BBC在线收听下载:乌克兰发生连环爆炸 欧锦赛安保蒙阴影

BBC news 2012-04-28

BBC News with Kathy Clugston

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The military leaders who seized power in Guinea-Bissau earlier this month in the middle of a presidential election have released the leading candidate Carlos Gomes Junior and the interim president, who they had been holding ever since. Reports say the coup leaders have also agreed to a 12-month transition period to restore civilian government as demanded by the regional bloc Ecowas. John James reports from Abidjan.

Guinea-Bissau's two leading politicians are due to meet the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara over the weekend, after more than two weeks in detention. President Ouattara is the current chairman of the West African regional body Ecowas. And on Thursday, the group agreed to send a 600-strong regional force to Bissau to secure a transition to civilian rule. A second round of presidential elections had been scheduled for this weekend. It was expected to see the election of Carlos Gomes Junior, who gained 49% of the vote in the first round in March.

New figures show that growth in the American economy has slowed in the first quarter of this year. The US Commerce Department said it expanded at an annual rate of 2.2%, compared with 3% in the final quarter of last year. Here's Andrew Walker.

This figure is seen by many economists as rather disappointing. It's lower than what most expected and a good deal less than what it would take to make a substantial impact on the country's unemployment problem. The weakest areas were business investment and government spending. But there were some aspects that are seen as more positive. Consumer spending and export grew more quickly than before. Economic news is important politically in a presidential election year, and what the new data suggest is a recovery that is still rather unconvincing.

Spanish unemployment figures show that nearly a quarter of the workforce is jobless - the highest level in 18 years. More than 5.5 million people are looking for work, and 370,000 people have lost their jobs since the start of the year. Spain's unemployment rate is now the highest of all 17 countries in the eurozone.

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State television in Syria says at least nine people have been killed and nearly 30 wounded in an explosion in central Damascus. The TV station has broadcast footage of the aftermath of the blast near a mosque in the Midan neighbourhood. The BBC's Rafid Jabboori is in Damascus.

According to what we heard from the Syrian Ministry of Information, the explosion took place right after the Friday prayer. Apparently, an individual approached the security officers who were guarding this place in central Damascus. When they asked him about his identification, he blew up himself. This place turned very quickly to a pro-government gathering. People here are shouting support for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Ukrainian authorities say four explosions in an hour in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk were an "act of terrorism". At least 27 people were injured at a tram stop and near a cinema. President Yanukovych described the blasts as a new challenge to the nation. The attacks came weeks before Ukraine is to co-host the Euro 2012 European football tournament.

The Mexican senate has approved changes to an agreement with Austria that would allow the temporary return of a headdress that was reputedly owned by the last Aztec emperor. The piece, known as Montezuma's headdress, is currently in a museum in Vienna. It's said that it was given by the Aztec emperor to the Spanish Conqueror Hernan Cortes, who sent it to Europe, where it has remained ever since.

A recording of one of the final performances by the American jazz musician Louis Armstrong has been made available to the public for the first time. It was made in Washington in 1971, just five months before Armstrong died. Despite his failing health, he performed five songs, including hits such as Mack the Knife and Hello Dolly. He can be heard both singing and, against his doctors' advice, playing the trumpet in his own unmistakable style.

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