BBC News with Ian Purdon.
President Obama has again demanded that the embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi step down. Mr. Obama repeatedly told a White House news conference that Colonel Gaddafi had lost the legitimacy to lead. He warns that those responsible for the (violence) will be held accountable. With more, here is Kim Ghattas in Washington.
It’s not the first time that Barak Obama has called on the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to leave office. Last week, the While House put it in a written statement. This time, Mr. Obama did it in a televised press conference. It’s part of the slow but steady ramping up of the pressure on Mr. Gaddafi. Mr. Obama said he had also instructed the Department of Defense and the State Department to examine a full range of options so that the United States could act rapidly if the situation deteriorated.
The international organization for (migration) says 200,000 migrant workers have now left Libya, crossing into Egypt, Tunisia and Niger. An international air lift has been organized. Jeremy Bowen sent this report from a Libyan border-crossing into Tunisia.
Without the foreign workers on whom the Libyan economy relies, Libya is feeling even more isolated. The good news for Colonel Gaddafi is that the road from here, the Tunisian border, back to Tripoli is under his control, except for the (centre) of one town, Zawiya. The bad news is that his security forces don’t know who they can trust here in western Libya. They are still raiding houses at night and taking people away. The Colonel does have genuine support but there is genuine opposition too. The use of lethal force by the security services is so far this week deterring demonstrations.
There will be more attacks by Libyan air force planes on the areas of eastern Libya controlled by anti-Gaddafi forces. A ship loaded with flour was sent to the city of Benghazi by the World Food Program but had to turn back after reports of (explosions). Earlier, a Libyan opposition spokesman had reported bombing raids on anti-Gaddafi forces in nearby Ajdabiya and on the airport at Brega, which has a major oil terminal.
Tunisia’s interim President Fouad Mebazaa announced the first details of elections promised after the overthrow two months ago of President Ben Ali. Speaking on National Television, Mr. Mebazaa said that voting for a representative council that would rewrite the constitution would be held by the 24th, July of the latest. He said that until then a new interim government would run the country and he would stay in office, despite a 60-day limit on care-taker office holders under the current (constitution).
The United Nations’ Food Agency says global food prices reached a record high last month. The food and agricultural organization is warning that costs could spiral even further if the unrest in Libya and the Middle East keeps driving up the price of oil. Rising food costs helped to spark recent protests in Egypt and Tunisia.
World News from the BBC.
Kenya and the Democratic republic of Congo are to set up a joint investigation into a gold-smuggling network operating in the (region). With more, here is Will Ross.
Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo want to break up a gold-smuggling network and they see Kenya has a major hub. The recent discovery in Nairobi of two and a half tons of gold, worth around $100 million led to an investigation by Kenya’s revenue authority. But over the weekend, the man heading the probe was shot dead outside his home. The Congolese and Kenya presidents have now agreed to form a joint team to crack down on illegal gold (smuggling). But past form shows that it’s extremely hard to clean up the Congolese mineral trade.
The United Nations Security Council has said it’s seriously concerned about the violence in Ivory Coast. Thursday, troops loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to leave office after a disputed presidential election, shot and killed six women marching in the main city. Barbara Plett reports.
The Security Council expressed deep concerns about the escalation of violence and a risk of return to civil war in Ivory Coast. It urged UN peacekeepers to use all necessary means to protect civilians, alarmed in particular by news that (troops) loyal to Laurent Gbagbo had opened fire with heavy machine guns on women protesters supporting his rival, the recognized winner of the last presidential elections, Allasane Quatara. Mr. Gbagbo’s forces have also targeted the peacekeepers. A senior UN official said UN troops had responded by conducting stronger patrols and using tear gas to break up blockades. But the Ivory Coast ambassador here said that was not enough.
The Manchester City footballer Kolo Toure has been suspended after failing a drugs (test). The English Premier League club said in a statement that Toure, an Ivory Coast international, had tested positive for what it called a “specified substance”, but didn’t say what that was. The club made no further comment.
BBC News.