>> 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. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur 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? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> two uncertainties about osama bin laden, he is dead, we will not release the pictures. >> it is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around. >> a ship from misrata arrives in benghazi. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up in this program -- workers enter the fukushima plant for the first time since the explosion following the earthquake in march. and the last soldier known to have served in the first world war has died, aged 110. we look back at his place in history.

>> no doubting his death, but no pictures to prove it. that's the message president obama has given over the killing of osama bin laden. mr. obama said that washington wouldn't be releasing any images as the graphic pictures could be an incitement to additional violence. the american president will visit ground zero in new york later. the visit being described by officials not as a victory tour, but a homage to the victims. from new york, we have this report. >> heightened security at ground zero, guarding against a possible attack by bin laden's followers am by coming here, president obama will mark the death of the man who orchestrated 9/11 and pay his respects to those killed here. the president will meet relatives of the dead, including the father of fallen firefighter, jonathan yelpy.

>> this thing had a happened the other day, where we killed bin laden, it's just, and we demand justice in our society, but we should not be too overjoyed with it. >> after the white house suggested it would release pictures of bin laden to prove he's dead, now the president says that's not necessary. >> we are absolutely certain this was him. we've done d.n.a. sampling and testing, and so there's no doubt that we kill osama bin laden. it is important for us to shake sure that we graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence, as a propaganda tool. that's not who we are.

>> when president obama comes here to ground zero to lay a wreath in memory of those killed on 9/11, now that the inspiration behind those attacks, osama bin laden, has been killed by u.s. forces, the president's approval ratings have risen as americans were wanting that decisive action. from bin laden's compound in pakistan, the americans have retrieved what could be a treasure-trove of intelligence about al qaeda, computers, cell phones, and memory sticks. >> well, the bbc's aleem mack bull is outside the compound in abbottabad and joins us now. aleem, whatever president obama might say about not releasing pictures and the like, the focus of attention clearly very much on the compound there. >> yes, that's right. i should say this compound behind me has had lots of

people around us over the last 24 hours or so. they have just moved prime away just in the last five minutes or so. they do sporadically close the area and open it again. but while it is open, a lot of locals have come around. of course, they've been stunned by what's happened. they're very curious about this place. a lot of those people are talking about these pictures. a lot of people have been saying right from the start that they still can't quite believe that osama bin laden was living in their midst and that he was killed here, and they want some kind of proof, even though, of course, the pakistani authorities have been very categorical about the fact that they say he's been killed, even the taliban, and even suggestions that al qaeda as well are preparing to appoint a new successor to osama bin laden. >> obvious discomfort between the united states and pakistan at the moment given the way in which this operation was carried out. how important do you think remarks are that have just been made by hillary clinton, the u.s. secretary of state, in which she said that pakistan is

an important partner in helping us to put unprecedented pressure on the al qaeda leadership? >> she is right, and that is the point. the two countries need each other. you can't solve the problems in afghanistan unless you have pakistan on board. pakistan has become so reliant on america for financial aid, for their civilian project, and in terms of military aid. so they both still need each other am but there is so much mistrust. this whole episode has exposed it to an extraordinary degree that a lot of people very feel uneasy about the future in terms of that relationship and also in terms of their futures when it comes to militancy. of course, the death of osama bin laden doesn't bring an end to the problem of militancy. there are still thousands, maybe tens of thousands of militants inspired by him still in this country. >> aleem, thanks very much indeed. aleem maqbool was in abbottabad. there are reports that a convoy

of 40 military vehicles has pulled out of the town in syria. it's also being reported that syrian soldiers have stormed a suburb in damascus. reports in saqba say soldiers in combat broke into houses there overnight and arrested a number of people. thousands of people marched in a demonstration in saqba last friday, calling for the removal of the president. he has ordered a clampdown on the protesters. a ship carrying 800 people rescued from misrata has docked in benghazi in eastern libya. the ship, chartered by the international organization for immigration, was forced to leave the besieged city with 200 fewer people than planned. that's after heavy shelling from forces loyal to muammar gaddafi. john sudworth saw the ship as it docked in benghazi. >> this was followed by the tired and bedraggles.

mainly migrant workers were fleeing the chaos in the port city of misrata. this ship is now pretty much the only lifeline to that city and the outside world, and it was held offshore for a number of days because of concerns that forces loyal to colonel gaddafi had been mining the fort. when it was deemed safe to move in shortly after it docked, it was met by a barrage of rocket fire, which some of those i've spoken to, from the shipping company, say they believe was a deliberate attempt by colonel gaddafi's forces to target their aid mission. in the chaos and confusion, we happened a number of people are reported to have been killed in and around the fort area. the ship had to redock twice because of the confusion and the fact that a number of families had got separated trying to get aboard. we initially understood that it left with slightly fewer people on board than planned, but the shipping company say that, in fact, it took out 1,300 people

and has now brought them to safety here in benghazi. >> john sudworth. the countries leading military action against gaddafi go ahead's forces in libya are gathering in rome today. one possible discussion, a possible cutoff date for their operations there. speaking at a news conference ahead of the meeting, the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, said the group needs to turn up the pressure on colonel gaddafi's government. >> discussing in depth how better to increase the pressure on gaddafi and those around him , diplomatically, politically, economically, how we can bring about the outcome that the people of libya and the international community seek, an end to the violence against civilians and the beginning of a democratic transition to a better future. >> hillary clinton. the bbc's duncan kennedy is in rome following the meeting.

duncan, i think from the point of view at least of the transitional council, it's all about funding. >> they do. they say they've only got enough money to last them three or four more weeks. they're the government east of the country, and they need funds to carry on. they say they need money for medicine, for food, and even to pay salaries. of course, there's no functioning government there since the uprising 1 weeks ago now. -- 11 weeks ago now. it's gone cup in hand to this meeting here in rome today for upwards of $3 billion, and it sounds like a lot of money. it is a lot of money. i suspect that it will get a very sympathetic hearing, not only from hillary clinton there, but also the british foreign secretary, william haig. he's saying it will be almost madness not to thumb these nascent democratic movements for want of money, so that's needed to keep them going and to starve them at this stage would be the wrong policy, very

short-sighted policy. so i think they will get the funds. they say they'll use the foreign libyan assets that are held frozen around the world as collateral until they get their own oil revenues going. and i think the international community will respond positively to their demands for this money. >> just interested, duncan, in what you made of hillary clinton's remarks. i got a sense that, while, yes, there's money that may be available, to try to put the brakes on any expectation of a lot of cash. >> yes, i mean, she recognizes there's an urgency to them getting the money because of the whole idea of them running out of money. it's just a case of where it's going to come from, what form it will take, and how it will get to the rebels and what they'll do once they get it. there's obviously a concern some of that money might be funneled off into buying arms, which i don't think the coalition wants at this stage. all they're talking about is a temporary financial mechanism, and i think that's what amounts to a line of credit.

the libyan rebels say they're good for it because of all these frozen assets around the world. that's what we use as claltral, and i think they say once the oil revenues get going, we can pay you back, which is why i think they will get a sympathetic hearing in rome. of course, the western powers and the arab state and nato and all the rest of it will want guarantees that is going to happen, but as i say, what they don't want, the last thing they want, the coalition, is for these rebels to fall short of their arms simply through lack of money. >> duncan, thank you very much indeed. jamie is here now with business news. let's start with portugal, shall we? they're getting their bailout, but my goodness, at what cost? >> well, we don't know. we're going to find out later on today. the political parties in portugal have approved this bailout. they haven't got very much option. we think that a lot of conditions aren't going to be very different, but we're going to find out what the interest rate's going to be. that's going to be absolutely vital, because that will

dictate portugal's ability to pay it and its ability to grow, because so much of its revenues are being siphoned off in order to pay the interest on its loans, and obviously it's going to run into problem. and the austerity plan is obviously going to be vital to show us how quickly that economy can grow. >> this feels like ghosts creeping up on the outside, but lloyds bank has suffered huge losses and still far from out of the woods. >> well, it's quite interesting about these losses. they're about $5.5 billion worth of losses. it's a lot. a large amount has been put aside in order to pay not so much a fine, but a restitution of funds from misselling of insurance. this is loan insurance. they were told to do this, and decided they're not going to contest it in court. they're going to put aside three billion pounds, about $5.5 billion.

and what is interesting is many of the other banks, which are also involved in mis-selling, may well go down the same way, and the possible bill for the entire banking sector could be anything up to $12 billion. a lot. >> it goes on, doesn't it? >> yes. >> jamie, thank you very much indeed for all that bad news. right, we're going to go now to the pakistani capital, islamabad. the foreign secretary, salman bashir, is holding a news conference there. we can join him now. >> let me clarify one thing. i think the notion that pakistan-u.s. relations have nosedived, this is not quite our understanding. pakistan considers its relations with the united states as of high importance

and significance. one, we have been strategic partners, and we have a process which is called the strategic process. i have recently been to washington, and the ambassador was here on monday, and we have had excellent exchange of views, discussions on all issues, both in washington, d.c., at the state department with the national security council. i think we have been able to get the trajectory reafirpped, and more importantly, agreed to work the trajectory of our cooperation in the right direction. as you know, osama bin laden is history.

i have said this before. but it has not been enough. so invariably the question that has been discussed, not put to me directly, but there is a context to everything, and i think we have to see the developments of the right context. the context of osama bin laden is a matter for the historians. the making of osama bin laden warrants its separate team. i don't want to elaborate on that. first of all, as far as pakistan is concerned, the issue of sovereignty. i think there should be no mistake, that what the people of pakistan, the leadership and the parliament of pakistan hold

dearest to them is dignity, their honor, and make no mistake, the nation as a whole and state institutions are determined to uphold our sovereignty and safeguard our security. i think construing this in any other manner is wrong. simply wrong. of course, we have said so in our official statement that this action which led to the death of osama bin laden, it was, as you know, a covert action. it was a covert action. pakistan was not consulted. this is not new. this is all in our statements.

but more importantly, ok, let's briefly go over the facts. this covert operation has been act -- conducted by the united states, where radars were evaded. as soon as the relevant authorities came to know of this particular matter, and this was at a time when one of the helicopters crashed or malfunctioned or was destroyed, whatever. the fact is that the pakistani armed forces, they had not been consulted. they were not in the know, so they did what was required. the air force was trembled. it is indeed important to note that this debate about the reaction of pakistan, and i don't want anybody in the global community to, you know,

have this impression, any wrong impression about our defense capabilities. the armed forces, the air force, the military leadership, and the political leadership, we are well equiped and mindful of the defense requirements of our country. and there should be no misunderstanding anywhere on this account. now, so on the sovereignty issue, i think besides this particular episode, there are legal questions, legal questions that arise in terms of the principles of the u.n. charter, most specifically in terms of the several security

council resolutions, and recently the two presidential statement of the security council. and i would like to sort of reassert that it's probably worth looking at this again, because we deal not only with the issue of osama bin laden, but also -- it is one of the relevant paragraphs. presidential statement, that the security council reaffirms that member states must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with their obligations under

international law. >> salman bashir just being interrupted from time to time from the floor, it seems, as he's running through the, really, pakistan government's defense over the way in which the americans carried out the operation to kill osama bin laden. >> must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law. by leaving this court to you is just to remind everybody here, and our friends that this is --

this matter of sovereignty and violation of sovereignty and the moralities for conduct for combating the terrorism, there are certain moral and legal issues which fall properly within the domain of the international community. and it is interesting that some of the reports that we see today especially being attributed to the discourse already which has started to surface is on the instruments and how best to prosecute the war against terror. of course, pakistan is mindful of its international obligations, and we believe that everybody concerned ought

to be mindful of the international obligations. so, on the issue of sovereignty, another related matter, it is known, and i am not making anything a public disclosure, there has been a very old debate on unilateral ism versus respect for the instruments of collective security. of course, united states is a very important partner, especially a partner in the fight against terror. but it is worth stating here that -- and this has nothing to do with the osama bin laden -- that any country, any other

country that would ever act on the assumption that it has the might and mimic union hat -- unilateralism of any sorts will find, at least as far as pakistan is concerned, that it has made a basic miscalculation. we see a lot of bravado in our own region. there have been statements that have come from across rejohn, people from the military, from the air force, which state that this can be repeated. we feel that that sort of

misadventure, miscalculation will preserve in a terrible catastrophe. now, there should be no doubt that pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defense. we are proud of our armed forces, of our security agencies, and we are proud for the work of the services intelligence. it's an important arm of the government which has contributed enormously to the military campaign. so all this debate that we see in the local media, i would like to sort of mention here that there should be no doubt in the minds of any citizen of pakistan that we do not have adequate capacity to dignity

and to protect security. how is it that a covert operation which succeeds in eliminating one of the most known terrorists takes place and still a number of questions relating to that? as i said, there was a covert operation, one. >> salman bashir, who is speaking live in islamabad in a news conference, addressing some of the key issues surrounding the american operation, the covert operation to kill osama bin laden, and addressing the question of pakistani's sovereignty, what seems like a rather bleak, but fairly thinly veiled criticism of the american unilateral approach. he said it's known that there's been a very old debate on unilateralism versus respect for the instruments for collective security, and also

quoting from the u.n. security council resolutions about the importance of following international law. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> 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.

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