BBC news 2009-01-26 加文本

BBC News with Fiona MacDonald.

The commander of the Sri Lankan army has suggested that the country's civil war is nearly over. Lietenant General Sarath Fonseka was speaking on national television after his troops captured Mullaittivu, the last major town held by the Tamil Tiger rebels. General Fonseka said it was a challenging military operation.

"To get to Mullaittivu, our valiant forces went about 40 kilometers forward from Welioya. It was a very difficult move. We got there after taking the Mullaittivu jungle. We were able to surmount fortifications made of earth and trenches, and capture Mullaittivu after a battle lasting a month."

There has been no word from the Tamil Tigers and there are no independent reports from the front lines.

The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he's setting up a special legal team to defend Israeli soldiers who might face allegations of war crimes committed during the campaign in Gaza. United Nations officials have demanded independent investigations into whether war crimes were committed. But Mr. Olmert said Israel would stand by its soldiers.

"The commanders and soldiers that were sent on the task in Gaza should know that they are safe from any tribunal, and that the State of Israel will assist them in this issue and protect them as they protected us with their bodies during the military operation in Gaza."

Palestinian officials say 1,300 people were killed during the offensive.

European Union foreign ministers have urged Palestinian factions to unite, so that border crossings in the Gaza Strip can be opened and aid distributed. Luxemburg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said that without a Palestinian consensus government, humanitarian aid couldn't be organized. The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that Palestinian people had to speak with a single voice. The ministers meeting in Brussels also said Egypt should do more to prevent weapons being smuggled to Hamas militants in Gaza.

President Barack Obama's top aides have been explaining his proposals for an 825-billion-dollar plan to stimulate the US economy. Speaking on Sunday at a television program, his vice President Joe Biden said they would begin to promote economic growth by, as he put it, getting money out of the door as rapidly as possible. But the Republican leader in the House of Representatives John Boehner said he wouldn't support the plan without significant changes.

"Republicans believe that we have a difficult economy. We believe that we need an economic rescue plan that helps American families and small businesses, and one that will work. And right now, given the concerns we have over the size of this package and all of the spending in this package, we don't think it's gonna work. And so, if it's the plan that I see today, put me down in the 'no' column."

World News from the BBC.

Scientists in Denmark say global warming could create dead zones in the ocean that would then be devoid of most marine life for up to 2,000 years. The scientists used computer modeling to simulate long-term climate change. Saj Chowdhury reports.

Under the worst scenario, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air would triple by the end of this century, producing a temperature rise of up to seven degrees Celsius. The oceans would get warmer and water circulation would slow down. These would bring about a dramatic drop in oxygen levels in vast ocean tracts, producing so-called dead zones that could be unable to support fish, shellfish and other higher forms of marine life.

The polls have closed in Bolivia after a referendum that could transform the standing of the country's poor indigenous majority. Election observers said the voting had been largely peaceful, despite staunch opposition from people of mixed-race and European descent. Crowds are gathering in La Paz to hear what they expect to be a victory speech from President Evo Morales, who is of indigenous descent himself. But the opposition politician, Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, said he was concerned a yes vote would lead to the abuse of the constitution by President Morales.

"It would be naive and extreme to think that the government will respect the clauses of a new constitution when he's never respected to the previous ones. And what he has announced clearly and loudly that they will interpret the result as a blank check by which is to govern by the creed without a constitutional tribunal, without a congress, and without respecting current legislation."(www.hxen.net)

An avalanche in northeastern Turkey has killed ten climbers on Mount Zigana. Rescue officials said that a party of 17 people had been hit by a wall of snow. Five escaped on skis and two were pulled out from the snow alive. A survivor had said that the climbers had been walking in a single file in deep snow when they were swept away.