welcome. we begin this hour with some breaking news coming to us from japan where the country's nuclear agency has announced it will raise the crisis level to seven. the worst on the international scale. that puts is -- puts it on a par with the chernobyl nuclear disaster. the plan has been releasing massive amounts of radioactive substances that are posing a threat to human health and the environment over a wide area. the amount of radiation is less than that from chernobyl.

we're expecting to take you live to tokyo. this is a scene where expecting to hear from the chief cabinet secretary. it will be speaking to journalists there regarding this latest announcement that japan has decided to raise the severity level of the crisis to level 7. the highest local and equal to the 1986 disaster at chernobyl. it is a worrying development in this nuclear plant facility which was devastated and those reactors collapsed one month bonn from the tsunami and earthquake that struck japan a month ago today. we will take you there live as soon as we get word it will take the stage with the latest at the news briefing. do stay with us for that.

now want to libya. -- on to libya. spoken koussa ahas publicly and feared that libya will become the new somalia. the former minister was accused of being involved in the lockerbie bombing. he warned the west to avoid further turmoil in his country. >> as a libyan, i am the same as all the libyans. i ask everybody, all the parties to work to avoid taking libya

into a civil war. this will lead to so many blood and libya will be a new somalia. more than that, we refuse dividing libya. the unity of libya is essential to any solution and any settlement in libya. the solution in libya will come from the libyans themselves. through discussion and dialogue. >> there with a statement that was given to the bbc. earlier, the libyan minister for

social affairs had this reaction to the statement. >> he said i have known moussa for a long time but i will not comment on anything he says. a foreign country in a war situation with libya. we cannot take anything he says -- let them go outside of britain to a country that is neutral and not involved in the war and once he's there, he can say what he thinks and will comment on what he says. how do you know he went there,

maybe was kidnapped. >> the latest diplomatic attempt to stop the violence is a stumbling block. colonel gaddafi had agreed to a a plan hatched by the african union to end the fighting. severing victory. rebels back in command in the strategic town. no talks here of laying down their arms. nato air strikes are there key weapon. they halted colonel gaddafi's offense. the rebels scavenged what they could from the wreckage and buried enemy fighters in unmarked graves.

now this is back in their hands, the rebels are regrouping. they have a lot of lost ground to recover and need more help from nato if there to make serious progress. they are waiting because they have been told that air strike is due just of the road. there is an attempt to secure a ceasefire but among the men have been fighting, we found no appetite for that. there are calls for a cease- fire, when you consider that? >> no. >> there was a truce before but gaddafi events to benghazi. the team had a rough ride. hemmed in and tackle. in the capital, they demand the departure of colonel gaddafi, his sons and entourage.

the african plan did not address that. leaders rejected it. swiftly. when the delegation tried to leave, there was chaos and even gunfire. not your average diplomatic exit. there are new scars of battle. he spent two days in a garage before coming home. >> i expect from miami or somebody else. but for my people in my government and from -- i do not believe this. >> his neighbors were moving what they could in case the regime's men return. few here believe there any deals to be done with colonel gaddafi.

laurent gbagbo was captured earlier today. alassane ouattara urged people to steer clear from violence. hillary clinton said this was a message to other leaders who stayed in power for too long. >> and of the meek -- an oddly meek gbagbo emerges. >> i hope we start of -- stop the firefighting so that countrn go back to normal. >> his only reward a clean shirt to cover his humiliation. he is not the only to cling to

power. how many and up like this? >> laurent gbagbo has been arrested and is alive and will be brought to justice. >> repeated assaults beaten back. in the end, french and un forces had to pound the building and help plan the final storming of the heavily guarded residence. -- in the final storming of the heavily guarded residence. the sudden realization that is over. -- is over. -- it is over. >> the news is spreading in this neighborhood. people here [inaudible] months of uncertainty.

now it seems laurent gbagbo are is gone. people are starting to celebrate. laurent gbagbo still has support in parts of this country. there will be tension in days ahead. right now, the release is -- relief is widespread. is this the end of the war? >> yes. are you sure? >> no. >> the head has been cut off. much depends on this alassane ouattara man -- on this man, alassane ouattara. his forces have been accused of committing atrocities. now they must try to bring stability and allow the recovery of the economy. it has been a grim few months. another tough test for african democracy.

>> the ambassador was appointed to that position by the alassane ouattara. thanks for joining me. we understand within the last few hours, talks have been taking place between laurent gbagbo and alassane ouattara. can you tell us what is being said? >> i do not have the content of the talk but laurent gbagbo and alassane ouattara [inaudible] to talk and people are the witness of the debate, we showed a landmark in democracy as the debate between the two.

it was polite. i do not have the content of the top. >> many have said with laurent gbagbo's detention, the violence will stop. do you think that will be the case? do you think forces loyal to laurent gbagbo will give up their fight? >> of course. they will give up the fight because they do not have any weapon, and the ammunition. there is nothing to fight and there is no reason to continue fighting. since the leader has been captured and been defeated. to me, that is obvious enough. we have to go to a process of reconciliation. we need that to rebuild our

social fabric and build the confidence among the various population. there is the promise that he will have a justice commission. >> you talked about the process of reconciliation. this crisis has highlighted the divisions within the country itself, very deep divisions. how do you think alassane ouattara will unite the people there towards a road of stability? >> the division, what is the root cause of that division? you have to understand that before this crisis, ivory coast

used to be a showcase, an example in africa. and they used to say they are a man -- they are men of dialogue. welcoming africans from every part of this continent. it is our natural vocation so we have to reconcile. ivory coast is open to the outside world. to the outside horizon. laurent gbagbo came with controversy and violence. we will sit down and with civility and make this healing

process. we will tell the truth of what happened and why and why we should not do that anymore. >> thank you for joining us. speaking to me live from new york. stay with us. we are keeping an eye on the situation in tokyo where we're expecting to hear from the chief cabinet will be updating journalists in a press briefing as we have heard the nuclear accident is to be risen to levels 7, the highest rating in the international stagscale. stay with us. the british prime minister david cameron has become embroiled in a row with [unintelligible] university. only one black person had been admitted to his former university. the actual number was 41. david cameron must have got most

things right when he was a student at oxford. he ended up with a first-class degree. he got low marks for saying that today. >> only one black person went to oxford last year. the that is disgraceful. >> what he should have said is only one student from a black caribbean background got in that year, joining 40 others from all black background. that is a tiny proportion of an overall intake of 3000 students. when lewis became the first black president of the oxford student union, he was one of two black students at his college and said others should not [unintelligible] >> if you care a lot of subject -- a lot about a subject you should study there. >> the fact that there is such a tiny number of black students is

disgraceful, he said but the university said it does not start when it comes to people's filling in their entry forms. only 71 students from black caribbean backgrounds in the country got the kind of grades that schools and university demands. >> it is important to emphasize the reason why too few students from nontraditional backgrounds are going to university. that is due to under chief minute school. >> the government wants a wider variety of students to enjoy the [unintelligible] despite the prime minister's strong words, he is not ready to pick that fight. ? you are watching "bbc news". libya's former foreign ministry spoke publicly for the first time since his defection to britain. calls for help to stop libya

becoming a new somalia. the president of ivory coast, alassane ouattara, said legal proceedings will be taken against laurent gbagbo who was captured. we will take you live to the situation in tokyo where we are to hear from the chief secretary who will be here. >> good morning. first would like to talk about after -- tonight's aftershock. three people have died as a result of the aftershock.

there were other people who died in relation to the aftershock and i would like to express my condolences for the people who have died. in the cabinet meeting this morning, there were eight items and also some personal items. the prime minister has appointed a person in his place and some ministers who will be traveling abroad. and personnel management will be done based on merit. last week on friday, there was a question raised during a news conference about the nuclear injuries.ts' of the workers there.

i would like to report on that in the nuclear power plant, about injuries or death there, as of april 10, there were three deaths that occurred on the day of the earthquake -- that were missing and there were later found dead as a result of the tsunami. at the power plant, one person died as a result of being crushed under a crane. these are the deaths that were related. i would like to extend my condolences to them as well. as for injuries, as of april 10, 29 people have been injured. workers and two at, altogether .

six of them were injured right after the earthquake, meaning that the eight have been injured in the following recovery operations. 11 at fukushima, at the time of the earthquake. 10 -- one of the time of the earthquake. and four people were injured. lastly, the radiation management situation. as of april 10, those people [unintelligible] and three people of the companies, and there were 21 people. at 250, iti is the limit.

21 exceeding 1000 and those people who are exceeding 250, none. as to the level -- what is the fact behind this. the safety agency has been proceeding with the calculation that are from the institutions that will disclose the data. seven is the danger level and to think this has an impact? we will announce the level and also the ministry is going to

touch upon this in his press meeting. do you have any information, how did you hear about this, please ask that question during the official press meeting tomorrow. yesterday, the nuclear power plant came to the temporary halt because of the aftershock. we have to consider the measures against the after shocks to come. do you think there is sufficient measures is today? also the safety agency -- after the meeting, i instructed them to secure external powers at the time of the aftershock.

the transmission should be maintained and robust and i will have to [unintelligible] so that even at the power outage of the aftershock, the power should be maintained so that even though the backup should be prepared at the time of the breakage of the transmission line. during the cabinet meeting and last night, our prime minister instructed these people to take necessary measures. >> before the cabinet meeting you met the the foreign minister and defense minister. what must be the context of the meeting? the prime minister's visit to the u.s., the timing has not been announced yet. but the schedule is that this will occur during the first half of this year. and that has not been changed.

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