BBC news 2011-09-25 加文本

BBC news 2011-09-25

BBC News with Sue Montgomery

The forces of the Libyan National Transitional Council, the NTC, have entered one of the two remaining strongholds held by pro-Gaddafi forces, the city of Sirte. It's unclear how many Gaddafi loyalists are still holding out there. The BBC's Alastair Leithead has been following NTC forces advancing from the east.

From the east of Sirte, the advance today has been swift. After days of stalemate, the east gate fell, and the National Transitional Council troops have already pushed far along the road towards the city centre. There has been some return of fire, some injured, but the momentum is carrying them forward. From the west, reports of fighting in the streets inside the city itself. This is Colonel Gaddafi's birthplace, his hometown. It's always been a hugely symbolic target for the NTC, and it seems close to being won.

In Yemen, at least 40 people have been killed in clashes in the capital Sanaa as protests continue against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A journalist in the city said demonstrators had been caught in the middle of shelling from rival factions of the army. Hisham Sharaf, the Yemeni minister of trade and industry, told the BBC that the government side was making every effort to minimise civilian casualties.

"We have taken all kinds of measures to avoid any casualties, but again these people say that they will go to heaven if they are killed. These extremists, these dissident groups, they call on the population to go to be martyrs. We are not in that business."

The fighting follows the president's return on Friday from Saudi Arabia.

The International Monetary Fund has said that member countries will act decisively and collectively to confront the threat to the global economy. After its latest meeting in Washington, the IMF said eurozone countries would do whatever necessary to tackle the debt crisis while advanced economies generally would support their banks and undertake reforms to boost jobs and growth. Here's Michelle Fleury in Washington.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, said the global economy was only half-way through the work that needs to be done. So acute are the fears that Europe's debt problems will threaten the health of the global economy that she's saying the fund is ready to help all member nations should they need it. Greece has already received IMF bailout. If the turmoil continues, others may also need assistance. The ministers meeting in Washington are hoping the actions they take here will mean that won't be necessary.

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has announced that the current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin should run for president in 2012. Mr Putin proposed that Mr Medvedev should become the prime minister. The announcements at the congress of the ruling United Russia party came after months of speculation.

World News from the BBC

One week after an earthquake hit northeastern India, Nepal and Tibet, many remote Indian villages are still cut off. Continuing rain is triggering fresh landslides and hampering the rescue effort. Here's Jill McGivering of our South Asia desk.

The earthquake hit a remote mountainous area, affecting people in Nepal, Tibet and India. A BBC reporter has spent the last two days travelling in one of the worst affected regions, north Sikkim. He described the situation there as chaotic. Many villages are still inaccessible; some remain completely cut off. India's army and air force have been deployed and are struggling to meet the need. They are dropping food and medical supplies by helicopter to the most remote communities, but the steep mountains make even that a hazardous process.

Nigerian police say they've arrested two men wanted in connection with a gang rape by five men of a woman whose ordeal was then posted on the Internet. An online campaign to find the culprits was launched after police shelved their investigation. From Lagos, Jonah Fisher.

Despite the video of the rape being widely watched online, officials in Abia, the state concerned, had declared their short investigations over as the victim had not come forward. What followed was a sustained campaign on social networks to force the police back into action and to uncover clues from the video. On Thursday, the Nigerian National Assembly called on the police to reopen their investigation. Three days later, based purely on names and photos posted online, they have made two arrests.

Indigenous protesters in the Bolivian Amazon have broken through a police blockade to continue a long-distance march on the main city La Paz. The protesters are reported to have forced their way through police lines by taking hostage the Bolivian foreign minister, who'd come to negotiate with them. They oppose government plans to build a road through an indigenous reserve.

BBC News