BBC news 2011-09-04 加文本

BBC news 2011-09-04

BBC News with Iain Purdon

The American-based group Human Rights Watch says it's found documents in Libya that show how Western intelligence agencies cooperated closely with Colonel Gaddafi's government over terrorism in the years after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The group says some documents appear to show that British and American intelligence shared information with Libya's former spy chief Moussa Koussa. Peter Bouckaert from Human Rights Watch says that Gaddafi's regime was able to offer plenty of intelligence.

"Libya was a police state for 42 years. They listened to every phone call, every conversation; they had all of their informants. So that requires a tremendous amount of archives, and that's why the CIA and MI6 were so keen to build this relationship with Moussa Koussa because Gaddafi was sponsoring rebel movements all across Africa and listening to anybody in Libya."

An opposition movement in Sudan has called on the United Nations to establish a no-fly zone just north of the new border with South Sudan. The call came from the secretary general of SPLM-North, who accused government troops of perpetrating atrocities. The UN reports 16,000 people have crossed into neighbouring Ethiopia. James Copnall reports from Khartoum.

SPLM-North wants the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and Darfur. Rebels loyal to the opposition party are fighting the government in the first two locations while a separate civil war in Darfur, which began in 2003, still continues. A press release from SPLM-North also accuses the Sudanese armed forces of bombing and killing civilians in Blue Nile, and arresting hundreds of its party members. The armed forces' spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The Vatican has strongly rejected accusations that it sabotaged attempts by Irish bishops to report Roman Catholic paedophile priests to the police. The Vatican's 24-page rebuttal came after the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny denounced the Church in July for its handling of such cases. Mr Kenny's comments followed an investigation into accusations relating to the Irish diocese of Cloyne. From Rome, David Willey reports.

The Vatican repeated the Pope's previous apology on behalf of Irish bishops for what it said had been their very serious and disturbing failings in dealing with the child sex abuse scandal in the diocese of Cloyne. It said the Church was "sorry and ashamed" for the terrible sufferings which the victims of abuse and their families had had. The statement handed to the Irish charge d'affaires in Rome said the Vatican also understood the depth of public anger and frustration, which had found expression in the prime minister's speech to parliament last July. But at the same time, the Holy See vigorously rejected accusations made in the Irish parliament that it had undermined local Irish child protection laws.

World News from the BBC

An estimated 400,000 people are demonstrating across Israel in protest at the high cost of living. The largest rally is taking place in the city of Tel Aviv. The protests have swelled over the past few weeks with demonstrators demanding cheaper housing, tax cuts and more free education. Jon Donnison is at the Tel Aviv rally.

This rally is meant to be the climax to a summer of protests. The Israeli government with its eyes on the impact of people power elsewhere in the Middle East has been taken aback by the spontaneity and scale of the demonstrations, which have included people from across Israeli society. Many other countries look enviously at Israel's growing economy, but people here feel the wealth has not been shared. The government has quickly set up a panel of economic experts, it says, to take action. Many protesters here do not seem convinced.

Turkey has said it's preparing to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza at the International Court of Justice. It's the latest sign of strain between the two countries since last year's Israeli raid on ships heading for Gaza, in which nine Turks were killed. Speaking to Turkish state television, the foreign minister said Turkey did not accept the findings of a UN report into the raid, which said that Israel's blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. His comments come a day after Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador. The UN report said Israeli commandos had used unreasonable force during the raid.

State television in Cuba has announced the death of the Defence Minister Julio Casas Regueiro, a veteran of the Cuban revolution. General Casas Regueiro reportedly died of heart failure. He was 75. He was responsible for the Cuban military's substantial economic activities until 2008 when he was made defence minister by the new President Raul Castro. Julio Casas Regueiro was an accountant who fought, under Raul Castro's command, against the Batista regime.

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