>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is

made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu newman's own foundation and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business. offering specialized solutions and capital to meet your growth objectives, we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> here are the headlines. more evidence emerges is of the failings aboard the costa concordia after it ran aground. another candidate drops out, rick perry ends his campaign and endorses newt gingrich. >> 10 months after the syrian uprising began, we speak to people where the anti-government demonstrations first started. the children risking their health cotton ticking in india. it is 10:00 a.m. here in singapore. >> -- the children risking their health cotton picking in india.

>> hello and welcome. there is more evidence of failings in the emergency procedures in the cruise ship costa concordia. a recording has been released in which a crew member assures authorities said the ship has suffered nothing more than a power failure. >> as the wind picked up, a rescue worker stepped out into the void. down towards the costa concordia, stable for now. today, another apparently damming conversation emerged held 30 minutes into the emergency. a port official asks a crew member if there is a problem.

>> 8 weeks ago on the costa concordia, everyone was a pplauding the captain. he confesses to having made a navigation error on last week's cruise. this woman, a former crew member, said that the captain tried to save passengers.

she was on board and said that she saw what he did. >> i have heard that the captain left the ship first or was among the first, but this was not true. as a witness, i can say that i left the ship following an order from the captain. >> at the costa concordia, the scene became more shot the -- the sea became more choppy. there are fears that the ship could slip up to 90 meters from its current position. on board, there are two and a half thousand tons of fuel and oil that must be removed. they are looking to heat it up and pump it out under pressure. rescue teams are still on board and say they will work through the night. they have to makes sure there

are no survivors left. only then can thus salvage operation start. -- only then can the salvage operation start. >> the italian newspaper has been showing amateur footage on its web site from the costa concordia in which a crew member is trying to calm passengers down. >> we kindly ask you to return to your cabins. we will resolve the electrical problem that we have with the generator. everything will be fine. if you want to stand here, it is fine, but i'm asking you to go back to your rooms. everything is under control. >> 6 and made a soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash in afghanistan. -- 6 nato soldiers have been killed. the cause of the crash is being

investigated. no insurgent activity -- no insurgent activity was reported at the ground. >> of violence is continuing and during the month-long mission by arab league monitors. opposition activists say security forces killed at least nine people. some estimates say could be as high as 20. our middle east editor gained access to daraa. >> the assad regime does not like an expected visitors in their raw -- in daraa. we went in on the government trip. this is where the uprising started last march. a bust of the first president assad dominates this desk.

bashar also sought still promises reform. he is using his father's methods. -- president assad still promises reform. if you have the consent of the people here, why would it be necessary to have all of these checkpoints, guns, soldiers? >> i'm not saying that they are all our supporters. there are protesters and there are people. he said there are those that kill for money and they use drugs. >> gaddafi in libya said that people using drugs were involved in the demonstrations there. >> i will not talk about gaddafi. we are in daraa. aware of theere cameras and the government's security experts. no problem here, said the owner.

syria is in its worst crisis since independence in 1946. daraa is still a troubled town. almost a year after the arrest and torture of children led to the big protests against president assad. there were prayers at the only mosque, they are a symbol of protest. the army is in control here now. these men saw that we were with a group of secret policemen. and then a man reappeared further up gesturing in full view of a position local say is used by regime snipers. our experts gained -- our escort's stood back, so they gained confidence. this is a street full of

mortars -- martyrs, come see for yourself. >> the gangs are killing people. they are breaking into our houses and arresting us after you have gone. they said that 18 had been killed in the 10 months since the uprising. they say that a 13-year-old was shot by the secretive forces. neither side has been beaten and for now, no one can win. unless there is a political deal, syria will continue its slide into civil war. >> two bombs have exploded in separate locations in the center of londonderry in northern ireland. police said the attacks were cowardly.

the dissident republicans are being blamed for planting the devices. security officials of pakistan say that two foreign aid workers have been kidnapped in -- have been kidnapped. one of the abducted men is italian and the other is believed to be german. >> the contest to decide which republican will challenge barack obama for the white house comes down to four competitors as texas governor rick perry has withdrawn. rick perry urged his supporters to back the former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. one of gingrich's's former wife has come with some harsh charges. then, there was the news that mitt romney did not win the iowa caucus. joining me now for more is the director of the democracy institute.

this is a particularly bad news for mr. gingrich. this republican debate is taking place in a largely conservative christian state. >> yes, he had all of the momentum according to opinion polls closing in on mitt romney. to have his marriage dragged again through the mud, as it were, it is bad news. it might not be catastrophic news. i say that because the claims from his former wife are not exactly new. newt gingrich himself has confessed to being something of a rogue husband and has asked for everyone's forgiveness. people in south carolina already know his bad side, it is a question of whether they think they're more important issues. >> he has dismissed many of his ex-wife's claims and has blamed the media for being vicious.

trial by media is all part and parcel of the rate for -- of the race for the white house. how do supporters look at the personalities obverses the issues? >> personalities are very important. the one thing that the republicans want even more than a re denied conservative in a candidate is someone who can beat barack obama. -- the one thing that the republicans want even more than a reaganite conservative in the candidate is someone who can beat barack obama. you have most of those yardsticks, mitt romney has had the advantage. he appears to have the right personality, even if it is not the most exciting or charismatic one. but newt gingrich continues to argue that if obama destroys

mitt romney in the debate one- on-one, that could be the end of the campaign whereas he himself says that he would beat obama. you need me in that debate. >> you think there is plenty more political theater to come such as the personal business affairs of these men? >> this is really serious stuff now. it is pretty much down to mitt romney and gingrich. south carolina and then florida shortly afterwards. this is where it will probably be decided. we expect the gloves to be very much off by the time we reach florida. >> thank you. >> you are watching "newsday," on the bbc. tributes are being paid to is the woman who died in a crash after a training run. >> nigeria's commercial capital was the center of recent

protests against the removal of fuel subsidies. activists are determined to keep pressuring the government on a range of issues. the authorities are trying to stop it. >> civil activists back on the streets for the first time since monday because deal over the fuel subsidy. a small but determined crowd including politicians and religious leaders demanding an end t in their town. more people joined the peaceful protest as they marched towards police lines but the police -- but the piece did not last long. there is tear gas being fired by the police. people are now running away. these drivers are very panicked.

you can see the smoke over there. that teargas has covered all of the protesters. >> then, a second burst of teargas, it was clear the police were not going to back down. >> freedom does not come easy. it takes changing the position of many, this continues tomorrow, it continues today, it continues on saturday. they will listen to us, this is not over. >>

>> this is "newsday" on the bbc. >> the headlines of the first calls between port officials and the coast the concordat after it hit rock and the crew said it was not an emergency. -- and the costa concordia after it hit rock and the crew said it was not an emergency. >> rick perry ends his campaign in be run for the republican nomination. the u.n. special represent a for human rights in north korea is in japan on his second fact- finding mission. he will be talking to a number of people to try to determine the current human rights situation in north korea but he has not been able to enter the country. we can now speak to him.

he joins us from tokyo lives. how frustrating is it that you cannot get into north korea? how difficult is it to come up with the accurate report without having access to the country? >> the reporting on the situation in the country has been undertaken for almost a decade now by 80 special office. there are a number of reports by the secretary general, by the ngo's, by the world food program. also through meetings with asylum seekers. the only thing that has prevented me from going into the country is being denied a visa.

judging from the quantity and quality of reports, it is almost a total description of what is actually going on in the country. i am not in any way doubtful of the basis of these reports. this is a picture of what is actually going on in the country. >> what have your findings been thus far? >> well, in a quick take of the situation there -- is a country that is consistently in capable of meeting the requirements of the population in terms of food , then there is a serious incapacity of the state to promote human rights. on top of that, all rights in

the country, as far as citizens are concerned, are being accorded by the state. the only rights have been given by the state to these citizens and therefore one could easily imagine the state of human rights in that country. i will not go into a graphic description, but having said that, this is a state where almost a total denial of human rights is the symbol of the most unacceptable state of human rights violations in the world today. >> now, the last u.n. report was criticized by north korea's regime as a political plot fabricated by forces in its attempt to stifle their system. what kind of reaction are you

expecting to your findings? >> well, this is not the only reaction that the north korean government has come out with. they have not responded to offers of assistance by the office of the high commission for human rights. they have not actually continued to implement recommendations that come from the universal report. they have not been able to meet the requirements of reporting. so, this is not an unusual reaction from the north korean government, but they do continue to engage in the human rights council. there is hope for possible improvement in that sense. as far as the reporting is concerned from the special reporter, i would say that this

is a denial of the real situation in the country because the reports are based on various information that comes from credible sources. >> ok. we will leave it there. thank you very much. in other news, a major clothing stores are being urged to stop child labor use in their supply chains. the bbc has seen evidence that children as young as 10 are working in dangerous conditions for little pay. >> on a transport system from another age, the cotton harvest is taken to market. here, in rural india, is the bottom end of a global supply chain.

this auction is an early stage in an industry that generates billions. but local activists showed us how little of that wealth comes back here, beginning with a child workers in the cotton fields. kali is not at school, she thinks she is 10 years old, but she is not sure. she works with her sister, their arms covered with scratches from the bushes. >> we came four or five months ago. now, we live here. the work is hard. >> the next step is processing the cotton. this is called ginning. here, we found children breathing air thick with cotton dust that can cause chronic lung disease at an early age. no sign of protective clothing

or masks. local activists call it the ho rror of the white cloud. it is impossible to say but the kids in their book 10, 11, 12. no more than that. -- it is impossible to say, but the kids in there look 10, 11, 12. activists have been working on this for years. >> the companies are getting richer, and richard. the life of the workers is getting worse. -- the companies are getting richer and richer. >> we visited three factories all pretty much the same. despite as openly filming children at work, the managers said everything was in order. further on in the supply chain, working conditions

improved dramatically. textile companies buy directly from these companies. the workers are well looked after. masks are routine. most big-tree to the lawyers say they cannot actually track the cotton to its source. -- most high street stores say they cannot actually track the cotton to its source. we found two children far away from home. a worker reveals that they were actually sent here from a distant village by their parents and they never get paid. these children are just 11 years old, workers in a wealthy industry that does not know exactly how or where much of its cotton is made.

>> a top canadian freestyle skier has died from her injuries during a training accident. she crashed a week ago while practicing. >> look at the size of that 900. >> soaring high above the snow, sarah burke made it look easy. in a difficult and dangerous sport, she was considered one of the best. a four times winner, she campaigned to get this sport into the olympics. she was a gold medal favorite for the winter games in 2014. she died from injuries sustained during a training accident in utah. she was airlifted to the hospital but she never recovered. she was just 29. among the hundreds of tributes, she was described as a great athlete, a role model, and

an inspiration. >> one of the world's largest file sharing websites has been shut down. the indictment accuses them of costing copyright holders more than $500 million. before the site was taken down, they put a statement saying that the allegations were grotesquely overblown. several u.s. web sites have been reportedly packed in retaliation -- hacked in retaliation. a reminder of our main news, there is more evidence of failings in the emergency procedures aboard the coast in korea. a recording has been released in which a crew member assures the authorities that the ship has suffered more than a power failure. -- there is more evidence of failings in the emergency

procedures aboard the costa concordia. that is all for us now. thank you for watching. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu newman's own foundation and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business. offering specialized solutions and capital to meet your growth objectives, we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.