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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> the headlines this hour. it tightening their grip on tripoli, libya and rebels transfer their government to the capital as fierce fighting continues across the city. funding libyas future, the u.n. votes to release $1.5 billion in libyan assets. five -- north carolina, new york and virginia have declared states of emergency because of hurricane irene. and steve jobs steps down as the company's chief executive. >> we're broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world.

this is newsday. ♪ hello and welcome. as fighting continues in libya, the rebels said they are transferring their garment to the capital tripoli from their base in ben ghazi. but colonel gaddafi is not ready to give up yet. in another audio message, he urged libya -- libyans to destroy the rebels. the report contains some graphic images. >> descending into colonel gaddafi's underground fortress, tunnels that runs 4 miles and could have been his this capered. -- that runs for miles and could have been his escape route.

abandoned in a corner, some of their supplies. with this underground labyrinth, this secret world, it was incredibly well constructed. the savings are very high. the walls are very solid. over here i found a phone that was used for internal communication. and this was a kind of motorized cart. who knows if the libyan leader was transported through these tunnels in this carta. colonel gadhafi thought he would not be disturbed to hear -- deserved it here behind these reinforced doors. while he may have been able to flee into the shadows, above ground, others were cut down in the battle for tripoli. at the edge of the compound today, we found bodies lying where they fell. gaddafi loyalists, one rubble

said. we cannot be sure who killed them, but one man appeared to have been executed. he had been shot through the head with his hands still bound. a short distance away indeed abu salim district, rebels are still hunting for snipers' nests. a bigger threat could be still ahead. that was the answer. [gunfire] soon, a full-scale street battle. [gunfire] the fighters were dangerously exposed. they brought out their improvised big guns. and there rocket-propelled grenades.

>> they believe colonel gaddafi's troops are just a distance of this road. they are trying to push forward. >> for about an hour, we were pinned down. then it was time to make a getaway. the rebels were running low on ammunition. we escaped with two bullet holes in our car. this was just one pocket of resistance. who knows how many more there maybe? the rebels are tightening their grip here, but in the capital, these are still dangerous days. bbc news, tripoli. >> this is a student who lives near martha's square in tripoli. i asked her what the streets were like in the capitol this

morning. >> it was quite quiet, to be honest. i am not really used to the quietness. there are not any gun shots. we have not have that for six months. >> why do you think it has calmed down now? is there a reason? >> i am not sure. it may be more of the fighting is toward the south of tripoli and not the central tripoli any more. >> what is the mood on the streets like? have you had an opportunity? i appreciate it is very dangerous, but have you had an opportunity to get outside? >> yes, i went out today. i do not know how to explain it. it is nothing that we have ever felt before. although we are not completely free yet, i do not even know what to say. you just see -- there is a checkpoint every 25 meters at least. there is -- everyone is very safe. everyone loves each other for

the first time in decades. everyone is happy and congratulating each other. all you hear is, congrats. god is great. >> at the checkpoints that you mentioned, it is not tense. >> are round or i am, yes, it is better. there has not been fighting for three or four days. they have got it under cover and they realize that no one here wants him. maybe just a couple of people. and his strong hold this where the fighting still is. we hope that will be over soon. >> did you ever think that in your lifetime this would happen, that colonel gaddafi would effectively be removed from power in libya? >> never.

it is something we all secretly wished for and no one said it out loud because we were scared of the other person. you cannot even think to yourself without being scared in this country. it is amazing, all of this. everyone is out of words. there is not a word. it is a dream and it finally came true. but it was so surreal. it was nothing we ever imagined would happen. >> she was speaking to me from tripoli. diplomats at the u.n. say a deal has been reached to reach -- release of $1.5 billion in frozen libyan assets for humanitarian needs. the south africa had previously blocked the concerns -- blocked the money over concerns that it would go to the rebels. south africa finally rid -- agreed to release the money as

many countries recognize the ntc as the legitimate ruling party in libya. >> there were a lot of questions about to whom it would be going exactly, how it could be ensured that it would go to the libyan people. they convinced everybody except for the south africans, who continued to put a block on it saying, if you give the money to the rebel leaders, because some of the money was designated for them, it is as if you are recognizing them as a legitimate government. the african union has not done that. it finally came down to the wire and the americans and south africans came up with a deal to overcome those objections. now the money will be going to emergency humanitarian aid. >> remind us why south africa was reluctant to agree to these terms with the national transition council being mentioned. >> there's a feeling from some members on the council, south africa included, that the

conflict is still ongoing. it is not quite clear what the next interim government will be. it is true that gaddafi has left tripoli, and he is on the run. but there is still fighting. there were saying, do you really want to give money to one side of the conflict when it is still ongoing. we should wait until the conflict ends and there is a government established and that would be the legal authority to give aid to the billion people. because these billions of dollars of assets are the property of the libyan people. but there was urgent humanitarian needs. many countries have already recognized the nftc or the rebel leaders.

>> all the signs are that gaddafi's last remaining stronghold is the city of sirte, which is his birthplace and where he has many supporters. progress has been blocked by gaddafi's circuit -- forces. sirte is 96 kilometers outside the city. >> it is not quite over yet. this afternoon, ground rockets exchanged fire in the desert. the rebels are pushing up reinforcements. at colonel gaddafi's birthplace, troops are expected to make a last stand.

>> they have the chance to go back to sirte. they did not. they're coming from there. >> the such attacks could be to cover their retreat to sirte. rebels hope that talks with rebel leaders there will end this peacefully. paribas -- baffled at the continued resistance. >> we thought if we got tripoli, a game over. but it is personal. they must believe in this guy. i don't know. >> all-around are signs of libya's oil wealth. but the infrastructure is broken. even in the shadows of the refinery, there are petrel queues.

the release of $1.5 billion in assets could be helped by a complete victory. >> it would all be over and he would have no more reason to fight if they took tripoli was the expectation. that has now been unfounded. it may be that the gaddafi loyalists were simply unaware that their leader was now out of power. it could also be that they are afraid of revenge attacks. whatever the cause, both sides are digging in for a fight that commanders on this side certainly thing could last another three or four days. bbc news, on the road to sirte. >> still to come on the program, the caribbean counts the cost of a hurricane irene. now the northeast is preparing

for the worst. and as steve jobs quits as chief executive of apple, we assessed the company. let's get back to this attrition in libya. this doctor has been working in a number of hospitals in tripoli. he tells me about his experiences. >> i have been to three or four of the hospital's around central tripoli and some of the urban areas as well. most of these hospitals were the private hospitals, which have been opened up for all civilians. the owners of the hospitals have opened up the hospitals to a few casualties and to get medical treatment for anyone that needs it. they are quite stretch at the moment and relying very heavily on volunteer doctors. there is a shortage of staff, particularly nurses.

it is medical support staff rather than actual doctors. i went to the main hospital very briefly, which housed one of the biggest emergency departments. the scene at the emergency department is quite chaotic. there are injuries -- you know, injured civilians and allies there every minute, perhaps. some patients have very horrific wounds. and they are inside that department. there are about 50 doctors working, each one working at full capacity and they are still not able to cope with the number of casualties. >> and what about medical supplies? we are hearing reports about the gaddafi regime being able to stockpile food and medical supplies. do you think the hospitals are

getting access to that? >> i have no idea where exactly the supplies are. tomorrow, i am hopefully going to try to investigate that a bit further. >> this is newsday on the bbc. >> the headlines this hour. fighting in tripoli continues. the libyan rebels began to transfer their government to the capital. a deal has been struck at the u.n. to release $1.5 billion in libyan assets to meet urgent humanitarian needs. at least 40 people have been killed in an attack on a can see no in the northern -- on a casino in and northern mexican city of monterey. armed men broke in and lifted on fire. if dozens of people were trapped by smoke and flames.

first, can you tell us what has been happening at the site back are there signs of more bodies being pulled from the side? >> there are hellish scenes from monterrey, mexico's third largest city. the operation to recover the bodies is still ongoing. according to local authorities, they fear the death toll of at least 40 people could go up in the next few hours as the operation continues. there are lots of reactions are around the mexican political spectrum, mainly from president calderon, who has called this an abhorrence of act of terror. the attack happened in broad daylight and in a city that is mexico's industrial capital, one of the wealthiest cities of mexico, which used to be one of of latin america.

>> do we know what has been the motivation -- what has triggered this attack? >> there is no clear indication yet. authorities work " -- were quick to blame the problems with organized crime that the city has been dealing with for the last few months. this could be attributed to some kind of turf that the different cartels are fighting for in the area. whenever we see violence flared up in parts of mexico, it is because they are fighting over key parts for their trafficking business or extortion or kidnapping business. but we do not know yet why they would aim at a casino where customers are gambling were having lunch at this time of the day when there are men working at the site. there is no clear indication of that and officials have been reluctant to issue any kind of indication as to why this

happened. >> we will leave that. in other news, authorities on the east coast of the united states from north carolina to new york city are preparing for the arrival of hurricane i read this weekend. the mayor of new york said residents living in the lower levels of nyc should start moving out on friday before the expected arrival of the hurricane on sunday. it has already battered the bahamas, causing huge bad -- huge damage to buildings. we now speak to a teacher in long island, right in the path of the ongoing -- on coming hurricane. how are you preparing for this hurricane less than a week after an earthquake? >> all i am doing is i have bought some water and batteries from the stores, like everybody else. i have moved furniture off my balcony.

other than that, that is about it. >> thousands have been evacuated. a state of emergency has been declared. is there a sense of panic? >> not at all. everybody is very calm. we have extreme weather on the island, from tropical storms to nor'easters. we are prepared for this kind of thing. everyone is quite calm,. but we have not had a hurricane on the island since the 1930's. what happens on saturday and sunday, everything could change. >> that's right. as you said, the hurricane is not expected to arrive until saturday or sunday. if what are the conditions like now? >> at the moment is very quiet. we have a bit of rain coming in from the west. but it is very warm and humid as usual. it is business as usual at the moment.

not expecting anything catastrophic just yet. >> we will leave it there. in other news, reports from india say the government is prepared to hold a parliamentary debate on a strong anti- corruption law. the debate is expected to take place in india pose the lower half on friday. -- in india's lower half on friday. let's speed to market in delhi. what can you tell us about the debates? will it likely deliver what the campaigners have been supporting for? >> the government has yet to pass the law. all they have agreed to so far is to debate it along with three different versions of the law. the government said it is committed to drawing of the strongest possible anti- corruption -- basically, this

will establish an ombudsman who will have the powers to investigate allegations against senior officials. there is no word yet on whether it will accept the outstanding demands that some are pushing for. negotiations have been going through the night and this morning. there is a feeling that the protesters may soon kollhoff is past. >> it is the 11th day of this fast. what our doctors say about his health? >> he is 74 years old. he is obviously in pretty bad shape. he appeared on stage yesterday and gave a very long speech and waved the indian flag and appeared to be pretty strong. he said he could continue for another nine or 10 days. but the fear is that if he continues for much longer than he may be forced off to go to hospital. if some of his supporters say

they would not stop that. the government has made it clear that if his life is in danger or if he slipped into a coma, the police or authorities could go on to the stage and forcibly taken to the hospital and put a drop in him. that is a moment that no one quite wants to reach. some point -- some supporters say they would stop the authorities from doing that, but there is a fear that some could see that as a provocation and respond violently. >> we will leave it there. in other news kupka what is next for the electronics giant apple now that its chief executive, steve jobs, is stepping down? investors do not seem too worried. apple shares fell slightly. it has been -- jobs has been the driving force behind the company. here is more. >> from mcintosh onwards, he has

persuaded consumers to pay top prices. they look, and sometimes work, better than their rivals. apple's founding genius was never one to undersell his products. now he is that -- stepping down. steve jobs has been in poor health for some time, and in a letter to apple's board he wrote, "i have always said if there ever came a day when i could no longer be my duties and expectations as apple's ceo, i would be the first to let you know. unfortunately, that day has come." >> if you have just seen some pictures of mcintosh and our with like to assure you mcintosh in person. >> despite his success, he was forced out in the 1980's. he returned a decade later to breathe new life into what was an ailing company. not everyone liked his autocratic style. one person sending this message about his iphone.

>> i'm very happy to talk about steve jobs because he is someone i am lucky enough to have known for some time. i do not think there is a human being on the planet that has been as influential in the last 30 years on the way culture developed. >> for steve jobs, "think different" was not just an advertising slogan. the ipod came along and changed the way the music industry worked. and the iphone came along and transform another industry. and the fact that millions of people might want to use a tablet computers seemed far- fetched until he set off the ipad. nauert when will have to think differently about him. >> continuing to break new ground, the man who has come to embody apple -- without the man who has come to embody an apple is going to be difficult.

>> there are still extraordinary people at apple and is still one of the great companies in the world. ÷bimv6ñ>> apple's history has bn about more than just one man his successors will have to prove that they, too, can spot what consumers want before they know it themselves. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc. >> just time for a quick reminder of our main news, and that is, libya rebels say they are transferring their government to the capital tripoli from their base in ben ghazi. the whereabouts of colonel gaddafi are still unknown. the libyans have -- the libyan leader has released a second audio message urging to destroy the rebels. the rebels are dancing on gaddafi's stronghold and the city of -- the rebels are advancing from gaddafi's stronghold to the stronghold tosirte.

goodbye and thanks for watching. ♪ >> 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. ♪ >> 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.