BBC news 2011-03-31 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-31

BBC News with Neil Nunes

Forces loyal to the internationally recognised President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, have captured the administrative capital Yamoussoukro. The main city Abidjan remains largely in the hands of Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down as head of state since elections last November. From the central city of Bouake, here's John James.

Yamoussoukro is the capital in name only and doesn't actually have any embassies or state institutions. But nevertheless its capture is important for the pro-Ouattara forces, who've been moving south in a major offensive over the past three days. It's by far the most important town seized so far and was judged to have been the best defended, though in fact the pro-Ouattara forces met with little resistance. The way is now open for the forces to continue south to Abidjan, less than three hours away, along the country's only major highway.

Rebels in Libya are continuing to retreat rapidly in the face of an advance by government forces. Hundreds of opposition fighters have fled the oil town of Brega. Colonel Gaddafi's troops have adopted rebel tactics as John Simpson in Tripoli explains.

The pro-Gaddafi army is starting to make much more use of ordinary flat bed trucks with heavy machine guns or anti-aircraft guns mounted on them, exactly the weapons the rebels have been using. Some of the pro-Gaddafi soldiers have even ditched their uniforms and are fighting in civilian clothes. The big difference between the two sides is their command structure. The morale of Colonel Gaddafi's army has often been a lot lower than that of the rebels, but at least they have an officer corps, and that means they can regroup much more effectively than the rebels can.

The Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has arrived in London unexpectedly and is having talks with British officials. The Foreign Office said he had come of his own free will and had told officials he was resigning his post.

The Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has failed to announce any clear concessions in his first public address since anti-government demonstrations broke out two weeks ago. Jeremy Bowen has this report.

President Assad is facing the biggest internal challenge to his rule since he took over from his father in 2000. At least 60 people have been killed in protests in the last fortnight or so. The protesters will most likely be disappointed with his speech to the Syrian parliament. His staff had said he'd announce major reforms, notably the abolition of the emergency law that's powered Syria's tightly controlled police state since 1963. He talked a lot about the importance of reform, but he didn't announce any specific plans or dates for change.

Shortly after President Assad spoke, anti-government protesters took to the streets in the port city of Latakia.

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There have been more large anti-government demonstrations in several major cities in Yemen. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis turned out to demand the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Many hold his government responsible for an explosion at an ammunitions factory that left 150 people dead.

The commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan has said he is worried about the increased militarisation of the disputed border region of Abyei. The commander General Moses Obi said patrols from the north and south of the country were more heavily armed than necessary. He said there were also many other armed groups in the region who were not supposed to be there.

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for changes, which are being seen as a possible blow to the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Mr Medvedev wants government ministers to give up their seats on company boards of directors. That could affect an ally of Mr Putin, the Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. From Moscow, here's Steve Rosenberg.

Igor Sechin, like Mr Putin, is a former KGB officer, who is considered to be one of the most powerful men in Russia. Today, he's chairman of the board of the oil company Rosneft. He's also deputy prime minister, responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry, positions which give him enormous influence. But President Medvedev has announced that by the middle of the year, all government ministers should vacate their seats on boards of directors and be replaced by independent figures.

The former United States President Jimmy Carter on a visit to Cuba has strongly criticised American policy towards the island. Mr Carter said the decades-long US trade embargo and travel ban damaged the Cuban people and hindered rather than helped reform. He also urged the Cuban government to move towards democracy and allow complete freedom of speech.

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