BBC news 2011-03-05 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-05

BBC News with Marion Marshall

Forces loyal to the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi have been fighting on two fronts as the government tries to re-establish control. In one of Libya's biggest cities, al-Zawiya, 50km west of the capital Tripoli, witnesses said many people were killed when government forces attempted to re-capture the city. Hundreds of kilometres to the east, there are conflicting claims about who now controls the oil port of Ras Lanuf after a day of clashes. John Simpson reports from the road near the city.

Spirit and enthusiasm of the rebels is their main weapon. This is the second battle where it's being tested. Close up, the fighting was pretty fierce. Colonel Gaddafi's men were beaten the other day, but here they've got superiority in weapons, and they are on their own home territory. The battle has been moving backwards and forwards all afternoon and into the evening.

In the Libyan capital Tripoli, the security forces fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who took to the streets after Friday prayers. The demonstrations came despite a heavy military presence in the suburb of Tajura, the scene of previous challenges to the authority of Colonel Gaddafi. Jeremy Bowen was there.

The demonstration was small but symbolically important enough for the police to break it up. They arrived after about an hour, firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets. All the hatred for Colonel Gaddafi and his system here in Tajura and elsewhere won't, on its own, bring the regime down. The protesters need many more people on the streets and help from inside the regime if they are to get the result they want, and so far they don't have enough of either.

Libya's Internet links to the outside world appeared to have been severed. Firms that monitor Internet security and traffic flow say the service interruption appeared to be more than just a blip, of which there have been many since the unrest began.

The new interim Prime Minister in Tunisia, Beji Caid-Essebsi, says he'll announce a new government within the next two days. He also accused the former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of treason. It was Mr Ben Ali's overthrow in January that began the wave of protests demanding change that have swept the Arab world.

Thirteen soldiers in Mexico have been charged with drug trafficking after they were allegedly found in possession of almost a tonne of the synthetic drug methamphetamine and 30kg of cocaine. A local military commander said the men had been transporting the drugs from the capital Mexico City to Tijuana, on the US border. President Felipe Calderon has deployed about 50,000 soldiers to help fight the war on drugs. Since he came to power, more than 34,000 people have died in drug-related violence.

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The highest court in South Africa has ruled that miners with lung disease can sue their employers. An estimated 280,000 gold miners from across southern Africa suffered from lung disease brought on by dust. Here's Martin Plaut.

This case could open the floodgates for litigation against South Africa's mining companies. The miner who brought the case has died, but the company for which he worked, AngloGold Ashanti, accepted that the case could allow others to seek damages for their illnesses. The lawyer who brought the case, Richard Spoor, told the BBC the ruling showed that companies could no longer discard people like used machinery. There is speculation the ruling could end deep-level mining, but the companies think this will not be the case.

An American aid contractor has gone on trial in Cuba on charges of espionage in a case that could have serious repercussions for US-Cuban relations. The US has urged Cuba to release him unconditionally. Michael Voss reports from Havana.

Sixty-one-year-old Alan Gross was driven into the Havana courthouse inside an unmarked van with blacked-out windows. He's charged with acts against the integrity and independence of Cuba, and prosecutors have said they are seeking a 20-year sentence. Mr Gross has already spent 15 months in a Cuban jail, accused of providing satellite communications equipment, which is illegal in Cuba, to groups on the island.

The latest employment figures in the United States show the number of jobs rose last month by more than 190,000. The unemployment rate dropped below 9% for the first time in nearly two years.

The suspect in the shootings in Tucson, Arizona in January when US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was seriously wounded, has been indicted on a number of new charges. Jared Loughner now faces 49 counts, including the murder of six people and the attempted assassination of Ms Giffords.

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