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corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome, i'm in singapore. >> and i'm in london. hour headlines this hour. euphoria in tripoli. the head of libya's national transitional council appears in the capital to outline plans for the future. an explosion is leaking fuel in the pipeline in kenya's capital claims more than 120 lives. >> fresh fears for the global economy. markets are volatile amid concerns that greece will default on its debt. surviving japan's tsunami. we talk to some of those left behind after the world they knew washed away. it is 9:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> and 2:00 a.m. here in london, br pbs in america and around the world, this is "news day."

>> hello, and welcome. the head of libya's transitional government has told thousands of supporters that the country will avoid extremist ideology and promote moderate islam. mustafa abdul jalil was delivering his first public speech since arriving in tripoli at the same spot previously used by colonel gaddafi. >> they came in their thousands to tripoli's marta square where colonel gaddafi used to give some of his speeches. now there's a new leader, mustafa abdul jalil, laying out his plans for the country. there was heavy security, a reminder that libya's present and future remain uncertain. >> we are a muslim nation with a moderate islam and we will maintain to our supporters, you

are our weapons to whoever tries to hijack the revolution. >> he emphasized the need for a modern democratic state with an active role for women. but the interim government faces huge challenges -- rebuild and reunite a country after decades of of authoritarian rule and the isn't over. supporters of colonel gaddafi are still holding out in some areas. so much unfinished business for a country just beginning transition. >> amnesty international have said that anti-gaddafi forces committed unlawful killings and torture in what often amounted to a brutal settling of scores. in a report, amnesty says that just after the opposition forces took control of eastern libbia, groups of fighters killed dozens of captured government soldiers and suspected mercenaries often by shooting and hanging.

claudio cordonnie is the senior director at amnesty international. i spoke to him from tripoli and asked him what evidence he has that both pro-gaddafi and anti-gaddafi forces committed war crimes. >> we spent the last six months, we had about six people taking turns and being in the country from benghazi to isratta to tripoli and have carried out loads of interviews and have seen the sights and were in areas as the fighting was going on such as miss rata. in that sense, what we've seen is obviously the killings carried out by gaddafi's forces, the scale and nature of which is now pretty well known, but at the same time, we've seen abuses from the other side, particularly in the initial first days. there were lynching of gaddafi soldiers and there were killings in the subsequent weeks including of nationals from

sub-sahara africa, often suspected to be mercenaries, and also a dozen people suspected of being part of gaddafi's security forces that were killed in the east. so we have obviously concerns about those evens and we have concerns about the detainees now held currently in a number of detention centers around the country. >> these are, of course, also foreigners, as well, in detention centers. are you concerned that these reprisal attacks, were they the due course of war? or is there some kind of reprisal element in them? were they vindictive, malicious? >> obviously, any time somebody that is no longer involved in combat, people have been captured, they have to be protected, and shouldn't be killed but shouldn't be treated. the situation now with the detention centers we visited in tripoli and its surrounding areas is one where still these centers are run by the local

armed groups that are running those particular areas and people are being brought in arbitrarily, beaten up and up in the centers. we know the national transitional council is concerned about the situation and we would like them to do more to quickly assert control over the centers, put them under the supervision of the civilian authority, the minister of justice in particular, so that they're taken away from the various armed groups that at the moment are in exclusive control of the centers. >> that was claudio cordoni speaking from tripoli, the author of the report from amnesty. at least 120 people have died after a petrol pipeline and fire in kenya's capital, nairobi. the blast took place in the city's lunga lunga industrial area.

firefighters battled fierce flames in the surrounding slum. our correspondent has the story. >> the residents of the industrial district of nairobi count their losses. the monday morning fire claimed the young, old, friends and neighbors. the fire was so spontaneous. it come from different places and it was too big whereby, we couldn't control it at the beginning. we had to wait for some time. >> rescue efforts have been carefully coordinated by the red cross. they're providing tents and counseling to the residents, many of whom have been left by nothing. red cross officials come to offer support. a lot of onlookers around me and we're standing on what used to be people's homes. there are pots and panz. we had to walk over beds,

mattresses and clothes. that shows the extent of the damage that this morning's inferno caused. quick to console the victims was the country's prime minister, odinga. he went on to promise that the victims receive adequate compensation. >> unimaginable that so many people could lose lives in this way. it is terrible, terrible, terrible. >> kenya police say dozens of people have died, but it's feared that the death toll will only rise. the cause of the fire has been attributed to a cigarette butt thrown into the open sewer. city hospitals have been inundated with burn victims throughout the day and have called for blood donations. the president toured the ward,

speaking to the scores of injured, many recounting what they saw. >> i just heard a big blast and when i started seeing people on me. all around there was fire and people on fire. >> the survivors here have escaped with their lives but many lost their homes. picking through the rubble, they find what they can to help them start again. bbc news, nairobi, kenya. >> once again, the markets are jittery over greece. >> absolutely. fear has dominated the world's financial markets as investor eyed very real prospect of a greek default, despite a late-day rally in the u.s., from asia to europe, shares are volatile, which french banks particularly hard-hit because they hold so much greek debt. from paris, christian frasier reports. >> if greece is the epicenter of

this financial crisis, it is sending shockwaves to every corner of europe but nowhere would the repercussions be felt more acutely than here in paris. today, shares of french banks were sent tumbling as concerns grow over their exposure to the greek debt. some say it suddenly smells of 2008, the markets pricing in the need for government intervention. whether that's nationalization or a capital injection, it is premature speculation, said finance minister. >> there is no emergency for banks. they have plenty of means of response and the central banks have said during the g-7 meeting on friday that they will provide liquidity and the european central bank has said there's five billion euros available potentially for banks. >> the french banks hold

billions of euros worth of greek bonds and investors fear a partial default would sharply deminnish the value of those assets, eroding weak capital positions. american banks lent heavily to french counterparts and have begun pulling back on loans. society generale was forced to respond today. >> we have to recognize how much money we've spent and how much more we may still have to put into the banking system. the key question is, how much this will cost european banks in the end. >> today, the head of the european central bank, jean claude trichet, gave assurances they could help banks should they need, but if french banks are downgraded, it could

underscore once again, that despite the bailouts, european governments are limited in their ability to defend banking and financial sectors. >> let's have a quick look at the asian markets. japan, australia and singapore are moving higher at this hour but only slightly. investors here remain focused on the euro zone's debt turmoil, news that italy could get financial support from china improving sentiment today and that was a catalyst for wall street to bounce back after trading most of the day in negative territory. in currencies, the dollar is at a seven-month high on worries on the greek default and downgrade of french banks. let's now move to developments in britain and an independent commission has recommended the most radical overhaul of the country's banking system in decades. report calls for financial institutions to separate retail

banking and investment banking operations by 2019 and the idea is that the retail operations would be protected if the more speculative global investment banking parts of the bank found themselves in trouble. u.s. president barack obama has announced he will send his $447 billion jobs proposal to the u.s. congress on monday. he called on voters to demand congress pass the bill quickly, as mr. obama's re-election prospects appear to hinge on his plans to revive the u.s. economy. republicans have responded cautiously. the bank of america is to cut about 30,000 jobs as part of a broad restructuring plan to cut costs. the bank said the cuts, which represent about 10% of its work force, would be carried out over the next few years. china may be ready to act and prevent italy becoming the next debt crisis victim. a report of the "financial

times" says the chairman of china's sovereign fund met italian officials last week. a professor in st. louis spoke to me about if italy would benefit from the help of the chinese. >> the italians could resolve their own problems if they give it a serious try but i have to say with the government they have, the overall political system, they seem unable to. it is a bit paradoxical. italy, it's not a separate situation. it's a large debt and substantial deficit but the deficit is lower than many other european countries and the debt, they would be able to sustain and pay interest and principal on it for almost two decades now so it's not a new shock. it would not take major dramatic effort for the italians to come into shape. they would have to do something, they would have to depart a

number of privileges that have been there for a long time. if you frankly want my speculation, i am afraid that the chinese purchase is yet another rabbit mr. berlusconi and his partners are pulling out of his hat and i am afraid that we'll find in a few days or a week after the big news, that there is little substance behind it. >> from washington university in st. louis. live from singapore and london, still to come, six months after japan's tsunami, we visit the residents determined to rebuild their lives. >> and taking on the thames, the british comic who swapped one-liners for a wetsuit. there's still no word about the fate of a british woman kidnapped at a beach resort if kenya by an armed gang who shot and killed her husband. the kenyan army has now joined

police in the search for judith pabit, taken from the safari village possibly by a gang from somalia. >> an idyllic setting on the kenyan coast, with cottages dotted along the beach, attracting tourist who is want to get away from the crowds and live a quiet life for a few days. the hotel's web site boasts of round-the-clock tight security. in a midnight raid, a group of armed men killed david tibet, a british publishing executive, shooting him in the back, and abducted his wife, judith, who is still missing. you can see the yellow tape set up around the rooms and it was in one of those rooms when the attackers struck in the middle of the night. that is a crime scene but the question is, what happened to judith tibet.

she was taken away in a speed boat apparently headed north towards somalia. kenyan police are searching, but the gang may be out of reach. in a boat like this, the somali border is 90 minutes away. in this village just along the beach from the hotel, people complain that the banditry from somalia has been a problem for years. they're worried the latest attack will keep tourists away. one man told me the gunman forced a kenyan to lead them to the hotel. the suspicion here in kenya is that either somali pirates or the al qaeda linked islamist group al-shabab carried out the attack. the foreign office says officials are focused on trying to save judith tibet's life. >> this is tuesday on the bbc.

i'm in sing singapore. >> in london, our headlines, the head of libya's national transitional council has appeared in front of crowds in tripoli to outline plans for the future. >> an explosion at a leaking fuel pipeline in kenya's capital has claimed more than 120 lives. more, now, on the situation in libya. outside one of the former libyan leader's last strongholds, the resistance continues. nato confirmed that its planes have hit targets around bally walid and residents of the desert town are trying to flee the fighting. our correspondent sent this report. >> the last few miles to bani walid is a dangerous stretch of road. but today, anti-gaddafi fighters agreed to take us to the town. take a good look. this is the first glimpse of

bani walid. it's like one of those famous frontier towns in cowboy films -- small, dusty and arid. there's no land worth fighting for here, no oil, either. but it's where libya's revolution ends and the green flag of colonel gaddafi still flies. this is now the edge of bani walid. we're on the northern side of the town. this is the front line for rebel positions and it is believed that colonel gaddafi's troops are just down that way and it's unsafe to go further. what's interesting about this conflict is that whereas the rebels took tripoli in one day this, complex is weeks old. as we filmed, nato jets attacked, a reminder that their mission still isn't over, that this town matters to all sides. for colonel gaddafi, it's a potent symbol of resistance. for his ponents, it's a reminder that they still haven't won the war, that the threat from the

old regime remains. we watched some of the last few families escape. most say there are very few civilians left in the town. >> the conditions there sound bad. those left behind are locked inside their homes scared, tired and hungry. the commander here says he doesn't want to push in further, hoping the people will rise up and liberate themselves. it may be wishful thinking. his fighters are lightly armed and their numbers are few. and you get a real sense that after six months of war, there's little appetite left for more fighting and death. bbc news, on the outskirts of bani walid. >> in japan, it's been six months and almost 16,000 people are known to have died, nearly 5,000 are still missing due to the earthquake and tsunami and now there are fears that the worst hit town may never

recover. our correspondent filed this report. >> the the, you'd think, for a tsunami survivor, would be terrifying. six months ago, shahierowas swallowed by the wave. she saw more than half her swimming team swept away. today, she's back in training and says it holds no fear. when japan's earthquake unleashed the tsunami, chahiero's team was swimming near the sea shore. this is news footage of that day. the town lie submerged. the building with the arches is where chahierowas trapped. after the disaster, her teacher showed us how chahiero survived. the mark on the wall shows the tiny space she found she could breathe. of her teammates, seven died.

chahierohiero had been grippinge friend's hand, trying to pull her to safety. the water tore them apart. >> when i'm alone, i cannot help thinking about my friends who died. i really long to see them again. >> chahiero's town so badly damaged is trying to move on, too, with a massive effort to shift and sift the wreckage. we know that 1,500 people died when this town was washed away. 2,000 more have packed their bags and left, their homes and livelihoods gone. getting on to the job of rebuilding is an urgent priority to the survivors here. they fear that if nothing is done, more will leave the town and it will slowly wither and die.

the plan is to rebuild the town's sea wall, make them 15 meters high. japan's government promised a huge emergency budget for reconstruction but nothing has happened. prefabricated homes have been put up up to house more than 2,000 families. her father lost his oyster fishing business and her grandfather is among those presumed dead. >> what do i think about the government? not much. our politicians have been fighting over who should be prime minister. this is not a time for that. we've come to expect nothing from them. >> her school was destroyed so every morning she travels an hour up the coast to a temporary one. all she wants is a new school and new home in her town.

in the meantime, it's her swimming, she says, that keeps her from dwelling on the memories of the tsunami. >> when i'm swimming, i don't have to think about anything. i just empty my mind. that's why i like it so much. >> details of a grueling swim that was all for charity. >> that's absolutely right. really grueling challenge for the british actor david williams who completed his eight-day swim from the river thames in western england to central london after battling diarrhea, polluted water and strong tides. his 225 kilometer swim has raised more than one million pounds for charity. >> exhausted but exhilerated,

the end of david williams' epic swim. he knew it would be difficult but he never realized how tough it would end up being. >> it was a lot colder than i thought. the weather wasn't good. i got ill. there were a lot of things against me but i just knew if i kept putting one arm in front of the other, i would eventually get there. >> since he started, eight days and 140 miles ago in gloucester, facing the thames waters in a pair of trunks, he's not only the physical strain of the ordeal but vomiting and diarrhea and not who mention that sewage was poured into the river this week, requiring him to take antibiotics and inoculations. he says the support he received along the way kept him going despite all the problems.

>> i was completely overwhelmed with the generosity of the british public. they all came out and saw me and waved and cheered. it made it a lot easier. >> many celebrities give time to charity but few give as much energy as williams has, combining his fame with extraordinary commitment to try to make a difference. the end of david's journey marks the perfect start for the 2012 fund-raising efforts. this has raised more than a million pounds and almost as importantly, significantly raised awareness of the charity and its worth amongst the public. >> you've been watching "newsday" from the bbc. >> a quick reminder of our main news, that the head of libya's national transitional council, mustafa abdul jalil, has delivered his first public speech in tripoli.

>> 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 insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.