BBC news 2011-09-01 加文本

BBC news 2011-09-01

BBC News with Nick Kelly

Colonel Gaddafi is reported to have made a radio broadcast to the people of his home city of Sirte, urging them not to surrender to opposition forces. Jon Leyne reports from Benghazi.

The city of Sirte has been almost entirely cut off from the outside world for nearly two weeks, but residents have contacted relatives here in Benghazi. They say Colonel Gaddafi has made a series of broadcasts there on a local radio station - one of their few sources of information. Last night, he told the people of Sirte that an ultimatum from the opposition to surrender by Saturday was just a trick. Colonel Gaddafi said the opposition just wanted to disarm the people of the town before they moved in to attack them. In a separate development, there are reports that the opposition has begun discovering some of the hidden underground prisons, in which they fear tens of thousands of opposition prisoners may still be held.

The Arabic news channel al-Arabiya is reporting that one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons, Saadi, says he is officially empowered to negotiate with anti-Gaddafi forces. Saadi Gaddafi said he'd been in touch with an opposition commander to end the bloodshed. But another Arabic TV station al-Rai says it's been told by another of the colonel's sons, Saif, that his father's supporters will fight to the death.

A video statement that appears to be from the top legal official in the Syrian city of Hama has been posted online. In it, Adnan Bakkour announces his resignation after hearing about crimes against humanity. Here's Sebastian Usher.

The video is potentially highly significant. Adnan Bakkour was the top lawyer in Hama, and as such responsible for overseeing the legal process against protesters, so he speaks with considerable authority. He says he's witnessed mass graves and knows of a killing under torture of some 300 prisoners. He says more than 10,000 protesters have been arrested in Hama alone. This is testimony of state violence as strong as any so far. But the circumstances of the video aren't yet clear. On Monday, the Syrian state news agency said Mr Bakkour had been kidnapped by gunmen, but Syrian activists say they believe that report was most likely issued to try to discredit Mr Bakkour.

The Sri Lankan government has introduced new legislation which allows it to continue to detain without charge people who are suspected of terrorism. The move comes as the country's controversial emergency laws expire. Jill McGivering reports.

Sri Lanka's president announced last week that the country's tough emergency laws, which have been in place for decades, would finally be allowed to expire. The draconian laws gave the government sweeping powers of arrest and detention, and two years since the end of the war, critics were concerned they'd be used to silence opposition. But it has now emerged that new legislation has been introduced, which could undermine hopes of a more liberal environment. This continues the ban on membership of the Tamil Tigers and allows suspects to be detained without charge.

World News from the BBC

Medical researchers in Canada say they've developed a virus which once injected into the bloodstream can target cancer cells throughout the body without harming healthy tissue. Previous anti-cancer viruses required injection directly into the tumour. However, the treatment did not cure the cancer.

The east coast of the United States is bracing itself for more severe weather only days after being struck by Hurricane Irene. A tropical storm, Katia, has formed in the Atlantic and is heading towards the US. The threat comes as millions of people try to recover from the devastation caused by the hurricane, which killed at least 44 people.

A sunset ceremony has taken place in the small British town of Wootton Bassett to mark the end of four years of silent tributes to soldiers who've been killed in conflicts abroad. More than 1,000 people came out onto the high street in southwest England. Tom Esslemont reports.

Since early 2007, the people of Wootton Bassett had lined the road to pay respects to British soldiers who gave their lives. They had watched the slow movement of a cortege of coffins, each one draped in the Union Jack. Relatives of those who died fighting on the front line of conflicts including the war in Afghanistan would travel from far and wide to be there. Now what's started as an impromptu event has come to an end. Bodies of service personnel will from Thursday be repatriated to RAF Brize Norton, in central England.

And there's been frantic activity in the European football market as clubs scramble to beat the governing body Uefa's summer transfer deadline in just a couple of hours. The current European champions Barcelona and last season's runners-up Manchester United have stayed aloof. But in England, Arsenal have bought two internationals, Per Mertesacker of Germany and Andre Santos of Brazil. Liverpool have loaned England midfielder Joe Cole to French champions Lille for the season while Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has moved to Inter Milan.

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