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range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now bbc world news. >> welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> these are the headlines. >> european leaders had for crucial talks at marseille. syria's president denies ordering his troops to kill anti-government protesters appeared >> more protests and russia following sunday's election. and protests in tripoli again. it is 12:00 a.m. -- it is 12:00 p.m. in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in london.

>> eurozone leaders are heading to marseille on thursday for a crucial two-day summit in brussels. they are gathering for the annual conference of the epp. they want to love the smaller eurozone nations, like ireland who have already expressed doubt. >> they will be heard in the french port of marseille. the u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner is here at the end of a grand tour of europe. last night, he met with mary. -- with mariano majo.

they sent a letter to rompoy. it is a new treaty with penalties to break deficit targets, committing governments to balance budgets. it rejects the half measures of a treaty amendment. also included is a proposal for a financial transaction tax. the british prime tester has vowed he will block any changes that threaten -- the british prime minister has already vowed will block any changes that threaten the brits. the stakes could not be higher. the man who drew up the lisbon treaty, former french president, will have to

consider leaving the eurozone altogether. >> the best chance for the greek people of this great nation to get out of their situation. >> it is attempting to see this as a battle between the big european powers. but it is a negotiation among 27 nations. each country will fight its own corner and exact its own price. >> the syrian president has insisted he has not ordered the killing of any protesters during his government's brutal crackdown. the united nations estimates that more than four dozen people have lost their lives in the nine month pro-democracy uprising. president assad said that anybody who kills their own people would be crazy.

[chanting] >> a day after day, on our steering protesters come out to face machine guns -- unarmed syrian protesters, to face machine guns. the cost so far are 4000 dead. but in his interview, president denied attacking his own people. >> no government kills its own people. i became president with public support. it is impossible for anyone in this state to be ordered to kill. >> we saw a different picture in a week of traveling inside syria. in the city of hom, she catalogs her losses.

her son was shot dead at the protests, she explains. then her grandson was killed by a sniper while allocating bread. a few days after speaking to pause, she, too, was shot dead in the street. >> i do not own them. i do not own the country. >> but you have to give the order. >> no, no, no. >> not by your command? >> no. there is a difference between having policy to crack down and having violence committed by some officials. there is a big difference. >> that is just ludicrous says the u.s. state department. the demonstrators would no doubt agree. after 10 months of this, there is an absolute determination not to give up. people have suffered too much.

the men of this family are in hiding from the security forces. one was held for six weeks. he says he was beaten continually, stripped naked, threatened with castration, doused in boiling water. still, he would not confess. the officer said this dog is not afraid of dying, he recalls. so hang him by his hands. they did so for five days. a un report says torture is common in syria. >> send us the documents. we do not see the documents and the evidence. just because the united nations -- who said that the united nations is a credible institution? >> you do not think the united nations is credible? >> no. >> you have an ambassador.

>> yes. it is a game we play. [laughter] >> where is all of this going? some have responded to the government crackdown by taking up arms. the international community is deeply worried that syria is heading into a full-fledged civil war. the interview paints a picture of syria which is completely at odds to what is experienced by the demonstrators. they are still being shot down in the streets almost every single day. at the beginning, their demand was simply for reform. now, after months of unfulfilled promises, they want president assad to go. >> a crackdown on militias in libya. >> there is indeed. thousands of people have been protesting in the libyan capital tripoli against former rebels who helped liberate the city from colonel gaddafi.

this has alarmed the authorities to demand that they lay down their arms and return home. ♪ >> they turned out to protest against growing lawlessness in a country awash with weapons. three and a half months since colonel gaddafi, the militia fought their way into the capital. there is no proper police force here yet and no army to keep things secure. it is the militiamen who control the streets, sometimes selling their differences by force. bias thought gaddafi forces had re-entered tripoli the other night, she said. >> everything was ok. but now everything is messed up.

>> the government says it will integrate 50,000 former rebels into the new security forces and try to find jobs or further education for tens of thousands of others. that is the plan. but it will not be easy. >>i wanted to go back home, even the ones from to burly -- from aaa, the defense minister told us. -- from tripoli, the defense minister told us. this is not the first time medics have been threatened. now the sick and the injured will have to be transferred elsewhere. this is the emergency room in the country's main trauma hospital. the doctors will not return to work until they have government protection. they cannot operate in the current chaos.

the intensive care unit is full of patients injured not in the liberation of tripoli, but in the violence that has come in its wake. >> all of these cases are from gunshots. why? why is libya like this? >> reining in the gunman responsible is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the new libyan government. >> vladimir putin has formally applied for president of russia. however, demonstrations have been on a smaller scale in the past two nights. >> vladimir putin put pen to paper, making his intentions

clear. he wants his old job back. it is official. he will stand in the presidential elections in march. but allegations of corruption in the parliamentary elections have sparked anger among the voters. they're demanding an end to vladimir putin's political career. they're willing to risk jail to make their point. gorbachev says he agrees. he says that it does not reflect the will of the people. on sunday, putin's united russia apart and came out -- brushup party came out with the majority. -- russia party came out with the majority. >> we are here to recounting the vote could we do not recognize these authorities or the election results. i want these election results

canceled, says another protester. there was a great deal of falsification, he claims. i saw for myself and it was also witnessed by my friend. we cannot do anything to stop that happening. this man really gets to the authorities, urging people to stay put, telling them not to be afraid. minutes later, he was carted away by police. the police are out in force in moscow and in st. petersburg. the demonstrations may be smaller than the previous night, but it has been a long time since russia has seen protests like this and the authorities are taking no chances. make no mistake. vladimir putin has his supporters, too. they held their own rally in the capital. the prime minister has a reputation for taking a tough stance against those who oppose him. how he deals with these latest protests may well determine his political future. >> a court in thailand has

sentenced two u.s. citizens to prison for life for defaming the royal family. they've posted pictures on line while living in the united states. they raised questions about the efficacy of ty law outside of thailand. >> still to come -- ♪ 70 years on and the united states remembers the attack on pearl harbor that thrust them into world war ii. one of the most wanted mafia leaders and has been captured after spending more than a 15 years on the run. he was found hiding in a concrete bunker beneath a building in naples.

police say they only managed to get to them after cutting off his electricity and air and then used a drill to make a hole in the bunkers thick walls. the piece from the very start does contain some flash photography. >> moments after the arrest, police officers delighted by their success. they just captured one of the most wanted men in italy. he was detained after more than 15 years on the run. the security forces have thrown everything into this major operation. dozens of officers poured into these streets. they closed in on one count -- one particular home. beneath it, they found a deep, heavily reinforced bunkers and their long hunt was over. he has the catalezi clan.

they dominate the underworld in naples and the surrounding region. he was not only involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and the usual criminal activity. it had also ventured into politics in areas of the construction industry. he was always ready to do business. but nobody ever doubted his capacity for violence. three years ago, he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for murder. his arrest is seen as a major success for the italian state in its long battle with the ca mora. >> there is plenty more on that story and everything else we feature on the website. >> this is newsday on the bbc. >> these are the headlines.

eurozone leaders are heading for crucial talks in marseilles where they will consider proposals for new treaty to resolve the debt crisis. >> and syria's president said he feels no guilt about his crack down during a 10-month uprising, despite reports of brutality by security forces. >> in a few hours time, the environmental group overseeing the nikon river will decide whether a project in los will go ahead -- in laos will go ahead. it will provide one of the poorest countries with much- needed income. but they are worried about the environmental impact of the project. the campaign director for the u.s.-based rivers organization joins me now. welcome to the show what are

the environmental objections you have to this project? >> the macon river is the world's largest inland fishery. it provides income to millions of people. you put a dent in that river and you block the migration of fish. that could destroy the fishery. we estimate that the whole series of dams planned for the lower river could decimate the fishery and affect the livelihoods of literally millions of people. >> laos is a small impoverished nation. it stands to make billions of dollars from hydroelectric power if this project goes ahead. thailand has already seen dubai generate power. so why not make use of this resourced? >> the question is really why are the costs and what are the

benefits of a project this size and scope? economic analyses have shown that the actual detriments of the project for the net cost of the project could be anywhere up to $300 billion over the life of the project. this is because of the very valuable in come that is provided to millions of people through the fisheries. the income from fishing in the macon river provides about $2 million per year in income to people. if you add value to that with a fish processing and stuff, the value as anywhere to $10 billion per year. we are talking about an enormous natural resources that, if you threaten it, you can literally threaten the food security of millions of people. >> nonetheless, laos insists that the dam will not have a significant impact. they call it the first

environmentally-friendly hydroelectric project. is this not feasible? >> there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this project will not have a significant impact. specialists in the region are unanimous in saying that the project will definitely affect the fisheries and that it is being mitigated. the claims promoting the project have been discredited. they do not have the baseline information or data required to make an informed decision on the impact of the project. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> in the united states, rob blagojavich is sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption, including trying to sell president obama's old senate seat.

he missed used the powers of as office from the moment he became a governor in 2002 and engaged in extensive criminal conduct. heads of state and ministers have two more days to strike a deal. they have been warned that not taking the schuster's they could raise the temperature of the planet to degrees by 2100. thank you for joining us. you have written that these talks are a dead. why have you said that? -- are a dud. why had he said that? >> i am saying that we should not expect an in need a break threat to durban. -- an immediate agreement in

durban. " i am expecting some kind of mandate to take the talks forward rather than some major breakthrough and some major decisions. >> what about the very basics of this and the size of global warming? dual government at least accept that? >> they do accept and at least publicly say that they accepted the signs of climate change. but as far as their actions are concerned, that understanding is not reflected in their actions in the talks right now. >> let's go back to the kyoto protocol. some very significant nations, canada, japan, russia, to name just three, they have said they will not renew their kyoto vows. why is that particular point so important to developing nations

like india? >> under the climate talks, the only legally binding instrument that the world has for reducing emissions is the kyoto protocol. that protocol and actually does not end in 2012. what to developing countries are asking is that that legal instrument must continue. under the cancun agreement, what the world has is a review system, not a legal instrument. if we get rid of the only legal instrument that has a legally binding commitment for all, it will become difficult in the future. so the kyoto protocol continuation is important, also to keep the difference in the developing countries. that is why they are insisting that kyoto must continue. >> do you think this basically comes down to a lifestyle? it is about as king in individual not to drive their car, not to buy the latest

plasma tv. is it not all about that, about desire, about lifestyle? >> we are in the city of durban handi, where they embrace his philosophy. at the end of the day, it is all about consumption. at the end of the day, we have to reduce consumption and that will reduce climate change. >> thank you very much. >> commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of a surprise attack on the u.s. pacific fleet at pearl harbor are being held across the united states. the attack led to the united states's entry into the world war. here are some of the sights and sounds. ♪ [star spangled banner]

♪ >> uss nevada, uss tennessee, uss arizona. ♪

>> thank you for joining us on newsday. >> a reminder of our menus this hour. one of the most important european summits will be beginning in brussels today. they are eager to begin with treaty changes that will protect the euro from another crisis. the nation's one to introduce a financial transaction tax which the british prime mr. david cameron opposes. thank you very much for your company. take care.

> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., 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 >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los