gadhafi. a no-fly zone is considered to prevent more attacks on civilians. switzerland has frozen the assets of moammar gadhafi and his family. fighting between loyalist and protesting groups have increased. the east seems fily in hands of the opposition. our coverage begins with this report. >> this military base in northeastern libya used to house troops loyal to moammar gadhafi. it has fallen to those that have joined the rebellion. >> it seems with the rebellion inside the barracks plus the other people from outside of the perimeter, it was breached three nights ago. >> >> loyalists have been attacking civilians. this shows a hospital treating

the wounded. some witnesses say that the city was attacked by rockets. hundreds are thought to have been killed or wounded in recent days. >> you see only destruction here. shootings, people, and fear. even doctors don't know how many people have been injured. -- shooting, dying people. >> the rebels have control of the border to egypt. the situation -- much of the rest of the country. there are reports of clashes and casualties in the area around tripoli and the west. many egyptians and other initiatives are trying to escape the fighting in libya. gadhafi are blaming them for importing the revolution to libya and are dealing with them restlessly -- ruthlessly.

many people died and central tripoli, many people from tunisia and egypt. they just leave the wounded on the streets and let them die. five of my friends were also killed. >> as a growing stream of refugees is fleeing the violence in libya, the power struggle between will list at opposition forces continues. >> so much of what we know about the situation that libya is cong to us through social networks such as facebook and twitter. we're joined by an internet group that has been a rallying point for opposition groups in libya. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, good evening. >> you are from libya, what is the latest situation? >> libya is completely

liberated. the media should focus on tripoli. we are thinking now that the media is playing into the hands of colonel gadhafi. the west might try to make up their own state. one thing i have seen inside and outside of the country is unity. people are chanting on the streets. tripoli is our capital. we will save her. libya is being chanted at the moment in the streets. >> you say that there is a rift but the rift we are get getting is that gadhafi is firmly in control of tripoli. is that not the case? >> that is not the case. people are coming out onto the street. he has brought in his loyalists,

revolutionary guards and packed the city of tripoli. there are snipers and all streets. it is impossible for the people to have the support an that is what they will get. >> are you telling us that tripoli is going to be the last stand for moammar gadhafi? >> of course. without tripoli, he really does not have libya. he currently has his home right in the center of tripoli as well. without tripoli, he does not have libya. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> tnk you wwill be taking a look at the situation in libya coming up following the break. thousands of foreigners continued to flee libya, there are reports of chaos at the

airports and ports. a german military plane was able to land in malta on thursday. national's leaving say that they're forced to pay bribes. some people tried to steal their suitcases. what to itf lia's decide to flee their countryy en masse and head for europe? italy would like a special refugee fund set up and promises from all 27 countries to take in refugees. northern european countries have said that a mass exodus will not happen. they say that europe should focus on helping libyans rebuild their nation. >> the european interior ministers are discussing how they should respond to the offense and libya but have not agreed oa common strategy. italy is calling on the solidarity of other states.

>> we estimate not 100 but 1 million refugees at least. >> to date, more than 5000 people, mainly from tunisia, have arrived on a tiny italian island. rome expects other countries to take some of the refugees. >> last year, germany took in about 40,000 people. sweden, 30,000, belgium, 20,000. italy took 7000. this is a long way from being overwhelmed. >> the pressure on europe is increasing. the u.n. is warning of a humanitarian crisis and they plan to start airlifting supplies to tunisia this weekend. >> my appeal to your kids to fully support the countries that are emerging from dictatorships and are in transition. -- my appeal to europeans is to fully support the countries.

we would like to have inclusions through the mediterranean and europe. i hope that europe will live up to its commitments and offer protection and assistance to are fleeing a war. >> as debate continues, the consensus on assistance for those affected still seems a long way away. >> germany has lifted his travel warning for egypt. this comes as berlin moves to normalize relations with the transitional vernnt in cairo. the minister paid a visit to the capital with promises of more economic and development aid. >> the german foreign minister visited tahrir square. only two weeks earlier, it had been the focal point of the country's resolution -- revolution. now, they enthusiastically received their german guests. there are offers of assistance.

>> this is unacceptable for a lead to use violence against his own people in this way. we welcome the clear line taken by the international community. >> he called for sanctions to be imposed on the gadhafi regime. egypt can look forward to german assistance on their path to democracy. >> we will closely coordinate economic cooperation. this also applies to investment in egypt. this democratic revolution will also bear fruit for the egyptian people. >> in the cairo branch of the -- institute, the foreign minister met with activist and internet blogger who played an important role in the revolution. their work is not over. now he is keen to assist in the rebuilding of their country. >> steve is here with a business.

words to calm the oil mess. >> the white house says that they have the capacity to act if on rest in the middle east and threatens to disru oil supplies. the russian prime minister was in town with half of his cabinet. 25% of the eu's energy demands are met by russia. the reality is that of the relations between europe and russia are strained. >> the european commission president gave his russian guest a warm welcome. the eu is heavily dependent on their giant neighbor to meet their hunger for energy, especially in times like these. >> the russian energy is key to keep your going. our industries, our households are very much linked to russian energy. >> that is the kind of talk that gives the russian prime minister

reason to be confident. >> the european prosperity depends on our energy. that being said, wheat express confidence right now. >> things are not quite as simple as lederer putin would like to think. the eu and russia are in dispute about a pipeline. -- things are not quite as simple as putin would like to think. >> the projects are already up and running. >> there is more sources of conflict. a gas giant would like to deliver its gas through a pipeline run exclusively through their company. the eu says this speech is competition rules and would like to out like -- outlaw this. >> this is not an action against our partners, this is an action for the market anduropean companies who have to stk to the rules. >> the eu hopes that the dispute will be settled soon but if

russia turns off the gas supply, europe couou be left out in the cold. >> before the libyan crisis, the company was pumping 1.6 million barrels of oil a day. the price of crude oil is at $120 a barrel before retreating. italian oil executives say the production has fallen by more than half sincvience bke out a week ago. other oil producing countries, notably saudi arabia, said they would expand production to make up for shortfalls. general motors is back in the black. they posted profits of $4.7 billion in 2010 just a year after they filed for bankruptcy protection. they receive billions in federal bailout funds and underwent drastic reorganization. 2010 was their most profitable year in over a decade. the european operations are concerned.

incurred losses of $1.8 billion. -- opel incurred losses of $1.8 billion. sales rose by 9% to $106 billion. they are putting their success on increase profitability in their core business which is to help fund life insurgents -- life insurance. the libyan crisis is weighing on share pric again on thursday. let's look at the figures starting with the close in frankfurt. the blue-chip finished 9/10 lower. across the atlantic, the dow jones industrials also lower at 12,067. the ongoing unrest in libya has

been driving up demand for gold. the price went up before declining. investors have been flocking to the precious metal among concerned that the violence could escalate. they expect the price to increase if the political and social tensions in northern africa continues. >> the wikileaks founder who rocked the u.s. by publishing a classified diplomatic memos has lost a legal fight to stop his extradition. a british court ruled that julian assange must be extradited from london to sweden to face allegatio of rape. he has 10 days to appeal. >> the ruling did not come as a surprise to julian assange. the judge to approve his extradition to sweden where he could stand trial. however, julian assange said that current law makes it too easy for people to be extradited

within the eu. >> we have always known that in all likelihood we would have to appeal. 95% of european arrest warrants are successful. that is something that a fair trials international has rightly condemned. >> the basis for the e eradition is a european arrest warrant issued by swedish authorities. the legal team is not convinced that he will receive a fair trial in sweden and it tends to appeal the decision. the wikileaks founder and his supporters are also concerned that he could be extradited from sweden to the u.s. which might see to try him for releasing thousands o classified military and diplomatic documents. >> three days after the earthquake struck christchurch, new zealand, the death toll has

risen. hundreds of foreign search and rescue efforts -- experts have joined the efforts. over 100 people are feared buried in the rubble of a local television building. the international media turned out in droves to witness the first joint public appearance of the british royal coup to be. prince william and his fiancee perform to their first official engagement as an engage couple launching a new life boat near their home on the west island of -- afterwards, middleton poured champagne. they will be doing a lot of that. >> they sang the welsh national anthem. >> we will be back with our "in depth," report in a few minutes.

depth," report in a few minutes. which foot was it? best make that "best wishes." we don't want them getng their hopes up, do we? no, i suppose not. have always done it. why should she watch the flowers? nobody really remembers,

>> the reports coming out of libya it indicate a massive battle for tripoli in the near future. moammar gadhafi is fortifying his grip on the capital. the rest of the country appears to be in control of anti- government forces. gadhafi has vowed not to give up power voluntarily. our next report on the nation and the fight to own it. >> the images of libyans protesting might be reminiscent of those from egypt and tunisia but gadhafi has turned to extreme measures. he is using warplanes and artillery. the regime is proving its reputation as one of the most repressive in north africa. this is not just a design for democracy that has driven

libyans to risk their lives to maturity. people have simply had enough of gadhafi's eccentric and despotic rule. his power rests on the one headed for the tribes. the most influential tribe has called for an end to the violence. two others have turned against the regime. his own tribe is a minor force. one group has threatened to disrupt oil production in their area if the violence continues. the specter of unrest has raised fears about supply security pushing up prices. until now, gadhafi has been able to use income from his oil sales to buy the loyalty of the military and tribal leaders. he has also tried to placate the people with social programs. unlike in neighboring tunisia, poverty is not fueling the result -- the revolt.

they have built a cheap housing and urban areas. he has subsidized basic food and fuel. education is universally free in libya and literacy rates are at almost the%. libyan law guarantees equality for women and gadhafi abolished the compulsory wearing of the muslim head scarf. his style is one of carrot and stick rules. he threatened to protest is with a death sentence. his green book is a kind of unofficial constitution. written by the leader, it prescribes rules for life in libya. the rules governing life will change forever. >> let's bring in our expert on the middle east. is this a given in your opinion that gadhafi will fall? >> yes, there is no way that he

can exert control over libya. he is still trying to hold his grip upon tripoli, the capital, and the surrounding areas. >> how much life does he have left in him? >> he is really convinced. he has convinced himself that he will fight to the very en he has missed the chanced to leave his country and dignity. he would like to fight to the bitter end and unfortunately, he is drawing the whole country towards this. >> when you have followed this, how is the managing to hold onto power in tripoli when the rest of the country is now out of his control? >> basically, by handing out money to his immediate followers which are smaller tribes and parts of the army. these people who are close and loyal to him, that is the small tribes. the army are very fearful that after the toppling of gadhafi,

they will face a difficult time. maybe they will be killed themselves. they have a strong desire to continue fighting on his side. >> talk to me about the oil industry. is it to the rule that the man who owns the oil, rules the country? >> yes, that is the way it works. gadhafi decided how these billions of dollars that the country earns ever yr were spent. unfortunately, much of this money has simply been wasted in financing revolutions all over the world and by building huge senseless projects in the desert. >> stay with us, we want to talk to you more in a couple of minutes. the stakes are high for europe and much of the world if libya disintegrates. the interest goes far beyond the shores of tripoli. the european union's most important member states have made hefty investments in libya in the past few years and they don'wanto setheir money go

up in flames. gadhafi has spent a lot of time reprinting himself and his country as a reliable business partner. we take a look at who he has pressed the flesh with the most. >> for decades, moammar gadhafi has used his oil billions to become a global player in the world of business. libya's trade volume with china recently jumped 80%. the chese cporations e involved in numerous major projects from afar is in the streets to oil drilling. the trade volume is an estimated 12 billion euros. now beijing is putting on the brakes and has evacuated more than 30,000 laborers and engineers. angstrussia also had close tieso the dictator.

when gadhafi sat down with putin, the main business talk was arms deals. in 2010, gadhafi ordered weapons to the tune of 1.5 billion euro from russia. gadhafi also enjoyed a strong bond with the italian prime minister. italy depends on libya for oil and gas, it was gadhafi's efforts in preventing illegal immigration that secured their relationship. he ran up the security on the border. in 2004, and gerhard schroeder became the first chancellor to visit gadhafi in tripoli.

they are on imported energy supplier for germany. they have been an important market for exports for decades. currently, 40 german companies operate in libya with a combined trade volume of 4 billion euros annually. >> when you look at that report, it is safe to say that this is economic interests that are motivating the interests of western countries when they dictate policies? >> i have the impression that there is no mind setting at all going on when formulating policies. europe is really very astonished as to what is going on in libya. no one has an idea of what to do. there is a lot of talk about th refugee crisis. so far, we have not seen too many refugees. the italians are fearful of an influx of refugees. >> oil is the most important asset right now in libya, it has

been. is it enough to lead the west to go in militarily? >> no, i did not see nato going in militarily. that would be quite insane to start a third investment on the military front that will not really yield benefits. >> are you surprised that the whithouse isondering a n fly zone? >> this is a positive development because the position has set correctly that this line into libya allows moammar gadhafi to get more and more people in from black africa. a no-fly zone means that mercenaries cannot reach libya any longer. that means it will topple earlier. >> thank you for being here with us and helping us to understand what is going on in libya. that will wrap up our "in depth ," report on libya.

as always, thanks for the company.