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 ideology is, and where it originated are just guesswork at the moment.

Police in Nigeria say they’ve arrested a senior commander of the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram. They say the commander, Suleiman Mohammed, was the sect’s operational leader in the northern city of Kano. Will Ross reports from Lagos.

The Nigerian police are describing the arrest as a significant development. They say Suleiman Mohammed was a senior Boko Haram commander based in the northern city of Kano. It’s been the scene of several deadly attacks including one on the church service two weeks ago that left 16 people dead and another in January which killed more than 180. It has, however, been impossible to independently verify whether or not Suleiman Mohammed is indeed a key figure in the Boko Haram group.

The likely republican presidential candidate in the United States Mitt Romney has restated his belief that marriage should only be between a man and woman in a speech to a Christian audience. He told graduates at the Liberty University in the important swing state of Virginia that America was built on Christian values. His comments come just days after President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage.

Military officials in Yemen say at least 10 al-Qaeda militants have been killed in two area attacks thought to be from US unmanned planes in the south of the country. There has been no confirmation from Washington and the US has not officially acknowledged the use of drones in Yemen. On Thursday, eight al-Qaeda militants were killed in missile strikes.

World News from the BBC

The leader of the left front party in France Jean-Luc Melenchon says he’ll contest the same seat in next month’s parliamentary elections as the national front leader Marine Le Pen. Mr Melenchon said he would stand in the northern town of Henin-Beaumount, describing the contest as a battle of national and European significance.

The Greek President Karolos Papoulias has begun work to form an emergency government to avoid having to hold fresh elections after last Sunday’s inconclusive poll. Mr Papoulias has summoned leaders of all the main political parties to meetings on Sunday. Here is Mark Lowen.

Three party leaders attempted to form a government to fill the power vacuum to stave off fresh elections. All three failed. Now the president will have his turn, summoning all parties to request an emergency government of national salvation . If as expected that fails too, Greece will stumble towards a new election. According to opinion polls, a party that wants to tie up the country’s loan agreement with Brussels and turn its back on austerity could come first. But European leaders have said Greece must stick to the bailout and its cost cutting path.

In Britain, nine men have been arrested in connection with anther sexual grooming inquiry in Rochdale in Greater Manchester. Police said that the men aged between 24 and 38 have been questioned on suspicion of sexual activity with the child. The arrests come just days after the nine men from the same area were convicted of being part of a child exploitation ring.

A British Military Train which linked West Germany to West Berlin during the Cold War has made a commemorative run today, 21 years after its last journey. Almost every day for four decades, the train travels through communist East Germany, demonstrating its passengers’ right of access to the divided city which lay deep behind the Iron Curtain. Retired British officers on today’s train recalled the professionalism of those running the service.

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