south. coming weeks before southern sudan is due to declare their independence the president of the south said they will not retaliate. >> we remain committed to peace. and if anybody thinks that they are going to retaliate by attacking anywhere in sudan, we are not going to do it. >> for his part the president is reiterating his uncompromising position that it belongs to the north and that his forces would not withdraw. so it is the local population which is caught between the violence and the fragile peacekeeping efforts. the u.n. says tens of thousands have been forced from their homes. >> since there are no local population residents in the town at the moment we can estimate that between 20,000 to 30,000 people are on the move. >> earlier in the week u.n. helicopters were fired on by suspected northern milishace. with the standoff showing no signs of abating, united nations is now considering deploying thousands of peacekeeping troops to southern sudan after it suseed from the north in july. >> at least 30 have been killed in northwest pakistan. a suicide bomber was targeting government bu

south. this comes just weeks before it southern sudan is due to declare its independence. the president of the south said they will not retaliate. >> we remain committed to peace. if anybody thinks that the government of southern sudan is going to retaliate by attacking anywhere, they are incorrect. >> for his part, the sudanese president is reiterating his uncompromising position that abiyei belongs to the north and his forces would not withdraw. it is the local population that is caught between the violence and peacekeeping efforts. the un says tens of thousands have been forced from their homes. >> if there are no residents in the town at the moment, we can estimate that between 20,030 thousand -- 20,000 and 30,000 people are on the move. >> with the standoff showing no signs of abating, there is a potential return to the civil war. the un is considering deploying thousands of peacekeeping troops to southern sudan after it secedes from the north in july. will grant, bbc news. >> at least 30 people have been killed in a bomb attack in northwestern pakistan. a suicide bomb

because there is a huge fuel shortage in south sudan right now. that makes transportation of relief goods very, very difficult. it's something that the south sudanese government is struggling with. it's something that the united nations is struggling with as well. >> holman: southern sudan is due to become an independent state on july 9, after years of civil war. there was more international pressure today for libyan leader moammar qaddafi to leave office. in bulgaria, the nato secretary- general anders fogh rasmussen said: south african president jacob zuma arrived in tripoli, hoping to broker a peace deal and to persuade qaddafi to step down. the libyan leader was not among the dignitaries who greeted zuma at the airport. later, libyan state t.v. showed qaddafi meeting with zuma and his delegation. germany has announced it will close all 17 of the country's nuclear power plants by the year 2022. the decision today came on the heels of the fukushima nuclear disaster in japan in march. it marked an abrupt about-face for the center-right government.

north and south sudan have agreed to set up a demilitarized border zone patrolled by both sides. union announced the arrangement today, after escalating clashes in recent days. i spoke this afternoon with rebecca hamilton of the pulitzer center, reporting from juba in south sudan. rebecca, what is the assessment there of how this talk of an agreement that would stop the dispute in the central region might affect the kind of problems of refugees being displaced in the central region? >> everybody is happy to see that the two sides are talking. but this idea that this agreement is going to fix the immediate humanitarian crisis just doesn't seem realistic. for people here it seems very far removed. >> reporter: we've heard a couple of different reports, one that the ethiopian army would comprise the peace-keeping force, if you will, and the other that there would be some sort of joint north-south operation. soldiers from east side. what's the story there? >> yes, there are two separate proposals under discussion. the ethiopians, it seems, have offered to... peacekeepers if a peace k

the president of south sudan has posed with the north to remove troops from a disputed town tension has flared between the countries over the oil rich borderline region of thousands of residents of florida concerns are that the strain may shatter the peace deal seal that six years ago which put an end to the longstanding civil war. well you think that the having a life and articulate research station right in the antarctic is one of a lonely seclusion with loved ones being thousands of kilometers away however scientists are working in the planet's coldest climate have a different story these are transformers enjoyed a warm welcome. within a month. in one of the most extreme environments on the planet this is antarctica and people have to be aware that they are far away from civilization sean thomas discovers what makes antarctica so special and attractive for many life in antarctica. the. expedition to the bottom of the earth. billings thousands station it is one of seven permanent russian research stations in antarctica but it's not just the location that makes this place special life

: it was the icc had, or the international criminal court created that he agreed, and now the south of sudan is becoming a different country. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: he can want sleep proper -- he cannot sleep properly because he cannot go anywhere. [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: of course the court could have been stronger and this is why i say help it to become stronger, as for the united states to make it stronger. >> sir, in the green. >> thank you. i'm john burke, a student at the school. do you believe that iraq right now is in a similar position to bahrain where it is susceptible to iranian influence in the wake of the arab spring? thank you. >> translator: the present government of iraq, yes. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: but not the kurds. [speaking in native tongue] speaking -- [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i'll give you an example of the government, the mek, who are in the base in iraq revealed the fact that there is a plant in iran that is building nuclear equipment, 3

do you think they will be able to make the deadline to get the south of by the time south sudan becomes independent? secondly, on the khartoum's actions in darfur, we have had reports of air strikes being carried out against villagers. do you have expectations for them opening up behavior? >> what happened up until about two weeks ago or so is that what were called the cluster groups and sub cluster groups -- these are the technical negotiating committees -- had more or less completed their work and identified issues which had to be settled at a higher political level -- level. that is what is beginning now, to take those issues, which need higher level political resolutions -- let me just give you some examples on the economic side, which are being taken up in the next two or three days. two of them relate to the oil sector. one is the amount of oil proceeds to the north during what is perceived to be a transition period before they lose most of their revenue from the south, but second is our problems of ownership of the pipeline and other complicated structural issues in how you run t

in south sudan almost 300,000 people have returned to join nearly ten million southern sudanese to take part in the creation of a new country that already has an incredibly low capacity to handle such an influx. with 60% of detainees being under 18, unaccompanied and separated children are less likely to find a caring home and are extremely vulnerable to abuse. we now see homeless child populations increasing in the urban centers particularly in the southern capital of jewish baa. with no identification and no way to find their families, these children are extremely vulnerable to abuses that include abduction, recruitment into armed militias and sexual or labor exploitation. having proper documentation and officials trained in how to identify suspicious behavior is crucial to protecting vulnerable children, especially in fragile states. since this january 2010 earthquake in haiti, many organizations including world vision and others like our partner organization heartland alliance have worked to train border guards to prevent the illegal movement of children. there have been several doc

special envoy for sudan warned of further fighting in the disputed province that borders north and south sudan. troops from the north seized control over the weekend despite opposition from the international community. this is 10 minutes. >> good afternoon, and welcome to the state department. today, it is a pleasure to have the ambassador with us again, our special ambassador for sudan issues, here to talk about the violence. >> -- attack the u.n. convoy that was carrying northern soldiers. and the convoy was attacked. some people were wounded, and it produced what we feel is an extremely disproportionate response by the government of sudan. they basically invaded abiya and have taken most of it over. they have taken over the town. the administration has had to flee. most of the people in abyei fled south. the government virtually occupies the town. this is a very serious violation of a comprehensive peace agreement, and is certainly jeopardize is the process of negotiation that has been under way to resolve the remaining issues before the south becomes independent on july 9. the u.s. has bee

in south sudan almost 300,000 people have returned to join nearly 10 million southern sudanese to take part in the creation of a new country that already has an incredibly low capacity to handle such in flux. with an estimated 60% of returns been under the age of 18, a lack of birth registration and identification documents means unaccompanied separated children are less likely to find a caring home in our extremely vulnerable to abuse. we now see homeless child population's increasing in urban centers particularly in the southern capital. with no identification and no way to find their families, these children are extremely vulnerable to abuse the input of the auction, recruitment and two armed militia and sexual or labor exploitation. having proper documentation and officials trained in how to identify suspicious behavior is crucial to protecting vulnerable children, especially in fragile states. since the january 2010 earthquake in haiti many organizations including world vision and others like our partner organization heartland alliance has worked to train border guards to prevent

sudanese and what's happening in north africa and the difference we what's happening in north sudan and south these are issues that pay a little attention to you can you can understand and i think that's because people started actually caring about what these international groups were doing now and that they're not all united we understand that now they're not on the same team as well that is a scary thing in germany want to give you one last word before you leave us here too so how's that bogeyman going to be portrayed for us if you watch fox news or if you listen to some of our senior u.s. officials certainly we are in a war on terror with the entire world that seems. well i mean unfortunately people like attorney general eric holder have reinforced the idea that he could be the you know the next bin laden he's actually compared to bin laden said he was on the same level with him the fear mongering about iran i think is really misplaced i actually agree with with our senior intelligence officials in this country that the greatest national security threat facing the united states is our econ

the sudan and our south will be 73 billion people. africa as a continent will be 1 billion to 158 million people, so it's a must. it's inescapable that there will be an african march coming from the south, going to europe, you know, looking for a better life. that's where we try to develop that libya could be the link, this developmental model. not serving only the libyan people through finding an alternative economy, but also serving the continent by making this transformation and the process of skills of africans to serve the needs of the european economy. and we pin also the type of skills are needed. europe by 2025 will be needing 110 million extra skilled laborers just to sustain their current living of productivity. so the equation is there. it's ready, you know. all it needs is the real world. we sustain the cost and we can meet it. this is the first type of a challenge. the second type is the depletion of oil resources, and the third type of challenge is the scarcity of water resources. libya and the emirates are the worst in

south want the city. leader believe the muslim north is planning a full scale attack. it is the main issue of contention in the days leading up to southern sudan's independence. >>> crack down on christians. how islamic militants in iran are punishing christians for their faith, that story right after this. >> some egyptian muslims helping christians rebuild a church attacked by islamists earlier this month. mary's church was selt to fire. muslim craftsman helping to restore burned icons to the original condition. church restoration was ordered by the government. >>> authorities are cracking down on christians. elam ministries reports 285 believers in 35 cities have been arrested in the past 6 months. many spent weeks and months often serving long stretches in solitary confinement and endured psychological business. david is u.s. director of elam ministries that serves christians in iran. gary lane spoke with david about the arrests. >>>> what crime are these christians accused of? >> actually, they are not officially accused of anything. they haven't been given charges, they have kept in prison for months at a time. >> david, when mahmoud ahmad

child abductions between active factions in the sudan conflict and especially of children to the north from the southnhanced vulnerability children face during conflict. as a matter of fact many of us got involved initially in the sudan crisis even before the war really broke out because of the abduction of children, and they were being sold into slavery. in other conflicts such as those in somalia and central africa republic amongst others, children are still at risk for abduction, and forcible conscription as child soldiers. scandal such as the is the case of french aid workers attempting to remove chadian children whom they falsely claimed were often sudanese refugees when arranging for adoption abroad or that of the americans from the southern baptist missionary who attempted to remove haitian children two weeks after the devastating earthquake also falsely claimed to be orphans remind us of the need to ensure that children are protected in poor, especially in post-conflict and post-disaster areas. mrs. elias i look forward to your testimony on the risk children face in such situations and how we

child of reduction between the factions and the sudan conflict, and especially the children to the north from the south speak to the enhanced portability children face during the conflict. as a matter of fact many of us got involved initially in the sudan crisis even before the war broke out because of the adoption of children, and they were being sold into slavery. another conflict such as those in somalia and center leverett, among others to children are still at risk for a reduction and forcible conscription as child soldiers. scandals such as the case of the aid workers attempting to remove the children whom they falsely claim were often the sudanese refugees when arranging for adoption abroad and that of the americans of the southern baptist missionary who attempted to remove the haitian children to weeks after the devastating earthquake also falsely claimed to be often remind us of the need to ensure children are protected and especially in post conflict and post disaster areas. i look forward to your testimony on the risk children face in such situations and how we can work to protect children f

in sudan, after years of war and thousands of deaths, we call on both north and south to pull back from of violence and choose the path of peace. and in the middle east, we stand united in our support for a secure israel and a sovereign palestine. and we share a common interest in development that advances dignity and security. to succeed, we must cast aside the impulse to look at impoverished parts of the globe as a place for charity. instead, we should empower the same forces that have allowed our own people to thrive. we should help the hungry to feed themselves, the doctors who care for the sick. we should support countries that confront corruption, and allow their people to innovate. and we should advance the truth that nations prosper when they allow women and girls to reach their full potential. we do these things because we believe not simply in the rights of nations. we believe in the rights of citizens. that is the beacon that guided us through our fight against fascism and our twilight struggle against communism. and today, that idea is being put to the test in the middle eas

child abductions between epic factions and the sudan conflict and especially of dinka chairperson from the north to the -- children from the north to the southak to the conflict. as a matter of fact, we got involved initially in the sudan crisis even before war really broke out because of the ab duction of children who were sold into slavery. in other conflicts like in somalia and central africa republic amongst others, children are still at risk for abduction and con forcible to being child soldiers. french aid workers attempting to remove chaddian children whom they falsely flame were often sudanese refugees and the southern baptist military attempting to remove haitian children two weeks # after the devra devastating earthquake claimed to be orphaned and remind us of the need to be protected in post-disaster area. i look forward to your post phase and recommendations on how to protect children from abduction and trafficking when they are in the most vulnerable state. i look forward to hearing the witnesses, and with that, i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you very much, don. we have two roll calls on the floor. we'll run over,

. >>> northern sudan has seized a disputed area, violating a peace treaty with the south and setting off a new humanitarian crisis, according to u.s. ambassador susan rice. the occupation has caused an exodus of some 80,000 people who are now without shelter, adequate food or water. there was fear it could spark a wider conflict. >>> the final space walk for shuttle "endeavour" astronauts is wrapping up this morning. with today's mission, construction on the international space station is nearly finished after more than a decade. >>> it's 7:18. now back to matt, meredith and al. the space station is about the size of a football field. >> big, big, big. >> really is. ann, thank you very much. >>> we'll go outside to al. if you look up the word "sport jacket" in a dictionary, that's the picture you will see right there. >> actually, this one comes with some plastic slip covers! thank you. >>> we have friends from the coast guard, navy and marines. fleet is in. yeah, baby! >>> let's check your weather. we have severe weather to talk about. the risk of strong storms from wichita, tulsa t