a diplomatic gift from china. hello to our correspondents. in sought -- inside libya that they are confirming that the east of the country is under opposition control. the police and army are deployed to defend the people. the people are fearful that colonel khadafy may use chemical or biological weapons. he is describing himself as a revolutionary leader who will fight to the last drop of blood and die rather than step down. he threatened to purge of libya house by house to crush the revolt.

he sent this report from libya's border with tunisia. >> their defiance is bewildering. they have been shot at and perhaps even bombed. hundreds may have died. in the hearts of tripoli, they are still willing to take to the streets. what they want is a new government and a chance to earn a decent living. while the protests went on, the man who has ruled them for 40 years and defied them. >> it is a mark of the pressure he is under that today he appeared on state tv, the find. >> i cannot leave the honorable soil of my country. i will die a mortar at the end. -- martyr at the end. security should be established by the police and the army.

all roadblocks should be removed tomorrow. chase them everywhere. >> it is impossible to know how many still support the government. it still managed an appearance in the media. the picture is emerging of a government facing more resistance than half -- it has ever known. what passes for parliament was attacked and burned. the symbolism is striking. details of what is happening is hard to come by. the videos and reports from residents suggest a heavy military presence in the capital with some suburbs virtually closed off. >> our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been lost and their loved ones. we join the international community in a strongly condemning the violence. we have received reports of hundreds killed and many more

injured. this bloodshed is completely unacceptable. >> for now, the east of lived yet still appears to be in the hands of the protesters with the police and army nowhere to be seen. the flag of the country before gaddafi took power being flown high. this was the scene in neighboring tunisia today. the libyan flag being torn down. the flag that is now a symbol of independence and is now being flown high. what is happening across libya is extremely difficult to tell. those appear to be fleeing in the thousands. the picture that they paint is grim. a regime is willing to gun down its own people in order to survive.

>> as he mentioned, the east of the country seems to be entirely in opposition hands. protesters are flying the flag of the pre-gaddafi era. he is one of the first foreign journalists to get in. >> there seems a joy in eastern libya where the opposition is in control. they are flying the old royal flag of libya. they have even defaced gaddafi's picture. >> there are no soldiers here. no reason -- representatives of the hated government. >> we found a series of opposition militias in control. it is the same story for hundreds of miles around. anybody associated with gaddafi has fled. on the egyptian side of the

border, it is almost as crazy. these are the egyptians. thousands of migrant workers escaping from libya today. >> it is a massacre. in the name of god, it is a massacre. you cannot even go outside to get food. you just turned straight back. >> local people thronged around us to express their fury at colonel gaddafi. >> help us, please. please help us. >> they believe that colonel gaddafi is finished but they believe he will reap terrible vengeance before he is removed from power. >> the un security council has condemned the use of violence. hillary clinton likewise. both have called for those

responsible to be held to account. barbara is that the un in new york. after a long silence from the un, this is not a very startling statement. is there anything practical that the un is going to do to back it up? >> the security council has not come out with any practical measures. in terms of western nations, they feel like they are quite happy about what they got. they feel it is quite strong that they got the council to agree in a statement to condemn the violence. immediately calling for the libyan government to respect human rights and international humanitarian laws. there has been a reference to international investigation into events in the east of the

country. there was a call for those who have committed atrocities to be responsible. they should be held accountable. the security council members were quite happy with the statement. the ambassador was quite happy with the statement. he said that it was not strong enough. he did send a good message to the libyan government and muammar gaddafi in particular. human rights groups have responded. it is a first up. they have urged them to have travel bans. and impose an arms embargo on libya and have a call by the un the human rights cow -- council into an investigation of the atrocities. >> some members states would prefer for all of this to be seen as an internal matter, not

meriting international intervention. >> that was behind the discussion in the statement. libya had not been on the agenda until now because of the belief of some council members including china and russia in particular that these are internal affairs. they are not spilling over borders and creating a threat to international security. even though there is bloody suppression, the council is not to address it. the key one is that the deputy ambassador ask for it. you had a strong statement from the arab league. the members of the security council took their guidance from that and felt they could not be less strong than that. they felt that colonel gaddafi's speech was full of threats. >> tuesday has been new

zealand's darkest day, the word from the prime minister about the earthquake that struck a city. at least 75 people are dead -- are dead and many more are missing. >> in the dark of night, a small ray of hope. >> she is in the classroom. >> after hours of fearing she would -- he would never again hear her voice, this man has made contact with his wife, clinging to life beneath the rubble. >> the people are doing everything to save you. >> rescue teams managed to pull 30 survivors from the rubble. more are buried alive. the quake has struck in the

heart of the city in the middle of the day. office workers sprinting into the streets. and crushing many others under the weight of collapsed buildings. for the second time in less than six months, christchurch was being hit by a major earthquake. people were scrambling for their lives. this quake was of a lesser magnitude. it struck closer to the surface and closer to the center of the city. >> can you all go back there, please? >> the impact was far more powerful. so is the scale of destruction. modern multi-story office box represent toppled dominoes. with these their walls

collapsed, some people do this done this side of their buildings. trapped workers have been using mobile phones to alert rescue worse. he spoke to channel 7 news. >> i keep thinking, is it going to fall right on top of me? it is really hard. >> unbelievable. >> this is what is left of christ church cathedral. a few stained-glass windows were shattered. today, its spire came crashing in. >> that is huge. it is huge. we just do not know if there are people under the rubble. we fear that there are. >> with new zealand's second

city fast running out of ambulances, people had to improvise in whatever way they could. they were desperate. new zealand had not had a major earthquake in more than 40 years. in the space of about a minute, and dozens of people were killed. this has spent one of the country's darker days. the still stunned people of christ church has been waking up to a destruction all around them. this has been strewn with the gray rubble of disaster. >> let's bring you stride away what looks like a bit of good news coming out of that dark day. a news agency reported that the rescuers have freed a pocket of 15 survivors trapped for almost a day in a six-story office

building. the new zealand prime minister has declared a national state of emergency. he has gone on tv to address the people of the city. >> you will get through this. this proud country is right behind you. the world is with you. australian france, british and american friends, the great countries of this world is putting the shoulder to your wheel. they are sending their support, expertise, and people to help us. though your buildings are broken, and your hearts are aching, your spirit will overcome. while nature has taken much from you, it cannot take your survivors' spirit.

this marks the beginning of a long journey for your city. it will lead us from ruins to hope and opportunity. from great hardship will come great strength. progress is certain. things will get better. christ church will rise again. on behalf of the government, let me be clear that nobody will be left to walk the street alone. new zealand will walk this with you. we will be with you every step of the way. christchurch, this is not your test, this is new zealand's test. i promise that we will meet that test. >> good to have you with us on "bbc world news." japan says hello to two giant pandas. first, the protests in the arab world are being watched with special attention in france.

she has been talking to some of them near paris. >> this is west of paris. it is home to a large community with origins across north africa and the middle east. of course, events there are being followed closely. there is support for the pro- democracy movement, but it is not universal. >> for the first time, the arab people can feel like they have a real existence. before, we were just silent, coiling machines. i hope that it continues. this man was against the protests. it has all been too quick. these rulers have been there when we needed them for so many years. to turn around and suddenly kicked them out? like so many other french, they

have had their fair share of difficulties. people feel like they're looked down on by the rest of the french. maybe the arab pro-democracy movement will encourage a more positive attitude. >> you can change the relationship between the french people and earth. they probably think that we are moving backward. we want to go into the 21st century. it is a great thing for us. i hope that would change the mind of people. >> it would be silly to claim that a new era of have the community relations is around the corner. maybe a events in the middle east will encourage people in france to see people in a new light. >> the latest headlines for you

this hour on "bbc world news." colonel gaddafi has defied the protesters and vowed to clean libya house by house. a six-story office building in christchurch, people have been pulled alive from the wreckage. at least 75 people are dead. when somali pirates sees a vessel and holding crew hostage, it is for money. americans hijacked off of the somali coast were killed. negotiations were under way when gunfire rang out on the boat. >> scott and jean adam from california have been on a 10- year around the world that voyage. their two passengers were also killed. their 58-foot yacht was hijacked by pirates.

it was trailed by the u.s. navy. it said that negotiations were underway for the hostages released. they said that the pirates shot first, a rocket-propelled grenade. >> gunfire rang out inside the cabin. several pirates moved up to the deck with their hands in the air in surrender. u.s. forces moved in. as they responded to the gun fire, u.s. sailors discovered that all four hostages have been shot by their captors. >> they said that lives were callously lost aboard the yacht. >> we would like to send our condolences to the other families. it is very important that they know that they are in our hearts and in our prayers'. we are distraught and devastated over this news this morning.

this incident will reenergize debate over the use of force on pirates holding hostages. two years ago, the navy successfully rescued the captain of a vessel held hostage by pirates. one of the pirates was sentenced to 33 years in prison. dozens of international warships, hijackings have increased. some reports that 50 vessels are being held by somali pirates along with more than 800 crew. >> let's bring you some of the other news. tens of thousands of people have marched to the capital of bahrain. it is one of the biggest protests yet in the campaign for democracy. for the first time in 30 years, at two iranian naval ships have traveled to the suez canal.

egypt's transition government granted them permission. last month's attack on moscow airport was a grim lesson. russian officials are trying to work out how to tighten security for the winter olympics. the games are going to be in russia's far south. he is going to see what is at stake. >> russia's olympic games may be three years to buy. they have already begun testing the track and tightening security. islamic militants have warned russia out that this will be a year of blood and tears. a simple testament has become a major police operation. at the top of the mountain, we found this police colonel checking if his men were on their guard. the biggest concern is security.

these olympics will be taking place on the doorstep of russia's most volatile region, the north caucuses. they have been told that terrorists are planning to attack the games. >> this is why russians are worried. a suicide bomber blew him up at a moscow airport, killing 36 people. they believe that the attack was linked to end of the miss insurgency. the suicide bomber came from a village. chechnya is also close and pakistan. there were two suicide bombings here last week. >> of these acts of terror have an international connection. al qaeda is involved. our secret services have uncovered plans for more of that. we expect terrorist activity to increase the closer that we get.

>> at the olympic park, they have taken the buys from london 2012 on how to secure the site. each driving in here is checked by hand and then by machine to make sure that no guns or explosives are smuggled through. there is tighter security at the airport, too. for everybody entering the building. >> no security in this world right now offers 100% protection. this has been proven in israel and the united states and europe. they are going to do this to the appropriate level. >> hosting the winter games means a lot to brush up. the challenge now is to prevent conflict in the caucasus to extend to the electric -- olympic slopes.

>> a picture of what is called pan the diplomacy. they arrived in japan. they arrive late at night. >> even the plane is painted appropriately for the occasion. japan has been a waiting the arrival of the pan does since they were promised by china a -- pandas since they were promised by china in 2008. they arrived at the tokyo zoo. crowds of reporters camped out to see them, even though it was the middle of the night. the panda enclosure have been renovated at a cost of $1 million. >> there are only about 1600 pandas in the wild right now.

us taking care of two of them are -- is us try to keep them from becoming extinct. >> they are a male and female pair. they are not a guest. japan is renting them for $930,000 a year. they hope that this will improve relations between japan and china. now in japan, the pandas need time to acclimatize. they were hoping for a major bid -- a boost in business numbers which have risen by half a billion a year since the last panda died. >> that news coming in reported by a news agency from christ church in new zealand. they have agreed and found a pocket of 15 survivors.

briefly back to libya. our correspondent have confirmed that virtually all of the east of the country is now under opposition control. much more for you on bbc.com. >> see the news unfold. at the top stories from around the globe. click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the expert reporting on line. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, the 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 >> ifill: good evening. i'm gwen ifill. embattled libyan leader moammar gadhafi refused to step down today, saying in a televised address he would "die a martyr" rather than leave the country. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, we have the latest on the bloody revolt gripping the north african country. >> ifill: then we look at the death of four americans, hijacked by somali pirates. >> brown: judy woodruff talks to marcia coyle about a supreme court case that began with a jilted wife, and now raises important tenth amendment