>> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> nsl, "bbc world news." -- and now. accusations of genocide. he has ruled with an iron fist for 41 years. now, he is nowhere to be seen. has muammar qaddafi already fled the country? welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast your viewers america on pbs and elsewhere around the globe. coming back to revive havana. and tourists get to see the home

county of britain's bride to be. hello. in libya, there are strong signs the 41-year rule of moammar gaddafi may be nearing its end. problems of spread to tripoli. jetfighters are attacking protesters. eric's -- a police station was set on fire. they have left the capital possibly a, maybe even the country. his own people accused him of genocide. we are following events from neighboring tunisia. >> libya is burning, and the fire has spread.

things that have been unthinkable have been recorded and smuggled across the internet. for a regime that crush people without mercy, this is the most serious challenge it has ever faced. few diplomats have defected, and many could be wavering. there are rumors, impossible to verify, that muammar qaddafi may even have fled to his hometown. libyans are now finding their voice, even if they are still too terrified to be identified. today, the military. >> the brutal repression by the regime is completely appalling and unacceptable and has no place in our modern world,

these aspirations should be met with reform, not repression. >> libya has rarely been susceptible to outside pressure. even so, there is stress. a rambling speech was made this morning, blaming drug addicts and even the bbc. >> we will agree on a new libya. a true libya. he did this, or libyans, be ready for separatism and civil war. forget oil, forget gas. get ready for chaos. >> supporters of the kernel of also been out on the streets, waving the green national flood -- supports of the colonel. a regime marked by an iron fist is looking brittle. with reports that many of the

influential tribal leaders have sided with the opposition. now, the libyan delegation with the u.n. says it will resign, calling for two of the airspace over the country close to stop mercenaries from being flown in, in their words to prevent genocide. parts of the country now appear to be in the hands of the protesters. this has now gone to the east, where his rise to power began and where it may end, this time for independence. tonight, the justice minister was reported to have also resigned over the use of force, but this is not a done deal. state tv is warning security forces will storm what he called "the dance of terror and seven ties," and another night of clashes and death seemed unavoidable -- "the dens of

terror." demonstrators gathered here. it will be far harder and far bloodier than anything they experienced. bbc news, in tunis. >> there is talk that his future may ultimately be decided by what happens on the streets of tripoli, but does the power line in their hands or on the ancient tribal structures? we have this report. >> his coming to power was the result of a bloodless army to. the armed forces are run today by those closer to him and by his members of his tribe. this is one of the key questions in a highly volatile situations.

two senior offices in the east are considered particularly relevant. >> one man is important. another key figure has been a more prominent, if you like, political figure, as well as army figure, and he has also taken the side of the rebellion. >> there are multiple eyewitnesses that are saying that mercenaries are being employed by muammar qaddafi. is this is true, they have questions about the regime. i do not expect the libyan army to be different. they have basically forcedben ali and mubarak out.

>> some are likely to stand by him, especially if the prospects worsened. >> one of his troubles centers, to organize an effective force that is going to then come back and demonstrate to the populations of tripoli and other places where power realize. >> in libya, the tribal battle for influence is important. one has been a support base for colonel qaddafi. the leaders who have practiced the art of this now seems to be facing its greatest test, as the internal politics, they combine with the politics of the wider region. bbc news. >> the entire libyan delegation to the united nations has

demanded intervention to prevent more bloodshed, looking to protect bolivians from what is called genocide by the authorities. -- to protect the libyans from what is called genocide by authorities. you could almost overlooked how extraordinary this is. >> it was extraordinary. i had been asking whether there was a precedence to come out and say we are no longer serving our government, we are serving our people, and then to issue a blistering statement against the leader, in this case, muammar qaddafi, but that is what has happened. the position of those present was quite clear. they're accusing him of genocide against his own people. they accuse him of bringing in mercenaries, flying them into tripoli to crack down protestors, and they were clearly very shaken by the

reports they were getting from libya. >> the information we are receiving from the people in tripoli is that the regime is killing. he has mercenary's everywhere. they kill them. >> the deputy ambassador also made an appeal to the international community to help. specifically, he asked the u.n. security council to exercise its right to intervene in the situation to try to protect the people there. now, he did say that has not been officially made yet. he is bringing it to the press first, but if that request goes through, it will be very interesting to see how the security council responds. this is what the deputy investor had to say.

>> we want them to do several things. the first thing is so that no arms supplies go to the regime. the second thing is to establish its is so that the medical supplies arrive to the citizens. -- to establish itself and medical supplies arrive to the citizens. >> the response? >> in actual fact, in theory, they do of the power to do quite a lot. they have the ability to enter the military korea, -- militarily, to impose a no-fly zone, so far, the security

council has not said anything about the uprising in the arab world. there are some members that argue these are internal domestic situations. they do not -- now the u.s. had this direct appeal from the mission of one of those countries, we will have to see how they respond. >> will be talking to you again. for the moment, thank you very much. the president of yemen has rejected demands that he step down. widespread demonstrations against the yemeni government, now in their tents today, are called packs of provocation. -- now in their 10th day. they are, acts of provocation.

2000 people took to the streets. they want him to give up some of those powers and to clamp down on corruption. the formula one grand prix schedule for bahrain has been called off because of protests there. it was to start there on march 13. it is likely the season will get underway with the australian grand prix in melbourne. do stay with us if you can on "bbc world news." much going on. still to come, nasa wants to unlocked something. first though, a senior officer with says -- with mi5 gave testimony about the bombings in london in 2005. he is known only as a witness g.

>> the people who work here are told their identities will always remain secret. and so, when a senior mi5 officer came to give testimony, it was behind closed doors. the court was told that mi5 have no inkling about what was going to happen on that day. the witness was questioned about what was known about mohammed sidique before 2005. he was seen on a camping trip with 40 others, including a known extremist too was under surveillance in 2003, the same extremist was seen getting into a car registered to him. the following year, sidique and

shezhad tanweer cropped up in an investigation involving another suspect. this was sent to the united states, where it is shown to a terrorist to turn into an informant. the picture of sidique was like this. in court, he said his children could have done a better job. for some of the families, this is the witness they have been waiting for. witness g will continue his testimony in the morning. >> the latest headlines for you on bbc world news this hour. an attack from the air in tripoli. these pictures seem to show libyan protesters being fired upon. state tv in libya say security forces will cleanse them of anti-government forces.

they're describing them as terrorist gangs. this has helped to push oil levels to their highest since 2008. at one point, one of the main benchmarks on the international market reached $105 per barrel. the last soviet leader mikhail gorbachev described russia as an imitation democracy. he criticized vladimir putin and dmitri medvedev, as they will decide between them which one of them will run for the presidency next year. vladimir putin is widely thought to what the job again. african leaders are in ivory coast, for a fresh attempt to break the political deadlock over last december's disputed presidential election. they are expecting laurent gba

-- the party and angela merkel gets 20% of the vote. this compares to a larger percentage for the social democrats. an american spacecraft will make history in the next few weeks when it becomes the first to orbit around the planet mercury. they are key to learn much more about mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system and also the closest to the sun. we have this report and the spacecraft in mission control. >> main engines start. two, one, and zero, list of. nasa's mission to mercury -- liz dass. -- lift off. >> a blistering 400 degrees

centigrade. part of the challenge has been to build a spacecraft that will not melt when it reaches its destination. >> we came up with this sunshade, which is almost wafer thin, and it keeps the temperatures on the outside of the spacecraft about 600 degrees fahrenheit but keeps the instruments inside about rooms temperature. >> they have the final command codes to slow this down. if they did wrong, the probe will either crashed into the planet or spinoff into outer space -- if they get it wrong. they're making the final preparations for the probe to enter orbit. in the next few weeks, the probe will fire its retrorockets and enter orbit. then, messenger will begin to

build a detailed picture of the planet. already, a spacecraft has sent back to these photographs, which shows the complex surface in unprecedented detail. >> what you can learn in orbit is so different from what you learn when you are going by and getting data as you go. this is going to revolutionize what we know about this planet. >> researchers believe that by studying mercury, they will gain new insights into how our other things were formed. bbc news, washington. >> now, say hello to our friends. cuban cinema. art house movies, built around political or social themes, but the industry has fallen on hard times, and the state can no longer fun such projects. a new state is working, and that is money from abroad, and there is a social satire that is not afraid to poke fun at the system.

>> a box of severed heads lies on the street. all around, flesh eating zombies are intent on taking over havana, but the government is slow to react, believing these are isolated incidents. the movie is written and directed by a 34-year-old. he is one of a new generation of cuban filmmakers, trying to break out of the confines of the state-run film industry. >> this is a zombie film, but it is really about cuban's, how we reacted fanta problems -- it is really about cubans, how we react in front of problems. >> mam, papa!

>> money to be made, eliminating the zombies. for your loved ones who have become possessed, call this number, and we will take care of it, says the trailer. cubans are passionate about cinema, and the international film festival attracts huge audiences. there is a long and distinguished history of filmmaking, but it has fallen on hard times. the government can no longer afford it. it is now dominated by argentina and brazil. a steady stream of film coming out of cuba, and a lot of them are featured here at the international film festival, but mary it -- many fear -- very few of them are beginning to find an audience abroad, even in the spanish-speaking world.

fidel castro was well aware of the power of cinema, and shortly after the revolution in 1959, he created the cuban film institute. it was never a simple propaganda mouthpiece, producing instead a series of our house classics -- courthouse -- art house classics. it conjured up the uncertain mood in havana after the revolution. and strawberries and chocolates, a time when, such a melody was illegal in cuba. today, this caribbean island, it boasts an international film school, which draws students from around the world. it also attracts the occasional hollywood director, like john landis, who was giving a master class to students when i was

there. >> cuba has an avid history of cinema. after the revolution, caster used to steal prints from miami on movies, movies before they played l.a., they would play havana. there cinema has always been interesting, and something that is kind of fun now is how they make political films but in disguise because they have to be careful. >> the major problem for cuban directors these days ago in securing the funding. a spanish company is covering the budget, which is needed to pay for the computerized special effects during post-production. alongside the cuban cast, the lead actress is from spain. the new generation of directors are no longer funded by the

state. but they are still looking to work with the cuban cinema. what he says he is looking for is commercial rather than artistic success. the real challenge will be to try to find a place to launch it. bbc news, havana. >> britain's royal wedding is now two months away, ended is a new tourist attraction -- and there is a new tourist attraction. even the church where kate middleton was christens. if you think it is just us getting excited about it, they are getting requests from japan and the u.s.

>> until recently, these villages were not much use to villages -- it to others. >> she has got ties here. >> if you go for a tour of kate middleton country, perhaps he would not be surprised to see the media showing up. >> we did not know until we saw the reserved seats. >> we have never had all of those paparazzi. >> it is good for the area where william and katie were apparently drunk. americans, they cannot get enough of it. >> the appetite in america is in satiable for this story, and we will literally cover as a network every single event, regardless of how insignificant it may appear if it gives us

some insight into kate middleton or prince william. because our audience wants to know about it, we will do it. >> there is struggling with their new form -- they are struggling with their new-found fame. and it is not just here in the countryside that they are expecting the tourist influx. it should be a bumper year in london, too. >> we have much more of that on bbc.com. for more on the developing situation in libya, all of the news and analysis is there. there are strong signs that the 41-year rule of muammar qaddafi may be coming to an end. things and spread to tripoli, and there are reports of jet fighters attacking protestors, who set a police station on

fire. some areas seem to be largely under opposition control, and there are claims that muammar qaddafi has left the capital. much more on bbc.com. we are on twitter and facebook, as well. thanks for watching. >> 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.

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captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: good evening. i'm jeffrey brown. libyan security forces fired on demonstrators, leaving hundreds dead or wounded as antigovernment protests engulfed the capital, tripoli, for the first time. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on this bloody challenge to moammar gadhafi's 42-year regime. >> brown: then, two budget stories: an update on the "week of rage" over union bargaining rights and benefits in wisconsin. >> woodruff: and we look at the