World News from the BBC
The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who's suffering from cancer, has (pleaded for) his life to be spared in a prayer during Easter Mass. Speaking through tears in his home town of Barinas, Mr. Chavez asked Jesus to give him more time because he said he had things left to do. Mr. Chavez returned to Venezuela earlier this week after (undergoing) his latest session of (treatment) in Cuba. In February, he had surgery to remove a second tumour from his pelvic area.
Two players for the Argentine football club River Plate have been threatened and robbed on their way to a (training session). Keko Villalva and Juan Cazares were stopped in their car while leaving a highway in the capital Buenos Aires. Two men forced them to drive to a nearby neighbourhood where they threatened to shoot the footballers in the legs unless they handed over their cash, car and (valuables).
Cuba is marking Good Friday with a public holiday for the first time in decades. (Recognition) of religious holidays was stopped after the 1959 revolution when Cuba was officially declared atheist. Sarah Rainsford reports from Havana.
The last (papal visit) in the 1990s brought Christmas back to Cuba. Now Good Friday has been made a holiday too thanks to Pope Benedict. It's a sign of the changing place of the Catholic Church in a country that was officially atheist for (three decades). The Pope requested the move when he visited Cuba last week and met its communist President Raul Castro. His wish was granted as a mark of respect and a memory of what a statement called the "(transcendental nature)" of his visit.
The French authorities say they fear a (serial killer) may be behind a series of unexplained shootings in a suburb of Paris. Prosecutors say the same weapon has been used in four murders in the Essone area since November. The latest victim was a 47-year-old woman who was shot dead in her (apartment building) on Thursday. Police say there's no apparent link between the four victims apart from the fact that the first two were neighbours.
That's the latest BBC News.