BBC news 2011-09-13 加文本

BBC news 2011-09-13

BBC News with Jonathan Izard

At least 120 Kenyans have been killed in a fire at a fuel pipeline in a Nairobi slum. Witnesses said residents had been collecting fuel as it leaked from the pipeline into nearby open sewers. The Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told the BBC the leak started in the premises of an oil company.

"The actual accident occurred inside the premises of the company. Oil just got mixed with draining water. We have had this kind of accident in the past, and there have been a lot of warning[s] that people should not try to thrill whenever there's an accident."

Police suspect a cigarette butt may have caused the explosion. Kevin Mwachiro went to the site of the explosion.

I was at a scene of despair and destruction. You could still smell the perfume in the air, and also there's a stench of death. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people looking at the Red Cross workers trying to carry out rescue operations. We understand Red Cross have put up tents in that area and are offering counselling to the residents. They've lost incomes, and they've lost loved ones, people who are breadwinners. There have been lots of children who've been killed as well. So it's stretching the rescue support that is getting there right now.

The Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has told his armed forces to halt the violence in Plateau state, in the centre of the country, the scene of vicious ethnic and religious clashes. He said they should use all necessary measures following two bomb explosions in the state capital Jos.

One person has been killed and four injured in an explosion at a nuclear site near the city of Nimes, in southern France. The French French Nuclear Safety Authority said a security cordon was set up around the Marcoule plant as a precaution. Christian Fraser has been monitoring events from Paris.

I think there was a lot of concern initially that there may have been a leak into the surrounding area, but I think nerves have been calmed by the French Nuclear Safety Authority that say they have the fire under control, there hasn't been a leak as far as they are aware, and they are saying that the explosion was in a furnace in an area of the plant where they melt down and recycle its nuclear waste energy. By all accounts, the waste in question has fairly low radioactivity, and this is now being described as an industrial and not a nuclear accident.

The Bank of America is to cut about 30,000 jobs as part of a broad restructuring plan to reduce costs. The bank said the cuts, which represent about 10% of its workforce, would be carried out over the next few years. It said it would be streamlining operations to cut $5bn in annual expenses by 2014.

The scientist in charge of the anti-doping laboratory during next year's Olympics in London says it will be more difficult for athletes to cheat. Professor David Cowan hinted that a new test to catch blood dopers was likely to be deployed for the first time. Blood doping is a technique in which athletes transfuse their own blood to improve performance. Several Olympic competitors have been accused of blood doping, but so far scientists have not been able to devise a test to prove it.

World News from the BBC

Troops loyal to Colonel Gaddafi have staged a hit-and-run attack on an oil refinery in Libya, killing at least 16 guards. A survivor said the attack targeted the gates of the Ras Lanuf refinery. From Ajdabiya, Alastair Leithead has more.

The dead and injured were brought to Ajdabiya after the oil refinery was attacked early in the morning. The bodies and one of the injured men were then taken by road onto Benghazi. A survivor told journalists that pro-Gaddafi troops appeared in an armed convoy from the south, from the desert, killing many of the guards at the front gates. They then sped back the way they had come. There were reports of a Nato helicopter clashing with the convoy in the desert after the attack, but these have not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, clashes have been continuing on the road to Sirte, one of the few Libyan towns still under the control of pro-Gaddafi forces.

The British government has appointed Bernard Hogan-Howe as the new chief of London's Metropolitan Police. He's described as a crime fighter who cut crime levels by 40% in a previous job in northwest England. Correspondents say he will need to reassure Londoners unsettled by rioting last month.

Musicians have welcomed a decision by the European Union to extend copyright for recorded music from 50 to 70 years. The decision follows a campaign by artists, such as Cliff Richard, who've faced a loss of revenue in later life. More from our arts reporter Vincent Dowd.

Telstar by The Tornados reached No. 1 in the UK and in America in 1962. In the EU, the recording had been about to come out of copyright as until now in Europe, records have entered the public domain after 50 years. In the US, artists receive royalties on recordings for 95 years. The Spanish singer Placido Domingo has described the change as great news for performing artists.

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