no nearer a compromise. >> if you look at the two rival proposals to break the stalemate, they are not that dissimilar. republicans are proposing spending cuts of just over $1 trillion in tenures with a short lifting of the debt ceiling. democrats are proposing to dollars trillion in cuts with a longer term raising of the debt proposed -- the debt ceiling.

on paper, they are similar. in practice, a huge amount of politics. we expect on thursday for house of representatives to vote on this first. in theory, republicans should get their proposal through the house. but there has been some opposition to it from rank-and- file republicans. it remains to be seen whether the republican leadership will get its proposal through the house of representatives. everything will have to go from there. >> in other news, a cargo plane has crashed into the sea off a south korean island. the plane was downed by a coast guard patrol boat. the aircraft disappeared from radar in the early hours of the morning. the pilot and co-pilot were both killed. it is understood these seven -- the boeing 747 experian technical difficulties when it crashed.

-- 747 experienced technical difficulties when they crashed. it was carrying 264 passengers -- and another plane carrying to under 64 passengers made an emergency landing in canada. no one was hurt when it landed. and this is the first of 10 shipments in response by the u.n. in response to the severe drought in africa. it is to feed malnourished children. will ross reports. >> the cargo, 10 tons of food for severely malnourished children in somalia. this therapeutic peanut paste is a lifesaver. it is a race against time.

>> we will be bringing in 100 tons within the next few towns -- few days, and 80 tons will be going to mogadishu where it will be distributed to different feeding centers form on our children. >> the food program says the first airlift will feed three and a half thousand children for the next month. but given the scale of a problem in somalia, this is just a drop in the ocean. the drought has hit so hard in parts of the south, over one- third of all children are civilian -- severely malnourished. aid agencies say with so many children in a precarious situation there is a danger that disease could break out. in somalia, almost half the population urgently needs food aid. russians have been cut in recent months. now there is a massive -- rations have been cut in recent months. now there's a massive drive for food aid. somali ministers have complained

that the food aid is moving too slowly. delicate negotiations continue between the government and al- shabab. and some question why this emergency was not prevented as this food shortage and severe drought were predicted late last year. in somalia, though, people cannot wait for the aid to reach them. war and hunger are driving more than 1000 somalis across the border into kenya into refugee camps. they are desperately overcrowded. it takes its toll on the week. today, the latest victim of the drought was laid to rest in the camp. >> you are watching live from singapore and london. still to come, safeguarding one of afghanistan's architectural treasures. that battle to preserve this historic city.

>> and blended kickstart the final race to the finish line to the olympics. and independent inquiry has found that one in 10 experiments on monkeys has no clear sign to the purpose. studies involving monkeys have led to important benefits over the years, such as the development of a polio vaccine and treatment for strokes and parkinson's disease. an animal welfare groups describe the inquiry's findings as chilling. >> it is done in cases where we believe it will yield fantastic results that meat -- that may either now or sometime in the future be important for human health. >> but is all the research carried out really necessary? and does it always lead to a scientific and medical benefits? according to a review of research on monkeys, on the whole, the work is of high quality and were continuing, but there were some concerns.

-- worth continuing, but there were some concerns. >> some of the work does not justify continuing in terms of its medical or public benefits. some of it seems a bit pedestrian. >> one in 10 medical research projects involving monkeys had no clear benefits. the report also recommends they should be better screen to -- there should be better screening of research progresprojects forl progress. they need to make sure that the experiments are not repeated, resulting in monkeys being used unnecessarily. and projects should only be funded if they meet the strict welfare maintenance of the uk labs. >> they are not finding medical benefit, societal benefit, from a lot of this research. what this report actually does is provide chilling insight

into research in the u.k. and it is time for a call for this to end. >> this is newsday on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> i am in london libya has condemned britain's decision to expel all of colonel khadafy's lipitor -- diplomats after recognizing the transitional council as the libyan government. >> norway has launched an independent inquiry into friday said the attacks. >> let's get more on that story now. thomas edgar was one of the first journalist on the scene after last friday's mass killing on the island. he says police reacted relatively quickly, despite criticism of their response time.

>> there seems to be a lot of tension, especially among the journalists. in my opinion, they had two options. one was to wait for the helicopters being scrambled from one of the army bases, which was outside of oslo, then to get a pickup point, load their gear, flight to the island, etc. or they could go directly to the island, which is approximately 35 kilometers outside oslo. what police have been repeatedly saying house -- the last couple of days is that they made the right decision. they just jump in the car and made their way to the island and were there. from the time they were alerted

to the arrest it was less than one hour. that is quite fast, i would say. >> he was one of the first journalist on the scene at the island. in other news, last week's fatal train crash in china was caused by a flaw in this signalling equipment. at least 39 people died. equipment failed to turn a red light into -- the green light in to read after being struck by lightning. -- a green light into red after being struck by lightning. could you elaborate for us? >> this train crash, let's not forget, was the worst train crash in china since 2008. 39 people died. more than 119 people were injured. there was a lot of criticism of the government. they ordered an immediate probe into this. the results have now been

released. there appear to be two key flaws, the first, as you say, was a problem with the signalling whites. they were showing green when they should have been showing the color red. the other problem, though, was that the dispatchers knew about this, but did not inform the train drivers. human error also played a key part in this crash. if >> this is too much to quell public anger. they are already furious about this. corexit there has been a huge outpouring of anger about this. the chinese are used to controlling the media in china, and the fact that loggers and other internet sites have been criticizing the government has shocked them. the premier has gone down to wen jiabao -- has gone down to wenzhou. he has also fired a number of will way officials as well.

the government -- of railway officials as well. the government is taking steps to quell this toanger. the question is, will this be enough? >> you know better than most how high the ambitions are for china with this high-speed railway. >> china has huge infrastructure plans and they see it as the key to future economic growth. this crash is a major setback. they are really proud of their high-speed bullet train. this crash will damage their image and on top of that it could affect economic growth as well. they will have to launch an inquiry into all of the high- speed train links and that could set back the major infrastructure projects throughout china. >> you are watching bbc news day. thousands of people have gathered in trafalgar square to mark a year until the opening of

the olympics. david reports on a day that has been a showcase for the organizers achievements so far. >> it was here six years ago that london celebrated its surprise victory in the race for the 2012 olympics. tonight, trafalgar square was the setting for another party, this time to mark the 12-month countdown to the opening ceremony. >> with a year to go, is on time, on budget. the great stadium is finished. the aquatics center is finished. the velodrome is finished. i believe this can be a great advertisement for our country. >> amidst all of the british pride, there was a -- there was actually an official purpose to today's festivities. >> i invite the athlete of the world to participate in the games in london one year from

today. london.ss pu >> earlier today, i asked jack rubber how he -- the shock rogge how he assess the progress so far. >> it has come very far. i am optimistic and a happy man. >> tom daly has just completed the first dive into the olympic pool. but this time next year, it will not be an exhibition. >> and here is what britain's athletes will be aiming for, the biggest and heavy as metals and they summer olympics. -- and heaviest medals in the summer olympics.

the transport structure is under greater pressure than the team. and there are concerns over security. despite all of that, the mayor is typically bullish. >> the trains will be ready. the taxis will be ready, the theaters will be ready. the buses will be complete with a new hot on -- hop -- on, hop -- off feature. -- pop-on, hop-off feature. the bicycles will be ready. >> rousing stuff. but london needs to be careful not to celebrate too soon. rico,'s cross over to because you have more on the battle to save an historic city in afghanistan. >> that is right. it is an important trade and cultural center and close to the iranian border.

harrah has been more peaceful over the past decade than many other places in afghanistan, but one man is fighting his own battle there. we have traveled there to meet him. >> minarets from the 15th century seem to form a gateway to this ancient city that has long set at the crossroads between the middle east and asia. you often feel you are stepping back in time. no more so than at the instance of a vowel. it is home to some of the greatest tombs of afghan history. this is the centerpiece. it was in danger of crumbling into the ground, but archaeologists are working to save it. >> it is such an important part of afghanistan posey heritage. why is it so important to preserve this citadel? >> it was directed by alexander the great -- directed by

alexander the great. -- erected by alexander the great. >> it has been literally a battlefield since the soviets in the occupied afghanistan used it. when you found it to restore it, it must have been in ruins. >> exactly, very bad condition. there was a lot of destruction are ruined, and even ammunition. >> land mines? >> absolutely. i have collected a lot. >> but none of them are dangerous? >> the mining team came many times and cleaned them up. >> battles raged through the centuries in the threat -- ramparts. in his conley it to waste. -- a game is gone laid to waste. reallygenghis khan laid it to

waste. >> what happened here? >> many houses destroyed. they're going to build a new market here. >> when you see this being hold? how does it make you feel -- this gaping hole, how does this make you feel? does this happen a lot? >> yes. >> it is almost mud-brick house by mud-brick house being destroyed. >> this is like a cancer. >> they tell us they are doing what they can, but it is clear the battle is not one. -- is not yet won. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc.

i am in singapore. >> and i am in london. from all of us in london and singapore, a big thank you for watching bbc news day. by-bye for now. >> makes sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. ♪

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" newsday" on the bbc. >> libya condemns britain's decision to expel all of colonel gaddafi's diplomats after recognizing the transitional council as the new government. an independent inquiry in a way into the attacks and they say the country will not be made to cowger. >> and with just a year to go until the london olympics, the head of the ioc extend an invitation to the world's athletes. it is 11:00 a.m. in singapore. >> and it is 4:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting to viewers in america on pbs and around the world. this is "neuza de." -- "neuza dnewsday."

>> five months after the uprising against colonel gaddafi's role, the transitional council has been recognized as the new government of libya. here is this assessment. >> the libyan embassy in central london, a hugely valuable piece of real estate, besieged, as usual, by a small, ever-present group of demonstrators. they were overjoyed by britain's decision to recognize their movement. and this is tripoli, where the heart of the city, green square, is now decorated with a gigantic portrait of colonel gaddafi himself. he has never been a man to shrink from self pulled the city. but now, britain, which was

keenest about bombing gaddafi's libya, has decided to cut the last remaining diplomatic links. >> we longer recognize them as representatives of the libyan government -- we no longer recognize them as representatives of the libyan government and we invite a new diplomatic to take over the embassy in london. >> bridgton has joined 29 other countries in recognizing the transitional council. france did so at the start. germany, turkey and the u.s. took longer, but not as long as britain. russia says recognizing them is taking sides in a civil war, but it agrees colonel gaddafi must go. china just says the ntc is an important dialogue partner. but it means there will be a new set of diplomats. >> in the u.k., normal political relationships will resume like

every two countries have. >> but from tripoli, the finance. defiance. -- the financ >> i tell the british government, the rebels will not benefit from this. >> why has it taken so long to cut the last diplomatic ties with the gaddafi regime since they have been against him from the start? it seems there are difficulties in handling the burk -- the regime's assets over to the rebels. for now, the rebels are not getting anywhere very fast. in the east they have recaptured only where they were four months ago. they have broken out of misrata, but have not done much since then. the biggest advances have been in the mountains south of tripoli. of rebels there are only 60 miles away, but that group is separate from the rest and nato

does not want them to enter tripoli for the time being. yet another pro-gaddafi demonstration in tripoli on state tv tonight, with the brothers boys played over the loudspeaker. he promises that the fighting will continue until the west is defeated. the trouble is, they have to make the sacrifices. britain and the others hope they will soon get sick of it. >> norway's prime minister has set up an independent commission to look into the events surrounding friday's bomb attack and mass shooting. the panel will examine the killing of more than 70 people, and the role of the police, who have been accused of responding too slowly. >> at the farm where anders breivik made his, and planned his attack, they get rea