BBC在线收听下载:葡萄牙总理制定新的开支削减计划

BBC news 2013-04-08

BBC News with Nick Kelley.

Egyptian state media say one person has been killed and at least 65 others injured during clashes in the capital Cairo after funeral prayers for Coptic Christians killed in sectarian violence. Witnesses said mourners were pelted with stone as they left St Mark's Cathedral chanting slogans against the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohammed Morsi. Aleem Maqbool reports.

The funerals turned into a demonstration against Egypt's ruling party, it's spilled out into the streets, it wasn't an outpouring of rage, but also fear for what the future holds for minorities here. The priest of the local church Sourial Yunnan says conditions for Christians in Egypt have deteriorated under the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and believes the worse is yet to come.

President Morsi has condemned the violence and said any attack on the Cathedral was an attack on him personally.

Villagers and officials in eastern Afghanistan have said that 11 children had been killed in NATO air strikes on three villages. Locals said some of the children died when the roof of their home collapsed after bombs were dropped in Kunar province closed to the Pakistan border, two women and several insurgents were also killed. One tribal elder said fighting in the area lasted for seven hours. International coalition ISAF said it had no reports of civilian death from the operation but was investigating.

The Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has outlined new spending cuts following the constitutional court's rejection of parts of the government's previous austerity budget. Two days ago, the court ruled some cuts were unfair and unconstitutional. In a televised address, Mr Passos Coelho said he remained committed to meeting the conditions for Portugal's international bailout.

On behalf of the government there would be no hesitation, allow me say clearly, so there are no doubts left, the government is committed to all the objectives of the bailout program and reaffirmed that would meet the internal and external obligations of the state. As Prime Minister, I renew my commitment here today, to do all of my powers to attack the additional difficulties and put an end to this crisis once and for all.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Russia to give a chance to a non-governmental organization. In a speech in the presence of the Russian President Vladimir Putin who is on a visit to Germany.

We are convinced that will be most successful if we have an active civil society, this has already been discussed in German and Russian talks in St Petersburg, and we have to intensify this dialogue to further develop our ideas. In Germany, we know the non-governmental organizations drive innovation, and they should be given the opportunity to do the same in Russia.

This is the World News from the BBC

The South African military says it will send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of special United Nations intervention force to fight rebels there. It comes just two weeks after the deaths of 13 soldiers in a controversial deployment in the Central African Republic. The South Africa media suggested troops were in the CAR in return for lucrative mining contract. Pretoria has denied this.

The Nigerian militant group, Mend(the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta), says it was behind an ambush which killed 15 police officers in an oil producing Niger Delta on Friday night. The group has been largely inactive since most of its members agree to amnesty in 2009. Will Ross reports from Lagos.

An email statement from the militant group known as Mend, said it carried out the attack. It is, however, hard to verify if the email is from the same group responsible for disrupting oil output before an amnesty was agreed four years ago. Last week, an email purportedly from Mend said it was relaunching a campaign of violence in retaliation for the recent jailing of its leader, Henry Okah for terrorism. The Nigerian police denied there is any link between the ambush and the threat by the militants. A police spokesman said the men who opened fire were former militants involved in a dispute over amnesty payments.

Tens of thousands of supporters of the Venezuelan opposition candidate Henrique Capriles have taken to the streets of the capital Caracas ahead of elections to choose a successor to the late President Hugo Chavez. Supporters of Mr Capriles said the march is an opportunity for the people of Venezuela to say the country needs a new leader to tackle its economic problems. Venezuelans go to the polls next Sunday.

And finally, Scientists say airborne particles from burning fossil fuels are stunting the growth of coral reef south of the coast of Billes in Panama. The research shows that particles have a cooling effect on sea surface temperatures which limits growth.

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