BBC在线收听下载:红十字会称过百万人受飓风艾玛影响

BBC news 2017-09-09

BBC news with Debby Russ.

The International Red Cross says an estimated 1.2 million people have already been battered by hurricane Irma with many millions more still threatened. Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are the latest places to be hit by the storm which is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Cuba will be affected later on Friday while more than half a million people have been ordered to leave their homes in Florida before hurricane Irma hits the US States on Sunday.

Seven members of the Texas Emergency Services are suing a chemical factory rocked by explosions and fires last month after hurricane Harvey. Their lawyers alleged their negligence caused flammable materials to ignite after the Arkema plant near Houston was flooded.

Amnesty International has urged the United Nations to provide stronger protection for civilians in the Central African Republic following a wave of brutal attacks. People who fled violence in the district of Bascoto told Amnesty that the villages were being destroyed by a militant split group of a mainly Muslin alliance.

Security forces in Togo have fired teargas to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters in capital Lome. Police moved in following a second day of mass countrywide demonstrations demanding an end to the Gnassingbe family's 50 years in power.

Pope Francis has called for forgiveness during an open air mass for hundreds of worshippers in the Colombian capital Bogota. Colombia has come to terms with the Peace Accord that ended half of a century of conflicts with FARC rebels.

And the study of caves in Antarctica indicates that there may be unknown species of animals and plants living below the frozen surface. Scientists from the Australian National University discovered light conditions and temperatures of up to 25 Celsius in caves around Mount Erebus and an active volcano on Ross Island.

BBC news.