israel threatens to break off. got>> people trapped in rubble a factory in pakistan. celebration but more queen elizabeth diamond jubilee. saturday morning here in

singapore. >> forecasting to be worse -- forecasting to viewers around the world. welcome to bbc. >> assyrian city, the center of the opposition has suffered a sustained bombardment by government forces, the heaviest since the uprising began last year. the united states has closed the embassy in damascus. their reports include some distressing images. >> the artillery fire was just beginning. he steered her to safety.

in this part of the city, is the worst they have endured pure your -- they have endured. the shelling is constant now. you can also hear all little bit of fire. it is a pretty futile gesture. eyewitnesses say of field clinic was hit. the injured are being moved. over several days, most of the casualties have been civilians. the houses do not have basements. there is nowhere to hide. where is the arab league, she

shouts. this woman's son is now badly wounded. she screams, we cannot defend ourselves. even in the midst of all this, most hide their faces. they say there is no telling what the regime will do. >> we want to give our situation to the un so they can help us. who is going to help us now? >> some of the dead were armed. this man died attacking a government sniper position yesterday. the regime says the violence is caused by the fighters of the syrian army. no, says the rebel commander.

everything we do is to defend our people. the regime cannot get to us, so it retaliates against civilians instead. they are paying the price. the shroud is for a 7-year-old girl. they carefully write her name. like all the dead, she must be buried in darkness. daytime is too dangerous. there is no family, no prayers, and little dignity. they have to hurry. even now, they are attacked. there will be many more desperate and lonely and ariels. >> my colleague gave the latest on the situation in the city.

>> people are terrified. they have been hiding out inside their homes, in the stairwells, putting as much different -- distance between them and the outside as possible. there were 17 dead, and they took them out to bury them, but not one of the time. they dug in one mass graves, but put all the bodies in at once and fled. it remains very dangerous. we counted hundreds of impact, and we are still hearing the of the whistle -- hearing whistles and explosions. >> as the bombardment continues, as the opposition strengthening or dissipating? >> that is a good question.

it has seemed like very long ti. why is the government acting now. bear in mind a few days ago a general went from the government side. >> progress between rival factions in the middle east. you have an update for us. >> the main palestinian groups, and hamas have agreed that mahmoud abbas will head an interim government, but the move

came with a warning from israel that it may close the door to any future peace talks. wexner mahmoud abbas, of fatah leader and prime minister, too. mr. a boss -- abass agreed to lead an interim government. goo>> he wants to implement whas related. we are serious about closing the chapters in order to achieve when reconciliation on the ground. >> palestinians have been crying out for reconciliation for

years, but the division between fatah and hamas has been bitter and violent. and here after hamas and won elections in 2006, of years fighting erupted. he says he wanted to change with the election is held next year. mr. abbas is a fallback, says the prime minister, and there are major differences in policy, not least, how to deal with israel. >> hamas is a terror organization which is supported by iran. i have said many times the palestinian authority must decide between a pact with hamas

and peace with israel. hamas and peace do not go together. >> after talks, president abbas has become frustrated with u.s. efforts. peace between palestinians seems his priority. >> many people are feared trapped in the rubble of a factory in the pakistani city of lahore following a gas explosion. at least 19 people are known to have died here again -- to have died. >> it is an arduous task to dig through the concrete rubble, but the rescue workers are doing just that. police say this factory was not properly registered and is illegal. the collapse is believed to have

been caused by a gas explosion. some of those trapped inside were factory workers, many said to be child workers. only a small number have been pulled out alive. there may be more inside, but it is an anxious and in and wait for family and friends who wait to see those carried away. this man says his brother-in-law came in at 8:00 in the morning. since then, he has not been seen. it is thought more than 60 people may have been inside. the search has been harder because of the narrow streets surrounding the scene, but time is of the essence. >> the rescue operation continues. if there are any open spaces we should be able to get them out. they are bringing in heavy

machinery. >> the safety of pakistan's industry and buildings have been called into question. this factory has been shut down on a number of occasions. the authorities have painful questions to answer, such as why it was allowed to reopen again and again. >> the man accused of norway's worst mass killing has appeared on camera for the first-time since the crime with responsibility for killing 77 people since july and has been refusing to allow cameras into the hearing. this report contains flash photography. >> this is the first time he has been seen in front of the cameras since last july. he appeared to confirm he should remain in custody. he admits killing 77 people but denies criminal responsibility.

69 victims were among the hundreds gathered for the annual labour party use count -- youth camp. he thinks the political party has failed norway. he is also charged with an explosion in the center of oslo that killed eight people. he demanded his freedom and said he even deserve a medal of honor. his arrest was controversially shown live on norwegian tv. many norwegians are furious that was allowed to happen, but for others, and there was a relief to finally seeing him. >> it was important seeing that he cannot hurt me anymore, that he is not dangerous to the way he was. he was very arrogant, and that

was hard for me, because i do not think he regrets what he has done. >> it is important to me because i needed to get closer and realize i was never able to -- that he is never able to do anything like that again. >> i have a lot of mixed emotions, including sears, but i came with a new image that he was turned into someone not dangerous. >> new tests are set to take place. if he is confirmed, he will be confined to a mental hospital. otherwise, the trial is scheduled for april 16. >> you are watching news today, live from singapore and london. still to come, the consequences of actions in iran. they are going to pay a high price. blacks could queensland get the

worst? the awesome -- >> could queensland get the worst? the australian state is not as bad as initially feared. let's take a look at some of the newspapers around the world. the wife of three of's president praise for the violence in -- and the wife of the syrian president prepared for violence. she appears to offer support to her husband. that is the front page. she is also claimed to have comforted. the paper says the rising sense of panic in the capital is fueling a black market in currency trading. greece says there is still hope of the deal despite delays. the financial times says

europe's largest defense contractor ba system is considering dropping the price to win a billion dollar contract. >> the headlines for you this hour. there has been another onslaught by the syrian army with hundreds of shots fired into populated areas. 40 people are thought to have been killed. >> after negotiations, fatah and hamas have agreed to unity deal in the west bank and casa -- gaza. floods in eastern australia. thousands of people have been infatuated in queensland. water levels in st. george are

expected to peak 15 meters higher than normal. it is the third major flood in the area in less than two years. duncan, what is the latest on the flood waters, the residents stranded and evacuate did? >> as far as st. george is concerned, the next few hours are the most crucial, and it looks as though they will escape the worst. according to the mayor, she says she is confident the town will be scared. let me give you the numbers. the last few hours the water rose to 13.8 meters. they are expecting it to peak at 40 meters. of the levy is 40.5 meters, so just enough to sustain the wall and keep the waters back. they have still to this and dirt levee just in time. it looks like now -- they have built a dirt levee just in time.

it looks like that town will be saved. we have heard from one woman who has lived in st. george 50 years. she said she escaped with a family photographs. she did not have time to take anything else. she said she has seen six floods, but this was the most terrifying. >> what are officials telling residents and? when can they return to their homes? >> in varies from town to town. for the people of st. george, it is going to be three or four days before they can hope to get back in. it takes that amount of time for the water to subside. there are other towns that have been given the all clear in the last couple hours. they will start returning later today into tomorrow. it depends where you are here

again we have heard from our emergency services asking about this problem of flooding in southern queensland and northern new south wales, and they said they would have to put more money into levies. they said they are on flood zones and should not get a building permission. all of that will have to be looked at when the waters eventually subside and questions have to be asked. >> thank you so much for the update. officials in the philippines say more than 40 people have been killed by a powerful earthquake that shook the capital monday morning. it is thought to 29 people were killed in one village by landslides. the earthquake struck off the coast, with the debt of 20 kilometers. new lease on strike in brazil have clashed with soldiers and

nine set to remove them from the state assembly. tv shows the officers firing rubber bullets. they have surrounded the building and cut off electricity in an effort to force out several thousand police officers and their families. the murder rate has more than doubled since police started work on tuesday to demand better pay concern of the impact of sanctions in and around. >> the president said u.s. sanctions against iran will victimize more countries like sri lanka. sri lanka's against 90% of crude oil from a round -- sri lanka gets 90% of crude oil from iran. >> the money they make from fishing is unstable unknots. just as bad is uncertainty over kerosene, diesel, and petro, and

sanctions are likely to create a scarcity. >> our fishing industry is dependent on oil. it is done by engines now. but our production costs have already risen 30% in the past year. >> the rent sanctions matter because 93% of imported crude oil in sri lanka's comes from iran. now there is one refinery, and is distributed by road and rail. the problem is aging plant can only refined iranian oil or similar graves like saudi arabian, so that is hard to find. -- similar grades like saudi arabia in, so that is hard to find. >> we are not getting the same

output. >> some of the oil producers like chaumont are offering a sri lanka -- like oman are offering sri lanka's oil. colombo views tehran as a dependable ally and friend. iran is the second biggest consumer of sri lanka in cp rios -- tea. existing sanctions are already causing iranian companies to delay payments to exporters. >> they are not getting the same kind of income as before. with this issue they are unable to operate freely.

>> sri lanka does imports rose find path oil from other countries, so it will does import refined oil from other countries, so it will not run out. the livelihood of many here are at stake. >> it was 60 years ago monday that princess elizabeth became the queen of the united kingdom. she received the news of her father's death during a visit to kenya and was sent immediately to lead the monarchy. this a vent will be held all over the world, but monday she took a quiet visit to the east of england. >> it is what she has been doing for 60 years now, constant and understated. today at a school children were

offering their thanks for her time on the throne. from buckingham palace, there were new photographs and a message. in this special year as i dedicate myself anew to your service, i hope we will be reminded of the power of togetherness and the strength of family, for and shipped, and good neighborliness. that relates embraces the themes she carried forward after the death of her father, george vi. elizabeth was 25. she was in kenya when she heard she was queen. she and her husband returned to london to be met by the prime minister, sir winston churchill. it was an upheaval. >> this was her destiny.

her private secretary later on said she crossed her destiny with both hands, and she did. >> what are the characteristics of this person whose image is so familiar but whose personality remains hidden? >> she is very strong. she has a lot of common sense and great wisdom. >> if is those qualities that have sustained her together with the public's reaction to events like prince william's marriage to kate middleton. >> i think she was genuinely comforted by the enormous support. she has earned it. >> what for the future of the monarch who will be 86 this year? for a friend who knows her,

there is certainty about one thing. >> in my mind, her majesty will remain sovereign as long as she lives. i do not think there is any question. even if she was unable to perform some of her duties, she is still the queen and will be until she dies. good >> elizabeth ii and, queen for 60 years, and as committed as ever to continue a lifetime of service. >> you have been watching news today. >> the syrian city has endured the worst day of attacks from government forces since the uprising began a year ago. the united states has closed its embassy in damascus, and more than 40 people have been killed. we will keep you updated on the latest developments. stay with us.

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