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>> and now, bbc world news. >> opposition threads stretched as the government fleshes out at american interference. >> give me time to have control, to stabilize the nation, and then. >> and muslim converts plead guilty to terrorism coul. the feliz level is the highest since 9/11. -- the threat level is the highest since 9/11. will come to the bc. coming up later for you -- welcome to bbc. coming up later for it, the italian prime minister.

>> demonstrations in egypt demanding an end to the hosni mubarak rule has intensified. they have controlled the streets that have the interest of parliament. the vice president has responded by hinting at martial law. they have rejected the american calls for details. >> almost by the hour, the symbols of state power are slipping away. this is the egyptian parliament, just around the corner from the center of the protests in tahrir square. earlier today, anti-garment protesters took over -- anti- government protesters took over the area.

the egyptian parliament has become the latest focus of the protests because the protesters say it was elected fraudulently and they use their positions to enrich themselves. they have come here in great numbers to prevent the parliament from functioning and the government from operating normally as well. some of the demonstrators have mobile phones and the protesters moved off the street. others stood outside celebrating the demise of the hated institution. >> they are full of drug dealers, full of ignorance, full of people with money, businessmen. >> it is a huge puzzle of corruption. the king of the puzzle is hosni mubarak. >> there were more demonstrations in alexandria today. they torched the governor's office and his car.

another very were in development for the government is the spread of strikes. some suez canal workers walked out although the canal is still andopen. they're calling for better pay and conditions. by contrast, the quietest state 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, many are wondering what the vice- president man when he considered a coup.

>> the united states has urged the egyptian government to do more to meet the demands of protesters. robert gibbs again called for the lifting of the emergency laws and said that actions taken so far have not met the minimum demands of the people. >> i think it is clear that the egyptian government will have to take some real concrete steps in order to meet the threshold that the people of egypt require from their government. a lessor until that process takes hold, i think you will -- unless or until that process takes hold, i think you will see the pictures you see at of cairo and out of other cities in egypt. >> the prime minister has publicly rejected what he calls american attempts to put

their bent. >> when i heard it this morning, i was really amazed. right now, as we speak, we have 10,000 prisoners loosen the streets, out of jails that have been destroyed. how can you ask me to disband the emergency law while we are in difficulty. give me time. allow me to have control, to stabilize the nation, to stabilize the citizens, and then we would look into the issue. you have a country in transformation. what we are in right now, supposedly, we imagine ourselves in a boat amidst the nile,

moving from one bank to another. give us the time to go the current and see how we reach that point. >> human rights activists in egypt told the bbc that six -- that the sicker forces have been detaining more and more people over the past few weeks, including those who are treating the injured in tahrir square. >> still missing. still missing. >> the names of the disappeared, abducted by the state. on the list, according to this human rights organization, are four. >> there are bloggers, released in november for denouncing his president.

there is little information about where they are held. so far, it is brutal. the face of this -- in the face of this revolution, last year, another blogger was beaten by police and was left almost unrecognizable. there are reassurances from the government that things are changing. the evidence pointed different way. on thursday, after a meeting with the opposition, nasser masako was arrested on the street, beaten, and tied so tight that there wrists lead. blindfolded, there were left in the back of a truck all night, he claims. how long were you blindfolded for? >> 27 hours. >> within the barricades, there is safety in numbers. but out here, on the street, outside of the main demonstration, the leaders, the educators, even ordinary people who are attending the protests are being picked up.

intimidation is rife. human rights activists are compiling a growing list of people who have gone missing in just these past two weeks. >> there is a security, activists, we are talking about 72 in the last few days. usually, it is only four or six. >> and arts teacher and a father of two, off med was killed in tahrir square. his body was dumped in a morgue and left in a freezer for six days. it was an indictment to his brother of how little the protestors mean to the egyptian authorities. >> i wanted to see them and remember him one last time, resting peacefully. but when they lifted the freezer live, his face was blue. i could hardly tell it was him.

>> he is a hero to his brother and thousands of other who made a makeshift shrine to remind hiof them of what the stakes. -- of what is at stake. >> the homeless security secretary says that the terrorist attack is at its most heightened state since 9/11 parent secretary napolitano said that new tax with little or no warnings from islamist groups are inspired from al qaeda and from some already in the united states. an american man has pleaded guilty to plotting attacks in the united states. he is charged with conspiring to provide support to terrorists and to murder, kidnapping, and maine people. -- and mame people.

andrew no. explains how the u.s. suggest that the threat is developing. >> the americans are showing that this is more evidence of the kind of threat that they face here. what we heard today from the homeland security secretary, janet napolitano, was that the threat is much more within the borders of the u.s.. that is why the terror threat is at levels almost as high since 9/11. she said, also, that they are particularly concerned about the threats that are coming from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. that group is believed to be led war is one of the key figures with an american-born cleric.

partly because of the focus on osama bin laden and those associated with him who believed to be in the tribal areas of pakistan, they believe the americans -- the americans believe that that has allowed these other groups to rise to the forefront. it is a combination of threats inside u.s. borders, they are saying, and also those outside. but the irony here is that, before he was elected, president obama was suggesting that it was the policies of the predecessor, president bush, that helped make the u.s. a target. now have a situation where the obama administration is saying that, in fact, the u.s. is as much of a target as it was after 9/11. >> are the changes to securities since this heightened threat to? >> there is no word about increased security measures. since 9/11, there have been many, many changes in security.

that is all over the u.s., in terms of government buildings and security checks that they have to go through. that is likely to continue. >> a colombian hostage released after 19 months of captivity has been reunited with his family. a local politician was handed over to a secret jungle location. he's one of five hostages that rebels promised to free this week as a gesture of peace to the colombian government. how significant the gesture was by far and if the colombian government will take it seriously? >> there was a lot of maneuvering going on. the farc have been badly hit over the last eight years or nine years. the u.s. peace process we had was in 1992.

they want to gain some political traction. they are hoping they can trust the government into peace talks. -- can trump the government into peace talks. marcos vacera and the release of more hostages by the weekend is certainly a move in the right direction and will work as a confidence-building measure. >> they are estimated to be holding about 20 hostages. do we know of the other hostages, the four of them that will be released? >> the other four are members of the security forces who have been captured by the guerrillas during various operations. the release today of mr. vacero, he is the only politician in the group. the others, at least 10 or perhaps a bit more, they are, again, mostly members of the

security forces. the guerrillas had in the past wanted to exchange them for their comrades held in prison. no government agreed to that. they realize that the hostages had become a physical and a political liability and they are hoping that, with these releases, they may be able to prompt the government to taking them more seriously politically and perhaps even sitting down and talking to them. >> you are watching bbc news. refugees in the united states are thinking about going home. three bombs have exploded in the northern iraqi region of the fakuk. two policemen are believed to be among the dead.

no group has yet claimed responsibility for this new wave of attacks [. sirens] -- of attacks. [sirens] >> police were racing to assist and then -- [the explosion] [gunfire] >> amazingly, the stunned cameramen stumbles to his seat and gives filming. there were three bombs in total, six dead, and 30 wounded. this is what they experienced somewhere in iraq everyday. often, it is worse. kirkuk's immense oil fields

makes it a disputed area in iraq. u.s. troops helped to keep the balance, but there will be gone by the end of this year nowhere else will the challenge to iraq's forces be greater. but today in kirkuk, as so often, they were the target. security in these conditions is very hard to build. >> you are watching bbc news. opposition demonstration is spreading in cairo. the egyptian foreign minister has criticized washington for the call to lift the emergency rules. the u.s. securithomeland

security secretary says that the threat of a taxes as high as 9/11. thousands of protesters have camped out for the night. thank you for speaking to us. describe the situation there. >> it is quiet at the moment. a lot of people are riding on the sides -- are lying on the sides of the streets, either sleeping or eating. it is pretty calm at the moment. >> there are some rumors that there may be clashes later in the evening. >> there were some rumors, i would say three hours or four hours ago. people gathered up by the main entrance of the street. but nothing happened.

fortunately, nobody came. i do not think that anybody would like to see any blood shed any more. >> who with the clashes between? >> when i heard here in the street was that it was groups of malls like the ones who attacked tahrir square last wednesday. >> tell me what you hope to get out of this process. what does this mean to you? >> this symbolizes so much, i think, for myself and my generation, for my country, because what we're hoping for is basically a the removal of the regime. that includes not just the head of the regime, but also their allies and all of the people that allied that regime.

we hope not to judge remove the regime, but also kind of putting in a new regime, new people that would be shining and putting in more positive action, positive change in our country. >> how committed are you to stick with these protests? how much longer are you able to stand firm? >> as long as it takes. >> thank you very much for speaking to me this evening. >> no problem. bye-bye. >> the italian prime minister has condemned allegations that he paid for sex with a 17-year- old girl and then used his position to cover it up. he denies any wrongdoing. so does the young woman in question. >> he has come one step closer to being put on trial.

today, in rum, the 74-year-old prime minister used a press conference for this. >> it is just an embarrassment, disgusting and shameful. i do not know who will pay. no one will pay. in the income the states will pay because we know the magistrates do not taken any responsibility for matters that need to be changed. we will change it. >> this is the woman at the center of the scandal. she is noon -- she is known as ruby the heart stealer. he denies having sex with her and denies calling the police to get her released from custody on an unrelated theft charge. they say they have enough evidence to convict the prime minister on both counts. he is a veteran of italy's court system, having faced dozens of trials on fraud and corruption charges. never has he had to answer

before the courts on allegations of underage sex or abuse of power. that takes him and the country into new territory. we will know in the next week or so whether the judges to indict him and put him on trial. if convicted, the prime minister faces up to 15 years in jail. that is why the legal and political stakes are so high. >> authority's say that they suspect somali pirates have captured a u.s.-bound tanker carrying crude oil. the hijacking is one of the biggest in the area so far. just yesterday, an italian tanker was snatched, reenforcing industry fears that piracy is spinning out of control. citizens in syria can now

access networking sites. they were blocked three years ago. some foreign media websites still seem to be inaccessible. the head of the world's largest mobile phone maker, nokia, has offered a bleak picture appeared they look -- bleak picture. the world's newest nation is expected to be added to the map officially in early july. right now, the preparations are already under way. in the united states, many of those who were forced to flee their native land onlooking to pay -- to play a part. -- are looking to play a part. >> when he was 6, he was in a refugee camp in ethiopia from southern sudan, he fled from his

village. he became a lost boy. it was a group of sudanese boys taken to live in the u.s. its people have now voted for independence, to create the world's newest nation. >> what does it mean to you to have a new country? >> it means that my father did not die for nothing. >> son graduated from college in michigan. he got his master's. there is a map of his new nation on his wall. that is where he plans to go. 20 years on, he wants to help his new country. >> we have education. i think that one of the things that americans do very well is to help grow people. i have grown as a person, as an educator. i have the responsibility to go back home and help because there is nothing there. >> he manages construction projects in virginia. he, too, plans to go back to

help build a new nation. >> the sense of commitment to rebuilding our country and working hard, respecting innovation and respecting young people coming up with new ideas, those are all things that made america great and we hope that we can replicate that in sudan. >> in this building behind me is the south sudanese mission could is a defacto embassy in the heart of washington, d.c. commission thinks that around 40,000 to 60,000 sudanese people are living in the united states. they want as many of them as possible to take their knowledge and expertise back home. >> congratulations. >> ensite, there is all of the optimism and celebration you expect. -- >> inside, there is all of the optimism and celebration you expect. but it is a place where the politics is unknown. they fear they could be seen as foreigners. >> there will be competition for

resources. that is when the government has to step been in order to provide, otherwise you will have the issues of food security and the issues of jobs, people competing with jobs, and also health care. so there will be some tension. >> the skills that they have can help southern sudan. those who have built in the u.s. are willing to give up their jobs here for a country that have been a part of four years. >> the flag for the new nation of south sudan. >> the u.s. congressmen -- the congresswoman has recovered enough to speak after being shot in the head pin gabrielle giffords made a request on monday -- in the head. gabrielle giffords made it request on monday. you are watching bbc news.

>> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe. click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth expert news online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., 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? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles. by kcet los angeles.