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>> and now, "bbc world news". >> welcome to "newsday". >> the headlines. rebels seized control of colonel gaddafi's compound as the battle for the tripoli continues. gaddafi has made a radio address. >> add draft security council resolution is put forward as the un -- at the un. seismic shock. there is no major damage. it is 11:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> 4:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. welcome to "newsday".

>> libyas rebels are celebrating, overrunning colonel gaddafi's headquarters. destroying the symbols of a 42- year dictatorship. no one knows where he or his sons are. members of the national transitional council are on their way to tripoli to began forming an interim government. despite the victorious claims government forces have come -- taken back control. >> of course, i cannot disclose to you what sort of military plans we have prepared to defend tripoli. the remaining -- and the

remaining cities. i promise you and the arabs we have transformed tripoli in to a cannon of fire against imperialism. if the apache strikes continue, and if the bombardment by the military shifts -- ships continue, we will transform ieee into a death trap -- tripoli in to a death trap. against the crusaders. no one can enter tripoli. tripoli will be an exploding bomb. we will do everything to protect tripoli and its people. we are experts in dealing with nato. tripoli would be a death trap. it is these rebels against the crusaders. >> recent radio messages only

help to maintain the aura of fear that many libyans are living in. >> they are trying to make their presence made. anything -- anyone listening to that it is amazing to see, this is the regime that can strike some fear. into people here. they wonder whether there could be some grander scheme that may come into the fore. the imam -- it has been repeated against -- across neighborhoods was announcing to the speakers that the water supply in tripoli has been poisoned and there have been several cases that have wound up in the hospital and he was calling out to residents in

the area to switch off the water supply so that their tanks on the rooftop do not get water from the state. a lot of rumors flying around. i would dismiss them as rumors. however, people have taken it very seriously. we saw a rush of men running to their homes and switching off the water motors. they have taken a sample of the water to one of our clinics. they said they will be testing it to see whether it is true or not. people still on edge despite the scenes of celebration. there was some money gunshots being fired and everyone celebrating. a similar scenario to what we're seeing on the screen. i presume it is green square. people still worried about what

this regime is capable of and i heard an exchange on the streets outside between two men saying, one person dismissing the water poisoning as a rare and the other telling him, you know what, you can expect anything from this man. >> now that the rebels appear to be strengthening their grip on tripoli, attention is turning to the grouping that takes charge of libya. the national transitional council is watching closely. they hope to send officials to tripoli on wednesday. to begin the process of establishing a new government. our correspondent is in the rebel stronghold of benghazi and sent this report. >> they are students, businessmen, teachers, most holding a gun for the first time. they rose up with no outside help. they would have been crushed but for nato's help. now the rebels stand on the brink of victory. already recognized by many as

litter -- libya's legitimate government. the rebels national transitional council is a mix of factions. with little more in common than dislike of colonel gaddafi. it is an uneasy coalition between the east and west of the country, islamist and secular, former members of the regime, and longstanding exiles. >> that is a potpourri of different ideas and ideologies. if they work within the same framework, that is a constitution, then everybody has their own thoughts and see what they thing. >> the country's next leader could be mustaffa jaleel. he is seen as having integrity but no charisma. the revolution has produced no single forceful personality. perhaps after 42 years of colonel gaddafi, another strong man is the last thing libyans

want. will the rebels succeed? the new government could be destabilized if there is widespread looting. learned frome have experience on the eastern side where the police -- [unintelligible] will not do that in tripoli. there arquex in benghazi there s immense joy. there is also relief. this is the birthplace of the revolution. there is recognition of the difficult part could be ahead. governing the this fractured and traumatized nation. >> the immediate task is to stop

revenge killing. that would undermine the legitimacy of any new government. the new libya, they say, cannot begin with a blood bath. >> neda says it will continue to bomb colonel gaddafi's forces if they keep fighting. the spokesman insisted nato had not been providing support to the rebels but striking targets which threaten civilians. there are several pockets in which his troops are holding out. our correspondent explains. >> the battle for tripoli remains intense. as rebels tried to push gaddafi's forces out of the entire capital. a major symbolic prize was the capture of his heavily fortified compound. >> to see the compound being stormed by the anti-gadhafi forces is an important moment but it is not over yet. is still a difficult and dangerous situation.

there are many people out there with weapons that would pay to be loyal. >> what is the picture of the battle? how much we know about who controls which parts of the capitol? it seems that large and expanding parts of the capital are in a rebel hands but they are not necessarily secure. these are some of the areas where gaddafi has lost control since sunday. tonight the big breakthrough for the rebels, the storming of his fortified compound. you can see the outer wall reached by the rebels as they overran the ski area. denying the leader one more potential hiding place. in one corner, a substantial military installation hit by missiles weeks ago. at the center of the compound, the area used for scores of rally's over the years. we have seen the rebels pulling down statues. the symbolism of this compound is a man's. taking it as -- has great

significance. he is still at large. so is it his son, seif al-islam. destroying claims that they had captured him. it damage to prosecutor at the international criminal court. he said that seif would be at the hague. they have to be cut first. >> among the many and challenges facing the country, the establishment of a stable democratic system. the director of the center for the advancement of arab understanding. i asked him for his assessment

of the constitution. >> it was drafted on august 8. i think it will meet with approval. it is inclusive and includes a lot in terms of human rights and law. and certain things that were targeted for libya. the privacy and prohibition on phone tapping and such like. where it is interesting, the way it maps out. how libya will go forward. we're talking about a transitional period of 20 months before you get a democratically elected government. the first stage is to have elections to a national council which will review a constitution, which would be put in front of a fall referendum. leaving -- leading to democratic general elections. obviously, that is not the only challenge.

in libya you never had elections, you never had a democratic experience or a civil society. all this will be a learning process of people oppose the history of dealing with the authoritarian government. it is not a positive one so i have a negative attitudes. -- they have negative attitudes. all this will have to be learned on the job. the situation which is far from uncertain and far from insecure. you have to build a democratic society from scratch. >> you're watching "bbc news". a draft resolution is put forward. in response to the government crackdown. >> as much shock. an earthquake rocked the east coast of north america. there is no major damage. more now on libya. early on i was joined by the

editor in chief of the london- based arabic newspaper. he said gaddafi's whereabouts are not clear. it is necessary for the rebels to restore some kind of form of law and order. >> we do not know where he is. we do not know where he is hiding. we do not know his plan. that is why, it is true. the priority now to impose law and order. to maintain the stability. >> there is still -- people are questioning whether or not they should sign with the revolutionaries because they have been used to for decades under a gaddafi regime. surely once the capture of gaddafi is made, that will change the feelings of people. and their ability to raise their confidence against the forces there. >> absolutely. what is happening now on the ground, exchange of places.

now gaddafi is taking rule. gaddafi gets rid of the responsibilities of the state. gaddafi managed to outfox nato. he gets rid of nato. he does not -- anymore. he used to have military bases and government buildings and have responsibilities. he have responsibility for electricity, water services. he does not have this burden at all. the burden is on the shoulders of the new government that is taking place. and the country which is full anarchy there. we have a transitional period like the transitional period after the collapse of saddam hussein's regime.

>> this is "newsday" on the bbc. >> the headlines for it this hour. libyan rebels have taken over colonel gaddafi's compound after a day of heavy fighting. >> it is reported that gaddafi has made a radio address. supporters continue their resistance. in other news. europe and the u.s. have drawn up a draft u.n. resolution calling for international sanctions against the government of syria. russia, which has a council vote said it was not the right time. -- not the right time to target president assaad with sanctions. >> these unverified pictures apparently filmed on tuesday seemed to show opponents chanting against president assaad poes a violent act -- crackdown. the european members of the eron

security council -- u.n. security council have called for sanctions. they want to freeze his assets and institute an arms embargo on syria. russia and china have the power to veto any proposal and thus far, moscow has opposed sanctions. in a statement, russia's ambassador to the un said we hope to see progress and we hope to see dialogue established in syria. we think it should continue to work within that unified position. a key regional player is turkey. refugees from syria have been fleeing across the border to camps on the turkish side for some time. now the prime minister has called on mr. saw to end the violence. quex a want to see the blood shed stop. one cannot achieve prosperity by cruelty. those will drown in the blood

they shed. >> until now the syrian opposition was fluid. unable to agree on unified positions. at a meeting of activists in turkey on tuesday, there were signs that may be changing. >> we agreed on shipping aspects of syria with a new constitution that guarantees rights to citizens. >> last week president assaad told the un that all military operations in his country have ceased but continuing reports of brutality and killings would seem to contradict that. >> north korea pose the reclusive leader, kim jong il, is making his first trip to russia. the leaders are likely to discuss the resumption of international talks over the nuclear program.

for more on this visit by the north korean leader, i am joined by our correspondent. tell me what does north korean leader kim jong il hope to gain by this trip to russia? >> it is hard to say what he is hoping to gain because as you said, this is one of the most reckless of leaders in the world. it is hard to understand what he is up to. this is a chance for international -- to assess and see where his interests lie and what he might say, if he is going to say anything. the kremlin is not confirming the meeting between medvedev and kim jong il is happening today in the city killed -- but the

two men are in the same city in eastern siberia today. and everybody will be surprised if they fail to meet. there will meet in the coming hours because it is noon in siberia. >> there are talks that there could be a negotiation over north korea. could this be part of the agenda? >> the agenda has never been announced. it is assumed that of course the north korean nuclear program and resumption on talks is going to be part of the negotiation. also russia and north korea are discussing infrastructure projects such as the korean real way and the gas pipeline which have been stalled for years because of the position of south korea and north korea is a tough negotiator. also everybody will be

surprised if they do not discuss the situation. it will be interesting to see of kim jong il will be emotionally affected by the events in tripoli and by the plight of colonel gaddafi. >> our correspondent in moscow. thank you for an update. three generations of one family are believed to have died in a house fire in australia. 11 people were killed when explosions tore through the home in brisbane. eight of the victims were under 18. the august was three critic could be days before the building is safe and not for crews to recover the body. hurricane irene is approaching the bahamas. it brought torrential rain and wind to the dominican republic and cut supply of power in puerto rico.

a new york court has dismissed sexual assault charges against dominique strauss-kahn. prosecutors said they could not disprove his assertion that the encounter with the hotel made was consensual. the ruling means domenik stress, is free. a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the east coast of the u.s. on tuesday. the epicenter was between charlottesville and richmond. the quake was so powerful it could be felt several hundred miles away in boston. >> the earthquake rattled nerves up and down america's east coast. enforce the automatic shutdown of two reactors at a nuclear power plant in virginia. >> the standard has protected >> .

>> i thought we could show you the new customer waiting room. >> a tv commercial was being filmed close to the epicenter as the quake struck. >> what was that? >> the warehouse was evacuated because of the earthquake. so too was the pentagon, the capital and other government buildings. president obama was not here. he is in holiday on martha's vineyard. this is the strongest earthquake in living memory in this part of the world. many who were here were left shaken up. thousands of office workers to to the streets after being evacuated from their building. >> it is kind of scary. the building shook and i never felt it before. you can feel it coming. you do not know what is until it is over and then you realize what it was. i happen to be looking at the

window and saw the building behind me moving. >> everything started shaking and everyone looked around wondering what is going on. there was an earthquake and we need to get out of the building. >> how long did it last? >> about a minute or minute and a half. >> several buildings were affected. among them, the national cathedral in washington suffered damage to a central tower. there was traffic gridlock after workers were sent home early. seismologists say the quake was shallow. rarely has the earth moved this close to the seat of power. >> more on the unfolding events in libya. >> we spoke to one of the residents of tripoli. she told us what the mood was like. >> at the moment, it is very quiet. it is very dark. we do not have electricity.

rebels are all around the country guarding the neighborhood and making sure nothing goes wrong. >> we saw those scenes in the green square area of tripoli, rebel celebrating in the capitol. were you able to see that for yourself? >> we were not -- we were out earlier. we went around tripoli to see what was happening. people were celebrating and waving flags and singing, honking everywhere. they were happy and very excited. i have never seen people this happened before. i was not able to get to the green square. the road to get there was closed. >> how were you feeling at the moment? are you worried about the reports in tripoli or is this

the end for the duthie? >> we can never know. he has millions of dollars to do whatever it takes and we heard rumors about him poisoning the water. we really do not know what he is of two. we're very happy. everyone is cooking for each other. we're worried because we do not think it is over yet. >> you have been watching "newsday" on the bbc. >> a quick reminder of the news. the situation in libya continues. stay with us for more.

>> make 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.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.