BBC在线收听下载:俄罗斯警方逮捕示威者

BBC news 2012-03-19

BBC News with Marion Marshall

Government security forces in Afghanistan say they've seized two massive consignments of explosives in different parts of the country. About 2.5 tonnes were found close to the provincial governor's residence in Mazar-i-Sharif in the north. In the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, intelligence officials said they've found more than nine tonnes of explosives. Bilal Sarwary is in Kabul.

The Afghan government says that al-Qaeda and Taliban wanted to launch spectacular attacks. They said that they would have launched the attacks weren't they put off, but choosing a target would have been the New Year - this is when a number of Afghans gather; this is when senior officials also take part in ceremonies, especially in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. So the Afghan officials definitely would like to take credit for a very important discovery.

At least two male nurses in Uruguay have been arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of several patients. The judge overseeing the case said they could be responsible for dozens of induced killings. The police began their investigation after hospital officials reported several suspicious deaths. Vladimir Hernandez has more.

The arrests are the result of a two-month investigation into a number of suspicious deaths at two hospitals in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo. Both nurses have reportedly admitted responsibility for inducing the deaths of dozens of critically ill patients. But investigators claim that not all the victims were terminally ill. Officials believe that the hospital workers could have given the patients a poison brought from neighbouring Brazil. One theory that the police are reportedly investigating is that the nurses could have been working independently from each other as the methods used vary from patient to patient.

The Cuban dissident group Ladies in White says the authorities have detained their spokeswoman Bertha Soler and more than 30 other members. They were stopped by police when they were going to take part in a regular Sunday silent parade to demand the release of political prisoners. The group, formed nine years ago, said the Cuban authorities had increased pressure on them and other dissidents in the last few weeks, detaining them for short periods, threatening them and harassing them.

Tens of thousands of grieving Coptic Christians are taking part in a second night of vigils in Egypt following the death on Saturday of their leader Pope Shenouda. Jon Leyne reports.

Inside St Mark's Coptic Cathedral, they gather to pay their respects. For the next three days, the body of Pope Shenouda III will not lie in state, but rather sit in the papal throne in full ceremonial robes. Over four turbulent decades, Pope Shenouda has presided over the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Coptic Christians saw him as a protector and a father figure - the only religious leader many have known all their lives.

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Votes are now being counted in Guinea-Bissau following an election to choose a new president. The nine candidates include the former President Kumba Yala, who was overthrown by the military, and the former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior. Guinea-Bissau, seen as a major staging post in the international drugs trade between Latin America and Europe, has had several army mutinies and coups in recent years.

An outspoken former East German human rights activist, Pastor Joachim Gauck, has been elected president of Germany. In a resounding victory, he secured more than three quarters of the vote at a special assembly. The president-elect said the strong support made him feel humble.

"I know I won't meet all the expectations which people have for me and my presidency, but I can promise one thing: I say yes to the responsibility which you have given me today with all my strength and with all my heart."

Mr Gauck, who's 72, has no party affiliation. He opposed the former communist regime in East Germany and after reunification led the body that opened up the files of the old secret police, the Stasi.

The Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has been chosen as the new leader of the governing Pasok party in an election in which he was the only candidate. Mr Venizelos told supporters that the higher-than-expected turnout had sent a strong message that Pasok had not lost its soul. Opinion polls show support for Pasok has reached historic lows, which a BBC correspondent says is a reaction to imposing the toughest austerity programme in modern history.

Russian police have detained dozens of people protesting over a film broadcast by the pro-government television channel NTV, which claimed that opposition groups had paid people to join an anti-government rally. Demonstrators had gathered in front of Moscow's TV tower, chanting "Shame on NTV" and "Russia Without Putin".

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