the libyan army entered zawiyah and made the city secure. >> reporter: we tried driving into zawiyahependently today. it was our fifth unsuccessful attempt. the town is surrounded by checkpoints like this one where journalists have been arrested and detained. but we did reach zawiyah on sunday and perfectt was not. rebels and residents now claim by telephone that bodies lie unrecovered in these ruins. while zawiyah was being bombarded last night, the colonel kept the foreign press waiting eight hours for a glimpse of him at our hotel. he gave two interviews, one to a turkish reporter in which he dismissed plans for a no-fly zone as a foreign plot. >> ( translated ): it appears that it is a plot against libya. in the end it means the determination to take control of libya and to steal their oil. then the libyan will people will take up arms against them. >> reporter: in zawiyah, libyan state television is this evening showing scenes of wild celebration amongst qaddafi supporters amid government claims that it is mostly recaptured the town. in the past, those claims have proved inaccur

for five straight days, the libyan army has been pounding the town and the people of zawiyah. for five days, the anti-qaddafi rebels there have resisted an increasingly ferocious assault and stayed defiant. >> i hate you, qaddafi! >> reporter: for colonel qaddafi, this pocket of resistance just 30 miles from tripoli is an embarrassment on his doorstep. one that flies in the face of his claim that the rebellion has been brought under control. he sent in the most notorious routhless libyan army headed by one of his sons to shoot them down. into the army rolled in there were injured, each time the diminishing number of defenders augmented by some army defectors has somehow rebel it had advance. >> reporter: victory is uncertain and costly. each government attack leaves wounded and dead behind. >> this one is from the army. >> reporter: a reporter from britain's sky news channel has been the only outside witness to the battle. >> and the injured are the attacking soldiers. one of them is still conscious. he's begging for his life now. >> reporter: the man is a tank commander plead

they have just come from zawiyah, fleeing the fighting there, swearing to never go back. tonight, the situation at the border is at a tipping point. those who can have managed to grab a few blankets and are huddling together to keep warm. these men spent vast amounts of money to get the job in libya in the first place. even though they have lost everything, some would tell you it has been worth it. the answer is clear. sammy would not only give his job for freedom, but his life. they may be cold and exhausted, but the belief that tomorrow could be better burns brighter than ever. >> let us go to the other side of libya. a free-lance journalist is waiting to go into the country. he is currently in an egyptian border town. thousands of migrants have passed through. i asked about the situation. >> anwar is nothing like the chaos on the western side. 70,000 people have passed through this border since the crisis started, but 55,000 of them were egyptians. once they get through the border here, they go straight to egypt. there were about 5000 to 7000 people left at the border,

. >> reporter: the libyan government claims to have liberated the town of zawiyah from rebel control. but zawiya today looks more under siege than free. as we tried to drive the 30 miles from tripoli to zawiya, we found the road lined with armored vehicles and checkpoints. we've just been stopped at another checkpoint. and we're told that all the roads leading into zawiya have been blocked. security forces turn journalists away. they told us zawiya was so calm, there was no pint for reporters to go there. but video insize the town shows evidence of major battles under way for the past two days. armored vehicles destroyed,

the libyan government says attacking zawiyah is part of its own war on terrorism. today it distributed ariel footage claiming to show al qaeda militants in zawiyah. but there was nothing in the video to substantiate the claim, just aerial shots. but while the government is on the offensive around tripoli, rebels in the east are also making gains. today they captured the town of ras lanouf. it's a key oil producing region. the rebels went straight to one of gadhafi's homes and ransacked it. the rebels even claimed to have shot down at least one plane, their first in this 18-day conflict. but they still have 400 more miles of desert to cross before reaching tripoli. despite what must be obvious to the rest of the world, the libyan government is continuing to deny, lester, that this rebellion is serious or even really taking place. as we were on the outskirts of zawiya today, we could hear artillery fire, see military vehicles going into the town. yet soldiers told us that everything in zawiya was quiet and peaceful, it clearly wasn't the case. >> richard engel in tri

>> no people there, no people there. >> reporter: zawiyah is a government town now. the spirit of resistance has been forced deep underground. the town that gives every sign that the spark of rebellion has been extinguished. >> holman: security also was tight today inside tripoli, preventing any protests after friday prayers. and to the east, there were reports of new government air strikes near two more towns. in washington, president obama warned libyan leaders again today that "the world is watching". he defended his response so far, saying the pressure is increasing on the qaddafi regime, with new sanctions and a freeze on billions of dollars in assets. the president said a no-fly zone over libya remains a possibility. >> we are slowly tightening the noose on qaddafi, i have not taken any optionses off the table at this point. i think it important to understand that we have moved about as swiftly as an international coalition has ever moved to impose sanctions on qaddafi. >> holman: the president played down remarks by his director of national intelligence at a c

around tripoli, gaddafi forces have overtaken tawi -- zxawiha -- zawiyah. there is also been fighting in misurata. rebel forces moved as far as sirte, gaddafi's hometown, but there were under equipped. early this morning, the duffy forces responded with full force, driving those rebels all the way back to the oil port. >> would you say the country is on the brink of civil war? >> certainly right now you can call it what you want, but there are two sides. too heavily armed sides. this is a country very much divided. neither side wants to back down. >> we keep hearing reports that the rebels are asking for military assistance from the international community. is that true? if so, what form with that assistance takebacks >> the opposition leadership has been clear they do not want any direct intervention on the ground, but there is a lot of talk about a no-fly zone. the air force is khaddafi's most serious threat to the rebel forces. some rebels are also asking for direct air strikes against those forces to even out the score a bit. any sort of military interv

the rebel-held city closest to the capital of zawiyah is under siege from the air and on the ground. this morning rebel forces say pro-gadhafi forces are closing in. mark phillips has more now from tripoli. >> reporter: for five straight days, the libyan army has been pounding the town and the people of zawiyah. for five days, the anti-gadhafi rebels there have resisted an increasingly ferocious assault and stayed defiant. for colonel gadhafi, this popular resistance, just 30 miles from tripoli, is an embarrassment on his doorstep. one that flies in the face of his claim that the rebellion has been brought under control. he sent in the most notoriously ruthless unit in the libyan army, the kamis brigade, headed by one of his sons, to shoot them down. each time the army rolls in, the toll of death goes up. each time the diminishing number of defenders, augmented by some army defectors, has somehow repelled the advance. >> we killed four people, and we took their guns and their weapons. now the people standing outside, their victory is near. >> reporter: the rebels are getting no outsi

opposition from the air and on the ground. 30 miles from tripoli, government troops retook most of zawiyah today after almost a week of bitter fighting. hospital officials report dozens of deaths on both sides. in the east, where the rebels control almost all the big cities there were new bombing raids by the libyan air force. the opposition fired back with anti-aircraft, guns. in addition to being held by the rebels, that part of libya is the backbone of the country's petroleum industry. many of the oil fields are there as well as five big terminals where tankers are loaded for export. there are also three refineries, a natural gas plant, and an important pipeline that runs up the coast. today, as mandy clark reports, oil production became a target. >> reporter: it was a spectacular attack on a target both sides have avoided so far-- libya's oil infrastructure. these columns of black smoke are rising from the oil terminal at sidr, which was right on today's front lines. the rebels say qaddafi's warplanes hit the facility as their anti-aircraft, guns tried to down the bombers. libyan gover

not far from his capital, his men are bombarding the town of zawiyah for a fourth straight day using artillery and tanks in the most violent assaults so far. the protestors he's targeting are well armed with tanks they've captured. i asked them, are you from al qaeda, as qaddafi says? >> (laughing) well, i believe the english people don't believe al qaeda is here. it is in afghanistan. >> reporter: there have been dozens of i.v.f. illian casualties doctors accusing qaddafi of war crimes. >> this is the result of a massacre by the qaddafi regime. >> they start shooting at me. >> reporter: doctors say they've been fired on by qaddafi's men with two medical assistants killed. >> why? what did we do. >> reporter: a drive through zawiyah shows how intensely qaddafi's forces are attacking, how desperate he is to end the resistance here. he says at most 100 people have been killed in the revolution so far. half of them his men. the opposition say in zawiyah and misrata alone more have been killed. >> ifill: and to the battles in the oil port of ras lanouf in the east. that's where oppositio

but the rebel fighters holding out in zawiyah are defiant. they're resisting a government armored assault that has more troops, bigger guns, and is shooting to kill. >> reporter: the qaddafi regime says it hasn't completely pushed the rebels out of zawiyah and other towns for fear of harming the civilian population. that's not what the people in the town say. >> reporter: the regime sees a different reality, or says it does. it has virtually declared victory. moammar qaddafi himself insisted in a t.v. interview that even the casualty figures in this fight have been exaggerated. >> reporter: yet even with the propaganda effort that starts very young, even in the celebrating crowd, there is dissent. a man approaches us, afraid to be seen on camera. what chance do you give this rebellion? >> 99%. >> reporter: 99%? >> reporter: this rebellion has now reached a tipping point both militarily and in terms of popular support. the opposition has exposed itself. it must either move forward and grow in numbers or be destroyed. mark phillips, cbs news, t

around tripoli, gaddafi forces have overtaken tawi -- zxawiha -- zawiyah. there is also been fighting in misurata. rebel forces moved as far as sirte, gaddafi's hometown, but there were under equipped. early this morning, the duffy forces responded with full force, driving those rebels all the way back to the oil port. >> would you say the country is on the brink of civil war? >> certainly right now you can call it what you want, but there are two sides. too heavily armed sides. this is a country very much divided. neither side wants to back down. >> we keep hearing reports that the rebels are asking for military assistance from the international community. is that true? if so, what form with that assistance takebacks >> the opposition leadership has been clear they do not want any direct intervention on the ground, but there is a lot of talk about a no-fly zone. the air force is khaddafi's most serious threat to the rebel forces. some rebels are also asking for direct air strikes against those forces to even out the score a bit. any sort of military interv

witnesses in zawiyah said the battle lasted for six hours, but the rebels repulsed the attack. a short time ago, margaret warner spoke with a resident in zawiyah, whose name we will not reveal for security reasons. >> warner: thanks for joining us, sir. tell us, what is the situation right now? >> the situation in zawiya, the boys are in control of all the city since nine days ago. they took over the city and everything under control. >> warner: by the boys, do you mean the rebels? >> we are not rebels. we are not rebels. we don't want to be called rebels. we are revolutionary forces. >> warner: how hard is the government trying to retake your city? >> the last thursday there were a big invasion and 17 people were killed. more than 50 injured. that's a major assault from the forces of... and these forces of the boys of qaddafi. >> what happened last night? we heard they made another major assault. >> since that big assault the government forces seized the city from three sides. from the east, the west, and the south. and they're making our ambushes and assaults. there is killin

less than 30 miles away in the rebel held town of zawiyah, protesters celebrated their latest victory. last night they faced down a major counterattack by gadhafi troops and tanks and won. but gadhafi's son, saif, the regime's de facto spokesperson, took the setback in stride. >> if you have one or two or three thousand demonstrators, it doesn't mean everything is done, and it's over. >> reporter: as the stand-off continues, both sides are fighting to win a war of words and images. in benghazi, international news cameras were brought to see rebel fighters training civilian volunteers. and keeping their heavy weapons ready for battle. >> all people here are one heart. and they believe in one libya. >> reporter: and a government press tour visits wounded pro-gadhafi fighters in a tripoli hospital. and takes in a pro-government demonstration. meanwhile, the fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis. more than 100,000, mostly migrant workers have fled libya, into tunisian, overwhelming aide workers there. some simply pass out from hunger and thirst. disease is spreading. the unlucky on

in the west, government forces say they've retaken the town closest to the capital of zawiyah following a six-day siege. rebel leaders say if a no-fly zone is not imposed, they have the means to buy more armaments. >>> a bbc news crew detained by libyan soldiers on monday reports being beaten and held in a cage with rebel fighters who've been tortured. at one point, the three journalists feared they were about to be shot. >> suddenly, cage door opens, and then guy enter the cage and put hood on our heads and handcuffed us, and then push me outside of square. i hear those guns, noises, they were getting ready, and i thought the execution moment. >> instead, after being held for nearly 24 hours, the bbc crew was freed and flown out of libya. >>> a us airways jet with 82 people on board made an emergency landing last night at sky harbor in phoenix. us airways express flight 2829 from long beach, california, to phoenix landed safely, despite a blown-out tire, that is. no injuries are reported. >>> just ahead on the "morning news," more fallout from npr in a hidden camera scandal. >>> plus p

and in zawiyah, just 30 miles from tripoli, heavy shelling and gun battles continued for a third day. evidence of gadhafi's failed attempts to take the city center litter the streets. still, his troops have not retreated. tanks ring the outskirts of town. across the country the fight may not be going as well as the government says, but it is also far from over. stephanie gosk, nbc news, ajdabiya, libya. >>> from the fight for libya to the thousands fleeing the country now, many international refugees in camp cities on the border with tunisia. today, thanks to the u.s. military, hundreds of egyptians were flown out and nbc's anne thompson was on board for their journey back home. >> reporter: this is the final leg of a refugee's journey home, tunisia's yurba airport. today some 4,000 international workers who escaped the violence in libya thanked their hosts as they slowly left their final transit camp. now they are tantalizingly close, about two football fields away from the airport. but they are still going to have to endure hour after hour of waiting, line after line, and four more

in other towns, misratah, zawiyah, closer to tripoli, forces loyal to gadhafi used tanks, artillery and warplanes to attack rebel positions. again, government claims of victory are dismissed by rebels who say they beat back the attacks, and even captured government vehicles in the process. the libyans have now offered a new reason why they've been able to budge the rebels out of the towns they hold. they say the rebels, which they call terrorist groups, have been using the local populations as human shields, and it simply hasn't sent the army in. the reality seems to be a stalemate, where the rebels are unable to advance further, and the government forces are unable to significantly push them back. mark phillips, cbs news, tripoli. >>> later this week a congressional committee opens hearings into the radicalization of muslims in the u.s. rallies against and in support of the hearing were held sunday in new york city. opponents charge the hearing will demonize muslims. the committee chairman, republican peter king, says muslim youths in the u.s. are being targeted. >> we're talking about

if we want any sense of what that might mean we only have to look at what happened in zawiyah where tanks and heavy weaponry were used to smash through a heavily populated town with heavy loss of life. and we don't have to guess what happens when he has subdued a population. human rights watch have catalogued the appalling human rights abuses that are being committed in tripoli. now the people of eastern libya are faced with the same treatment. mr. speaker, that is the demonstrable need. >> hear, hear. >> second, regional support. there must be a clear wish from the people of libya and the wider region for international action. through the transitional first to call for protection from air attack through a no fly zone. more recently, the arab league have made the same demand. mr. speaker, it really has been remarkable how arab leaders have come forward and condemned the actions of gaddafi's government. in recent days i have spoken arabia, qatar, the united arab emirates and jordan. and a number of arab nations have made clear that they are willing to participate themselves in enforcing th

and in the west, loyalists retook zawiyah after battling rebels for weeks.he white house today, president obama said the u.s. and nato are still considering military action against qaddafi. in other news, it was 30 years ago this month that, ronald reagan, just 70 days into his presidency, was shot by john hinckley, jr. reagan was gravely wounded but he would survive. today the secret service released ten minutes of dramatic audio tape from that day. bill plante, who covered the reagan white house, has the sound and the story. >> reporter: seconds after president reagan exit's the washington hilton comes the radio call the secret service dread. >> reporter: agent jerry parr, head of the presidential detail shoves ronald reagan into his armored limo. as it speeds off, parr first reports that the president-- code-named rawhide-- was not hit. then, a telltale bloody foam on the president's lips. agent parr knows that means a punctured lung. >> reporter: as the limo with no police escort rushes to george washington university hospital, the president's condition

not in libya. 20 miles lest of tripoli in zawiyah, rebel forces did their best to hold off a major assault from qaddafi's army. alex crawford of sky news is there at the hospital. >> reporter: and on libyan state t.v. tonight, no word of the unrest, just live coverage of the party in green square. everyone wonders why isn't libya like egypt. where are the hundreds of thousands of protesters? i think the answer is pretty simple: fear. katie? >> couric: and, harry, he's been trying to hold on, but how tight is qaddafi's grip on power at this point? >> reporter: well, that's a good question and it certainly depends on where you are. if you're in the east, in benghazi, the rebels are in pretty good shape. if you're west of here, it certainly depends on what town you're in. as for tripoli, well, qaddafi seems to have pretty much everything under control. katie? >> couric: harry smith reporting from tripoli tonight. harry, thanks so much. now qaddafi insists he will fight to the end, but if he were to leave instead, where would he go? david martin has more on that. >> reporter: the navy has at l

a little closer to relationship a lee here, there has also been increasing pressure on zawiyah where the rebels are holding out some smaller and smaller numbers p.m. last night got our first glimpse of the government-controlled areas of that area where a big celebration was held confirming they say the reconquest of zawiyah and remains to be seen as well because they had promised another facility in there today, another opportunity for foreign journalists to go in to have a look at zawiyah and that has not happened yet. >> changing quickly day-by-day. mark phillips, thanks. >>> number of homes in foreclosure is down sharply. the biggest one-year drop on record. foreclosure related notices sent in february dropped by 14% from the previous month and 27% from 2010. according to reality track. that is the lowest level in three years. however, analysts warn the rate is likely to rise again as mortgage lenders straighten out paper work slowing the process. >>> producers for spider-man musical confirming that the director julie taymoore is out and relieved of her duties as of last night. th

battles continue, though, in zawiyah, just outside the capital. rebels have the upper hand in the east, but today they were driven out of ras lanuf after several days of attacks from the air, qaddafi's ground forces moved in. and cbs news correspondent mandy clark was in the thick of it. ( gunshots ) >> reporter: this is the moment the rebel position in ras lanuf collapsed. ( explosion ) with shells crashing down all around them, the fighters run into their vehicles and head out of town. ( gunshots ) we had just a few minutes to join them or be left behind. >> we're good. we're good. >> reporter: some of the men don't get all the way into their trucks before they start speeding down the road towards safer territory. earlier in the day, this had been the first sign that the tide was turning in ras lanuf-- a line of ambulances outside of town, doctors anxiously talking on cell phones. they told us that government forces had shelled their hospital. ( cheers ) >> reporter: further down the coast, we had already driven into this scene near the oil term

qaddafi must stop his troops from advancing on benghazi, pull them back from ajdabiya, misurata, and zawiyah and establish water, electricity, and gas supplies to all areas. >> reporter: in other words, crede control of major cities and vital oil facilities to his enemies. and he doesn't have much time. u.s. and allied warships are stationed off the coast of libya ready to launch cruise missile that would take out qaddafi's command centers and air defense network. after that, aircraft-- mostly british and french operating from bases in the mediterranean-- would enforce a no-fly zone and threaten his ground forces with air strikes if they attack the rebels. the president promised no american troops would gol into libya while one way or another, said secretary of state clinton, qaddafi has to go. >> we do believe that a final result of any negotiations would have to be the decision by colonel qaddafi to leave. >> reporter: secretary clinton will be in paris tomorrow for one last round of talks with allies. but unless qaddafi orders first a cease-fire and then a retreat, the time for talking se

city of ras lanuf yesterday, they are under heavy attack there today as well as in the cities of zawiyah, cities both outside tripoli, the capital. for more, let's go to mark phillips, who is in tripoli this morning. mark, what's the latest? >> well, bob, the situation here can best be described as murky this morning. both sides are effectively claiming victory. at least the government side is proclaiming a kind of victory, saying that it has recaptured several of the towns which the rebel forces have taken over the past week. and the streets here in tripoli were full this morning of people celebrating and firing guns in celebration in the air. but the situation on the ground appears to be unsettled-- one way of describing it. >> schieffer: where do you see this ending? are we at kind of a stalemate here? >> i think we are in a kind of stalrmate. i think neither of the forces, either the government or the rebels, have either the will or the organization to completely knock the others out. >> schieffer: mark phillips reporting from tripoli. one other note. in an interview with a french ne

capital, just 30 miles to the west, anti- government protestors are holding the oil refinery town of zawiyah. overnight, the government sent in 2,000 soldiers to surround them and they're bracing for yet another battle. today a government spokesman told a roomful of reporters both al qaeda and western powers are creating chaos in libya. >> the imperialist powers of the west want the libyan oil. here it is again, the magical word. i'm sure as journalists you've heard it many times before and you've seen it in action before. oil. >> reporter: the government is trying to keep the support of the people in tripoli any way it can. loyal residents were invited to collect a special payment to help them through these hard times. in large parts of tripoli, life goes on. people are out spending their $400 gift from the qaddafi government, many of them either unaware or in denial about the crisis rising around them. these tents are checkpoints manned by qaddafi's civilian supporters to keep order. ask the people here if they feel safe and they all answer the same. >> very good. no worries. >> reporter:

today in one of those cities, zawiyah, there were celebrations in the streets. the people are firmly in charge and demanding qaddafi go. secretary of state hillary clinton warned that unless he does, libya is at risk of a long civil war. at the u.n., the general assembly voted to suspend libya from the human rights council. and while diplomatic efforts to end the violence continue, david martin reports the obama administration is carefully weighing military options. >> reporter: later tonight, two amphibious assault ships carrying helicopters and 800 marines will pass through the suez canal into the mediterranean. but defense secretary gates said they would be used in libya only for emergency evacuations or to deliver relief supplies. he raised a host of reservations about military intervention. no authorization from either the u.n. or nato, reluctance to tie up forces which is might be needed in afghanistan, concerns about fanning anti-american sentiment in the rest of the arab world. >> we also have to think about, frankly, the use of the u.s. military in anot

must stop his troops from advancing on benghazi pull them back from oxford via this ride off and zawiyah and establish water electricity and gas supplies to all areas humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach the people of libya. are you be clear these terms are not the go. these terms are not subject to the goetia if gadhafi does not comply with the resolution the international community will impose consequences and the resolution will be enforced through military action so should we be in libya and if so or not how or why. i've some reservations about you know the resolution that was passed but i don't think i i think i'm going to stand behind the president while he's sending american troops over in harm's way and given his full support what i what i will say is this that if this was going to be our policy which is you know he must go and we're going to back it up by military force i don't think we should have gone through this fiction of the international community coming together when in reality that the force that matters in these situations he's always and has always been am

and from zawiyah, the town that's close to here, the rebels this morning were inside the town. it's said to be ringed by government forces, including armored tanks, that kind of thing, and they are expected to launch another attack. so that town could fall again. really the key to this whole conflict involves tripoli. whether or not the rebels can get government units here, government armed units here to come over to their side as they did in benghazi and further to the east is really the key. and that is not only not happening in tripoli yet, with the close ties between those military units and members of the gadhafi family, that is not a likely scenario. >> so, mark, if the rebels don't take tripoli it sounds like this could be a divided country. >> well, it could. it's settling in. the rebel council, the revolutionary council, has set up in benghazi, has begun to act like the government. and really, the issue is that neither side really has the strength to cause the other one to submit. i said in the report that the rebels are very enthusiastic, but there are reports this mo

they're also surrounding zawiyah, 50 kilometers west of the capital, which the protesters seized last week. meanwhile, gadhafi spoke to western media on monday in tripoli. it's the first time since anti-government protests started in the country. >> will you leave libya? >> they love me, all my people with me. they love me all. >> but if they do love you -- >> they will die to protect me, my people. >> king abdullah of saudi arabia has promised to hire all 90,000 temporary government workers as permanent staff. it's apparently seen as trying to avoid the unrest that has hit neighboring countries. the king's offer follows the announcement last week of an aid package worth about $36 billion. it includes provisions for young people and those of lower income. the measure also comes as activists are demanding reforms. there is a campaign to overthrow the government on the social networking site facebook. anti-government supporters are calling for a nationwide day of rage on march 11th. in neighbor's yemen demonstrators clashed with security forces on monday, killing four people. and in oma

his troops continue to pound the rebels holed out in zawiyah and squeezed back to the central square of the town and taken high number of casualties in a battle now in its sixth day. the rebels weapons warehouse, the government says, is now in its hands. and the rebel advance has been stalled in the east where government air strikes have pinned them in around the port town of ras lanuf. the rebels say they need reinforcements and heavy weapons to counter the government's spearhead and they have little of either. in a speech on libyan tv, broadcast overnight, gadhafi appealed to tribal leaders to join in quashing the rebellion. they are likely to back whoever looks like the winner. a twist of moammar gadhafi says he welcome the imposition of a no-fly zone by the u.s. and it's allies as is being discussed, because that way, gadhafi says libya would know who its enemies are and they would strike back. >> mark phillips, thank you. >>> with pressure mounting over an appropriate international response, i sat down on tuesday at the state department with stcket hillary clinton to discuss u.s

brown: closer to tripoli, the qaddafi's fighters also blasted rebels today in misrata, after retaking zawiyahlast week. meanwhile, the u.n. security council discussed imposing a no- fly zone on qaddafi's air force. but the libyan leader's son saif al-islam said it would do no good. >> ( translated ): military operations are over. within 48 hours, everything will be finished. our forces are almost in benghazi. whatever the decision, it will be too late. >> brown: meanwhile, secretary of state clinton in egypt today said she hopes for a u.n. vote on an international response no later than tomorrow. also today, the "new york times" reported four of its journalists are missing in libya. they disappeared tuesday while covering the rebels' retreat in the east. to update the overall situation we're joined again by dirk vandewalle. he's an associate professor of government at dartmouth college and author of "a history of modern libya." so how has qaddafi been able to seemingly turn things around and retake these towns? >> well, i think originally we had all anticipated that as the uprising proceeded

zawiyah was crushed ruthlessly. qaddafi's men have benghazi in their sights. the revolution is on its knees. >> holman: government forces also used tanks to re-capture the small western town of zuwarah today. and at the u.n., the security council discussed imposing a no- fly zone, but reached no consensus. in afghanistan, a suicide bombing killed 35 people today at a military recruiting center. afghan officials said the bomber targeted a building in kunduz province. he blew himself up in the crowd outside. the taliban claimed responsibility. the group attacked the same recruiting site last december. security forces also were targeted in eastern iraq. at least ten iraqi soldiers died when a bomber detonated a car laden with explosives. it happened outside the headquarters of an army intelligence battalion, northeast of baghdad. at least 30 people were wounded in the bombing. the high court in lahore, pakistan, delayed a ruling today on whether an american jailed there has diplomatic immunity. raymond davis is accused of killing two pakistanis. he was working fo

the qaddafi government also claimed again it had recaptured zawiyah, just outside tripoli. reports from that town told of heavy destruction. and one of qaddafi's sons saif al-islam warned of much more to come. he said, "it's time for action. we are moving now." france today became the first country to recognize a rebel group in libya as the legitimate government. in paris, french president nicolas sarkozy met with two representatives of the libyan interim governing council. meanwhile, european union foreign ministers convened in brussels. the portuguese foreign minister said he met with qaddafi representatives yesterday and delivered this message. >> ( translated ): from the international community's point of view and portugal is on the sanctions committee against libya, the qaddafi regime is over. regarding its legitimacy, it is over. but tripoli must start a national dialogue with the opposition, work on a ceasefire as soon as possible to keep the >> holman: also in brussels, nato defense ministers began two days of meetings. they announced the start of round-the-clock su