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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome. here are the headlines. 200 dead in two days in syria. the u.s. says president bashar al-assad must leave power. the jail sentence for the australian teenager convicted of murdering this indian students. the england football captain is facing criminal charges after allegedly racially abusing an opponent. faced book is ordered to tighten up privacy rules. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world.

the united states has renewed its call for syria's president to leave power. it comes as sources in serious opposition groups claiming the number of people who have died is much higher than estimates given by the united nations. the group's -- there is evidence that 6000 people have been killed since the uprising. >> though violence is obviously getting worse. these pictures being sent in from ordinary people across syria. syrian opposition says 250 people have died since monday alone. these pictures are thought to be from the idlib in the northwest. there has been an organized massacre, the opposition claims.

they have switched their anger to the arab league. the issue an ultimatum after the other. people on the ground in syria believe the rise in violence is because the government wants to stamp out the opposition before the arab league observers get there. i have been speaking to a political activist and homs. -- in homs. >> i think they are sending a message to the people. we will kill you, we do not care about the international community. >> yesterday, in the egyptian capital, syria gave its final agreement to let the arab league observers end. they threatened to take the whole matter to the united states. -- the united nations. the situation is clearly deteriorating.

the deaths in syria are now well above the u.n.'s estimate of 5000. according to the opposition group, the figure is now 6200. of those, 617 people have been tortured to death. that includes 39 children children have become real targets. these pictures are said to show children injured in the fighting. things are inching toward open civil war. these soldiers have defected to the opposition. their captain wants the outside world to intervene. >> we are demanding a no-fly zone. if we get this, we will be able to liberate our country. >> it is no longer just the syrian army firing on civilians. soldiers are fighting soldiers. >> ambassador richard murphy has

served in diplomatic post in lebanon, saudi arabia, and syria. he explains the latest comments from the white house would have on the syrian government. >> they are reduced as damascus as a sign that the troubles they are having are inspired by foreigners. over their history, as an independent state, they have been subjected a number of times to foreign intervention. since the difficulties started months ago in syria, there has been a series of statements about our difficulties caused by a foreign thugs, etc.. what pressure do the new statements from washington have? i do not think very much.

not as much in the process as the actions of the arab league. if they decide to take the case to the security council, that will really be a more important direct pressure on syria than statements at the white house. >> these arab league observers that are going to arrive in syria on thursday. are they going to make much difference? >> it depends on what freedom of movement there granted. the condition of their going in as they will be able to go were ever they want to. -- wherever they want to. this was only one element of the arab league proposal and it took seven weeks to get to this point. the syrians are very experienced at delaying for time. >> the united nations -- the president was indeed a serious

treatment for injuries suffered in an attack on his presidential palace back in june. it was last month that he signed an accord, which transported his power to a deputy until elections are held. the england and chelsea football capt. is facing a charge of racially abusing another player. he will appear in court on the first of february. there is sufficient evidence for a case against them. the players strongly denies the allegations, saying he will be fighting to clear his name. here is our sports editor. >> john kerry, one of the most prominent footballers in the country, -- john terry, one of the most prominent footballers in the country. it all hinges on what he said back in october. they took the unprecedented step of announcing they will charge him with a racially aggravated

public order offense. in a statement, he denied the claims, saying i'd never aimed racist remark at anyone. i will fight tooth and nail to prove my innocence. the chelsea managers said he would stand by his capt.. >> we know his personality. i will fully support him. >> with a busy christmas. coming up, he is trying to focus on his role as chelsea capt. the last few months have been dominated by these allegations of racism, claims that could have big implications for a glance 2012 campaign. -- fort kingsland's 2012 campaign. 2012 campaign.s

one former captain says he can handle it. >> it is not going to be easy for him over the next couple of weeks. other circumstances where he has had to concentrate on matters on the field. he tends to do that remarkably well. >> others in the game save be fa should take matt -- should take steps against him now. >> the case raises issues much more significant than his career. whatever the outcome, it it will test the football's attitude towards racism. >> an australian teenager faces a jail sentence for murder. >> the teenager has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for killing an indian student in

millburn austere. the unnamed teenager -- in melbourne last year. the killing came amid a string of attacks on indian students in millburn. our correspondent is in sydney. >> this is a case that went back to january 2010, almost two years ago. he was crossing a part in it millboard when he was set upon by a 15-year-old used. -- youth. within a day of the attack, he died of his injuries. the young man was later arrested. what this led to was a series of protest in australia and india, those people claiming that this was a racially motivated attack. this was the latest in a series of attacks against indian nationals here in australia. the row when right to the

highest levels of government. the prime minister of australia becoming involved. it was a diplomatic standoff for a time. there was a possibility that relations could have been severed. eventually, that was not to be the case. there was also the possibility that indian students would drop off because of that. what has happened now is that the judge has rolled that this was not a racist attack. this young man is now 17 years old, acted spontaneously. this was an opportunistic crime, not a racially motivated one. he said that he should stay in prison for at least 8 years before he is eligible for parole. >> facebook has agreed to improve privacy arrangements for many of its users.

the irs data production and permission says the social networking site -- irish data production says the social networking site. facebook ireland is responsible the users outside the u.s. and canada. our next guest explain some of the challenges facebook has with protecting the privacy of its users. >> facebook has a lot of good security controls. this is the business model of facebook, it opens up a lot of that information. what they need to do is to continue to simplify their privacy controls, make it better for people to understand how to protect their information. provide more transparency into that. >> how does the company like facebook balance protecting the privacy of its users and at the same time feeding the commercial demand of its advertisers?

>> that is not a tight rope i would like to walk. we are not facebook customers. we are the product that facebook sells to advertisers. it can be difficult to balance that. in some ways, this bill does a decent job in some areas -- does a decent job in some areas. they do collect this vast amount of information. they keep it for a long period of time, maybe in definitely. that is a couple of the criticisms that came up. >> you are watching the bbc. there is a new team in charge in spain. kenneth turnaround the country -- had it turned around the

country's economy? >> the finance minister says some provinces in the elections may be postponed. hundreds of european -- in its first ever offer of a limited three-year loans. 500 billion euros offer was far higher than anticipated. our business editor reports. >> the euro zone banks borrow, the money comes in, and they lend. in recent weeks, at the crisis in the euro zone has made it much harder for these banks to get the money. in dollars and euros, which has created the risk of a credit crunch. to the rescue has come the ecb in frankfurt, which provided 489 billion euros of the emergency loans to the euro zone banks. at the heart of the euro zone crisis is the number of

governments are perceived to have barred to much. they borrowed some of this money from banks. if the government proved unable to be paid, that is why investors have become reluctant to lend to over indebted governments and to weak banks. is everything fixed? >> it is not a solution to the crisis. the real cause of the crisis is the insolvency of sovereign states and economic austerity throughout a depression zone europe. these things will continue to plague the system. what the ecb money will do is to relieve a lot of the pressure on banks for a period of time. >> the question is whether it is possible to gather the amount of financial resources necessary to support the system. >> euro zone governments still have to take tough action to

prevent a banking collapse. >> these are the headlines. the united states has renewed its call for the syrian president to leave power, he does not deserve to rule and my credibility. >> accord in australia has sentenced a teenage boy to 13 years and prison for killing an indian student. >> a new anti-corruption bill will be introduced in india's lower house of parliament today. the bill has been a focal point this year, having triggered a much-publicized hunger strike.

i am joined by the senior fellow at the observer research foundation. thank you for joining us. how significant is this new anti-corruption bill? >> it is very significant. give a clear message. and this bill is going to be introduced today in the lower house of parliament. it is likely to be passed in the next few days. it will be a major step towards fighting corruption.

but only this step may not be big enough. other steps have to be taken to fight against corruption. >> called the think we will give its new legislation -- how do you think we will get new legislation to fight corruption? >> if the legislation is going to be a major step forward, along with it, there are other bills, which are expected to be passed. other steps at the level of judicial administration and other steps will be equally necessary to fight against corruption. it would be a signal that corruption is no more

acceptable. >> thank you so much for joining us. the cost of the terrible floods in thailand's, hundreds of people died and tens of thousand lost jobs and factories forced to close. the cleanup is making progress, but the full recovery will take a good deal of time and money. our correspondent has been talking to the finance minister. >> a landscaped submerged. farmland and factories, highways and homesteads lost beneath the water. huge industrial estates fell victim to the floods. chasing thousands out of work,

leading to shortages of crucial parts affecting the production of cars and computers. the waters have now finally receded, 11 thailand's finance minister to calculate the cost. -- allowing thailand's finance minister to calculate the cost. >> about $640 billion. a lot of that will be covered by insurance claims. the more worrying part is the loss to the production, the loss to the gdp. factories will be closed for three months, at least. in certain cases, even longer than that. the loss to the gdp could be as high as 2%. >> the current government was only elected in july.

barely two months in office, she found herself struggling to manage a national crisis. an expensive program a post flood recovery is now being planned. where does that lead -- leave campaign promises of cheap health care and higher wages? >> all of the election provinces -- some may be postponed for a few months. the only way to rebalance the world economy is to build domestic demand in the asian countries. the best way to do that is to raise wages together with production. >> the need to stimulate domestic demand, given the crisis in the euro zone. thailand is such an export driven economy. to what extent does the euro crisis might impact thailand's ability to recover?

>> frankly, i am really worried. i follow the development in the euro zone closely. my heart goes to people in europe. i hope they can solve the problem. kamel, the emerging markets in asia -- on the whole, the emerging markets in asia is going to be sheltered. the banking system we have in asia is very strong. at the same time, we're going to drive our economy with domestic. this will compensate. the spending to rebuild thailand and to better manage the training system is a blessing in disguise in the face of the head winds coming from europe and even the u.s. >> gradually come up the water has drained away.

the rubbish has been removed. it will take a long time and a lot of money before homes and businesses are fully restored. >> there is a new team in charge in spain. >> many people are asking the same questions. it is the hope of the new prime minister, he has announced a cabinet. some of his choices have been controversial. in particular, the crucial role of the economy minister. that has gone to a former executive from lehman brothers. >> every christmas, strikes in spain. the annual festival lottery is a long standing tradition with some 400,000 euros scooped up by the lucky winner. this year, there is added

incentive. with spain's economy in the trouble, the new prime minister has been officially sworn in. in last month's election, his popular party swept to its biggest ever victory on a promise to lift the country out of its economic mire. the task is daunting. the highest unemployment rate in the euro zone, a massive public debt, and a week forecast after the housing bubble burst two years ago. after his trip to the palace, he announced his cabinet. all eyes were on his choice of the economy minister. >> it was a former executive of the failed investment bank lehman brothers who was given the most complicated portfolio in conservative government cabinet. a former lehman brothers

executive was certainly not the sort of change that these people were calling for when they came out in their tens of thousands this summer to protest against the previous socialist administration's management of the economy. spain has already made severe cuts to its public spending. he announced a further 16 billion euros work earlier this week. like italy, spain is a heavy indebted euro zone economy considered too big to bail. >> there is an urgent need for fresh water and medicine in the southern philippines as the authorities struggle to deal with the aftermath of the devastating flooding caused by tropical storm washi. more than a thousand people have died. the united states has reacted angrily to the decision by the european union's highest court to make all airline flights in and out of europe pay a carbon

tax. the european court of justice said imposing -- the tax is intended to make airlines accountable for their carbon use. we think we have found the cubist new addition at the zoo in in germany. because of that little thing. it is 7 months old. it still does not had a name. it is a female that was born in may. she weighs about 600 grams. that is about the weight of a full can of soup. >> you have been watching newsday on the bbc. >> thank you 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, 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.