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>> and now bbc world news. >> welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> i'm in london. the headlines. a stark warning from the imf. fewer problems are holding back the entire global economy and the recovery is in danger of stalling. more time to investigate the violence. syria says it will extend the arab league's mission by another month. >> the next hour president obama will give his annual state of the union address. can he convince america he has a vision to tackle the country's problems and stay in the white house? and nigeria's security crackdown intensifies as they suffer through a series of deadly attacks. it's 9:00 in the morning in singapore. >> it's 1:00 in the morning in london, broadcasting to viewers in the u.k. and around the

world. welcome to "news day." ♪ >> the global economy will stay in the danger zone until action is taken to tackle europe's debt crisis. that's the warning from the international monetary fund which sharply rused its forecast for global economic growth including here in the u.k. the warning of a tough year ahead was echoed by the king of the bank of england. we look at the latest figures. >> the international monetary fund doesn't know what's going to happen for the global economy in 2012 but it's not looking good. its latest forecasts say the global recovery has stalled, downside risk are intensifying and the financial system is deep into the danger zone. it's all thanks to the crisis across the channel.

>> the epicenter of the danger is europe. but the rest of the world is increasingly affected. there's an even greater danger, namely that the european crisis intensifies, in this case the world could be cast into another recession. >> where do we fit into this gloomy picture? the answer is somewhere in the middle. the fund still expects the u.s. economy to grow by 1.8% in 201. that's not what president obama would be hoping for but it's a lot better than most. the forecast for the u.k. this year has been cut to just 9.6%, slightly less than the official forecast and even that's better than the euro zone which the fund is expecting to shrink slightly in 2012 with much sharper downturn for countries like spain and italy. european finance ministers disappointed the markets today

by failing to reach a deal on greek debt. the i.m.f. says debt, private and public, is weighing on the recovery nearly everywhere, and so are government's efforts to get borrowing under control. >> increasing debt is a marathon, not a sprint. going too fast will kill growth and further derail the recovery. it is useful to remember that it took more than two decades to successfully decrease debt from its world war ii levels. >> does that mean the fund wants the government to ease up on cutting our deficit? well, yes. he said the chancellor should consider it. you wouldn't think so looking at britain's mountain of i.o.u.'s. today the government's debt rose to over a trillion pounds, believe it or not that's below the average for an economy of our size and less than expected. but it's still 16,000 pounds for everyone in the u.k.

>> welcome, mr. king, governor of the bank of england. >> tonight king said the bank of england would pump more in the economy than it had to but wouldn't make our troubles clear. >> the path to recovery is likely to be arduous, long and uneven. the position of the world economy, especially in the euro area is serious. but there is no reason to despair. all crisis come to an end. >> this, too, shall pass. the i.m.f. would probably agree but if the euro zone crisis continues to fester, the shadow hanging around the world economy won't be lifting any time soon. stephanie flanders, bbc news. >> it's been agreed to extend the monitoring mission to syria by another month. five more gulf states pulled out of the observer mission. britain, france and germany are working on a resolution to put

before the u.n. security council next week condemning syria for its violent oppression of protests. we have a report from the u.n. >> activists outside u.n. headquarters demand the security council intervene to stop the violence in syria. the deeply divided council has been sitting on their hands is their message while syria and ally russia have blood on theirs. more and more tension is shifting to the security council because the arab league has asked it to support a peace plan for syria and the arab's own observer mission in syria is collapsing but the question is what if anything the council will do now. the arab monitoring team was supported by all members of the security council and was the bear minimum on which it could agree but it's not clear it could expand to the arab support for the peace plan which calls for the syrian president to step aside for a national unity government. western states see the arab league's request for help as a

way to press forward with a strong resolution. they made that point in a debate on the middle east. >> it is time for the security council to take robust action in support of the arab league with the objective of 1207ing -- stopping the violence. >> but russia who has veto power was much less enthusiastic. it and other council members fear any outside intervention could fuel a war. >> attempts of outside forces to manipulate the situation from a distance or bring to power one political ethnic or religion group rather than another to serve their own interests, such attempts are fraught with serious consequences. >> complicates matter is syria's rejection of the plan which seems to close the door on any peaceful solution to the conflict. in the coming days, the arab league will make its case directly to the secure council and members will want to know exactly what it's looking for and whether that will be enough

for western states or too much for russia. at the united nations in new york. >> let's go to kathy kay in washington for news of president obama's state of the union address. kathy? >> thank you very much. well, this is the annual tradition here in washington. it's the grand political event where the commander in chief president barack obama goes down to congress and delivers what's known as the state of the union address to members of congress but of course also to american citizens watching, and most particularly this year to american voters who will decide in november whether to give barack obama another stint in the white house. so what's he going to say to try and persuade them? i'm joined by my colleague steve kingston who is up there on capitol hill. steve, what's his message going to be to the american people? >> terrific atmosphere building here, real sense of the occasion for state of the union night and have a few of the lawmakers coming in now, military, diplomats, clergy, you name it, they're here.

what is barack obama going to say? well, first of all, he'll sound of slightly upbeat note on the economy and say think about the america within our reach as he speaks to a tv audience running into the tens of millions, and then he'll really talk about what he calls fairness, the issue of inequality that's really become front and center in this campaign. and barack obama will set out to the american people a clear contrast between as he sees it, himself and the democrats being the party of equality, opportunity for all, and his republican opponents as being in the pockets of the privileged elite. that's the kind of contrast that he will set out here, and his precise words will be we can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number barely get by. or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot. president obama would call that fairness. the republicans would call it class warfare. and that in a nutshell are the

battle lines of the election campaign. >> steve, he's not going to mention the republican candidates in name. indeed, he'll probably avoid getting involved in the republican race at all tonight, but of course the distinction there that you draw and this whole election weighs heavily on this address, doesn't it? >> that's right. and when he talks about the very wealthiest americans having to pay a little bit more because that's fair, he's not going to mention any names but be referring of course to supporters for mitt romney which we now earned $20 million last year. and symbolically he'll also be talking about warren buffett, the billionaire investor who says he already pays a higher proportion in taxes than the secretary does and the secretary of warren buffett will be up there in the gallery alongside michelle obama as her husband makes his points. >> this is probably the biggest audience the president gets him except perhaps the democratic intention speech he'll give

later in the summer. do you think it makes a difference in his re-election chances in what he says in the state of the union tonight? >> i think it's certainly a colossal platform for him, 43 million people nationwide watched this on television last year. there will be a similar audience but at a time when there's a real debate of the direction of the nation. so barack obama will have to think he does make a difference and will take the opportunity because the weeks and months now the republicans of course, as they run for the nomination to challenge barack obama has been sucking the oxygen of publicity and he'll try to take advantage of it tonight. >> let's talk about the theater of the event because part of it is theater. he stands there and traditionally gets standing ovations from his own party. what do you think the response is going to be from republicans in that hall tonight? >> we have got a repeat of what we had last year, this idea of there being a date night where not necessarily having republicans on one side and

democrats on the other, they'll be more enter mingled and that happened after the arizona shooting last year when congresswoman gabriela giffords almost died and came back last year. she'll be in the chamber again tonight as she leaves congress and it will be that symbolic show of unity, it is politics at its most partisan and as soon as the speech is over we'll see that in the spin room. >> date night, indeed. steve kingston on capitol hill. thank you very much for joining me. we'll of course bring you full coverage of the state of the union address here in washington, covering all the things steve has just talked about, the partisan politics, the election and what it means for the election and what it means, barack obama's own message to the american people for what he means as some sense of fairness in what he calls it in the state of the american economy. we'll have more from washington later on but for the moment back to you. >> kathy, thank you. you're watching "news day" on the bbc, live from singapore

and london. inside the yemen, new concerns about the growing include of al qaeda. >> and two worlds in china. the country is racing towards the future but at what cost. >> when is greatness achieved? is it when you win your first tournament? or when you go toe to toe with a legend? and you achieve a lifetime dream. or when you inspire others? maybe it's when you're always asking yourself what's next? >> the conquerer rises. flowing with quiet energy.

as heady a rose as the exotic. makes us all wonder and indulge. be free. be involved. be alive. live a story worth retelling. be where you want to be. destinations worldwide. >> the president of the united states. >> president obama delivers his annual state of the union address on january 24. he'll use it to outline his policies for the american

economy and to per swace anxious voters ahead of the election. we'll have live coverage on bbc world news live from washington. >> this is "news day" on bbc. >> the headlines for you this hour. the international monetary fund says the world's economy is deeply in the danger zone with euro zone crisis requiring urgent action. >> syria has agreed to extend the arab league monitoring team to syria by another month. >> the nigerian military has arrested 158 suspected members of the islamist group. last week a wave of bombings in karno killed more than 180

people. our african correspondent andrew harding traveled there and sent this report. nigeria is in trouble. soldiers on the streets and communities torn apart by violence. these are christians who just fled their homes in the muslim dominated north of the country, a militant islamic group boko haram gave them three days to leave or else. >> shooting, bombing, all over the place. >> you're scared for your life? >> yes. >> yes, we are scared. that's why we live there. >> who do you blame? >> the government because they cannot put it off. >> and the group is not just targeting christians, they ruined a police station in the northern of the city. over the weekend militants killed almost 200 people here in what amounts to a declaration of war against

nigeria's secular government. this was an extremely well-planned, well-orchestrated assault with what you can see devastating results. it suggests that's boko haram is evolving to a full-scale insurgency. so far the government's excuse has been to flounder and blame al qaeda. >> the attacks are quite new. and passing through the terror attacks is ugly. >> the violence has horrified most muslims here but in the impoverished north people do feel let down by their leaders and the group is exploiting that. we are unemployed, going to the

stroots, no schools, no jobs. it's a sad situation. >> the islamic group is a symbol of that neglect. >> so a vast, increasingly polarized country braces itself for more violence. andrew harding, bbc news nigeria. >> a military judge in the united states has ruled that a marine who was involved in one of the worst attacks by american troops on civilians in iraq should not spend any time in jail. staff sergeant frank wuterich led a marine patrol that killed 25 iraqis in haditha pled guilty to dereliction of duty. members of his patrol either failed charges or the charges were dropped. tensions are running high over a mysterious memo allegedly drafted on the direction of the former ambassador to washington which asked, saying regional

security, especially the situation in afghanistan was discussed at the meeting. egypt's military ruler has announced a partial listing of the country's state of emergency from wednesday. the marshall said it would still apply in crimes committed by what he called thugs. the move came on the eve of the first anniversary of the popular uprising which ousted hosni mubarak. >> in yemen, the president has stepped down after 33 years in power and left the country for medical treatment in the united states. the country has left behind is in political turmoil with signs of islamist groups linked to terrorist organizations are growing in influence in one of the most strategically important corners of the middle east. the bbc reports from southern yemen. >> the main road east out of

aden, gateway to a lawless land seen by western intelligence agencies as one of the most dangerous places in the world. >> ok. >> the yemeni arm i couldn't stopped me for heading for a nearby town. al qaeda are there, the local commander told me. go any further and you'll be killed. despite the roadblocks and pored aic fighting, we got these latest pictures. the town is in ruins. fighters from ansar al-sharia seen as a front for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula patrol the streets.

[speaking in foreign language] >> the islamist militants have advanced across the rugged mountains of southeast yemen. the central government sunk in political chaos has been unable or unwilling to defeat them. this tribal leader knows al qaeda in yemen better than anyone. he has family ties to some of the insurgents. the government used him as a go-between in a failed bid to negotiate a peace deal. >> do you believe al qaeda in yemen today is getting stronger or weaker? [speaking in foreign language]

>> yemen occupies a vital strategic position beyond these shipping lanes are the oil fields of saudi arabia. there is now enormous pressure on yemen's security forces to combat the insurgent threat. >> we are doing our best with our limited resources but what we want is to pass this critical time. >> the al qaeda insurgency in yemen is casting a dark shadow over the arabian peninsula. western powers know it but they seem powerless to prevent it. bbc news, aden. >> as many as 60 people are feared dead after a massive landslide in new guiney and buried in mud.

it occurred in the southern highlands, the local media is reporting 40 bodies have been recovered and 20 missing. as if we needed further proof the economic crisis in europe was weighing down the rest of the world, the international monetary fund now forecast that the pain will stretch beyond this year. while not completely insulated, china's economy continues to grow fast giving policymakers in beijing a curious challenge whether to meet economic freedom with some political freedom, in the second of its special reports, the bbc looks at the competing forces at play. >> chin yang is a peasant that they set out to help. it's been five years of rising prosperity for mr. chin and diversified from vegetables and chickens to taking tourists along the great wall and feeding and lodging them in his home in the valley below. now the local authorities want

to sell his land to a developer who plans to build a great wall theme park where his house now stands. >> the decision has been made so the project will go ahead. it's very sad. this is a beautiful place and none of us want to leave. >> mr. chin has no say in the matter. his ambition is destined to become a necessary sacrifice. once a year china's vast economy briefly pauses. hundreds of millions of factory and office workers head home to spend new year with their families, to help them the government provides a train capable of 200 miles an hour. the social contract here is pretty obvious. you're allowed to make money but you're not really allowed to dissent. among the gloom of so many

skyscrapers, this is one of the few chinese cities to have preserved its colonial past. the astor hotel was founded by a british methodist missionary in the 1860's. sawyer and her friends are the new chinese middle class, happier talking about "sex in the city" than the little red book. do you feel as free as a woman in the west? >> we feel free. we can do the things we want. >> no, you can't. >> what do you mean? >> you have to change your government. >> why? >> you might not want to but don't you want the freedom to do it? do you want the right to decide the laws under which you live? >> we have the right to decide some things. >> but you can't get rid of the communist party? >> why do we need to get rid of

it. >> because you might not like it. >> why you have to change it? this is our government. it gives us enough food, clothes, everything. maybe the definition of the freedom you mean, maybe it's different from ours. ♪ >> freedom is a relative term and chinese people may well be freer than they've ever been. maybe we worry too much about definitions and maybe the amazing growth of china can continue forever. but if it can't, then perhaps things more intangible than the latest electronic play thing will come to seem more important. >> you've been watching "news

day" from the bbc. >> stay with us. "asia business report is next." ♪ >> 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. at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business. offering specialized solutions in capital to help you 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 >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.