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corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> welcome to the news on the bbc. >> here are the headlines. three days of violent clashes in cairo, now the egyptian cab met -- cabinet offers to reseen. western powers queue up to sever financial ties with iran. the so-called super committee can't agree on measures to cut america's vast deficit. and on a sticky wicket, the nuclear power plant in an indian state and the local protest against it. 10:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> 2:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting on pbs in america and around the world.

>> hello, there, the jippings cabinet -- the egyptian cabinet offers to reseen as protesters take to the streets. the council is meeting to decide whether to accept the government's offer. the security forces began a crackdown on saturday. protesters are calling for the army to hand over power to a selected egyptian goth. leches are due to be held next week. >> outside the hated imperial ministry, a longtime symbol of authoritarian rule, protests

for four consecutive days. images beamed around the globe on facebook, twitter and youtube. none more disturbing that pecktures showing protesters apparently being beaten in front of a sign proclaiming freedom. unconscious, overcame by tear gas, dozens, even hundreds of prodemocracy protesters rushed to clinics. at times there weren't enough scooters and mopeds to ferry bodies for freement. it's thought that many of those who died suffered from the effects of tear gas. one man wanted to tell us what happened to him, struggling to get his words out. >> but he collapsed in the arms of his friend. it's almost as though the

revolution and all that was achieved here never happened. none of these protesters can believe they're back out on the streets of cairo calling for the political reforms and free tom they thought they secure months ago. but here they are, in clashes, being killed or wounded. it was perhaps naive to assume that having forced mubarak to resign, the entire system would collapse. >> it was a big mistake. at this time, people were euphoric about it. they couldn't believe about mubarak but of course mubarak is just one -- is just the tip of the iceberg. >> protesters said they won't give ground again until the mill tear cedes power altogether. no easy task in a country where the generals are the absolute authority.

roadside medics treated a steady stream of casualries and thousands more protesters arrived in the square. in less than a week, this country is due to hold its first truly democratic leches. it's difficult to see how they can go ahead in such circumstances. >> earlier, i spoke to a protester in the square. he described the atmosphere. >> there's a slight lull in the violence right now. localized -- local people taking the chance to clean up and gather themselves for whenever the next wea comes. >> has it been a case of quiet moments against violent clashes with security forces? >> it's incredibly intense today, it was a really, really hard thing the whole day and felt like it was just people

being carried back from the front lines. it's going to calm down now a little bit. you can hear now, there are five or six of motorbikes. it's picking up again now. >> what is the mood like amongst the people that you're with at the moment. >> it's good to be back, the union the of people power. going to get the full army unleashed on us. we get the freedom that people died for. >> now in other news the united states has a new set of sanctions against iran, targeting chemical industries. the u.k. and canada are cutting

financial ties with tehran, saying something they suspect is a nuclear weapons program. they sinnist that their -- it's all directed at nuclear power not arms. >> iran's pursuit of nuclear power and perhaps all that goes with it worries the rest of the world. the country's government insists its am bigs are purely peaceful a claim doubted by the west. so the united states, along with the u.k. and canada, has taken steps to cut off the supply of money to iran's nuclear program. >> the treasury department is formally identifying iran as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. this is the strongest official warning we can give that any transaction with iran poses serious risks of deception or diversion.

>> the measures come after the latest report from vienna. the agency warns that they're encreasingly concerned about the military program. the west has responded. but this is what keeps iran connected to the rest of the world. iran needs to import refined fuel and exports crude to many countries, including china. the west may have imposed sanction bus iran's business partners will not want to cut off all ties with the republic. >> joining me from washington, robin wright, a journalist who has written several books on iran. relations between the west and iran clearly at an all time low will be sanction -- will sangs make any difference to that.

>> the -- it will have a slight complicating effect on iran. it will make it more expensive to do business, harder to sell. it will compound the slow erosion of the outside world with the islamic republic. but it doesn't have the decisive punitive effect the u.s. and other allies hoped for. the reality is while britain, canada and the united states acted on the same day in a way that hasn't happened before, it also reflected the fact that it's very hard to get any further action as a world body, as the united nations itself, because russia and china have vaunted any significant actions. >> you spoke about how the u.k. and canada joined with the u.s.

, restrictions against iran, why is that? is that a tactical move? >> i think it was tactical. well coordinated and the united states announced today, this is the beginning of what will be a global campaign to do significant business. it began imposing kind of unilateral action. what's striking about these actions is that they are as much to kind of preempt israel or any other power considering military action and to preempt tougher action by the american congress. there's been a move in washington to cut off iran's central bank which would be almost unprecedented. not quite but almost. this is an attempt by the white house to prevent -- taking the lead. >> given the fact that russia and china are blocking any move

to refer this to the u.n. security counsell? >> the united nations is not likely to take tough action on iran. that's why the actions have been takeny three major western powers that have had -- well, two of them had major dealings with iran since the revolution, anyway. but you know, the -- the probability of anything happening is unlikely in the near future. >> briefly, then, robin, what is the point to all of this. >> we're standing fir, sayering we want to make it tougher for iran. this will raise the cost. and remember, iran is heading toward an election for parliament in march and the next year, presidential election and this is a time when candidates will be competing with different views on how to deal with the outside

world. >> an interesting perspective, robin. thank you for joining us. robin wright, a journalist who has written a number of books on iran. now to more on the deadlock in washington but in a different sense. >> indeed, we've got a special congressional committee, they failed to reach agreement on how to cut america's vast budget deficit. the so-called super committee made up of six republicans and sick democrats said it's been unable to bridge differences between the parties after the two months of talks. president obama accused the republicans of failing to listen to reason. the bbc's adam brooks is in washington he says both money and the welcome of decision making have contributed to the failure of the u.s. debt talks. >> it's certainly the case that congress, the administration and aparently the american people feel strongly that america's budget deficit should be tackled in earnest. the question is how to do it?

and america's political parties are deeply, ideologically divide over how that should happen. republicans are arguing that mass i spending cuts in government spending -- and government spending are what is require. the democratic party arguing that it should be balanced with tax increases. the failure of the supercommittee to bridge those divides is what led to the failure today to reach any meaningful decision on how to go forward tackling the budget deficit. the strange consequence of this is that there will be spending cuts anyway. there's a sort of plan b in place. $1.2 trillion of spending cuts will come into play in 2013. but a year is a long time in american politics and there may be a chance to undo the spending cuts in the meantime. what we're talking about here in the larger scheme of things is the political will of congress, of america's elected representatives, really to

tackle the american budget deficit and their ability to stop bridging deaf differences in congress to to so. will they be able to do it in the coming year? or will this impasse only be solved by elections in a year's teem. tissue year's time? >> still to come, preparing for the worst, turkey's president talks to the bbc about syria and the growing prominence in the region. >> and villages across the indian state stage hunger strikes against a new nuclear plant they say will destroy their livelihoods. >> the red cross is allowing authorities to visit gaddafi's son in prison. they made contact with the doctor who first examined him after his capture on saturday.

>> in the main hospital, it was from here that on sunday a doctor was called to go and visit gaddafi's son. this is that doctor. how did you find him? >> i found him in good condition physically and mentally. maybe he was a little scared about the situation. and i found two wounds on his fingers on his right hand. it was old wounds and his wounds were -- they were enflamed. >> did he tell you how he got the wounds? >> the he told me he got the wounds during bombing, a nato attack. >> do you believe him? because as you know, some libyans are saying he was captured previously and let go

but that his fingers were cut off by revolutionary fighters. >> i don't think so because cut wound by knife or by some sharp thing is a clear wound, you know. but this wound was broken bones. i think it's due to an explosion. after the bombing, after the explosion, there must be another injury, not only hands. it's impossible to wound only the hand. without jer on the body. -- without injury on the body. >> this has news day on the bbc. >> the headline this is hour. the egyptian cabinet offered its resignation following a third day of violence between

riot police and protesters in cairo. >> the u.s. joins the u.k. and canada in announcing new sanctions on iran because of concerns about the country's nuclear program. >> graphic accounts of the ke her rouge regime are -- the commer rouge regime are being -- the khmer rouge regime are being heard. they are thought to be responsible for 1,600 deaths. let's go outside the courthouse where the trial has started. what's transpired so far. >> we've been hearing gruesome details about the range of crimes committed in the era, from 1985 to 1979.

we talk about how some of those people met their death. just to give you an example, people were shot if they refused to march out of the city. there was even a terrible description of a child of two. it was very difficult to listen to. >> the trials are a joint enterprise. they've been heavily criticized. why is that? >> the amount of time it's taken to get to this phase in the trial is the biggest, five and a half years since the judges were sworn in. we're only now seeing witnesses called. the other is allegations of political interference from the cambodian government who cants to limit the scope of the trial

and allegations of judicial incomp tension and algigses of corruption on the part of the staff. people will be hoping. >> all right, thank you. in other news, the president of turkey has told the bbc his country doesn't want to intervene in neighboring syria but they're preparing for the worst. he was speaking after a bus carrying turkish pilgrims came under attack in syria. he told our diplomatic correspondent that turkey would defend etc. interests. >> istanbul's latest tourist attraction, a panorama of a historic turkish conquest and

turkey is once again wielding its power, influential in the arab spring, piling the pressure on syria. turkey didn't want to intervene in syria, which was bracing itself for the worst. >> you're not ruling out the possibility of buffer zones even if there was u.n. support. >> it's off the teable. >> some people say turkey was a great power in the region, the ottoman empire, maybe it's time for turkey to be the center of this part of the world. >> we don't have any agenda in egypt. >> turkey's enflunes is showing in other ways. its wildly successful soap operas have gripped audiences.

the late zest a rags to riches story about the ha rem of suleiman the magnificent. this is creating fans of turkey across the redoip. turkey argued it's a bridge between east and west. this is european soil. part of its appeal is it opens a modern movement of democracy. but when you look at its human rights record, there's a problem. amazingly there are more journalists in jail here than in china or iran this crowd was to support one of them. the president dismisses the criticism. it's the looming crisis in syria that overshadows

everything. >> over to yo now. you got more details of plans for nuclear power. >> india is growing rapidly. to keep development on track it needs electricity and plenty of it. in recent months, nuclear power plants in the other states have prompted protests and hunger strikes. from there, they report. >> protesting against india's development drive. these people are fighting the production of electricity in their patch. they know there's a great and growing need but they do not want the place they call home to be used to power india's future. >> we need to reclaim our land,

our water, our sea, our land. this is more important than these. >> they are protesting a power plant set to come on line in the coming month -- months. now these villagers say they're taking a final stand and they're going to fight to the end for their livelihood. he's the worst. a local fisherman depends on these waters. but he says the nuclear power plant here would raise the sea temperature, damaging fish stock and local trade. >> if this reactor starts, we

cannot do our jobs. but we can't do that. we'll end up becoming refugees. >> it's a stark reminder of india's thirst for power. the government insists that once operational, the nuclear power plant will help to solve the energy problems. local companies suffer from regular electricity shortages and roaming power cuts and the chance to keep the lights on for longer is being welcomed by local industry. >> across the state, we have to stop production for four hours every day because of shortages. if this problem can be solved with a plant, earning will improve. >> for now, children here enjoy village life but the landscape

around them is changing. many areas like this one have been earmarked for major energy projects. but the challenge the government faces is convincing local people of the benefits of playing a part in india's growth story. >> let's take you live to the russia control room space center on the outto -- outskirts of moscow. there's the scene live as the spaceship is prepearing for the return of the soyuz capsule if the international space station to kazakhstan. we understand that so far everything has gone to plan and the capsule has entered earth's atmosphere safely. we expect the capsule to land somewhere within kazakhstan on its final leg of its journey

which it has been, of course, at the international space station since june. a russian cosmonaut, a nasa astronaut and a representative from japan are onboard. we'll have more on that as soon as we get it. i wonder if we could listen in to the space center to hear what they're saying. very little at the moment but we'll be keeping an eye on that for you. you've been watching news day if the bbc. >> a reminder of our main news this hour. egypt's civilian cabinet has submitted itsres. egg nation to the ruling council as thousands of protesters spend another night in cairo's square. it's not yet clear whether the council has accepted theres. egg nation. more on that to come. stay with us.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman found eags of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. 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. >> bbc world news was going --