27/08/2011 BBC Weekend News

Thaw us desperate conditions in Tripoli as water, food and fuel

start to run out. -- desperate conditions. Residents scramble for

scarce resources. In contrast, one of Colonel Gaddafi's final

indulgences, it private plane with onboard jacuzzi.

A diplomat two walked free from the Libyan embassy siege in 1984 is

claimed to be the man who shot dead WPC Yvonne Fletcher.

Millions flee as Hurricane Irene hits America's east coast. The

President says do not take chances in the face of an historic storm.

It will be a long 72 hours. Many families will be affected. The

biggest concern that I am having right now is flooding and power.

is one of the great Wembley tries. Wigan warriors fight for rugby

leave -- rugby league's Challenge Good evening. Almost one week after

the final battle for Tripoli began, there is growing concern about the

increasingly difficult living conditions in the Libyan capital.

Many people are without water and electricity, food discards and

there is growing sanitation problems. -- food is scarce. The

United Nations is warning that millions are at risk and the rebels

say they are trying to increase the supply of fuel, and water and

medicine. John Simpson sent this report.

Tripoli still has not recovered from the ordeal of its revolution.

Scarcely any shops are open. There is little or no electricity, and no

running water. Bottled water is all there is, and it is expensive and

get used up quickly. Supporters of Colonel Gaddafi still control the

water supply from the SFA south. But they have cut it off. -- from

the far south. The UN's other anxiety is fuel. Supplies are

running out fast and it is costing more and more. This is a new era.

Things do not always seem to be much better. We have come to see

what happens to Colonel Gaddafi's famous women bodyguards. Here we

are. The military academy for women. There are a couple women firing

rifles on either side of the sign. With his usual combination of

absurdity and clever PR, Colonel Gaddafi surrounded himself with a

quarter of women guards. This war and off to defend him to the death.

-- They swore an oath. Only they didn't, they ran for it. Now, their

barracks have been taken over by the rebels, who for some reason did

not want us to be there. And when we did not leave, the commander

went off to get a gun. Then, he fired again, getting more and more

threatening. The rebels do not normally behave like this. It was

just like the bad days. Mostly, the rebels actively wants to show us

the crimes and abuses of the past. We went to Tripoli airport, to see

Colonel Gaddafi's favourite -- famous private aircraft, a gigantic

Airbus 340, immensely expensive and almost ludicrously luxurious inside.

This is the bedroom. Colonel Gaddafi slept in a large,

comfortable double bed. His private bathroom included a decent size

jacuzzi. The man who gave the impression that he lived like a

poor desert better when in fact travelled the world like the

richest of billionaires. -- they do win. Battles between rebels and the

remaining supporters of Colonel Gaddafi have been continuing today.

Rebels have edged closer to car Gaddafi's former home town of Sanaa

but they are still 70 miles away. On the outskirts, rebels have been

attempting to capture or kill any remaining Gaddafi fighters. Orla

Guerin has spent the day with them. Savouring their latest victory.

Rebels in control. This is a small town at the edge of Tripoli's

international airport. Freedom was just a few hours old. The

celebrations are continuing in this area, and people have been coming

out onto the streets. Face-saver was heavy fighting here until 6am.

There have been four days of battles but now they are free,

finally. Every face told a story. Now there hate can be voiced, along

with their joy. Gaddafi, go to hell! Nearby, at the airport, the

worried faces of defeat. Gaddafi loyalists, rounded up by the rebels

in recent days. Tell me why you were fighting? Fighting, I am not

fighting. The rebels challenge him. "You were found with a Kalashnikov",

they say. The man told us he followed orders in the army. "If I

did not, they could take away my children". But the message from the

rebels was forgiveness, not retribution. These men were free to

go, because this is a special night in the Muslim calendar. It is a

night of blessings and peace. There were other new arrivals. More

suspected Colonel Gaddafi loyalists had just been rounded up. The

rebels say hundreds of men fought near the airport. Tonight, the

fighters can go free. But not the killers. Live now to Orla Guerin in

Tripoli. What do you make of what you have witnessed? Cannot be taken

of a sign of -- taken as a sign of a broader shift to forgiveness, not

retribution? We cannot take much out of this incident. It was

extraordinary to see it. Literally, we had two enemy factions sitting

down together, men who could have been shooting up the rebels a few

days ago, now been released by them. It was very particular timing. It

is a special night in the Muslim calendar, the 27th day of the

fasting month of Ramadan. It is a particularly special time. It is a

time when people believe that God is listening to their prayers. The

rebel commander stress to us that he was making this gesture because

of that special moment. Nonetheless, there has been an underlying

message in a lot of what the rebels have said all the way along. That

is that they want to build a new leadership and they have to do this

together. In time, there will have to be some kind of process of

reconciliation. We do not know what that will be. We have been hearing

about those concerns for people living in Tripoli, with supplies

running out. Had that is the situation? It is getting pretty

dire. This is a city of 2 million people with no running water. As

you might be able to see behind me, the skies are pretty dark. There

has been another widespread blackout. A similar one occurred

last night. There are critical shortages of water, causing

problems with sanitation. There are medical supply problems and

electricity problems. The message from the transitional leadership is

that they are taking action. They will start emergency measures,

bringing feel in to get the water supplies going. It will be a huge

task. The water supply for Tripoli comes from the desert and has been

disrupted by fighting. We met one family who were suspect a pretty

typical. They have five young children and they have not have

running water for three days. There are families across the city trying

to cope with that. I think it is a critical test for the NTC. They

have managed to take the city, and they have managed to push it

Colonel Gaddafi's troops, but they need to show they can keep things

running. They have set out an appeal to workers in the various

sectors to get back to their jobs and get back to their desks. They

have warned people that even though they want to take action and they

are taking action, that they should not expect miracles and that this

will take time. The Government has promised to discuss the case of the

murdered policewoman a form Fletcher with Libya's National

Transitional Council after a new suspect was named. According to the

Daily Telegraph, an eye witness saw a diplomat open fire on a protest

being held outside Libya's embassy in London in 1984. No one has ever

been charged over her death. Was this the man responsible for

one of the most notorious unsolved murders in recent British history?

A young diplomat walking out of the Libyan embassy in 1984. Abdulmagid

Salah Ameri, identified today as the gunman accused of shooting WPC

Yvonne Fletcher. Fletcher, 25, was killed when shots were fired from

inside the embassy at a group demonstrating outside. And 11 day

police seizure followed. It was only brought to an end when embassy

staff were allowed to leave under the umbrella of diplomatic immunity.

Yvonne Fletcher was literally standing just there, two or three

yards away from me. And then suddenly two windows on the first

floor opened and we heard this heavy machine gun. This man was one

of the protesters that day. Now he is a representative of Libya's

transitional council. We have a golden opportunity that the regime

has toppled. We can get to the truth of who was behind the

shooting, who killed Dobbie PC Fletcher and injured 11 of my

colleagues. -- WPC. The murder of an armed police woman caused

outrage, but it was the pictures of embassy staff walking calmly out of

this building which has left a legacy of bitterness which has

barely dissipated in more than a quarter of a century. No one has

been brought to justice for this appalling crime on the streets of

London. The Government has made it absolutely clear that we will

pursue this in every way we possibly can to ensure that justice

takes place. Detectives hope to travel to Libya to question

Abdulmagid Salah Ameri but as yet, they do not know where to find him

or whether he is even still live. Al-Qaeda's second in command has

been killed in Pakistan according to a senior American officials. The

Libyan national was killed in Waziristan. His death is seen as

another blow to the organisation after the death of Osama Bin Laden.

At least three people, including an 11-year-old boy, have been killed

as Hurricane Irene batters North Carolina causing floods and

toppling power lines. It is expected to reach New Yorker on

Sunday with the city's public transport system is being shut down

and thousands of flights grounded. Mayor Bloomberg has warned that it

is a life-threatening hurricane. At first light, Hurricane Irene

arrived in America. The tidal surge brought immediate flooding. 90mph

winds soon left 500,000 people without electricity. The assault on

US shores has already claimed lives in at least two states. Rescuers

are stretched by emergencies on and off shore. The Commander in Chief

visited the headquarters for the Government -- the headquarters of

the Government's responsible stop it will be a long 48 hours and many

families will be affected. biggest concern is flooding and

power. It is going to be an enormous strain. Overnight,

Hurricane Irene weekend, to a Category 1 hurricane. The image

from Space shows a monster storm, 500 miles wide. Along the east

coast, they have been preparing for what may lie ahead, boarding up and

getting out. We do not want taking chances so we're going. -- we do

not want to take any chances. low-lying areas, there being told

they have to get out. An unprecedented evacuation affecting

300,000 residents. In New Jersey, the Governor is taking no chances.

The best way to preserve human life is for there to be no human beings

on the Jersey shore. The eye of the storm may be several hours away but

we are already getting rain in New York, gusts of wind. Flooding

remains the big fear. The city is surrounded by water. High-tide will

coincide with Hurricane Irene's arrival.

Tonight, a transit system that normally carries 5 million

passengers a day is shut down. Flights are granted, Broadway shows

scrapped. Ground Zero, still up vast construction site, cranes are

tethered. It lies within the flood zone, open and vulnerable.

Life now to Steve. What is the latest on the storm? -- live. The

latest is that Hurricane Irene has moved north from North Carolina and

is now over Virginia. Across those states there are reports of

widespread flooding and one million people and all without power. The

deaths referred to in that piece have come from falling trees. The

President is readying a military response. 6500 troops are being

made available to move to the areas most affected as and when the scale

of the devastation becomes clear. And those robust warnings, how

prepared is the city, hours away from the storm hitting? That

mandatory evacuation order in New York expires now. By this point,

New Yorkers in the low-lying Soames like this are supposed to be out of

their homes but the mayor has just said that he has reports that some

apartment buildings in those areas are still 50% occupied. -- low-

lying zones. Some people have decided to wait it out but flooding

is expected. It is high tide at the moment. This water is 5 feet below

the harbour wall. Remember, there is a massive storm surge expected

tomorrow morning. It is a huge task for the authorities.

Time for the sport. Football news coming up. Starting

tonight with the rugby league. Wigan are the new holders of the

Challenge Cup after beating Leeds in a thrilling final at Wembley.

Leeds goal -- Leeds gave the favourites a will run for their

money but the Warriors, helped by a try from Joel Tomkins, 128-18. --

128 to 18. The bookmakers have already put it

in their hands. Wigan Warriors, overcoming favourites. They set

about overcoming Leeds. Showing their class. Josh Charnley finished

expertly. Jeff Lima added another. Such was Wigan's dominance that it

took two Warrior brothers to outdo them. Joel Tomkins, shrugging off a

supporting role and the Leeds defence. It is one of the great

Wembley tries! Wigan's Wembley walkover was about to get a jolt.

The rhinos regrouped. First, the elegance of the strife. And then,

the brittle power of Ben Jones- Bishop's finish. Sensing an

unlikely comeback, Leeds piled forward. Kyle Ablett to come over

the line. -- took them over. Nothing was stopping Jeff Lima for

his second. Perhaps the touch judge ought to have done in the build up.

Leeds rallied. Wigan surged over one more time. Or did they? The

video referee's button gave Thomas luger why the try. -- Tony Leuluai.

Match of the Day follows the news on BBC One tonight. If you do not

want to know what happened, please, look away now. Wolves and Aston

Villa played out to a goalless draw. Everton beat Blackburn at 1-0

Everton beat Blackburn at 1-0 thanks to a Mikel Arteta penalty.

Liverpool are at the top of the table after a 3-1 win over Bolton.

Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson scold -- scored their first League

In Scotland, Motherwell are on top of the Premier League for 24 hours

at least with Rangers and Celtic not play until tomorrow. They took