>> doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option. our debt has grown so large that we could do real damage to the economy if we do not begin a process now to get our fiscal house in order. >> susie: president obama lays out his plans for reducing the nation's debt by $4 trillion over a dozen years. >> tom: the proposal includes changes to the defense budget, health care spending and higher taxes for some americans. you're watching "nightly business report" for wednesday, april 13. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson.

"nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. it was the president's turn to present a deficit reduction plan today. president obama unveiled his long-term blueprint to reduce the nation's massive deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. tom, besides spending cuts the president proposed to raise taxes on wealthy americans.

>> susie: susie, that tax idea is a clear difference between the white house plan and last week's republican budget proposal to tackle the red ink. obama says his idea includes $3 of spending cuts for every $1 in higher taxes. and while he wants to slash medicare and medicaid by $500 billion, obama proposes no changes in social security. >> susie: president obama's speech at george washington university was tough and forceful, and as darren gersh reports, it laid out a veryatic,

politically to put real pressure on the adoptee and stop the appalling murder of civilians. >> the prime minister feels that britain would be supplying the rebels with 1000 sets of body armor. both presidents are cozy and david cameron have agreed that there has to be an intensifying of military actions against colonel gaddafi's forces. mike the libyan leader be convinced that there is no way out? signs of strain were evident at a meeting of the international contact group on libya.

there was agreement, but the libyan leader had to go. the german said that there was no military solution to the libyan crisis. other nations began pushing for the libyans to be given weapons. france has taken the lead role in the campaign. supporting countries remain strong. questions are being raised in france, too. what will bring this operation to an aunt? a stalemate might lead to an unacceptable compromise. >> they are worried that another country like turkey can come in and say that i have a solution. there is a stalemate. i have a solution that would bring a permanent ceasefire on the ground. >> british and france airstrikes are not bringing out the armor. 30% of gaddafi's forces may have been destroyed.

the french and the british want them to do more. here is the dilemma. with the americans confirming they are in a support role, where will the extra planes come from to turn the tide? >> the bbc middle east editor is in tripoli looking ahead to the nato meeting. he was asked, what were the options? >> at the moment, they have this bind that an open-ended military commitment has been made that led by france and britain. they are not quite sure where the exit ramp is for them to get out short of colonel gaddafi leaving. i know people that know gaddafi well. they say that he is calm at the moment. he is aware of some of their weaknesses. he is aware that the coalition against him is fragile.

they would like to open those gaps a little bit more. there have been news conferences where they have been taking -- talking about the way those resolutions have been applied. they are saying international legality is being broken. they say that there could be a much worse war than the one that has already gotten going. they are saying that the only way to avoid that is to negotiate with libya, even back in the colonel gaddafi is still the leader. >> he is the director of the new internationalism project at the institute for policy studies. welcome to bbc news. dealing with this conflict has seemed to throw up conflicts for various institutions and how they interpret the un resolution. >> i think there was confusion from the very beginning. the un resolution spoke of a no-

fly zone and use of the famous term, all necessary measures. that means any kind of military force as long as someone can claim it is in the interest of protecting civilians. when you have the same military forces led by governments whose leaders say explicitly that our goal is regime change, we want gaddafi out, then the notion of whether the military strikes are aimed at protecting civilians or whether they are aimed at overcoming the regime, helping the rebel side to win the civil war that is emerging because of very -- becomes a very murky business. you have the nato coalition itself that is divided with turkey and germany, key members of nato, along with others, very much against this escalation of what this role is. you have the broader coalition

of which nato is only one part. you have a couple of the country's playing a somewhat cosmetic role. you have the african union, which is including many heads of state that have close ties and dependency on gaddafi's government. you have a very messy scene where the focus is all on the military and the work of putting together a ceasefire is falling by the wayside. >> that continuity is continuing with ambiguous language being used against the armed rebels directly. >> what we need is a cease-fire. i do not think throwing more arms on an escalating an over- armed scenario is going to help. civilians are being caught on both sides. it is not looking like it is likely to win a military

victory for anybody. this cries out for a military solution. this means a cease-fire. the ceasefire is not point to include what i hope and many others hope is the end of a dictatorship. the kind of results we have seen in other parts of the arab world, especially in egypt and tunisia. there must be a ceasefire to get to those negotiations. when you have a cease-fire instituted by an organization like the united nations, which should be the central institution in creating a cease- fire, the un itself becomes a military partisan in this internal war. the un is not in a position to do that. that has to be a combination of the arab league and the african union who are perceived as

supporting one of the two sides. perhaps those biases will cancel each other out. a joint movement by the arab league and the african union can lead to a more serious cease- fire. >> we will leave it there. the former egyptian president is to be detained for 15 days while he is investigated for alleged corruption and abuse of power. it is understood that he will remain in a hospital where he was taken on tuesday, suffering from heart problems. his son has also been taken to jail. >> hosni mubarak would not be the first former dictator to take to his sickbed when facing prosecution. egypt's modern pharaoh was under close guard inside of this hospital after suffering a minor

heart attack under interrogation. this morning brought an even bigger surprise. his two sons were both arrested. he is accused by the pro- democracy camp of being behind the violence that killed hundreds of protesters during the january uprising. prosecutors have been rounding up other senior members of the mubarak regime. theg with mubarak's sons, notorious prison. formerly home to some of mubarak's on political opponents. there was a sense of elation, but also suspicion. could it really all be true? >> we are so happy. we do not believe. >> i think he is still in power in some ways. >> some believe that the military was about to cut a

deal with mubarak. they were forced to back down because of public anger. >> they concluded that the only way to satisfy the requirements and demands of the whole nation was security. >> pressure on the military regime to prosecute mubarak has been growing for weeks. it came to a head last week and ended in violence. soldiers responded with live rounds. one person was killed. it is all very far from the appalachian in january -- elation in january. people took to the streets, braving the violence and persecution to bring down the regime. when he fell, people really thought that egypt had changed forever. >> the arrest of mubarak is a key move -- moment, especially

if and leads to their prosecution. they were not just demanding the downfall. they were demanding full democracy. the military remains in a tight control of this country, just as it has been for the last 50 years. >> president obama has outlined his plans to tackle the huge budget deficit. he proposed cutting the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years. his plan relies on tax increases for the wealthy. republicans have said any increase in taxes was a non- starter. >> washington is under a cloud of financial gloom. money is fast running out and nobody can agree what to do. president obama has entered the fray. he is rolling out his own

approach by attacking what he is calling extreme republican plans. >> even though americans cannot afford to invest in education, clean energy, and have our commitment on medicare and medicaid, we can afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. >> nobody will be spare the pain to achieve his goal of a $4 trillion cut in the u.s. deficit. his opponents have already said no to any tax increases. >> we cannot tax the people we expect to reinvest in our come -- the economy and create jobs. washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. >> on both sides agree that the nation is sliding towards bankruptcy. the u.s. government is spending far more than it earns in taxes. this year, the deficit will reach $1.60 trillion.

there is a ballooning debt, now over $14 trillion. with three wars underway and concerns about a fragile economic recovery, president obama is under pressure from all sides including his base. >> what we are afraid of is that the president is going to get involved in a bidding contest with the republicans and he will end up with what they have in britain. austerity leading to economic recession again. that would not be good for the united states and not be good for the world. >> everyone agrees that the u.s. cannot carry on like this. sorting out the finances and has been the issue of the 200012 election. it is a difficult balancing act between getting big u.s. back in black and keeping the recovery on trail.

>> you are watching bbc news. this dress sold out in 24 hours after she wore it. what the future princess kate will do to the fashion world. in yemen, security forces clashed with anti-government protesters killing three and wounding seven others. this happened in the southern city of aden. we are not naming her for security reasons. >> a fire after another clash in yemen. the scenes are repeated across the country. violence seems to follow the same pattern. security forces moved in to break up anti-government protesters. there is teargas and bullets.

around 150 people have died in yemen since the uprising began. they show no sign of giving up. this is growing. every day, there are new tents here. new people joining the revolution. he recently welcomed gulf arab states to hand over his power to the vice-president. many are skeptical. >> the gulf initiative was not clear. when they talk about transformation of authority, they mean that the president stays in power. we do not accept that. >> that would keep him in his place until 2013. nobody here would accept that.

the opposition has the details of the proposal before they decide whether it is worth it. this process and the violence seemed to be escalating. >> our top story. a group of countries opposing colonel gaddafi says that they will consider ways to provide money for the libyan rebels. state media in egypt say that the health of hostile park is on stable. he is being investigated -- hosni mubarak is unstable. he is being investigated. berlusconi said that he will not seek another term in office. he intended to complete his ambitious plans to reform the

judicial system and to change the country's constitution before he leaves office. >> he is italy's political survivor. berlusconi has been one of the longest serving and controversial leaders. he says that he will not run for office again after his term runs out in 2013. welcome news for these demonstrators outside of the italian parliament on wednesday. they were protesting against the controversial bill which would cut the like of trials and effectively and an ongoing bribery case against the prime minister. inside the parliament, the bill passed. it now goes to the upper house where mr. berlusconi has a majority. the bribery trial is just one of a series of criminal cases against mr. berlusconi. in all of them, and he denies any wrongdoing.

among them are allegations that he paid an underage prostitutes for sex. she is known as ruby. now 18, both she and the prime minister deny that they had sex. for good or bad, mr. berlusconi has dominated italian political life. he says that he has not ruled out a future role in italian politics. mr. berlusconi is not ready to say goodbye just yet. >> the president of ivory coast has announced a truth and reconciliation for those involved in recent violence. he was speaking publicly for the first time. he said that he is still being held at a secure location somewhere in ivory coast.

>> the storming of the presidential residence earlier. the four-month standoff. the forces blow apart the locks. they put bulletproof jackets and helmets on the man who refuses to give up power. in this video, we see her video -- his wife led out of the building. today, she refused to reveal this. she said that he was still in ivory coast. >> he is a former head of state. it is because of this that he will be under house arrest. we should respect his rights as a former head of state.

he should be respected and his physical integrity will be protected as well. >> but french and united nations troops have been seizing every nation left behind. they continue to prowl the streets for reprisal killings. that is a major cause of concern. >> i condemn the massacres and these murders. there should be investigation on how the prosecutor can establish a national inquiry. they should have a commission of human-rights to start an international inquiry. >> he confirmed that the truth and reconciliation commission would be set up. he has already sought south africa's tel. he would include all of those

involved, including his own supporters. >> with britain the's royal wedding weeks away quite a bit of businesses are hoping to make a lot of money for their big day. none more than the fashion industry. the blue dress that she wore sold out within 24 hours. she is a major player in the fashion world. there is a growing relationship between the future princess and british fashion. there is flash photography at the start of this report. >> the engagement of prince william to kate middleton. the moment that she became internationally famous and so did her dress. this quickly became a hit. her taste is clearly going to be influential. how is she going to play it? >> how important she will be as her call.

she is going to take a little bit more of a low-key approach where to start off in her position is a very wise decision. she does talk really need to do anything. all eyes will be on her anyway. >> these might seem trivial to some, but not the british fashion industry. this will make a big difference. >> it is a huge impact. the world is going to be looking at kate middleton. i do not think anyone else in the world can actually have that. >> the royal family have been trendsetters for centuries. >> you can see some of queen victoria's tartan. she is responsible for a generation of children having to wear sailor suits. she came up with the idea for

her own children when she was sailing on the royal yacht. this dress was selling at 1 per minute after she wore it for her official engagement photograph. her taste for mainstream styles might change. >> will she continue to buy products just walking around stores? she may have to work independently with certain designers and certain brands. her wardrobe as she goes around the world will probably require that. >> kate middleton will need to tread softly when making her designer choices. the british fashion industry has spread their dreams under her feet. >> finally, a video of the czech president making a not so smooth

move during a visit to chile last week. he quietly slip day ceremonial pen into his pocket during a news conference. the spokesman for the july and president defended him. he was free to take the pen. he was unapologetic. >> first of all, let me say that it was not a fountain pen. it was an ordinary ball point pen. well i was on my way here today in the car, i was reading newspapers and also writing. i've looked at my patent and it had the lisbon-nato summit october, 2010 summit written on it. this is what people usually do. at the moment, i am using a note pad. >> the coalition of countries

taking part in military action over libya. >> 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. >> lincoln's been shot. >> you are charged with conspiracy to kill abraham lincoln. >> 150 years after the civil war began -- >> i am no assassin. >> comes the story of what really happened when it was over. >> my mother is innocent. >> from director robert redford. >> she must be buried and forgotten. >> you liar!

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