BBC news 2009-04-09 加文本

BBC news with Julie Candler

The American crew of a merchant ship briefly seized by pirates several hundreds kilometers off the coast of Somalia have retaken the vessel. The precise details of what happened are still emerging. From Washington, Kevin Connolly reports.

The twenty strong crew of the Maersk Alabama and the small band of pirates who have attacked it, waged a tense battle for control over many hours. And only very slowly did enough fragments of information emerged by cellphone and ship’s radio to provide a clear picture. First, it seems the American crew was overwhelmed by a small, armed pirate gang, but they somehow managed to take one of the attackers prisoner and persuaded the gang to leave the ship. As the pirates took to the water again, they were on one of the Alabama’s own lifeboats. They took the American captain with them hostage but still he remains under their control with the vessels within sight to each other on the open seas.

An UN-backed court Sierra Leone has sentenced three former revel leaders to long jail terms after they were convicted of overseeing atrocities during the country’s civil war. All three were senior figures in the Revolutionary United Front. Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao were found guilty of ordering and carrying out killings, rapes and mutilations.

The first funerals have been taking places of victims of Monday’s earthquake which killed more than 270 people in central Italy, no survivor has been found since later on Tuesday and the focus of relief efforts has moved into helping the thousands left homeless from L’Aquila, Duncan Kennedy reports.

"Three days after the earthquake, diggers are still removing rubble but a few survivors are now being found. A national day of mourning is to be held on Friday as a state funeral service takes place."

The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made his third visit to the area and said he would pass new laws to punish looters ,but there were some surprise when he were told German television that the 28,000 people living in tents should look on it as a camping weekend.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she is deeply concerned about the case of an Iranian American Journalist who has been accused of spying by the Iranian authorities. Mrs. Clinton said she hoped Roxana Saberi, who has been held in prison since January, would be released quickly.

“We have asked the Swiss who, as you know, are our protectorates in Iran to obtain the most accurate up-to-date information. I will, as will the rest of the Department, continue to follow this very closely, and we wish for her speedy release and return to her family. ”

A senior Iranian justice official said Ms Saberi had been engaged in espionage while working under the guise of being a reporter. Ms Saberi had reported for the BBC and for America's National Public Radio.

World news from the BBC

The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavezhas has praised china's reaction to the global financial crisis, saying the world center of gravity has now moved to Beijing. He made the comments during a meeting with the Chinese President Hu Jintao during a three day visit to the country. President Chavez is said to be looking to secure more energy deals with China, which imports almost 400,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil a day.

Police in Britain have arrested twelve people in a major anti-terrorist operation following an apparent security lapse. At least ten of them are said to be Pakistani nationals in the UK on student visas. Judy Hobson reports.

One man was arrested at a university in Liverpool. There were other arrests in Lancashire and Manchester. More addresses are being searched. The raids were brought forward after Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism chief, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick was pictured clutching sensitive documents as he arrived for a meeting with the prime minister at Downing Street. Among a bundle of papers under his arm was a document clearly marked secret and carrying an outline briefing on the operation.

Security officials in Pakistan say a missile fired from a suspected American drone has killed four Islamic militants, a day after the country's leadership has told visiting US envoys that it remained opposed to such attacks. The missile hit a car in the village near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. Officials say four other militants were injured.(www.hxen.net)

The Czech Republic’s national football team has been plunged into crisis after six players were banned and the coach Petr Rada was sacked. The move followed a string of bad results and allegedly embarrassing behavior by several players. The team lost 2:1 to Slovakia last week undermining their chances of reaching the World Cup Finals. The banned players were reported to have gone to a late-night drinking spree after the Slovakia match.