BBC在线收听下载:意大利埃特纳火山爆发

Hello, I'm Ally McHugh with the BBC News.

The electoral commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it's delaying Sunday's presidential election in three cities until March due to insecurity and an outbreak of the Ebola virus. The decision in effect cancels the vote in Beni and Butembo in North Kivu province and Yumbi in the west of the country because the new president is due to be sworn in by the middle of January. Here's Will Ross. The Congolese electoral commission says it's taken this decision to save lives. There'll be no voting until March in Beni and Butembo in the east of the country because it says there would be a risk the Ebola virus could spread if people travel to the polling stations. A statement also said any election there would provide an opportunity for armed groups to carry out attacks. The timing of this announcement is surprising, considering the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo began in August, and the numerous rebel groups have been active there for years. Perhaps less surprising is the decision to delay the vote in Yumbi in the west, where more than one hundred people were killed in ethnic clashes earlier this month.

A UN-led ceasefire monitoring team is reported to have met for the first time in the Yemeni port of Hodeida. Details of what was discussed are yet to emerge. The team is expected to work to secure a shaky truce in the city. Alan Johnston has the details. The monitoring team is being headed by a UN-appointed retired Dutch general, and it includes representatives of both the government and the rebels. The two sides recently agreed to a truce in Hodeida, but sporadic fighting has continued. Now the ceasefire monitoring committee is reported to have held its first meeting. Its efforts to make the truce work will be hugely important. Hodeida is a key link in the effort to ship food aid into Yemen where millions of people are threatened by starvation.

Reports from Italy say ten people have been injured following an earthquake in the area around Mount Etna in Sicily, the most active volcano in Europe. James Reynolds has this report. The earthquake hit the slopes of Mount Etna at around twenty past three in the morning. It damaged nearby homes and buildings. In the village of Fleri, an eighty-year-old man had to be rescued from his home. Some decided to take shelter in their cars or in local gyms, anywhere just to be safe. In recent days, scientists recorded more than a hundred tremors, causing the authorities to restrict flights to the regional airports in the city of Catania. James Reynolds reporting.

This is the world news from the BBC.