>> this is "bbc world news america." 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 america." >> president obama says the u.s. has a moral obligation to intervene in libya. he will now have control. >> america's role will be limited. we will not put ground troops into libya, but we will focus our unique capabilities on the front and at transfer responsibility to our allies and partners. tonight, we are fulfilling that pledge. >> the rebels meet heavy resistance but about a continue the walk westward. there is fighting in the western city hall as pro gaddafi forces

and get back partial control. thank you for joining us, coming up, a state of maximum alert over the crisis at the fukushima nuclear plant. ♪ using western military force to evict colonel gaddafi from power would be a mistake according to president obama, a military mission protecting civilians to include regime change would be counterproductive. he just came under some criticism that he hasn't properly explains the goals of

the military action or how long it would last. >> there is no question that libya and the world would be better off with gaddafi out of power. we will actively pursue that goal through non-military means. broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake. the task that i have assigned our forces, to protect the libyan people from the immediate danger and to establish a no-fly zone carries with it a un mandate and international support. it is also what the libya opposition asked us to do. if we try to overthrow him by force, our coalition will splinter. we would likely have to put u.s. troops on the ground to accomplish that mission or risk killing many civilians from the

air. the dangers faced by the men and women in uniform would be far greater. so what the costs and our share of the responsibility for what comes next. to be blunt, we went down the road in iraq. thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices, we are hopeful about iraq's future. but regime change took 80 years, thousands of american and iraqi lives, and nearly $1 trillion. >> president obama speaking a few hours ago. they told me a little more about the significance of his speech. >> it really comes down to one key point, the americans and the international community felt that if they had not acted, there would be a massacre in

benghazi. the president put that in pretty stark terms. if they had not acted, there would have been a massacre that reverberated across the region and state of the conscience of the world. he kept coming back to that as the reason why the united states got involved in this. he made the point and conceded that americans oppose a national security wasn't necessarily threatened by colonel gaddafi. we did the right thing, we took a moral course and had a responsibility. to brush that aside would have been up the trail of we are. >> it is not in our international interest to stand by and let that happen. he also went on to talk about the operation with the international community saying that america was speaking to its

neighbors and it was very much part of a coalition and not america acting on its own. >> there were a couple of aspects about that, saying that this wasn't america imposing its will on the middle east and north africa. this was america working with a coalition of the allies, and he was telling an american that the united states has to pull back. they will not be doing the heavy lifting. as of wednesday, nato will assume full control of the operation. >> opposition forces have been advancing westward along the coastal road. so far, the rebels have failed to capture it.

they have been trying to track the progress. >> taking the fight to colonel gaddafi's birthplace. the pounding targets near the town. the victory here would have huge symbolic value. if the libyan leader can't defend his home town, how long can he defend his regime. rebels said these were some of his supporters. mercenaries, they claimed. it sent to kill. poorly armed volunteers. we found rebel fighters racing to the front lines. there was a clear message to the libyan leader. a few weeks ago, a gesture like this would have gotten him killed. along the way, we met his band

of brothers and cousins and extended family that were ready to fight and die together so their children could be free. [crowd noise] and the rebels have been sweeping forward with relative ease. many loyalists have opted to flee rather than fight to because of the coalition airstriek. -- airstrike. the more resistance they can expect to face. some were already doing a victory dance. these untrained fighters have a long way to go before tripoli will be in their sights. in hours, they were in retreat. civilians and rebels falling

back amid confused reports of gaddafi loyalists attacking from the beaches. >> a city under rebel control about 200km east of benghazi, the national libyan transitional council. i asked if he agreed with president obama's comments. >> first of all, let me say that we have seen the evidence that supports what president obama has said. the heavy vehicles, the tanks, all the military machines are heading towards benghazi. it was not the international intervention, the international coalition, and we would have definitely had a massacre in

benghazi. we are detiermin -- determined, we are able. the people of libya are willing to take gaddafi from power. the dominate here -- dominater here, he doesn't have loyalists around him. he has people that have benefited from his regime. the libyan people are ready to give their lives has we have just heard in your report about the man that wanted his children to live a better life, and this is a very important factor. with our forces approaching tripoli, the fighters are not

really fighting, they either run away or they join them. the situation inside his degenerating. if you want to go to a bakery to get some bread in tripoli, you have to raise the tax. how long can people do this in tripoli? >> in the western city, troops are continuing their attacks on insurgents. the sides have been pounding one another for more than a month. the toll would be terrible. he has been to see what is happening. >> he is one of the key -- is

one of the key battlefields and this war. the rebels captured it 39 days ago. the government has a cease-fire in operation here. we had pictures last week showing the extent of the damage. this is the main hospital. we weren't taken to the center where the fighting was. instead, we were driven around the edge of it with a heavy cloud of black smoke hanging over the skyline. the libyan authorities wanted to emphasize the scale of the violence there. by chance or maybe not, something, probably a generator caught fire on exactly as we were passing. finally, we arrived at a point about 3 miles from the center of the town. hear, an expectant in noisy crowd engulfed us.

this is all set up for our benefit. it is genuine. [inaudible] overlooking it all was a broadcast unit from libyan television putting up the pictures live via satellite dish. what was entirely genuine was the scale of the damage. if the outskirts are like this, what must the center be? as for the supporters, they are as fears and determined as the rebels in the town. he is no wonder the siege has gone on for so long. >> libyan military officials say that they have bombed the libyan town 70 kilometers west of the

capital of tripoli. military targets have been here, and state television says another site was also struck. we will keep up to date by visiting our web site where you'll find a live page on the libya conflict that will keep you up-to-date with breaking stories. you can also follow me on tour -- twitter. click the "live" button. here the government has announced a small increase in the amount of money to be spent to replace the educational maintenance in england. they say it is a humiliating [unintelligible] >> there was an outcry when the coalition government said it

would abolish the allowance in england. the people's said that it made state on affordable like these students. >> it is very useful. i can buy equipment and i can feed myself. >> it was a 560 million pound scheme of being replaced by a program worth 180 million pounds. with an allowance of up to 30 pounds a week. 12,000 of the most vulnerable students will receive more than 30 pounds a week. >> the cost of travel, food, and equipment is properly matters so that no one is prevented from participating. >> labor has brought scorn on

the package. >> he has taken a successful policy that improves participation, attendance, and achievement, had turned it into a total shambles. >> earlier this year, they've rethought the way he scrapped and part of england. he pledged more money for poorer students. opponents say it is still short of what is needed for many students. >> it is good to have you with us, a reminder of the headlines this hour. president obama says that the u.s. has a moral obligation to intervene in libya. as allies strike libya, the rebels are amid heavy

resistance. japan's prime minister has said that his government is a mistake of maximum alert. that the crisis at the nuclear plant, traces of highly active plutonium has been found in five places. the company in charge of the plant, the levels found were not harmful to human health. the chief spokesman gave more details. >> plutonium is expected to come from fuels. there is a high possibility of the fuel rods. we have a very high radioactivity that started in the vicinity.

this, too is proof. it comes from the reactor. it is serious, but we can try to contain the areas. >> heart worthington is in tokyo and he explains of the government intended to tackle the problem while still in the state of maximum alert. >> is important to say at this stage that when they talk about maximum alert, they are not talking about some kind of scale of emergency. it is reiterating that the government will retain a state of high vigilance and try to stay on top of every single twist and turn at the nuclear plant. when it comes down to the details of how to fix the ongoing problems that are being discovered there, the main

complication putting forward a concrete set of plans, on a daily basis, they are discovering more and more about the true extent of the damage. they have been hampered by the fact that the normal monitoring systems haven't been working and there hasn't been any power until reasonably recently. it seems that it is only now that they are coming to understand the full scale of what happened at a plant in the discoveries of the highly radioactive water into the tunnels outside the reactor building, the plutonium both pointing towards a temporary meltdown in reactor no. 2. at some point, it is still undetermined and far more serious than anything that they hoped they would be dealing with.

the danger in putting forward a concrete plan and concrete promises is that they will discover more disturbing events and problems within the plant that require an entirely different approach. that is why we are not hearing any firm promise about the direction they will be taking forward. >> a lot of criticism has been levied at them for not painting a clearer picture throughout this crisis as well. >> it was a very embarrassing day yesterday when they were directly criticize by the japanese government for their unacceptable mistake in a radiation readings. when it came to the issue of the water in the tunnels outside, they were criticized for having held on to that information, the danger of immediately releasing information was highlighted last

night. he was being flashed around the world. i suppose highlighting just how sensitive this issue is, how dangerous is for information coming out of the plant. >> in yemen, talks away about the 32-year rule. it might descend into chaos if some agreement is not found. there was a massive explosion. it was a day after they had briefly been taken over by a group of armed men. >> the streets again, the capital and the music plays on. for all of the optimistic

dancing that the protesters have made little headway. they have been counting on the president to step down. after 30 years as ruler, the man himself is hanging on to power. sunday, he backtracked on an offer to quit by the end of the year. he urged a group of young supporters to ignore the protests and appeals. >> they manipulate you like they are using a remote control. those that claim the throne should not be allowed to mislead you. the presidency should be decided by elections instead. >> a couple of the most influential tribe's pledged their support to the embattled president. he will make no more concessions to the protesters. his grip on power is weak. this is all that remains of an arms factory that exploded while

it was being looted. at least 78 people were killed in the blast but not before militants hostile weapons. they're taking it vantage of the unrest to lead an insurgency against his rule. and the protesters in the capital are stabilizing the whole country. they refused to give the president attempts to crush the demonstrations. >> is impossible to allow him to leave. >> hot the future does not lie in the demonstrators hands. the president says he will give no more ground, the structure is turning into a stalemate. -- and the struggle is turning into a stalemate. >> unrest continues elsewhere in the arab world, security forces

fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters that have been calling for more political freedom. the president put on a televised show of leadership with diplomatic readings. he is expected to announce changes in the next few days. a curfew imposed by the security forces there, risking arrest, and they shouted, "god is great." 20 people have been killed including two policemen. egypt's first parliamentary elections will be held in september. the supreme military council says that the emergency laws should be lifted the head of the vote. laws of already been changed to make it easier for groups to

register as political parties. australia's's cricket captain has resigned after his reign of nine years. he will continue. this is what he had to say about his resignation. >> i want to make sure that i gave the next capt. every opportunity i possibly could to make sure he had as much experience going forward into the next couple of events. the series coming up in 2013 and 2014. i thought it was an opportune time. the possibility of me being around for either of those series is probably run out as well. i take the timing was spot on. all that being said, i made it very clear that it is still a selection in both forms of the

game. i will stay around and play a little bit longer with the team. and certainly as a leader for some of the under guys around. the russia just announcing his decision to resign as a strongly oppose the cricket captain. -- australia's cricket captain. he also said the company belongs not to a dictator, but to its people. the conference in london will take place tuesday morning with more than 40 governments and organizations will meet to try to lay a groundwork for a libya without g coloneladdafi in -- without colonel gaddafi in place.

plenty more on that to come, stay with us. >> 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 america" was presented by kcet los angeles.