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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> colonel gaddafi vows to vite to the death. -- fight to the death. >> fears of a bloodbath in northern syria. >> europe prepares a compensation package to those affected by the deadly ecoli crisis. welcome to "bbc news." >> police have begun searching an area in texas after a tip-off from a psychic that it might contain a mass grave.

>> the libyan capital is facing a bombardment. colonel gaddafi vowed to remain, dead or alive. from the capital, here is our correspondent. >> it began early in the morning and continued for several hours. more than 50 explosions blocked. the libyan government acknowledged military installations. the attacks provoked family scenes over tripoli. stheeze crowds were smaller than usual.

-- these crowds were smaller than usual. colonel gaddafi and his followers remained defined. a weakness in gaddafi's position, and it certainly did step up the tempo. nato has now flown 4,000 bombing missions since operations began at the end of march. this command center stth and the nearby barracks were hit repeatedly today. how does this equate to protecting civilian populations. >> how is this anyway out of the libyan crisis? by sending rockets and bombs? all of them will have this memory of hatred against britain. >> at the end of the heaviest day, colonel gaddafi spoke on

state television. there was no video, only the leaders voice. he said he had one choice, to stay in his land, dead or alive. today was colonel gaddafi's 69th birthday. images were released of him tonight, apparently watching the aftermath of the day's events. that he was a fugitive in his own capital. a blunt birthday message that the bombing will continue. tripoli. >> reports from northwest syria say -- promised to act determination and enforce control after scurlt personnel were killed in the area. richard galpin reports. >> a funeral currently taking

place last saturday. it is impossible to independently verify this video. dozens of anti-protesters killed. did anger lead some here to take up arms to fight back against the syrian security forces. the town lies in a tribal area in the northwest of the country, close to the border with turkey. it has a history of rebellion. ever since the uprising that began in march, the syrian media have portrayed it as an armed insurection. gangs of extremists launching security attacks across the country. and what happens, officials insist, was the same.

the unprovoked killing of soldiers and police. >> it is like terrorism what is happening over there. it is a fact these people are dead, and we have bodies and corpses with names and dates of birth. it is not something the syrian government has invested. they have families, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. jo how is it possible for so many members of the security forces to be killed so quickly. the army has been used to crush protest movements in many towns and cities. according to unconfirmed reports, there was a mutiny within one of the units sent to al shagore, troops fighting each other. and regardless of whether that is proved to be true or not, a growing number of countries say it is time for the regime of president asad to go.

>> the situation is now very clear in syria. the process of reform is deads. we think he has lost his ability to rule the country. >> that is certainly the feeling of those involved in the protest movement who have been burying their dead. they have witnessed one of the bloodiest episodes so far in this uprising and could now face further military action. richard galpin, bbc news. >> britain and fans setting up pressure for a security council vote. from new york, the details. >> the resolution condemns syria's systematic -- unlike the case in syria, it doesn't impose

sanctions. there are some countries that are worried, this is sloped toward a libyan style intervention. countries are unhappy with the bombing campaign. britain and france have revised the text to take their concerns into accounts, and the idea is to get maximum support on the security council so it will be politically difficult for china and mexico to veto the resolution. both oppose council imposement on syria on the grounds that it wouldn't be helpful. in the mean time, britain and france are stepping up political pressure. britain plans to send the revised drafts, although this is largely a more malt. and a vote is not imminent, as we understand. and the french foreign minister has been talking up the issue on a visit to washington and the united states. he has been saying it is incon

seeveable the council remain silent while the violence in syria is worsening. >> the president of yemen, ali abdullah saleh is seriously wounded. the news of the gravity of his injuries come as clashes are reported. military officials say they have killed 30 people they describe as militants. >> i think there is no question now that the condition president saleh is in is very grave indeed. his officials say he got away with mere scratches. that certainly does not seem to be the case. a u.s. government official that i talk to ed -- talked to here in washington said he has a

collapsed lung, he has 40% burns on his body, he has shrapnel in his body that needs to be removed. president saleh is widely believed to have diabetes, which will make treatment much more difficult. the real question is, what does all of this mean for yemen and what impact will it have? from one side, i think the fact he is in saudi arabia is a -- is to give the united states and saudis the hope they will ease him out of power. this is what his rivals want. no one wants to -- no one wants to see him come back. at the same time let's not forget while president saleh left with most of his family members, the most powerful members of his family are still there, so his two nephews, these

are men who are in charge of the country's troops that were equippedly the united states by britain and they are putting up a fight. they have a question whether or not the question of president saleh was in will actually accentuate that already existing elements of personal revenge and make the already disastrous situation in yemen even worse. >> president barack obama said the european dealt crisis cannot be allowed to threaten the global economy. speaking at a news conference, he pointed to the importance of germany's role in taking a lead on the issue. that seen as an indication that washington may expect berlin to provide financial aid. >> salvage teams have finished recovering bodies for an airplane that crashed into the atlantic in 2009. 104 bodies have been recovered from a depth of 4,000 meters.

all 228 maffers on the aircraft died in the crash. >> f.b.i. investigators are involved in a major police operation in texas after receiving an anonymous tip-off that a site in houston may contain a mass grave. police say they have begun searching the site. the tip-off led to the idea that 40 children could be there. authorities are saying there is no evidence so far that bodies have been found. let's go live to washington and our correspondent. tom, what more can you tell us? >> well, the police are either trying to get a warrant to search this, although the search might have already begun. as you said, it appears that the atip-off the police got came from a psychic, according to reports. the area is a rural area northeast of hive, texas where a

house is located. according to the tip-off, bodies are located at that property. there was confusion earlier when reports surfaced after the local media in texas saying actually bodies had already been found, up to 30 bodies. that does not seem to be the case. it seems that the police are now keen to search that area and see whether bodies do actually exist. >> clearly, tom, the police and the f.b.i. involved in this investigation are taking this tip-off from this psychic very seriously? >> they are. it seems they are investigating. the site seems to be quardonned off at that small rural property in texas. this is being looked at by the police. they are assisting the local sheriff's office there in this particular part of texas. even though this report, this

tip-off has come from a psychic, this is being taken seriously from law enforcement agencies in this part of texas. >> tom, thank you for that. bbc news. still ahead, three men, one mission. the international space station. >> the japanese government has updeprade the -- upgraded the leak at fukushima. they say they were not properly prepared. >> explosions at the fukushima plant in the days after the earthquake. there was a meltdown in reactor number one, according to japan's

nuclear industrial safety agency more quickly than briefisly thought. the same thing happened in two other reactors two days later. around 80,000 people have been forced to abandon their homes due to regulation. they have now more than doubled their estimate of the amount of radiation released. since the disaster in march, the japanese authorities have been criticized with slow and sometimes conflicting information. radiation levels were 10 million times higher than normal. in april, the nuclear and industrial safety agency estimated 370,000. it was president until may that tetco said there was a meltdown. 770,000 radiation was likely to have escaped in the first week,

double the previous estimate. the new assessment came ahead of the first meeting of an independent panel of experts to investigate the fukushima crisis. they will be questioning senior members of the government and officials from tepco. the aim is to ensure that an earthquake can never again trigger a nuclear catastrophe in japan. >> you are watching bbc news. >> colonel gaddafi has vowed to fight to the death since the nato bombardment in tripoli. >> there are fears of a bloodbath in syria. >> australia is suspending all exports of cattle to nearby nearby following a public outcry over the treatment of the animals of nearby nearby -- indonesia.

they said trade would not continue until they were sure indonesia had animal safeguards in place. a powerful documentary. what more details were in it? >> this was an extraordinarily powerful documentary. online sites of animal building fair groups were inundated the following morning by people trying to sign online petitions. even before the program was over, people were ringing up their lawmakers and demanding a ban on live exports. also we have steen a slump in -- seen a slump in beef sales in australia. because of people's revull shun about the program. it was grotesque. it was horrible to watch. it was very revolting. initially there was a ban on those abitwars in the picture.

now it has taken a bigger step. it issued a blanket temporary ban on all live exports. >> has there been any reaction to this? >> not that i'm aware of. there has been a reaction from members of the livestock industry in australia. many people are saying this is an over-reaction. that lively hoods will be -- that live hoods will be destroyed. although there are voices in the industry there needs to be a long-term fix. so there has been a measure of support for this new government policy, which is essentially to keep this ban in place for at least six months while safeguards can be put in place in indonesia and prove to the australian authorities that the animals there will be better treated.

>> nick, thank you very much. >> if police along side f.b.i. investigators have been searching an area south of texas after receiving a tip-off from a psychic that the area may be the site of a mass grave and perhaps even containing the bodies of some 30 children. the reuters news agency are now approaching the county judge in the area saying this is no crime scene, and the tip about a mass grave was false. so the county judge in texas is saying no crime scene in rural texas and a tip about that mass grave from that psychic was false. so that's the latest information coming to us. we will keep you updated on that situation in texas. as soon as we get more information on it. >> the european commission has

asked member states to approve a compensation package to farmers who have been unable to sell their vegetables because of the e-coli outbreak in germany. health officials have not found the source which is said to have killed more than 20 people. they have been discussing the crisis in luxumborg. >> in places they trudge up cucumber slopes, dumping box after box, waiting for them to be crushed. there is growing frustration that the source of the outbreak has ng been -- -- has not been identified and mounting calls for farmers to be compensated. this farmer demanded the honor of the vegetable be restords. in luxborg -- luxberg ministers from holland and spain objected

to the compensation being offered. they were told to sit down. the figure on the table was 134 million pounds. for growers, that amounted to 30% of the market price. spain later denounced the deal as insufficient. judging by the strength of feeling here today, the level of compensation is likely to go higher. the funds will come from an existing new budget, and won't involve a further contribution by the u.k. tip. >> it is crucial that national authorities do not rush to give information on the source of infection which is not proven by bacterial analysis. as this justified spradse in the population all over europe. >> there were attempts to reassure consumers by saying

that the outbreak was limited to germany and that it was safe to buy vegetables. >> you can go buy your cucumbers, whatever the fresh vegetables are, as long as you take the usual precautions by washing them, keeping your own lands cologne clean, the shopper can go on buying the vegetables. >> the battle over compensation is not over. for a start, familiarers in the e.u. have long had political muscle, and countries already slashing budgets are fearful of any financial losses. gavin hewitt, bbc news, luxemborg. >> thousands of people forced to leave their homes after days 6 -- after days of flooding in china. >> china's rainy season has arrived. this is the result. rivers turned into rapids.

massive flooding caused by days of heavy rain. the flood waters tore through roads, bridges, homes. power lines are down, and water supplies have been effected. more than 60,000 people have been evacuated, but many are still thought to be stranded. some of the worst areas are in the town of quay jo. nearly half a million people have been affected. a disaster for what is already one of the poorest parts of the country. china has one of the poorest army -- largest armies in the world. they will shoulder the burden of helping people to safety, and beginning the slow difficult job of getting people help. others are trying to clear roads. but rains have just started. months of misery lie ahead for

millions of people across china. daniel griffeth, bbc news. >> the soyez has carried a three-man crew. after traveling for two days they will dock at the international space station where they will stay for the next six months. >> we have lift-off of the soyu z. >> it blasted from southern kazakhstan in the early hours of wednesday morning. the international three-man drew, russia, america, -- crew, russia, america, and japan will spend three days in the cramped ship before docking at the space station. >> 30 secks into the flight, the speed is now almost 30,500 miles

an hour. >> they will perform two space walks. >> an experiment focusing on how food grows in a gravity-free environment. the u.s. shuttle even defer. these unprecedented photos released on tuesday by nasa. >> the space shuttle endeavor was coming in for a landing. >> the planplam program ends after the final flight scheduled for the 8th of july. >> sergei, natasha. a successful launch.

now higs mission control will be talking to you. >> it will be four years before nasa astronauts can fly out of the united states again. until then, russia will be the world's main gateway to the stars. "bbc news." >> a reminder of our breaking news at this hour from texas where the county judge there, according to reuters, has said a psychic gave authorities a false tip that up to 30 bodies were buried under rural homes east of houston. there is no crime scene. those are the words of the liberty judge craig mcnare after police and f.b.i. were involved in an operation to search the area following that tip-off from a psyche yifpblgt just that news, the judge saying that the news was false. >> to date twitter online.

stwuss. >> 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. 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.