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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. >> i am in london. here are the headlines. president obama says america will step up its role and influence in the region. three days to stop the killing. the arab league tells us 0 to end the bloody repression of its people or face sanctions. -- tells the syria to end the bloody repression of its people or face sanctions. inside burma, an exclusive report of a generation scarred by sanctions and years of military rule. >> it is 10:00 a.m. in singapore. >> it is 2:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, this is newsday.

♪ >> we are here to stay, that was the key message president obama stressed as he stood before the australian parliament. he confirmed that more than 2000 marines are being deployed to northern australia, to bolster america's presence in the asia- pacific region. >> joerres what this region must know. as we end today's wars, i am directing our national security team to make our presence in the asia-pacific a top priority. as a result, defense spending will not come at the expense of the asia-pacific. my guidance is clear. as we plan and budget for the future, we will allocate the resources necessary to maintain our strong military presence in

this region. we will preserve our unique ability to deter threats to power and to preserve the peace. and we will commit -- keep our commitments to our eyes like australia. -- allies like australia. our enduring influence in the region demands are enduring presence in the region. the united states is a specific power and we are here to stay. >> following developments from sydney explain the significance of the president's remarks. >> president obama was using his visit to australia to announced to a wider world a week celebration of american foreign policy toward the asia- pacific region. the u.s. has never left the asia-pacific region, but it has somewhat neglected it with wars in afghanistan and iraq. this is now a statement of

policy saying, we are back and we are here tuesday. -- we are here to stay. the message was, everybody has to play by the rules. we are here in a dramatic sense, but also in military sense to make sure we move forward into the 21st century. they have been moving up to this in the past 18 years -- 18 months or two years or so. it is a statement of facts that the u.s. now sees this region as their top priority foreign policy area. they have been distracted with afghanistan, iraq, and what used to be called the war on terror. with those response abilities now -- responsibilities now receding, they're focusing on what matters to them. what matters is trade and commerce.

the asia-pacific region is what has been identified by president obama as the way forward. >> syria has three days to stop the bloody repression of its people or face sanctions. that is the message from a newly emboldened arab league. it comes after a group of syrian protesters reported attacks by the military in southern damascus. a warning that this report contains some strong images. >> this is an anti-regime demonstrations where an attack happened on the edge of damascus. since most foreign journalists are barred from syria, we are relying on pictures and information emerging by the web. the regime has a strong presence in the area. the fact that a prominent target was attacked as another sign that the opposition is becoming

more militarized and more daring. it is claiming at least 15,000 defectors from ssad's military have joined their side, with weapons. he is saying they will continue with the struggle and will win or die. and in this video, another man talks about attacks in and a man of -- in and he calls for the regime not to harm the unarmed peaceful protesters. he said they will keep on fighting until the enemy has laid down their arms to join the revolution. >> ever since the uprising started in march, ,assad has said that armed extremists were trying to destroy syria. but the evidence is that the protests are peaceful and that the military forces have been killing unarmed people. forces arely, assad's

facing a tax. there are still peaceful protest, but now there are predictions of civil war in syria. we have in your reports of a so- called free syria army made up of defectors. >> the on the language of tyrants like assad and gaddafi is the language of violence because it is the only language they understand. >> in morocco, the arab league has confirm that syria is being suspended and has given damascus three days to allow a change of mission. saudi arabia also believe that a target is iran, the reason being iran and syria and's allies. state tv has been showing more pro-assad demonstrations.

it could face arab economic sanctions. and a graphic video has emerged that the one -- of a head of a mean is about been tortured by regime soldiers. we're going to show everyone what is happening to you, one soldier tells you for god's sake, i have done nothing. someone says, "go easy on him," but he is kicked unconscious. they do not know what has happened to him since. >> there's been trouble in kuwait's parliament. >> @ dozens of protesters in kuwait broken to the main chamber of the parliament. they reportedly sang the national anthem, while outside, the police sproat -- the police

arrested hundreds of protesters from marching on the parliament building. i spoke to one of the protestors outside of the parliament building and he said today's demonstration was born out of frustration with the government. >> this is the seventh government brought by the same prime minister. is anorruption raite overriding kuwait and there is no rebuilding of infrastructure. people are fed up with the loopholes being used by the government to avoid the [unintelligible] >> if the prime minister steps down, if he is dismissed, surely the emir -- they're both

related, so what would change? orix -- >> it would be the first time the price minister is ousted based on popular demand. that in itself is a big change since the constitution in 1962. these protesters are demanding a true constitutional monarchy. and constitutional reforms to avoid the same situation. and to the election of the prime minister directly by the people. >> the man accused of the shooting of the white house has been arrested in pennsylvania. he has been on the run for five days. on tuesday, the secret service police found two bullets that reportedly hit the residents. >> it is perhaps the most closely guarded home in the world, but we now know that the white house was hit by two bullets. hear, a secret service agents inspect a?

any -- inspect a dog and a where one of the rounds -- inspect a balcony where one of the browns brought a window -- where one of the rounds broke a window this is the suspect. he was recognized by staff at a pennsylvania hotel. >> the witness reported to the police that ortega hernandez was in the lobby. the state police personnel responded to the hampton inn and took mr. hernandez into custody without incident. >> the manhunt had begun after shots were heard near the white house. nearby, they recovered an ak-47 rifle and empty shell casings, and an abandoned car that was

soon linked to the suspect. president obama was not at home at the time. he had traveled to the west coast where he attended a basketball game. the president himself was never in danger, but all of this brings up an uncomfortable question for the secret service. if the bullet that hit the white house was indeed fired on friday night, why did it take until tuesday morning to find him? >> you are watching newsday on the bbc. still to come, probing the mysteries of jupiter's moons. nasa unveils evidence of a giant lake on europa. the bank of england has revealed its concern about the english economy. growth is expected to be much weaker this year, and also next. this report from stephany flanders contains some flash photography.

>> anyone looking for good news from the bank of england today would have been sorely disappointed. >> the difficult economic environment, broadly flat, long, and arduous. >> if anything, the details of the bank's new forecast were even gloomier than the governor's. three months ago, the bank of england was expecting the economy to grow by more than 2% next year. in this new report, the forecast is for growth of just 1%. and they are not expecting much growth at all over the next few months. the only good news is that for once, they have lowered their inflation forecast as well. inflation has climbed a relentlessly over the past two years to more than 5%. but now, the bank expected to drop like a stone to barely 2% next year. there's light at the end of the tunnel, even if the tunnel is a lot longer than the bank

originally thought. >> we thought next year we would start to recover slowly, slowly and gradually. but the extraordinary sui's- squeeze that we have seen in the past three years short now begin to come to an end. >> the bank will be printing more money to support the economy, maybe a lot more. even the bank's new forecast depends on the crisis in the eurozone being resolved. in the long run, the governor likes to say we are masters of our faith. the bank has a plan for recovery and eventually be -- and eventually get there. it has taken a lot longer than anyone had expected. >> this is newsday on the bbc. and i am in singapore. >> i am in london. president obama says america will step up its role in the

eighth -- its role and influence in the asia-pacific region. the arab league has given syria a three-day deadline to end the bloody repression of its people. let's get more on our top story now. the sanctions were imposed to put pressure on the regime. the british international secretary, andrew mitchell, is in burma to find out of the reforms have gone far enough. he sent this report from mandalay. >> welcome to the debut of -- >> this is the brand new tv show, an attempt to get citizens of the 10 member states to feel like they belong to one community. that is because by 2015, if wants to become a single economic bloc, much like the eurozone, possibly even with a single currency.

but it is a goal that the leaders are not necessarily keen on. >> i do not think it would work for me. we are not at the top of the pile or the bottom. are the countries benefiting from it? we will need to see this. >> i have friends who do not really know what the distinction is. aging is may be easier. -- asian is made easier. >> when it began in the 1960's it was a loose grouping of countries. it expanded to the current 10. it now includes burma, seen as one of the most reclusive and

autocratic states in the world. it has consistently been an embarrassment for the more democratic members. it has been hard for the chair because it was the international recognition that comes with it. critics have said it is not a functioning democracy, but the group said it has made strides in recent days. >> we have seen changes. we have seen some positive and concrete changes. some of them are very little, but there have definitely been signs of genuine and positive changes. we hope that will accelerate. >> burma is likely to take center stage in discussions among the leaders here in bali. it has been a quiet source of frustration for some of the more democratic countries. now, they believe that by giving this important position to

burma it may push the autocratic state further down the path of democracy. but critics say it is still too soon to decide whether or not reforms in burma are truly genuine. >> let's get more now on our top story. michael mccann is a senior lecturer of international relations -- michael mckinley is a senior lecturer of international relations. he will give us reaction of obama's speech before parliament in australia. what did you think of the speech? >> it was one of these styled speeches. everyone was very pleased to see him. there was an era of jocularity. very welcoming. you could not imagine these

people disagreeing with each other in a century. >> but australia, indeed, has to play a very tough balancing act. they are accepting this expansion of america's military presence in australia. but on the flip side, you have to appease china because they export a lot of your major resources to the mainland. >> that is true. in fact, it is even worse than you might suggest there. the balancing act also has to be done with india because the defense minister, stephen smith, had a comment on recently about the shift of many of australia's defense assets to the west and north of the country. it was not just about china. it was also about india. india has come out recently speaking critically of this. australia, you're absolutely right, has to balance its

economic interests with its strategic interests, and many people are beginning to wonder if the strategic interests are being pushed a bit too far. >> as you can see, mr. mckinley cannot -- mr. mckinley, china is the elephant in the room with mr. obama and mrs. beelard. -- gillard. >> that is right. china is mentioned in the same breath as with the enhanced military forces here. mightd inister gerar have just tipped the balance too far, and with no real gain either with the united states or its other allies. it has actually disadvantaged australian interest with regard to india and china.

>> michael mckinley, thank you for joining us and sharing your insights. in other news, eight men have been sentenced to death for their role in a so-called honor killing in india. 20 more have been sentenced to life in prison. a couple in this case below and the cousin who help them were set on fire -- the couple in this case who e. lopez and the cousin who helped them were set on fire in 1995. the $10 million flood relief package for the country of thailand. many have been killed and many more homeless. the government has insisted former president gloria orroyo will not be allowed to leave the country despite a ruling by the supreme court that she could

leave for medical support. she was stopped on tuesday as she tried to fly to singapore. she has been charged with vote rigging and corruption. burmese textile workers have appealed to britain to lift sanctions, which they say are hurting the country. >> yes, they are. those sanctions were to put pressure on the burmese regime. officials are in burma to determine if reforms have gone far enough. here is this report from mandalay. >> burma is one of the few countries in the world where this generation is less well- educated than the one before. casualties of a dictatorship. these are some of the lucky ones in a school run by months and funded by mostly british aid. the 6000 coming to the school in

ships, morning and afternoon. the world is full of chinese goods, as trade with the west has been banned. >> it is trade that will ultimately bring proud of poverty, but europe and the rest of the world will not let that happen until there is more reform. >> the textile industry employs half as many as it used to. there were shaken and as the military regime tightened. many former textile workers became prostitutes. >> most of them went into that kind of business. a very sad story. >> these are the burmese girls. >> they want to come back home.

and they cannot. >> the human cost from exclusion to world trade has been great. when kendeigh re-enter? >> -- when can they reenter? >> once the regime becomes more open and more democratic, which is on route to do, then the sanctions will be swept away. and the sort of distortion of trading robert kyrgyz in burma will disappear -- trading opportunities in burma will disappear. >> to do you feel about what happens soon? >> i do, but i cannot say how fast it is going. the questions get harder as the west tries to work out whether it looks like the reform is for real. >> now going to our space,

scientists say they found the best evidence yet of water up there. apparently, it is just between -- beneath the surface of jupiter's moon europa. daniel griffiths reports. >> what secrets lie beneath the icy surfaces of europa? scientist say they may have found the best evidence yet for water on jupiter's frozen noon. they suspect that a vast ocean lies beneath the thick crust of ice. in any liquid water could represent a potential habitat for life. the scientists gathered images from galileo in 1999. -- 1989. they also gathered similar images from earth, such as the ice shelves in greenland. warm water is suggested well beneath the eye seashell,

melting and fracturing the icy layers. much more work is needed to confirm their theories, but scientists are excited. >> a thick layer of ice contain a subsurface ocean, and then a deeper rocky mantle, and possibly iron core. we are excited about europa because it represents a place that is somehow alien and yet strangely familiar. it may have -- it may be a place where there is the existence of life in the solar system today. >> they hope to launch satellites later this decade, or early in the 2020's. only then will they know what lies beneath the icy surface of your about. >> you have been watching bbc from singapore. >> and from london. for the moment, that is it for us.

news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. ♪ >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go. ♪

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