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."

>> nato steps of the air campaign on libya, with massive explosions close to colonel gaddafi's fortress in tripoli. all eyes on the skies of europe. but can the ash clouds threaten travel chaos. rescue efforts in missouri after a tornado claims the lives of 116 people. welcome to bbc news, broadcast on pbs in america and around the world. coming up. thousands of dubliners greet president obama. privacy lot in chaos. the center of super injunctions.

nato planes have launched a series of air attacks on the libyan capital, tripoli. around 20 airstrikes in 30 minutes sent smoke drifting across the city. some of the strike appeared to have targeted colonel gaddafi's compound. france announced it and the u.k. would deploy the attack helicopters to escalate strikes. nato is enforcing a u.n. resolution to protect libyans following the uprising against the libyan leader's rule. >> explosions light of the night sky over tripoli. around 20 nato air strikes hit the libyan capital in the space of half an hour. these appear to be the largest air strikes since nato began bombing in march. casualties were rushed to local hospitals.

doctors worked through the night to treat those hurt in the attack. >> the injured have been taken to two different hospitals. this is one of them. some of them were treated and have gone home already. they experienced light injuries. some have more serious injuries. that is what you have seen. >> these strikes, as britain and france are expected to deploy attack helicopters. president obama visits europe on a trip likely to be dominated by libya. after weeks of stalemate, nato appears to be stepping up the pressure in an effort to break the deadlock. >> correspondent andrew north is in the capital. he gives us more details about what happened. >> these are certainly the heaviest strikes that i have experienced well i have been here in the libyan capital, some

of the heaviest bombing i have ever experienced anywhere. it started around 1:00 in the morning local time, when there were three massive blasts in the city, shaking our hotel. over the following 20 minutes or so, the blasts appeared to get closer to our hotel, literally shaking it to its foundations. we covered our windows with curtains to try to prevent any damage from the blast. still, the windows were shaken, almost breaking them. huge flashes of light in the skies, followed by the thunderous boom aircraft flying overhead. antiaircraft opening up. strings of tracer fire in the sky. now, libyans are seeing that some kind of government target was hit.

they are saying it was linked to what they call the popular guard, some kind of reserve force. we ourselves have not been able to go to the scene of the attack to see what has actually been hit. we were taken to a hospital, where we were shown some injured people who they said had been brought from the scene. we have heard to the reports of three people being killed. what we do not know at the moment is the full details of that. we are still trying to get confirmation of that. that is what libyan officials are saying. they also said that many others were injured. >> you said this is the heaviest bombing you have experienced since you have been there. is there a sense there is definite escalation in terms of nato activity? >> it certainly looks like nato is trying to send a very strong

message after quite a long peru = -- period in which the situation has been widely described as a stalemate, despite the corridor concentration by nato on the capital. there is no apparent sign that the bombing campaigns are listening colonel gaddafi's ref -- grip on power. troubles on the eastern side have not been able to exploit the vintages of nato air cover. they have defended benghazi and murata -- mizrata, but no further breakthrough. nato is trying to break the stalemate. but what we saw this evening was many people come out onto the streets, showing their defiance. it is still hard to say whether or not nato will achieve its objectives. >> andrew no. come on the ground

in tripoli. a volcanic eruption in iceland has began to hit air traffic in europe. klm is among the airlines cancelling flights to and from scotland. the ash cloud is expected to reach england and northern ireland shortly. last year, ash from another icelandic volcano forced cancellations of thousands of flights, causing travel chaos across europe. >> it is happening all over again, the vast power of cash -- tower of ash ballooning into the sky above iceland. there is a wind blowing the stuff our way. it is not the same bacchanal as last year, but the ash is being blasted higher. aviation authorities are warning that flights will be disrupted. >> some parts of the u.k. will have some disruption probably as

early as tomorrow. some possibility that by the end of the week that may be more widespread. there is low pressure. that means the weather can change quickly. >> once again, all eyes are on iceland. this is where the ash cloud has moved since saturday. there are those in scotland overnight tonight. the irruption is bigger than last year, throwing up more cash. the particles inside the cloud are larger than last time, which means they should drop into the ocean more quickly. airline authorities have new rules. they can fly into denser clouds of ash if they have permission. there should be less trouble disruption than last time.

passengers were hearing about the ash cloud. >> i thought we had seen the last of that last year. >> we do not know if we will manage to come back to norway. but we are not worried. >> i am flying back in a couple of days. >> in iceland itself, a dark cloud has descended. the ash is every where. imagine having to keep it out of your car. this irruption is the largest the country has seen in 50 years. it is still going strong. >> 116 people are known to have been killed by a tornado which struck the american city of joplin, missouri. the tornado destroyed and damaged more than a quarter of the town. it is the deadliest single tornado in the country since

1950. >> a dahlin like no other in joplin, missouri. the tornado hit churches, schools, a hospital, and hundreds of homes. in a sea of trouble, rescuers look for signs of life. such is the skill of what happened here. -- the scale of what happened here. this is what destroyed joplin. the fast-moving funnel of their half a mile long, -- a tunnel -- funn =el o -- funnel of air half a mile long. everything goes dark, but we can hear their fear. >> i love you. >> their perch were answered. others were not.

>> the next minute, the whole world was upside down. >> the earthquake was shaking the whole place up. >> when it finally stopped, this was the apocalyptic aftermath. gas leaking. parts of the town on fire. 2000 buildings flattened. the air ambulance is permanently grounded. from ireland, the president has pledged federal disaster funds. the amount will run into millions, perhaps billions. that is before the human cost is counted. of the elements punish joplin further, people returned to pick through the scattered debris of family life. >> my mom, my grandma, and my aunt cathy live here. >> amid the gloom, some cause

for hope. news that rescuers had pulled seven survivors from the rubble. the governor believes more are up there. >> i ask everyone throughout the country to continue to pray for the folks at work of there. it is a very difficult time. seven rescued today means there are others out there who could be surviving. >> this was just one of dozens of twisters that ripped through the heart of america over the weekend. 2011 is now the deadliest year for tornadoes in nearly six decades. the humbling power of nature. it will live with those who survived. >> president obama flew into britain from the irish republic on monday evening, more than 12 hours ahead of schedule because of the threat from the ash cloud. the president and his wife were given an enthusiastic reception by thousands of people. he even went to get a point at the pub.

we have more. >> the village of fewer than 300 people in a state of fever. the most powerful politician in the world came to visit. the african-american president, in search of his irish roots. his great-great grandfather left tier 106 years ago, bound for new york. >> i just want you to know that the president pays his bar tab. >> smooth, cool, and goes down a street. the president has wowed them in ireland. >> i am very impressed. it is delicious. >> it almost proves he is one of them, this melting pot

president partly brought up in indonesia, proud of his kenyon ancestry. today, he came to celebrate ireland. there was a moment when the armored car, scraped its belly. he talked with the irish prime minister. >> i believe the queen of england came here to see the mutual warmth that took place, and sensed what bobby kennedy once called the ripple effect. >> he is the 29th president to claim irish ancestry. there are 36 million voters back home who do so, as well. ronald reagan came in an election year.

george bush stressed his ancestors back to the 12th century. today has not just an about winning the irish-american vote back home. this is a president with the weight of the world on his soldiers, reintroducing obama, superstar. the crowd of 20,001 wild. >> yes we can. yes weekend. -- yes we can. we have the spirit of the world. thank you. >> he may have one eye on the voters at home. now it is off to london for a day of pageantry before hard politics began. >> still ahead, israel's prime minister remains defiant over

u.s. proposals for establishing a palestinian state. >> israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 line. >> two people have died in storms battering much of the uk. tens of thousands of homes are without electricity across scotland and northern ireland. many rail and ferry services have been canceled. travelers are being advised not to travel near newcastle by train. correspondent james cook reports. >> the power of a winter storm, and the start of the scottish summer. all day, because it was punished by waves whipped up by the wind. >> it is spectacular here. it is pretty hard to stand up.

clearly, there are problems. for these divers, a trip along the shore was fraught with danger. the bus is not usually this risky in may. tonight, long after rush-hour should have ended, thousands were still struggling home. the drawbridge was closed. motorways like the m-62 were blocked. falling trees killed a woman in northumberland and a van driver. this storm is surprising. >> it is very unusual in may to get such a low pressure near scotland, and also with the trees in full leaf. it is bringing trees down. >> that has brought scotland's rail network to a virtual standstill and has left many homes without power. the driver of this train was

lucky to escape and hartman -- escape unhurt. the cleanup has not even begun. >> you are watching "bbc news." massive explosions are reported close to colonel gaddafi's capital -- compound in tripoli. iceland's of chemical ash cloud volcanic -- iceland's ash cloud had self. benjamin netanyahu has again rejected president obama is a vision of a peace based on the country's 1967 borders. he spoke to washington's most powerful "-- pro-israel lobbying group.

his hope is for an eventual peace between israel and the palestinians. very much a defiant message from benjamin netanyahu. >> he did not actually address the peace profits -- the peace process in the majority of his speech. it was to a pro-israeli lobby in washington to reaffirm the special relationship israel end americans enjoy. he did talk about the 1967 lines. since obama speech -- since obama's speech last week, there has been clarification from the white house the president obama was talking about a future palestinian state being based on 1967 borders, but with mutual land swaps. when prime minister netanyahu tonight did talk about the peace process, he was adamant to say that the 1967 lines are

indefensible. >> we can only make peace with the palestinians if they are prepared to make peace with the jewish state. [applause] tomorrow, in congress, i will describe what a peace between a palestinian state and the jewish state would look like. but i want to assure you of one thing. it must leave israel with security. therefore, israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines. >> benjamin netanyahu will address the u.s. congress later today, in a few hours time. something he touched on with his speech tonight in washington will be the change in the middle east and north africa. as he put it tonight in this

speech, he sees the change as a positive thing. he hopes the rest of the world will look at the change. reform would be a reason to stop blaming israel for the region's problems. it was an interesting take from the israeli prime minister on the changes we have seen. >> thank you very much. more now on the devastating tornado that struck the u.s. city of joplin. we are speaking to michael spencer, a disaster relief worker for the american red cross. >> we opened up a shelter hours after the storm. many people came to the shelter overnight, and more today. we have had torrential downpours today. there are more tornadoes possibly expected for tomorrow. people have been coming to the shelters, with the temperatures going down here. we are making sure people have a

place to stay, a hot meal to eat, and a shoulder to cry on. we give people hugged and let them know they are quick to make it through this. >> how many people have sought your help? >> last night, we had 900 people in 22 red cross shelters. we were already responding before last night. >> are these makeshift shelters? >> there were some shelters last night that people just opened up their local churches and different things to let people come in. the red cross shelter is a fully-functioning shelter. people can go there and get basic essentials. they can pick up close in their size. they can get food. they can talk with some of our emotional support team members and really help them to begin the recovery process.

>> you have experience in dealing with situations of this kind. how does this compare? >> it is hard to compare any disaster. a house fire takes away an entire person's house. it is just as devastating as a tornado to that one person. but the magnitude and the scale -- you will find that almost everyone in this town knows someone who lost their house or is missing. it seems like the entire community knows someone who has been tragically affected by this disaster. it is almost overwhelming. the need is so great here. >> in the u.k., an mp has used a parliamentary privilege to name a player who was given a gagging order. proceedings quickly turned into

a legal fiasco. >> named in the house of commons. the footballer at the center of the injunction is manchester united star [unintelligible] john hemming used parliamentary privilege to identify the soccer player. >> it is obviously impractical to imprison them all. >> is a deliberate breach of a court order led to a swift reprimand. >> let me say to the gentleman that in occasion such as this, occasions for raising the issues of principle involved -- not seeking to flout whatever purpose. >> it would have been a criminal act outside of parliament. thousands of twitter users have also committed technical

breaches of the court injunction, at one stage publishing the name every 5 seconds. media organizations decided this meant the injunction could not now prevent publication of the name. >> there is a sense that the revocation of a court injunction itself is at stake. the judge is being told that trying to gag the media is futile. >> this is what he thinks of people who flout privacy orders. >> there has to be an established principle. ultimately, somebody has to hold the balance between the individual who wants to protect his or her privacy, and the media, who want to publish everything. >> members of parliament and the media at loggerheads over whether an unpopular injunction should be used. there is a movement welcome to

by the lawyer for many of these celebrities involved in privacy cases. >> i have always been in favor of privacy laws. it should be carefully considered and laid down in a statute. then everybody knows where they stand. i am glad the government is thinking about that. >> tonight, the question of what the right to a private life should name. politicians and lawyers battle it out. >> the main news again this hour. a series of massive explosions have shaken the libyan capital of tripoli. plumes of smoke are drifting across the city. a libyan government spokesman said three people were killed. nato bombed barracks. you can find our twitter address

on your screen. stay with us. >> 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 financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.