BBC news 2011-03-23 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-23

BBC News with Gaenor Howells

The Nato military alliance has agreed to enforce an arms embargo against Libya, the organisation's first formal task in the international operation there. Nato ships and aircraft are being assembled in the central Mediterranean to take on the responsibility. However, differences remain as to who should be in charge of the international operation in Libya as Chris Morris reports.

Nato ambassadors have been meeting on a daily basis to try to agree on the role the alliance should play in Libya. On the question of command and control of the entire military operation, there was only this pre-recorded statement from the Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"Nato has completed plans to help enforce the no-fly zone to bring our contribution, if needed, in a clearly-defined manner to the broad international effort to protect the people of Libya from the violence of the Gaddafi regime."

In other words, no agreement yet. Many countries are sceptical, including Turkey which wants any Nato mission to be much more strictly-defined.

The United States, Britain and France have issued statements agreeing that Nato should play a role in the command structure of the military operation in Libya, but France is still resisting moves to put Nato in overall command.

Forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi have continued to launch ground attacks inside Libya despite the international operation to protect civilians there. Earlier, an American warplane taking part in the operation crashed in the desert near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Both crewmen were rescued. Kevin Connolly reports.

The F-15 Eagle fighter came down in the desert in friendly rebel-held territory, not far from the opposition centre of Benghazi. It had suffered a simple technical failure and was not shot down, according to the Americans, who sent a Marine Corps team by helicopter from a ship in the Mediterranean to rescue the crew. As their operations continued, so too did the fighting. Rebel forces, enthusiastic but not well-drilled, went again to Ajdabiya but appeared unable to dislodge government forces there. A military unit loyal to Colonel Gaddafi are reportedly continuing to besiege the major central city of Misrata with artillery bombardment and sniper fire.

The President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has warned that any attempt at a military coup will lead to civil war. The president said he'd step down by January next year, but only after organising parliamentary elections. His offer was rejected by the Yemeni opposition which wants him to leave immediately. The Arab League has been discussing the Yemen's situation. The Deputy Secretary General Ahmed Bin Helli issued a statement.

"We condemn the crime that's occurred, and we're calling for a peaceful dialogue in a framework that appeals to the Yemeni people, and call for the authorities to respond positively to the demands of the Yemeni people."

You're listening to the World News from the BBC.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says radiation is still leaking from the earthquake-stricken nuclear plant at Fukushima in Japan, but scientists are unsure exactly where it's coming from. One of the first firefighters to reach the plant, Narumi Suzuki, told the BBC of his shock on seeing the extent of the damage.

"When I saw the building itself for the first time, there were piles of rubble. It was much worse than we expected when we first set eyes on it. I and the other firefighters were frightened. But as a team, we trusted each other and carried out the operation."

An urgent United Nations appeal for funds to help people fleeing the conflict in Ivory Coast has met with little response. The UN had been seeking $30m, but has so far received only $7m and will run out of food for fleeing refugees within months. The UN says it's worried about the increased use of heavy weaponry by forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, who's refusing to step down as president. Imogen Foulkes reports.

Following the shelling of an Abidjan market last week, in which at least 25 people died - an act the UN says may be a war crime - aid workers say the city is emptying as desperate inhabitants, many of them women and children, try to flee. Most are taking nothing with them. Meanwhile, the UN has almost nothing to give them - a totally unacceptable situation, aid agencies say - as Ivory Coast descends into what some are already calling civil war.

President Obama is in El Salvador on the third and final leg of his Latin American tour. Talks with President Mauricio Funes are expected to focus on measures to tackle rising drug- and gang-related violence in El Salvador and other Central American nations. Mr Obama is also likely to discuss the status of around two million Salvadorans in the United States.

BBC News