2010-04-04 BBC
BBC News with Zoe Diamond.
Senior Irish Catholican Protestant clergymen have criticized the head of the worldwide Anglican communion for saying that Catholic church in Ireland had lost all credibility over the child abuse scandal. The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he was stunned and disheartened by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams' first comment on the crisis. Robert Prigott reports.
Even Pope Benedict has accepted that the Catholic church in Ireland has lost moral authority, saying in his pastoral letter last month that its bishops had lost their effectiveness because of the way they handled the sexual abuse. But criticism from the leader of another church proved too much. Dr.Williams has spoken of the colossal trauma caused by the scandal. But they were words Dr.Williams' quickly regretted and he phoned the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin to express his deep sorrow at the difficulties his remarks had caused.
The authorities in Senegal have unveiled a colossal statue overlooking the capital Dakar. The 49-metre-tall statue of a man, woman and child known as the monument of the African Renaissance, cost around 28 million dollars. African heads of state attended the inauguration celebrating 50 years since Senegal's independence. Earlier, opposition supporters marched in protest against the statue,a pet project of President Abdoulaye Wade. Many like this demonstrator said the statue was a waste of money.
Abdoulaye Wade's priorities should be health, education and so on. His priority can not just be to spend some money without talking to, to people,just spending the money into statues, just to promote himself and his family.
Police in Iraq say 25 people have been killed in an attack carried out by gunmen dressed in military uniforms. The attack was on the village of Sufiya, on the southern edge of Baghdad. The victims are believed to have supported local Sunni militias that turned against Al-Qaeda and its allies. A Defense Ministry spokesman general Muhammad al-Askari described what happened.
According to our investigation, the perpetrators came from a nearby village, around 500 meters away. They are from the same tribe. There were around 25 armed men wearing military uniforms. They had with them a list of names. They knocked people's doors, called out the name, then took the man or the woman who came out to a grove and killed them. We've now arrested 24 suspects.
Police in Kyrgyzstan have dispersed protesters calling for greater freedom outside parliament as the United Nations' Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was giving a speech, urging the country's leaders to improve human rights. Around 40 demonstrators carrying banners and shouting "help us" and "freedom" had gathered as Mr.Ban was driven to the building. He told parliament that human rights, including free speech and media freedom must be protected.
World News from the BBC.
South Korea has called off its rescue operation from more than 40 crew members missing from a warship that sank in mysterious circumstances last week near the disputed maritime border with North Korea. A navy spokesman has been quoted by the Yonhap News Agency as saying the operation will focus on salvaging the wreckage from Sunday.
Thousands of anti-government protesters in Thailand are spending the night in the commercial heart at the capital Bangkok to press their demands for early elections. Earlier, they have locked roads and forced shopping centers to close. It's the third week running that the red-shirts as the demonstrators are called have held mass rallies in Bangkok. They're mainly supporters of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was ousted by the military in 2006.
The United States' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he is delaying publication over a report which analysts have predicted could officially state that China manipulates its currency. The delaying publication means it will not come out until after a visit to Washington by the Chinese president. From there, Medline Morris reports.
It's no secret the United States believes China keeps its currency yuan artificially low and that hurts the US economy. But saying that in an official report is a different matter. Branding China a currency manipulator at this stage would cause headaches for the US administration. But the US government is under pressure from its lawmakers to take a tougher line on China's currency. A number of American members of Congress believe the low yuan is directly affecting their local economies.
A pupil in the United States is suing the New York city authorities for one million dollars in damages after she was arrested and led out of a school in handcuffs for writing on her desk. 12-year-old Alexa Gonzalez was caught scribbling, using an erasable marker. The girl and her mother are suing the police and education departments in the city, claiming excessive use of force.
BBC News.