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>> floods sent thousands fleeing australia's third biggest city. more dark days ahead. please respond. -- police respond. un peacekeepers are forced to retreat in ivory coast as four people died in a power struggle that goes on. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs and around the globe. no one in he wants to remember the anniversary. how the nation is coping with the aftermath.

thousands of families have been fleeing the third biggest city in australia. the state capital faces its worst flooding in 50 years. the river that runs in the middle of it is not at its peak for another two days. the prime minister has warned there is more dark days ahead. 14 are reported dead and 17 missing. >> after weeks of flooding, this was the most fatal hour. the town is the scene of the most violent and deadly flash floods since the crisis began. local spoke at a terrifying inland tsunami. with the power to wash away cars and vans. an amateur cameraman captured the speed of the raging current. a complete freedom of nature. >> look at it, it is coming

fast. no. >> still more video. look at how quickly the water is rising. >> that is horrible. >> a deluge that came out of nowhere is how officials are describing it. this is the next town down the valley. wrecked by the same surging wall of water. >> this is what is left of leroy shepard's home. >> you see home turn around and go for a cruise in my backyard. >> they waited five hours for the water level to drop. >> the house will ripple and

crack and disappear in front of your face. >> this is being treated as a national crisis. the prime minister warning of worse to come. >> i would like to say to the people of queensland i understand the past few days, it has been very harrowing. there are still more of the dark days ahead. >> brisbane is expected to flood worse than it experienced in 1974. a year that haunts the people who live there. so many families are trying to leave its low-lying suburbs. close to 10,000 homes will be partially or completely flooded brisbane has to contend with water from three directions. tide's coming in from the ocean. and the surging flood water coming from further upstream. the water level is expected to rise to meters within the next

24 hours. this was supposed to be the week when queenslander moved into recovery mode. the floods have a way to go. >> the havoc caused by flooding is not confined to australia. nearly 1 million have been affected by heavy rain in eastern and central parts of sri lanka. an agency has sent clean water and food rations to the areas. 16 people are confirmed dead. at least 13 people have been killed in southeastern brazil in floods and landslides. the first few days of january, they have seen almost as much rain as normal for the month. the flooding has left more than 100,000 homeless. more fatal clashes in tunisia, sparked a protest over unemployment.

police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd. four more civilians have been killed by police southwest of tunis. the officers said they acted in self-defense. that brings the official number of dead to 18. other sources put it higher. >> today in the tunisian town, they were burying their dead. people killed in yesterday's protests. one man killed was 22 had been standing alone in the streets when he was shot by police. these images have been posted on the facebook web site of the most recent demonstrations in the week of unrest. unemployment and a tough crackdown on trade unions, rising food prices have contributed to the worsening waves of violence. the crowds chanted for jobs,

freedom, and national dignity. the demonstration>> the police n force, throwing tear gas and firing live rounds. the u.s. ambassador was called in by the government in response to the tunisian investor being -- ambassador being criticized. the balance shows no sign of stopping. she says the president should step down. >> since the situation is getting worse, i think it will continue until he goes away. i think if people are struggling and asking for his departure, he will be obliged to leave.

>> giant posters of the president were torn down and thrown onto bonfires. universities and schools have been closed. the government struggles to restore order. >> the u.s. presidential commission investigating last year's oil spill in the gulf of mexico has recommended wide- ranging reforms. the commission calls for an independent safety agency, tougher government regulation, and more money for training. one of the chairman blamed the spill on years of carelessness and complacency. the founder of wikileaks has appeared briefly in court. there is an extradition hearing in three weeks' time. sweden has brought allegations of sexual assault. hillary clinton is in yemen on an unannounced visit for talks with the president about how

best to tackle the threat of al qaeda in the country. she said washington needs to broaden its ties with dimon beyond the military cooperation. doctors treating the u.s. congress woman gabrielle gifford said she is less sedated and she is breathing in her own. she was shot in an in tucson, ariz. in an attack that left nine dead and others wounded. president bill clinton shared his thoughts. >> no one intends to do anything that brings on the sort of behavior and it is wrong for people to suggested. we cannot be unaware of the fact that there is this huge echo chamber out there. anything and the bus said falls

on the unhinged and the hinged alike. i think this is an occasion for us where our differences should not degenerate into demonization. i think that that is what i would like to see. i would like to see the house leade the way. >> athe opposition candidate is recognized as the winner of last november's poll. >> security forces loyal to laurent gbagbo surrounded the area. i was reports of heavy gunfire.

>> the police came to attack the people and started to shoot. the security officers were killed. -- two security officers were killed. this is the sort of violence that has got the committee worried. gbagbo has called for the troops to leave. on the ground, he holds power and is making life difficult for the un mission. >> the members of the security council expressed their concern over continued violence and human rights violations in the ivory coast including against u.n. peacekeepers and condemn the liberal attempts to impact the operation in the average coast. >> one of the key supporters is his youth activist. the target of a un travel ban and who is planning a meeting in

this area. he wants the international community -- warns the community against any report to remove mr. gbagbo by force. >> they will encounter thousands of young people. ivory coast will turn into a cemetery. that is their choice to make. we do not think that is the solution. >> the original force has threatened to intervene. the original defense chiefs will meet next week to finalize their plans. many hope a diplomatic solution can be found. >> german investigators looking into the contamination of animal feed with dioxin is saying that it is found in pork. several hundred pigs have been

slaughtered. nubbles have been found to be 50% above approve bubbles. >> after high levels of the poisonous chemical dioxin was discovered in animal feed and eggs, pork has been affected. the authorities said levels of dioxin were found in pigs in a farm in lower saxony. 140 have been slaughtered amid fears that tainted pork products have reached the market already. >> nothing surprises me anymore after what has happened. it was two farms and now we're investigating 200. we can confirm there is no widespread contamination of products. >> the form brought contaminated -- bought feed that was distributed from a company in germany. the use may have ended up in the

hundreds of farms all over germany. pork and sausages are part of the national diet. one expert claimed the levels. -- poes no risk to human health. consumers are worried. there is a -- 500 german farms that are closed. the government has pledged to tighten controls. with the latest discovery of dioxin in pigs, it is clear that the crisis is far from over. >> to stay with us if you can. much more to come. the swiss army is in the firing line. construction -- conscription will be scrapped. an 18-year-old student to to through a fire extinguisher

during a protest has been jailed for 32 months. it narrowly missed a line of police officers. the judge praised the teen- ager's mother who persuaded him to give himself up. >> it was one of the most terrifying images of last year's student riots. the protest turned to violence. from the roof of a seven story building, a fire extinguisher hurdles to the ground, lending less than 1 meter from where the police are standing. some of these images were released for the first time today. they show 18-year-old edwin woolard in the crowd and the roof, or he admits to three the fire extinguisher. he said he did not intend to hit anyone. it was the first demonstration

he had ever attended and he said he got caught up in a moment. his legal team described what happened here as a single moment of madness. the judge said the court had a duty to send a clear message that an offense of the seriousness will be prosecuted. if it had struck someone, it would have caused serious injury or death. the violence that it was described as sustained and hateful. 54 people have been arrested. the judge today praised wo olard's mother for persuading her son to give himself up. >> the latest headlines this

hour. let's bring you up-to-date. police have urged thatwarned ths a new wave of flooding in brisbane. wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in haiti. 200,000 people died, 1 million were left homeless. the country has suffered severe tropical storms and a massive cholera outbreak. how are things there now? our correspondent has been traveling back and forth to haiti over the past year. he said this report from the capitol, port-au-prince. >> it is perhaps hard to understand why when you run from the earthquake, more than 800,000 people are still living in what were emergency shelter

camps like this one. in haiti cannot even this is some level of progress because at its peak, around double that number were in camps like this. there is also still a big problem with rubble. an awful lot of it. the large majority is still lying in the areas where it fell, where the buildings collapsed. it has not been cleared away. you might ask why after so much time with some international bond government organizations and haitian organizations coming to help, so much money spent here try to help, why these problems still exist. people are wondering if it is a lack in this country of political leadership and that is a point. -- that is the point i put to nigel fisher. >> the government was extremely weak before the earthquake. many donors bypass the government and provided resources to a large ngo

community. there was not much investment in government capacity. the earthquake destroyed much of the infrastructure of the government. it killed 30% of government staff. a weaker government became even weaker. there was a result after not to make the same mistake and the commission is part of that response. it has been difficult. i have seen changes in some of the department's we're dealing with. on water supply. people are dealing with water and sanitation, they have gone much stronger. the ministry of health is stronger. they are really good. there are some points of light in the government. overall, a weak structure. politically, we still do not see the level of leadership that is required. >> the government and the president here to argue that they have been working as hard as they can to sort out this

country's problems. they also point out in the earthquake itself, a large amount of civil servants were worked out. they had to do with other disasters, hurricanes and a cholera epidemic. if haiti is to room -- emerge from this earthquake, and rebuild a better haiti, it is going to need good political leadership at the national level. >> the president of pakistan is naming his successor. -- naming a successor to the government of punjab. it is the pakistan political center. after meeting president karzai,

joe biden indicated washington is willing to continue training and aid. the first sitting member of parliament to be convicted of expenses fraud. he will be sentenced later this year. the online social network myspace has cut nearly half its global workforce. 500 jobs will go in the company earned by rupert murdoch's news corp.. facebook has three times as many subscribers and the value of around $50 billion. courts arcalls are growing to sr reduced service in the swiss army. the return every year for several weeks until they're 30.

180,000 for the country of 7.5 million. too big and too expensive, say critics. >> you are in the army now. 8000 young swiss men began their military service this winter. their first task, learning to shoot. but what for in the country which has not fought in over a century? >> you get physically and mentally drained. the march and a lot of sports and things like that. mentally drained to fulfill a job in a precise manner. >> that sounds more like a boarding exercise than an army. a very expensive one. the problem for neutral switzerland in the 21st century is the army costs $4.5 billion

and one is sure what the targets are anymore. least of all these new recruits. >> i do because i have to. i do not see a war. all this shooting around. i do not like the gun. if someone tells me you have to shoot at the head and body, i do not like that. i would never shoot a person in real life. i would run into my gun away. >> conscription was once regarded as untouchable. a recent opinion poll showed it is supported by 43% of the population. the swiss government is looking for alternatives. for now, switzerland's army is

still marching. no one is sure in which direction. >> they provide some of the most beautiful explosions of color. the tropical coral reefs could disappear within half a century. they provide a vital role in supplying fish stocks but rising sea temperatures are putting them at risk. >> intricate, strange, and with an infinite variety of colors and forms, corals are one of the wonders of the undersea world. these are growing safely in the aquarium's in london. at sea, pollution, damage, and rising temperatures are taking their toll. next it is a difficult time to be involved because year-on-

year, we see coral reefs being lost and the health of coral reefs being compromised. unless we do something concrete right now, we are going to lose this. >> fishing by dynamite is one major threat. explosives killed the fish and guarantee it did catch. down below, there is devastation. even where fishing is controlled, reeves could die from a minute to warming of the water -- feefreefs could die frm a minute warning of the water. the message now is coral is not just something that is beautiful to look at. it is incredibly valuable economically. this is how coral reefs should look. there are plenty of ideas for saving them. nothing has worked so far.

>> astronomers have discovered the smallest planet outside our solar system and the first that is rocky like earth. the telescope spotted it 560 light years away alongside hundreds of others. because it orbits its host star closely, it is felt the plan it cannot sustain life -- planteet cannot sustain life. brisbane is the third largest city. the state's worst flood waters are still rising. 10 people were killed and 80 are said to be missing. the prime minister has warned of more dark days ahead. you will find much more on that and all the international news any time on line at bbc.com. see what is coming up on

facebook. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

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