are found asleep on duty. >> hello. barack obama, david cameron, and president sarkozy have issued a joint declaration that military action in libya will continue until colonel gaddafi is gone. in a letter being published in three newspapers, the leaders say a future with gaddafi in charge would be a betrayal of the people. as foreign ministers debated how to boost the military effort, nato aircraft attacked the libyan capital. our middle east editor reports from tripoli. >> first came the sound of

military jets. earlier this week, tripoli didn't feel like a city at war. from the roof where we do live broadcasting, it was clear that was changing. there were bursts of anti-aircraft fire, and then around five miles away, the nato planes hit their target. it all happened while nato was meeting in berlin, promising what it called a high operational tempo. about an hour later, the libyans took journalists to the scene of attack. the bus stopped at a cafe on a university campus. the windows had been blown out and the doors. witnesses said up to 10 people had been wounded by flying glass. there was a military base about 500 yards away, but they didn't want us to film it. an official demanded a memory

card which had pictures. tell me something. you brought us to this place to film, ok? so if you brought us to this place to film, why do you want to take the pictures away? tell me that. so they've taken away the memory card, which contained a few images that came from a military base from over there which was the site of the attack. but the libyans brought us here so we could film the damaged university calf fear ya. they're -- cafeteria. they want that film, but not that. we had other pictures. small fires were still burning on the base. the official reaction was dismissive. >> they are attacking very old army cans, check points, and sometimes check -- empty space. the signs of explosions. it is visible to the civilian population in tripoli.

while all that was happening, colonel gaddafi was driing through tripoli on the 25th anniversary of another air strike by the americans on his headquarters. nato can't agree exactly how the colonel should be removed from office, but they want him out. he has other ideas. >> let's get more now on that joint article issued by the leaders of france, the u.k., and the u.s. tom is in washington. he said the mission was to have colonel gaddafi removed, but not necessarily a regime change. >> particularly interesting part of this joint statement from the united states, great britain, and france is a part where they basically say that as long as gaddafi is in power in libya, the nato military operations will continue, which is a fairly bold statement given the situation on the ground in libya.

the timing of this statement is particularly interesting. it comes hot off the heels of comments by the french foreign minister in berlin at that conference of foreign ministers where he basically said that he'd asked the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton if the united states could again provide more planes to military operations in libya. and her response apparently was that the united states will provide planes on a case-to-case basis for the operations. and i think that's another way of saying that she said no. >> nevertheless, barack obama has joined the other two leaders in this publicity. >> that's right. i think the statement really is an expression of unity. it's really saying, look, there have been a lot of reports all around the world, in the media here in the united states as well, about divisions within nato. a big debate that seems to be going on within the alliance

about which nation should provide what and how much. and we had comments earlier in the week from the french and the british saying -- calling on other nation, smaller nations, or smaller military nations within nato to provide or actually get involved with the military operations in libya. like spain or italy. and that call was rejected by the spanish foreign minister. so there is clearly a debate going on, and this statement seems to be a sort of effort to try and counteract that. >> they also repeat the international legal mandate throughout this article, presumably that's to counter worries and concerns by other countries, and for mr. gaddafi himself. >> that's right. those images we just saw in that report there of colonel gaddafi going through the streets of tripoli waving his hands in defiance. we expect him to probably use this as propaganda. the reports of divisions within nato.

but there clearly is a division going on there. you were right, there is a lot of -- there's a very subtle difference between what the mission's statement is and the nato keeps on claiming -- we heard it in washington again today, that the regime change is not the mission goal, whereas at the same time, they do want colonel gaddafi to leave in the longer term, they just don't want to be the direct -- the actual force that actually gets rid of him. they hope that the rebels can do that, and they provide assistance to the rebels. >> in other news, the syrian state news agency says a sniper shot dead one soldier and wounded another in the port city of barnyast. the government is urging a crackdown against the president's rule. the president has meanwhile ordered the release of hundreds of detainees who have been involved in weeks of protest across the country, calling for political reform.

the ugandan opposition leader has been injured after the military opened fire to disperse protestors in the capital. six other opposition politicians were arrested in the walk to work protest against high food and petrol prices. the u.n. has confirmed that 34 people were killed in an iraqi army raid last week on a camp which houses iranian exiles opposed to the government in teheran. iraq has said three people were shot in the raid and the others were dead before troops moved in. the government's own bahrain says it will dissolve the country's main shiite opposition group. since february when anti-government protests began, at least 30 people have been killed and more than 400 detained. the country is now under martial law, but our security correspondent frank gardner who used to live there was able to

get around and talk to people. some of you may find his report distressing. >> in a shiite suburb, a body arrives from the north. he had handed himself over to police. six days later, he died in their custody. they say he fought his jailers. his family are seeing his battered body the first time. his wounds are shocking. the people behind me are chanting "down with the king." a man who died in their custody a martyr. i took this case to the health minister. i told her we had seen them ourselves.

>> i will try as a person, also a minister in charge of human rights, that we will ask for an investigation. >> the foremost arab state has seen the biggest clashes in the gulf. over 30 reported killed this year. it's polarized the country. under martial law, many shiites say they've been unfairly targeted, while others say they feel reassured of security after the cares of the protestors. after friday prayers at this sunni mosque, i asked the imam if she knew what would happened. >> if they manage to seize power, sunnis in bahrain will suffer and will see bloodshed and killings. the same group here in bahrain have taken their instructions from iran, iraq, and hezbollah.

>> i put this to an opposition who denied it. he said they're going against the grain of history. >> our problem is they want to accept to give part of their power and authority to the people. in the absence of the willingness is the problem. >> not true, says the government. the crowned prince offered them a power-sharing deal and they didn't take it. now negotiations are stalled. the brutal way it's being done is sewing a hatred that could well e represent on to -- erupt on to the streets. >> the man in charge of air traffic control in the united states has resigned over revelations that flight controllers have been sleeping on the job. there's been at least six such cases this year, leaving planes circling overhead or forcing them to land unaided.

>> drama in the skies over america. a pilot carrying a seriously old patient is trying to land at an airport in nevada, trying to call the control tower, but no one answers. >> the lone controller is asleep. the pilot then calls operators at a nearby airport. 16 minutes go by, but he can't wait any longer. >> we're going to need to land. >> that plane landed safely. but the incident earlier this week wasn't the first. this year, an -- in airports across the u.s., there have been a string of incidents involving air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job. growing public anger now means this man is out of a job. he has resigned from his position as the head of u.s. air traffic control. so why are so many air traffic controllers dozing off?

many workday and night shifts in the same week. >> there is obvious fatigue implications when you rotate from shift to shift throughout a week or on a daily period. >> the government ordered a complete review of the system. but with so many incidents in such a short space of time, it's going to take much more for america's traveling public to feel safe in the skies once again. >> you're watching "bbc news." still to come, angry protestors disrupt b.p.'s first a.g.m. since the oil spill in the gulf of mexico. a new report says 7,000 stillbirths are occurring every day worldwide and that the poorest nations continue to suffer the most. it sets out ambitious targets to half the number by 2020. >> pregnant women in a hospital

in malawi. there are no chairs, but there are at least trained medical staff who can help safely deliver these women's babies. according to the new report, it's countries like this where women are most at risk of stillbirth. but what can be done? the report says providing better care for women in labor could save thousands of lives. as can detecting and treating infections such as syphilis. pregnancies also need to be better monitored, with hypertension and abnormal fetal growth spotted more quickly. >> the most critical thing globally for reducing 2.6 million stillbirths is care at birth. 1.2 million of those are happening during the time of labor. after a woman has started laboring, the baby dies during that time, really because of lack of care. >> but it's not just poor nations where tragedies strike. even in the richest countries, stillbirths continue to affect thousands of parents, such as

british mother sam baker, who lost her child scarlet in 2009. >> losing somebody is very hard anyway, but to lose a child is something very specific. and to lose a baby as well. you know, they're so innocent, they didn't do anything wrong. it's just so hard, because it's meant to be such a happy time. >> i'm cindy. >> she may now have a baby boy to add to her older daughter, but like millions of women worldwide, she still carries the memories and the wounds. >> this is "bbc news." the headlines. the u.s., u.k., and france saga da if i must go, that the international coalition is split over how to y achieve his departure.

coalition forces carried out more air strikes against the libyan capital. the i.m.f. and world bank have warned that food prices are at tipping point, having risen 36% in the past year. they're now close to the levels they reached at their peek in 2008. back then they provoked protests and riots in many parts of the world. the increasing cost of food has been much more dramatic in low-income countries. the world bank estimated it pushed 44 million people into poverty since june last year. earlier, i spoke to the lead columnist in the poverty reduction and economic management group of the world bank. for him, there's no question, the poorest must be protected from food price increases. >> it's always the poorest who are the hardest hit. they spend the largest share of their incomes, so even the smallest increases can tip them over the edge.

it's generally the poorest in the poorest countries. in fact, what we have seen is that when commodity prices spike, it's the poorest countries which have the highest food inflation rates as well. so unfortunately, it's really the poorest among them, the women and children who are most vulnerable. >> we've seen this happen before. so what sort of measures should be taken to help alleviate the impact on the poor? >> well, clearly, it's essential to scale up social assistance programs and nutrition programs to protect the poor. but then one also has to understand that the underlying causes of these higher food prices also need to be tackled. some of these are medium run social structures, like low agricultural productivity, like the fact that there are mandates on biofuels, which basically increase the demand for corn and other products to be used for industrial uses as well, and not just for food. there are issues to do with export reinstructions, which

countries put on. so there are a number policy related measures at the global level which can be taken, and at the local level, which can be done to curb the food price volatility and protect the poor. >> if those prices are at tipping point now, what would happen if they increased still further? >> we have done projections. we show that if food prices increase by another 10% from our food price index, we estimate another 10 million people to go into poverty. it will be an additional 34 million people. but that's on top of the 1.2 billion people who are already extreme poor. and those people are the ones who suffer the most. they are already in poverty and they suffer even more. so one should only think about the net numbers that go into poverty. 1.2 billion people are already suffering. >> so what are institutions like the world bank able to do? >> well, we are scaling up our

agricultural lending programs to try and increase agricultural yields in an environmentally sustainable manner. we are helping countries improve their social protection systems so when shocks hit, when food crises hit, that they can respond quickly to try and ensure that the poorest don't suffer as much. then we can also work with international partners to see if there can be a code of conduct to remove export reinstructions, especially in humanitarian situations so there's no reinstruction of the flows of food in those types of crisis situations. and we can work with partners to discuss the feasibility and the rationale for having mandates on biofuels when food prices spike. so i think there are many actions that the world bank can do. >> let's go back to the situation in libya and across to washington where we can speak to

kurt, a former u.s. ambassador to nato. he's now a senior fellow at the john hop kin's school of advanced international studies. welcome to "bbc news." thank you for joining us. this libyan crisis seems to be more of a conflict within nato members. now when there's a clear legal mandate? >> there's a mandate to protect civilians and to deliver humanitarian assistance. where nations differ is where the mandate extends to regime change. the u.k., france, seem to be making the argument that the only way truly to protect civilians and have a stable long-term outcome to this is to see that the gaddafi regime is moved. you have other members within nato who do not sign on for changing the government in libya and don't want to see their forces participate in that. >> the wording is ambiguous. what sort of trading will be going on right now? >> i think you're seeing some countries urging more. you have this letter that's now being distributed on the

internet. it will be published in newspapers tomorrow where the u.s., u.k., and france are saying that they will persist until the gaddafi regime is removed. you seem to see a few countries breaking away, asserting a more aggressive role or a more determined role, and nato playing a more passive role just doing a no-fly zone and protecting civilians and doing what they can within the confines of the mandate that they have. so you're seeing this move in two speeds now. >> mr. gaddafi seems to be exploiting these division. do you think that he'll remain as a result of the division? >> no, i don't. i think at the end of the day, it's impossible for me to concede that he'll remain in power. i think just a question of how long this takes, who does it, how that works. clearly you want the libyan people to be in the lead, but the rebels are poorly organized, poorly equipped, and poorly trained, so they're going to need help. and you'll need additional measures from the international

community than we've seen to date, probably more than what nato itself is going to be able to do. >> many thanks for joining us. thank you. >> thank you. >> it's been nearly a year now since the explosion onboard an oil rig in the gulf of mexico killed 11 workers and started the worse u.s. oil spill in history. b.p. held its first annual general meeting since the incident. some protestors traveled all the way to the gulf coast to register their complaints. >> a small, but noisy protest. this lady in red, one of a handful of gulf coast residents who traveled thousands of miles and wanted to get in. >> my child is dead. and it will only stop when these corporations --

>> her journey ended with an arrest. some protestors did briefly make it into the hall. outside, there were calls for answers and compensation. >> i am here because the process has failed the fishing communities along the golf. the claims are not being paid. >> as the first anniversary of this disaster approaches, b.p. says it's already paid $20 billion into a compensation fund. it says it's not responsible for how payments are made. but lessons have been learned. >> we are a different company than the one a year ago. we are emerging from the challenges of 2010 as a wiser and stronger company. >> b.p. was expecting protests here today, but it was also hoping to trumpet a landmark deal with a russian oil company to exploit a russian architect.

that's now hanging by a thread. although b.p. does have an extra month to try salvage this deal. it's been a truly terrible year for b.p. emma simpson, "bbc news," lon dofpble >> there's just a day to go before voters head to the polls in africa's biggest democracy. voters choose a president in nigeria. our correspondent crunches a few numbers for us. >> a few numbers are useful. let's take a look at this map of africa. there's nigeria, africa's most populous nation, 150 million people, of which 75 million have registered to vote. now let's put that in context. the population of south africa, right here, is just 50 million. let's move over to the map of nigeria. this is where it gets a little bit complex. you're going to have 300,000 national service personnel manning 120,000 polling booths

across this vast country. to win, a candidate must have 25% of the vote in 2/3 of the state and a simple majority. now, if everything goes according to plan, within four to eight hours, we'll know who the next nigerian president will be. if they don't get the majority, we're going to a second round with the top two candidates in africa's biggest election. >> in other news, hamas officials say the body of an italian man who had been taken hostage in gaza has been found. a peace activist lived in the gaza strip for some time. it's understood that he was found anged, possibly after a rescue attempt was launched by hamas forces. officials in mexico are to carry out d.n.a. tests on the bodies of 70 people found in mass graves. authorities are trying to find -- to discover the remains,

victims believed to have been shot dead by hired men of a drug cartel. you're watching "bbc news." >> hello, and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the glofpblee and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth export 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. mcarthur found dafplgse and roadside attractions presenting "the conspirator" directed by robert redford. >> lincoln has been shot. you are charged with conspiracy to kill abraham lincoln. >> 150 years after the civil war began. comes the story of what really happened when it was over. >> my mother is innocent. >> from director robert redford.

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