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>> and now "bbc world news." hello, and welcome to "newsday" on the bbc. >> here are the headlines -- and arab league observer in syria resigned as rocket attacks leave nine dead, including the first foreign journalist. pakistan's top official sacks a top official and accuses him of gross misconduct. >> nike will pay $1 million to workers in indonesia. and michelle obama denies claimed that she has been battling her husband's top aides in the white house. >> broadcasting on pbs in america and around the world, this is "newsday."

hello again. an arab league observer in syria has resigned, citing the mission there as a farce and accusing the government in damascus of committing war crimes. as the violence continues, nine people including a french journalist have been killed in a grenade attack. our correspondent returns from neighboring turkey. >> explosions, then chaos in the city of homs. its residents have been toward fear and bloodshed. a few foreign journalists have shared that fear. now one, if reporter, has lost his life in a mortar attack, adding to death toll that exceeds 5000. there were many other casualties. gilles jacquier was the veteran of many stories, and his

death underlines there is no safety in syria. we may never know who fired the shells that killed him. the violence has only gotten worse since the arab league monitoring mission arrived last month. they were supposed to confirm the syrian government fulfillment of promises they made to stop shooting and pull back their troops. but that has not happened. now one of the team has given up in disgust. >> i stepped down because i felt that i was serving the syrian regime. i did not feel like i belong to an independent body monitoring the situation. that is why i stepped down. i was giving the regime a greater chance to continue its killing, and i cannot prevent that. >> u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton applaud the efforts of the arab league, but suggested its mission in syria is running out of steam. her colleagues seem to agree. >> we cannot accept the

situation as it is in syria, the people killed by their own government. i think it is the arab responsibility, but also an international responsibility in the end. we hope that we solve it, but right now, the government is not helping us, the syrian government is not helping us. >> the president made his second appearance this week, this time before a huge crowd at in damascus. once again, he was defiant, offering no compromise with the protesters, dashing the hopes of the arab league and many other states that there can be negotiated end to this conflict. >> robert is a former u.s. state department official, was responsible for near eastern affairs. earlier, he gave me his thoughts

on the current situation in syria at. >> the situation is getting more violent, more tense, and the president is taking the offensive. he is defiant, gave a defiant speech yesterday, and his visit to the square today was also an act of defiance, to tell the world i am staying here, i'm moving forward, and the arab league can do what it likes. >> away from the personal tragedy, the death of the french tv cameraman, what significance does that moment have, what do you think? >> it appears that he was on a government sponsored tour of homs, and the government and the opposition are both accusing each other of the killing. both can support their narrative. the president keeps accusing terrorists of trying to thwart

the situation in syria, and having an attack on a government sponsored tour would support that. conversely, the regime could have attacked its visit, and killed journalists. this is a regime that is quite brutal and also miscalculating. that is something that really characterizes the difference between this leader and his father. this leader act recklessly and miscalculates. his father was shrewd and he knew how to handle a situation. >> anti-government protesters have told us here at the bbc they did not believe the arab league mission will succeed. what do you think watching from the outside, is their presence on to stop the violence? it has not yet, but will it? >> know, to the contrary, the presence of the arab league monitors has increased the

violence. 40 people have been killed per day since the arab league monitors arrived the day after christmas. their presence seems to have increased the violence and they are being prevented from doing their work. originally, the syrian government agreed to them bringing in 500 observers. so far, they have only allowed 150 into the country, they are highly monitored, the monitors that is, and they're not able to do that much. that said, what they have done is bring further international attention on to syria, and to that extent it is a positive thing. to the extent the president has humiliated the arab league, i think it invites a very strong response from the arab league when the monitors conclude their mission or at least submit their report on the mission on january 19. >> that was earlier from washington.

tension in the pakistani government? >> that is right, the country's defense secretary has been fired, accused of gross misconduct. the move has further estranged relations between the military and civilian government. fears ofas fueled more instability. >> heading for a showdown with the country's politicians. that scenario came a step closer tuesday after the prime minister sacked the defense secretary. he is this man, a retired lieutenant general, a former soldier with close ties to the military. officially, he was fired for gross misconduct and illegal actions, but this is the latest incident and a growing row between the government and army. it is unsigned memo leaked in october, appearing to show civilian leadership asking the u.s. for direct intervention to

weaken pakistan's armed forces. the sacking of the defense secretary will only add to the tensions. the pakistani prime minister has defended his position. >> tell me when we have not stood by our military in the past. as far as the rules of business are concerned, there should be no violation. >> the army has warned of grievous consequences, fuelling speculation in the media and on the street about what happens next. >> if anything unconstitutional happens, it would be wrong. it would push the country towards instability. it will create more problems. pakistan already has problems. if the constitution is not followed, the consequences could be very bad. >> tensions between armed forces and politicians are nothing new, but there are no signs of how or when the latest standoff will end.

the american sportswear giant nike will pay just over $1 million to workers and its indonesian subsidiary for two years of unpaid overtime after nadir -- after a year of negotiations. it reflects almost $600,000 -- 600,000 hours of unpaid overtime. an organization that is working in india told me this payout was very significant. >> it has the potential to send shock waves through the indonesian labour market. for years, issues like this have been denying them the basic pay they deserve for the work they have put in with companies like nike. it is very difficult to move forward with this case. there was a lot of interference by the management. they threatened the trade union when they told me the truth back in february. the management and put forth the

niles and lies about reality, and finally in september we had a breakthrough after a number of investigations by the trade union and 9nike. i'm happy to report in the next few weeks the workers will start to receive the $1 million that were cheated out of it, forced overtime without pay. this sets a precedent. all kind of impact -- what kind of impact will this case have on multinational companies doing business in indonesia? >> i think it will send the message that the workers in indonesia it are human beings and a half rights and inherent dignity, and they need to be respected. they're not simply labor, commodities to be bought and sold and treated unfairly. i think many of the multinationals are thinking very

seriously about how they will deal with this issue moving forward. just yesterday, had another meeting with other workers who produce for nike and new balance, and those workers have said they have been the victim of -- have been the victims of forced overtime. i'm disappointed the workers on the get redress, the $1 million only takes into account the past two years of the wages they were cheated out of because that is all that indonesian paper ball -- indonesian labor law allows for. there been cheated out of wages for the past 18 years. the workers deserve more and we will continue to press for that. japan says that it will reduce its oil imports from iran in support of u.s. sanctions on iran. japan is the second biggest customer for iranian oil and tim cutler is currently visiting japan. -- and john geithner is currently visiting japan.

>> the u.s. has had the sanctions in place for many years. they have not import it iranian crude for more than two decades. they're trying to extend that to other countries, the european union, china, india, and japan, and they're getting some cooperation from all of those places. >> what to the countries want? did want to close the iranian oil path, or just squeeze them? >> until now, the american sanctions have avoided crude because they did not want to disrupt the oil markets. if they close things completely, there is not enough crude it to supply the missing oil, and it gives iran no known incentive to cooperate in any way. >> what does it mean for global supply? >> i think we will get some reduction from iranian output, perhaps some reduction in price

because they cannot sell at a high price, but not complete. we are looking for some support on prices. we're seeing some strengthening now in part because of the situation, and hopefully that continues. >> you are watching "newsday," on the bbc. still to come, two years on, haiti's prime minister tells the bbc how his country is recovering from their devastating earthquake. >> and the cold war on the korean peninsula. we report on the south's special forces. 4 people have been shot dead in the northern part of nigeria, as suspected commandos killed eight people, including police officers tuesday night. across the nation, the unions have continued their fight over fuel prices. >> day 3 of the strike that has brought most business in the

country to a standstill. the stakes have been raised on both sides of the national fuel subsidy disputes. today, talks of a gradual process that could lead to the slowing of oil production in the country. unionized workers are considering shutting down the oil output. nigeria is africa's leading oil producer and one of the largest in the world. if the strike is successful and during exports, not only will it bring the country's economy to the needs -- to its knees, but it will globally affect oil prices. they have threatened a no work, no pay policy for public servants, a core group of strikers, if they do not returned soon. the message from the rallies is the fuel subsidy must be reinstated, but it is also a platform for people to vent their fury over other issues. the reason, they say, is corruption. this is the leader of the

radical islamic group. it is the first such a video released after the bombings of churches in december that killed at least 25 people. he rejects president goodluk jonathan remarks that it is a cancer to nigeria and says there are far more powerful than the state's sources. president jonathan faces battles on two fronts. this is "newsday" on the bbc. >> these are the headlines -- an arab league observer in syria resigned as more rocket attacks lead to nine dead, including the first foreign journalist. >> pakistan's prime minister has sacked a top official, accusing

him of gross misconduct. nearly 13,000 people were killed in gang violence in mexico in the first nine months of 2011, 11% more than the year before, which is more than one the president declared war on the drug cartel's more than five years ago. the government is concentrating on the fact there has been less violence year on year. >> 13,000 murders and the first nine months of last year is a very large amount, but the government says it is a reduction in terms of the year on year increases. there are geographical differences. there were areas in the north that are very violent, and there are new states that have experienced violence that had not experienced violence at the beginning of this military offensive against the drug cartels. they include a veracruz to the east and acapulco to the west.

it is a very mixed picture, and one which i think the government will be trying to stress they are doing everything they can to get on top of. some of the drug cartels are more responsible for some of the violence than others. >> what the fact is this having on democracy in the country? >> that is an interesting question. there has been a local election , which is president calderon's home state. now there is a question over the results, with some of the party sang the result was influenced by one of the drug cartels which is involved in the methamphetamine trade in part of the world. it is definitely filtering it in. the government will not suggest the drug cartels have any influence over democracy or over the lipitor process, but this

pick -- over the electoral process, but this instance is causing headlines in mexico these days. a tribunal has charged a man with crimes against humanity during the country's war for independence of 40 years ago. he's accused of alleged war crimes atrocities, including killings and rapes. he is almost 90 years old and is said to be in poor health. on january 12, 2010, and magnitude 7 earthquake hit haiti, killing thousands, leaving 1.5 million homeless, many of whom are still living in camps. wednesday, thousands took to the streets of the haitian capital to demand new housing. our correspondent has been speaking with the president of haiti about what people are facing. she began by asking what has

changed since the earthquake. >> things are changing and moving in haiti. first of all, we have more people out of the camps, and about seven camps. you go by some city parks, where two months ago it was just tents and people, and today you go by and kids are playing soccer, playing basketball. we are ready to move. >> what do you say to those people living in the camps that you have not identified as a party for moving people out? >> they are a priority. >> how can you say that? >> they are. it is not like having a magic stepped -- a magic stick and this is what i wish i could do.

we need to identify and rehabilitate the homes, the neighborhood's that these people will be moving into before we can just jump into a decision. we want to move fast, but we also want to do with it right. >> billions of dollars was pledged in aid to haiti in the wake of the earthquake. how much of that money has been spent? >> well, if we had to talk about this, it would be very long story -- it would be a very long story. up until today, haitians are not aware of how much was allocated and how much was spent. love all the money pledged to haiti, it is said that one cent on every dollar went to the haitian government. if we go back and complain, we lose more time. >> what is your priority now?

>> right now, we're starting to send kids to school free. the although we understand to develop haiti, we need infrastructure and roads, we also believe it is time to instruct haitians. >> that was the president of hating speaking with the bbc. -- that was the president of haiti speaking with the bbc. south korea is focusing on their military residence. our reporter has been with south korean special forces. peaks,outh korea's snowy special forces are trading, as they do every year, to infiltrate their communist neighbor. this drill simulates a rescue mission, but they can also be

dropped behind enemy lines inside north korea. the countries have never signed a peace deal and there are regular military clashes along the line of demarcation. the sudden change of power in north korea last month has placed forces on high alert. >> in the wake of his death, the military situation has become very uncertain. no one can anticipate what will happen, but as soldiers we need to be prepared for the worst. we prepare for combat. at the north korean threat has not changed, so the best we can do is be ready. >> over the past few weeks, north korea has paraded their million man army. south korea it is showing a slim and strong military, relying more on skilled and simple numbers. it is rare to be allowed this close to south korean special

forces, but these are unusual times. the sudden change of leadership in north korea has met a huge pressure on units like this to prove they are fully prepared. even elite soldiers have to begin with the basics. this class? military skiing, for beginners. south korea relies on conscripts. every male citizen is meant to serve out two years. it makes for a steady supply of cheap soldiers, but it also be -- it also means fewer of them have much experience. as south korea watches for signs of change across the defacto border, the camaraderie on the mountain has a new tension. michelle obama has challenged and a count of her role in the white house that appeared in a book. she denies she has been battling her husband's top aides, as steve kingston reports. >> she is a trendsetter, role model, and working mother.

what does michelle obama really think about life at the white house? speaking to cbs news, the first lady dismissed claims she had been unhappy. >> i love this job. it has been a privilege from day one. there are challenges with being a mother and staying sane, and i were about that. if there is any anxiety that i feel, it is because i want to make sure my girls come out on the other end of this whole. but me and barack, we are grownups. >> mrs. obama granted the interview as a new book was making waves in washington. written by a "new york times journalist -- "new york times" journalist, a claims that she allegedly meddled in the affairs. >> that has been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day that brock

announced, that i am some angry black woman. >> what do you think of that image? >> i just try to be me, and my hope is over time people get to know me. there will always be people who will be disappointed. there will always be people who will not like me, ever. if >> does that bother you? >> no. >> the book says the first lady discovered a sense of mission in london when she was received by schoolgirls during a visit on sidelines of the summit. now she looks relaxed and confident, ready to be at his side and another four years if that is what america decides. you have been watching "newsday" from the bbc. >> thank you very much for joining us. remember there is plenty more on all of the stories on the bbc news website. thank you very much for your

company. 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. >> you are no longer in the service. only an outsider can find the double agent. >> i'll do my utmost. >> from the bestseller by john le carre -- >> all i want from you is one code name. >> it will take a master spy -- >> you are alone. >> you can't mention me. >> to catch a spy. >> you have to assume they're watching you. >> what the hell are you doing up here? >> things aren't always what they seem.

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