america." funding for this presentation america." is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies.

what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> the headlines this hour. the uprising intensify its, the u.n. security council condemned syria's use of force against civilians. mubarak plead not guilty to charges of murder and corruption. >> a terrifying ordeal. the bank of japan takes action on a strong yen to secure the comp -- the country's economic recovery. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world.

>> hello, and welcome. the u.n. security council has issued a statement condemning the syrian government for using force against civilians. it accuses the president administration for widespread violations against human rights. tanks and troops of mutant -- have moved into this center of the city of hama. >> there was machine-gun fire and panic as the tanks moved in. activist videos on the internet said there were gunmen on rooftops to keep people off the streets. the tanks seemed to meet little resistance as they ground into the city center.

residents said the attack was unprovoked. >> always of communications, landlines, telephones, internet's have been dropped completely. we start to listen to bob's and tanks. >> the action seems to put the government back in control. the 700,000 or so people seem to be more or less behind the uprising. even before the final assault, hama was already burying its dead. nobody knows who died today. >> the violent crackdown in syria continues. mubarak made his court appearance in cairo.

he pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and ordering the killing of hundreds of demonstrators. mubarak, 83, remained on a stretcher throughout the proceedings. >> it was to be a day of reckoning. soon after dawn, as the preparations were completed and the demonstrators gathered, the ex-president mubarak was brought from his hospital to the cairo police academy that used to be named after him. the egyptian press was full of stories that he was too ill to be brought into court, that he would be kept in the academy's hospital wing instead. it was intense excitement and the courtroom as the lawyers, police, and journalists. through the heavy steel bars, we caught the first glimpse of him. we realized he was being wheeled

dent in a bed. his sons strapped to kiss him. at the site of the text -- ex- president there was an instance of utter silence. from around the court, an audible intake of breath. the man who had controlled everyone's lives in egypt for so long had finally been brought to court. the charges against him were read out. financial corruption and ordering the killing of demonstrators, which carries the death penalty. >> all these accusations, i deny them all. quips mr. mubarak's lawyers wanted him to go back to hospital. the judge, who has a reputation for being independent minded, said he had to stay in court. emotions rose high. the prosecutor claimed that mr.

mubarak had one of the largest possible number of demonstrators to be shot down. some of the defense lawyers one of the present addiction and leader -- present egyptian leader to be called to court. bringing the new power structure into the case. this is going to be a difficult trial to control. outside the court, the passions were running high. mubarak still has supporters here. there will be quite a lot of people here who are absolutely delighted, overjoyed, feel that it is revenge on their former leader for everything they did. the spectacle of an 83-year-old man going through this process also created a certain amount of sympathy as well. the fiercest anger came from the relatives and friends of people

who had been killed and injured and the revolution. when the trouble started today, the police ran for it. six months ago, at the height of the revolution, it was the police were sitting down the demonstrators and the streets. around 850 people died in all. one of them lived here in a port area of cairo. an 18-year-old. the flats is full of photographs of him and you can see he was gentle and a bit on worldly. he got caught out in a demonstration and the police shot and killed him. today, his family it were glued to the television, watching their former president been tried for ordering the killings of people. >> i am very happy. but i still have this fire burning in me.

i want to see mubarak gets what he deserves. he killed the best people in egypt. >> it has been a momentous day. in other parts of the middle east, president are ordering their forces to shoot down demonstrators. they will not be able to just ignore what has happened here today. >> let's cross over, it has emerged that a suspected obama stuck to the neck of a terrified woman in sydney was a hoax. >> that is right. authorities in australia said the device is not -- does not contain any explosives. the 18-year-old was rescued. we are in sydney with the latest. >> police thinks this was a hoax and a very elaborate hoax. that is the phrase they have

been using. they were baffled by this device. it did not turn out to contain any explosives whatsoever. it took them 10 hours to figure out precisely what to do with it. and how to get this woman away from that. they are saying that it was changed to this 18-year-old teenager to have been studying for her final exams when a man wearing a disguise and burst into her luxury home in a very well-to-do suburb of sydney and attached this device to her. along with the device was a note. police are saying that notes contained a very articulate and coherent instructions. this was a very carefully planned operation. they are saying it was very elaborate. >> moving to the currency markets. the japanese central bank intervened to stem the yen pot

gains versus the u.s. dollar. financial authorities such intervention was taken because a strong yen could hurt the economy. the dollar fell to its lowest on monday. it is now trading ever so closer to 79 yen. that is a gain of about three yen since monday. this is after the intervention. a strong yen is painful for japan. it reduces the value of foreign currency. it makes japanese goods more expensive in overseas markets. traders said the weakness and that yen is unsustainable and could strengthen once again. moving to other news, more than 70 americans are part of an on- line child pornography network. it has been dismantled. the investigation called -- has

led to the rest in 14 countries. our correspondent is in washington and the explained what authorities revealed about the network. >> it was called dream board. u.s. authorities say was a living nightmare for those children caught up in it. they are saying that some of the most extreme and appalling images of child abuse that they had ever come across. what marks this site out, it had a system for encouraging its users to plug the most extreme forms of abuse. the more children audrey they put up on line, the more access they would get. the worst forms of pornography. >> the united nations has declared famine zones in three more areas of somalia. the announcement brings the

number of areas suffering from famine to five. >> the long journey is nearly over. refugees arrived in the somali capital. this is where they will end up. living on the streets with the others to have made it. >> we have been looking for more than three days to get here. we dropped everything we honk. you're tired and hungry and we do not know anyone here. >> say for now, this mother and her baby have made it to a refugee camp over the border in kenya. they will get the help and support they need. >> there are some that died

before they arrived here. >> even though vote -- even those who do get here, may not survive. outside the hospital, at eight agencies are giving out food and supplies. the visiting international leaders say much more is needed. >> it is not enough. the international community has to give 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. >> live from singapore and in london.

>> why china's middle class is growing their own projects. >> berlusconi has tried to calm the financial markets in a speech to parliament. the italian prime minister says the fundamentals of the country's financial system are solid. we have this report. >> his address had been awaited eagerly after a long period of silence by the prime minister during the economic crisis. he painted a rosy picture for italy's current economic state. he did his best to ensure foreign investors that italy is still is a place to put their money. it was significant that he waited until after the markets closed for the day before addressing parliament. >> let's remember undermined every else that the country is economically and financially

solid. it knows how to deal with difficulties. the government and parliament will act in a political consensus to deal with any kind of threat to our financial stability. >> the economics minister sat attentively it next to mr. berlusconi will the prime minister was speaking. earlier in the day, he had rushed to luxembourg with emergency talks. italians remained fearful for weather -- that they could soon find themselves dragged into a greek-style financial crisis. italy cannot sustain the over 6% interest rate that will be called upon to pay it to service its mountain of debt. this was the last session of the italian parliament before the summer recess. when they return from their holidays, at the beginning of

september, there is no telling how the financial crisis will played out. >> the headlines this hour. the u.s. -- the u.n. security council has condemned syria's use of force against civilians. >> wind on a stretcher in court, mubarak is charged with ordering the killing of protesters. >> the u.n. security council's condemnation of serious use of force against civilians. aaron david miller is a former adviser to the u.s. state department. he helped broker the agreement between israel, jordan, syria, and the palestinians. i asked him what options the

international community have left to deal with this situation in syria. >> i think the options are very poor. you could do an enormous amount of damage to the syrian economy, that would be a huge. i think the concern is -- the administration has written him off. it is how best to manage eight prisons -- and transition. if they go nuclear on this, so to speak, they will end up creating a situation where the vast majority of the syrian public were not -- will end up suffering. you could end of stoking tensions and to cut spending -- you could end up sending -- seeing the collapse of any central authority and a

fragmentation of the country. as far as i'm concerned, i do not fear the future. he has to go. in the outcome would be better than the one we see right now. >> the indian government is going to introduce an anti- corruption bill in parliament today. >> that is right. corruption is a big issue in the world's largest democracy. after a string of scandals from a multibillion-dollar telecom scandal, several government officials have been arrested and are facing criminal charges. joining me now to tell us more is an anti-corruption activist. tell us, a bill is being introduced in parliament. what are your expectations of a passing? >> i believe that the balance

will be strong enough and we are hoping for -- it is much weaker than we expected to be. that is the reason we are protesting against it. >> do you think that this bill as it stands is enough to tackle the enormous problem of corruption in your country? >> to be quite frank, no, i do not think it is strong enough to tackle the problem of corruption. corruption has become a global phenomenon. it is a global challenge. we have to come together to fight this. the bill that we are looking for it is a strong anti-corruption bill. i'm fortunate, the bill that the government is introducing is much weaker -- unfortunately, the build up the government is introducing is much weaker.

they did not had any answer for it. this is the situation. we want a strong bill so that we can fight corruption. we are fighting for that. >> what other features or initiatives have to be included in this anti-corruption bill for it to be foolproof and for it to fight corruption in india? >> right. we believed the bill does not have the provision to cover all but government officials, especially the bureaucrats. on a day-to-day basis, it has to face the greatest government officials and bureaucrats. no loopholes in the bill. to put forward the grievance in case of any official asking them

for any bribe. there is a reason that the common man does not get any benefits from this bill. i am sorry to say this, but it seems like the government does not have the will to fight corruption. the reason why the citizens have taken this fight with them, the corruption has crossed the acceptable limits in india. >> we will have to leave it there. thank you for your perspective. he is an anti-corruption activist. a string of doing said the scandal has caused concern, ranging from contaminated milk. in a country with more than 1 billion mouth to feed, the issue is putting a strain on some people's trust. we have more from beijing. >> it is backed the soil for some of china's cities slickers. during the week, they are teachers, pr consultants, and

computer programmers. at 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, kids are free to pick and choose. the last major food scandal is still fresh in parents' minds. he was a victim. his parents died and 84 million thought it was safe. it contained a chemical. at least six children died in the scandal and over a quarter of a million fell ill. he continues to glory about his health. he wants justice for his son. >> i think the government needs

to bear the responsibility. our court case keeps getting delayed. i am trying to control myself. >> but latest scandal to hit china was the case of the exploding melons. he was one of thousands of farmers affected by the problem. it was apparently caused by the overuse of a growth accelerates. he says a quarter of this crop simply blew up. >> when i was walking in the field, i figure than explode. >> with over a billion else to be in china, there is a fundamental issue at stake. it is one of trust. when people start worrying whether their food is a for not, it starts raising questions about the ability to protect them. back home, the city slickers get

their produce off the farm. they have the time and money to ensure there for the safe. for many others, there is little choice in what they eat. >> when japan was struck by the devastating earthquake and tsunami, it was hard to a imagine how people would rebuild their lives. many people died and hundreds of thousands of people had been 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 from this seaside town. the fish market is back in business. step outside the markets and

just look at what is left. for now, the priority here is simply clearing the wreckage. the japanese government has set aside hundreds of billions of yen for the task. beyond that, ask anyone here and they will tell you that rebuilding discuss one could -- hard to predict the future. just a day old, his mom has not named him yet. they are busy at the hospital. the pregnancy rate has increased since the tsunami. so has the suicide rate. this nurse told us it is just the beginning. first, people were glad to be alive. now they must face reality.

it is hard to believe now that this place was home to tens of thousands of people. it is as if the tsunami wiped off the map. no wonder they want. not far away, then it is nothing left here, so they're making a garden of sunflowers. >> just doing this thing together and makes me smile. >> looking over the ruins of their shattered city, they plant their seeds and watch them grow. >> a quick look at our main story. the un security council has issued its first condemnation of the syrian government use of force against civilians in a protest that began five months ago.

bad is it from london and singapore. thank you for watching. >> 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.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet, los angeles.