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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> president obama has led the two bids with a call for peaceful dialogue. >> will pause for a moment to make sure that we're talking with each other in a way that heelals, not in a way of wounds. >> gabrielle giffords remains in critical condition. 250 killed in flash floods in southeastern brazil. damage zone. floodwaters take the australian city of brisbane.

leading citizens to pick up the pieces. president obama has paid tribute to victims of the shooting in arizona on saturday in which a gunman tried to assassinate a congresswoman. speaking at a memorial service, mr. obama painted vivid pictures of the night. he spoke of the vitriolic debate. >> when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations. to try and impose some order on the chaos. and make sense out of that which

seems senseless. already we have seen the national conversation commence, not only about the motivation behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health system. [applause] much of this process of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government. but, at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that is in the world at

the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do, it is important for us to pause for a moment and make sure we're talking with each other in a way that appeals, not in a way that wounds -- in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. >> he saw congress woman gabrielle giffords. >> i have come from the university medical center where our friend gabby bites to recover as we speak. i want to tell you, her husband is here and he allows me to share this with you. right after we went, a few minutes later when we left her room, gabby opened her eyes for

the first time. she opened her eyes for the first time. [applause] gabby opened her eyes. [applause] gabby opened her eyes so it can tell you we're here and she knows we love for and we are rooting for through undoubtedly will be a difficult journey. we're there for her. >> a big event, a huge beach for barack obama trying to pull together the mood of the nation

after saturday's shooting. it is a speech that addressed various levels. you heard the news line. barack obama saying after he visits -- visited and other covers people who visited her, the lawmaker opened her eyes for the first time since coming to that hospital after being shot through the brain. that is a positive development. the first person he embraced was mark kelly, the covers woman's husband. it worked on several different levels. stories to about acts of heroism from people who stepped in and helped the survivors. there is the political section

of the speech, the president calling for unity from politicians and a dose of humility at a time when there is debate about political rhetoric and the level of discourse. finally, an appeal to national unity. for the nation to take something from this and some of the language was religious, i thought. he hopes the country can draw strength from this and move forward. >> there was the same unity that he put out. particularly among the political idea. >> the backdrop is after the shootings, we got finger- pointing from rival politicians from sarah palin and some people from the tea party were blamed by some in the left for inciting

violence, it was alleged, by using language relating to guns which was said to be the inflammatory. sarah palin and her supporters and the president pointed out a motive for the shootings has yet to be established. there is no proven link between politics and the suspect, jarret sho. there was a video by sarah palin where she responded to her critics and she used the phrase 'blood libel." ." >> a vigorous debates are among our cherished traditions. we get back to work. often, both sides find common ground. if you do not like a person's vision for the country, you are free to debate that vision. if you do not like their ideas,

you are free to propose better ideas. especially within hours of the tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to inside the hatred and violence that they purport to condemn. that is reprehensible. >> sarah palin there on facebook. president obama did not respond to that specifically but he did allude to the tone of political debate. he said when the time -- it is important to pause and make sure we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. >> flash floods and landslides have killed more than to a hundred 30 people in southeastern brazil. 23 -- -- 230 people in brazil.

>> fleeing for their lives from the force of nature. this is where devastating mud slides have ripped through the town, laying waste to human lives and property. many people died here. for those who survive, their houses have been left uninhabitable. >> i came to my granddaughter's house. i do not know what will become a bus. >> across the area, rescue teams have used heavy machinery and shovels and their bare hands to dig through tons of mud and debris. the task facing the authorities, since they have appealed to the military for help. >> the state governor has requested the need to give us some of their helicopters. we have asked them to bring more rescue workers and more gear. >> across this mountain range,

the situation is dire. more than 100 people died and scores more are missing. the town has been hit with a month's rainfall in 24 hours. the mayor has called this the worst catastrophe in their history. people living here say their town was hit by a sea of mud when the nearby river burst its banks. officials fear they will discover many more dead as they reach the remote valleys and mountainsides where neighborhoods have been in the gulf. although the storm has passed on, the saturated terrain remains unstable and still poses an immediate threat to the communities built on these steep hillsides. >> we have this update. >> we have 250 dead in three

mountain cities around the area that have been the worst affected by these floods and mudslides. these are nice towns used for the holidays and ranches and houses there. it can get nasty when it rains because of the slopes and instability of the terrain it can see the pictures of rivers of mud coming down. >> there is much rain expected in the next few days. >> even if there is not a lot of rain, a little more rain can cause problems because the soil is unstable a bit more rain could bring more mud down.

nexit was the first of january. help has been requested by the governor and the federal government has sent $450 million for a recovery and emergency work. the navy has offered two helicopters. the president will fly over the affected area. she is more discreet than president lula da silva used to be. she rejected a bit slowly when there were these kinds of disasters in brazil. >> still to come. lebanon in crisis. the government collapses as hezbollah and its allies

announced they're withdrawing. portugal is breathing a small sigh of relief. had thaved the auction led to ma bailout would be inevitable. >> portugal needed to go to the markets to raise money. the big question what it would have to pay. if there were going to be 7%, officials said that would be unsustainable. they expected portugal would be billing -- need billion. portugal has bought some breathing space for itself and for the year. some of the fundamentals have

not changed. the central bank has predicted this economy will decline by 1.3% this year. the worst did not happen. the doubts about the euro have gone away. a lot of economists believe that during this year, one or more countries will be needing rescuing. some signs of relief today. >> here in the u.k., speculation. the bbc has learned that eric daniels is entitled to a payment of 220% of his salary. the german airline lufthansa has seen a big jump in passenger numbers.

it carried more than 90 million passengers last year. an increase of 17%. >the headlines this hour. president obama has led the tribute to the victims of the saturday shooting at a memorial service in tucson. more than 230 people have been killed in flash floods and landslides in brazil. the river levels peaked in the third largest city. floodwaters have not reached the highs that officials had predicted. the brisbane river had peaked at 1 meter. the commercial area has been spared. 5000 homes are partially or totally flooded. dozens are missing. anna bly underlines the gravity

of the situation. >> we cannot bring you that sound. matthew robertson lives on the banks of the brisbane river. he gave me an update of the situation. >> i will turn the camera around in the second. basically, the devastation, every few minutes there is debris that comes through. it is going by. the river levels have not reached the heights we were expecting. they are extremely high. i will turn the camera around. basically, as you can see there, the river is probably 4.5 meters. on this side, it is not lapping over.

but see my can get your around the corner. there is destruction there. the office building where i work in the car park. businesses have been washed away. i talk to my other colleagues and we do not think we will be able to go back for one week. or for several weeks. it is not reading today. -- raining today. people are getting washed away. it is quite serious. >> what has been the reaction in your opinion of the authorities? have they done as much as they can to help? do you think more can be done? >> i honestly think they have done a pretty good job. they have the army involved and

the coast guard. everyone that can get involved. the premier has done a good job. they are on news of the time and they are telling us what to do. we will probably start volunteering if we can next week. you cannot plan for this. where i am as dry. it is a mess. >> a standoff after police surrounded a store where a man is threatening to blow himself up. officers were alerted when the alarm was set off a store on regent street. police are in attendance. attempts are being made to negotiate. while officers have seen the man, they are not confirming

whether or not he has explosives. lebanon's national unity government has collapsed. the political factions are in defeat over an investigation backed by the u.s. into the murder of the former prime minister. our correspondent reports. >> this is how his beloved topples the -- hezbollah troubles the government. -- topples the government. the result is a country in crisis. and an investigation. the tribunal is due to announce results of the investigation into a massive car bomb explosion which killed several

22 years ago. >> the group's leader has denounced the tribunal. he was in washington when hsi government -- his government collapsed. some believe the deal could have prevented the collapse. >> would give this our best shot and tried to provide the best reasons to succeed, to preserve lebanon. this has reached a dead end due to u.s. pressures and the inability of the other party to overcome them. >> it is hard to imagine how lebanon's rival politician and foreign backers will find their way out of this. that is troubling news where particle crises are in the

streets. -- political crises are in the streets. >> traffic in the bustling streets of the capital came to a standstill. a ceremony was held at the un headquarters in new york. camps set up for victims of floods have been flooded themselves. forcing people to go elsewhere to escape. half a million people have been affected and there is an urgent need for milkenmilk and infant food. raids in ivory coast. forces moved into the suburbs on tuesday.

another film is being tipped for oscar success. "black swan" is a psychological thriller. we have been assessing whether ballet deserves such a dark depiction. >> this is nina. an ambitious ballerina who desperately wants to be the lead in the "swan lake". she is a fine as a white swan. the neurotic nina takes a trip to the dark side. life turns ugly for the beautiful dancer. it becomes swan like.

hourly, it is graceful and elegant. beyond the wings is a different world. according to the movie's star. >> it is different than how it is properly perceived. it is shown as light and beautiful and has this delicacy to it. and then when you see backstage, you see sweat and blood and tears and pain. >> the film is a psychological thriller and it is happy to go several steps to far in melodramatic depictions of ballet life. so what, you might say. it is only a movie. it has been ruffling feathers in the dance world are it is criticized for lack of authenticity. the depiction of the ballerina is a cliche. what is life really like for modern-day dancer? >> you are in front of the

mirror every day so you're criticizing yourself constantly. there is. very consuming. >> part of the art is to disguise the effort being made to appear effortless. it is like the film often a journey into a fantasy world. >> a reminder of the main news. president obama has paid trip to the victims of the shooting in arizona on saturday. he referred to christina taylor green, a little girl who had elected to pursue council and went to a shopping mall to meet her congresswoman. >> she was given to us on september 11, 2001. one of 50 babies born the day to be pictured in a book called "faces of hope."

on either side were simple wishes for a child's life. i hope you have helped those in need, read one. i hope you know all the words to the national anthem. and sit with your hand over your heart. -- sing it with your hand over your heart. i hope you jump in rain puddles. if there are rain puddles in heaven, christina is jumping int them today. >> president obama paying tribute to a 9-year-old girl who was shot in tucson, arizona on saturday. she was among six others who were shot and killed. you are watching "bbc news".

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small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.