>> this is "bbc world news," funding for this presentation 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." >> welcome to the bbc. >> the headlines this hour, a 68-year-old man beaten as he tried to stamp out a fire during riots in west london has died. four eurozone nations ban short selling on the shares of banks and financial companies. >> relief in the market as u.s., european and asian shares rise but trading remaining volatile. a rallying call from washington urging other countries to impose sanctions against syria's regime as violence continues. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, this is news day.

hello and welcome. london's riots have claimed another victim. police revealed an elderly man who took on the rioters as they were trying to set fire to a bin in ealing has died in hospital. footage from the third day of the disorder showed police and others tending to 68-year-old richard manington after he'd been sat upon. detectives say it was a brutal incident and senseless killing. dan griffith is here with us now. bring us up to date. >> as you were saying, this is the case of 68-year-old richard manington beaus who was trying to put out a fire that are the started by rioters on monday. he was sat upon by some of the rioters. they assaulted him. he sustained serious head injuries and he was hospitalized and put on life support.

unfortunately, police say he died on thursday. they have informed the next of kin and the post mortem will be carried out shortly. the police say they have launched a full murder investigation. >> police have actually released footage of the man that they want to question in relation to this. >> that's absolutely right. they've released two tv images. we can see some on our screen now, of a man they believe or suspect was involved in the assault on mr. manington. they say this man was involved with much of the rioting and looting that took place in ealing and he appeared to know many of the others involved in the rioting and they're appealing to anyone in the community who recognizes this man to come forward immediately to help them with their inquiries to solve this horrific crime. >> thanks very much with the latest on that.

in an emergency recall of parliament, debating the looting and violence over the last week in england. david cameron said police would be able to force people to remove face masks, there will be a crackdown on gangs and review of the use of social networking sites. there was criticism of the police response when the violence first broke out. our political editor reports. >> a smash-and-grab raid in south london. today, though, it was the police doing it with the cameras invited along to witness a suspect hauled in. they and their political masters want the message to go out that the streets of britain are back under control. >> to the law-abiding people who play by the rules and who are the overwhelming majority in our country, i say the fight back has begun, we will protect you. if you have had your livelihood and property damaged, we

compensate you. we are on your side. and to the lawless minority, the criminals who have taken what you can get, i say that we will track you down, find you, charge you and punish you. >> a packed house of commons spoke as one during this special emergency session, almost as if the country was at war. >> whatever we disagree on, week by week, month by month, today, as a house of commons, we stand shoulder to shoulder united against the vandalism and violence we have seen on our streets. there can be no excuses, no justification. this behavior has disgusted us all. it cannot be allowed to stand. we will not allow it to stand. >> the bravery of individual police officers caught up in the violence was praised on all sides. but there was widespread criticism about decisions, tack tickets and the numbers on the streets. >> what was increasingly clear earlier this week that was there

were simply far too police deployed on the streets and the tactics they were using weren't working. police chiefs have been frank with me about why this happened. initially, the police treated the situation too much as a public order issue rather than essentially one of crime. >> the prime minister said that in future, combating gangs would be a national priority. police powers to remove face masks would be extended and discussions were underway to eliminate the use of the internet to coordinate conspiracies. today, the m.p. for the area spelled out the anger of his constituents. >> 45 people have lost their homes, burnt to the ground, run out of their homes carrying their children in their arms and their cry is, where were the police. >> the prime minister said that 16,000 police officers would be kept on the streets of london

tonight and throughout the weekend. one by one, officers are identifying those they believe should be brought to justice. today, politicians united to condemn this week's violence, but they divided on the future of the police. nick robinson, bbc news, westminster. >> since the outbreak of rioting in london and other cities, there have been questions about the way the police reacted to what was happening on the streets. the president of the association of chief police officers said,. >> the police faced an unprecedented situation not just in london but across the country. they were truly unique circumstances and what the service did, as it always does, is learn and respond with incredible speed and we went from 6,000 officers in london, the most officers deployed ever on one event, to 16,000 the following night and at that point you saw violence continued

and moved around the country to different locations. the force responded, i think, magnificently, and the officers put huge effort into protecting communities and more importantly, protecting life. >> let's get some of the day's other news. new developments in the financial markets. >> that's right. essentially france, italy, spain and belgium have banned short selling on the shares of banks and financial companies following sharp losses in bank stocks in recent days, especially in france. the french bank de generale had been the worst affected by the volatility. with me now is the chief strategist here in singapore. tell us about short-selling. will this work to stem the volatility we've been seeing in

the markets? >> short-selling typically has short-term impact but over the next weeks you'll see a reverse of trend and see weakness in european bank stocks persisting and the reason is simple, it's the fact that a lot of sovereigns around europe are finding difficulties in balancing their budgets. they have lots of debt that is owned by these banks, therefore, there's a lot of uncertainty about how that debt will perform. the net result has been that the borrowing costs for banks as well as the man on the street is rising and this could mean that economic growth will suffer. that, i think, is the real problem here. the outlook for growth in europe and even in the united states is looking decidedly weak and this means that the trend for declining shares will probably persist unless something is done at the political level to address some of these issues. >> what do you think needs to be done at the political level if something like this is a short-term salvo? >> in the case of europe, there

los angeles to -- has to be fisl coordination, an approach where countries are allowed to borrow so long as they get their fiscal houses in order and budgets move towards balance. that is still not there. there is no coordination mechanism whatsoever and we hope something will come forward on that front but until that happens, i think this trend of weakness will probably persist for weeks or months. >> thanks very much, for that. let's look at the markets, now, after what's been a volatile week. be asian stocks making gains at the start of trade this friday morning. they're all slightly higher, as you can see gains of about 20 to 60 points there. in the u.s. overnight, wall street bounced back, the dow gaining nearly 4% and the nasdaq

rising higher after an unexpected fall in unemployment claims fueled the rally. gold experiencing its biggest daily loss in over a year on profit-taking. in other news, the italian finance minister has told parliament that government costs are to be cut, state companies privatized and taxes raised on savings. the measures will be part of a program to satisfy the european central bank that italy is controlling its debt. opposition politicians are saying there's not enough detail about how italy will achieve what it needs to do. >> it's not clear at all what the italian government will do and when we'll do it. apparently, they will make the decree today, that is the last news. but the degree and the amount of the austerity needed is not

clear. >> live from singapore in london. still to come, the malaysian student robbed while hurt and helpless speaks for the first time about his attackers. and spreading tolerance and faith through music. the american-islamic hip-hop group. >> a roadside bomb has killed five nato troops in southern afghanistan, a day after the alliance said it killed the taliban insurgents responsible for shooting down one of its helicopters. the new u.s. ambassador to afghanistan spoke to the bbc when he was asked about the american helicopter that was downed. >> there's a fight going on out there. this is not the first helicopter of ours that was hit. i think a lot of luck is involved bringing down a helicopter with an r.p.g. the human loss is tremendous. i was out there at bag ram for

the ceremony, the repatriation of the remains and it was a hard thing to watch but it is not going to affect the course of the campaign. we were back in witness our afghan partners the very next night at full strength and that's where we're going to stay. >> the taliban in their recent statements seem to be subtly, perhaps, shifting their position when it comes to political engagement. is that your perception? >> i would make two points here. first, i think it is an indication that the surge is working, the increased military activities against the taliban have definitely made them pay a very, very heavy price, and i would have it as my assessment that that is likely to push them toward a negotiated arrangement with the afghan government. the second point i'd make is you cannot kill your way out of an

insurgency, not in iraq, not in afghanistan, so there has got to be a political settlement at the end of the day. >> you have your conditions, they have their conditions. and one of their conditions is that you and all the foreign troops in afghanistan have to leave. is that a possibility, that foreign troops leave and then they'll make a political settlement? >> i do not think that's the way it's going to work. we all agreed in lisbon. >> this is news day on the bbc. >> our headlines this hour, a man who was beaten as he tried to stamp out a fire during riots in west london on monday night has died. richard manington bowes who was 68 was attacked during disturbances in ealing. >> france, italy, spain and belgium ban short-selling of financial stocks to calm anothet day.

let's stay with our top story. >> many people have compared the riots in england with those in los angeles in 1992. the political commentator joe hicks in los angeles himself said, lessons can be learned from past experience. >> i think there are some very direct comparisons between what happened in los angeles in 1992 and what we see taking place in london, as well as some other cities in great britain. but there are some dissimilar things, as well. it's not clear what role race has played. clearly, race has been a major factor in the kind of riotous behavior we've seen in this country, as we did in los angeles in 1992. there are also similarities in terms of some of the timid behavior, if that's perhaps not exactly the right term, for the police behavior early on. in l.a., they backed off for a while, which tended to encourage

the rioters. you think some of that may have happened in london, as well, where some of the slow response by the police may have emboldened the rioters because they didn't think anything would happen. if they stole things, looted, burned. so i think there are things to be learned from what we're seeing take place in london and i think we can look at what happened in this country, in america, in particular, in los angeles, and hopefully some of those lessons can be applied. >> joe hicks, a political commentator based in los angeles. david cameron said the whole of britain shocked by the riots. a malaysian student being attacked by rioters pretending to help him. >> when he watches the video of himself being mugged, he says it doesn't seem real.

there is no disputing that instead of being helped after being assaulted, they helped themselves to the contents of his bag. today, the 20-year-old student spoke of his ordeal a day after undergoing surgery on his jaw. >> it's hard because there's metal inside. >> how do you feel about those people who did what they did? >> i felt sorry for them, but it was really sad because amongst them there were children. it was very sad. >> does that shock you that they were quite young? >> yeah. that boy was in primary school, i think. it was quite shocking. >> far from fleeing from the u.k., ashroff told his mother he plans to stay here to finish his

studies. >> i spoke to her yesterday. she was really worried. she wants me to come back home. >> after his ordeal on monday and after having to undergo surgery, ashrof has shown incredible bravery talking to us today. i asked him how he keeps so positive. he laughed and said, "i don't know." his ordeal has been watched by millions on the internet and has led to thousands of pounds being raised for him by well-wishers to help him through the rest of his stay in britain. >> the american secretary of state, hillary clinton, has called for other countries to join u.s. sanctions against syria in the face of escalating violence by the syrian security forces. activists in syria say security forces killed at least 12 civilians on thursday as authorities continued efforts to

stop protest against president assad's rule. >> the battle for syria is being fought street by street. these unverified pictures show clashes in one town. this is the brutal reality of syria's uprising. in hammer,erer -- homa, the army is now in control. these pictures can't be independently verified but there seems little doubt about who is in charge. the syrian army carried out a week-long operation there, reportedly leaving dozens of activists dead. burned out cars, blackened buildings, wreckage strewn across the street, signs of the ferocity of the operation. international pressure appears have to little impact on president assad. american media reports say the administration is preparing to call publicly for him to step down and the obama

administration wants other countries to do more. >> what we really need to do to put the pressure on assad is to sanction the oil and gas industry and we want to see europe take more steps in that direction and we want to see china take steps with us. we want to see india, because india and china have large energy investments inside of syria. >> yet president assad remains in power. there are reports of divisions within his government and some allies slipping away. but it appears he still has the support of the army. so the from tests and the violence, the killings and the funerals that follow will continue. months after this uprising began, no one knows how the conflict will end. >> there are questions in south korea about armed forces. >> that's right. essentially, this year's been a

spate of death in south korea's military. four people were killed after a shooting in a front-line marine unit and there have been other apparent suicides, raising questions about the culture inside the barracks of the country's armed forces. our correspondent in seoul looks about how the demands for reform are being met. >> in south korea, becoming a man means becoming a soldier, at least according to the army. military service is a rite of passage here, but the war games and training drills have a new edge these days. since the north korean attack last year, the nation has called on its military to toughen up. all this train suggest to prepare to confront external enemies but the military is also having to confront a threat from within, a concept that some say is helping to kill its soldiers

before other shots are fired. even the elite marine corps hasn't escaped untarnished. last month, a marine corporal shot and killed four of his comrades. he said he was being bulled. several other soldiers killed themselves in the weeks that followed. since then, south korea's defense ministry has banned beating, cruelty, humiliation and bullying. there's been reform at the military before but the question of why and how soldiers die in barracks has often been unanswered. this couple lost their youngest son 10 years ago. they still don't know how he died. >> if the nation calls upon our sons, it has a duty to return them safe and sound, he tells me, but for us to be left like this not knowing the cause of my son's death, i think that's a great betrayal of a citizen and

a parent. calls to military canceling services have multiplied since the latest spate of deaths. investigators say the number of noncombat deaths has fallen from 800 year in the 1980's to around 100, but that old-fashioned attitudes remain. >> there needs to be a major change in thinking towards soldiers in first place. ther citizens in uniform and i think there needs to be better awareness of their basic rights. >> the defense ministry admits there's a problem, and military commanders say camp culture is changing slowly. >> this barracks culture isn't something we can change overnight just for the show of it. it needs to change slowly. i think we need to continue the work we've been doing. >> commanders say the conscripts themselves are different now, more individualistic, less suited to military life than

their fathers, but even if they've changed, the threat of war here hasn't. >> and lucy williamson reporting there. this week, american-islamic hip-hop group is touring indonesia to help spread tolerance and faith through music. as the u.s. scales down influence iraq, washington is focusing on soft power to increase influence. >> using funk to spread their faith. this is an american-islamic hip-hop group brought to indonesia by the u.s. government. indonesia isn't the only country the group has performed in. they've also been to egypt, tanzania and jordan with the goal of helping to build a bridge between the islamic world

and the united states. the performance seems to be well received by the indonesian students invited to this event. dozens have come out to listen to this hip-hop group. after the performance, they were given a chance to ask questions of the band and one of their main concerns seems to be what kind of perception americans have of islam in america today. >> american perception of islam itself is towards violence. >> the u.s. says it's these stereotypes it's trying to change through events like this. but some say the strategy is hypocritical, given america's military actions in iraq and afghanistan. it's a charge u.s. officials are quick to deny. >> this group, native dean, they're not a made-up group. they perform in the united states and other places in the world, including the muslim

world so there's nothing propagandistic about that at all. >> native dean says that while it is funded by the american taxpayer to perform in countries like indonesia, that doesn't mean it agrees with everything america does. >> although muslims may not agree with the policy, they may love american music and hip-hop and that type of thing so that's what we've found. being able to show that we're muslim and islam in america is something that is beyond politics. >> it's a message that seems to be going down well with this odd yenss,ience, at -- audience, at least. indonesia is home to the largest number of muslims on earth. hip-hop diplomacy may not always work, but sometimes it can simply be quite a lot of fun. >> thank you very much for watching.

>> 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" was presented by kcet los angeles.