>> 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." >> colonel gaddafi launches a fresh attack on misrata. one resident says that his forces are using cluster bombs. we have a special report from inside of a city under siege. doctors say they are struggling to cope with the carnage. >> they are running out of essential drugs and supplies. the medical staff is exhausted. >> tens of thousands demonstrate against syria. welcome to "bbc news," broadcasting to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the struggle to rebuild lives following japan's earthquake and tsunami.

a doctor in the deceased rebel- held libyan city of misrata has told the bbc that he has seen cluster bombs used by pro gaddafi forces. they are banned by more than 100 countries around the world. the libyan government has denied using cluster weapons. the siege, the only rebel-held area in western libya, has seen colonel gaddafi using snipers, tanks, and artillery. the port area has seen some of the heaviest shelling. we made it into the city by boat and we report on the civilians in dealing with the

situation. this deals with instruction images from the start. -- distressing images from the start. >> cries of agony. a little girl of six kim. her family says she is funny and likes to play. she was shelled in her own home. her tiny body punctured by 30 pieces of shrapnel. this is the reality of misrata. >> someone has to help. this is not humanitarian and all. >> you feel you have been led down by the international community. >> absolutely. people are left at silly helpless and no one is helping. >> another power cut. -- people are left helpless and no one is helping. >> they are short of staff and beds. this 17-year-old is one more

innocent victim, doctors say. they insist 80% of the dead and wounded are civilians. most have been targeted with heavy weapons. this man rushed to help, taking leave from his job in britain. he is haunted by two sisters he could not say. the on this, a toddler. >> we tried by every means to save their lives. when one minute, i was happy because i thought that i saved their lives. we tried to gather for more than seven days. -- we try ttogether. >> this fighter had just come in. he was shot and try to bomb a sniper's nest. >> i am ready to go back to the front, he says. i will fight until we get rid of gaddafi.

>> the libyan leader is hanging on and strangling misrata. we found deserted streets. this is a city that is desperate for more air strikes and outside help. a city where children are learning to dodge bullets. we are on the corner of benghazi street. you can see what a data filled the this has become. this is an arnold -- you can see what a battlefield this has become. this is an armored personnel carrier. the sounds of battle have been getting louder and closer. the rebels say they have sustained heavy losses. >> the fighters and their supporters are becoming experts in the enemy's weapons. >> we call this a dog.

it barks like a dog. course we can listen, 1, 2, 3, 4. >> survival can be madeleine's chance joshed survival can be a matter of chance. -- survival can be a matter of chance. this family made it out of their home the five minutes before it was destroyed. >> gaddafi has killed everyone. what does he need? we asked him, what do you need from us? we need freedom. >> back at the hospital, and they expect the little girl to make a full recovery. this city is the number-one priority of nato. that is not how it looks.

>> i spoke to a doctor who has been working in misrata and he told me about the injuries inflicted by the government's use of weapons which includes cluster bombs. >> most of the cases we have seen in the clinic, the majority of them are suffering from cut off limbs and burns due to exposure to mortars. also the explosion and the shelling from tanks. >> you are treating civilians of all ages? >> yes. we have some children. we have old man. all ages here. >> there are reports from human rights watch of the use of cluster bombs. have you seen any evidence of that? >> yes, actually. i have seen a lot of these

cluster bombs. and the rebels have managed to reassemble some of those bombs. they explode, once they do -- >> we are hearing a lot of noise in the background. what sort of injuries are being sustained as a result of the cluster bombs? >> there is a lot, actually. there are big holes in the chest. i cannot describe this because we have a serious amount of them. >> who else has used them? >> what some journalists have seen the cluster bombs. germanking about journalists. -- some journalists have seen the cluster bombs. they have taken photos for the

evidence. >> the the rebels and know that they have been used so that they can avoid the areas in case of unexploded ordinance? >> all of the residential areas have been targeted. you cannot say that people can avoid such kind of weapons. we have snipers who are positioned on the tallest buildings in the city. they are firing from there. from there, they can reach a very long range. once the bomb explodes, they target a wide area. >> do you think the attack on misrata is getting worse? >> yes, yes. today, we were exposed to one of

the worst attacks since the beginning of this conflict. actually, the sounds of explosions can be heard at the moment i'm talking to you. it looks like gaddafi's forces are trying by any means necessary to take control of the city of misrata. >> i was talking to a doctor working in the hospital in misrata. foreign ministers gathered in berlin against a backdrop of calls from britain and france for more countries to play their part in carrying out the nato air campaign. president obama says he does not anticipate stepping up the military commitment. >> we have a stalemate on the ground militarily but gaddafi is still getting squeezed and all kinds of other ways. he is running out of money. he is running out of supplies. the noose is tightening and he is becoming more and more isolating -- isolated.

my expectation is that if we continue to apply pressure and continued to protect civilians, then over the long term gaddafi will go. >> syrian security forces have used teargas and batons to break up anti-government protests in the best guess -- protests in damascus. the protests seem to be spreading. >> the media are being kept away but for many parts of syria, and there is video of demonstrations demanding freedom and an end to the regime. this is said to be what happened after friday prayers. trouble was reported in the south.

they are defiant after the disturbances erupted there. this is the kind of behavior that has made many syrians so angry. this footage seems to have been taken by many of the armed security wing or militias. it shows its members taking pleasure in taking, beating, a humiliating a downed detainee. most other local men had been rounded up after an army ambush on a nearby highway that killed at least nine syrian army soldiers. within 30 troops and police are reported to have been shot dead in different parts of the country in the past week or so. one was killed by a sniper. the funerals have been shown repeatedly on serious state television saying that they have been killed by armed gangs acting on behalf of a foreign

conspiracy. the official television has shown suppose concessions by men who say they were given arms with money by outsiders to shoot on demonstrators and security forces to sow discord. the protesters insist that their movement is peaceful. they say the shootings are down by the secret police to justify a harsh crackdown. at the same time, a new government has been announced. this is part of a number of steps the regime has taken to say they're responding to public demands for reform. the president ordered the release of people detained since the trouble began unless they have committed crimes. many of those freed said they had been beaten and tortured, a claim supported by human rights watch. unless the president curb's his security forces and delivers some serious changes, it is hard

to imagine the protests and enter died away. -- anger dying away. protesters have pulled down a statue of the president's father who ruled the country for 30 years. a growing number of syrians seem to not only want to topple the statue but the regime. >> a look at more developments throughout the arab world, the president of yemen has urged the opposition to enter into dialogue. president abdelaziz bouteflika told a rally of thousands of his supporters that negotiations were the way to peace. the opposition has rejected offers to attend talks in saudi arabia. in jordan, protesters took to the streets in the capital calling for political and economic reforms. the demonstrators carried signs

asking for the dissolution of parliament and the formation of a new national unity government. there were also demanding that corrupt officials should stand trial. the algerian president has announced mense -- has announced plans to amend the constitution. he says that the changes were aimed at reinforcing democracy in algeria. he said that he would set up a committee to suggest constitutional reforms which would then be discussed by parliament. you are watching "bbc news," still to come. ♪ >> human revolutionary troops such as these have invaded castro's fortress. >> remember in a dark chapter in cuba's relationship with the u.s.

india's supreme court has granted bail to a beating public health specialists and human rights activist. he was sentenced to life in prison last december. he was found guilty of helping maoist rebels who are active in large parts of india. we have more from delhi. >> the court ruled that he could be given bail by appealing against his conviction. he is a qualified doctor who has been working among the port tribal communities in central india. last december, a court found him guilty of treason saying that he was helping the maoist by caring messages to them, even helping them to setup bank accounts. the judges said that while he could be found a sympathetic to their cause, it does not make him guilty of treason. this is a judgment and pronouncement that has been widely welcomed by the doctor's family and supporters.

this is a case that has received massive attention not just here in india but also in the international community. amnesty international describe him as a prisoner of conscience. they said that the trial was flawed. the trial itself was monitored by representatives of the european union, an unprecedented step. this is a major stronghold for the maoist who control a large amount of territory in central and eastern india. they have been described by the prime minister as a major threat to national security. human-rights campaigners have been complaining that the government, while carrying out operations against the malice, crackdown on those sympathetic to them using harsh laws and violence. >> a police chief has been killed by suicide attack in afghanistan. he was in his office when an attacker dressed in police uniform managed to approach him and detonated his mom.

-- hos -- he was in his office when an attacker dressed in police uniform and is to approach him and detonated his bomb. and doctors in misrata say they have seen the results of cluster bombs. they are dealing with the bombardment from pro-government forces. a month after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in japan, there is little sign of life moving on to into the death toll is expected to reach 28,000. a further 150,000 are in shelters struggling to cope with some much loss. our correspondent has gone to one of the worst hit towns on the eastern coast and filed this report. >> one month on, japan is

wracked by grief. also, among many survivors come in gilts. -- among many survivors, built- this teacher is anguished because she was not with her children when the tsunami struck. this is a designated tsunami shelter. she is looking for the store room where incredibly coming two girls managed to survive. this is the place. they said that the waves swept them in here. it was pure chance who lived and who died. just 6 inches below the ceiling, the water stopped rising. in this tiny space, they fought to kept their heads above water. one had been clasping another

friend's hand but the water drag her way. >> they could not help. >> out of the swimming team, six are dead, another is still missing. this 16 year-old has frequent nightmares. she tried to keep hold of her friend's hand but could not. >> in the hall on the third floor, the wave came over us. i still had my friend's hand but we got separated. >> for the children who survived the tsunami, keeping busy and diverted even in the limbo of the evacuation centers is that

rarity. this is a way of warding off the priorities-the memories of that day. >> i was under water. -- this is a way of warding off the members of that day. >> i heard my other teammates say, are you there? find a door. we help each other and we waited until the water drained away. >> the hall she sheltered in was in the middle of this a photo. the waves destroyed everything. most of the high school's other students escaped up the hill. the japanese red cross said that up to 10% of all survivors may suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. >> at night, i could not sleep. i imagined how cold the water was. maybe, they tried to swim and go up.

i can imagine all of that, you know. but, i could not help them. >> that is the dark like to see that might weigh longest on japan, the trauma of the tsunami. it smashed so much here. the broken buildings are being cleared, the many many broken lives may never be repaired. >> two former croatian generals have been jailed for war crimes against serbian civilians in the 1990's. one has been sentenced to 24 present -- 44 years in prison. mladen markac has been ordered to 18 years in prison. a court in chile has ordered the

body of salvador allende to be exhumed. they're trying to determine whether he was killed or he committed suicide. he was taken from power in the 2 that put -- the coup that put augusto pinochet in power. 16 bodies have been recovered from -- state alone. today marks half a century since america launched an attack on cuba's bay of pigs. the failed invasion still defies the troubled relationship. cia trained cuban exiles were sent to overthrow fidel castro but this proved a humiliating feet -- a humiliating defeat for

america. >> in this tranquil coast hides a bloody past. 50 years ago, a small army of cia trained and financed cuban exiles landed on the speech intent on overthrowing fidel castro and his revolution. if approved a humiliating defeat. -- it proved a humiliating defeat. >> they have penetrated the fortress. the attacks are what castro called united states imperialism. >> the plan was to come ashore and detected at night but they lost the element of surprise. a small militia was waiting for them in the trenches along the shore. >> i was living near here. i went outside and i saw a flair. i came to the beach with my

father and brothers. when we arrived, the comrades were handing out guns and ammunition. >> we thought this was the invasion. be careful, they're trying to invade. we have 11 rifles and in about four in the morning, they started the landing. we opened fire. first reinforcements quickly to arrive. fidel castro took personal charge of the operation. within three days, the battle was over. >> this was a perfect failure of the u.s. is supposed to be a covert operation but it was so open that sell whole world saw who was behind it. it was supposed to rid the hemisphere of the potential soviet base. it pushed fidel castro into the waiting arms of the soviet union. >> a year later, the cuban

missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. >> within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites are now on preparation on that island. >> in the end, the dow castro was forced to step down by ill health. -- fidel castro was forced to step down by ill health. his brother will host the long- delayed party congress. political change looks no closer now than it did following cuba's victory at the bay of pigs. >> a doctor in the besieged in rebel-held city of misrata has told the bbc that he has seen cluster bombs used by pro gaddafi forces. this confirms allegations by human rights watch it.

the libyan government has denied using cluster weapons. these are banned by more than 100 countries across the world. >> 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.