>> 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 end the game at the ivory coast, the u.s. and azerbaijani claim to have seized the official residence. the libyan government is ready to hold elections, but only the libyan people can decide whether gaddafi remains in power. >> if he is not there for any reason, we would have what happened in afghanistan. gosh the mastermind of 9/11 --

>> of the mastermind of 9/11 being tried at guantanamo. the artist is taken into custody. forces loyal to the internationally recognized president of ivory coast says they have seized a key building in the city of azerbaijani. the attack military and strategic sites including the presidential palace. the spokesman that won the election said that he did not know if he was in the residence at the time it was seized. on the outskirts, convoys have

been firing heavily on soldiers. our correspondent is there and he sent this report. >> the deserted highway. just outside the city, a makeshift army camp. soldiers loyal to the elected president. many are just back from the chaos and fighting that raged through the city hall. it was not be quick, clean victory initially promised. there has been something of a low here as soldiers ready -- lull here as soldiers get ready. they are heavily armed and sounding confident. if we leave now, he says, we can finish this in two hours.

it is not just the word of a young soldier, those in charge of storming the city are here, too. it will be a matter of hours, not days. it has taken some time. but now they are nearly out of ammunition. this is the right moment to finish them off. and so they set off, a convoy ready to join the battle. some city residents still flee. the rest urged to stay indoors. the light, a dramatic development. these are now being supported by french and united nations troops. in the suburbs, the shooting starts up again. maybe this is the endgame.

the fear is that it could slip them to quickly deeper chaos. >> i spoke to a person in the lived near the compound. >> i am in the compound. today at around 6:00 p.m., we started hearing heavy shooting. everybody was rushing home and closing the windows to lay down. this is a dangerous situation we are living in now. we are all afraid. it was the very first time that we are facing such a situation handley don't know what to do. >> we have reports that forces

loyal had seized the presidential palace. is that true from what you can see? >> i cannot see exactly, but i heard shooting. >> what do you see at the moment as we speak? >> it is no more or less shooting that was at the beginning. it is a more automatic guns than mortar or tanks. you know, that sound. we are still awake. we're just hearing the sound of guns and the automatic guns shooting.

we stay away from the window and my family and i in the world, that is a voice. >> the overall head of the peacekeeping operations said that it was only to protect civilians. he denied that it was timed to coincide by forces loyal and the presidential palace was not a target. >> there is the mandate to fire only heavy weapons. there is no point to a fire if they have weapons. we understand they have weapons very close. >> the ivory coast ambassador to the united nations was appointed to that position after last

year's disputed presidential elections. they spoke to me a little earlier and he explains why he disputes the un's actions. he claimed there were casualties of those forces loyal. >> the involvement, the resolution of 1975, they have to enter into action to suppress the heavy weapon used by forces killed peaceful civilian populations. and this is partly true because you have [unintelligible]

you add into the secretary of the conversation over the phone. we are happy that there were those issues. we're happy to achieve that with the civilian population. >> when you say that they have reported 330 people alone on saturday were killed by forces loyal? >> i deny that totally. it is totally false. [talking over each other] it is a fabrication. let me finish. we have a prosecutor on the ground to make a full judicial inquiry.

who have to understand that this report has been stated. [talking over each other] >> we are interested in your point of view, i just want to ask you if there have been any casualties as a result of the fighting has been attributed to the forces loyal? >> yes, of course. the mill shut in the western part are notorious for making killing on their way. in response, people should not be misled. the killing in that situation,

long before where they were deployed. and you have only a few contingents left. what we like to point out is the fact that certain people are very close. that is what we point out. it is respectful of the rule of law. >> the ivory coast ambassador to the united nations speaking to me a little earlier. you can keep up with the detailed analysis. a government spokesman has said

they are ready to hold elections and reform the political system, but it is up to the people to decide whether the colonel should remain in charge. the government wants to avoid a political crisis. he also said the elections and political reformer not out of the question. >> we are ready for political solutions, even the offers and proposals that we regard as a very libya matter, for the libyan population to decide. there are politicians and government throughout the world that assume that we can't decide the future of libya. we are so keen to listen to everyone. we want to say libya from destruction, from civil war. yes, we will try our best to meet you in the middle and see

how we can agree on the details. and as you know, you can't come to someone had to give them a rigid proposal. if you are really interested in peace, and give the proposal, and the answer again. it is a dialogue. goshawk -- >> the libyan government speaking a short while ago. they will arrange a meeting with the former libyan foreign minister. scottish police wish to question him about the bombing of flight one of three where 270 people were killed. it is believed that he was a leading member of the services at the time. still to come, the international

community calls on beijing to release an outspoken critic of the chinese authority. barack obama announced he is going to run as a second term of president. not a huge surprise, but he is laying the groundwork for a record-breaking campaign. it might be their personal finances that determine how they behave on election day. >> down on the farm, a church. that is supposedly where you will find obama supporters. the music is soothing and people are only moderately excited. gone is the change and hope stuff of 2008. >> i respect him and i trust him. >> keep your political

investments safe. the candidate himself barely makes an appearance, but he is busy. >> he has a job. we are paying him to do a job, so we can't ask him to come take time to get as energized. >> they are spending an awful lot of time in the white house situation room talking about jobs and foreign policy. now they have to deal with egypt and preventing missions in a place called libya. >> you have been enjoying yourself. >> the republicans video response makes perfectly clear. it will all be about the job zones.

plenty more on president obama's presidential campaign on line. stay with us. the headlines this hour, following un air strikes, loyal forces say they have seized the official residence. the libyan government says it is ready to hold elections in political reform and the people will decide if the colonel stays in charge. the winner of the presidential election according to early results is the popular entertainer. the figures suggest he be the former first lady. a definite winner will be announced in 12 days. the first round of voting was marred by writing.

we have more of the singer and entertainer. >> he was a pop singer up until this point. he really ran his campaign on a note of change, possibly bringing the army back. his campaign was popular with the unemployed. there are about 50% of the people that are unemployed. if he becomes president, you will have to deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tent cities. there was a cholera outbreak that is not under control, and the country itself is struggling to recover from that earthquake. huge challenges. the international community will be pleased when they elect a new president because stability is more important now than ever. >> to the japanese government have allowed the operator of the

damaged nuclear plant to pull 10,000 tons of radioactive water into the sea. the measure is being taken to free up storage space. we have more. >> a rear view from the dark side of the plan as workers prepare to conduct 10,000 tons of water from the power station into the sea. the water is radioactive, but removing it will free up space for highly radioactive water. the chief cabinet secretary as unavoidable. >> we are already aware that the water at the no. 2 unit is highly radiated. so to stop the leakage of this water into the sea, we will release the water stored in the exterior building that is less radioactive. >> how they were already

contaminated before this latest step. concentrations of radioactive iodine over 4000 times the legal limit was found in the waters. officials have yet to pinpoint the source of the leak. they might have found the answer in a 20 centimeter gash. they poured colored powder into a trench to see if it would prove that the crack was the source of the leak. but none of the color has yet to emerge. the plant's operator is considering installing barriers to try to slow the release of more radioactive water into the pacific. these barriers consist of waited curtains. it will be placed for the no. 2 reactor, another by damaged levy.

>> and the united nations plane and has crashed killing 32 people. one person survived. they burst into flames after attempting to land in heavy rain. the entity of the survivor is unknown. the prime minister is talking about the influx of migrants surviving italy. they have produced horvath following the ousting of the president in january. he says he masterminded 9/11, the u.s. justice department has announced he will be referred to a military commission for trial. it is a dramatic turnaround for the obama administration. the president pledged the high- profile suspects would be charged on the american mainland

in federal court. >> the symbol on the war and terror of was to be closed more than a year ago. that was his pledge. not only is it still open, it will deliver military justice to five inmates including america's most notorious detainee. >> i am referring to cases -- the cases to the department of defense to proceed in military commissions. >> it is a u-turn. he administration had tried to reject plans to try the suspects -- and the administration hadn't planned to try the suspects -- the administration had planned to try the suspects on the mainland.

>> the reality is that i know this case in the way that the members of congress did not. i have spoken to prosecutors, and of the tactical concerns. do i know better than them? yes. >> the man accused of planning and funding september 11, he expressed a desire to plead guilty and become a martyr. >> de obama administration has decided that military justice is better than no justice. they pointed out that the commissions have become more transparent. this decision will upset many of the core supporters on the left. but does the rest of america care? that is the bottom line of the president. most voters can live with a military option.

>> even if you haven't heard of him, you have probably seen his famous work like a bird's nest. now the outspoken chinese artist is making headlines after being detained by police. international pressure is growing for his release. >> in a crackdown that has been going on for weeks, he is the highest profile target yet. one of the most famous and fearless artists. they are now showing his sunflower seeds exhibition, when hundred million pieces handcrafted in porcelain. he is best known for designing the birds' nest stadium and is becoming increasingly critical of the communist party. he was picked up here as he tried to board a flight home on sunday. the rulers seem deeply troubled

that the popular revolution sweeping away authoritarian regimes could spread here. dozens have been detained silencing all of the most vocal critics of the communist party. a year ago, he told me his online journals were already being blocked by the government. the space for people like you is getting marrow. >> is very narrow. my site has been closed in the last year, at least 50 of them. >> his computers have gone, seized by the police. >> outside the studio, we found the architect and the mother. they had not heard he had been arrested but were not surprised.

>> he will show his opinions, especially in china could go against, which would offend the local authority. especially in beijing. >> this the fed did the authorities, too. they compiled the 5000 children that died three years ago because of shoddy school building. his campaign earned him a beating by police. he needed a life-saving surgery to stop bleeding in his brain. on the studio today, they were repairing the police cameras installed to watch him. he even made artwork satirizing his constant surveillance. recall that in a totalitarian police and told the bbc that he feared unrest.

those people with much less activities are being put away. if you think about it, it is kind of terrifying. >> the u.s. astronauts and a couple of russian cosmonauts are on their way to the international space station after a successful launch. the mission is the first. there was one previous trip into space in 2008. the crew will join three others already working on the orbiting station. the cosmonaut, the astronauts, we will keep you up-to-date on how that is doing here on bbc news. it is a reminder of our main news again.

they have attacked the presidential compound. we will keep you updated on the development there. >> 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.