BBC news 2011-03-01 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-01

BBC News with Marion Marshall

Western leaders have been discussing ways to increase pressure on the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi to stop him killing the people rebelling against him and persuade him to step down. The Pentagon in Washington says it's repositioning naval and air forces around Libya so that there's flexibility for action should government planners require it. From Washington, here's Andrew North.

United States already has a permanent military presence in the region around Libya, including a large air and naval base on nearby Sicily, less than an hour's flight from Tripoli. So the Pentagon announcement that it's repositioning its forces seems partly designed to send a message to Colonel Gaddafi. It has not spelled out what the ships and warplanes will be used for, although any ground invasion or air strikes are unlikely, but they may be used to enforce an arms embargo and a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent further attacks by Colonel Gaddafi's aircraft on opposition supporters. A no-fly zone still has to be agreed by the UN Security Council. But Washington, Britain and other allies say they are now actively discussing the possibility.

At least 1,000 people an hour are continuing to arrive at Libya's border with Tunisia in an attempt to escape from the turmoil inside Libya. Throughout Monday, the refugees, many of them Egyptian migrant workers, have been joining thousands of others already there. Jim Muir reports from Tunisia.

Thousands of Egyptian workers, who spent a cold night on the Tunisian side, huddled out on the tarmac around the border-crossing, chanted "Where is the Egyptian army?" They are angry that their own government isn't doing more to get them home quickly. But moving them on and evacuating them is a huge task. In addition to the many thousands of Egyptian workers, there are hundreds of others stranded here, including many Bangladeshis. Local Tunisian resources are swamped, and the international agencies are struggling to cope too.

The Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi says the people on the streets love him and has denied that they are demonstrating against him. In an interview with the BBC and two other Western news organisations, Colonel Gaddafi repeated that the protesters were under the influence of drugs supplied by al-Qaeda. He said most of the demonstrations were in his support.

"Are they supporting us? They are not against us. No one is against us. Against us for what? Because I am not a president."

"But...but...but they..."

"They love me. All my people are with me. They love me all."

"But if they do love you..."

"They will die to protect me, my people."

Opposition websites in Tehran say Iran's two main opposition leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, have been taken to jail along with their wives. The two men had been under house arrest for two weeks after calling for rallies in Iran to express solidarity with the popular uprising in Egypt. An unnamed Iranian official told the Fars news agency the report of the jailing wasn't true. He said the men remained at their homes but incommunicado.

World News from the BBC

Pirates in the Indian Ocean have captured a sailing boat carrying seven Danish citizens, including a couple and their three children. Danish officials say that the boat is now heading towards Somalia. Julian Isherwood reports from Copenhagen.

Information is sparse on exactly what happened. The foreign ministry says that the national sea rescue service in Denmark received an SOS from the boat on 24 February and immediately began investigating what had happened to the vessel. Since then the ministry says it's been confirmed that the boat was hijacked by pirates and was being sailed to the Somali coast. It's not immediately clear exactly where the vessel was when it was taken, nor its exact position at the moment.

Officials at Bangladeshi central bank and financial regulator have taken steps to remove Muhammad Yunus from the microfinance lender Grameen Bank that he founded. They say his position was unlawful because his tenure hadn't been formally approved. Last month, the Bangladeshi government ordered an investigation into the Grameen Bank's operations. Mr Yunus's supporters accuse the government of targeting him as part of a personal vendetta because he launched his own political party in 2007.

Two of Argentina's former military rulers have gone on trial, accused of overseeing the systematic theft of babies from political prisoners. Jorge Videla and Reynaldo Bignone are accused of kidnapping about 30 babies whose parents were killed or disappeared during military rule. The babies were then given for adoption to members of the Argentine military or their allies. Both former leaders are already serving long sentences for murder and torture.

The last American veteran of the First World War, Frank Buckles, has died at the age of 110. Mr Buckles was just 16 when the United States joined the war in 1917, but lied about his age to get into the army after being turned down by the navy and marines. He served as an ambulance driver on the Western Front.

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