He says it began late Thursday after Ethiopian troops launched a house-to-house search and fired tank shells on suspected insurgent hideouts in southern districts of the city.

"The Ethiopians carried out a massive operation in some areas and then big fighting took place. The Ethiopian military was using tanks. Almost 50 people were killed in Mogadishu in the past 24 hours, including seven Ethiopians. There are still dead bodies out in the streets," he said.

Last week, the government in Addis Ababa deployed as many as two-thousand extra troops in Mogadishu. The exact number of Ethiopian troops in the capital is not known, but it is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

In an interview with VOA on Monday, the spokesman for Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wahide Belay, confirmed that Ethiopia was prepared to launch a renewed military offensive against insurgents, who have fought a relentless guerrilla war against Ethiopian troops and Somalia's Ethiopian-backed interim government in Mogadishu for nearly a year.

Addis Ababa says the insurgency is not a popular uprising, but is being carried out by a small group of extremists, loyalists, and sympathizers of the Islamic Courts Union. The Islamist movement ruled most of southern and central Somalia for six months before an Ethiopian-led military campaign last December ousted the Islamists from power.

Mogadishu residents say for the first several months, the insurgency was not a popular uprising. Several hundred Islamists formed the core of the insurgency, including al-Qaida-trained militants opposed to Ethiopia, the United States and the secular interim government they support.

But public anger toward the Ethiopian presence in Somalia is said to be growing, stemming from allegations that Ethiopian troops are committing human rights violations, including murder and rape, against Somali civilians.

The hospital worker in Mogadishu says a few days ago, he heard angry residents vowing to take revenge against Ethiopian troops, who they say were firing on innocent people.

"They say that Ethiopians kill any man or young man they see, thinking that he is part of the fighting."

Such allegations have surfaced before, and Addis Ababa has vehemently denied that its troops are committing atrocities.

The Ethiopian army first tried to crush the insurgency in March and April of this year, triggering weeks of fighting that left hundreds dead, a large section of the capital destroyed, and prompted 400,000 civilians to flee.

Human rights groups condemned both Ethiopia and the insurgents for firing indiscriminately and endangering civilians.

【双语新闻】

担心油价和美国经济亚洲股市大跌(Asian Stocks Plunge on Oil Worries and US Economy Concerns)

由于华尔街股市大幅下滑、人们对石油价格居高不下的担忧以及对美国经济的担心动摇了投资人的信心，整个亚洲地区的股市星期四大跌。

东京的日经指数下跌了2%，台北、悉尼和首尔的股市收盘时也受重挫。

原油价格从新高位上有所回落，但是星期三的时候仍然接近每桶100美元的价位，使人们对美国经济状况更加忧心。美国经济今年已经受到房屋价格大跌以及美元贬值的困扰。

Stocks across Asia plunged in trading Thursday as sharp falls on Wall Street, worries about high oil prices, and concerns about the U.S. economy shook investors.

Tokyo's Nikkei index slipped two percent, while share prices in Taipei, Sydney and Seoul also closed sharply lower.

Crude oil prices have eased back from new highs, but still flirted near the 100-dollar mark Wednesday, adding concern to the U. S. economy -- which has been beset this year by plunging home prices and the declining dollar.

科学家称禽流感仍在亚非蔓延 (Scientists Say Bird Flu Still Spreading in Asia and Africa)

正在泰国首都曼谷开会的科学家表示，禽流感目前仍然继续在好几个亚洲和非洲国家里蔓延。联合国禽流感人类流感问题的高级协调员戴维.纳巴洛星期三对记者表示，目前取得了一些进展，但是问题仍然存在。

纳巴洛说，问题比较严重的国家包括有亚洲的孟加拉国、印度尼西亚和越南。他还说，非洲的埃及和尼日利亚令人担心。纳巴洛说，泰国在控制禽流感病毒的传播方面取得较大成功。

H5N1型禽流感病毒主要是在禽鸟身上发作，主要发生在亚洲地区，不过欧洲和非洲地区也出现了这种病毒。H5N1型禽流感病毒1997年最早在香港出现以来，目前已经夺去了11国家里至少211人的生命。

Scientists meeting in Bangkok say bird flu continues to spread in several Asian and African countries. The United Nations senior coordinator for avian and human influenza told reporters Wednesday that progress has been made but problems still remain.

David Nabarro said problem countries in Asia include Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam. In Africa, he said Egypt and Nigeria give cause for concern. Nabarro said Thailand has had greater success in controlling the H5N1 virus.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza mainly affects birds and has struck primarily in Asia, but it has also appeared in Europe and Africa. Since its appearance in Hong Kong in 1997, the H5N1 virus has killed at least 211 people in eleven countries.

【情感信箱】You're being played so walk away now

Q: I am currently the most confused girl in the world. I'm in a relationship with a man that I met not long ago, but he already has a girlfriend who is studying abroad.

We tried to break things off, but he always ends up trying to get back together with me. I don't know what to do anymore. He doesn't want to let either of us girls go.

I'm beginning to think that he only wants me for my physical features. The longer I stay in this, the more I guilty I feel.

Should I walk away or should I stay?

Signed, MR

A: You walked in to this relationship with your eyes open, knowing that he had a girlfriend.

Deep down inside somewhere, you were hoping that would change, and he might forget about his girlfriend abroad.

He had other plans that were the complete opposite to what you were hoping for, which was to keep his girlfriend and have a little fun on the side with you, at your emotional expense until she returns home and you will be discarded.

You are being played and there is no reason to stay, so walk away now.

Q: I met a guy in April 2006 and dated him briefly. We had a very strong connection for a brief period, and for some reason he backed off.

We have been friends since but I admit for a long time after we ended it, I still hoped that things would work out, which made me behave childishly many times.

I have tried everything -- dating other people, cutting him out of my life -- but I just can't stop thinking about him.

He now spends most of his time out of town for work, and we don't speak on a regular basis either, so we are not even in touch really.

I am usually a fairly logical person and know when to cut my losses but with him, I have always felt like there was some unfinished business, and this has been bothering me a lot.

I guess I am just looking for someone to shake me back to my senses and to tell me to just "get over it."

Signed, S

A: I think you need to understand why your connection ended so soon, and it may help you to move on.

What you felt was very strong was not strong for him, but because he enjoyed your company, he decided to convert the relationship to a friendship.

You were not able to accept this so you should have cut ties completely after the split. You say you are not really in touch, but however little, you are still talking.

If you ever want to heal, one phone call with him is one too many for you, therefore all ties must be cut. Even if it's an e-mail once a year to say "Happy Birthday," you will forever continue hoping for what you once had.

Consider yourself on the way back to your senses, as you now have the formula to help you get over this.

Daily Affirmation

With the heartache of today's endings also comes the keys to the doorway of tomorrow's joy.