in to the case. this will be a difficult trial to control. outside the court, the passion for running high. mr. mubarak still has supporters here. there are quite a lot of people here who are absolutely delighted, overjoyed, and they feel it is the revenge on their former leader and for everything he did. i am sure the spectacle of an 83-year-old man going through this process also creates a certain amount of sympathy as well. >> the fears this anchor came from the relatives and friends of people who had been killed and injured in the revolution.

-- the fiercest anchor came from the relatives and friends of the people who had been killed. six months ago at the height of the revolution, it was the police shooting down the demonstrators on the streets. are around 850 people died in all. one of them lived here in a poor area of cairo, and 18-year-old. the flat is full of photographs of him and you can see that he was gentle and a bit on worldly but he got caught up in a demonstration and the police shot and killed him. today, his family was glued to the television watching their former president tried for ordering the killings. >> i am very happy but i have still got this fire burning in me. i want to see mubarak get what he deserves. he killed the best people of

egypt just so his son could take over from him. >> it has been a momentous day here. and other parts of the middle east, presidents are ordering their forces to shoot down demonstrators. they will not be able to ignore what happened here today. >> that was one of the few journalists allowed into the court room. we're getting reports from gaza that say that israel has carried out three air strikes in the south of the gaza strip. the strikes targeted facilities used by moss which is the palestinian movement which governs the gaza strip. no injuries were reported and we will keep you up-to-date on that. the u.s. authorities have smashed an international pedophile ring. >> that's right. more than 70 americans were part

of an on-line child pornography network called dreamboard. the site was used by 600 pacifies worldwide. -- pedophiles worldwide. our correspondent is in washington and he explained what the authorities revealed about this child pornography network. >> as you say, this ring was called dreamboard. it was a living nightmare for the many children caught up in it. investigators who were involved say they have seen some of the most distressing images they have ever come across. there were bigger rings that have been broken up. this one was appeared to encourage the worst forms of abuse. members were encouraged to

upload the most extreme and violent images of children getting a celtic in return for getting better access and they had to keep doing so to maintain their membership. >> in other news, barack obama has urged congress to act quickly to end a route that partially shut down the body that oversees u.s. air safety. he said the dispute could cost the government more than a billion dollars in uncollected taxes. many politicians have gone on their summer holidays but safety inspectors are being asked to work without pay. police in australia say a suspected bomb strapped to the neck of a terrified young woman was a hoax and the device did not contain an explosives. she was rescued after the 10- hour operation. police say an intruder entered her home and left instructions

that led police think that they were dealing with a serious threat. a small community in nigeria could receive compensation after the oil company shell confessed to causing two weeks. shell said that they were committed to clearing up the spill. this had been caused by acts of sabotage and theft. the u.n. has declared famine zones and three more regions of somalia because of the rates of non attrition and death brought on by the worst drought in 60 years. the announcement brings the number of areas suffering from famine to five. they include areas of the capital which have become home to those fleeing the drought. >> refugees arrive in the somali capital. the famine has left tens of

thousands dead. this is where they will end up, living on the streets. >> we have been walking for more than three days, we have lost everything we owned. we are tired and hungry. >> this mother and her baby had made it to a refugee camp over the border. they will get the help and support they need. >> we have maybe six from the committee and many have died before they arrived. >> those that get here may not survive. outside of the hospital, they are giving out food and supplies.

much more is needed. >> a lot has been done. the international community has to make more in order to save the lives of the people. >> the challenge is enormous. this famine has hit more than 12 million people. there is no sign yet of when it will end. >> you are watching "newsday," on the bbc. still to come, nearly five months after the japanese tsunami, people are getting on with their lives. >> why did chinese middle-class is growing their own produce. silvio berlin stoney has tried to calm financial markets in a speech to parliament. -- silvio burlisconi has tried

to calm financial markets. >> his address had been awaited eagerly. there was a long time of silence. he painted a rosy picture of the economic state and he did his best to ensure foreign investors that italy is still a safe place to put their money. it was significant that he waited until after the markets have closed. >> let's remember that the country's economically and financially solid, a difficult time that knows how to be coherent. the government and the parliament will certainly act with political since census to deal with any kind of threat to our financial stability. >> the economics minister sat

passively next to the prime minister while he was speaking. earlier in the day, he had rushed to luxembourg for emergency talks with the eurozone chief. the italians were fearful that they could soon find themselves dragged into a greased style financial crisis. italy cannot sustain the over 6% interest rate that they will now be called upon to pay to service their mountain of debt. this was the last session of the italian parliament before the summer recess when the mps return from their holidays. there is no telling how the financial crisis would have played out. >> this is "newsday," on the bbc. >> our headlines this hour.

>> the u.n. security council has condemned syria's use of force since the first time -- for the first time since the protests began. >> the egyptian former president denies charges of corruption and the killing of protesters. >> let's go back to our main story. the u.n. security council condemnation. we can speak to the syrian born professor of middle eastern history. he is on the line now. you were in after the 1982 massacre. are you concerned about what is happening today and this could be a repeat of what happened in 1982. >> most certainly. the regime of us -- is intent on making an example. the level of violence, the escalation we have seen in the

last few days has been disproportion in an it is clear that the fact that hama had reached critical mass in terms of the size of the protest. this was rapidly spreading to other cities. people were willing to risk condemnation and everything else to try to put an end to this as we start entering into ramadan. >> the condemnation that the u.n. has given, will this have any effect on president assad? >> i am not sure the effect considering how feeble the condemnation has bid. if you read the actual text, it almost gives them the license to carry on as far as i can tell. there is no real substance about condemnation. this is a step in the right direction and we're happy to

hear that. the people are dying on the streets every day now and they need to be helped. >> what is their position now? the army is loyal to president assad. there has been some defection. this is not the same situation as in egypt or in libya. >> i think we need to be a very specific year. the ford division is very loyal to assad. many of the senior generals who are loyal to the regime. the vast majority is made up of conscripts and those don't have a say. we know that those members of the army who have tried to break away and escaped have been shot. in fact, when we do hear of casualties within the ranks of the army, more often than not it is because they have been shot for disobeying orders. we have figured that out now. over 200,000 soldiers have

deserted or refused to open fire. in fact, there was a call for the reserves and something like only 2000 turned up. >> thank you very much for sharing your expertise. let's cross over to -- the middle class city dwellers are taking to the soil in search of the good life. >> a string of food safety standards has been the cause for concern to the population ranging from contaminated milk to exploding melons to meet that glows in the dark. the issue is putting a strain on some people's trust in chinese authorities. we have the report from beijing. >> it is back to the soil for some of china's city slickers. during the week, their

teachers, pr consultants, and computer programmers. on the weekend, they get their hands dirty. >> when we don't grow things by ourselves, we worry about the safety. >> people here are increasingly worried about what they feed their children. at this farm, the kids are free to pick and choose. the last major food scandal is still fresh in parents' minds. this child was a victim. his parents fed him a baby formula they thought it was safe. it turned out to have -- at least six children died in the scandal and over a quarter of a million fell ill. they continue to worry about his health. he wants justice for his son. >> i think the government needs

to bear responsibility. our court case keeps getting delayed. i'm trying to control myself. >> the latest scandal to hit china was the case of the exploding mellon's. this is one of thousands of farmers affected by the problem. it was caused by the overuse of the growth accelerant. a quarter of his crop simply blew up. >> when i was walking in the field, i could hear them explode. with over a billion announced 2 feet in china, there is a fundamental issue at stake and it is one of trust. when people do in their daily shopping and wondering if their food is safe or not, implicitly it starts raising questions. back home, and they cook a meal

with the produce off of the farm. they are the ones with the time and money to ensure that their food is safe. for many others, there is little choice in what they eat. cox -- >> and i'm joined on the line from beijing by environmentalists and author -- people in china are very concerned about the food safety problem there. are there fears justified? >> i believe so. there are several sources of such concern. one of them is like what was described in the program. people worry that some of the food producers were in fact putting toxic products.

the most serious case was the milk tainted. more recently, we have the steroid scandal in the oil being recycled and put back into those for food processing. secondly, we have worried that some of the farmers overdose in their food products with pesticide. this has contaminated our waterways, our air, sometimes the coastal seas. that means that -- >> in your opinion, are the chinese authorities doing enough to tackle this food safety

problem? >> they are growing in demand from the people to control food safety and actually take some action to strengthen the management. of course, part of that i think could be addressed through better management, more stringent enforcement of food safety rules. much of this is called by the widespread pollution problem. that would pose a longer-term threat to the food safety issues. i hope that the government could take more action to try to address the whole pollution problem. >> we will have to leave it there for your perspective on the food safety issue in china.

>> when japan was struck by the devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this year, it was hard to imagine how people would begin to rebuild their lives. many people died and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. we have been to see how residents are trying to recover. >> they are making a fresh start. the tsunami took lives, buildings, and jobs. now, the fish market is back in business. step outside of the market and look at what is left. they stacked the cars, piled up the debris, but that is about it. for now, the party here is clearing the wreckage. they have sacrificed hundreds of

billions of yen. they will tell you rebuilding this coastline could take decades. >> hard to predict the future for this little one, just 8 day old, his mother has not named him yet. they are busy, the pregnancy rate has increased since the tsunami but so has the suicide rate. this nurse told us it is the beginning. she said that people were glad to be alive. now, they must face reality. >> you have been watching "tuesday," from the bbc. -- "newsday," on the bbc. >> you can follow us on twitter.

for now, from london, it is by by. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

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