BBC在线收听下载:一艘中国船只探测到疑似失踪飞机黑匣子信号

BBC news 2014-04-06

BBC News with Natalia Rolleston

The outgoing president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has praised Afghan voters for turning out in their millions in the election to replace him. He said they had made the country proud, demonstrating Afghanistan’s democracy to the world. President Obama congratulated the Afghan people, calling the vote an important milestone. Estimates by the electoral authorities put the turnout at 58 per cent. The chairman of the Free and Fair Election Foundation Nader Nadery told the BBC this was the best election in Afghanistan yet.

“The election itself was not only for the people casting a vote to choose their next leader, but they were in a way voting for continuation and institutionalisation of democracy in this country. And I think that the verdict is very clear and they do want to see democracy and people’s role and rule to be institutionalised, and it was a clear message of defiance to the Taliban, to those across Afghanistan’s border who want to see this country fail.”

A Chinese ship involved in the hunt for the missing Malaysian plane is said to have detected a “pulse signal” in the southern Indian Ocean. The Australian coordinators of the search said the frequency of the signal, as reported by Chinese state media, was consistent with that of a flight recorder. But they stressed they couldn’t say whether there was any connection to Flight MH370, which vanished a month ago. More details from Nick Childs.

This may be significant, but with so few details so far and with so many false leads before, there must also be considerable caution about this report. The most intriguing element is the apparent frequency of the signal picked up—37.5 kilohertz. That is consistent with the beacon on the black box. But the contact was, it seemed, only fleeting. The search area is also still vast at 84,000 square miles.

The government of Guinea has praised aid workers trying to contain an outbreak of Ebola after they came under attack from local people. The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres closed a treatment centre after the attack. Richard Hamilton reports.

A government statement said that an angry mob attacked the treatment centre because of rumours that MSF had brought Ebola into Guinea, where the disease has never been seen before. MSF said they were working with the authorities to try to resolve the problem so they could start treating people again. The government praised the efforts of the medical charity and urged the population to stay calm, stressing the need for greater education about the virus. About 90 people in Guinea and neighbouring Liberia have died from Ebola.

Suspected Islamist militants in north-eastern Nigeria have shot dead at least 17 worshippers in a mosque. Witnesses said the gunmen struck as residents of village gathered for dawn prayers. Mosques have been a frequent target of militants who threaten clerics preaching against extremism. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has killed more than 1,200 people this year.

BBC News

The French government has announced that it’s pulling out of the 20th anniversary commemorations for the Rwandan genocide. The decision follows an accusation by the Rwandan President Paul Kagame that France participated in the mass killings in 1994. Mr Kagame has previously made similar allegations. A French foreign ministry spokesman said the remarks went against reconciliation efforts between the two countries.

Pakistan International Airlines says it has sacked 300 employees over the past six months for faking their academic qualifications. The Pakistani national carrier has been ordered to review the credentials of all of its employees. Abigail Mawdsley reports.

A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines said those who’d lied about their qualifications included pilots and engineers as well as cabin crew and staff from other departments. He said on top of the 300 who’d already been sacked another 50 cases of employees who’d faked their credentials were currently under review. PIA is undergoing the mammoth task of verifying the qualifications of about 16,000 of its workforce following an order by Pakistan’s supreme court.

Police in Colombia say they have arrested a man suspected of throwing acid at a woman’s face in a case that has caused outrage in the country. Jonathan Vega is accused of attacking Natalia Ponce de Leon outside her home in Bogota last week. He’s said to be a former neighbour of hers.

A Roman Catholic archbishop in the United States says he will sell his expensive mansion just three months after he moved into it. Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Atlanta in Georgia, has been heavily criticised by lay Catholics for having a Tudor-style mansion with more than $2m built for him. This comes at a time when Pope Francis is setting a tone of austerity and humility in the church. Archbishop Gregory has publicly apologised.

And that’s the latest World News from the BBC.