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gosh a welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> here are the headlines. mass destruction in britain, hundreds of thousands of public- sector workers strike for 24 hours. conrad>> make sense of international -- murray is jailed for four years following his trial -- [no audio]

hello, it is said to be the uk's biggest strike in a generation, a 24-hour stoppage by public- sector employees over changes to their pensions. workers began to walk out at midnight and around 2 million people will take part in the industrial action causing disruption to public transport, and council services. the government wants workers to pay more in pension contributions and wait longer before they can retire. it will likely impact -- >> has been billed as the public -- and the biggest public strike of a generation. as a result, most schools will be closed. some hospital staff will be striking, meeting delays and operations, and even the

country's airports could be affected by the decision of staff to walk out. the government has spent the last few days contingency planning. >> we will do what we can to make sure that the airport remained open have of the border cues are not affected. and the reason for that destruction, the responsibility for the destruction lives squarely with the trade union leaders that have decided to strike while negotiations are ongoing. >> what is the government proposing? to balance the books, most public-sector workers must put aside 3% more for their pensions. the retirement age will rise to 66 by 2020. and pensions will be based on a career average, not a final salary. ministers say that is fair the public-sector workers should face reforms similar to those that many 5 -- private-sector

workers have already seen. union bosses insist they have public opinion on their side. >> what we will see on wednesday is very solidly supported action by people right across the public services. it will be about winning public support to explain why people feel the strong sense of grievance. >> it will hinder a great deal of public opinion. they suggest there is broad sympathy, but more destruction of such a big scale, that may change. >> they have set out plans to revive a faltering economy. britain faces slower growth, rising unemployment, and higher than expected levels of borrowing in the years to come. mr. osborn said that there was

the possibility that the economy is going back into recession because of the debt crisis. britain has warned iran of the storming of the u.k.'s embassy. hundreds of protesters broke into compounds. they were angered a vibrant and jose support a sanctions for the nuclear program. iranian authorities have apologized. >> of the embassy had been expecting this to happen ever since britain impose new sanctions last week. the iranian parliament voted to throw out the british ambassador. it was clearly pretty well organized and to the police seemed pretty half-hearted about stopping in. the british should go, like the americans did, she says. the demonstrators climbed over

the gates and attacked the building inside, crashing into and grabbing souvenirs. this one has a picture of the queen. after they left, a rambos the foreign ministry issued an apology, but the damage had been done. >> we told the iranian government responsible for failing to have adequate measures to protect the embassy. there will be further serious measures. >> each time that the british embassy has been attacked, it is always for the same reason. because of the serious infighting at the very top of politics in iran itself. there is a major split between the country's religious leader and the president.

contrary to what you might expect, the president is the one who is trying to stop things getting too bad with the outside world. president ahmadinejad is the moderate of the two. the extra arrests want to make relations with the west as difficult as possible. >> president obama says he is disturbed by the events of the british embassy because he wants to see iran take quick actions over the attack. >> i strongly urge the iranian government to hold of those responsible to task. they have a responsibility to detect -- and protect diplomatic outposts. it is a basic international obligation that countries need to observe. had rioters to overrun the

embassy and set on fire is an indication that the iranian government is not taking its international obligations seriously. >> the fate of conrad murray was decided. >> that's right. the doctor convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of michael jackson has been jailed for four years. a jury found him guilty after a six-week trial. the judge gave him the maximum jail sentence, saying he showed no remorse or regret. >> of the jackson family have followed every stage of the case from conviction to sentencing. >> the maximum is still not enough. >> the head of the judge's ruling, the jackson family asked the lawyer and friends to read out a statement on their behalf.

>> as michael's parents, we could never have imagined allele live to witness his passing. it is simply against the natural order of things. we are not here to seek revenge. there is nothing you can do today to bring michael back. >> and the prosecution summarized the conviction. that he provided a dangerous drug to a vulnerable man. he did not care for him properly and his actions led to his death. >> he has a right to address the court at the sentencing. >> he declined to speak in his own defense. the judge was scathing. dodge the court has determined that the appropriate term is the high term of four years' imprisonment, dr. murray abandoned his patient that was

trusting him. he repeatedly lied and engaged in deceitful misconduct. >> he will lead out of court to begin his four-year term. the lawyers say he will appeal, but whether the outcome, he is not expected to serve the full sentence. outside the court room, the jackson family welcomed the decision. >> four years will not bring my son back, but that is the law. >> there was one issue still unresolved, that of compensation. the prosecution asked for $100 million in lost and, when michael jackson did not attend the concert. and also the funeral expenses. the judge said that it would be dealt with at a later court hearing. >> hillary clinton begins the ground-breaking visit to burma later today, the first such trip by the american secretary

of state for 50 years. she will meet opposition figures. as burma on the path towards democracy and freedom? our southeast asian correspondent has been following the exiles now living in neighboring thailand. >> generations learning together. one fled into exile, the other born into exile. it belongs to the minority, she escaped across the border when she was a teenager. after she saw the army force her mother into a barrel full of water and rolling downhill. >> i lost my mother. there was nothing left for me there anymore. the army said that if we did not leave our home, they would burn it down and burn us, too. i don't think i could ever go back.

>> over the years, many ethnic minorities have taken up arms. these insurgents are still fighting today. they warn result in much conflicts must be a priority if reform in burma is to succeed. he once served as a soldier on the government side. he deserted in 2005 and asked that we obscure his identity. he is pessimistic about the prospects for peace in his homeland. the military, he tells me, won't give up easily. but things are changing inside burma. the picture on open display is testimony to that. she and her party have rejoined the political system. reforms are now under way.

watching the are landscape carefully. >> there will be step-by-step changes because, after all, the former military men are still in power. there are people that want to go back to the old system. but the interesting thing about this whole thing is the introduction of democracy. >> there were elections widely criticized as a sham. few would have predicted the pace of change since then. >> political exiles have sought refuge in thailand. it is understandable that they might feel great caution about the changes taking place across the border. after the years of struggle and sacrifice, it is hard for some to believe that burma might possibly be at the start of our road towards genuine freedom and democracy.

>> and an earthquake with a magnitude of six has had the philippines' main island according to the u.s. geological survey. he was of the western coast of the northern province, authorities said there were no reports of casualties and tsunami warnings issued. >> live from london and singapore, still to come on the program, we hear from the spy that never was, how this russian womanhood won her case to remain in the uk. the report by two court- appointed psychiatrists and norway has concluded that the gunmen responsible for the death of 77 people in july is mentally ill. the first plant in a car bomb that went on a shooting rampage at a nearby island.

>> the face that haunts the country. they have shown no remorse and there have been intense debate about whether or not he is criminally responsible for his actions. psychiatrists have interviewed him for 36 hours altogether. the 240 page report as a clear conclusion. >> of the conclusion is that he was insane. >> he set out his believes in his manifesto. he saw himself as the head of the norwegian resistance movements -- movement fighting but multiculturalism. he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. >> of the experts examined more closely what they term radios delusions' whereby he believes that he is chosen to determine who is to live and who is to

die, and that he is chosen to save what he calls his people. >> is hard to judge if today's report will make any difference. assuming the judge agrees with the experts, there is no prison sentence. he will be given compulsory mental health treatment for as long as he is deemed a threat to society. >> you can follow myself on twitter. the allied >> of the headlines for you this hour, hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers going on strike for 24 hours over changes to their pension.

>> conrad murray has been jailed for four years following his trial over the death of michael jackson. the world's biggest foreign but international aid is under way, speakers include hillary clinton. the u.s. secretary general will try to use the form to argue that the world needs a stronger aid programs with a better coordination and transparency. i am joined by the asia pacific director of the international federation of the red cross. as a relief organization, what response would you like to come out of this conference? >> thank you very much for having me here on bbc, humidity organization that has also privatized development, as we see the humanitarian and development working very closely, we see this conference

coming out with a commitment of conclusive development. the development is not only about the percentage of economic growth, but is about people. to commit to an clues of growth at the community level. >> one of the key issues of this conference is focusing on the transparency of aid and how is distributed properly to those that needed. the think that the people involved in this conference will be able to, with serious initiatives and measures to put in place to get be able to people that really needed? >> this is been the main focus of deliberations here, it is good to see that this particular conference has not bad in the

past. there is a huge participation, they are the one that leads to communities. they are vulnerable because the existing mechanics have not seen that means the real goal becomes extremely important. had what we believe is the type of the importance being placed. >> [talking over each other] you.rry, i didn't get >> if the red cross were being affected by a lack of transparency of 80? >> and the red cross, we are very transparent. we have very close systems on

communications to talk about what we do, and so i think that is very satisfying. >> we will have to leave it there. thank you so much for joining us. in eastern afghanistan, a data outpost has been attacked by insurgents. the incident has added to the attention following the killing of 24 soldiers last week in an air strike. our respondent since this report. >> in the skies above the afghanistan's must eastern edge, a delivery to a remote american base. the airdrop from buying -- or lands right on target, just 5 kilometers from the pakistan border. but as soldiers go out to

retrieve the supplies, and surgeons nearby are watching. suddenly, the base is under attack. you have just heard another explosion near the base. >> the strike landed just outside the perimeter walls. some of the shelling was coming from insurgents across the border. charlie company was quick to respond. the company's sergeant explained the origins of the attacks. >> it seems like they're coming from the east. >> they are. it is the way we expect them to fire because it is the quickest way out of the area.

>> with each shelling, the insurgents were getting closer to their target. as the shells continued to fall, fighters were called in. heavy artillery was fired, adding positions a few hundred meters inside pakistan and bringing the attack to an end. no one on the base was injured. like never before, but for the insurgents that move freely across a, it is hard to say it exists. >> and the bbc is deeply concerned that operators are blocking foreign news channels and pakistan, that they believe are critical of the country. we have been targeted for a cut documentary we broadcast called sacred pakistan.

they say that we condemn any action that threatens editorial independence and audiences for the impartial national news service. and you have an update for us of the u.s. presidential campaign? >> republican presidential hopeful herman cain is considering the future of his campaign after a woman claimed they had a 30-year extramarital affair. correspondents -- >> hi ginger white made the claims to a local television station in atlanta where she comes from. she alleges that over a time of 13 years, she had a relationship helen that he was married throughout that time, married for 43 years. they allege that over those 13 years, herman cain flew her into the cities that he was visiting and they met on regular occasions. herman cain has vigorously

denied that allegation, but what he has told the owners to his campaign is that he is reassessing his bid for the white house, looking at the effect of these multiple allegations that he devised that previously had been sexual harassment claims have had on his fund-raising, his standing in the polls, and on his family. >> the russian woman has won the right to stay in britain. they claimed the they had been passing secrets to moscow and having relationships with her employer. and immigration appeals commission rejected the claims and decided that she should not be deported. our security correspondent has the story. >> a russian spy at westminster? was she a honey traps set to

seduce and steal secrets? that is what mi-5 claimed. a judge threw out the claim and threw out an attempt to deport her to russia. >> it was a horrifying experience, and i could not do anything. lots of people believe the was a spy because the british government said so. >> she worked as a member of the defense select committee. suspicions were raised by her four-year affair with him as well as the nato official. >> russian spies used to be the bread and butter work of mi 5. the problem was, they have very little evidence. >> the scariest part, i have

seen that these people were unprofessional and paranoia. if you were russian in this country, you were a spy. they could not understand how the russian in london can speak the english language. >> they argue there were grounds for suspicion, but while she had her private life dragged into public view, today will be in a by-5 that was embarrassed. -- mi-5 that was embarrassed. >> you have been watching the news day on the bbc. >> a 24 hour strike by public- sector workers here in the u.k. over changes to their pensions is now under way. a route 2 million workers are taking part in the action stopping construction, public transport, schools, courts, and council services. he will be back next with the

headlines, stay with us. >> makes 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" was presented by kcet los angeles.