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corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> welcome to "newsday" on the bbc. i'm in london. the headlines this hour. leaving libya, four close relatives of colonel gaddafi flee into neighboring algeria. the buildup to the battle for gaddafi's hometown continues as the rebels keep up their advance. tropical storm irene causes severe flooding across the northeastern united states. and the u.n. warns of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu with a mutant strain threatening asia. it's 2:00 a.m. here in london, broadcasting to viewers on bbc in america and around the world. welcome to "newsday."

four close relatives of colonel gaddafi have fled libya and crossed into neighboring algeria. the algerian government has concern that his wife, darbg and two sons are in the country. the white house has said it has seen no evidence that the libyan leader himself has fled. jeremy bohn is in tripoli. >> these are the only portraits of colonel gaddafi you'll see in tripoli these days, positioned carefully so everyone visiting this hotel in the city center has to step on them. his image used to be everywhere. in his last months in power, he relied increasingly on his members of family. his daughter made a fierce speech saying he'd never step down after the nato bombings started in the spring. it condemned algeria for allowing them in, demanding they should all be tried as

criminals. the criminal's most prominent son has disappeared from public view. like his father, he is wanted by the international criminal court. another son has been trying to broker a cease fire and a deal on a transitional government since his father's fall. according to information received by the bbc. anti-gaddafi fighters are pushing closer to the colonel's birthplace. it is a vital operation for the new powers in this land, but the big prize they want most of all is the colonel himself. >> jeremy bohn in tripoli. gaddafi himself is still at large, and rebel fighters say they're now within 20 miles of the leader's last stronghold. the bbc's paul wood is with the advancing forces and sends this report. >> after the days of deadlock, the rebels are now surging ahead.

behind them, towns and people getting their first taste of freedom in a generation. matar spent the past 21 years in jail. he remembers the bad food, the beatings, the murders of other prisoners. >> i didn't see my wife for 20 years. >> his son died fighting for the revolution a few days ago, a high price, but necessary, he told me. reason officer's medal and uniform discarded by officers in flight. the revolution has certainly won, though it is not complete. colonel gaddafi is still at large, places like sirte still loyal to him.

the rebels say they will wait to avoid further bloodshed. there have been talks with tribal elders in sirte. the advance was halted for a time because civilians were in the village ahead. >> don't -- take these families out, then we can fight. >> the rebels continue to have almost euphoric levels of confidence. negotiations have again failed to reach an agreement with tribal leaders on the peaceful handover of sirte. as you can see, reinforcements are being pushed up. the rebels are leapfrogging ahead and they think over the next few days, they will be fighting the last big battle of this war and their revolution. next week would have marked 42 years of colonel gaddafi's rule. no meefrpb leader had been in power longer. once, this would have been a death sentence. whatever happens in sirte, libyans know that era is at an

end. paul wood, "bbc news" in eastern libya. >> calls for up to 200 military observers and 190 u.n. police to help stabilize the country. it was apparently written by a special team assigned by the secretary-general for recommendation in libya. although the u.n. has not concerned its authenticity. barbara reports from the united nations. >> the report appears to be an internal planning document that could form the basis for a new u.n. mandate in a post-conflict libya. so, for example, on the security side, it recommends the possible deployment of up to 200 unarmed military observers. originally, the idea had been for these observers to monitor a cease fire between the regime and the rebels. but with the collapse of the regime, that's no longer necessary. so what they could be used to do is monitor the process of dealing with the troops who fought for the gaddafi

government, what to do with them, how to treat them, and how to bring them into the process if it's possible. also, it calls for the deployment of up to 190 u.n. police officers to help establish "law & order" in the country, princeably by training local police forces. on the political side, it talks about the transition to democracy, how the u.n. can help to support the establishment of an interim government that would be inclusive, that would be seen as legitimate, how it can help organized elections for a provisional body that would draw up a constitution and how it can help organize elections for a also for a presidency. and of course, the u.n. has a lot of experience in this. all of these things will only be implemented if requested by the transitional authority and if authorized by the security council. >> barbara peck there at the united nations.

at least 37 people have been killed, more than seven million homes and businesses are without power. the white house says administration officials have traveled to the area on tuesday to see the damage and recovery efforts under way. laura reports. >> irene's alarming aftermath. farmers in new jersey battle with the rising water level, trying to help. teenagers clung on to their overturned boat, waiting to be rescued. >> we didn't realize the current was as strong as it was. we realized wow, it's getting really strong. >> as irene moves north to vermont, the flooding in this landlocked state was the worst in 80 years. its bridges barely standing. this one was swept away. >> oh, my god. >> in up state new york, rescuers tried to reach those cut off by the floods. >> the town is basically

destroyed. i mean, maximum damage. people are displaced. everybody is staying at a friend's house. we have people staying with us because their house is gone. >> in massachusetts, a floating container rips through the trees. the authorities everywhere were expecting coastal flooding, yet the worst was inland where already swollen rivers burst their banks. millions are without power. on the sixth anniversary of hurricane katrina, the president is watching this one closely. >> we're going to make sure folks have all the support they need as they begin to assess and repair the damage left by the storm. >> new york was spared this devastation. but from north carolina to vermont, the east coast is counting the cost of irene's destruction. "bbc news," new york. >> rico, you've got some news for us about the deadly bird flu virus causing problems in asia now? >> that's right.

the united nations has warned of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus called the h-5n-1. the u.n. food and agricultural organization said migrating birds have brought the virus to previously unaffected countries. it is also said a mutant strain, which can apparently evade the vaccines, is spreading in china and vietnam. for more now on this latest warning, we're speaking now to the united nations food organization. what has prompted them to issue this bird flu warning now? >> our point here is that because we found the new virus in several countries, and there is the evidence that this can spread to other countries as

well in the region. and it's not necessarily that this will be more virulent than the other one than before. the significance that we would like to point out is that the vaccine that is available so far may not give the full protection to this new strain that we found. and one of the reasons that we put this press release to the public is that -- >> your organization has basically urged for surveillance and preparation. what do you think the government should undertake at this point to be able to inform their people about precautionary measures to protect themselves from this new bird flu strain? >> our point is that because of the characteristic of the virus

, and it's evolving. it's changing. and there are several strains of the virus, so the good civilians and good military of the changing of the virus would help us to monitor how the virus changed and can give the protection not only to the poultry, but also to give the protection to the humans and to eliminate the trace from the human to the poultry. >> you mentioned about elimination. do you think that the bird flu will be entirely eliminated going forward? >> risk in the domestic poultry. it is possible. but it requires lots of collaboration among the sectors, especially with the public and tribal sector, including the community level. >> all right, we'll leave it

there. from the food and agricultural organization, thank you so much for joining us. you're watching "newsday" on the bbc. live from singapore and london. still to come on the program, what now for colonel gaddafi's remaining supporters, will they stay loyal to the last? >> and the latest spectacular eruption of sicily's mount edna. five suspected members of the drug cartel in mexico have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a casino last week. more than 50 people died in the attack, which took place in the city of monterrey in the north of the country. wendy has the details. >> these are the faces of the men that police say were responsible for one of the worst acts of violence in mexico for years. they have apparently confessed to torching the casino on

thursday. police say this footage shows the man allegedly buying gas leeb before driving to the casino and setting it alight. the state governor rodrigo medina says money was the motive for the attack. >> it was to obtain illicit winnings. it was extortion and apparently there was some kind of agreement. the attack was carried out in retaliation between the casino and the group. either for refusing to participate or not being able to make the payment. >> president calderon declared war on the drug cartels when he took office in 2006. but since then, violent battles between the hotels over highly profitable drug routes to the u.s. have education ca -- have escalated. monterrey used to be one of the safest places in latin america, but the ruthlessness of the cartels have left this city and

many nationwide living in fear. >> president obama has nominated a new economic advisor to help bring down america's unemployment rates. alan kruger is a princeton university expert on unemployment. the selection signals a fresh attempt by the president to make good on his promise to focus on the u.s. economy and jobs as well. you can keep up to date with us, follow myself and the team online at twitter. >> this is "newsday" on the bbc. i'm roko in singapore. >> i'm in london. the headlines. four close relatives of colonel gaddafi have fled libya and crossed into neighboring algeria. >> rebel fighters say they are now within 20 miles of gaddafi's last stronghold, his hometown of sirte.

>> to syria now, where activists say at least six people, including a child, have been killed as security forces crank down on protests against president assad. they say heavy gunfire has been heard at the southern entrance, forcing many residents to flee. tanks and troops are also reported in towns near damascus. a syrian born professor of middle east history in ohio, and a member of the syrian opposition executive committee, he joins us now via skype. thank you very much for joining us, and welcome to "bbc news." activists are now fearful the situation is heading toward civil war. what is your assessment of what is taking place in syria at the moment? >> well, it's clear that the regime is intent on pushing the country toward civil war. the constant excessive use of violence, the constant shooting at innocent civilians, and it

is basically pushing people towards the need to start to defend themselves. and this is beginning to manifest itself increasingly in basically seeing occasional shooting back or more as we've just seen, where groups of soldiers will refuse to fire. they'll break away from the army, and then that will incur basically the rath of the regime, and more troops have poured into the area. you get an escalation yet again. >> it is a very bleak situation you're describing there. you remember the syrian opposition executive committee. just explain to us how unified you believe the opposition to be now in syria. >> the unifying the opposition is very difficult thing in syria, not least because the regime has basically used every means available to ensure to oppress and suppress the ability of the opposition.

on the outside perhaps it's safer for us, we can maybe get together, we can talk more, we can organize more, but still, we need to get our legitimacy from the inside. if the inside cannot provide us with that, it's much harder for us to also unify ourselves. that is partly the reason why we have yet to see a unified body come out. that said, there have been a lot of very important steps taken to bring this together. not least, the istanbul meeting, which recently happened last week, which worked towards producing a unified national council, and today i believe the opposition was basically shamed into action but a group of young activists on the street, who basically said if you can't do it for yourself, we're going to name you and you guys have to basically step up to the plate and say why you won't take the job. >> good of you to join us and good to get your insight. thank you very much. >> you've got more on the

response to colonel gaddafi and his loyalist supporters in libya. >> yes. and there's news that colonel gaddafi's wife sofia and three children have fled from libya to algeria. our correspondent lisa is in one of the last gaddafi stronghold neighborhoods to fall where she spoke to the locals to find out. >> the green flags of colonel gaddafi once flew proudly here. now this is the first scene that enters your eye as you enter the district. and a rebel check point. but the colonel's supporters put up a fight here. you can see it all over the building. the fighters are still burning here. you actually taste it. you can also feel the tensions as well.

this is one of the last places in tripoli to fall. just look at this market that lies en route. this place saw some of the fiercest fighting of this war in tripoli. as it fell, so did some people's faith in their leader. >> i used to work there. >> what changed your mind? >> i saw the truth. >> what was the truth? >> he is not the right leader for libya because he was a big liar. he would say i am strong enough to protect you from anything, even nato. >> but the attacks by nato back to rebels strengthened some loyalties. they wanted to show us the destruction at this makeshift field hospital.

>> we are all supporters of gaddafi here. but no one can say that because we would be taken away immediately. >> they have said there will be no revenge killings. do you believe them? >> they went house by house. they took away my neighbors. up until now, we don't know where they are. they say that we are for democracy. if they are, we should be able to voice our own opinion and fly any flag we like. >> but it's been a long and bloody battle to create a new libya. the rebels now have to confront how much of the old order can be part of the new. >> the gold rush in 19th sench australia created a radical change in the economic and social fabric of the country. both the economy and the

population boomed. it's happening again as potential prospectors return to the gold fields, look for their own fortune. last year, a football-sized nugget was discovered and sold for $1 million. nick bryant has been on the search for gold in new south wales. >> here i am deep in the australian bush, four hours drive from sydney over the other side of the great dividing range. classic aussie country side. dry bush land. eucalyptus trees. birds singing in the trees and a creek that hasn't got much water in it. but we're hoping it has something much more precious. i'm doing something that many australians are doing now, not so much for a hobby but for a livelihood. i've got my spade. i've got my pan. and i'm going prospecting for gold. ok. this looks very murky. but i do feel lucky. i'm sure there is some gold here somewhere. to help me try and find it, kim ellis, a local prospecter.

kim, just show me how it's done. >> the idea is to get the heavy materials to sink to the bottom. so you've got to get down in the water and get dirty. >> down and dirty to find gold. >> yeah, absolutely. a bit of swirling around. make sure they're broken up. and then you can scrape off your top rocks. be a little bit brutal with this. >> and then we're looking for that telltale glisten in the sunlight. >> so you've take off all the bigger rocks. and then you do a little bit of swirling around. >> this is an area we know from the 19th century gold rush in

new south wales where gold has been found. >> that's absolutely right. it's been turned out -- it's been turned out by the old-timers. so the chances of gold have been -- gold being in the area are very strong. >> that was the old fashioned way of doing it. this is the high-tech way of doing it. a trusty metal detector. seems like cheating to me. >> the old-timers would have liked one of these back 100 years ago. >> nowadays, we're seeing people from the city coming into the bush, because gold is at record highs and it's a very lucrative thing to do. >> absolutely. it's a lifestyle. it's the gold. what other hobby can you really go to and maybe get rich? i'm always saying the next step you take could be golden. >> if i win the lottery -- you can find a lottery ticket in the soil here. >> that's right. it could be a life-changing

event for somebody. a huge amount of the population just do it as a hobby and find that it's becoming a stronger hobby because of the price of gold. >> oh. that sounds rather exciting. >> it's certainly a loud signal, so i think we should probably check it out. but the golden rule, dig everything. >> ok, let's go for it. check it out. >> that's it. >> piece of flat iron. nothing more than that. we'll keep trying. >> it's been another eruption of sicily's mount etna. anna reports. >> it's the tallest active volcano in europe, and in fact one of the most active volcanos in the world.

etna is stepping up its eruption levels, spewing out ash and shooting lava into the air. in greek mythology, the deadly moisture was trapped under this mountain by suste, the god of the sky. on a more practical level, there are a number of villages situated on the slopes of mount etna. despite the dargee people are attracted to the area because the soil supports extensive agriculture, including vineyards and original address. italian airlines sometimes have to change their routes to avoid flying through this ash cloud. et that started spewing out a significant amount of ash in the southeastern direction, but the government says the eruption has calmed down slightly since then. >> thanks for joining us. >> you've been watching "newsday" here on the bbc. plenty more from us to come. stay with us.

>> 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 offers unique

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