>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. shell. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now, "bbc world news." >> gun battle returns to the libyan capital, as revolutionary forces exchange fire with snipers loyal to colonel gaddafi. the questions that wouldn't go away. britain's defense secretary resigns after days of controversy over his working relationship with a close friend. g-20 finance ministers gather in france. can they agree in time how to help europe's weakest economies? welcome to "bbc news" broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. i'm chris rogers. coming up later -- >> we are going to walk nonviolently and peacefully. >> and his dream of racial equality changed america forever. now martin luther king's legacy is given a permanent memorial in washington.

turning 50, the brit herb magazine "private eye" shows why it's the scourge of politicians and the powerful in a new exhibition. >> after weeks of relative calm, there's been fresh fighting in the libyan capital, suggesting the battle for tripoli is not quite over. gun battles broke out between arms supporters of colonel gaddafi. there's been an escalation of violence in sirte, where government forces are taking heavy casualties. in the moment, we'll hear from our correspondent in sirte. but first, caroline his or her lee on how the fighting reignited in tripoli.

>> fighters from the m.t.c. were back in battle today. hunting down armed men loyal to gaddafi. this area is a stronghold of support for the former leader. fighters say this man was found with a rocket-propelled grenade. he was one of several arrests made. smoke could be seen across the city as the fighting raged, sparked by dozens of pro-gaddafi men trying to raise his green flag on the streets. this fighting has been in the capital since the rebels took tripoli and had been returning to normal. they do have the upper hand, but

gaddafi supporters vastly outnumbered and outgunned. as they left the area, there was more shooting, spreading to other parts of the city. by night fall, new check points had splung up and this computer engineer was back in his military fatigues. >> it gaye us a good idea about how gaddafi's supporters are very weak now. >> the fugitive leader has repeatedly called from hiding for his supporters to rise up. the hope is that this is their last gasp, not the start of something new. >> this is almost scorched earth policy. unable to defeat or force pro-gaddafi loyalists to surrender, soldiers are systematically destroying this city block by block.

certainly disorganized, attacking forces are pushing sirte into submission. hundreds of tank shells, mortars and rockets fired in the general direction of the enemy. but here in the buildup heart of the city, they're making little progress. >> for the last couple of days, what might only be a handful of pro grada if i forces are keeping everybody pinned down here in the center of sirte. they're occupying a tall building just on the other side of the park there. and until they're removed and the fighting is over, there's no way anybody can declare the battle of sirte finished. imagine being a civilian caught up in all of this. this is the mensa family from ghana. george a factory technician. his wife and children were in the thick of it, trapped in

their flat for days. >> it's so horrible. they will be shot and bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb. even this one, just 2 months old now. >> then this afternoon, chaos on the front line. balances screaming back along sirte's main street. at least 0 transitional government fighters -- 20 transitional government fighters hit. the battle for this city isn't over yet. "bbc news," sirte. >> the united nations says that 3,000 people have been killed in syria in these seven months of protest against the rule of alassad. the u.n. has also claimed that there are risks that the situation in syria may turn into a full-blown civil war. the warning comes as activists report the death of at least six protesters in demonstrations following friday prayers.

daniel griffiths has this report. >> seven months on, more than 3,000 dead. but it's still stalemate in syria. after friday prayers, protesters fill the streets again. they want president assad to go, but they also had another message. president assad blames the guy lens on armed gangs attacking government forces. behind the show of unity, there are rumors of divisions. and some top soldiers have already defected to the opposition, including this senior officer who recently spoke to the bbc. >> we're counting on defections. there are larger numbers occurring every day. but we know that this regime cannot be taken out without using force. we're now preparing for this stage. you understand. >> on friday in its strongest warning so far, the united nations claimed that the peaceful protests may soon turn

into arms conflict. >> the onus is on all members of the international community to take protective action in a collective and decisive manner before the repression and killings drive the country into a full-blown civil war. >> but there are big differences among the key players. earlier this month, russia and china vetoed a resolution that might have led to tougher measures against syria. >> i think the kind of approach we're seeing now, which is to just squeeze syria as a whole, it may work over the long-term, but how many people are going to die in the short-term while we wait for this to happen? >> and while the diplomats debate, more demonstrations and more deaths. syria's dissent into chaos seems to grow faster with every passing day. daniel griffs, "bbc news." >> after days of damaging headlines, britain's defense secretary has resigned from the cabinet. he had been dogged by stories

about his links with his friend. he is still facing an investigation into alleged breeches of the ministerial code. our political editor nick robinson has more. >> what a difference a day makes. only yesterday, liam fox was putting on a show of getting on with his job as defense secretary. >> i am continuing to do what is needed at the moment, which is the defense secretary focuses on tense issues. thank you very much. >> i am told that last night senior figures reached the conclusion that the defense secretary's position was becoming untenable. the official story is that liam fox reached the same view today, calling the prime minister to offer his resignation. in a letter to the prime minister, dr. fox explained his decision. i mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interests and my government activities to become blurred. i'm very sorry for this. >> i quote understand why liam fox has decided to resign, though obviously i'm sorry to see him go.

because he did a good job at the ministry of defense clearing up the mess left by the last government and giving good leadership to that department, particularly while we've been in action in libya, and also of course in afghanistan as well. so i wish him well for the future. >> fox lost his job because his best man was much more than a mere friend. he operated as a paid political fixer, ideological soul mate, and cheerleader. whereas he presented himself as an advisor, even though he wasn't employed by the government, had no security clearance, and operated outside strict civil service rules. last weekend, the defense secretary hoped that an apology would be enough to save his career. >> i accept that mistakes were made, and i should not have allowed the impression of wrong doing to arise. and i am very sorry for that. >> this week, it was revealed that the two men had met on at least 18 trips abroad, including one meeting in dubai with a defense contractor, when no

official was present. and it was revealed the trips had been paid for by a company called pagav, set up specifically to fund adam's work, and with a budget of 147,000 pounds. the money came from liam fox's wealthy backers, who supported his interests in sri lanka. >> the truth has caught up with the government and it couldn't continue any further. but there are questions that have got to be asked about the relationship between some of the individuals involved in this and the conservative party and the relationship between government ministers and some of the very prominent funders involved in this whole sorry episode. >> last month, a beaming liam fox celebrated his 50th birthday with his political idol margaret thatcher. tonight, that night must feel a lifetime away. nick robinson, "bbc news," westminster. >> the united states is to help in the battle against uganda's

notorious rebel group, the lord's resistance army. president obama is sending 100 combat troops to central africa to assist and advise ugandan forces. the rebel group is accused of rape, murder, and kidnapping. italy's prime minister has narrowly survived a vote of confidence in his government. oppositions called for the vote because of discontent over his handling over the economy and a number of scandals in his private life. senior members of china's communist party are gathering in beijing later for the party's most important annual meeting. the theme of the four-day conference is culture, with the economy china's international standing, expected to be among the issues discussed by the party's central committee. roman catholic bishop in the united states has been charged with covering up suspected child abuse in his diocese.

bishop robert fin from missouri has publicly apologized for his handling of the case but has pleaded not guilty. he is the highest ranking catholic clergyman in america to face such charges. marcus george in washington has more details. >> this is a very significant case. it involves, as you say, the most senior catholic church official to date in the u.s. being charged with effectively facing charges related to the sexual abuse of children. prosecutors say that he covered up certain activities relating to one of his clergymen. last year, his clergyman, a man called shawn rad began was basically contacted -- he faced some kind of allegation that his behavior around children was simply not acceptable, and a few months later, there was bound -- found to be a lot of disturbing

photos of very young children, some of them nude, found on his laptop computer. now, when robert fynn was told all of this, he simply did nothing at all until months later. now, prosecutors say that's simply unacceptable. and instead of alerting immediately the authorities, what he did was investigate gently himself, but then handed the laptop back to the clergyman in question's brother. >> marcus george reporting there. this is "bbc news." still ahead, monuments to an icon. the new statue of martin luther king to be unveiled at a ceremony in washington. bangkok is being threatened by the worst floods to hit thailand in 50 years. around 280 people have died and more rain is forecast. there's now concern that the commercial center could suffer from flooding. from thailand, rachel harvey reports. >> two diggers marooned in an

ocean of muddy water. these floods have been spreading for more than two months, submerging farmland and factories, turning roads into rivers as the barriers are breeched. cautiously, they wade their way through the deluge, heading who knows where. all the houses here are awash. these elephants are mow stranded on the only piece of high ground left in what was their sanctuary. revered animals in thai culture, people are doing whatever they can to help them. this is one of the embankments that's been built up to try to hold the water back, but it's already seeping through at the bottom. if i just climb up there, it's about a meter and a half, five foot high, and on the other side, you can see that the water has already risen almost to the top of the embankment. >> to the north of bangkok, the mighty river has already burst its banks.

it runs from here right through the capital and on to the sea. and it's in a hurry. closer to the city, desperate efforts are under way to hold back the flood waters, to shore up the last lines of defense. >> the water will go through bangkok. i don't know what's going to happen after that. >> the authorities are in a race against time. runoff, rain, and high tides are about to combine. these are already the worst floods thailand has seen in half a century, and it isn't over yet. rachel harvey, "bbc news," bangkok. >> let's have a look at the latest headlines. fighting has flared up again in tripoli. weeks after opponents of colonel gaddafi said they were in control of the city. britain's defense secretary has resigned after days of questions

and allegations over his working relationship with a close friend. the german chancellor angela merkel is warning there's no big bang solution to the euro zone debt crisis. she's been discussing the issue with president obama by phone. while in paris, finance ministers are meeting to find ways out of the crisis. from there, virgil cassidy sent this report. >> yet another new euro rescue plan to talk about, arriving g-20 ministers from outside europe say the currency zone must contain its crisis. an i.m.f. fund, bankrolled by the likes of china and brazil, is one idea now under discussion. europe has just 10 days to its summit when it's promised to bring all these ideas together. >> the issue is, of course, who should provide resources. is the european financial stability fund large enough? can it be leveraged?

should governments put their own money into banks, or to what extent markets are prepared to refinance banks and take a hit if there is a debt event in greece? >> this commentator says euro zone members now realize the cost of giving up on their wayward periphery is just too great. >> you have to support the euro because it's in your own interests, because a collapse of the eurowrow would have dramatic financial and social consequences. when the crisis becomes systemic, you're part of it. as long as the crisis can be considered a greek kai sis, it is not your problem. >> the emergency debt rescue has changed the game. one of france's biggest worries is that it could lose its coveted triple-a rating. all this does seem to be persuading some euro states that it may be worth spending more to underwrite some of their most exposed lenders.

the final deal looks like it could be a mixture of new bank support and rescue funds bulked up by the european central bank and the i.m.f. the future health of the world economy depends on it working. nigel cassidy, "bbc news," paris. >> of course, it's not just the euro zone affected by the economic crisis. and a month after the start of the occupy wall street movement in new york, economic protests are spreading. a spokesperson for occupy melbourne. he joins me on the line now. hello to you, nick. how much support has your protest got? >> quite a bit. the crowd is building and building quite early this morning. and it's just continuously building. several hundred people, possibly over a thousand. the crowd just keeps building, so we're not sure where it will start. >> there are protests planned

all over the world from now on. but let's just look in australia. just what are you protesting about, and just how bad are things getting there? >> well, we may have weathered the global financial crisis in australia a lot better than europe and north america, but the problems with our democracy, some of the systemic problems, we share the same as the problems the people face in the united states and u.k. improper representation and lack of accountability and having the 1% most wealthy influential powerful companies and lobby groups. the issues are really unifying people on the ground. so many different political parties all coming together to work on how we push forward with a real democracy.

>> nick carson from occupy melbourne staging protests there today. the racial divide in the u.s. has been one of the most contentious episodes in its history, and its legacy still persists today. on sunday, president obama will be inaugurating a memorial to one of the people who helped end racial segregation in america. martin luther king. >> i've seen the promised land. i may not get there with you, but i want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. >> he changed a nation and now martin luther king becomes the first african-american to take his place among the hallowed memorials of the washington mall. >> for the first time in our country's history, this great land that we call the mall is now diversified looking like the country that we have, a person

of color gracing the mall, sitting between the lincoln and jefferson memorials. it gets no better than that. >> we are going to walk nonviolently and peacefully. >> preaching nonviolent protest, the charismatic baptist minister gave irresistible form to the civil rights struggle. this 30-foot slab of gran it has been surprisingly controversial. there are some people who feel it looks too severe, even totalitarian. others think this type of memorial should be reserved for former presidents. and of course, what makes the debate all the more a motive is the history it evokes is raw in the memory. in august 1963, king delivered his celebrated "i have a dream" speech from the steps of the lincoln memorial. five years later, he was dead. the assassination sparked days of riots. in washington, troops were deployed to u street, a black neighborhood consumed by rage. through the violence, one of the few businesses that remained

open was ben's chili bowl. king himself snacked here, as it's a who's who of black american in the four decades since. so how far does the owner think america has come in realizing king's dream? >> i think we've come a long way. the kind of equality that he dreamed of. i'm not sure we're there yet. we still have a poor school system. that affects all people. so i think dr. king would think we have a lot more work to do now. >> u street today is smarter, richer, whiter. gentrification has pushed some african-americans out. nationwide, the average wealth of white households is 20 times that of black homes. so even as an african-american president prepares to salute the standard bearer as a ceremony on sunday, the dream of an equal post-racial america is a work in progress. steve king ston, "bbc news," washington.

>> the magazine "private eye" has made its reputation by combining hard-hitting journalism with poking fun at public figures. it's celebrating its 50th anniversary with an exhibition of its cartoons that have amused many and offended plenty. >> it might be 50 years old, but as the latest edition shows, "private eye" rarely misses its target. the magazine's front cover, a launch pad for its irreverent humor and oh so close to the bone comments, often funny for those not featured, and sometimes even the ridiculed have been noun to laugh. -- known to laugh. >> the front cover after our disastrous local election result, it was a photograph of obama looking at hillary clinton, looking at the attack on the bin laden compound and hillary clinton's like oh, those poor liberal democrats. it was incredibly funny. i saw it in my local news and i

just laughed out loud. >> "private eye" emerged out of the boom in satire during the early 1960's. the public schoolboys prefeoke decided to try living by their wits. their magazine quickly found its house style, and its tone of voice. >> as long as you attack everybody completely indiscriminately, you're safe. when you start taking sides or keeping quiet, then you get into difficulties. >> when his cartoonists weren't having a laugh, its journalists were picking a fight and getting into trouble. next week, the victorian albert museum in london is marking the magazine's 50th birthday by displaying some of its most memorable moments. although there are some nice touches in this show, the real point of this exhibition is to celebrate "private eye's"

commitment to british visual satire, to cartoons, in their role helping to maintain a tradition. >> this is "private eye" making fun of itself. it's -- every fortnight, it's delivering extraordinary comedic, satiric art on to the page. >> "private eye's" reputation for being cheeky has been well established. the few have taken the stance that the magazine has proven to be an important patron of the visual arts. >> a reminder of the main news again, gun battles have taken place in the libyan capital of tripoli for the first time since anti-gaddafi forces took control of the city in august. supporters of the deposed leader colonel gaddafi clashed with forces of the national transitional council. this is "bbc news."

>> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim. about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more official -- efficient fuels. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.

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