>> 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 goebel expertise to work for a

wide range of companies. whacks with you do for you? >> and now, "world news." >> control taken of bahrain's capital as the u.s. calls for restraint. some reports say 10 people are killed in clashes. a former cargo handler is jailed for life for plotting to blow up new york's j.f.k. airport. welcome to "bbc world news." coming up later in the program, the hunterers hunt. japan canceled its annual whale hunt and the tragic life of anna nicole smith brought to the stage at an unlikely london venue.

a brutal crackdown has silenced anti-governor -- government protests in the tiny country of bahrain. four people died and more than 200 injured when police broke up the main protest catcher. the united states has urged bahrain to show restraint and called for meaningful reform in the kingdom. we have a report from the capital. >> without warning, the police came. tear gas, rubber bullets and even live rounds. the tools to end a protest that had been peaceful. they moved through the crowds spreading fear and panic. by the time they'd finished, hundreds were injured, at least three dead. they'd hope to copy egypt's

revolution, but this is what they got -- bloodshed and tears. hundreds converged on the hospital to mourn their losses, in the only safe place left for them to gather. >> in the last few minutes we believe another body has been brought to the hospital. these are the people who were driven out in the middle of the night. you can see they're angry and have made this their temporary base. >> the hospital morgue is a gruesome testimony to what happened. the full picture too shocking to reveal, but clear evidence of the ammunition used against the protesters. >> he was sleeping. they shot him when he was asleep. this man and this man. that man, he wanted to speak with the police, police, don't shoot. they shoot him. see what they do. put the camera on his head.

let all the people in the world see what they are doing. no more country. >> the wards are full of the injured, including a surgeon beaten while trying to help others, now a patient in his own hospital. >> they start to beat me with sticks, everything. they were everywhere and they are saying get up. i will kill you. >> tonight, gulf ministers held an emergency meeting, a reflection of their fear that that crisis could ignite the region. just over 24 hours after the king apologized for the violence, how can you justify what is taking place in your country? >> the country was working on the brink of an abyss. it was a very important step that had to happen and that, unfortunately, led to deaths.

>> this has been a long, difficult day for the country. and with more demonstrations being talked about, the pain and bloodshed may not be over yet. >> well, we can speak to one of the protesters in bahrain. he was at the hospital on thursday filming footage of the protests and now is on his way to the funeral of one who was killed in the demonstrations on friday. do you know exactly how issa died? >> i haven't seen, obviously, but from what i heard and from footage i've seen, they put his hands through a cuff and police came to him and he emptied his bullet in his forehead and footage clearly states that. you can see a big, big hole in

his forehead. i don't think i've seen anything in my life -- i don't know how his family is going to see that. i believe they were traveling for pilgrimage to saudi arabia and as soon as they heard about the news they came back and -- i'm sure i'm going to assume that their family as well needs to see the footage because i don't think any human would do that. any human can't do that. i don't know if they have hearts anyway. >> what do you think might happen after the funeral, said? because there's going to be a lot of emotion and presumably anger as well. >> people here are peaceful. as for police, nothing is going

to happen. nobody is going to go anything. -- do anything. they're going to start shooting and chant for the fall of the regime, yeah, but they're not going to break anything. they're not going to do anything. they're going to protest marching from his house, which is a mile from his origin village, to the graveyard. they're going to march there. that's what i would expect. as for police to be present there, i can tell you they're going to be violent. there are going to be clashes. i'm expecting nothing, just like the second martyr who fell down, appearing in the first funeral of the first martyr.

nothing happened because no police were present there. that's clearly, that's our message. nothing will happen. >> finally, briefly, we're watching the pictures that you have taken. are you worried that you're going do get into trouble for telling the world what you're seeing? >> they know my name. if they know my visa, definitely they would. they would take me -- they would chase me. i'm out of my job. i might lose my life, even. i don't know. i really don't know. bahrain is heading into a really, really dark tunnel at the moment. we need made an exit for this. >> said, thank you very much indeed for your time. well, there have been reports

of several deaths during violence delashes -- clashes between demonstrators and security forces in yemen and libya. in lib ya, 10 bodies have been brought to their hospital. here's a world affairs correspondent. >> fire set to the town of lipia and several other towns. demonstrators spread following the call for a day of rage. >> it is against the regime. people who want to demonstrate peacefully make excessive demands. some of them are far-fetched, i would say. this is too early, too optimistic, but there is a trend of anti-qaddafi feeling.

>> mom or qaddafi has ruled libya for more than 30 years. he is the longest serving arab leader and controls all the leaders of power. his supporters have a-- reacted by mounting their own demonstrations. but in the wave of anger, his motive is now being questioned. there have been demonstrations in algeria, jordan, aaron, and yemen, and authorities have responded with a mixture of promised reforms and strict clampdowns on protesters. yemen has seen some of the most violent protests of the past week. gangs of angry united states took to the streets to have capital, provoking a pitched battle between pro-government

loyalists and people who say they want a change of leadership. the anti-government demonstrators have a simple message for the president. after more than 30 years in power, he must go. >> i want to send a message to the president. i want him to look at what has happened to this country and to those he sent to beat us. like hosni mubarak, i'm telling him he should step out. >> emboldened by unrest across the arab world, the protests are fueled by unemployment and corrupt government. the demonstrators and pressure on established rulers threatens to seriously debables -- destabilize the region where most of the world's oil is produced. the cost of oil as -- has climbed to a two-year high. the world is watching unfolding

events very nervously. >> in egypt, the authorities have arrested the interior minister ha beebe el-adly and two others on corruption charges. pro-democracy activists will be back on the streets of cairo on friday to celebrate their win over mubarak but also to demonstrate that there's more work to be done. earlier i asked whether the people trust the military. >> the military still has a few people who are extremely close to the mubarak regime, extremely close to the stories of corruption, extremely close to stories of oppressing people's rights, so there are still a bunch of people in the

ministry that we are very wary of, very untrustworthy of and we still wonder why the military hasn't taken a more active role in removing these people in -- from their current positions. >> the military general is supposed to be very close to the united states. he was recently on a visit to the pentagon. does that make you feel happy or completely the reverse? >> i don't know what to make of it. i know the military takes a lot of aid from the u.s. i hope that the military is not being 100% told what to do by the u.s. i don't think that's what's happening here. if the u.s. is simply advising, maybe to get freedom or support democracy, then their advice is well put. but i personally don't see a complication regarding that matter. >> the military has said that

they'll stay in power for six months or until election are held but whose timetable is it? who is going to organize is elections? >> this is what most of the protesters story -- tomorrow, that's one of the principal demands. we want a clear-cut timetable, one that is suitable to our demands. we still want more from the military. basically this past week, that was good week for us. to rest and sort of congratulate ourselves but still an early congratulations. the military has been vague on their timetable and we still need more things to happen. we need to see these things in a more visible way. >> this is "bbc news." still ahead, the tragic story of the playboy model anna nicole smith has debuted on the

london stage. >> the unrest in the middle east and north africa is continuing to put pressure on the price of oil. crude reached another 2 1/2 -year high on thursday. some predict the price may go even higher but experts say tension is unlike hi to spread to saudi arabia, which is the world's second largest producer of oil. >> if price is under relentless pressure again, not just because of the latest disturbs but because no one knows where trouble will bubble up next. knot africa and the middle east together account for roughly 1/3 of world production. >> libya is the eighth largest exporter in the world and bahrain with its close tries to saudi arabia, it's likely that the momentum in the market now

will push oil prices higher. >> the main worry relates to bahrain's sheer majority, unhappy with shiah rule. one savvy economist said supplies from the world east second largest producer are unlikely to be disrupted. >> in general the quality of life in saudi arabia is far different than the one you see in bahrain. there is no feeling that the shiah population is unfairly treated in saudi arabia. >> with bahrain, a major u.s. military base, the country will receive plenty of support from its western allies. the disparity suggests the price could tall if a -- fall again fairly quickly should

tensions ease. >> this is "bbc news." the headlines this how. security forces impose their control on bahrain's capital, the united states has excessed concern over the killing and wounding of opposition demonstrators. 10 people have been killed during demonstrators in libya's second city, following calls for a day of rage against the government. a former cargo handler convicting to have plotting to blow up fuel tanks at j.f.k. arnte in new york has been sentenced to life in prison. >> new york's j.f.k. airport, a busy international gateway to the united states. it was here, according to prosecutors, that russell and codefendant planned to use

explosives to blow up fuel tanks and underground pipes. 67-year-old defreitos, seen here in court, was said to have shot videos and taken photos of the airport, as well as studying security and planning escape routes. it was claimed he'd been overheard saying the whole of kennedy will go up in smoke. the two, originally from guyana, were both convicted last year. now he's been convicted to life in jail. >> i think 15 years would have been more than enough to punish him for what he did and what he talked about, and given his age, in effect, 15 years may very well have been a life sentence. but given all of the factors we talked about in court we don't believe his conduct merited a life sentence. >> two other men were charged

in the plot. one has been sent to prison for 15 years. the other is awaiting trial. >> japan has brought an early end to its whale hunting season in the antarctic. american anti-whale activists have been chasing the japanese fleet mother ship. commercial whaling was banned in 19 6 but japan does use a regulation permitting hunth for scientific research. let's speak to our correspondent in tokyo. if the environmentists have won does that mean that the japanese government has lost face? >> it's something of a climbdown for the japanese government. hunts have been suspended before, it happened last year. earlier in week the government said this year's hunt had been suspended as well. now they said they're going to be calling the whaling fleet back early.

the hunt is being canceled and it's the first time that it's happened. the reason the government says it's taking place is because of what they describe as harassment by the sea shepherd group. they've been presenting whale carcasses from being brought onboard to be process and the government said they could no longer guarantee the safety of the crews. >> i would just wonder how whale meat and eating it is regarded in japan nowadays. i know in china the basketball player yao ming has started a movement to discourage people eating shark. any movement regarding whale meat? >> no, there's not. the issues of the right or wrongs of the whaling itself is not debated here. as for the meat, most people have eaten it but very few

people eat it regularly. although there are whale meat restaurants here. even though most people don't regularly eat it, more people i think object to what they see is unjustified foreign interference into a japanese cultural tradition. >> thank you very much indeed. the life of the playboy model who married a millionaire then dried from an overdose is the real life story depicted by ana nicole. a work here in london. there will be plenty of interest in how successful it proves to be. >> big, blonde, and brassy. anna nicole has arrived at the royal opera house. >> ♪ >> it's the new opera from the

respected british exposer marc anthony turnage. he said his wife suggested her as a subjects, at which point he heard music. >> i immediately saw that anna nicole had a voice and i could see her sanging -- singing onstage. there are plenty of real life characters i couldn't see. i couldn't see david cameron, for instance, singing. >> smith was working in a houston strip club when she met this man, a fun-loving october gentlemen narron billionaire. they -- 80-year-old billionaire. they came to enjoy each other. she found fame and fortune did not bring happiness. the man behind the controversial production, jerry springer the opera has written

the words. did he see it as an opportunity to shock traditional opera goers? >> people confuse shock with surprise. the surprise is totally essential. i don't think it's a controversial thing because i think that's boring. >> i'm standing on part of the anna nicole set. it might look surreal but behind this commission lie as serious intent, and that's to bring a sense of urgency and excitement to this art form and this place that they say would be lost if they relied purely on the classic operas. >> there's more enthusiasm for new opera now than ever before. if the american opera takes it up, it's a feather in the royal opera house's hat. >> love it or loathe it, they

argue that public support is there to support risk taking, then their production has struck the right note. >> poles have just opened for a presidential and parliamentary elections. the two frontrunners for president, the incumbent, museveni, he's been in power for 25 years. also the doctor. he's described the election as far from far. but the president has warned against holding the kind of street protests which has been sweeping through north africa. will ross is our correspondent. according to mr. hues museveni it's a foregone conclusion he's already won. >> that's certainly the message he's putting out and his supporters are very confident too. he is seen by most analysts as the firm favorite.

he's been challenged twice before by his opponents and he's failed to defeat him. this time around he's talking the language of street prozests -- protests. the president has made it clear he wouldn't allow that kind of thing to happen. he would stop anybody from getting on the streets and the people would be locked up quickly. this is a polling station at the university. a bit slow to get underway. a group of party agents are behind me waiting for the electoral materials to turn up. i think it is going to be a close race. very important president museveni makes it in the first round. there are a number of opposition parties that could clamp it together if there were a runoff. >> the presentation of the opposition seems to be playing into the president's hands.

i believe we have lost that line to will and it doesn't look as if it's going to come back. a powerful eruption in space. the earth's atmosphere is being affected by the strongest flare-up by the sun in four years. these are pictures of the northern lights as seen from northern norway. the solar flares put gas partly sunny in the air, making them glow brightly. nasa has warned the eruption could disrupt erictary cal power grids over the coming days. the yoiggets has expressed concern over how the security forces in bahrain dealt with hundreds of demonstrators and reports from libya say thousands of protesters have been out in the streets of the country's second city. don't forget our website. it's got plenty of more details. this is "bbc news."

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