英语论文网

The Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has appealed to the central government for justice after making a dramatic escape from house arrest. One activist told the BBC that Mr Chen, who's blind, was helped to climb the garden wall at his rural house and was taken to the US embassy last Monday. There's been no confirmation or denial from the US State Department. Charles Scanlon reports.

Activists have told of a daring rescue mission, in which the blind campaigner was smuggled out of his home in a rural village which has been surrounded by plain-clothes agents. He was driven across country, and then transferred to another car and taken to an undisclosed location in Beijing. From there, Chen Guangcheng recorded a video making a direct appeal to the Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who's seen as the most liberal member of the leadership. Mr Chen said he and his wife had been beaten and abused by local officials, and he wanted to know if this was part of the government's policy.

The military leaders who seized power in Guinea-Bissau earlier this month in the middle of a presidential election have released the leading candidate Carlos Gomes Junior and the interim president, who they had been holding ever since. Reports say the coup leaders have also agreed to a 12-month transition period to restore civilian government as demanded by the regional bloc Ecowas. John James reports from Abidjan.

Guinea-Bissau's two leading politicians are due to meet the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara over the weekend, after more than two weeks in detention . President Ouattara is the current chairman of the West African regional body Ecowas. And on Thursday, the group agreed to send a 600-strong regional force to Bissau to secure a transition to civilian rule. A second round of presidential elections had been scheduled for this weekend. It was expected to see the election of Carlos Gomes Junior, who gained 49% of the vote in the first round in March.

New figures show that growth in the American economy has slowed in the first quarter of this year. The US Commerce Department said it expanded at an annual rate of 2.2%, compared with 3% in the final quarter of last year. Here's Andrew Walker.

This figure is seen by many economists as rather disappointing. It's lower than what most expected and a good deal less than what it would take to make a substantial impact on the country's unemployment problem. The weakest areas were business investment and government spending. But there were some aspects that are seen as more positive. Consumer spending and export grew more quickly than before. Economic news is important politically in a presidential election year, and what the new data suggest is a recovery that is still rather unconvincing .

Spanish unemployment figures show that nearly a quarter of the workforce is jobless - the highest level in 18 years. More than 5.5 million people are looking for work, and 370,000 people have lost their jobs since the start of the year. Spain's unemployment rate is now the highest of all 17 countries in the eurozone.

World News from the BBC

State television in Syria says at least nine people have been killed and nearly 30 wounded in an explosion in central Damascus. The TV station has broadcast footage of t本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。