BBC News with Marion Marshall

At least 75 people have been killed in South Sudan in an attack on a town in oil-rich Unity state. It's the worst such violence since independence in July. An army spokesman told the BBC that 15 civilians were among the dead after rebels from the South Sudan Liberation Army, the SSLA, attacked the town of Mayom. With more details, here's James Copnall in Khartoum.

The SSLA attacked Mayom in the early hours of Saturday morning. They say they have taken control of the town. But the army spokesman, the commissioner of the region and a local resident told the BBC the rebels' assault had been repulsed. Although some rebel movements have struck deals with the government since South Sudan became independent, several remain defiant. They say they are fighting against corruption, underdevelopment and the domination of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - the former rebels who now run South Sudan. The SSLA's rebellion is particularly sensitive because of its location. Most of South Sudan's oil fields are in Unity state, and oil accounts for 98% of the new country's revenue.

Fighters from the al-Shabab group in Somalia have staged a concerted attack on a base used by troops from the African Union. The attack began when two suicide bombers approached the base on foot in the capital Mogadishu and detonated their explosives.

A suicide car bombing has killed 13 Americans serving with the international force in Afghanistan. The bomber targeted a bus carrying troops on the outskirts of Kabul. The Taliban said they carried out the attack. Quentin Sommerville in Kabul has more.

The armoured bus was blown over by the force of the explosion. A suicide attacker driving a four-wheel drive vehicle detonated his bomb just as the bus was passing. Five soldiers and eight Isaf civilians died in the attack. The Pentagon said all were American, but Canada says one of its soldiers was among the dead. It's unusual for so many to die in a single attack. This is the deadliest assault on foreign forces in the capital in many years. Afghan civilians, including two students, were also killed.

Hospital officials in Brazil say the former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been diagnosed with throat cancer. They say he has a tumour on his larynx and will undergo chemotherapy at a hospital in Sao Paulo in the next few days. Former President Lula is 66 years old. He left office last year after serving as president since 2003. Paulo Cabral is in Sao Paulo.

Lula da Silva's doctors say they have chosen chemotherapy over surgery to preserve the full functionality of the former president's larynx. Artur Katz, an oncologist in the team attending the former president, says his general condition is very good. According to Doctor Katz, the tumour is between 3-4cm wide. President Lula's throat cancer was diagnosed on Saturday. The previous night, he'd been admitted to the hospital, complaining of severe hoarseness.

BBC News

A footbridge across a river has collapsed in northeastern India, throwing scores of people into the water below. At least 30 are feared dead, many of them women and children. Twenty-eight others were rescued after the bridge gave way in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. One report said villagers had crowded onto the bridge to catch a type of insect eaten locally.

Two people have been killed and at least 10 wounded by a suspected female suicide bomber in southeast Turkey. The blast happened near a building used by Turkey's governing AK party in the mainly Kurdish town of Bingol. Last week, in response to a Kurdish PKK attack on its forces, Turkey launched a major offensive against the Kurdish rebels.

At least five Palestinians have been killed and several wounded in an Israeli air attack on Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The Islamic Jihad movement confirmed that those killed were members of its armed wing. Our Gaza correspondent Jon Donnison reports.

Islamic Jihad is one of the main militant groups in Gaza but is not directly affiliated with Hamas, who govern in the Strip. A statement from Islamic Jihad said the group would retaliate and that an unofficial ceasefire with Israel in place for several months was now over. The news comes less than two weeks after a major prisoner exchange, which saw almost 500 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails in a swap for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Some Islamic Jihad members were released.

The winner of the presidential election in the Republic of Ireland is Michael Higgins - a poet, human rights activist and former government minister. Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein, a former member of the IRA who campaigns for a united Ireland, came third.

The veteran British broadcaster Jimmy Savile, whose career on radio and television spanned more than 40 years, has died at the age of 84. Savile's platinum blonde hair, chunky jewellery and ever-present Cuban cigar made him one of the most widely recognised television celebrities in Britain.

BBC World Service News

南非石油重镇团结州发生袭击事件，至少75人死亡。这是自7月份南非独立以来最严重的暴力事件，军方发言人告诉BBC，南苏丹解放军(SSLA)叛军袭击马尤姆镇，其中15名平民死亡。 James Copnall在喀土穆报道。

周六凌晨SSLA袭击马尤姆镇，声称已控制该镇。而军方发言人、地区特派员和一名当地人都告诉BBC，叛军已被驱逐。尽管自南苏丹独立以来，一些反叛活动已与政府达成协议，还有一部分仍不服从。他们称自己在与腐败、欠发达和苏丹人们解放运动（曾经的叛军，如今统治南苏丹）作斗争。SSLA反叛活动因其地理位置而尤为敏感，南苏丹的大部分油田都在团结州，而石油占这个新国家98%的财政收入。

索马里阿尔沙巴布武装分子协同对非盟军事基地发起进攻，两名自杀式炸弹袭击着步行来到位于摩加迪沙的军事基地，引爆了炸弹。

阿富汗发生自杀式汽车炸弹袭击，杀死13名在国际部队服役的美国人。在喀布尔郊区，轰炸者向一辆载有军人的汽车发起袭击。塔利班声称制造了这次事件，Quentin Sommerville在喀布尔报道。

这辆装甲车在爆炸中被毁，一名自杀式袭击者驾驶一辆四轮驱动车，经过装甲车时引爆炸弹。5名士兵和8名阿富汗国际安全援助部队（ISAF）成员在袭击中死亡，美国国防部称死者全部为美国人，而加拿大称其中一名死者是本国人。单次袭击造成如此多的死亡人数，很不寻常。是多年来外国部队在首都遭遇的最致命袭击，死者还包括两名学生在内的阿富汗平民。                         

巴西医院官方称，前总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦已确诊身患喉癌，称他的喉部长了肿瘤，未来几天将在圣保罗一家医院接受化疗。前总统卢拉年届66岁，自2003年任总统，去年离任。Paulo Cabral在圣保罗报道。

卢拉·达席尔瓦的医生说，他们选择用化疗的办法，来维持前总统喉部的充分官能。Artur Katz是参与治疗前总统医疗小组的肿瘤医生，他说，卢拉的病情大体上不错。据Katz博士说，肿瘤有3-4公分宽。卢拉的喉癌是周六确诊的，前一个晚上，他入院抱怨嗓子严重沙哑。

印度东北部一座步行桥发生倒塌，数十人落入水中。至少30人死亡，多为妇女和儿童。这座桥坐落在阿鲁纳恰尔邦，倒塌后有28人被救。一名记者说，村民们在桥上挤着扑捉当地一种可食昆虫。

土耳其东南部发生自杀式炸弹袭击，2人死亡，至少10人受伤，嫌疑人为一名女性。爆炸发生在宾格尔市一座为土耳其执政正义与发展党（AK）使用的建筑附近，该市人口主要是库尔德族。库尔德工人党(PKK)曾对AK党发起袭击，作为反击，土耳其对库尔德叛军发起重大进攻。

以色列对加沙地带南部的拉法发起空袭，至少5名巴基斯坦人死亡，数人受伤。伊斯兰圣战组织称死者是其成员。BBC驻加沙记者Jon Donnison报道。

伊斯兰圣战组织是加沙一支主要的军事组织，但与哈马斯并无直接关联。圣战组织在声明中表示将采取报复，实施数月的与以色列非官方停火已经结束。而在两周前，双方进行了换俘仪式，500名巴基斯坦囚犯在以色列获释，交换释放一名北部的以色列士兵沙利特。一些伊斯兰圣战成员也被释放。

爱尔兰共和国总统选举的获胜者是Michael Higgins，他是一位诗人，人权活动家和前政府部长。新芬党的Martin McGuinness位居第三，他曾是爱尔兰共和军军人，为争取爱尔兰的统一而竞选。

英国老牌广播主持人吉米·萨维尔去世，年终84岁，他从事广播和电视工作40多年。淡黄金发、沉重的首饰和永远随身带的古巴雪茄，使他成为英国最受欢迎的电视名人。

重点讲解

1. repulse   v.驱逐，击退

The raid was swiftly repulsed.
偷袭很快被击退。

2. detonate  v.(使)爆炸，引爆

An engineer tried to detonate the mine.
一名工程师试图引爆地雷。

3. larynx    n.喉

If the cancer does get out of hand, then the larynx must be removed.
如果癌症确实难以控制,就必须截除喉头。

4. chemotherapy     n. 化学疗法

The great modern advances in chemotherapy have come from the chance discovery.
现代化疗的伟大成就来自一个偶然的发现。

5. oncologist  n. 肿瘤医生

The oncologist invented a new kind of interferon to prevent cancer.
那位肿瘤学家发明了一种可以预防癌症的干扰素。

6. hoarseness     n. 嘶哑;刺耳

His hoarseness and coughing showed that he had contracted a cold.
他嗓音嘶哑又咳嗽,这表明他患了感冒。

7. retaliate  vi.报复 

The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen.
恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。

8. platinum  n.白金