>> 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. mcarthur found dafplgse and union bank. -- 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." >> fear and chaos as he leaves office, president mubarak gives his first interview since egypt's decent into turmoil. the battle for kai row. at least eight people have been killed and hundreds injured after pro-democracy protesters clash with mubarak's supporters. >> we're looking for america's president. >> and fleeing the country, tourists and egyptian nationals head to the airport. welcome to "bbc news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. coming up later, public demonstrations across the region increase the appetite for change in yemen.

>> in the first interview since protests began more than a week ago, the egyptian president hosni mubarak has said he would step down now if weren't for fear of chaos if he did so. he told abc news he would step aside when his term in office is up. president mubarak also said he would never run away from egypt and that he would die on egyptian soil. jeremy reports on the day's events. >> it's been a day of barricades, blood, and stones. the protesters have organized themselves, making shields out of scrap metal. and collecting ammunition. tons of rebel flinging out of the supporters.

she's saying, mubarak destroyed egypt. look what he's doing to us. he should just leave. it's been a week and a half of protest, and a day and a night of violence, exhaustion, and pain. before all this, this man was building a business. >> he has just arrived from his job as a doctor in london. >> mubarak is an egyptian, and i think at some point he will realize that we all want democracy. so the people have said the word. >> the battle of the square and

the stones intensified in the afternoon. they broke out and rushed the supporters of the president, driving them back. some panicked, retreating back across the nile. others who weren't fast enough were grabbed and dragged back into that require square. -- into tahrir square. the protesters believe they're being infiltrated by government spies. anyone suspicious gets a rough ride. just kill me, this one said. as they tried to get his identity. egyptians are learning how to hate each other. from time to time, the army tried warning shots to separate the two sides. but the military's presence here feels like a token, while the generals make their decisions.

they're still checking for infiltrators here and they've been putting up a hard fight, but the military is still the power in this land. and as things stand, it will decide which way egypt goes. it could be democracy, especially if these people can get millions more on to the streets and keep them there. or the generals might want to preserve the system that served them for well. -- very well. but the people's will is tearing into the old equations of power, and might change them if it continues to gather strength. here and across the middle east. arab autocrats were complacent until this year about their ability to repress and control their people. not anymore. >> we are trying to get our freedom. i have kids in good schools. i am coming from a decent background. i am not asking for food or for -- i'm asking to be a human here.

>> in the early evening, more dead and wounded in tahrir square. no one seems to have a good way to stop this getting more violent. jeremy bowen, "bbc news," cairo. >> president mubarak spoke to abc news. she gave us some details about the conversation. >> i asked him whether he would step down. he said that he would when his term was up, but that if he did so now, even though he said he would like to resign today, there would be chaos, and "the moslem brotherhood would take over." when i asked him about leaving office, he said, "i am fed up after 62 years, i've had enough, i want to go." when i asked him about the violence that's taken place against the protesters in liberation square yesterday and overnight, he said, i was very unhappy about yesterday. i do not want to see egyptians fighting each other.

>> the death toll is rising in cairo, as is the number of people being injured. a doctor from cairo university hospital is treating people in tahrir square and says the pro-government supporters are intent on creating violence. >> there are two groups. what happened yesterday, the people who came and attacked the protesters and tahrir square, these are not true supporters. these are not people who will stand for a point or have a right to call. these are simply -- in my opinion, are just thieves, missionaries, or thugs. they aren't people who are just protesting for a cause. but the major part of the egyptian society is those people who are for the change and want the change to occur. but they are against the protest

drive now. because this is affecting their lifestyle. everybody here wants to regain the stability, to regain normal life, to go to work every day. and this is increasing the number of people. these are the biggest problems right now. the people who are pro the change, but against the instability and consequently are against the protests happening right now in tahrir square. >> tell me, what's expected to happen on friday? more protests are planned, i understand. >> yes. well, we are all afraid of tomorrow. friday is a very frightening day for us. nobody can predict what will happen. for myself, i am very afraid that confrontations will happen between egyptian people. because what happened yesterday wasn't between egyptian people. it was between peaceful protests and thugs or thieves. there haven't been any confrontations between normal people. i am afraid the aggressiveness

and the electricity situation is increasing. i'm afraid that tomorrow this will lead to a confrontation between the pro protesters and the people who are still against mubarak but at the same time, they want more stable lifestyle. >> a short while ago, i spoke to a correspondent in washington, steve kingston. i asked him how the obama administration has reacted to president mubarak's position. >> it won't come as any surprise to the americans, they've seen hosni mubarak dig in, they've seen senior figures within his government in effect say back off to the americans, you don't understand our country. and hosni mubarak seems to be saying that if he goes now, there will be the decent into chaos and confrontation, which, of course, is the worst case scenario for the americans. they see a -- it very differently. president obama has publicly said that hosni mubarak must go now, but privately, that does appear to be the view of the administration, and at all

levels and in all contacts, they are trying to impress that view on hosni mubarak, that he must go soon. >> and what do you think will be said next in the united states? because we've had the comments. we haven't heard anything specifically from president obama yet. what happens next? >> it's just been announced that barack obama will take questions on this for the first time on friday after a meeting that he has with a visiting foreign leader. so that will be the first chance the journalists have had to question him. the administration has been accused of being behind the curve on egypt, and it's trying to get a little bit ahead of events or keep up with events if possible. they are already predicting that on friday, there may be further confrontations. p.j. crowley, the spokesperson for the state department, says we are bracing ourselves for the real prospects of further confrontations. and interestingly, mr. crowley as well suggesting i think for the first time publicly that there may be a link between the violence, the attacks on the

protesters in the square and the governing party. p.j. crowley, state department spokesman, i think we have traced it to the violence, to elements close to the government or the ruling party, although he added that he wasn't aware of how far up the chain those elements went. >> steve kingston speaking to me earlier. the british government's first evacuation flights have now arrived back in the u.k. some that have lived there for years now feel that egypt is just becoming too dangerous. our correspondent joined some of those heading to the airport in cairo. >> the marbled floor of a five-star hotel in cairo. nothing is normal here anymore. that's why these people have decided it's time to get out. the name check is done behind closed curtains.

will is a tense moment as we pass within a few hundred meters of tahrir square. for some pro government supporters, foreigners are now a target. as we head toward the airport, i ask a british egyptian why he's leaving. >> the last 10 days, i don't know what's happening. people go crazy. every day something has changed. you can't expect what will happen tomorrow. people with machine guns. i have a family. i can't risk my family. >> next to him is rob, a british engineer who has lived in egypt for four years. >> it was set on fire friday. the mall has been set on fire. we have no army, no police, nobody. the hotel staff have been protecting the hotel. an evening with weapons and the locals -- i just had to get out. >> the cairo airporting --

airport, we meet up with other buses. a thousand are -- a thousand britains are expected to have left egypt. these are british egyptians who own homes and businesses here. but after the violence of the last 48 hours, they decided they have no choice. and it's not just britains. this morning, the united states ordered all its remaining citizens to get to cairo airport as soon as possible. there is now a general exodus of foreigners from egypt. no one is sure when any of these people will be back. for egypt and its economy, this is a disaster. rupert winfield hayes, "bbc news," kai row. >> you can follow the developments at any time on our website. there you'll find a live web page with streaming video, constant updates from the regions by our correspondent,

and analysis of events as they unfold. you're watching "bbc news." still to come, a warning from scientists that severe draught in the amazon could have serious consequences for the global climate. in the past 24 hours, egyptian authorities have partially reauthorized access for the internet. it had been shut as demonstrators used social networking sites to coordinate their demonstrations. here is adam on the internet's vital role in recent events. >> supporters of hosni mubarak have now started to use the internet to send their own videos. shot on mobile phones, demonstrations in support of the embattled president. they're hitting back at pro-reform demonstrators who dominated the social media. they're also posting videos

attacking opposition figures like muhammud albaradi. >> most of the comments we get was anti-mubarak, and then when the internet was back in egypt, it was a lot of abnormal amount of comments supporting mubarak. >> text messages were sent out supporting the government line. the companies said they were forced to send them out under egyptian emergency legislation. voter phone group has protested to the authorities, but the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable. we have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator. social media sites on the internet like facebook and twitter have been used by thousands of people to overcome attempts to control and obstruct the flow of information in egypt, where popular unrest forced the departure of their

president ben ali. a new phenomenon, which authoritarian governments have found beyond their control. >> you're watching "bbc news." the headlines this hour. in his first interview since the protests began more than a week ago, president mubarak says he fears egypt would descend into chaos if he leaves office now. tens of thousands remain in central cairo after a day of clashes between government opponents and supporters of president mubarak. president mubarak has made a number of concessions since the uprising in egypt took hold, but he's been unable to placate protesters. john simpson considers what options remain and i should warn you that there are some rather

violent images in this report. >> 40 years at the top of egyptian politics, 30 of them as president. hosni mubarak has been america's rock solid asset in the middle east. he's been willing to coexist with israel. he's dealt firmly with islamic fundamentalism here in egypt. and now it all seems to be ending like this. his party headquarters trashed and burned. the main square of his capital occupied by people demanding that he goes. so what can he do next? up to now, he's offered compromise after compromise. he's promoted his closest ally omar suleiman to vice president to help ease his own way out of power. general sullsull is -- general suleiman is the one who appears on television now, not president mubarak, and makes the announcement. but the demonstrators still

insist that the president must go. so what will mr. mubarak do now? a senior reformist from his ruling party says the president will offer a new compromise in the next few days. >> i think people will understand that it is not a tactic to just let them go home, but it is a mindset change to achieve the results of their protests. >> so a referendum on a new constitution could take place within, what, 2 1/2 months? >> yeah. between 60 to 90 days. >> but the crowds in the square aren't chanting mubarak out in 90 days. they want him out right now. incidents of serious brutality like this one, where a security van from his ruling party, rammed its way through a group of demonstrators, have made people more determined than ever to get rid of him. does the president have any other options? well, there is, of course, the army, the bedrock of the regime.

will the troops move in to clear the square at this late stage? they had their chance when the gangs started moving in yesterday, but the soldiers sided with the demonstrators instead. the big danger is, of course, that if president mubarak simply goes away, he'll leave a huge power vacuum behind him. he's always been careful not to allow any other rival political parties to establish themselves here. what worries western countries is that free and democratic th islammist muslim brotherhood to take power here with the possibility at any rate they might turn egypt into some kind of iran. >> the muslim brotherhood are not thinking of establishing an islamic state unless the majority of the people are behind it. otherwise, it will be another source of islamism dictatorship.

>> but those are questions for the future. for now, the troubles in the streets have turned this city into an angry, frightened, violent place with no real law and order, and it's hard to think that things will be better tomorrow. john simpson, "bbc news," cairo. >> the protest movements that have shaken both egypt and tunisia have also reached yemen. tens of thousands have taken protest demanding an end to the rule of their president, who has been in power for more than three decades. >> these are president abdullah's supporters. they came here, they are caling for change. their slogans say yes to the fight of corruption, no to instability.

>> we are calling on them to see the killings that have napped our countries like egypt in tunisia. we call on them to be one with the yemeni people. >> the real rallies taking place here near the university, thousands of the president's opponents took to the streets are now calling for immediate change. opposition wants immediate and radical reform. >> we hate promises. it is too late. we have kept asking for reforms and we have been patient up until now. we have even been patient with hunger. but the authorities don't hear us. >> the square was full, but only a full people are left. they are staying here calling for immediate change. the opposition say this is only the beginning of their protests. yemen has a majority of views, who for the moment, have little

hope. >> in other news around the world, officials in peru have declared a red alert after an outbreak of fever in one province. medics say 11 people have been killed and more than 10,000 have been infected. the health minister says the strain of the virus is much stronger than anything his country has encountered before. dominic cain has this report. >> fighting an unseen killer. here the government has declared a red alert. they're trying to combat an outbreak of fever that has already cost several lives and left more than 10,000 people sick. officials say the particular strain of the virus here has surprised them both in terms of its type and its verrossty. -- verossty. it's the specific strain known as haitian-american.

we've never had this strain in peru before. it has a different medical profile than other strains. it's more aggressive and quickly evolving. our specialists have never seen such a strong attack, so fast and with so many serious cases. across the globe, the world health organization said up to 2.5 billion people are at risk, and the whoo says there are 50 million cases every year. the fever is now an epidemic in more than 100 countries. but there's no immediate sign of a vaccine. medic say it could be between five to 10 years away. peruvian health officials say they believe this current fast-moving outbreak came over from brazil and may be hard to deal with. there's a permanent risk that it will continue growing. that's why we need an alert. which corresponds to a disease like this one. they are issuing it to strengthen protection and control in the jungle provinces.

a vaccine is still years away. but any development can't come soon enough for people living in conditions like these. dominic cain, "bbc news." >> twice in five years, the world's biggest rain forest, the amazon, has been hit by a severe draught. it is warned that this may have implications for the global climate. the rain forest usually soaks up vast amounts of carbon dioxide, but this the draughts last year and in 2005, trees died in the billions and released the greenhouse gases instead. our environment correspondent picks up the story. >> this is how most of us picture the amazon. dense, lush, jungle. but very occasionally, the unthinkable happens and the rain forest gets no rain. in 2005, the rivers just dried up. vital waterways were closed. fish died in huge numbers. a draught this severe was meant to strike only once a century.

but then another hit last year. the river levels fell again. was this becoming a pattern? on this map, the red areas show where the rains failed in 2005, compared with a much larger area affected last year. this brazilian researcher witnessed the last draught. the drier the forest gets, the less carbon it can store. >> it's very sad to see what happens, and scientifically as well, because we see that we are losing our capacity to absorb the carbon from the atmosphere. >> new research in the journal of science has studied the last few draughts and their implications. in a typical year, the forest absorbs about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide, a very useful service. but in the 2005 draught, the dying trees released five billion tons of co-2, and last year, eight billion tons. now, to put that in context,

america remitted 5.4 billion tons burning fossil fuels in 2009, so the amazon really matters. but the researchers aren't sure about the cause. >> one possibility is this is just a natural climatic variation, and in the future, we might not see any more of these type of draughts. the alternative is that it's associated with high greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. it's relating to climate change. and if that's the case, then we will see these draughts increase in intensity and frequency into the future. >> this amazon farmer dug himself a well. you don't normally need one in a rain forest. but if there's change here, it could be very threatening. >> our main headlines at this hour. in his first interview since protests began more than a week ago, the egyptian president hosni mubarak has told the american broadcaster abc that he would like to step down, but he fears chaos in egypt if he does so now.

you're watching "bbc news." >> 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 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. mcarthur 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? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.