BBC在线收听下载:塞拉利昂闭门三日防埃博拉病毒传播

BBC news 2015-03-22

BBC news with Julie Candler

The United States has reportedly withdrawing its military personnel from a base in Yemen on account of increasing insecurity in the area. Al-Qaeda fighters stormed the nearby city on Friday before being driven out by local security forces. Arachi Shani reports.

The American troops have been stationed at the Al-Anad air base in southern Yemen where they have been training Yemeni pilots to fight Al-Qaeda. It's understood that all those still stationed in the country will now be withdrawn, though this has not been confirmed by the pentagon. Yemen had been a key base in the US's war against Al-Qaeda, but that conflict is now of less importance than the struggle to prevent the country fracturing into rival states.

The Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has demanded that rebel militia withdraw from the capital Sanaa. The militia, made of Shiite muslims known as Houthis, seized control of Sanaa last year, and Mr. Hadi recently fled to the south of the country. He said he would make sure that the state re-control over the Houthi's heartlands in the North.

As a deadline approaches for a deal that would end the long dispute of Iran's nuclear program, both Washington and Tehran have given markedly upbeat assessments in their negotiations. the US Secretary of State John Kerry said significant progress has been made and added it was now time for hard decision.

This has been a two and half year or more process, but we recognize that fundamental decisions have to be made now, and it don't get any easier as time goes by, it is time to make hard decisions. We want the right deal that would make the world including the United States and our closest allies and partners safer and more securer. And that is our test.

Earlier, the Iranian President said there was still disagreements but everything could be resolved.

The president of Sierra Leon Ernest Bai Koroma has extended a lockdown to combat Ebola, ordering the counrty's entire population to stay at home for three days from the end of next week. The govenment had previously indicated the lockdown would be confined to Free Town at Northern part of the country. Richard Hamilton reports

Friday's lockdown will be the third major operation of its kind in Sieerra Leon following previous lockdowns in September and December. The government had hailed them as great successes. President Koroma's statement came as he announced the four-week national campaign to drive Ebola out of the country. Around 3,700 people have died from the virus in Sierra Leon. Generally the number of cases has fallen in west Africa but aid agencies are warning against complacency, saying it might take weeks or even months to completely eradicate the disease.

World news from the BBC

The main opposition in Senegal has named the imprisoned senegalese former president as their candidate for the next elections. Karim Wade is on trial of corruption charges, a verdict is expected in the next few days. His father Abdoulaye Wade was in power from 2000 to 2012 when he was defeated by the current leader Macky Sall. Karim Wade denies charges of embezzling more than 200 million dollars, saying the accusations are politically motivated.

Thousands of anti-austerity demonstraters from across Spain have gathered in the center of Madrid. They are protesting against the policies of the central-right gvernment and Spain's long running economic problems. Guy Haskell is in the Spainish capital.

We've seen tens of thousands of people converging from different parts of Spain. They've been arriving in central Madrid over the last couple of days, really, many of them. And it's a repeat of an event we saw this time last year when people were demanding what they called breads, roof and work, that is an end to inequality they see and the very high unemployment they believe this government has allowed to get out of hand, this unemployment rate is 24% at the moment which rises to around 50% for younger people.

Seven children from one orthodox jewish family have died in a house fire in New York, apparently after a hot plate overheated and caught fire. Fire department official said the mother and a teenage girl survived after jumping out of the window of the house in Brooklyn, they are in a critical condition.

Ireland has won rugby Six Nations championship after a thrilling final day. First Wales chalked up emphatic Victory over Italy to go to top of the table, but their lead was short lived as Ireland crushed Scotland, that meant England had to win by 26 points in the final match against France. They could only win by 20, allowing Ireland to take the northern hemisphere's top tourment for the second success year.