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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> we stand for tolerance and self determination, president obama says that the world still needs american and european leadership. >> our alliance will remain indispensable to a goal that is more prosperous, more just. >> three weeks after the the bin laden rate, the u.s. as they are pulling troops out of pakistan at the request of the government. welcome to bbc news broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. fresh corruption claims against senior fifa officials including the man who would like to be its leader. >> this is what i was called to do. >> after more than 25 years on

air, the queen of daytime television has said goodbye. president obama addressing both houses of the british parliament has said that europe and the u.s. remains the greatest catalyst for global action. he said that britain and america where the nation's most willing to stand up for the values of tolerance and self- determination. later, he hosted a banquet for queen elizabeth at the american ambassador's residence in london. this does include flash photography. >> yes, that really is the prime minister and the president serving one up. this was the day when barack obama went out of the way to

prove that he gets along with david and his country has not forgotten how much he needs hours. this bar-b-que for american and british soldiers is a reminder that the relationship, whatever it is called, is forced by war. president obama and prime minister cameron presented themselves very different from the wartime partnership between bush and blair. today, they are talking about how to not lose a war in afghanistan. the talks focused on how soon they could safely get troops out of afghanistan and have a secure victory in libya without sending troops in. on libya, it was david cameron who led and obama who considered and hesitated. colonel gaddafi is still in power. >> we should be turning up the power in libya. i believe the pressure is on the

regime. you see it in the fact that the rebels have successfully liberated much of misrata. you see this and other parts of the country. we should be turning up the pressure and we will be looking at all the options. >> the president stressed the limits of what could be achieved given their decision that unlike in iraq, they would not invade. >> gaddafi and his regime need to understand that there will not be a let up in the pressure. once you rule out ground forces, then there are going to be some inherent limitations. ♪ >> from there, he progressed to plummet to become the first ever u.s. president to speak in westminster hall, where monarchs have been tried, posted, or laid to rest.

he declared that the time that the country should lead the world and this is not over. >> it would be better if other people's children and grandchildren are more prosperous and more free. from the beaches of normally to the balkans to benghazi. >> the libyan people would be protected, he said. arab states in first to embrace democracy. >> we are now preparing to turn a corner in afghanistan by transitioning to the afghan leader. during this transition, we will pursue a lasting peace with those who break free of al qaeda. >> this was an optimistic speech which presented america, the country formed after war with britain, as an example to the world. >> it is possible for the hard to change and old age is to pass. it is possible for the sons and daughters of former colonies to sit here as members of this

great parliament and for the grandson a kenyan who served as a cook in the british army to stand here before you as president of the united states. >> there was never any doubt that britain was in love with obama. today, he sought to end the doubts about whether he likes us. [laughter] >> the u.s. military has announced the withdrawal of a number of its troops from pakistan. the pentagon received a request to reduce their presence in the country. our correspondent in washington gave us more details. >> all we know is that the pentagon received a written request from pakistan a couple of weeks ago to reduce their footprint in pakistan. that was the wording of it. now, this refers to a very small number of troops that the u.s. keeps in pakistan.

between 200-300 trainers attached to the pakistani military. there will be some of those coming home. obviously, there has been speculation that this was pakistan signaling their displeasure with the u.s. in the wake of the rate that killed osama bin laden. there is nothing specifically in the request that we know what that makes it clear that this is some kind of retaliation. that is where we are. >> do you think that this is as much from public consumption? is there a chance that they would remain in pakistan? >> it is hard to say. it might have that effect. what this is not tell us is the degree to which the rest of america's presence, the special operations forces in operation

with the pakistani government. we don't know if that applied to them as well. as far as the military presence, in and of itself it is not important but this reminds us that this is a very fragile and complex relationship. >> do we know how important american troops are to the whole security and therefore the fight against global terrorism? >> they are bearing in mind the rest of the u.s. presence in the region. 100,000 troops in pakistan. a handful of troops operating in pakistan are not particularly significant as well as we know. the drone strikes that the united states carries out with the tacit acceptance of the pakistani is our pretty important. the united states government claims that it is the most important tool that america has in the fight against the afghan

taliban and al qaeda. these troops they're talking about bringing will not be tactically or strategically important. >> diplomats at the u.n. say european countries have begun circulating a draft resolution condemning syria for their repression of pro-democracy protests. it calls for an immediate end to the violence and for the government to meet the demands for political reforms. so far, russia and china have blocked any efforts to get the security council to condemn these actions. heavy fighting continues between security forces and tribesmen in yemen. the u.s. state department has urged non-essential diplomats to leave the country. fighting between security forces has close to the international airport. the president continues to cling to power.

he claims that al qaeda has stepped up attacks since the protests began. >> once again, opponents of the yemeni leader have taken to the streets to demand he step down. the latest demonstration come after president saleh refused to sign a deal agreed to go. many of these protesters did not like this deal either. they would like to present to go unconditionally. today, they sent a message that they would not be leading the country into civil war. this time, there was a tax on public buildings and the government upon is gaining control of the buildings that included the news agency and the national airline. inside the presidential palace, the president was as calm as he has been throughout this crisis. speaking to the media, he seemed to be rejecting the mediation

effort led by the arab neighbors that some nearly brought a deal at the weekend. he insisted this was an internal crisis to be solved by yemen along. >> we don't want this to be international. this is an internal affair. all political parties in yemen should engage in dialogue. the solution is in their hands. this is not from the outside. >> with the upsurge in violence in the capital, yet many citizens have been fleeing their homes. -- yemenis have been fleeing their homes. there is no end in sight. >> egypt has opened prominently the rafah border crossing to the gaza strip. this is the only way in and out of gaza that bypasses israel. opening it would be a major shift in policy to egypt whose

former president of are opposed the hamas administration in gaza. the former adviser to the palestinian leadership is now with the parties institution and he explained what this would mean for the one and a half million people who live in gaza. >> it would mean the first time in more than four years that palestinians in the gaza strip can move in and out of the gaza strip more or less freely. up until at this point that it has been what many people are describing as an open-air prison. it will have a major economic impact when you allow people and goods to move back and forth. also psychologically. there is a sense of siege which would be lifted. >> egypt says they have not consulted any foreign country in

making this decision. what do you think the reaction would be when it comes? >> well, i think it is clear that they are unhappy about the decision. we have heard statements in the past, the fact that they have maintained and insisted on maintaining the blockade. we know they will not be happy with it. this is a sign of the dramatic change is happening in the region. the change in government in egypt. with this, a very different kind of policy orientation. this event is really at the nexus of two major developments in the region. the first is the so-called arab spring and the change in egypt in particular. the second is the collapse of the israeli palestinian peace process. this development is really at the nexus of both of those. >> diplomats say there is

increasing support for the french finance minister to be the new head of the international monetary fund. she is attempting to seek dominique strauss-kahn. she has the support of the european union countries and diplomats say the u.s. is also backing her. the former head of the imf, dominique strauss-kahn has been moved to a new location and he was seen smiling as he left an apartment in manhattan. he will remain in house on sexual assault charges. riot police have used tear gas and water cannon to break up anti-government protests outside of the -- they're calling for the georgian president to step down. they accuse him of manipulating power and failing to tackle policy. >> protests have broken out between police and demonstrators outside of the georgian

parliament. many people gathered calling for the president to step down and accusing him of the authoritarianism and failing to tackle poverty but not all protesters appeared -- most of them were in masks to hide their faces. at thousand riot police surrounded the area and the police moved in. the demonstrations started on saturday when around 10,000 people gathered to protest. until tonight, police were kept away so there has only been two minor clashes. on thursday, the government will be halted celebrations for georgia's 20 the anniversary of independence outside the parliament. the authorities told the protesters they would have to move and could demonstrate anywhere else in the city, which they refused to do. police have clear the area using tear gas and water

cannons. >> this is bbc news. the end of a broadcasting era. oprah winfrey waves goodbye to daytime television after a quarter of a century. switzerland has become the first european country to announce plans to phase out nuclear- powered in the wake of the fukushima nuclear accident in japan. the swiss government says the five nuclear power stations will close gradually over the next 20 years as they reach the end of their working time. the anti -- lobby would like an end. >> switzerland has some of the oldest nuclear power facilities in europe. following the disaster at fukushima in japan, it was the first european nation to show plans for new nuclear development. now the government has gone a step further. there would be no new reactors built in switzerland but the

current ones responsible for producing 40% of the country's energy will be gradually phased out. >> the government took the decision that we will leave our nuclear power plants working and when they come to the end of the safety time, we don't want to build any new nuclear power plants. >> switzerland has five reactors which will be slowly shut down over the next 23 years. the government says they will make up for the shortfall in production by investing in renewable energy sources. for many anti-nuclear campaigners, the decision did not go far enough. they called for the immediate shutdown of the two oldest reactors including this one. with fukushima still fresh in memory, the decision to move away from nuclear would be welcome to the country which regularly experiences seismic activity.

>> all flight restrictions in europe have been lifted after destruction caused by ash clouds from an icelandic volcano. on wednesday morning, 10% of the flights are grounded. the latest forecast says that the skies should remain clear for some days to come. a major speech in london, present obama has said that the world still needs american and european leadership. mounting anger over the u.s. raid on osama bin laden's compound and force washington with to withdraw some of their military advisers from the country. final preparations are taking place in the french resort of -- before the leaders' summit that gets under way on thursday. the continued relevance has been questioned. this follows the formation of the more globally representative

g.-20 grouping. here is our diplomatic correspondent. >> it started out as a club of the world's richest nations. an annual get together to discuss economic and financial interests. more recently, it has lost some of its luster. it is forced to confess that it is limited. it was the ambition to take on global challenges and a shift in economic clout that change things. after all, which chance was there of curbing poverty worldwide unless all parts of the globe were consulted? what chance of cutting greenhouse gases unless the rest of the world had a seat at the table? the 2008 financial crisis was a watershed. overnight, city bankers were left jobless. the only way to stop the downward spiral was to involve all major world powers.

suddenly, it was emerging countries who were driving global growth and g-20 summits where key financial agreements were forged. do not wish away the g 82 quickly. this year, the arabs spring make that -- might have caught the west by surprise but it also put democracy back on the agenda and drawn a line between western nations who cheered the people power in egypt and tunisia and in places like china, worried in case the unrest is contagious. the conflict with colonel gaddafi deepened the divide. on one side, western countries with a smattering of arab backing have confronted the leader militarily. only russia opposed to the strikes on gaddafi, the odd one out in the g-8 grouping. countries like china and india have signaled their unease in

another nation's sovereignty. >> what we will see is a further discussion about syria, afghanistan, and how to coordinate their response and how to respond to these actions in the north africa and middle east and also have to help consolidate with those that have already occurred and had to support civilian-led changes. >> the question is, have they been given a new lease on life? the once richest nations can no longer claim economically to shift but the promise of change in north africa and the middle east has given a new purpose this year to their meeting. >> a judge in the u.s. has ruled that the man accused of the shooting rampage in arizona which the u.s. congresswoman deborah l. giffords was wounded is not competent to stand trial. -- congresswoman gabrielle giffords was wounded, is not

competent to stand trial. jared loughner her cannot stand trial and will undergo psychological evacuation -- evaluation. the fee for a president the fifa -- >> fifa's offices in switzerland have been seized. today, the most damaging so far leveled against this man, mohamed bin hammam, running to be the president. he told me that he wanted to clean up fifa. a second member of the committee is also implicated in the corruption allegations. according to sources i've spoken to, they are accused of trying to bribe caribbean football

officials with bundles of cash in return for supporting mohamed bin hammam in the vote. the claims which are backed up by signed affidavits are the most significant claims to hit fifa yet. here is the whistle-blower. his dossier of evidence will now be considered by the ethics committee on sunday. the crisis puts a big question mark over whether the fifa election will go ahead. mohamed bin hammam has declared the charge as a tactic by those who do not have confidence in their own stance to merge it successfully. >> it is difficult to see house mirrors can be properly investigated and decided upon in a matter of days or hours next sunday.

this appears to be the intention. >> short on time or not, many will applaud fifa for finally taking action. whatever the outcome of the latest inquiry, the repercussions could be felt for years to come. >> there are no words to match this moment. that is tell oprah winfrey described the studio audience for her very final broadcast. the queen of american television has said farewell to the program which brought her fame and riches. >> she appeared alone, no guests, no real fanfare, just an adoring public and a moment of intimacy watched by millions. >> something in me connected with each of you in a way that allowed me to see myself in you and you and me.

this last hour is really about me saying thank you. this is my love letter to you. >> the stars had come out 24 hours earlier to salute the queen of chat and lament the vacating of her throne. >> i know you don't have children of your own but you have mothered millions. >> however they spend the weekend afternoons, her departure will leave a huge hole in the lives of millions of americans. >> she is a big part of american culture and i do believe in a lot of the topics on her show which were very inspirational. >> she has shown people that if you really work hard, you can accomplish anything. >> this was the little girl born into the poverty of the deep south and she would become a billionaire mega star. destiny called in 1986, this was the first nationally televised show. here she appeared beside a

cartload of fact to -- a cartload of fat to demonstrate her dramatic weight loss. if there was a heart string to tug, she tugged it. >> every man, woman, child who watched the show and made a decision had a thought about changing something in their life. >> oprah even give away cars to her studio audience. unashamed extravagance, compelling television. in her own words, this is how it ended. >> i will say goodbye, i would just say until we meet again. >> you are watching bbc news. 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.