CNN news 2011-10-16 加文本

cnn news 2011-10-16

The fighting in Libya is not over. It started in February as a revolt against the government, turned into an all-out civil war. On one side, Moammar Gadhafi and the forces that were loyal to the country`s former leader.

On the other, people who wanted Gadhafi out of power. And they have had support for months, from an international team of military forces.

AZUZ (voice-over): This is Sirte, Moammar Gadhafi`s hometown. It`s where some of the most intense fighting is happening now, and around 90 percent of it is under control of the anti-Gadhafi forces. Dan Rivers reports on the efforts to gain full control of the town.

DAN RIVERS, cnn REPORTER: Well, this is pretty much the front line in Sirte. You can hear -- you can hear there`s quite a lot of shooting going on down this road. We`re right on the outskirts of the city. And it is what sounds like a very fierce battle indeed going on, just a few hundred yards up the road.

RIVERS (voice-over): We ventured down that road quickly. This is not somewhere you want to linger. The wounded limp back from the front lines. This is now exhausting urban warfare with the anti-Gadhafi forces taking casualties, but gaining ground all the time.

The commanders think this is worth the blood being spilled here. They show us photos found nearby of the former leader with local people. But now Gadhafi`s hometown is on the verge of falling.

RIVERS: And what kind of resistance (inaudible)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there is (inaudible) become weaker. They -- the (inaudible) and some prisoners out. But not (inaudible) finish tomorrow (ph).

RIVERS (voice-over): The civilians caught up in all this certainly hope so. Hundreds are streaming out, their city now wreathed in smoke and gunfire. Is this the last battle of this war?

AZUZ: From Libya, we move to Mexico, where Jova is hammering parts of the country`s west coast. This storm was a hurricane earlier in the week. By Wednesday, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. Experts thought it might break up completely by the end of the week.

AZUZ (voice-over): That does not mean Jova is not still dangerous. Officials said the heavy rain from Jova was a major threat. There were concerns the rain could cause floods or mudslides in some areas, especially spots with steep hills or mountains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

AZUZ: Those were scenes of joy and celebration one year ago in Chile that marked the end of a news story that pretty much caught the attention of the entire world.

AZUZ (voice-over): On August 5th, 2010, a cave-in trapped 33 miners more than 2,000 feet underground. A couple weeks later, they got a message out, saying they were all alive, but they had limited amounts of food and water.

More than two months after the cave-in and exactly one year ago today, this is how they were rescued. Crews drilled a tunnel down to where the miners had been waiting underground. And that allowed this capsule to carry the miners up to the surface, one by one. All 33 men arrived safely and were hailed as heroes.

AZUZ (voice-over): In Washington yesterday, President Obama was part of a meeting commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month. The event was for the American Latino Heritage Forum. The president praised the contributions that American Latinos have made to the country.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar talked about why it`s important to celebrate all cultures.

KEN SALAZAR, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: For us as a country, as we look ahead at the great diversity of our 310 million people, 50 million of them being members of the Latino community, we believe strongly that we need to celebrate everybody`s culture, and everybody`s heritage and everybody`s history.

Now that`s just part of what, in my mind, has always made some common sense, and that is that if we are a nation that really believes in the equality and dignity for all people, we need to make sure that the history and the stories of all people is equally told.