>> 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 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."

the >> defiance in libya, but president obama warns colonel gaddafi to pull back or face air strikes. final preparations for british jets waiting for orders to head to the mediterranean. welcome the bbc news broadcasting to our viewers in the u.k. and around the world. also on this program, japan's government admits failings and handling the nuclear crisis. we returned to the port where the force of the tsunami was caught on camera.

welcome once again. libya has defended the presence of the torch is near the rebel stronghold saying that the troops will not enter or attack the city. rebels have come under fire while for the west, there has also been fighting. reports of renewed fighting came as britain, france, the allied states and arab countries issued a joint ultimatum to libya oppose a leader. we begin the coverage from the libyan capital of tripoli. >> you cannot take the camera without attracting a crowd like this. this is the only point of view you can hear. an attack is treason. there is no uprising, only a

criminal enterprise by a few hundred gangsters. they are mystified that the united nations cannot see that. >> what about the united nations. >> i hate united nations. i hate french. i hate arabs. i only love libya and colo0nel g-- colonel gaddafi. >> the more isolated it becomes, the more intense the loyalty to gaddafi. libya alone against the world, proud, and independent. when they speak to the international community, they speak in quite different terms. >> in the only grounds the aircraft, and authorizes air strikes against troops alone.

like these on the frontline. the libyan government does not want that. in contrast to what it says to the libyans, it said this to the international community. >> libya has decided an immediate cease-fire. and the stoppage of military operations. >> they said his men were not coming. has he changed his mind? as the threat of force and that enough? president obama spelled out what the colonel would have to do to prove he is serious. >> pull them back. and establish water,

electricity, and gas supplies to all areas. humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach the people of libya. let me be clear. these terms are not negotiable. >> and resolution does not require his departure. it requires him to stop using violence. among the faithful, the enmity of the world only strengthens him. >> and the deputy foreign minister said that all military operations had ceased and claims that government troops were outside of the home, but they would not enter the city. they also invited germany and turkey -- the accused a ceasefire. >> [unintelligible]

the weaponry is heading toward this area. and those on the militia groups have fired at the group. in the shelling is continuous. the army is not taking any action against them. we want to abide with the decision to cease fire. >> he has told the bbc that he expects [unintelligible]

>> we have all the major participants in the operations and the diplomatic efforts. i think it would be a good moment to send the signal. the u.s., the u.k., and france has allowed the cease-fire. we have said the conditions. after the summit, and the coming hours, i think we will go to lodge a the military intervention. -- launch a military intervention. >> they continue to attack rebel forces despite the ceasefire. he is now back from where he has sent this report. >> what began as a rebellion sounds more like a war. across the scrub land, attacked

from the land, sea, and air. a fighter jet has been spotted. it is a graphic illustration of why a no-fly zone is needed. we have been listening to the sound of what appears to be a pretty brutal battle between the two sides. we can't go any further down this road. you can hear the sound of rockets and artillery landing. we believe the frontline is slightly closer. it is difficult to know what the tactics of the colonel hart, but they seem to be applying as much pressure as the no-fly zone is put into action. the is impossible to tell how many have died here. in a conflict that is turning ordinary men and the warriors. -- into warriors.

we met a musician that has taken up arms with the rebels. he sings of freedom for libya. gosh we only -- >> we only have guns. he has tanks and heavy weapons. >> take a look at what the conflict is doing. reduced to tears, and it is powerless to stop. they have just escaped. >> men, women, and children have been killed. the trauma is simply too much. to the surprise, the people did not believe the promise of a ceasefire. there are even reports that government troops are advancing. their struggle has received a

huge boost, but they know the battle for libya is far from over. bbc news. >> our correspondent in washington, it is the strongest so far. >> a very strong promise of action. we're already hearing from the officials here and officials of the national security council. there seems to be a very strong belief that he has already violated the cease-fire. and he continues to move there, there has been no move to

liberate our move out of other cities. the rhetoric is very strong indeed. we have not heard any indication of what it will all again. and once again, judging by president obama's statement, the united states is very careful and wants to seen as a partner of coalition, not just the europeans but the arab league that initiated this resolution. there will leave -- they will be proceeding very carefully. >> to restrict that aims to protectionist civilians that the

americans could be putting themselves in for a very long operation? say gaddafi stops. he could take reprisal months down the line. >> absolutely. this has been a concern here. this is something that people are talking about. it is an extremely broad resolution, it will allow the coalition to employ various means depending on the necessity. it is an open ended the operation. there is no deadline to it. there has been plenty of discussion in the american media today. how long are we going to be protecting it? that is very much a concern. i think people will probably wait to see more details than

what will come out tomorrow. certainly, a lot of talk about a lack of clarity of the un resolution. there is a mixed message as well because the un resolution is designed to protect civilians. secretary clinton and president obama emphasized that today. secretary clinton said almost the opposite saying that the goal is to get rid of gaddafi. >> could be a case of this being the united nations making it explicit? the president feels i don't even need to say that. it is by one of my big allies? >> that may be the case. what is absolutely clear is that the u.s. is being very cautious. it wants to be tough, but it

doesn't want to be seen as playing a leading role. it may have to play the leading role because it will have to be involved in terms of the military had depending on what the operation will look like. the u.s., the strength of the arab uprising is the fact that they are home grown. the obama administration is very careful to keep it that way. they are very careful not to get a involved. there was really no comprehensive policy towards what is happening in the middle east right now. we have president obama being extremely tough on libya. on the other hand, we have terrible crack downs in yemen that are being completely overshadowed.

they will not get the same treatment that libya is getting. >> this is bbc news. still ahead, more anger as opposition activists are killed in clashes with police. the president of yemen has imposed a state of emergency after the killing of more than 40 people that are all taking part in a big anti-government demonstration. reports say sniper positions on rooftops started firing after having attended friday prayers. the u.s. and the european union has condemned the violence.

>> this makeshift field hospital, there has been a steady flow of protesters. most of them appear to have gunshot wounds. he has four to his legs. there are many more like him. according to eyewitnesses, gunfire broke out when security forces tried to stop protesters marching off to friday prayers. some say the large crowd was fired upon by snipers on rooftops. at some of them have been captured by protesters. this is during the month of protests against the president. leading about -- the president

declared a state of emergency. >> we have decided to announce a state of emergency today in yemen. we are imposing a curfew on armed men in all cities. they will take responsibility for maintaining public security. >> leaders in egypt and tunisia. in yemen, there appears to be a more hard-line response to the demonstrators, perhaps inspired by the demonstrations in libya. >> this is abc news, the headlines. president obama said the libyan leader must order his troops to halt their advance on rebel positions and pull back or face the prospect of air attacks. forces loyal to gaddafi are

attacking despite the statements that they were observing a cease-fire. the japanese say they could have reacted more quickly to last week's's hot nuclear disaster. at the damaged nuclear plant, there might have been something of a breakthrough. they had been able to reestablish the electricity supply. this is crucial to restarting the process of cooling the reactors. reports also coming in that they have started to use a diesel water pump to begin the process of cooling down be spent fuel. from tokyo, we have the latest. >> from the moment the earthquake struck. japan came to a halt today. to remember the thousands killed. and the thousands more still

missing. >> just jump and cover underneath it and stay there. >> and they were teaching him when the earthquake hit. now the friends are leaving. they took a direct hit, but he does not want to leave. >> i have known for 2.5 years. my students, you learn about these people and you care about them. you feel like you're abandoning them by getting out. >> alex is not the only one that appears reluctant to leave japan. they turned out tonight for the flight organized. 150 miles north of the plant, these new heroes of the hour.

>> we expect a lot of difficulties with the mission. it is a dangerous assignment. the reputation of japan rests on your hands. >> these firemen have volunteered for the biggest and most dangerous mission of their lives. the crisis at the plant has now been upgraded to a level 5 emergency. the spraying operation is perhaps the last chance to head off a major radiation leak. on tv tonight, japan's prime minister was sounding increasingly gloomy. >> i must tell you that the situation of the nuclear power plant does not allow optimism. >> it is not surprising that concern here is focused on the potential disaster of the fukushima nuclear plant.

it is in danger of overshadowing the human tragedy that is still unfolding along the northeast coast. >> one of the hardest hit areas would be the coastal area in japan. they see the town and its residents. the flood waters have subsided. >> is hard to believe it now. the way these waters rose, the hour and -- devouring. a giant wave was racing towardds s the shore. it swamped their defenses.

he was standing on the fourth floor of the city hall, watching. it derives half an hour after the earthquake struck. -- how it arrived exactly half an hour after the earthquake struck. >> all of the water was sucked out after the tsunami hit. i could see the sand at the bottom of the river. >> that the vote you saw was crushed. it is believed that 1000 died here adding to the mounting losses. what you can see is the way the homes here, many of them built of wood, just wiped out. it is the buildings of concrete and steel that had survived. the high street is just this way. they are coming to pick up what

is left of their lives. >> when they heard the tsunami sirens, she ran on to save her father. but they lost each other in the waves. >> everything was being swept words mean. i knew i had to get higher. i've got separated from my dad outside the house. i thought it was impossible that he could have survived. >> three days later, she found him in hospital alive. fishing used to be the lifeblood of this place. most of those who died are elderly, unable to escape in time. he is all alone. he clung to his house for an hour while the waves took his brother, sister, son, daughter,

and their two children. >> a week has gone by. i want to lay them to rest, but they won't release the bodies. i just want peace of mind. >> the shattered pieces of so many lives taken by the sea that is silent now. >> the army in bahrain, the monument has become a symbol of the month-long unrest in the gulf states. security forces overran the protest camps with five people being killed including two policemen. one of those protesters that died in the violence in -- >> he was a 41-year-old mechanic.

his friends say that he had been helping take away the wounded. there was the finance. those that killed him are criminals. many of those here didn't even know him. he is now seen as a martyr for their cause. with emotions running this high, there are fears that the groups might be hard to contain. the result seems to be growing. the authorities have released these images. this was a policemen. the foreign minister faced the cameras to say there could be no

dialogue until stability was restored. >> not only in the streets, but also on platter. this is very ugly. >> it could get uglier with the new sectarian hatred that has been unleashed. >> saudi arabia and's king has warned that security forces will respond with force to any threat that will undermine the the kingdom's stability. they also said there was a multibillion-dollar plan to increase social benefits to fight corruption. there is plenty more in this bulletin on the bbc news web site.

>> 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 expertise to work for a wide range of companies.

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