BBC news 2011-05-24 加文本

BBC news 2011-05-24

BBC News with Nick Kelly

A series of massive explosions have shaken the Libyan capital Tripoli in what appears to be a major Nato air strike. Columns of smoke rose above the neighbourhood where Colonel Gaddafi's residential compound is located, as Andrew North reports from Tripoli.

These appear to be the largest Nato strikes on Tripoli so far, and they are still going on. They began around 1:00 am local time with three thunderous explosions from the direction of Colonel Gaddafi's compound, followed by a series of even larger blasts much closer to our hotel. Plumes of smoke are now coming from the area around the Libyan leader's compound. The whole building shook, with the force of each explosion. There were flashes of bright light just before each blast, and aircraft were then heard overhead. Libyan anti-aircraft guns have been opening up into the night sky, firing streams of tracer around.

Earlier, it emerged that France and Britain are to deploy attack helicopters against Libyan to try to break the military stalemate. France has dispatched 12 helicopters on an aircraft carrier; Britain is expected to send Apache helicopters based on the country's largest warship. Our defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt reports.

The move to use attack helicopters in the campaign marks a significant escalation of the conflict in Libya and a stepping-up of Nato's pressure on Colonel Gaddafi and his forces after weeks of near stalemate. Most of Colonel Gaddafi's troops have shed their uniforms and are using civilian vehicles and hiding armour near civilian buildings, including hospitals and schools, making targeting from fast jets high up in the skies much harder. However, there are dangers involved in the use of helicopters. They are more vulnerable to being hit by rocket-propelled grenades or heavy machine-gun fire and can't stay in the air as long as fast jets, so they need to be deployed carefully to reduce those risks.

The Syrian government has reacted defiantly to the European Union's decision to include President Bashar al-Assad among those subject to sanctions. The Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said he was confident that Syria would emerge stronger and Mr Assad would remain as leader. The EU announced the new sanctions, which include a travel ban and asset freezes, in response to the violent suppression of anti-government protests over the past two months.

At least 116 people are now known to have been killed by a tornado which struck the American city of Joplin in Missouri on Sunday evening. Adam Brooks reports from Washington.

The tornado's progress can be seen in a swathe of destruction nearly 10km long and 0.5km wide. It hit the centre of Joplin, Missouri, a city of 50,000 people, with winds estimated at more than 200km/h. Rescuers dug through hundreds of homes that have been pulverised by the storm, searching for survivors. Severe storms are expected throughout this week, and there are warnings that more tornadoes could appear in Missouri and in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma in the coming days.

World News from the BBC

Ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland has begun disrupting air traffic in Britain. Several airlines have cancelled services in and out of Scotland, and some flights over the Atlantic have also been delayed. Meteorologists say the future course of the ash cloud is difficult to forecast because of rapidly changing weather patterns. Last year, ash from another Icelandic volcano forced the cancellation of thousands of flights, causing travel chaos across Europe.

President Obama has arrived in Britain on the second leg of his European tour. Earlier in Ireland, he praised the relationship between the Irish and American people, saying that never had a nation so small inspired so much in another. The president visited a village where his great-great-great-grandfather once lived. Peter Hunt followed the day's events.

A homecoming welcome in Dublin tonight for a black American president embracing his distant Irish ancestry. Barack Obama with his wife Michelle by his side told the crowd "We feel very much at home." Earlier in the day, the couple travelled to the tiny County Offaly village of Moneygall, where they drank Guinness. It was from here that Obama's great-great-great-grandfather left behind the famine in 1850 and immigrated to America. Mr Obama has been forced, because of the ash cloud, to fly to London tonight for the next part of his European tour.

Police in Colombia say they've seized a massive haul of cocaine. Sniffer dogs found more than 12 tonnes of the drug hidden in a shipment of brown sugar destined for Mexico. It's believed to belong to one of Colombia's most powerful drug gangs, the Rastrojos.

And scientists say they've found a new animal species - a leech with razor-sharp teeth in the nose of a girl in a remote region of Peru. The leech is described in a top 10 list of new species. It also includes a spider that can span rivers with its web, a batfish that hops and a forest mushroom that glows day and night.

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