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, union bank. ♪ >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies frrks mall business toss major

corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> the last resort. portugal's government requests a european bail-out, the third country in a year to ask for emergency financial help. >> i always said asking for foreign aid would be the final way to go, but we have reached the moment. >> stand-off in ivory coast as laurent gbagbo remains holed up in his bunger in abidjan. >> wor of words in libya after fierce criticism from the leadership. nato will do all it can to pro secretary civilians. welcome to "bbc news." coming up later for you, the online search for 1,000 children who survived the nazi hall cost. how does it feel? bob dylan plays beijing.

and a communist approved settle. >> hello. portugal has appealed to europe for help in overcoming its mounting debt crisis. the caretaker prime minister jose socrates addressed the nation on television and said foreign help was a last resort. until now it insisted it wouldn't need the help. here is our assessment on portugal and the impact on the rest of europe. >> and then there were three. almost a year after the bailout of greece and five months after ireland, portugal has requested emergency support from its yurs partners. here is jose socrates making the announcement he was desperate to avoid.

>> we have reached a moment that the country is at too much risk that it shouldn't be exposed to. above all, it is the national interest that we need to work in. we need financial assistance to strengthen our financial system and economy. >> jose socrates had no choice after the result this morning of portugal's attempt to borrow a billion euros on market. portugal paid an interest rate of 5.9%. that is unaffordable and is less than ireland paid for its bailout finance. >> they were forced to the corner as a result of what the market did in terms of basically asking for higher interest rates it could ill afford, and then the knowledge that the european central bank is set to raise interest rates finally. >> so, how much will portugal actually need from the euro zone's rescue fund and the

international monetary fund? probably around 80 billion euros on the basis of the existing debt it needs to repay and a substantial hole in its public financials. the contagion has gone from greece, to ireland, now to portugal, and some believe the much bigger spanish economy could be next to ask for help. unless, that is, the rest of the euro zone, led by germany, takes the kind of substantive measures that they have so far failed to do to restore confidence. >> robert, our business editor reporting. now, the vessel for -- the battle for power for ivory coast. the forces of alassane ouattara have attacked the home of laurent gbagbo, the man refusing to make way for him. talks broke down. french forces are said to have been involved in a fire fight

with forces of laurent gbagbo as they tried to get him from the embassy. daniel griffith reports. >> on the road to abidjan, and war. cease-fire talks have failed. now alassane ouattara's soldiers try once more to remove laurent gbagbo. along the way, signs of the conflict. mr. gbagbo refuses to go quietly. this war still far from over. mr. gbagbo is thought to be hiding in a bunker in his presidential palace in the heart of the city. >> i'm not a kamikaze. i love life. i love life. no, no, no. i do not seek death. it is not my goal here to die. >> u.n. and french peace

keepers are on the streets. small comfort for the people of abidjan. more than a million have already fled. those who remain have little. >> i've only got sugar and some drinks says this man. tell gbagbo he should leave the country. >> these are the innocent victims after brutal power struggle that has broken a nation. daniel griffith, "bbc news." >> outattara is a resident of abidjan. he told me there has been heavy gunfire in the city for most of the day. >> during the entire day it was like a nightmare. huge bomb blasts and gunshots, heavy machine guns, and i have heard about two dead bodies not far from me right now.

>> were you able to leave your house at all? when was the last time you were able to leave? >> the curfew is from 6:00 a.m. to noon. i went out about 8:00 a.m. and a half hour before the end of the curfew i had to rush back home because there are gunshots. >> and presumably you don't feel safe when you go out, about but you have to so you can get food and water to live? >> yes. i am lucky because we have water. it is really difficult to get food right now. pricing are hiking, there is no more money or supplies. >> the militias on both sides, do they target civilians, or are they just fighting each other? >> i think the pro-gbagbo

militias target civilians in the fighting. i also had a member of my family who was dead because a grenade was thrown in the house. same thing for my girlfriend. lucky she was not hurt. >> you are there in abidjan. how do you think this is going to be resolved? >> i don't know, but i think there are a few critical things . the problem with gbagbo needs to be solved very quickly. secondly, all the forces need to quickly secure the entire country. right now in abidjan there are thousands of young people who have been supplied rifles, and

these guys are totally uncontrolled, and that is a huge problem that has to be solved very quickly. otherwise, the country could really fall into chaos, total chaos. >> nato has dismissed criticism of the impact of its air strikes on libya, saying the number of attacks is increasing elfry day. rebel leaders have complained that they haven't done enough to support their forces. our correspondent has been talking to the rebels fighting near the key oil town of brega. she has sent this report. >> preparing for battle. another push for the oil town of brega. but after days of defeat, the rebels are studying the enemy more carefully. thanks to nato air strikes,

colorado gaddafi's men can't risk moving in tanks. so now they travel light, just like the rebels. >> they are employing techniques to confuse us. they are using the same vehicles and uniforms that we use, so we can't tell the difference. they can move faster, getting in among us and carry out ambushes. >> the rebels are loading up this rocket launcher before moving forward. they say they have changed their tactics. they say they have more professional soldiers involved in the fight. they say they have surrounded the enemy and cutting off supply lines. they are no longer rushing headlong, but good forward on command. as the fight drags on with no victory in sight, there is a war of words with nato. the head of the army has accused nato of being too slow to react and letting people die

every day in the city of misrata. it's rare to get a glimpse inside the city, and we can't verify the authenticity of these pictures. but misrata is being pounded by gaddafi's forces. the opposition now claims 400 people have been killed. nato says it is doing all it can, stepping up missions like this recent strike. more british planes will be carrying out attacks. they have already been destroying tanks near misrata. but the regime as men can be elusive targets, hiding among civilians. >> we have been striking tanks in and around misrata for the last few days, and what we also have to do, however, is of course be very vigilant about civilian casualties. remember, our mandate under the

resolution in 1973 from the u.n. scurnl security council is to protect civilians. >> another retreat. it seems to be a daily ritual. for now it seems to be a stalemate. unless the regime crumbles from within, the rebels and nato could be facing a protracted fight. "bbc news." >> scientists at the united nations say they don't expect the nuclear accident in japan to cause serious health problems. they say the traces of radioactivity around the world are much lower than those detected after the chernobyl disaster in 1986. sudan is accusing israel of launching an air strike on a car near their port city tuesday.

he said he didn't know the reason for the attack nor the identity of those killed. an american man that wrote and published a guide book that gave advice to pedophiles has been sentenced. this is "bbc news." still to come. the times, they are a changing. bob dylan plays beijing for the first time, but not everything gets past the chinese censor. >> the trial of the italian prime minister burial ascione for -- berlusconi has begun. mr. berlusconi denies the charges. he claims they are politically motivated. duncan kennedy has more. >> these are among the serious

allegations, silvio berlusconi has ever faced. the 74-year-old prime minister of italy accused of paying a 17-year-old prostitute for sex. he is also charged with abusing his power by getting the police to release the teenager from custody. this is the teenager, known as ruby. now 18, she and the prime minister deny they had sex. ruby says she did receive money and gifts from mr. berlusconi because she needed help. the prime minister says he believed she was 24, not 24, and that he did call police on her behalf, but only because he believed she was the niece of the former egyptian position, hosni mubarak, and wanted to help a fellow leader. the trial is unprecedented. >> it is like a high noon, like a western movie between the magistrates and silvio berlusconi. someone is going to get hurt

badly. if mr. berlusconi is convicted, i don't think this is relevant. it is yet another blow for him, and maybe the final blow. >> mr. berlusconi is paying a price for this and his other scandals. his poll ratings are down, but he knows he can still govern because his ruling coalition is intact. but that could change if the prime minister is found guilty of the particular charges he now faces. >> this is "bbc news." the headlines, portugal has confirmed the government is seeking a bailout from the european union of at least 60 billion euros. laurent gbagbo refuses to yield power to alassane ouattara.

we will stay with news of the portugal bailout. we can speak to a visiting professor of economics at the massachusetts institute of technology. he joins fruss boston. professor, tell us first what this means for portugal. will one of the importantest countries in the euro zone become even poorer now? >> the problem of portugal is that growth has been absent for 10 years. and for 10 years, it has spent 10% more than it has produced. it has accumulated a very large foreign debt, similar to what happened in greece. now markets are unwilling to extend credit to portugal, and there foreit is turning to the european union and the i.m.f. for help. >> how many more bailouts can the euro zone sustain before -- well, is there a chance of collapse of the euro zone?

ar all three countries in trouble, ireland, greece and portugal, are relatively small. they are very minor compared to the rest of the euro zone. the willingness of the political leadership in france and germany to let them survive, that they will do whatever is needed to hip the countries. if it went to spain or italy, it would be a different issue. >> will there be a stage where germany says enough is enough. we pay so much money to sustain these poorer countries, we are just not going to do it anymore is that practical? >> the untold we are bailing out portugal, ireland and greece, but we are really bailing out german banks. they lent money to these

countries. they say they are helping horg, greece and ireland, which it is, but they are really helping the german banks that helped these countries. >> every country wants to maintain its own sovereignty. is there any way the e.u. can force a country be financially prude, really make it -- prudent, really make it do so? >> no. it is up to the individual country to decide. reefing the euro would be extremely costly for any of these countries. so my view is after what happened in greece and ireland, portugal will enter a painful period of adjustment to make up for the excesses of the past 10 years. >> we are told that we are in the middle of a massive financial crisis, and yet there seems to be money to help these countries. where is it coming from? >> they are relatively small

countries. we would be having a different conversation if this was spain or italy. this is like saying in the west bailing out rhode island. the u.s. would be in a crisis, but rhode island is so small there would be enough money for it. >> professor, thank you very much indeed. >> thank you. >> more now on the yict in libya. nato says pro-gaddafi forces in the country are using human shelleds in the western town of misrata and are hiding their army after air strikes. we have been spoken to one of the opposition's leaders. >> the situation is catastrophic. hell on earth is an understatement. children are being killed. women are miscarrying. there is no water or electricity. we are witnessing genocide that has never been seen before. >> genocide is a very strong word.

how many people have been killed? >> the figures that we have confirmed are 400 dead from the center of misrata and 600 from the areas on the outskirts of the city. there have been 60 miscarriages caused by the fighting. and there are more than 1,500 people missing, and 2,800 injured. >> nato says it is doing everything it can to protect the people of misrata. is that what you see on the ground? >> we are very surprised by nato's position here because they are saying that gaddafi's tactics are very advanced. but we would like to think that nato can take out gaddafi's weapons. gaddafi's forces are in misrata. we have been given assurances about where their tanks and heavy artilleries are. there are no residents in those areas. gaddafi is obliterating everything inside, and nato is

allowing him to do that. >> has nato struck any of the tanks there? >> they have hit some tanks, but the fighters in misrata have destroyed more tanks and equipment than nato has done. they have hit very little. as we speak, there are as many as 30 tanks hidden in misrata. >> carry as many as 200 mike grants, a boat has capsized. the italian coast guard are searching for around 130 people. more than 40 were rescued. 20 bodies have been found. a depeen which makes a super bug resistant to the most powerful antibiotics has been found in the water supplies outside new delhi. the gene has spread to germs that cause cholera and dysentery. it is thought it could take

years to develop new drugs to counter the threat. it has been more65 years since world war ii dame to an end. but now the holocaust music is using technology to find children who survived the war. here is the story of this special search. >> these are the faces of some of the millions of children who found themselves alone and homeless in the aftermath of world war ii. the photos were taken by relief workers in refugee camps. the children's whereabouts, still unknown. in what may be the last opportunity to find out what happened to them, the u.s. holocaust memorial museum is turn to social media in the hope that somebody may help solve the mystery. >> in the first 48 hours using social media, twitter and facebook. we were able to have thousands

of people visit the website. they left us comments on what they thought about the photos. they shared this website with friend and family. and we got a lot of interest from survivors who think they are depicted in the photos. >> this isn't the first attempt. >> captive children, and appeal from germany. >> in 1945, the bbc began a series of broadcasts to find relatives of children stravended throughout europe. >> i call moshe kivash, last heard of in london, on baskets his daughter, 16. she has been through do concentration camp and lost all her family. >> anyone with information was asked to write a rert to the red cross. today, the speed of the internet is producing instant results. michelle was identified from

this picture within 24 hours of a friend seeing it on facebook. he was about 2-year-old when it was taken. his brother had been gassed, father dead, and his mother too traumatized to look after him. he gave his reaction via skype. >> seeing the photo was a bit of a shock and kind of funny as i had never seen that one before. i think remember my modest story is important, because it allows us to know even in the darkest periods of history, people who do good, like the french policeman who saved my mother, who was pregnant with me, from being sent to the camps. >> there are more than 1,000 photographs the museum would like to hear about. success has improved thanks to new ways of reaching people. about half a accident survivors and relatives have been identified. their stories will now be added to the museum's permanent collection, ensuring that their

memories will never be forgotten. jane o'brien, "bbc news." >> bob dylan has always slugged off the reference of his fans, describing himself as just a 0 song and dance many, willing to perform. now his touring has taken him down a road he could have never imagined. to china, in the workers' jim nace ufc. he steered clear of any songs that might offend rulers. two stongs, -- songs, blowing in the wind failed to make it on. he was allowed to play but only to an approved program. >> a lot of people like him. they have grown up with his musk, especially his anti-war songs and human rights. we all identify with them.

i didn't really think about the political impact, but more how his music influenced my life. >> a lot of people my age weren't very influenced by bob dylan. but he's a legend, so i wanted to see him. my favorite song is like a rolling stone. >> we have some breaking news from china. the artist i ouaoua is under investigation for crimes. he was did he bained by security officials at beijing airport on sunday. foreign government have been calling for his release. a reminder of news. portugal has asked the european unfor emergency financial aid to help it deal with its debt crisis. the prime minister, jose socrates said calling in foreign assistance was a last

resort but is now essential. the bailout will be worth at least 60 billion euros. this is "bbc news." >> 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" on nine. >> 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, union bank. ♪ >> union bank has put its

global expertise to work if a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.