BBC在线收听下载:墨西哥西南地区发生大地震

BBC news 2012-03-21

BBC News with Gaenor Howells

A major earthquake has hit much of southwestern Mexico. The US Geological Survey says it had a magnitude of 7.4 and was centred near the border of Guerrero and Oaxaca states, not far from Acapulco near the Pacific coast. Our correspondent in the capital Mexico City, Will Grant, described the situation in Guerrero state.

The governor of that state has already released a statement or spoken to local television down there, saying that around 500 houses have been damaged; some of them have collapsed. That said, there are no reports at this stage of casualties. So although it was clearly a very powerful seismic event and a jolt that really shook up a large part of the country, there is something - a growing sense now - that perhaps a disaster has been averted. Although that said that these are still of the early hours after the event, and still I think both the authorities and journalists on the ground are trying to get a clearer picture of exactly how bad it's been.

French security camera footage of the killing of three children and a rabbi in Toulouse on Monday shows the gunman shooting a seven-year-old girl at point-blank range. The video, which is in the possession of the authorities, shows the gunman grabbing Myriam Monsonego by the hair as she tried to escape. When his weapon jams, he calmly pulls out a second weapon, which he then uses to kill her. From Paris, Christian Fraser.

Police have been busy building a psychological profile of the killer today. The interior minister revealed that he was determined in his movements and also a man who by consequence, he said, was very cruel. They have ruled out one line of the inquiry that linked to three disgraced paratroopers who had links to far-right extremism and who were sacked or discharged from a local base in 2008, which means they are no nearer determining the identity of this gunman.

A United Nations report has accused the security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo of carrying out a wave of killings and arbitrary arrests during elections last year. The UN Joint Human Rights Office has documented the killing of 33 civilians in the capital Kinshasa. The Congolese justice minister rejected the findings.

A Vatican report into child abuse by clergy in Ireland has asked for forgiveness from the victims. The report says the scandals led to a loss of trust in the Catholic Church in Ireland and acknowledged with what it called "pain and shame" that young people had been abused by clerics. Mark Simpson reports.

Irish Catholic bishops were slow to respond to the child sex scandal in Ireland, but they are now adopting a more humble, remorseful tone. Today, they appealed for forgiveness from victims, and they called the catalogue of abuse "terrible crimes and sins". But the report into child protection in Ireland didn't recommend a radical overhaul of the Church, except proper procedures were now being implemented and simply called on bishops to ensure victims of abuse continued to receive full support.

World News from the BBC

A senior Libyan minister says Mauritania has agreed to extradite the former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi. Libya's Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagur made the announcement following a meeting with the Mauritanian President Ould Abdel Aziz. Mr Senussi, who was considered Colonel Gaddafi's right-hand man, was arrested last week and is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity during last year's uprising.

President Obama has said his administration is issuing new guidelines to make it easier for Iranians to get access to the Internet. President Obama said Tehran had imposed an "electronic curtain" on its people. Mr Obama made the announcement in a video address to Iranians to mark the Persian New Year.

"I want the Iranian people to know that America seeks a dialogue to hear your views and understand your aspirations. That's why we set up a Virtual Embassy, so you can see for yourselves what the United States is saying and doing. We're using Farsi on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. And even as we've imposed sanctions on the Iranian government, today, my administration is issuing new guidelines to make it easier for American businesses to provide software and services into Iran that will make it easier for the Iranian people to use the Internet."

An Israeli human rights group says a Palestinian woman who's been on hunger strike in Israel for more than a month is in immediate danger of dying. Thirty-year-old Hana Shalabi, a supporter of the militant group Islamic Jihad, is protesting at her imprisonment without charge. A doctor, sent by the group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, to examine her, said she was experiencing muscle wasting, aggravated weight loss and excruciating pain.

Bangladesh has reached the Asia Cup cricket final beating Sri Lanka by five wickets in Dhaka. It will meet Pakistan in the final on Thursday. It's the first time Bangladesh has progressed so far in any major international cricket tournament.

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