BBC news 2011-12-07 加文本

BBC news 2011-12-07

BBC News with Sue Montgomery

A suicide bomb attack on Shia Muslim worshippers in the Afghan capital Kabul has killed at least 58 people and wounded more than 160 others. The blast happened on the most holy day of the Shia calendar. From Kabul, Quentin Sommerville reports.

At a Kabul hospital, wave after wave of victims arrive. And on the pavement outside, a mother mourns for her lost son. "My heart is broken," she cries. Desperate and in despair, more gathered for news of missing family and friends. For many, a day of Muslim mourning became a day of terrible loss. The Taliban issued a statement saying they didn't carry out this attack. The Afghan government says they are lying. But whoever is responsible, it's brought a new kind of suffering to this already fractured country.

Police in Moscow say they have arrested about 250 people during a second night of demonstrations in the Russian capital. The protesters were holding an unauthorised rally against the result of Sunday's election, which they say was rigged in favour of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party. An opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, who was detained and later released, explained what happened to him.

"Thousands of people decided to meet each other on Triumfalnaya Square. And finally they decided to arrest 250 guys, including me. I'm now freed, but unfortunately our police didn't explain why they did it."

The two most powerful countries in the eurozone, France and Germany, have reaffirmed their commitment to fiscal discipline in the region after a warning by one of the main rating agencies. Following talks in Germany, the US treasury secretary said he wanted to emphasise the importance to the global economy of restoring stability in the eurozone.

Riot police have been patrolling the Congolese capital Kinshasa amid fears that the expected announcement of the result of last week's presidential election could spark violence. Tear gas has already been used to disperse supporters of the main opposition politician Etienne Tshisekedi, who's said to be trailing behind the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, in preliminary results. Thomas Hubert reports from Kinshasa.

A senior official for the campaign of Etienne Tshisekedi rejected any result that would confirm President Kabila's re-election. He also said that the opposition would no longer recognise Mr Kabila as president after his constitutional term ends at midnight Tuesday night. Throughout the day, riot police were patrolling the streets of the capital, where many shops remained closed. Witnesses also reported heavy police and military deployments as well as curfews in several cities across the country.

World News from the BBC

US officials say the ambassador to Syria is returning to Damascus six weeks after he was recalled because of fears for his safety. The State Department said the ambassador Robert Ford would resume his post today. He was withdrawn from Syria in October after being pelted with eggs and tomatoes by government supporters when visiting an opposition figure. Mr Ford had denounced the violent suppression of anti-government protests.

Thousands of people in Colombia are taking part in a protest against the country's largest left-wing guerrilla group, the Farc. Demonstrators in the country's main cities are demanding the rebels free the hostages they hold, many of whom have been in captivity for over a decade. The marches were called in protest at the killing 10 days ago of four hostages.

The British poet Ted Hughes, who died in 1998, has been honoured with a memorial in London's Westminster Abbey. It lies in the famous Poets' Corner alongside the graves and memorials of other writers, including Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Keats. Rebecca Jones has this report.

Carved into the border of the Welsh slate memorial honouring Ted Hughes are poignant lines from his poem That Morning. "So we found the end of our journey," they read. "So we stood alive in the river of light, among the creatures of light, creatures of light." The stone is set into the floor here in Poets' Corner. At a ceremony attended by family, friends and fellow writers, it's being unveiled by the Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney.

The authorities in Libya have pledged to make the capital Tripoli a weapons-free zone by the end of December. A statement by the interim prime minister's office gave armed militias from outside Tripoli a two-week deadline to leave, threatening to close the city to traffic if they failed to do so. The statement was echoed by the president of Tripoli's city council.

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