:00:20. > :00:24.Hello, good evening. Four close relatives of Colonel Gaddafi have
:00:24. > :00:28.fled Libya and crossed into neighbouring Algeria. The Algerian
:00:28. > :00:32.government has confirmed that Gaddafi's wife, a daughter and two
:00:32. > :00:36.sons are in the country. Tonight, the White House said it has seen no
:00:36. > :00:41.evidence that the Libyan leader himself has fled. Our Middle East
:00:41. > :00:45.editor, Jeremy bone, is in Tripoli tonight.
:00:45. > :00:49.Thanks very much, Jane. In the last six months or so, I'd say every
:00:49. > :00:53.Libyan I've asked on the subject from opponents of the old regime to
:00:53. > :00:57.senior members of it, to Colonel Gaddafi himself have all said the
:00:57. > :01:03.same thing that the Colonel would rather die in Libya than go into
:01:03. > :01:08.exile. There were reports today, not for the first time, that one of
:01:08. > :01:11.his sons Khamis, has been killed in an air raid. Whatever the Colonel
:01:11. > :01:16.thinks about his future and perhaps about dying here, it seems clear
:01:16. > :01:20.now that four members of his family do not feel the same way.
:01:20. > :01:23.These are the only portraits of Colonel Gaddafi you'll see in
:01:23. > :01:27.Tripoli these days, positioned carefully so everyone visiting this
:01:27. > :01:31.hotel in the city centre has to step on them. His image used to be
:01:31. > :01:36.everywhere. In his last months in power, the
:01:36. > :01:40.Colonel relied increasingly on members of his family. His daughter
:01:40. > :01:45.Ayesha made a fierce speech saying he would never step down, after the
:01:45. > :01:51.NATO bombing started in the spring. Her departure to Algeria and her
:01:51. > :01:54.mother and two brothers, Muhammad and Hannibal, has infuriated the
:01:54. > :02:01.National Transitional Council. It condemned Algeria for allowing them
:02:01. > :02:06.in, demanding they should be tried -- as criminals. Saif Al-Islam has
:02:06. > :02:10.disappeared from public view. Like his father he's wanted by the
:02:10. > :02:14.international crim court. Another son has been trying to broker a
:02:14. > :02:17.deal on a transitional government since his father's fall, according
:02:17. > :02:21.to information received by the BBC. Anti-Gaddafi fighterers pushing
:02:21. > :02:25.closer to Sirte, the Colonel's birthplace. It is a vital operation
:02:25. > :02:31.for the new powers in this land, but the big prize they want most of
:02:31. > :02:35.all is the Colonel himself. Well, Tripoli itself seems pretty
:02:35. > :02:39.calm tonight. Some celebratory gunfire, a lot of traffic moving on
:02:39. > :02:44.the road. Details have started emerging of a political plan, the
:02:44. > :02:49.UN has been putting together, about having a beefed up special mission
:02:49. > :02:53.here to help with the transition to democracy. Part of that would
:02:53. > :02:58.perhaps include an armed military - - unarmed military observers who
:02:58. > :03:01.the UN hopes would reassure former Gaddafi soldiers about their future,
:03:01. > :03:04.for those concerned about reprisals. That's all about the new Libya.
:03:04. > :03:10.While Colonel Gaddafi himself remains at large, the old Libya,
:03:10. > :03:13.his old Libya, will not be properly consigned to history.
:03:13. > :03:18.Jeremy, thank you. The Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Basset
:03:18. > :03:24.Ali al-Megrahi, has been found, living in a Villa in Tripoli,
:03:24. > :03:30.suffering from serm nal cancer. He's drifting in and out of
:03:30. > :03:38.consciousness. He was released from prison on compassionate grounds.
:03:38. > :03:43.Downing Street said it was for the Scottish Government.
:03:43. > :03:49.This is the luxury three storey mansion in a wealthy Tripoli suburb
:03:49. > :03:52.where the man convicted of killing 270 people lives. Last week, the
:03:52. > :03:59.Lockerbie bomber's family said he'd left the city. It's now clear he
:03:59. > :04:02.hasn't. These pictures, filmed at the house last night, appear to
:04:02. > :04:05.show Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi close to death, an oxygen mask on
:04:05. > :04:15.his face. His son querying demands that he returns to priz anyone
:04:15. > :04:18.Britain. -- Priz anyone Britain. he's sent to Scotland, he will die
:04:18. > :04:23.there. I'm pretty sure that Al- Megrahi who are looking after him
:04:23. > :04:32.are in the house this morning. Let's see if anyone answers the
:04:32. > :04:36.door. A few minutes later, Abdul Nasser Al-Megrahi emerged. He told
:04:36. > :04:41.me his brother is in a comb ya, only regaining consciousness for a
:04:41. > :04:45.few minutes at a time. He asked for compassion. The man is struggling
:04:45. > :04:50.between life and death, he told me. "What is the point in sending him
:04:50. > :04:54.back to prison? Out of mercy he should be allowed to die amongst
:04:54. > :04:59.his family, next to his mother and father, instead of dying overseas."
:04:59. > :05:03.Al-Megrahi was found guilty of blowing up Pan-Am flight 103 in
:05:04. > :05:07.1988. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison, but was released after
:05:07. > :05:12.eight, because he had cancer and it was thought he had three months to
:05:12. > :05:16.live. He returned to Libya to a hero's
:05:17. > :05:20.well -- welcome. That was two years ago. Scottish ministers have always
:05:20. > :05:24.dismissed the vehement criticism of their decision. I think we can
:05:24. > :05:28.finally lay to rest the ridiculous conspiracy theory ventilated by too
:05:28. > :05:31.many people too often that somehow Mr Al-Megrahi was not dying of
:05:31. > :05:36.terminal prostate cancer. You wouldn't have to be a medical
:05:36. > :05:40.expert to realise that this man is dying, is terminally ill, as we
:05:40. > :05:44.always said. If Al-Megrahi is indeed on the edge of death, his
:05:44. > :05:52.knowledge of who ordered the Lockerbie bombing is about to die
:05:52. > :05:54.with him. In other news, there is still
:05:54. > :06:00.severe flooding in parts of the north-eastern United States, after
:06:00. > :06:05.the reelgs was -- region was hit by tropical storm Irene. Irene has now
:06:05. > :06:12.claimed the lives of 35 people and more than seven million homes and
:06:12. > :06:15.businesses are without power. Irene's alarming aftermath, firemen
:06:15. > :06:22.in New Jersey battle with the rising water level, trying to hose
:06:22. > :06:25.down the blaze. Elsewhere, stranded teenagers clung onto their
:06:25. > :06:29.overturned boat, waiting to be rescued. We didn't realise the
:06:29. > :06:35.current was as strong as it was. As we were coming up, we realised wow,
:06:35. > :06:38.it's getting really strong. Irene moved to Vermont, the
:06:38. > :06:46.flooding in this state was the worst in 80 years. This bridge is
:06:46. > :06:52.barely standing. And this one was swept away. Oh, my God.
:06:52. > :06:55.O in upstate New York, rescuers tried to reach those cut off by the
:06:55. > :06:59.floods. The town's basically destroyed, I mean maximum damage.
:06:59. > :07:05.People are displaced. Everybody's staying at friends house. People
:07:05. > :07:10.are staying with us because their house is gone. Ain Massachusetts a
:07:10. > :07:14.floating container ripped through the trees. The authorities were
:07:14. > :07:19.expecting coastal flooding, yet the worst was inland where swollen
:07:19. > :07:21.rivers burst their banks. Millions are without power. On the sixth
:07:21. > :07:24.anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the President is watching this one
:07:24. > :07:30.closely. We're going to make sure folks have all the support they
:07:30. > :07:34.need as they begin to assess and repair the damage left by the storm.
:07:34. > :07:38.New York was spared this devastation, but from North
:07:38. > :07:45.Carolina to Vermont, the East Coast is counting the cost of Irene's
:07:45. > :07:48.destruction. Here, police have released CCTV
:07:48. > :07:53.pictures of a serial sex offender they want to trace in connection
:07:53. > :07:59.with the murder of a 77-year-old woman in Hexham in Northumberland.
:07:59. > :08:02.Graeme Jarman, who is 47, went missing from his home in Consett in
:08:02. > :08:05.County Durham shortly before Judith Richardson was found dead. Officers
:08:05. > :08:11.say Jarman is a risk to the public. Every police force in the country
:08:11. > :08:16.is now involved in the search for him.
:08:16. > :08:22.Athletics' world governing body the IAAF has told the BBC it may have
:08:22. > :08:28.to reconsider the new false start rules following Usain Bolt's
:08:28. > :08:32.disqualification. Bolt's false start may be the most high profile,
:08:32. > :08:37.but a spate of them has blighted this year's championships.
:08:37. > :08:43.He normally craves the attention of the world, but today, Usain Bolt
:08:44. > :08:48.was uncharacteristically camera shy. And here's why. The false start
:08:48. > :08:52.which not only denied Bolt the chance to retain his world 100
:08:52. > :08:55.metres crown, but sparked a global controversy about the rules.
:08:56. > :09:01.One of his biggest rivals says they should be looked at again, before
:09:01. > :09:06.London 2012. It's just a travesty you know. The
:09:06. > :09:09.guy worked so hard to get to this moment and then false starts. At
:09:09. > :09:15.the end of the day, you are supposed to wait for the gun, but
:09:15. > :09:19.anything can happen, a click or a flash, someone flinchs. It should
:09:19. > :09:25.be considered to be changed. It's not just Bolt. Even before his
:09:25. > :09:27.disqualification, two British medal hopes, defending world 400 metres
:09:28. > :09:31.champion, Christine Ohuruogu and another 100 metres runners, Dwain
:09:31. > :09:35.Chambers, were red carded for jumping the gun.
:09:35. > :09:40.The men who run the sport only introduced the regulation last year.
:09:40. > :09:44.So is it time to think again? would be a mistake to quickly
:09:44. > :09:48.reverse ourselves because of one very, very high profile false start.
:09:48. > :09:53.I'm not saying we shouldn't consider it, but I would caution
:09:53. > :09:58.against hasty reaction. Despite growing pressure to change its
:09:58. > :10:03.rules, the IAAF says it won't rush any decision. For the governing
:10:03. > :10:06.body know it's cannot afford a repeat of what happens here last
:10:06. > :10:11.night at next year's London Olympics.
:10:11. > :10:14.There was more controversy tonight. Cuban Dayron Robles stripped of
:10:14. > :10:19.gold after holding back Liu Xiang in the final of the 110 metres
:10:19. > :10:24.hurdles. That brought an unexpected bronze for Britain's Andy Turner.
:10:24. > :10:29.But these championships are in danger of being remembered, not for