BBC news 2011-02-20 加文本

BBC news 2011-02-20

BBC News with Marion Marshall

Witnesses have told the BBC that Libyan troops have opened fire with machine guns and larger-calibre weapons on anti-government protesters in the city of Benghazi, killing a number of people. They described scenes of chaos as snipers shot from the roofs of buildings and protesters fought back against troops on the ground. Jon Leyne has more details.

Witnesses in Benghazi are describing what sounds like a sustained battle with government forces. According to some accounts which are impossible to verify, a major barracks or security headquarters has fallen to the opposition. There are also reports on the Internet that a nephew of Colonel Gaddafi has been killed in the fighting. Earlier, witnesses described how a unit of elite government forces, many of them apparently from outside Libya, were sent in to Benghazi. The troops have been using gunfire and even mortars against the opposition. Substantial numbers of casualties have been received at local hospitals, though figures are hard to verify.

Protesters in Bahrain have streamed back into Pearl Square in the capital Manama to continue their demonstrations against the government. They were initially confronted by riot police who opened fire with tear gas and shotguns, but the police then pulled back and left. Caroline Hawley sent this report from Pearl Square.

There are now families with flowers, flags and balloons where this morning there were tanks. In the middle of the day, the crown prince ordered the military off the streets. For a short while, police in riot gear kept the protesters out, but then they suddenly stood aside and jubilant crowds pulled in. There was a brief attempt to keep protesters out with tear gas, but it didn't last long, and the people here in Pearl Square are now vowing to remain until their demands are met.

Iran has freed two German reporters jailed last year after they interviewed the son of a woman condemned to death by stoning. The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has arrived in Tehran to accompany them home. Earlier on Saturday, an Iranian court dropped the Germans' prison sentences imposed for visa irregularities and fined them instead. The journalists were arrested after meeting the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose death sentence for adultery was suspended following international criticism. Michael Backhaus is the deputy editor of Bild am Sonntag, the weekly for which the two journalists worked. He said staff at the paper felt a great sense of relief.

"For us, a nightmare that lasted 132 days has come to an end today. In a word, it's not just joy that we're feeling, but relief that what had been difficult days for our colleagues are now over."

At least 18 people have been killed and 70 wounded in an attack on a bank in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. The head of police in Jalalabad and his deputy were amongst those hurt. Witnesses described three initial blasts. Police then entered the building, and many of them were injured in a fourth explosion.

World News from the BBC

At least one person has been killed in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, during clashes between the security forces and supporters of Alassane Ouattara, recognised by the international community as the winner of last year's presidential election. Soldiers fired shots and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who called for Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down, to hand over power.

The Cuban government has freed a jailed dissident who had refused to go into exile in Spain as a condition for his release. Ivan Hernandez, a journalist who was one of 75 opponents that the government arrested in 2003, was released along with six other prisoners. Mr Hernandez is among a group of dissidents whose freedom was brokered by the Catholic Church. He has said he intends to continue to write about the issues facing ordinary Cubans.

Researchers in the United States say they are trying to use genes from ancient varieties of staple foods such as rice, maize and corn to develop hardier and more disease-resistant crops in the future. Pallab Ghosh reports.

The food crops we have today have been bred for generations from older varieties to maximise yield. But in the process, important and useful traits have been lost, which scientists are now rediscovering using new gene technologies. Researchers investigating ancient varieties of rice have found genes that confer disease resistance and make crops more able to withstand floods and drought. They believe that by analysing the genes of more plants, they'll be able to build up a library of properties, with which plant breeders can create new varieties suited to local circumstances.

Finance ministers from the G20 economies meeting in France have reached a deal aimed at preventing a repeat of the global financial crisis. The accord covers what indicators can be used to measure economic imbalances, such as large trade surpluses. The French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde described the deal as a compromise agreed after sometimes frank and tense negotiations in Paris.

BBC News