BBC News with Mike Cooper
Tens of thousands of people have joined marches in Spain to mark the birth a year ago of a protest movement against economic austerity. The main rally by the activists known as “the
outraged
” is in the central square in Madrid from where Guy Hedgecoe reports.
There was a festive atmosphere around Madrid as protesters marched from different neighborhoods into the centre of the city. There was singing and chanting and, on a hot spring day, lots of playful costumes. But what they are protesting against is very serious. "Los indignados", or the "outraged", feel the economic crisis has been woefully mismanaged. In the past they have been criticised for failing to offer concrete proposals. But they believe that Spain's current economic woes give them renewed
momentum
.
A little-known militant group that’s been linked to al-Qaeda says it carried out two suicide bomb attacks in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday. At least 55 people died. The al-Nusra Front made the claim in a video posted on its website. Jonathan Head reports.
The group that has said it carried out the Damascus bombings first came to light in January when it posted a similar video statement on the internet, admitting responsibility for an earlier attack. Its statements echoed those of other jihadist Islamic groups. And the latest bomb attack was certainly similar to some in Iraq which have been blamed on al-Qaeda. But little else is known about al-Nausra who leads it, what its