BBC在线收听下载:美洲峰会的“无言”结局

BBC news 2012-04-16


BBC News with Marion Marshall

Taliban militants have carried out a series of attacks in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul. Nato bases, the parliament and Western embassies all came under fire. Afghan security forces are still trying to clear heavily armed insurgents from several areas. The first explosions were in the morning, and exchanges of gunfire continued after nightfall. The Afghan government said a number of gunmen had been killed, but no civilians or members of the security forces. A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, explained the motivation behind the attacks.

"These attacks were revenge for the brutal actions of foreigners, such as urinating on Taliban dead bodies, Koran burnings at Bagram airbase and killing of innocent civilians in Kandahar. This was one of the biggest attacks in terms of size so far this year, and it is still underway."

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he's concerned about the shelling of the Syrian city of Homs as more fighting was reported involving government forces and rebels. Earlier, a spokesman for the UN envoy Kofi Annan asked all sides to observe a ceasefire which came into force last Thursday. Ahmad Fawzi told the BBC that the truce was precarious and fragile, but it could save Syria from plunging back into the abyss as he put it.

"Both parties must be willing to end the violence and come to the negotiating table. We hope both sides will realise that this is a golden opportunity for them to put down their arms and to start talking. Negotiations are (is口误) the only way out of this bloody crisis that has lasted for one year."

Their appeals come as UN ceasefire observers began to arrive in the country.

The United Nations has confirmed that at least one person has been killed by a Sudanese bombing raid on South Sudan. The local authorities say nine were killed and 24 wounded in different air attacks, and ground clashes are also reported. James Copnall reports from Khartoum.

The UN has confirmed two Sudanese jets dropped four bombs on Bentiu. The local authorities go further. The governor of Unity state told the BBC two MiG-29 jets struck Bentiu and an Antonov plane dropped bombs on the town of Mayom. Taban Deng said there were women and children among the dead. Earlier on Sunday, rebels made a failed attempt to capture Kwek in Upper Nile state near the border with Sudan. South Sudan accuses the Sudanese army of providing artillery cover. The Sudanese armed forces weren't immediately available for comment, but in the past, they had denied both carrying out air raids and supporting South Sudanese rebels.

Police in Pakistan are searching for nearly 400 inmates who've escaped from a prison in the northwest after it was stormed by Taliban fighters. Officials said the escaped prisoners included militants as well as criminals.

World News from the BBC

The military forces which seize power in Guinea-Bissau say they'll set up a national transitional council with opposition leaders. A spokesman said parliament would be dissolved, and an interim president and prime minister would be appointed. Earlier, several people were injured when security forces broke up a rally by protesters.

A meeting of the heads of state of the Western Hemisphere has ended without a joint declaration after leaders failed to reach agreement on whether Cuba should attend the next summit. The United States and Canada opposed demands by the Latin American nations to invite Cuba to the next Summit of the Americas. Communist Cuba was excluded from the Organisation of American States, which runs the summits, 50 years ago. The Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the subjects on the agenda, which included whether to back Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands, made agreement difficult.

"Who thought that an agreement would be reached here about the Falklands and Cuba? We all knew there would be no agreements, so there are no negative surprises."

The two main contenders for the French presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, have staged competing rallies in the run-up to next week's election. Mr Sarkozy warned that a victory by Mr Hollande would damage the economy. Mr Hollande accused the president of encouraging financial speculation to boost his political ends. A BBC correspondent says both candidates try to appeal to the 30% of the electorate which, polls say, may abstain.

Scientists have found that the glaciers in one of Asia's biggest mountain ranges have expanded in the last few years, defying the general tendency towards shrinkage. They say a detailed survey of the glaciers in the Karakoram range shows a slight expansion while glaciers in the neighbouring Himalayas have become smaller. The researchers say it appears that by a quirk in the weather pattern, the Karakoram are receiving less heat and heavier snowfalls.

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