BBC news 2011-02-28 加文本

BBC news 2011-02-28

BBC News with Iain Purdon

As thousands of refugees continue to pour across the Libyan border into Tunisia to escape the turmoil now engulfing the administration of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, aid officials are warning of a growing humanitarian emergency. A UN refugee official, Liz Eyster, said that 50,000 had crossed from Libya, nearly half of them Egyptians, and the immediate aim was to find adequate food and shelter for them.

"Getting them out is a major logistics exercise. The point is to keep people moving and not to have them camped out in Tunisia for too long. Fortunately there's also openings on the other side of the border, the Egyptian side of the border. A major relief effort has been organised over there as well. So I don't think Tunisia needs to get ready for 1.5 million, but I think they need to get ready for a significant number, and we are here to help."

Meanwhile a BBC correspondent has visited the Libyan town of Zawiyah, where there have been clashes between Libyan government forces and the opposition in recent days. He found the town centre, 50km west of the capital Tripoli, firmly in the hands of the rebels, but surrounded by forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. Our correspondent said the rebels had one tank, anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, but they were potentially facing vastly superior firepower.

The British government has frozen all the assets held in the country by the Libyan leader and his immediate family. The decision is in line with the resolution passed unanimously on Saturday by the United Nations Security Council. It's thought the Gaddafis' UK assets amount to many hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Tunisian interim president has named a new prime minister. He's Beji Caid-Essebsi, and he replaces Mohammed al-Ghannouchi, who resigned earlier in the day. Paul Moss reports from Tunis.

He's a figure from the past. They hope he'll put Tunisia on the road to a new future. Beji Caid-Essebsi served in this country's first ever government as an independent nation. Now he's supposed to steer it towards democracy. His appointment follows three days of violent demonstrations here that forced the previous prime minister to resign. What everyone is wondering of course is whether that resignation and the new appointment will be enough to satisfy protesters. Some have said they won't give up until they have proof that free and fair elections are on the way.

The authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo say there's been an attempted attack on President Joseph Kabila in the capital Kinshasa. With more details, Mary Harper.

The Congolese Minister of Information, Lambert Mende, told the BBC a group of armed men had tried to fight their way into Mr Kabila's residence. He said they'd been beaten back by the president's guards after what he described as an intense gun battle in which six people were killed. Mr Mende said he had no idea who the attackers were. Some of the gunmen have been captured and are being questioned by the security forces.

World News from the BBC

The French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has resigned after only three months in office. She had come under heavy criticism for her links with the authoritarian government of Tunisia before the toppling of President Ben Ali. Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.

The French foreign minister's political career has become collateral damage from the upheavals shaking the Arab world. Michele Alliot-Marie fell because she failed to appreciate at an early stage the importance of what was happening there and was revealed to have embarrassing links with a Tunisian businessman close to the old regime. President Sarkozy has now obtained her resignation. In a televised address to the nation, he said he wanted a new foreign policy team to handle the immense changes on the other side of the Mediterranean.

A landslide caused by intense rains has destroyed more than 150 homes in the Bolivian city of La Paz. The authorities managed to evacuate the poor neighbourhood of Kupini Dos before it was crushed by a collapsing hillside. Right across Bolivia thousands of people have been left homeless by weeks of heavy rain.

The stage is set in Hollywood for the Academy Awards, the film industry's biggest night of the year. Hot favourite to win Oscar's glory is the British drama The King's Speech, based on the true story of the attempts by King George VI to overcome a bad speech impediment and lead his nation in the Second World War. But the film faces strong competition from The Social Network about the Internet site Facebook, as well as the western remake of True Grit and the ballet thriller Black Swan.

And finally, two of the most fancy teams in the Cricket World Cup now being played in South Asia, India and England, have tied in their latest match. Each of them scored 338 runs in an exciting contest in Bangalore. The result leaves the two teams equal at the top of their group following two matches.

BBC News