BBC在线收听下载:英女王六十周年“钻石庆典”

BBC news 2012-06-03

BBC News with Kathy Clugston

Tens of thousands of Egyptians are gathered in Cairo and across the country to protest against the verdicts on the former President Hosni Mubarak and his co-defendants. In Alexandria, Egypt's second city, and in Qena, in the south, protesters demanded the execution of those charged. Protesters in Tahrir Square waved flags and chanted "Revolution, revolution". Mr Mubarak and his hated former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly were sentenced to life for complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising. However, six security chiefs were acquitted, and Mubarak and his sons were cleared of corruption. Political groups have called for a massive turnout to denounce what they see as undue leniency. Our Cairo correspondent Jon Leyne assesses the trial and how it could affect the forthcoming second round of the presidential election.

A verdict that was meant to bring closure for Egypt is in danger of just reopening old wounds and dividing the country once again. It is above all a really confusing ruling: why convict the former president for ordering the killing of protesters, then acquit those further down the chain of command who logically would have had to carry out the orders. Egyptians naturally suspected conspiracy, the hand that the old regime had played, but maybe it was just where the evidence led in what was certainly a very flawed trial, so to the presidential election in two weeks' time. One candidate, former general Ahmed Shafik, has called for the verdict to be respected. The other candidate, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, has called for mass demonstrations against it.

The conflict in Syria has led to fighting between rival factions in neighbouring Lebanon. Ten people are reported to have been killed and more than 20 wounded in the city of Tripoli. Jim Muir reports from Beirut.

The Tripoli clashes, involving small-arms fire, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, erupted on Friday night and continued into Saturday despite efforts by the authorities to calm the situation and insert security forces to keep the two sides apart. It's the most intensive flare-up since tensions over Syria broke into violence in Tripoli last month when 10 people were killed over nearly a week. The fighting is between local Alawites, who support the Alawite-dominated regime in Syria, and Sunnis, who back the Syrian uprising and have been accused of allowing guns to be smuggled to the mainly Sunni rebels across the border.

Pakistani officials say American air strikes have killed two suspected militants in the tribal region of South Waziristan. Reports say the men were senior commanders linked to a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, headed by the warlord Mullah Nazir. It was the sixth American drone attack in Pakistan in two weeks. In April, the Pakistani parliament demanded the US stop such attacks.

World News from the BBC

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says there's been a sharp increase in the number of refugees arriving in South Sudan, fleeing fighting north of the border. Between 2,000 and 4,000 people are crossing daily from Blue Nile province to escape fighting between the government in Khartoum and rebel forces. Here's our Africa editor Martin Plaut.

Three giant camps in South Sudan are already hosting 70,000 people who fled from the north. They bring with them tales of attacks by air and land by the Sudanese armed forces. Many of the children arrive severely sick and malnourished, but the camps are already stretched to breaking point. Having adequate water supplies and making room for this fresh influx will be hard.

Four days of celebrations have begun in Britain to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen's reign. The formal ceremonies opened with a 41-gun salute outside the Tower of London to mark the anniversary of her coronation. The Queen herself went to the races and saw the horse Camelot win the Epsom Derby. Nicholas Witchell was there.

In 1900, a horse called Diamond Jubilee won the derby. One hundred and twelve years later, the derby marked the official start of the Diamond Jubilee weekend of celebrations. Tomorrow 1,000 boats will form up on the Thames in the biggest river pageant for several centuries. On Monday, stars will be performing at a concert outside Buckingham Palace. And on Tuesday after a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral, the Queen will ride in a carriage procession from parliament back to the palace.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged countries taking to exploit the resources of the Arctic to agree what she called the "rules of the road" to prevent future conflicts. Speaking in Norway, Mrs Clinton called on fellow Arctic nations to work together to ensure environmentally responsible development.

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