>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is 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? >> and now, "bbc world news."

>> anti-government protesters in egypt take their demands for hosni mubarak's resignation to the gates of parliament. an angry reaction from the italian prime minister, as prosecutors called for him to be tried for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl. people killed, more than 30 wounded in the iraqi city of>> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the -- iraq city of kirkuk. there is the charles taylor war crimes tribunal in the hague. it is going on for a second day. and 50 years ago today, the beatles performed in liverpool.

hello. demonstrators in egypt demanding an end to the world of hosni mubarak -- the rule of hosni mubarak. the vice president has handed that a declaration of martial law. the white house has criticized the steps they have taken to meet the concerns of the protesters and said the annual aid is dependent on restraint and reform. john lyon reports. >> almost by the hour, the symbols of state power are slipping away. this is the egyptian parliament, just around the corner from the protests in tahrir square, but earlier today, anti-government protesters simply took over,

with no resistance from the security forces, and now there is a caricature of hosni mubarak hanging from the gate. the protestors say he was elected fraudulently, and they believe they have used their positions to enrich themselves, and they have come here in great numbers to prevent parliament from operating, and to keep the government for operating normally, as well. she is filming on her mobile telephone as the protesters are in the street. others were outside, celebrating the demise of the hated institution. >> ignorant, people with money, businessmen. not the voice of the people. >> corruption. the chief of the castle is hosni mubarak. >> their protests in the west of the country.

in one area, they torched the governor's office and his car. another very worrying development for the government is the threat of strikes. some of the suez canal workers walked out, though the canal is still open. other factory workers and government employees are on strike due to pay and conditions. by contrast, the quietest place in egypt is probably the pyramids, usually thronged with tourists this time of year. one luxury hotel with 640 rooms has only two occupied. the collapse in tourism is hurting many egyptians. in tahrir square, they are still wondering what was meant by a possible coup, the threat of martial law, perhaps, but it is hard to see what the government can do to stop this from gathering pace, as the state's

slowly goes away. >> the italian prime minister has condemned as a subversive, shameful, and disgusting that he pay for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then used his influence to cover it up. prosecutors are demanding a trial for silvio berlusconi. he denies any wrongdoing, ad does -- as does the girl in question. >> silvio berlusconi has come one step closer to being put on trial, and today in rome, the 74-year-old prime minister used this to launch an attack on prosecutors. >> it is just an embarrassment to. it is disgusting and shameful. i do not know who is going to pay. no one will pay. in the end, the state will pay, because we know the magistrates take on no responsibility, and that is something that needs to be changed, and we will change

it. >> this is also the woman at the center of it, also known as "ruby the heart stealer." prosecutors say they have enough evidence to convict the prime minister on both counts. silvio berlusconi is a veteran of italy's court system, having faced dozens of trials on fraud and corruption charges, but never has he had to answer to the courts on allegations of underage sex and abuse of power. that takes him and the country into new territory. we will know in the next week or so whether the judge is to indict silvio berlusconi and put him on trial. if convicted, the prime minister faces up to 15 years in jail. that is why the vehicle and political stakes are now so high. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in

rome. >> you will find much more on the controversy surrounding cilia berlusconi on our website, all of the latest news, including a profile of the embattled prime minister. go to bbc.com/news. in the u.s., it has been declared that in some ways, the threat of a terrorist attack is at its heightened level since 9/11. a committee was told that with little attacks with no warning, they would be from islam groups with ties to al qaeda and those already inside the u.s. and a man has pled guilty of planning attacks in the u.s., charged with providing support to terrorists and wanting to kill and maim the people. others have been involved in involvement with terror activity. three car bomb blasts in the iraqi city of kirkuk have

wounded 75 and killed others. tv pictures captured as one of the bombs exploded. they were trying to reach the site of the previous blast. jonathan now reports from iraq. >> two bombs had already gone off in the city of kirkuk. police and emergency vehicles were racing to assist, and then -- amazingly, the stunned cameramen staggers to his feet and keeps building. three bombs in total, six dead, and more than 30 wounded. this is what they experience. somewhere in iraq, every day. often, it is words. -- worse. kirkuk's immense oil fields make

it an importer region, often fiercely disputed. there are ethnic turkmen, kurds, and arabs. u.s. troops still help to keep the balance. but they will be gone by the end of this year. nowhere else will challenge for iraq's of forces be greater, but today, kirkuk, as so often, they were the target. the security in these conditions is very hard to build. jonathan, bbc news, baghdad. >> on average, two children were killed every day in afghanistan last year. an independent report by a group has found that nearly two-thirds of children were killed by insurgents. it blames american and nato-led forces for most of the fatalities, but it says parts of northern afghanistan, once the most peaceful, are now the

most dangerous. every minister in the pakistani cabinet has resigned. the size of the old cabinet was 60 ministers, and the cost of their expenses anchored the pakistani public -- angered them public. in japan, the no. tired to eat -- territories. countries have been claimed by both since world war ii. the united nations has said it has only received 16 of the emergency aid to help the victims of the floods in sri lankan, but it is going to increase the pulli target. more people have been killed. 43 lost their lives in january. there are still hundreds of thousands and displacement camps.

charles havilland has been in the flooded area in the northeast. he said this report from small towns. >> driving along country roads in this part of sri lankan these days, you see things like this these days, people simply living in the water. now, it has not rained for the last couple of days, so the water levels have gone down, but then you come across people like abdullah and his son, who have a small mechanical business to repair motorbikes and other vehicles. they have a lot of hardware that has either been destroyed or damaged severely by the floods. what abdullah tells me is that in a reasonable months, he would make about $300 worth of profit. that is having paid a small number of employees that he has. compared with that $300, he says the damage from this round of floods has amounted to to $6,000, and in january's floods, there was even more damage, about $10,000, which is about 1

million sri lankan krispies -- monetary units. they wonder how people like this and the tens of thousands in sri lanka affected by these could possibly get their lives back together again financially, if nothing else, and move forward. >> charles haviland there for us. greek authorities say they suspected somali pirate have captured a u.s.-bound tanker carrying around $200 million of crude-oil in the indian ocean off of the coast of oman. the tankers is one of the largest in the area so far. just yesterday, an italian tanker was taken, adding to fears that things are spiraling out of control. and in syria, they can now access to social networking sites after korea blocked for three years. reports from damascus strongly suggest the block on youtube and

facebook has been lifted. the head of the world's largest mobile phone maker, nokia, has painted a bleak picture of its fortunes. in a memo, he likened it to a burning platform surrounded by the burning fire of competition, grabbing its market share. stay on "bbc world news." still to come, we take you to new orleans, where the police are trying to rebuild the reputation tarnished by some of their own. first though, a south korean official -- south korean officials are saying talks with the north have collapsed without agreement. leaders from both sides have been two days in negotiations. ties between the two hit their lowest in decades when no. 3 you're bombarded a south korean island with artillery that killed four people.

we have this report from seoul, korea. >> many people here in south korea were not confident these talks would yield anything concrete, but talking is certainly better than military confrontation, and that is what people were concerned about just a couple of months ago, so here on the streets, you had people practicing rushing down into subway stations in case of a sudden bombardment, so the question is, is this latest setback terminal for the talks? now, despite the smiles and handshakes in front of the cameras at the beginning of tuesday's session, it was never going to be easy. sticking points that included basic details light when the high-level military talks should be, whether they should involve level -- ministers, defense officials, and how the attack on the south korean warship last year should be addressed. they want what they call responsible measures from p'yongyang. analysts are not expecting an

apology, as north korea has always denied any involvement in the sinking and the city it was provoked by the navy. also, according to seoul, north korea walked out of today's meeting. it is clearly not a design. the fat, too, that they were not accompanied back to the north korean side of the demilitarized zone is also suggested of a pretty heated atmosphere, so the way this is being described by south korea's defense ministry is a breakdown, but a breakdown can be restarted. >> let's bring you up-to-date on the latest headlines this hour on "bbc world news." anti-government protesters in egypt have taken their demands for the resignation of hosni mubarak to the gates of cairo. prosecutors are calling for silvio berlusconi to be tried for allegedly paying for sex

with a 17-year-old girl. the british foreign minister william hague has warned that peace efforts with israel and palestinians could be a casualty of the uncertainty in the region. he also said israel was putting itself at risk by refusing to compromise on settlement build up, and he urged the country to step back from using what he called a belligerent language. his comments have not been well received in israel. >> a simulated chemical weapons attack in israel this week. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been talking of the threat. with egypt, israel feels another iran on its doorstep, but on a visit to the region, the british foreign secretary william hague expressed differences. the impact on the middle east peace process with the palestinians. >> it will get steadily more difficult, and within a few years may become impossible, and that would leave us with

decades of potential conflict and even deeper difficulties in the middle east. it is one of our top priorities in foreign policy in the coming years. >> there was an effort launched by president obama last year, and it is already floundering. united states says a deal between israel and palestinians is essential to achieving peace in the region, but the deputy foreign minister is not so sure. >> the palestinian problem is not central to the stability in the middle east. president obama -- >> president obama and the european union would disagree with that. >> i am sorry. we respectfully disagree. we are allies and friends, but we have to look at the facts. >> how the events in egypt may react -- affect the

palestinian-israel situation. we need to get a deal before it is too late. others say it is hard to make progress when there are so many uncertainties in the region. bbc news, jerusalem. >> this was to be the day of the summing up in the hague of the defense lawyers for charles taylor, but they have been adjourned until friday, as mr. taylor and his lawyer failed to turn up. mr. taylor is accused of fuelling the civil war in sierra leone in the 1990's and is charged with 11 counts of war crimes. peter barnes was there to witness how the judge and the court deal with the snub. >> good morning. i take appearances, but before i do so, i note the absence of the accused, but, however, i will ask the principal person to speak. >> there was no sign of charles taylor nor his defense attorney.

the presiding judge said she had received a document stating that mr. taylor had waived his right to be in court, thus confirming there was no medical issue involved. today had been set aside for the defense to present their summing up in this trial, but yesterday, the lawyer walked out and began a boycott because of disagreement over the late submission of this final written trial brief. >> this trial has already lasted over three years. the prosecution is trying to prove that the former president of liberia, charles taylor, which the central figure in terror in sierra leone in the 1990's. it is alleged that he profited from the country's diamonds, and the hacking off of limbs was one of the wars inflicted on the civilian prosecution -- one of the horrors inflicted on the

civilians. last year, mia farrows testified, and there were diamonds that ms. campbell talked about receiving at a dinner -- after a dinner. >> there was a knock on my door, and i opened my door, and i opened my door, and there was a pouch. >> charles taylor is being accused of having earlier received the diamonds in exchange for weapons, which had been shipped to sierra leone. the prosecution called for more than 100 witnesses during the trial. including amputees, who have given a harrowing accounts of their treatment at the hands of rebels. proceedings have now been adjourned until friday morning, when the final closing arguments are to be heard, but charles taylor's defense team has already said they will not be in court until this current dispute

is settled, so this is mired in even more confusion. bbc news, the hague. >> now, new orleans has had a rough couple of years. hurricane katrina toward the region apart in 2005, and last summer's oil spill devastated the economy. a police force with a reputation for corruption, drug dealing, and murder, and that is the police force. this cannot help the department when the trust of the local people, but there is a new chief, and they are hoping to change that -- this could not help the department win the trust. >> just another day on the job for these officers. but this is a force facing serious challenges and has one of the worst reputations in america. >> we have a history here in new orleans that if you complain about the police, you may die. you may literally die, and i

cannot tell you the number of people who came to me and told me about a bad police officer, a corrupt police officer, and i urged them to report it, and they told me they would not do it. >> that kind of fear has been borne out of years of scandal, and there have been cases that have painted this force in an appalling light. one of the most notorious cases this year at a bridge, where it is alleged that two civilians were shot dead by police just after hurricane katrina. murder, extortion, and assault. with all of that going on, restoring the public's faith in this police department will be an uphill battle. but it is one the city is prepared to fight, no matter how hard, in an unprecedented move, which the justice department being called into of weed out corruption. public meetings like this are part of an effort.

>> clearly, the new orleans police department post katrina and a little bit before katrina created terrible insults', and those in celts are not going to go away tomorrow -- those in cells -- insults are not going to go away tomorrow. some areas are seen as racist and corrupt. >> the relationship is one that has always been a struggle back and forth, one that that's never had trust -- that has never had trust. >> the bad ones overshadow the good ones. it is hard for the community to tell who is good and who is bad. >> this community is at a crossroads, but it has been here before. officers in the 1990's were in two cases convicted of murder

and were involved in drug rings. after everything the city has been through, it needs its police force more than ever. andy gallagher, bbc news, new orleans. >> it was 50 years ago today at a small, sweating venue in england played host to some unknowns, the beatles played at the cabin club, and now more than 1 million people go to see the birthplace of the band. >> one, two, three, four you are, five. >> 50 years ago today, the beatles played the cabin club for the first time. kathy and valerie were there. >> people were screaming. you know, how fantastic. >> the beatles went on to play 292 concert here, and the last

year was in 1963. just one decade after that, the warehouses were demolished, and there was work on the underground railway. this occupies much of the same space at the old place did. you do have to wonder why they let the old cabin be filled in in 1973. >> but beimel mania is more fervent now and then. -- beatle mania is more fervent. liverpool became a worldwide beatles destination. >> it is the end of the story, and people all over the world come to liverpool to find out about this. >> today's anniversary brings back happy memories. >> i wish i was 16 again.

my god. >> and the current row over whether ringo's house should be destroyed the shows they are looking at this differently. bbc news. >> just briefly, we thought you should know this. the catholic church has given its blessing to a new iphone app, allowing them to keep track of their sins. it uses tips and guidelines even to help worshipers with the sacrament. just briefly, the main news. egypt's foreign minister has rejected american calls for deep repeal of its emergency law. he said, "the united states seems to be trying to force its will on cairo." he was on the program "newshour" on whether he found joe biden's advice helpful, and he

responded, "not at all." thanks for watching. >> hello and welcome. top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies, from small

corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. presented by kcet los angeles.