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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to newsday on the bbc's. i am in singapore. >> i am in london. here are the headlines. a chinese village challenging the corrupt rule. a farewell to arms. the u.s. marks the end of military operations in iraq. and france's central bank says the u.k. should be the first in line for a credit rating downgrade. bycow's surprise is the rest circulating its own draft resolution at the united nations. it is noon in singapore. >> is 4:00 a.m. in london. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, this is "newsday."

>> the chinese communist party has lost control of a village in southern china. they are protesting against corrupt officials selling farm land in the small fishing village in open revolt. the last of the officials fled on monday and thousands of people have flocked police from retaking the village, standing firm against teargas and water cannons. >> this is what a rebellion looks like in china. these villagers are locked in a land dispute with the authorities. instead of being silenced, they have chosen to stand. party officials have fled and authorities have lost control on

the village. in china, such defiance can be deadly. this video shows a brutal police crackdown in the village last week. there are thousands of incidents of social unrest in china every month. often, when local officials confiscate the land, they sell it to developers. these disputes support for the communist party. the villagers were negotiating with authorities to end this dispute. he died in police custody earlier this week. his family is preparing to barry m. heriot -- to bury him. she does -- she says authorities have yet to hand over the body. >> i know my father's body is not likely to return.

we will put aside our emotions to get the land back from public officials. he sacrificed himself and we will, too. >> in a country where dissent is rarely tolerated, people here believe their safety in numbers. villagers are calling to overthrow a corrupt official. they also want to take their land. the only way to protect themselves is by uniting and speaking up. at night, many fear reprisals. five men have already been smashed, most likely by undercover policemen. we joined locals on patrol. >> we volunteered day and night to prevent people being taken away. when we see police, we sound the alarm and alert everyone. we fight them off as a group and protect our own land.

>> people here know a fresh crackdown could come anytime. >> after nine years of war, the american flag has been lowered in baghdad, marking an end to u.s. military operations in i iraq. the u.s. plans for several thousands to stay in the country had to be dropped after iraq would not agree to america's terms. we report from baghdad. >> a quiet, down the ceremony marks the end of an occupation which lasted 100 months, cost the lives of 4500 americans, and of an unknown but far greater number of iraqians. >> this is a time for iraq to look for. this is an opportunity for iraq to forge ahead on the path to

security and prosperity. >> a sprawling working-class shiite suburb of baghdad. the occupiers are giving their things to the government. yet things have changed here out of all recognition. the last time i was here was about three years ago. i have to say, i was pretty nervous. kidnapping was rife and there were bombs just about every day. now -- you can see for yourself how relaxed everything is. not everything is necessarily better. there are power cuts every day here and everywhere in iraq as the americans never managed to fix the electricity supply -- the electricity supply. sewers have been forgotten. people remember the american attacks on saddam city.

this man keeps pictures on his mobile. these are pictures from the internet and that is american laughter. the meat market, as everywhere else, you will not find any love for the united states. the butchers of baghdad are happy to see the backs of the americans. the chicken-seller says they brought poverty and killed our children. according to this man who sells cow hearts, they destroyed our country. the seller of sheepsheads thinks things were better under saddam. yet the united states has done a good job of training security forces here. these checkpoints are everywhere and they are the front-line of the continuing civil war. there are attacks on them every day.

there were 79 bombing attacks last month. in 2007, there were 1000 bombs. suffering does not stop, but the insurgency is visibly winding down. for 40 years, iraq has known little more than dictatorship, war, and isolation. now people are daring to hope that there what may finally be changing. -- their luck may finally be changing. >> france is suggesting that if they lose their credit rating, the u.k. should as well. >> the united kingdom has the bigger deficits and weaker growth. it would have serious economic

implications for france. it would increase the interest rates that have to pay for saif and borrowing. >> there is no love lost between britain and france. last week, the british prime minister and vetoed plans for a new treaty for all of the countries. nicolas sarkozy could barely contain his theory. the head of the bank of france says his country could face a tad -- a credit downgrade. he says that britain should be first in line because it has a bigger deficit, more inflation, as much debt as france, and lower growth. europe is at the core of the global financial crisis. all of the eu member states have agreed to consider the new treaty. it has not even been drafted yet. one or two countries are having second thoughts. christine lagarde says failure to ratify a new treaty would lead to retraction,

protectionism, isolation, and a recession. she said the global economic crisis would get worse and warned that no country would be immune. >> there is no economy in the world, middle income countries, emerging markets, super advanced economies, that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding, but escalating to the point where everybody would actually have to be focused on what it could do. >> in europe, politicians hope to agree to details of a new treaty by early february. we have been told that the representatives will be allowed to join the talks which gives david cameron a chance to keep an eye on what eurozone is up to. >> russia has surprised members of the un security council by circulating a new resolution on the crisis in syria. western nations are pushing for

tough action against the syrian government. they say the draft is not strong enough but they're willing to negotiate. breaking the deadlock which has paralyzed action on syria. >> this was the security council's defining moment on syria. in october, a vote on a european resolution condemned the violence and opened the door to sanctions. it was vetoed by chuck -- by china and russia, who offered a weaker draft. the deep divisions has -- have paralyzed further action. until now, russia has circulated a stronger, updated version of its text. >> i propose to the council a new version which takes into account the development of the past few months and which considerably strengthens all aspects of the previous text. with regard to violence, the need to uphold human rights,

expediting reforms. >> 1 development has been an upsurge in violence. this video shows civilians shot by gunmen. the u.s. says more than 5000 people have been killed in the nine-month uprising and the syrian government may be committing crimes against humanity. another development has been too slow the peaceful protest movement into an armed insurgency swelled by defectors from the syrian military. there are fears of a civil war. the deteriorating situation has convinced security council members they cannot stay silent, which is why western states say they are ready to negotiate on the russian proposal. they want to make it tougher. crucially, to spell out that there can be no equivalence between the violence of the government and the opposition. >> after six or eight months of violence, some demonstrators are shooting back. we cannot simply put them back-

to-back and say they are all acts of violence. the behavior of the armed forces and the refusal of the syrian regime to engage in genuine reforms. >> no one suggests that bridging the device will be easy. after months of inaction, there is greater hope that the u.n. might be able to say something about the syrian crisis. >> you are watching "newsday." we reports from india where more and more young people are being sucked into the country's spiralling black economy. and the south korean girl group 21 has been named the new band of the year. one of the two men accused of killing the london teenager

steven lawrence has told authorities he is innocent and not capable of murder. he insisted he was not in the area of southeast london on the night of the racist attack. >> and david norris is now 35 years old. today, he entered the witness box to be questioned about a murder which happened when he was just 16. mr. norris was asked repeatedly by the prosecutor where was the night stephen was killed. each time, he said he could not remember but he was sure he was not there. "i am an innocent man and was not in the area," he insisted. he said they were accusing him of murder and that he was an innocent man.

these marks on his lusher testify to is link in the crime. and possibly these stained jeans on which a hair matching his dna was found. mother took the stand and insisted he was at home that night. the prosecutor said you have made that up. she said she had made nothing up. until today, there has not been a breath uttered that he would be able to give an alibi. despite questioning, she maintains her position that he had been at home that night. today's witnesses marked the end of the evidence in the steven lawrence murder trial. the case will be summarized for the jury before they consider their verdict.

>> and this is newsday on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> i am in london. these are the headlines. >> the chinese party has lost control of a village in the southeast part of the country. thousands are standing firm against corruption. >> the united states marks the end of nine years of military operations in i iraq. the former president of france, jacques chirac, has been convicted of embezzling funds. he is now 79 years old. he has problems of memory loss. he was given a two-year suspended sentence. >> he has been at the heart of things for as long as france has -- can remember. he is the ever-present survivor. at 41, he was already prime minister.

he sold a nuclear reactor to a young iraqi leader named a set of hussein. using public funds, he built a powerful machine that would win him the presidency in. the man they called -- he had bulldozed his way to the palace. as president, at his government's promised radical reform but backed away in the face of public protest. france began to seem heene non- reform of all. -- non-reformable. he won his election by a landslide. tony blair try to persuade him to back the un all -- the un resolution authorizing a war in

iraq. he said he would be a that no matter what. >> it does not represent a threat which represents immediate war. once the americans were furious, but in his heart, he believed in france as a vital continent's to american power. jacques chirac charmed his way through french politics. even his critics like him. they cannot help themselves. >> he was the man the french left used to love to hate. he was a very enduring figure. everybody liked him. everyone who approached him loved him. >> the charge of corruption has followed him for years. the french have always known it but he remains a hero whose charm they could not resist. >> 40 years ago today, pakistan

suffered a humiliating defeat out of what had been east pakistan. the new country of bangladesh was created. many believed it had little chance of surviving. despite national disasters and military dictatorships, bangladesh has indeed survive. it is experiencing strong economic growth. we report from the capital. >> a young mother of two is one of millions of women working in bangladesh. today, they are the world's third biggest exporter of close, earning billions of dollars in revenue. >> my life has changed completely since i got a job here. we live in our village and had no money and we struggled to make ends meet. with my savings, i bought a rickshaw for my husband and he now earns some money. we are still poor, but we are no

longer starving. crux in the first president of bangladesh makes a fiery speech at the start of the independence struggles. the war left the country in ruins. the american national security adviser henry kissinger thought the new country would constantly need millions of dollars in aid just to survive. >> he said it is not -- this is a highly integrated economy. 160 million people. that is a strength. >> these children are addressed in the national colors to celebrate their prey from pakistan years ago. since then, the country has reduced its and -- reduce its dependence on foreign aid and democracy has taken root after

years of military rule. the country has seen strong economic growth. for a lot of presidents, that is not enough. >> we have brought down the share of coeur people in the economy in our country. it is still on heard of brought the population. >> their livelihood depends on what happens outside of bangladesh. this country's biggest export market could have a major impact. for 40 years, bangladesh have defied the prediction made in 1991. it has survived. there are uncertainties, but people are confident their resilience will keep them going. >> from bangladesh, we are produced in the same part of the world. we are looking at the economy and young people around the

world. you have one story from india. >> that is right. the informal economy in india it is the biggest employer. according to estimates, more than 90% of the country's work force belonged to the unorganized sector. here is one of mumbai as young workers, who earns about $50 per day. >> i am 25 years old and i have been working here for the last two years. i studied in school but dropped out. after the death of my father, there was no one at home. i had to work. my wages were not enough to live on. i decided to come to mumbai and open this up. my earnings are around 3000

rupees per day. in it is just about enough. we can manage. here in mumbai, i have to live with my brother and some other men from our village. my family, wife and two kids, and still live in my village. i send them money. in the morning, our customers are mostly drivers. later on, it is office workers and laborers. some people are tired. they come here to have a cup of tea. after my cup of tea, and they feel better. i like that people feel better after having my teeth. -- having my tea. mumbai is a nice city and i like

working here but sometimes i feel that when people cause problems. i have had this business for a couple of years now and i have thought about starting another one. >> a south korean hip-hop band, 21, are receiving international attention after being voted the band of the year in a global competition. they have a massive hit in asia and their profile is spreading west. i spoke to their lead singer who says how much the award means to her. >> it was an honor. i heard a lot of great singers that have performed on the stage. i hope it is a good start. >> and you and 21 are relatively new group. you are only two years old. what attributes to the group's successes? >> i cannot say we have had success yet. but it is a great start and we

have a long way to go. i have a lot of things i want to achieve. >> indeed, a long way to go. your songs are being played in radios across the world. particularly germany, brazil, mexico. why do think it is becoming more popular outside of asia? >> i believe that music has no language. it is how people connect to our culture. >> do you think at 21 is paving the way for more asian than to make it big in the global entertainment scene? >> hopefully, we can represent asian women, because i am one, i think it is about time.

>> and do you see you as an individual and your group as role models for young asian women? >> yes. like as said before, i would like to represent them. i talked a lot about representing women in our lyrics. i hope that touches everybody in the world. >> talking about k-pop, how the future does it have in the global entertainment industry? >> i think it is just the start. i hope it gets bigger and bigger. i do not know if we want to categorize ourselves into one thing. but i hope k-pop becomes bigger and bigger. >> that is the conversation with the lead singer of korean hip- hop band 21. you have been watching tuesday

from the bbc. i am in singapore. 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.