks, the two sides have come closer to war than at any time in the past five years over the disputed region of Abyei.

The international ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Greece's credit status, saying the country lacks a fully-funded and credible financial programme. The agency gave Greek bonds a CCC rating, or junk status, which implies a higher risk of a default on its debts. The development came as the International Monetary Fund urged Greece to move faster on reforms and to control spending.

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