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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello, and welcome. 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 tell syria to end the bloody repression of its people or face sanctions. hundreds of protesters stormed kuwait parliament to demand the prime minister's resignation. solving the mystery of jupiter's moons. it is 12 noon here in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. here in london.

>> we are here to stay. that was the key message president obama stressed as he stood before the italian parliament. he confirmed that more than 2000 marines are being deployed in northern australia to bolster america's presence in the region. mr. obama is in australia for his first official visit to the country. >> president obama open his day with a visit to the tomb of australia's fallen more heroes. that ought with america and every major conflict of the past century. it was to the unfolding century, the asian century that president obama then turned his attention. in a speech to the austrian parliament. the president said the asia- pacific region is now his top

priority foreign policy. america, he said, is here to stay. >> when most of the world's nuclear power and half of humanity, asia will largely defined whether the century ahead will be marked by conflict or cooperation. needless suffering, or human progress. >> throughout the speech, there are references to china, a mixture of encouragement core economic growth and trade that everyone could share in. also a message of caution to beijing about the need for responsibility and restraint. >> as a pacific nation, the united states will play a larger and longer-term role in shaping this region and its future. by upholding core principles and in close partnership with our allies and friends. >> the president said the united states will increase its military presence in australia, just as disco tune with many other allies in the region.

to secure a peaceful asia, where human rights and democracy are respected, the president said was his aim. the policy shift toward focusing on the asia-pacific region has been taking place over the last year. as america withdraws from afghanistan and iraq, just this week the chinese said they had concerns about the increased military presence in the region and said krefeld in circled. these are the words and deeds of two very powerful nations. each has much to lose, and each will go far to pursue their interests. docca and kennedy, bbc news, in sydney. >> stop the bloody repression of your people or face sanctions. the arab league council delivered the ultimatum and gave the syrian government three days to end the violence. earlier, a group of syrian protesters reportedly attacked the suburbs of damascus. a warning, this report contains

some strong images. >> this is an anti-regime demonstrations in the area where the attack happened on the edge of damascus. since most foreign journalists are barred from syria, we are relying on pictures and information emerging via the web. the regime has a strong presence in the area. the fact that such a prominent target was attacked was another sign that the opposition is becoming more militarized and more daring. it is claiming at least 15,000 defect doors have joined the uprising reject 15,000 defectors have joined the uprising. he says we will continue with the struggle and we will win, or we will die. in this video, another man talks about a tax in damascus. he warns the regime not to harm

unarm, peaceful protesters. he says they will keep on fighting until their enemies laydown their arms or join the revolution. ever since the uprising started back in march, the president has said armed extremist or trying to destroy syria. but the evidence was that the vast majority of the protests were peaceful, and the asset regimes -- the assad regime sources have been killing unarmed people. there are still peaceful protests, but now there are also predictions of civil war in syria. we have been talking to the head of the so-called free syria army, made up of defectors from the regime's armed forces. >> the only tyrants -- language of the tyrants is the language of violence. >> in morocco, the arab league

has confirmed that syria is being suspended and has given damascus three days to allow in an observer mission. the arab spring is now mixed up with the region's existing conflict. saudi arabia believes that targeting assad also targets iran. iran is syria's ally and also the saudi's arch enemy in the gulf. pack in syria, state tv has been showing more pro-assad demonstrations. syria calls itself the beating heart of heroism, but it could face arab economic sanctions. and a graphic video has emerged of the head of one municipality being tortured by redeem soldiers. we are going to show everyone what is happening, one soldier tells him. >> for god's sake, i have done nothing, he pleads. someone says, go easy on him, but he is kicked unconscious.

activists say they don't know what has happened to him since then. >> dozens of protesters have broken into the main chamber of the kuwait parliament to demand the presentation of the prime minister. the reportedly sang the national anthem. outside, police prevented hundreds of protesters from marching on the prime minister's residence. there are demands the answer allegations that officials illegally transferred money to foreign accounts. mohammad was one of the protesters outside the parliament building. he told us why he was demonstrating. >> this is the seventh government by the same prime minister. the corruption rate is on the rise in kuwait. things are going from worse to worse by time.

the loopholes being used by the government to avoid the ousting of the prime minister and the parliament. >> if the prime minister steps down, if he is dismissed, surely the emir and the prime minister, surely the new prime minister will just be another member of the royal family, so what will change? >> it would be the first time that the prime minister is ousted based on popular demand. that in itself is a big change since the constitution in 1962. they are demanding a true constitutional monarchies. that are actually demanding the direct election of the prime minister by the people. >> an extraordinary tale from washington.

1600 pennsylvania out the new, a man wanted in connection with the shooting near the white house has been arrested. he has been on the run for five days. on tuesday, secret service agents found two bullets on the white house grounds. apparently the bullets had hit the presidential residence. >> it is perhaps the most closely guarded home in the world, but we now know the white house was hit by two bullets. hear, secret service agents inspect about any of the president's living quarters where one of the round broke an exterior window but was then stopped by a second layer of bulletproof glass. this is a suspect, now being questioned by the fbi. 21-year-old oscar ortega hernandez. he was originally recognized by staff at a pennsylvania motel. >> a person contacted the state

police and reported that mr. hernandez ortega -- ortega hernandez was in their lobby. state police personnel responded to the hampton inn and took mr. hernandez into custody without incident. >> the manhunt began after shots were closed the white house last friday night. nearby, the police recovered an assault rifle, empty shell casings, and an abandoned car, which was then lent to the suspect. president obama was not at home at the time. that day he had traveled to the west coast where it at -- where he attended a basketball game on board an aircraft carrier. the president himself was never in danger, but it brings up an uncomfortable question for the secret service. the bullet that hit -- the bullets that hit the white house -- if the bullets were fired on friday night, why did it take until tuesday to find

them? the president of fifa says as far as he is concerned, the game does not involve racism. he made the comment on the same bed english football association charged liverpool with racist remarks and the investigation is continuing. >> it just gets worse and worse. already mired in a corruption crisis, today the fifa president created a new storm with his views on racism. >> you may say something to somebody who is not exactly looking like you, but at the end of the match it is forgotten. there are movements -- but on

the field of play, i deny that there is racism. they have to make this investigation and then they will come to a solution. they will bring that to people together and say shake hands. >> shortly after the interview, he is cute -- he issued a clarification, saying he had been misunderstood and is committed to the fight against racism in the league. he has never been more vulnerable. he talked about a sensitive time for english football. officials here at the football association are having to deal with two high-profile races some cases. lewis suarez was charged with racially abusing the manchester defender. the english captain is waiting for the outcome of separate investigations into claims he racially of used ferdinand.

his brother took to twitter and wrote, "comments on racism or so condescending is almost laughable. >> obviously people are outraged. what has been happening in terms of racism around the world and closer to home has been to ignore it, to sweep it under the carpet. hopefully this will make us realize we have a huge problem. >> the problems keep mounting. with fifa in desperate need of reform, today's controversy will pose the question of whether he is the right man to clean up football. >> live from singapore and

london, still to come on the program, inside burma. an exclusive report on a generation scarred by sanctions and years of military rule. the u.s. city of harrisburg faces bankruptcy. the mayor reveal the rather unusual plan to raise a fistful of dollars. italy's new government has been announced. bankers, company executives, and not a single elected politician among them. the new prime minister, mario monti, has been sworn in. he is also the country's new finance minister. this report contains some flash photography. >> is this elyse savior? a nation in crisis turns to mario monti, his new government of experts must now try to stave off a looming financial disaster. italy is being crushed by its

debt, forced to pay unbearable interest rates when it borrows money. the fear of the international markets teixeira to democracy aside, each of the technocrat ministers is unelected. they will try to impose austerity measures and demands sacrifices. italians will feel the pain. that will draw the mild-mannered mr. monti deep into italy's political r. renna, which is new to him. he does have friends there, but how will he cope with the ambushes and the infighting? >> he needs a solid parliament. every piece of legislation in the parliament, maybe this is the part that is less knowledgeable. >> mario monti faces a huge challenge from the international money markets and the hard world of italian politics. do people here in it -- to

people here in the streets of rome, all that matters is that somehow he finds a way to make their lives easier. but as italy looks on, you get a sense that is ready to give mario monti a chance and just maybe his team of experts will find a way to make a difference. >> obama says america will step up its role and influence in the pacific region. the arab league has given syria a three day deadline to end the bloody repression of its people. burmese textile workers have appealed to britain to lift sanctions which they say are hurting the country. the sanctions were imposed to put pressure on the regime. the british international

development secretary, andrew mitchell, is in burma to determine whether reforms have gone far enough. our correspondent is traveling with him and sends this report from mandalay. >> burma is one of the very few countries in the world where this generation is less well educated than the one before it. casualty's of military dictatorship. these are some of the lucky ones, at a school run by monks and funded by it british aid money. 6000 children packed into this school, coming in ships, morning and afternoon. the world around them as full of chinese goods, as trade with the west has been banned. >> it is trade, not aid, that will ultimately bring burma out of poverty, but europe and america will not let that happen until there is more political reform. the textile industry employees have as many people as it used to. they were shaken out in the last

decade as western sanctions tightened. many a former textile workers became prostitutes. >> the entertainment business is booming, nightclubs and restaurants. this is a very sad story. >> these are burmese girls. >> they want to come back home. >> the human cost of burma's exclusion from world trade has been great. when can the sanctions be lifted? this is a rich country which has been brought low by the appalling fiscal regime which has characterized the last 20 or so years. once the regime becomes more

open and more democratic, which is en route to do, then the sanctions will be swept away and the trading opportunities of burma -- there is clear evidence of movement here, but it is not yet here -- not clear how fast or how far it is going. the questions get harder as the west tries to work out whether what looks like reform is for real. >> leaders of the association of southeast asian nations have begun their 19th summit on the indonesian island of bally and will discuss whether burma can share the next meeting in 2018, a move to boycott western union's. they will discuss regional economic issues.

gloria arroyo was stopped at the manila airport on tuesday as she tried to fly to singapore. the government is preparing to charge her with the greedy and corruption. she has denied any wrongdoing. >> is there live on jupiter? we may be slightly closer to finding out. scientists studying the solar systems that have found the best evidence yet of water out in space. apparently the liquid water could represent a potential habitat for living organisms, as daniel r. evans report. >> what secrets lie beneath the icy services of europa? scientists at them have found the best evidence yet for water on jupiter's frozen moon. they suspect a vast ocean lies

beneath a thick crust of ice. any liquid water could represent a potential habitat for life. the scientists analyzed images collected by the galileo spacecraft launched in 1989. have based their findings on observations of similar i see terrains on earth. such as the ice shelf in greenland. analysis of the surface of europa suggests melting and fracturing of the outer layers of ice. much more work is needed to confirm their theory, but scientists are excited. >> europa is followed by a thick layer of ice indicating a subsurface ocean and a deeper, rocky mantle and possibly iron floor. it represents a place that is somehow alien and yet strangely familiar, and may be a place where there is existence of life in the solar system today.

>> the u.s. and europe are working on more missions to europa and jupiter's other moons. only then might we really know what lies beneath those i see flakes. but desperate times call for desperate measures. that is a phrase that has sadly become all too familiar during these troubled economic times. in harrisburg, pa., they are trying to make ends meet any way they can. treasures meant for the museum are now heading to auction instead. >> who would think there is anything wrong? it hardly looks like a crisis, but the pennsylvania state crisis is in dire straits. in a warehouse on the edge of town, 8000 wild west artifacts are gathering dust. jesse james, doc holliday, the battle of little bighorn,

guidance from the country's turbulent history, collected at considerable public expense for a museum that will never be. >> who would want to be without such things? it is all up for sale, worth it is hoped a fistful of dollars in a city that is short of cash. >> we just ran into an economic situation that is not conducive to that kind of development. >> that is putting it mildly. right next door is the source of harrisburg's woes, an incinerator burning a hole in the city's finances can expect this is the reason harrisburg had to file for bankruptcy. the debt payment on this incinerator behind us, last year alone, was $65 million. they cannot earn enough trash to even make those debt payments. >> the retrofit of the

incinerator was a disaster, saddling the city with more than $300 million of debt. it happened on the watch of the previous mayor, steven reed, a man with a fondness for big projects, like this civil war museum. >> we had one mayor for 28 years. he could do anything he wanted, and he happened to be someone who believed in borrowing money. we have three times the per capita debt than any other city in pennsylvania. >> the result, an acrimonious route over whether bankrupt -- whether harrisburg should declare bankruptcy or be taken over by the state. this was a city with lofty ambitions. it thought nothing of running up huge debts to finance them. even without the economic downturn, cold hard reality was always going to bring harrisburg to its knees.

as it tries to deal with the wreckage, the state capital finds itself in a humiliating buying. a small occupy harrisburg campus, members drawing inevitable comparison with the national field. >> i believe harrisburg is a microcosm of what is going on nationally. as the city falls apart, so is the country falling apart. >> it is now up to a federal judge to decide how to end this protracted crisis. the case will be heard next week. >> it has been revealed that a man set himself on fire in it beijings busy tiananmen square next month. the 42-year-old man has been named only as wang. he set himself on fire following a legal dispute. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc.

>> 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.

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