BBC在线收听下载:埃及法庭判近700名穆斯林兄弟会成员死刑

BBC news 2014-04-29

BBC News with David Austin.

The United States has imposed further sanctions on Russia in response to what it called the country's illegal intervention in Ukraine. The sanctions target 7 individuals and 17 Russian companies linked to President Vladimir Putin. Barbara Plett Usher reports.

The White House said that the 7 officials are now subjected to a freeze on any assets they hold in the United States and are banned from traveling to America. They include Igor Sechin, the head of Russia's major oil company, Rosneft. The 17 companies have also had their assets frozen. This is the third round of sanctions the US has imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, all have been aimed at specific individuals and entities. But the administration has made clear it's ready to target key sectors of the economy if Moscow launches a military intervention deeper into Ukraine.

Russia said a wide range of measures will be applied in response.

The mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has been shot and critically wounded. Hennadiy Kernes was shot in the back by unknown gunmen. Mr. Kernes was an ally of Ukraine's ousted president but has recently backed the idea of a united Ukraine. Earlier, armed pro-Russian militants seized key government buildings in the eastern town of Kostyantynivka. The incidents come as the OSCE called for the immediate release of 12 of its observers including 5 Ukrainians who are being detained by pro-Russian insurgents.

There has been international condemnation of the handing out of death sentences in Egypt to almost 700 supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The United States said the decision defied the most basic standards of international justice. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed fears for the country's future stability. The men including the movement's leader Mohamed Badie were convicted over clashes in the city of Minya last year.  From Cairo, here is Orla Guerin.

There was chaos and anguish outside the court after the judge recommended the death penalty for almost 700 men. They were convicted in a mass trial which finished in hours. The verdict will be reviewed by a top Islamic scholar. The court also upheld 37 death sentences passed last month. Today's verdicts will heighten concern about the growing crack down on dissent here.

Reports from Iraq say a suicide bomber has killed at least 30 people in the east of the country. The attacker targeted a rally in the mostly Kurdish town of Khanaqin, 50 people are reported to have been injured. The victims had gathered to watch a video recording showing the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who's receiving medical treatment in Germany. Earlier, suicide bombers killed at least 20 soldiers and policemen in other parts of Iraq. The attackers targeted polling stations where security forces were voting ahead of Wednesday's parliamentary election.

World News from the BBC.

The British Prime Minister has condemned as profoundly shocking the murder of a teacher in Leeds in northern England in front of her pupils. Anne Maguire was stabbed to death. A 15 year old school boy has been arrested. The BBC education correspondent says fatal attacks on teachers in Britain are extremely rare.

Britain's best known celebrity publicist Max Clifford has been found guilty of 8 counts of indecent assault on women and teenagers dating back to the 1970s. He was charged as part of wider investigation into allegations of historical sex attacks following the death of the BBC presenter Jimmy Savile 3 years ago. Rob Watson reports.

Max Clifford was a man who sold stories of sex and celebrity to the tabloid newspapers for decades. Now his own reputation is in tatters after being convicted of a series of sex assaults dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. This is the first successful conviction under Operation Yewtree, the massive police investigation set up after the death of Jimmy Savile to look into allegations that other celebrities had also misused their fame and power to commit sexual assaults.

The Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has praised the reaction by the Brazilian international player Dani Alves to a racist incident during a match at the Villareal stadium in Spain. Leonardo Rocha has more.

Dani Alves' team Barcelona was losing the match when local fans threw a banana at the Brazilian right back. The player's reaction to the racial slur surprised everyone, he picked up the banana, and took a bite before throwing it away. President Dilma Rousseff wrote on Twitter that Dani Alves had given a brave and forceful response to racism in sport. Hundreds of people including footballers and politicians have since posted pictures of themselves eating a banana in solidarity with Dani Alves.

Leonardo Rocha reporting.

BBC News.