>> 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 global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news."

>> an earthquake measuring 6.3 struck a new zealand city. there are reports of people trapped inside the building. as the libyan leader, mali -- muammar gaddafi says he is still in tripoli. hundreds of civilians have been affected in the capital as support grows for the opposition. welcome to "bbc world news," cast on pbs in america and around the globe. -- broadcast on pbs in america. coming up, the british prime minister is the first international leader to arrive in each year -- arrived in egypt following the fall of president mubarak.

>> police have said there have been multiple fatalities in new zealand after an earthquake with a magnitude 6.3 struck nearly -- near the city of christchurch. buildings have collapsed and it is feared a number of people could still be trapped in the building. these are the people that have come in the last hour. a report said there has been widespread damage with reports of the collapse of a church and concrete paving by 1 meter. a bridge reported to have been made impassable by rising water. our correspondent is here. what more can you tell us? >> this was a very violent earthquake. it is 6.3 on the richter scale

which is less than the one day experience in september, but it was much closer to the surface and much more violent. people are talking about 28 -- 830 seconds to 1 minute earthquake. many of the historic buildings in the center have been reduced to rubble. so too more worrying are the modern buildings that would have been built to withstand these kind of earthquakes, but it is a measure of the damage this earthquake has done that even some modern buildings have collapsed like dominoes. we are seeing pictures of people being pulled from the rubble, people who have sat -- people who have sought refuge on roofs. there have been multiple fatalities. there are reports at least 150 people are being treated in one

hospital, presumably because they are concerned about the structure of the hospital and ambulances and casualties being driven to the hospital by policemen in their cars because there are not enough ambulances. >> we can see those pictures and the widespread damage is clear. those buildings completely toppling on top of themselves with people desperate walking around the city center. christchurch was in the midst of rebuilding itself following an earthquake that struck in september. no fatalities there but it is feared this may have struck in the core of the city. >> that was the remarkable thing about the earthquake in september. there was a lot of structural damage but it happened early on saturday morning. that is probably why there were

no fatalities through that earthquake. christ church has had aftershocks and has been going through this process of rebuilding. it has only been now that some buildings were getting back on their feet. this was a terrible blow to a city that has already suffered a lot. there are two crucial differences between this earthquake and the last. even though it is not a big magnitude, it is close to the surface which has made the shaking far more violent. this also happened on a tuesday morning in the midst of when people were at work and children at school. that earthquake in september happened on a saturday morning, not so many people were out at the streets. for that reason, there is the confirmation there have been multiple fatalities. the fear is that death toll could be significant. >> i wanted to ask you a quick

question regarding the of recovery plan for the city that is used to suffering earthquakes of this kind. is there an evacuation plan in place? >> they are telling people to get out of the city center. there is a problem with the water mains which is causing flooding. the problem is these structures which are seriously unstable. it was also a problem of isolated fires breaking out in parts of the city. people are being told to get out of the city. the prime minister is on his way from wellington, where they felt the earthquake, which gives an indication of its power. the mayor saying it is a confusing situation. >> thank you very much. our correspondent in sydney. let's speak to a television

reporter for the television news sea-land station -- television new zealand station. many of your colleagues in the christ church newsroom. what more can you tell us? >> as far as i understand, the newsroom has been evacuated. communication is extremely difficult. there is a team trying to get to them. we are going to be using a charter plane. we will probably be landing somewhere outside of christchurch. >> have you spoken to your colleagues there? did they feel the earthquake? >> everyone i have spoken to says you can hear the shot in their voice. i was down for the first earthquake and it sounded so much more significant. i just got a text from a friend who works in a hospital and they were trapped. now they got out of there and are looking after people, but

what you are saying is there are hundreds potentially dead. that is different from news reports at the moment. i think we are looking at a completely different scenario than the first earthquake. >> it does seem so since speaking to our colleague in sydney. he is saying this is a more serious situation given the fact that it hit the core of the city center at rush hour. >> that was one of the saving graces of last time. it was in the early morning hours. this happened in the middle of the day. the pictures we have seen are really terrific. it looks like a war zone. there is rubble everywhere. two buses are under rubble. you can just imagine what is happening. i understand the hospital has been evacuated, so i was listening [unintelligible]

people were saying water is pouring through the city and sewage. people saying houses are nothing like the first earthquake. everything inside them is destroyed. >> you were there in september when the earthquake took place and struck 7.2 on the richter scale. how did the city managed to cope with the effects of that given the fact there were no fatalities? >> they reacted incredibly strongly. we had a great leader during that time, but we are talking about a different scenario here. the hospital was not evacuated this time. we are talking about multiple injuries and potentially multiple deaths. it will be a new situation this one. >> we should point out to our viewers we are -- christ church

has been evacuated. we are getting reports power and telephone lines have been knocked out and flooding in the streets as well. >> i am hearing reports of that. i have not spoken to anyone directly. i cannot even get a phone call at the moment. the texts that are coming out are pretty horrific. one from my friend was saying there are potentially hundreds dead. she was at her office and four window cleaners from four stories high -- i think there will be a lot more to come on this. >> thank you for now. a reporter for television news zealand. the television stations and radio stations are very much the source of the information's for many of the locals wanted to

find out this information. one of these reports has been asking people about their experiences following the aftermath of the earthquake. >> i cannot get to [unintelligible] it is really scary. we just cannot get there. we tried to go that way and it was crazy. things are getting so crazy. >> very hard just to get around a block. >> it is. people have been really good. you can see people just directing traffic and trying to make people go the other way. everyone seems to know things are ok. >> and there is no text communication? >> no, i can i get ahold of anybody. >> i have never been in an

earthquake. we could not get out. the doors collapsed. we had to smash the window out and then som box van and we slid down and jumped onto the box man. >> it is surreal. it is like a dream. do you know what i mean? it is surreal. i am so saddened to hear about that. it is such an amazing place. the church on the corner here gone as well. and this building tipped over there. >> buildings that have survived the previous earthquakes and the big one in september are trashed. >> what buildings have you seen? >> i think a big one is probably the cathedral. that is completely gone.

the other thing is there is a lot of injuries out there. people being bandaged on this side of the road. the other thing we had was aftershocks. people just having to deal with it. >> how are you coping? >> a bit of a shock. >> where were you at the time? >> we were at work at the time just in our office on the second floor. and that building had been fine previously but there is a lot of damage. fortunately we managed to get everybody out of the building. one thing i did notice is [unintelligible] lots of people are helping everybody out. >> let's bring you a reminders of our breaking news.

as you can see on your screen, a 6.3 earthquake has hit the new zealand city of christchurch for the second time in six months. in this instance, multiple deaths and widespread destruction. there are pictures coming into us. as you can see, much of the pavement has been lifted by the earthquake as it struck at the prime hours of the lunchtime rush hour. and reports we are getting that pipes had burst. splits causing flooding in the streets and electricity and telephone lines are down. let's get more on this situation and go across to wellington where i am joined by a member of parliament for christ's church. welcome to "bbc world news." i understand you are in the process of trying to make your

way back to christchurch. what can you tell us about the situation? >> they situation is pretty dismal. it is clear we have had some fatalities resulting from this shock this afternoon. the situation is pretty serious. obviously a lot of buildings have come down. cars been crushed. most of us are trying to get back to christchurch right now. we are facing delays because air traffic control has closed. >> can i ask where you heard about the fatalities? worthies from police reports we have been broadcasting? >> no, i understand there have been a couple of bodies already at the hospital. i am not yet on the ground and have not seen it, but i think

there will be an expectation there are fatalities just looking at the scale of the damage and the time of day. the huge earthquake we had in september happened early in the morning. this happened at 1:00 for the afternoon. this city was full. whereas the earlier 90% of people were home in bed. >> you are able to speak to us on the phone in wellington but the telephone lines have been brought down. are you having any communication with people in this city? >> yes, my first point of call was to try to check with my staff was ok. the whole front of my office building has fallen off but my staff mercifully was able to escape through. we have just been told-new zealand there has been another earthquake in christchurch so

any prospect of returning will be put on hold. there have been a swarm of earthquakes happening over the last two hours. whether that is compounding the damage i cannot say, but my wife has been trying to drive my daughter to safety but the whole city is gridlock over people trying to be with their loved ones. >> thank you very much for your time. a member of parliament for christchurch currently in wellington on his way back to christchurch. we will keep you updated on that developing story. you are watching "bbc world news." stay with us. morocco says five bodies had been found in the banks following demonstrations on sunday. the government says the protests were peaceful but there has been damaged in some towns.

>> here on amateur video is the evidence morocco's day of protest was not as peaceful as first thought. a young protester on the streets nearly avoids a police van it for more stone-throwing youths appear. in this mobile phone video, a building burns while a large group of protesters looks on. barack obama -- morocco was likely to avoid the compensation -- confrontation sweeping the area. others were calling for reform and not revolution. no one says they want the king to be overthrown but they do want his power is reduced. it is important not to exaggerate the extent that the violence, but the moroccan

interior ministry published its own figures giving an overview. they say 33 public buildings and 24 banks were attacked, including one in this city which was causing the deaths of five people. the limited liberal reforms of recent years may show morocco as different. and what appears to be a response to the protests, the king promised reforms would go further. morocco has a young population just as angry about inequality and lack of jobs. >> you are watching "bbc world news." an earthquake measuring 6.3 has

rocked christchurch. there are reports of people trapped in many buildings. the libyan leader muammar gaddafi has appeared on television signaling his defiance in the face of a mounting revolt against his ruel. -- against his rule. state television says the remarks came in a live broadcast from his home in the capital. >> libyan state tv on monday night. traditionally it little more than a place for muammar gaddafi's regime to its out propaganda, but this time their message was different. the man made a curious appearance, keen to deny rumors he had left tripoli in the wake

of the violence that has beset his country. >> i was talking to young people tonight at the -- but i had to come here to prove i am in tripoli and to refute the rumors made by those. >> the reference to venezuela was in response to a rumor which came to the attention of western governments that mr. gaddafi was considered fleeing to the protection of president hugo chavez. >> there was a similar denial on venezuelan it is -- on venezuelan tv. muammar gaddafi made no reference to the unrest in his country, nor to the suggestions that hundreds of people have been killed in clashes with his government forces. >> let's bring you some breaking

news on the situation in libya. we have heard from a news agency reported that the un security council will meet on tuesday to discuss the situation in libya. we heard from the u.s. secretary general ban ki-moon saying he was outraged at reports the authorities had been firing at protesters from military aircraft and this would constitute a serious violation of humanitarian law. that is confirmation of what our correspondent told us one hour ago, that they will go ahead with an official meeting of security council members. just a sideline, the entire registration abandoned the regime in condemnation of the violence. within the last 12 hours the country did see a further escalation in violence. there are reports of killings in

tripoli and jet fighters attacking a police station. a second city seems to be under opposition control. and at the un, the diplomat to libya accused gaddafi of genocide. journalists have been banned from reporting but we have a correspondent from the capital. she sent this report. >> libya is burning. the fire has spread. news would have been unthinkable one week ago is being reported and smuggled across the internet. these are the latest images. apparently from the capitol itself for a regime that has -- this is the most serious challenge it has ever faced. senior diplomats have deflected and today two libyan fighter

pilots with the order to bomb protesters. the authorities say one of them has requested political asylum. libyans are finding their voice even if they are still too afraid to be identified. >> i have a friend. she is 20 but she has only been a bride less than a month. her husband got shot and died. my cousin also his young boy had four bullets. we don't know what to do. >> libya has rarely been excepting to outside pressure -- blaming drug addicts and even the bbc for what is happening. >> we will agree on a new lydia, 8 truth libya. either this or libyans be ready

for a civil war. forget gas coming forget these resources. get ready for chaos. >> supporters have also been out on the streets waving the green national flag, but the long as leader [unintelligible] and a regime marked by -- with reports many influential tribal leaders have sided with the opposition. they thought of the country now appears to be in the hands of the protesters. this is in the east where muammar gaddafi's rise to power began and where it could end. 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 mourning security forces will storm the dams of terror and sabotage.

another night of clashes in the deaths seems unavoidable. >> you are watching "bbc world news." let's bring you the latest on the situation in new zealand where an earthquake has struck the southern city of christchurch. pictures showing some distressing scenes as buildings have collapsed. the water has believed to be flooding some of the areas of christ church with many people wondering about having finished lunch or on a working day -- the earthquake did strike at the heart of rush-hour in lunchtime. we are told unconfirmed that there may be reports of multiple fatalities. the prime minister told parliament's are too sketchy for details to be confirmed, but the incident does look serious. that is the latest update for you. stay with us. more to come.

>> 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. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. presented by kcet los angeles.