>> 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 financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news."

>> hello and welcome to "newsday". >> i am babita sharma in did. a lone gunman kills four and a crowded market in belgium. more than 100 are injured. the leaders of britain and the european commission accused each other. >> tantalizing hints in the hunt for the elusive higgs boson. investors paid millions for elizabeth taylor's jewels. >> it is 2:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting on pbs in america. welcome to "newsday."

a man who's has opened fire and throwing grenades at a market in the belgian city of liege, killing four people before turning the gun on himself. more than 120 people were injured. the attacker, a resident of this city, was known to hav previouse weapons and drug offenses. >> [screaming] >> they ran for their lives this afternoon. away from the bustling main square where the killings had started. a city center under siege it felt. faster, she shouted. run, as the most vulnerable rushed to safety. >> i saw just one man shooting people. and some explosion, two or

three. all of the people running from there to heare. >> seconds later, this was the scene -- the gunmen threw three hand grenades into the crowd, one at a bus stop. several people died. more than 100 were injured. some critically. >> i saw on the market all the people laying down bleeding between the grass. i stopped my car to see if i could help some people. >> by now laid the gunmen. he killed himself, police said. previous convictions for arms dealing and drug possession and for being released early from prison. this morning, he had been summoned by police for questioning. why? we do not know. he left his home carrying a backpack containing two guns and several grenades. then he headed for the city posed the main courthouse on the

central square and on to the bus stop. for several hours today, liege was the city of unimaginable confusion and fear. special forces sealed off the main square. office workers huddled inside. this evening, the belgian king and queen arrived in liege to see the misery for themselves. prosecutors say they do not yet know why this happened. whatever when here does know is that this was a day of panic, of death that few will forget. >> there has been another tragic shooting in italy. a man in florence killed two senegalese street vendors and wounded three others before turning the gun on himself. the gun man was described as being linked to a far right group. 200 senegalese street vendors

held a protest in the city center. the president of the european commission has attacked the british prime minister's use of the b-2 at last week's eu summit. madeid that david cameron an agreement impossible. gavin hewitt has details. >> at parliament, david cameron was the man you everybody seemed to want to talk about. his use of a veto to protect british interests has drawn comment from the french president and the germans chancellor. today, it was the turn of the president of the european commission to criticize the british for demanding safeguards. >> the united kingdom, in exchange for keeping its agreement, asked for a specific protocol on financial services which, as presented, was a risk to the integrity of internal market. this may compromise -- made

compromise impossible. >> downing street denied the prime minister had any intention to undermine the single market, but the prevailing view was that britain was now on its own. >> in politics, there is one golden role -- you only walk away if you are sure the others will come after you to when you back. when you are invited at the table, either it is as a guest or otherwise you are part of the menu. >> one french member of the european parliament demanded britain be punished for acting selfishly. >> i think the british rebate is up for question. psittacine that moneys should be spent on something other than compensating selfish nationalism. solidarity is not a one-way street. >> he was referring to the rebate negotiated by margaret thatcher and worth about 3 billion euros a year to britain.

some saw this leading to britain's exit from the eu. >> you decided to head off on the titanic toward economic disaster. britain is going to make a great escape. we're going to get out of this union. we will be the first european country to get our freedom back. >> if there is no question that david cameron's use of the veto has irritated many people in europe. but as time has worn on, other national politicians and parliaments have raised concerns about the deal to enforce budgetary discipline struck here last week. >> even though the focus has been on the prime minister and the use of the british bidault, there are increasing doubts as to whether last week's summit has eased the euro-zone crisis. >> now, one of science's most enduring mysteries could be unraveled. what more can you tell us? >> well, babita, scientists at

the cern laboratory believe they may be close to an answer. they think they have found evidence at last of the mysterious particle known as the higgs boson. it is thought to be the original building block of the universe. our science correspondent reports. >> in an underground laboratory near geneva the world's largest experiment is honing in on one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. firing particle through a circular tunnel, scientists are closer to understanding the basic building blocks of matter by causing collisions that reveal what is inside. and this afternoon, a long awaited announcement. >> we are here today to hear the latest results from the search for the higgs boson. >> some of the brightest minds gathered in one room comparing findings from two experiments that both point to the existence

of a fundamentally important particle hidden until now. >> we still need many more collisions next year in order to get a definite answer on the shakespeare questioned to be or not to be. we saw some tantalizing hints today. >> to explore how the universe works, scientists have delved deeper into atoms. first, there is the nucleus with electrons orbiting around it. that has been known about for a century. inside the nucleus, there are protons and neutrons. they are small, but the journey goes on because inside an them is another particle. what gives the particles mass? there is a theory that those particles travel through a force called the higgs field. you cannot see it but you can see how it gives particle substance -- the creation of matter.

the that is why this is so momentous. >> every particle in your body at every moment is interacting with this field. it is almost like a cosmic trickle that permeates the universe. that is what gives ultimately, it gives you and me structure. >> the key results really come from two different channels. one is the one which is boson. >> the results are being studied by physicist. here in london, the students watch the events unfold. >> i feel i have been waiting their entire lives. yeah, i feel like i am in a special moment. >> it is nice to be part of the group that had a big part in it. >> this machine is so vast they lent me a bike to get round. it has not given us a definitive answer. that may come next year. but detectives have revealed vital clues about how the universe got started. >> police and pakistan have

freed 70 boys and men from a religious school in karachi, where many were found in the basement chained. the youngest was 7 years old. two clerics were aware, but the head of the school managed to get away. >> descending into a torturous chamber, that is what local officials have called this basement. in chains, the men and boys who police ever kept like animals, shackled, starved and beaten. it was known locally as the jail madrasah. for those trapped there, that is what it was. it brought is here and they beat us, this boy said. if we ask for food or tea, they threatened to tie us up. to make a mistake, this man

said, they give you 50 lashes with a belt. the cleric in charge of all of this meeting get away. police are investigating if militants were linked to the address. so far there are no proof, but some students claim never getting lessons nin jihad. a taliban fighter came. he told us we would go to afghanistan to be suicide bombers. after there were free, the students were led away, still chained together because police could not find the keys. some were said to be drug addicts or petty criminals sent there by their families for rehabilitation. some parents even provided the chains. others were enrolled student religious education, but the young were not scared. police say 8-year-olds were

beaten and shackled. by day, parents gathered outside the police station, several angry the address had been closed. >> we are not here to take our children back. we cannot control them. they will start stealing and misbehaving again. >> their ordeal may be over, but the students will bear the scars. madrasahs are the only option for many of pakistan's poor. this one was unregistered and unregulated like thousands of >> you are watching "newsday" on bbc. still to come, taiwan and elects a new president a month from today. the result could have an impact on relations with mainland china. we have a special report. >> we look into how the car market has opened up for the first time in cuba since the

revolution. in the u.k., there has been a slight fall in the rate of inflation. the consumer prices index -- inflation in november was down to 4.8%. >> for hard pressed households in the "countdown" to christmas is the key question -- what is the cost of living? it was up 4.8% over the year. what is happening in this sheffield, a remake illustrates the problems caused by inflation. costs including energy and metals have gone up a lot. the company feels it cannot pass this on to companies so it wages.freeze staff workers have suffered. the cost of living has risen 5% annually. back at home, he and his wife had been finding it hard to make the sums add up for their family budget.

>> i do go to the supermarket. if something has jumped by 20 pence, i do not buy it. >> the annual rate of inflation has fallen, partly because bread prices were down 1% over the month, though other food prices were up. meat was 1.6% higher. petrol prices were lower. the there is no doubt shoppers will experience a continuing squeeze on their spending power speeding up to christmas. the latest drop in inflation is not much consolation. the trend is likely to continue. most economists expect inflation will fall rapidly throughout 2012. but people out christmas shopping probably will not be thinking about next year. from many is the price rises now that seem much too steep. >> more on that story by visiting the bbc news website. click on the business section.

>> this is "newsday" on the bbc. >> i am babita sharma in london. the headlines. a man has opened fire and threw grenades from a rooftop in the belgian city of liege, killing four people before killing himself. >> the fallout from the failure of last week's summit is continuing. the british prime minister and the president of the european commission arguing over who is to blame. papua new guinea's deposed prime minister has been reinstated by . iell had been refusing to step down despite a supreme court ruling said he had

taken power illegally. i am joined by an a reporter. how concerned are the people of papua new guinea regarding the ongoing political deadlock? >> i think they are less concerned about the political deadlock and more concerned about the return of the prime minister to power. many people were glad when his reign came to an end in august. they believe that peter o'neil has brought a fresh approach to politics and that the the the o government had done little to improve their lives in the nine years he was in power. people on the streets are more concerned about the return of the former prime minister then they are about the political dead lilock, but it would like o see peter o'neill, on top. >> what is next for peter o'neill? >> what's next?

he is currently in parliament house, still occupying the government's benches in the chamber. this morning, his government -- i use that term in inverted commas -- passed a motion requiring the governor general to come to parliament house to swear him in. that is unlikely to happen, given that the governor general's residents is surrounded by police loyal to the former prime minister. indeed, the former president was sworn in by the governor general this morning. >> so what has been, liam, the reaction from papua new guinea's neighbors such as australia and indonesia regarding this political situation? >> i can only speak on the australian reaction, but the australian foreign minister has said that australia is watching events and is concerned by what

is going. as of yet, they have not come out saying who they believe the legitimate prime minister is. at the moment, it is a wait-and- see position. >> liam fox, abc reporter in papua new guinea. taiwan's voters go to the polls a month from today to elect their president. the forthcoming election could have a significant impact on the island's future, especially its relations with china. china still seize the island as its province to be reunified, even though it has been ruled on its own since 1949. will relations with beijing take a turn for the better or worse? >> the president was swept to power in a victory in 2008. nearly four years later, he is facing a much tougher fight. his main rival -- the first

elected female leader. she has been gaining ground. opinion polls suggest the candidates are neck and neck. the president wants another term to cement achievements he has made so far. ties with china are the best they have been since the two sides stop fighting. a free trade deal worth billions of dollars was signed in 2010. there are direct flights between taiwan and mainland and thousands of chinese tourists are allowed to visit the island each day. some voters are concerned that the president is to focus on china and that his policies will pave the way for a unification of the mainland. but that is not their only worry. the global downturn has seen tie 1's export-driven economy suffer its worst recession in decades. she blames mr. ma for focusing

on big business. a concern shared by many voters. see thisizens ei election as one of the most important and the island's history. an opposition when could change the course of taiwan's future. voters face some tough questions. as they contemplate what direction they want taiwan to take. >> and babita, there is good news for aspiring used car dealers in cuba. >> car sales shot through the roof the since the rules were lifted a couple of months ago. only cars that were on cuban soil before the revolution could be freely bought or sold. >> 1940's and 1950's chevy's and

fords are a cuababan trademark. tourists love them. until recently, most cubans could only get their hands on a car if it was in the country before the revolution, if they bought it on the black market, and if the buyer and seller had government permission. the new rules mean that buyers and sellers can be up front about doing business. carsfore, i would buy and drive them, but there was no title. now the car is my property. >> there are still restrictions on in porter'mporter's cars. only cubans can buy those. >> in some way, it gives a little more legal security to the private dealings and frees up business is a little bit from the illegal trafficking. in some way, it helps every way

government.e >> although a car may have changed hands, the person who sold it often did not have the regional title or did not handed over to the person who bought the car. now cubans cannot buy or sell a car unless it comes with the original title. so those who bought a car on the black market are having to find a person who has the original title and pay them for the document before they can legally sell it. there is no doubt that the secondhand car trade is booming. for the last two months, 300 people a day have queued up to register vehicles. the official registration office says it has processed 3000 certificates for cars bought and sold. >> now, there has been some amazing scenes at christie's in new york. a collection of jewelry owned by elizabeth taylor has been going on to the hammer. prices being fetched are as

sparkling as the tools themselves -- the jewels themselves. laura, just talk us through what has been sold so far and for how much? >> it has been an evening of brisk bidding here in midtown manhattan. with many of the people -- peace is going for 10 times estimated. the perigrena, a pearl and ruby necklace, one coveted by spanish queens and bought by the richard burton. this necklace went for $11.8 million. that is world auction record. that was a whole set of emerald and diamond.

a gift from richard burton. purchased when they were in rome. a pendant brooch reached more than $6 million. there was a modest set of diamond rings, known as the pingpong diamonds because they were a gift from richard burton because she beta hiat him at pig pong. it sold for $100,000. it may be tough economic times outside, but here, rich people from continents around the world are bidding. >> i suppose everyone is thinking, what recession? that is incredible prices. this is the start of a four day event in new york. >> that's right.

clothes for sale as well. elizabeth taylor's collection. it is the jewels which are leading to the most attention, because it is the most opulent collection of private jewelry to be sold since wallace simpson. strangely, there is a piece that belonged to wallis simpson that did not become queen of england because edward abdicated. the last lot of the night -- the elizabeth taylor diamonds. >> the necklace going for a $11.8 million. you are watching "newsday." headlines are on the way next. the asia business report is coming up soon.

>> make sense of national 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.