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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello. on the bbc, i am in singapore. >> i am in london, and these are the headlines. in iraq, president obama welcomes the troops home. the u.s. government auctions offshore drilling rights in the gulf of mexico for the first time since last year's oil rig disaster. the euro falls sharply against the dollar over fears is already unraveling. simons for the victims of the deadly attack in liege, as more details emerge on the killer. >> it is 2:00 a.m. here in london, broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and elsewhere around the world. this is "bbc world news."

hello there. it is harder to end a war than to begin one. that is a message for future leaders delivered by one today. president obama marty and of the nine-year american commitment in iraq by welcoming home the troops. the commitment was bloody and controversial for the u.s. commander in chief, while he paid tribute to the professionalism and 33 of the soldiers in the field. our bbc reporter has this. >> the president of the united states. >> the president and the first lady came with lavish praise for the trips. he said they were incredible, their hearts touch. he said this was a war that ended not with a final battle but with a march towards home. >> it is time to say these two words, and i know your families agree. welcome home. [cheers and applause] welcome home. [cheers and applause]

welcome home. >> this was a speech. president obama had to praise the military but not the war that he once called "dumb," but he said iraq was now sovereign, stable, self-reliant. >> it is harder to start a war than to end a war. all of the dying, the bleeding, and a partner in. all of that has led to this moment of success. >> the speech is intended to draw a clear line underneath the wall that divided america and divided america from its allies. since president obama's election was in response to that conflict, he has been looking to rehabilitate america in the eyes of the world. >> a war based on the false premise that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction began with shock and awe and

what looked like an easy victory, but the occupation was ill thought out and descended into turmoil and violence. donald rumsfeld helped plan the invasion but acknowledged it has changed america. >> the fact that the war did not go well after saddam hussein got removed has, i think, made america, at least for the time being, more reluctant to consider military action. as long as no military action of significant is required, that is fine, but if our obligations and it triggered, -- get triggered, and there is a question of our reliability as an ally, that is not fine. >> for some, the price is more personal. nearly 4500 american troops have been killed in iraq, and more

than 100,000 iraqis have died in the war. it cost america one trillion dollars, and many ask, "for what?" one went into iraq looking to change the world, and left believing that war is never the answer. >> an attack in 2004. i lost my most recent friend to suicide in september this year. the scars and the horrors will be with us and for the iraqis who endured for a very long time to come. >> it means the president can go into an election without put jon are caveats. the war he promised to end is over. bbc news, north carolina. >> now, to the gulf of mexico. for the first time since last year's deepwater horizon disaster, america has been auctioning off deep drilling rights there. it has not actually deter bidders, nearly $340 million

being bid by 21 companies. our reporter is in los angeles, and he says there is still some concern about safety measures covering offshore drilling. >> well, i mean, the criticisms about the systems in place before the blast has been going on for the last 1.5 years, and this is the first time they have been auctioning off the new blocks that will be made available for companies, and the 20 companies, and they are all of the big names, including b.p., who still has a number of legal cases pending over the deepwater horizon spill, which cost lives and resulted in 5 million barrels of oil being locked into the gulf -- leaked into the gulf. the regulations that were in place in time that were not properly enforced are now being enforced. the companies themselves are being very cautious and regulating themselves. let's face it, a smaller company than b.p. would have been bankrupt by the payments that

have to make as a result of that leak, and, in fact, the way that things have been, the essence of it all is that this is some of the most profitable oil in the world, and companies want it and are prepared to pay for it. >> perhaps as has been suggested in a report, there needs to be tighter regulation still, because a report has come out just as these bids were being offered up. >> that is right, yes, from a group of engineers who have been looking at this, saying that these regulations were not in place, that more regulations should be brought in. these are issues that are still being discussed. of course, the way the oil regulations have been managed have been changed under president obama, and they do not want to see this oil being brought out, but the fact is, the companies are prepared to take the risk. they have seen what happened with bp, and they know what consequences for them would be if there was a severe similar

leak again, and they know there will be extra costs and extra time involving having regulations in place that are going to prevent it from happening again, which is what everyone is saying, that is the only way forward for the gulf of mexico, but oil is there, and as i say, it is among the most profitable of and the world, and the pressure is on for them to get it and hold onto it -- the most profitable in the world. they want to continue to do that. that is why these high amounts are being offered for these areas in the west of the gulf of mexico. off of the coast of mexico. >> the bbc in los angeles. the euro summit continues, and you have got some details on that. >> yes, indeed. the euro falling to its lowest level against the u.s. dollar in almost one year, and analysts are basically pointing a finger at the growing uncertainty over how much effect the summit will

have on the euro zone crisis. the german chancellor, angela merkel, was talking about the process taking years. our bbc reporter from berlin. >> chancellor merkel made it clear that the road she is pointing down is long and hard, but it leads to a european union with much more central control of the spending and taxing, of the countries that used to get involved by signing the treaty. >> the past -- the path towards fiscal union and a stable union is, of course, is a long way from being finalized, but it was initiated, and i think irrevocably. >> countries like britain, which do not commit to tighter rules on spending, which remain in the overall european union, she said. >> i am saying this quite clearly here. i regret that great britain is not being able to join us on this journey, and i regret it that 20 years ago, great britain

decided against the euro. it is without any doubt that great britain will remain a very secure partner in the european union. >> the unmistakable signal now is of a core of european countries heading towards a closer union of economic policy. how that works out politically, which the democratically elected parliaments in the member states and an appointed a bureaucracy at the center, is not yet determined. but the intended direction is clear. >> i think there is one difference. the germans have been on a much more sort of political vision for the european union. this is of course eroding now, but that has been a strong tendency in this country, and was a saying that the weakest element of the change should not determine the path of integration. >> away from the political arena, speaking loudly. the cost of borrowing money for

the italian government rose, stock prices fell, the exchange rate of the euro with other currencies fell, all signs of skepticism that the immediate crisis is no nearer being solved. what chancellor merkel made clear in her speech is that she is going to push the european union towards much closer integration of policy, and countries which do not come on that journey will be left behind. what was not obvious in the streets were any measures to alleviate the immediate crisis in the euro zone. steven evans, bbc news, berlin. >> in belgium, silence was held in the city of liege to remember the victims of the attack, where many were injured and four killed, including a baby boy. new information is emerging about the gunman. our your correspondent, matthew price, reports. >> -- our europe correspondent.

>> they came to pray and to mourn, to contemplate about so much misery, to try to comprehend the incomprehensible. it was here that a 33-year-old gunman shed so much blood. hear that one of his bullets hit a schoolboy, whose friend pierre was killed. >> everybody ran, ran, ran. everybody was panicking. i fell. i had been hit. but i managed to get up. >> these were the scenes moments after one of the grenades had exploded. at least one teenager died on the spot. more than 120 people were injured. this is the vantage point that just 24 hours ago the gunman chose for himself. he would have known that he had the potential to kill and injure

vast numbers of people. he threw three grenades toward the bus shelters and then started firing upon the crowds below. and then, just up there, the police say he shot himself. and this is the killer of liege. he was a gun fanatic now turned mass murderer. his killing spree started earlier than first thought. it was in his garage that the body of a cleaner was found. police said that he had shot her. up the road, his home, with a string of weapons, drugs, and sex offenses. the police knew him well. so, too, now to the peoples at the school of two of his victims. they paused to remember him today and to reflect. the bullet scars now are a source of fascination and horror. the class will be repaired. the buses are moving again. of life goes on -- and life goes

on. but the victims are remembering. not 17-month-old gabriel. his mother saw his eyes roll back in his head after she heard a bang. "i wish i would have died instead of him." bbc news. >> still to come on the program, church and state. a debate causing divisions in the philippines. and the power of protest. "time" magazine makes an interesting choice for its person of the year. unemployment in britain has risen to its highest level since 1994, now standing at 2.6 4 million, and our job losses in the public sector. young people are particularly badly affected.

a report. >> it was a promising start to the year for the jobs market, but then it went into reverse. high-profile cutbacks, like those at the firm bombardier, symbolized uncertainty. so, too, at ae systems, yet to show up in the official figure is. one of the debates has been over the ability of the private sector to take up the slack if the government cuts back to employment levels because of its deficit-reduction plans. the latest figures suggest that private employers are not creating enough jobs to compensate for losses across the public sector. there was a big gap over the three months to december. public-sector employment fell to the lowest level in eight years. the number of private-sector employees increased by just 5000 over that time. >> ed miliband. >> and that provoked people in

the house of commons during "prime minister's questions." >> the private sector would fill the gap. it has not been met. he is not on his promise. >> id is this government that has got interest rates down to 2%. that is what we have the prospects of growth, whereas his plan is for more spending, more borrowing, more debt, more of the mess we started with. >> with the specter of on entwinement rising close to the levels seen in the 1980's, analysts predicting increases next year. they are cutting jobs every month, and they can only hope it balances out positively. right now, it is not. bbc news. >> this is news on the bbc. >> these are the headlines. president in comet -- president

obama has been welcoming back the troops. the u.s. government has held the first auction for the offshore oil rights since the bp oil disaster last year. tens of millions of people in the philippines live in poverty. the country also has one of the highest birth rates in asia. the government now wants to encourage its citizens to have fewer children and putting forth a bill in parliament to provide free contraception. the church is not happy with the bill. a report from manila. >> little daniel o'dowd -- danielle waits for lunch. it is a real struggle. >> often, we have nothing to eat, and when our kids are sick, we have to pawn whenever we have. >> like most filipinos, a

committed catholic. but recently, she started to think the unthinkable. >> the priest say contraception is against god's will, but now i think we really need family planning. >> birth control is an expensive. a pack of condoms costs as much as some families earn in one week. so the government has put forth a bill to provide it for free. though the bill is facing powerful opposition from the church. >> it is not the business of the -- the government to be promoting contraceptive devices. the government will pass a law which will fund the promotion among the muslims.

>> proponents of the bill say you just need to come to places like this to see what it is so urgently needed. there are often three mothers for every bed here. population growth in the philippines is one of the highest in southeast asia. it is a situation the president said is unsustainable, which is what he is backing the bill. >> this is an attempt to redress the situation. -- to address the situation. to simply ignore the problem, that, i think, is not some and i subscribe to, and that would be against the teachings of the church that i belong to. >> neither side in the debate seems prepared to compromise. with the catholics, and they believe they sometimes need to

reconcile their faith, for the country's poor. bbc news, manila. >> and other news, fishing boats from the u.s. ordered to leave waters after the european parliament decided not to review a joint agreement. they rejected a deal worth 36 million euro per year because of costs and concerns about local fish stock and the rights of the people of the western sahara, which morocco has occupied since 1975. more than 50 people have died in the indian state of west bengal after drinking contaminated illegally distilled alcohol. within 100 others are being treated in a hospital in calcutta, -- more than 100 others are being treated. four people have been arrested. hundreds of human skeletons taken a century ago from machu

picchu have been returned to peru. the university in the u.s. sent the pieces to a city after a long campaign by baroque to recover them. they were taken from machu picchu by an explorer. they had been on loan to yale university. and a celebrated award to recognize personal achievements with a novel winner. >> it certainly has. 2011 will almost certainly be remembered as the year of the protests, from the revolution's still going through the arab world to the people all around the world. people taking to the streets, all to voice their grievances and to mark with significance what "time" magazine has chosen the protester as the person of the year. >> demonstrations were sparked by the death of a man who set himself on fire over protests

with the authorities. there are violent clashes that followed that have claimed dozens of lives. eventually, the president was forced out of office. success in tunisia inspired uprisings in tunisia, egypt, yemen, and others. these are some of the people who fought for freedom. now, "time" magazine is honoring the protester as its person of the year. in the u.s., the occupy wall street protests started small, but as word went around the world, the protest group. the message was simple, making the financial sector responsible for their mistakes and quashing corporate greed. they blocked cities, ports, and streets, bringing them to a

standstill. >> real change is beyond any one person, but it is about a movement and a wave of change, so the fact that a whole concept, an idea, a gathering of occupy that is being named as the thing, the person of the year is incredibly exciting about what it means for social change. >> changes everything. those who do not want freedom -- do not have freedom want change. others want change. this year, the protesters took to the streets to get their message across. >> predominantly, young people are saying they are not going to take, in some cases, what our parents taught. they are not going to take the status quo. yes, it drove the protests in many places, but it was much deeper than that. young people were taking charge of their future in a way that we have not seen in a very long time. >> tens of thousands of

protesters around the globe put their lives in danger for the sake of a better future. 2011 was their year. bbc news. >> queen elisabeth and the duke of edinburgh will be traveling widely around the united kingdom next year to mark 60 years since the queen came to the throne. the royal family will tour the world. our world correspondent reports. >> the golden jubilee of 2002 brought out the crowds and took the queen and her husband to different parts of the united kingdom. yet, the program for the diamond jubilee is said by buckingham palace to be even more extensive. the queen will concentrate on the united kingdom. across four months, starting at the end of march, she and her husband will spend 20 days visiting different parts of the country. as with their visits to australia last october, it will

be a test of stamina for a couple that will be 86 and 91 years old. >> she has been doing it for 60 years, and that is what keeps her going. also, her devotion to duty, what she gave her life for, and she really has given her a lot for it. >> it will be led by duchess of cornwall and the duke of wales. they are going to new zealand and papua new guinea. but most will focus undoubtably on prince william and the duchess of cambridge. they are going to malaysia and singapore and then to the south pacific, the solomon islands, and one area that last had a visit when the queen and the duke of edinburgh went there 30 years ago. they were carried ashore by islanders sitting in canoes. the queens seemed to warm to it, and falling behind in his canoe was his duty, in his admirals uniform.

william and kate can expect something similar. prince harry will be expecting something similar, too, going to the bahamas and elsewhere, his first official visit representing the queen. it will have been 115 years since britain has witnessed a diamond jubilee, and that is in 1987 for queen victoria. more than one century later, britain will have the opportunity to express its feelings for another long lived queen. the program for next year will be carefully paced, but the palace says it is the express wish of the queen to visit as much of the country as she can. bbc news, at buckingham palace. >> you have been watching this from the bbc. i am in singapore. >> and i am in london. a quick reminder of our main news. u.s. president barack obama has welcomed home some of the last troops from iraq, after a nine- year war waged in the country. that is it for us from london and singapore.

thank you. bye-bye. >> make 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 strength to work for a wide range of financial

companies. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.