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>> and now bbc world news. >> hello and welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> these are the headlines. as america's war in iraq draws to a close, president obama welcome the troops home. the u.s. government auctions of offshore drilling rights in the gulf of mexico for the first time since last year's oil spill disaster. a moment of silence is held for the victims in the age. >> this is newsday. >> welcome once again.

it is harder to end a war than to begin one. that is the message from president obama who has marked the end of america's nine-year commitment to iraq by welcoming back the troops. the conflict has been delayed and controversial and the u.s. commander and chief paid tribute. >> the president of the united states. >> the president and the first lady came with lavish praise for the troops. he said they were incredible, their hearts torched by far can he says that this is a war that not ended with a final bell, but with the march toward home. >> i am proud to finally say these two words -- and i know your families agree -- welcome home. [applause] welcome home! [applause] welcome home!

>> this was a pretty speech. he had to praise the military, but not a war that he once called.com. -- called dumb. >> it is harder to end a war then begin one. indeed, everything that american troops have done in iraq, all of the fighting, all of the dying, all of the bleeding and the building and the training and the partnering, all of it has led to this moment of success. >> this speech is intended to draw a clear line underneath a war that divided america from its allies. president obama selection is a reaction to that conflict. -- president obama's election is a reaction to that conflict. they were based on a false premise that some hussein had weapons of mass destruction

started with what appeared to be an easy victory. but it turned into turmoil and violence. donald rumsfeld plan the invasion, but admits that it changed america. >> the fact that the war did not go well after somsaddam was remd has made americans for the time being more reluctant to consider military action. as long as no military action of any significance is required, that is fine. but if our obligations get triggered and there is a question of our reliability as an ally, that is not find. >> for some, the price is much more personal. nearly 4500 american troops have been killed in iraq more than 100,000 iraqis died in the war.

and the operation has cost the united states $1 trillion. many americans ask for what? he went to iraq wanted to change the world and left believing that war is never the answer. >> i lost my most recent front to suicide in september of this year. this war and the horrors and the scars will be with us, the soldiers who served and the iraqis who endured, for a very long time to come here >> -- for a long time to come. >> the war he promised to end is over. >> now to the gulf of mexico where, for the first time since last year's deep water horizon disaster, the u.s. government has been auctioning offshore drilling rights. it has not deterred bidders with idded. $340 million be

there is still some concern about safety measures covering the gulf drilling. >> this is the first time there has been an auction of the new blocks that will be made available for companies. the 20 companies are all the big names, including bp. they still have a number of legal cases pending over the deepwater verizon spill, which cost 11 lives and resulted in 5 million barrels of oil spilling into the gulf. the regulations that were in place at the time that were not properly enforced are now being enforced. the companies themselves are being very cautious and are regulating themselves. a smaller company than bp would have been bankrupt by the

payments that they have to make as a result of that leak. the way that things have been -- this is the most expensive oil and the world and companies wanted. >> some say that they need tighter regulations still prepared report has come out as the bids were offered out. >> yes, from engineers. they say that these regulations are in place and more regulations should be put in. the way that the oil regulations are being managed has been changed by president obama. certainly, there are suggestions that they want to see the soil brought out. but the companies who are prepared to take the resisk, thy

know what the consequences would be to them if there were another leak. they know there would be extra cost an extra time involving having regulations in place that will prevent it from happening again. that is what authorities are saying is the only way forward for the gulf of mexico. but the oil is there. it is some of the most profitable in the world. they want to ensure that they can get it and hold onto it. bp is still the biggest producer in the gulf and 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 m texas. >> the second-largest american oil co., chevron, and transition, they could be fined $10 billion for a spell of of the coast of brazil. -- for a spill off of the coast

of brazil. the company has party taken responsibility for leaking two billion barrels of oil into the sea. you have details. >> yes. the euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in almost a year. analysts are pointing the finger at growing uncertainty about how much effect the summit will really have on the eurozone crisis. angela merkel has told brolin that there are no quick fixes and the process will take years. -- has told berlin that there are no quick fixes and the process will take years. >> the road she is pointing down as long and hard, but it leads to a european union with much more central control in the spending and taxing of the countries that choose to get involved by signing the treaty. >> the past fiscal union and the stability of the union is still a long way of being finalized. but it was initiative and i

think irrevocably. >> countries like britain who do not commit to tighter rules on spending will remain in the overall european union. >> i am saying this quite clearly. i regret it very much of the great britain has not been able to join us on this journey and i regret it very much that 20 years ago great britain decided against the euro. it is beyond 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 toward a closer union of economic policy. how that works out politically with the democratic reelected parliament in the member states and an appointed bureaucracy at the center is not yet determined. but the intended direction is clear. >> i think there's one difference. the germans, at least for long, have been on a much more

political vision for the european union. this is now eroding. but it has been a strong tendency in this country. the weakest element of the chain should not determine the path of integration. >> away from the polanco arena, markets spoke loudly. the cost of borrowing for the italian government rose. stock prices fell. the exchange rate of the euro with other currencies fell. all signs of skepticism that the needed crisis is no nearer being solved. what chancellor merkel and made clear in her speech is that she will push the european union toward much closer integration of economic policy and countries which do not come on that journey will be left behind. what was not obvious in the speech were any measures to alleviate the immediate crisis in the eurozone. >> in belgium, a minute of

silence was held to remember the victims of the attacks appeared more than 100 people were killed and hundreds -- hundreds were killed and four were injured, -- hundreds were injured and four were killed, including a baby boy. >> they came to pray and to mourn. to contemplate at the focus of so much misery, to try to comprehend the incomprehensible. it was here that a 33-year-old gunman shed so much blood. a schoolboy, whose friend was killed. >> everybody ran, ran, ran. everybody was panicking. i heard gunshots. i felt. i had been hit, shot in the

head, but i managed to get on the bus. >> this is a 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 24 hours ago was chosen. 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. just up there, the police say he shot himself. this is the killer ofliege. he was a gun fanatic turned mass murder. his killing spree started earlier than first thought. it was in his broad that the body of a cleaner was found. police say that he had shot her. in his home, a string of guns

and sex offenses, the police knew him well. they paused to remember today and to reflect. the bullet scars now are a source of fascination and horror. the glass will be repaired. the buses are moving again. life goes on. but not for the victims that they are remembering this evening. not for a 17-month-old gabriel. his mother heard a bang and saw his eyes rolled back in his head. i wish i had died instead of him, she said. >> live from singapore and london -- will india boycott next year's olympic games? >> and the power of protests.

"time magazine" has made an interesting choice for its person of the year. unemployment in britain has risen to its highest levels since 1994. it now stands at two 0.6 million. -- at 2.64 million. and people are particularly badly affected. >> it was a promising start in the year for the jobs market. but then it turned for the worst. job cuts announced by the aie systems. one of the economic debates has been over the ability of the private sector to take up the slack of the government cutbacks in employment levels. 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 september republic sector employment fell by 67,000 to the lowest level in eight years. the number of private-sector employees increased by just 5000 over that time. and that provoked fierce clashes in the house of commons. >> he can deny that the central economic plan that he made that the private sector would fill the gap left by the public sector has not been met. he has broken his promise. it is this a government that has interest rates down to 2%. that is why we have the prospects of growth over his plan over more spending, more borrowing, more debt than we started with. >> with the specter of unemployment rising over the economy, analysts predict increases next year. the economy is generating and

cutting jobs every month. right now, it is not balancing positive. >> this is newsday on the bbc. >> president obama marked the end of the nine-year presence in iraq by welcoming home the troops. the u.s. government has held the first offshore rights in the gulf of mexico since the bp disaster last year. the indian olympic association is set to meet later today to consider possible action over the london 2012 games. organizers have been criticized -- a leading indian sports

columnist joins me now on the line from mumbai. first of all, do you think that india could potentially boycott the 2012 london olympics? >> i would say that it is a tough call for the indian government to say they will boyboycott. but public opinion seems to be divided. it is one thing to say that, instead of boycotted, a protest could be made. but a boycott is being discussed. >> is the issue a large enough tissue for india to potentially

pullout and boycott the olympics? >> the issue is very big. it is still very live in the indian consciousness. it cannot be dismissed of hand. for them to get any momentum, the olympic association made -- other countries. so there are discussions going on. they are divided on whether there should be a boycott or not. young people feel that they should be allowed to participate because there has been to much effort and money spent. >> how soon do you think the

indian olympic committee will come up with a decision, whether or not they will be boycotting next year's olympics? >> this will be played out over the next 10 days or a fortnight. the ministry has passed to the olympic association to pull out. -- has asked the olympic association to pull out. it will be a little contentious, but hopefully some kind of resolution will be reached. >> that is a leading sports columnist in india joining us from mumbai. tens of millions of people in the philippines live and party. it also has one of the highest birthrates in asia. the government wants to encourage the citizens who have fewer children.

but many filipinos are catholic and the church is not happy with a new bill for contraceptives. >> little daniel of which for lunch. but for her mother, finding enough food for all 10 of her children is a real struggle. >> often, we have nothing to eat. when my kids are sick, we have to pawn whenever we have. >> like most phillipines, clarissa is a committed catholic. but recently, she has started to think the unthinkable. >> the priest said that contraception is against god's will. but we really need family planning. >> birth control is expensive. a packet of condoms costs as much as some families earn in the week. the government has put forward a bill to provide it for free.

the bill is facing powerful opposition from the church. >> it is not the business of the government to be promoting contraceptive devices. it will be like, say, the government will pass a law which will fund the promotion of pork eating among the muslims. you have to come to places like this to say why it is needed. there are sometimes up to three mothers for every bed. population growth in the philippines is one of the highest in southeast asia. it is a situation that the president says is unsustainable. that is why he is backing the bill. >> this is an attempt to

address the situation. we cannot be happy to keep the status quo and leave things the way they are. >> neither side in this debate seems prepared to compromise. but the philippines 18 million catholics know that somehow they need to find a way to reconcile their faith with the the reality of life for the country's poor. >> decelerated animal word to recognize personal achievement has a surprising winner. people have been taking to the streets to air their grievances.

to mark the historic significance, "time magazine" has chosen "the protester" as the person of the year. >> the arab spring began in tunisia where protests were sparked by the death of a man who set himself on fire in protest against the authorities. their fury drove them forward and the violent clashes that followed claimed thousands of lives. eventually, president ben ali was forced out of office. success in tunisia inspired uprisings in egypt, libya, syria, and yemen. these are the faces of some of the people who fought for freedom, for themselves and the generations that follow in their footsteps. now "time magazine" is honoring the protester as its percent of the year. in the u.s., the occupy wall street protests started small.

as word spread around the globe, the protest group. the demands were simple -- make the financial sector accountable for its mistakes and squash corporate greed. there was no mistaking the power of the occupy movement as they brought city streets and ports to a standstill. >> it is about a movement and a group of people and a wave of change. the fact that a whole concept, an idea, a gathering of occupy that spread around the country is now being named the person or the thing of the year is significant. >> change is everything. those who want freedom want change. this year, the protesters took to the street to get their message across. >> it is predominantly young people who are saying we will not take in some cases what their parents took. we will not take the status quo.

yes, economics drove the protests in many places. but it was much deeper than that. it was a sense that young people were taking charge of their future in a way 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. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc. >> a reminder of our main news. president barack obama has welcomed some of the american troops from iraq. the very remaining last will be coming home in the next few days. almost 4500 americans have been killed since the beginning of operations in iraq. that is it from us in london and singapore. 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 by kcet los angeles. by kcet los angeles.