BBC在线收听下载:美国失业率下降至8.3％

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BBC news 2012-02-04

BBC News with Sue Montgomery

Unemployment in the United States has fallen to 8.3%, raising hopes for further economic recovery. It's the lowest jobless rate for three years. Official figures show an increase of nearly a quarter of a million in the number of jobs created last month, more than predicted by analysts. Paul Adams reports from Washington.

The latest figures are much better than expected. The private sector is adding jobs in many areas, including manufacturing, healthcare and leisure, and the rate of unemployment has dropped again to 8.3%. The White House is clearly delighted with the new numbers, which it says provide further evidence of a healing economy. But there are plenty of warning signs. The Congressional Budget Office in its most recent report predicted that unemployment might creep back up over the course of the year, that economic growth would be modest and that annual deficit would remain in excess of $1tn for several years to come.

An attempt to build peace between South Sudanese tribes ended in a shoot-out between police that has left 37 people dead. The incident in Unity state erupted as officials were meeting to discuss inter-ethnic clashes earlier this week that left many dead. According to the United Nations, a row broke out, and four trucks arrived filled with police who opened fire indiscriminately. Among the dead were civilians. Human rights campaigners have criticised the lack of discipline among the security forces.

The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has warned that oil revenue disputes with South Sudan might lead to war. In an interview with state television, he accused the South of shutting down oil production to force the collapse of the Sudanese government.

"If we are forced to go to war, we will go to war. Relations have reached a state of tension, and they are now closer to war than to peace."

On Sunday, South Sudan said it had completely shut down production because of a dispute over the transit fees it must pay its northern neighbour in order to use the pipeline through which it exports all of its oil.

Freezing Arctic weather in Europe has led to a shortage of Russian fuel supplies in several countries. The Ukrainian energy minister said Russia's Gazprom had reduced gas supplies to Europe through his country by 14%. Here's Anna Borzello.

It's not the first time Ukraine accused Russia of reducing gas supplies to Europe, but now the Europe Union has confirmed that supplies have indeed been reduced to cope with increased domestic demand in Russia due to the severe weather conditions there. The EU energy spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said there had been a decrease in gas deliveries to eight countries - including Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. She said the situation was not yet an emergency as the countries concerned had storage facilities and some could replace supplies with liquefied natural gas.

World News from the BBC

Egyptian security forces have clashed for a second day with demonstrators in central Cairo who are protesting at the death of 74 football fans on Wednesday. Ambulances streamed in and out of Tahrir Square all day, ferrying injured people to hospital. Many had been overcome by tear gas fired by riot police defending the interior ministry.

The United Nations highest court in The Hague has ruled that Germany has legal immunity from Nazi war crimes in foreign courts, preventing victims from seeking compensation in their own countries. The International Court of Justice said Italy's Supreme Court violated Germany's sovereignty in 2008 when it judged that an Italian citizen was entitled to reparation for deportation and forced labour. The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the ruling did not absolve Germany of responsibility for its past.

"The process was not directed against the victims of National Socialism. The federal government has always recognised their pain, and of course the aim is also not to question German responsibility for the crimes of the Second World War."

The FBI and British police have admitted that hackers managed to obtain a recording of a conference call between their officers about tackling hacking and cybercrime. The recording was released by the hacking group Anonymous. The conversation discusses the tracking of Anonymous and other splinter groups, including dates of planned arrests.

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