>> 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 understand the industry you operate in, working to for nurte new ventures and provide capital for key decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of

industries. what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news. >> hello and welcome to "newsday" on the bbc. >> >> the headlines. china's leader in waiting is welcomed at the white house as he meets barack obama for the first time. more uncertainty for greece. euro zone finance ministers cancel crucial talks over concerns about its austerity plans. >> a massive security crackdown in bahrain on the first anniversary of pro democracy demonstration. 70 years after the fall of singapore, victims of the war and japanese occupation are remembered. it's 7:00 a.m. in singapore. >> it's 2:00 a.m. in london, forecasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. welcome to newsday.

president obama has held talks at the white house with the man expected to become china's next leader, xi jinping. china's current vice president said he hoped his visit would strengthen ties between the two countries but relations between the world's biggest economies are strained, particularly over trade, currencey and human rights. >> a ceremonial welcome at the pentagon today for china's leader-in-waiting. xi jinping is known tour a fan of hollywood war films but much else about him is unknown. so in the oval office on valentine's day, a first date, a chance to see how he feels about iran, syria and growing u.s. presence in asia. >> the united states is a

pacific nation and we are very issued and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships, to enhance our trade and our commerce and make sure that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr. xi replies he was here based on mutual understanding and friendship but warned the discussions would be candid. the chinese want to know more about a repositioning of u.s. military assets, part of what washington calls a strategic pivot towards asia. >> this is an integrated strategy, security, diplomacy, economics, even human rights covering asia from anthony -- india to tokyo and the chinese are nervous about it. >> outside the talks, reminder that wherever china go, controversy follows. they were here for tibet, taiwan and human rights. the protestors are a feature of

every chinese visit here, yet another sign of just how complex this relationship is. this year, there is an extra factor in play, u.s. presidential elections, because china has become a political football. a currency manipulate. >> listen to mitt romney, front runner in the republican race. >> they are artificially lowering their prices and killing american jobs. we can't sit back and let china run all over us. >> this ad by republican running for the senate crudely mocks the loss of jobs to china. >> your economy get very weak, ours get very good. we take your jobs. >> this is the story barack obama wants to tell on jobs -- newly hired american workers making gods sell to china, here at a chopsticks factory in georgia. except the machines they use have been imported from china. in trade, at least, this is far from a balanced relationship.

bbc news, washington. >> joining us now from new york is dr. michael kumar, executive director of global leadership initiatives at the asia society, joining me from new york. welcome to you. thank you very much for joining us. a leader had of in-waiting from china meeting the u.s. president. how significant do you understand it to be? >> i think this is a meeting of good significance. it's his first real big trip to the united states at the invitation of the vice president, a follow-up to vice president biden's trip to china in august of last year. this is, you know, a bit of a getting-to-know-each-other kind of a trip, getington more about the vice president and who he is and the issues he stands for and a realization, i think, by both sides, that the u.s.-china relationship, both bilatterly

and as it impacts the region of the world, is extremely important. >> it's interesting, the getting to know each other, the u.s. keen to find out where xi jinping stands on, say, policy issues, particularly the tricky ones like currency, trade and human rights. where do you think he does stand on that? >> certainly we'll see that he toes the party line during this trip. i wouldn't expect any great shifts from kind of the standard practice of the chinese government in saying that currency issues are being addressed, albeit at a pace that the united states is probably not overly comfortable with. so these issues, i think, are all on the table. they've all been brought up by president obama during their meeting earlier today, will continue to be brought up during the course of this trip, but i wouldn't expect to see vice president xi move in any contradictory way away from what common chinese policy is. >> it's interesting, when we

hear the rhetoric from the two men actually coming out from this meeting, clearly, there's a lot of politics involved here. it is an election year for president obama. he needs to please the american people. but also, xi jinping has to get the chinese people on side and not be seen as pandering to american ideals and ideas of what they want from the u.s.-american relationship. in that respect, how do you see it progressing? >> i think you've hit it right there, and that's why i don't think we'll end up seeing a whole lot of change coming out of these meetings. both sides need to appear strong to their domestic constituencies and so while the issues will be discussed, i wouldn't expect to see any major changes coming out of these meetings. >> we'll see if you're right, dr. kumar, thank you so much for joining us. in other news, the latest bailout plan for the greek economy has hit another obstacle after euro zone finance ministers canceled a meeting arranged for wednesday. they accuse greece of failing to

stick to all aspects of the agreement. the greek ministers say they've met the conditions and that their people won't stand for any more austerity measures. >> the second greek bailout is on hold. wednesday's finance ministers meeting that was due to take place in brussels has been canceled. this man, jean-claude yunker is not satisfied that greek is keeping its side of the deal. if greece is to avoid default, time is running out. it's been revealed that greece's economy shrank by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2011. it still has to repay 14.5 billion euros in bonds by march 20. reasons why the euro group is demanding greece come up with 325 million euros, more than $400 million in budget cuts. the euro group also wants the

people running greece to state in writing that should they come to power in elections due in april, they will stick to promised austerity measures before the bailout can be granted. the violence over the weekend against the latest austerity package shows patience is running out. >> greece is making all the efforts required. the people can't take it anymore. the government is operating with super human effort and we are past the point of exhaustion in the social and economic system. i think europe should also take its responsibilities. >> there are still big hurdles the bailoutore money can be transferred. otherwise, it's looking like a stark choice. make the desired promises or face more financial uncertainty, uncertainty that would grip greece and the euro zone as a whole. >> let's show you the picture in beijing at the moment. the 14th china e.u. summit is

place and will clearly be focusing, among other issues, on the current european debt crisis and those austerity measures by greece causing so many problems. the agenda, bilateral ties between china and the e.u. and cooperation. there you can see the european council president addressing the committee that have gathered. alongside him, european commission president and chinese premier wen jabow. we will watch closely to listen in for key developments, particularly china's support for any possible e.u. help in dealing with the euro zone crisis. now in bahrain, a year on from the start of the uprising there. they've tried to cut the protests but that hasn't helped, has it?

>> that's right. there's been a massive security operation to prevent shia protestors from marking first anniversary of their uprising against the sunni ruling family. forces flooded shia villages and key locations in the capital, particularly around the now demolished pearl round-about, a symbol of persistence during last year's protests. >> bahrain is caught in the grip of growing sectarian violence. there are nightly clashes of majority shia muslims demanding change in a country ruled by a sunni king. >> every night on a daily basis, protestors go on the street protesting and calling for freedom, for democracy and for the downfall of the dictators in bahrain. >> this is the first anniversary of the occupation of pearl round-about. it ended in blood chette. in the unrest that followed, more than 60 people died, including five police officers. it's when you leave behind a glittering towers of the capital and head into the poor shia

villages that you see how deep the anger against the government is. the main shia political party is drawing thousands to its rallies. the leaders call for restraint but many wonder if they can contain angry young activists. the party's senior spiritual adviser calls for peaceful protestors but his sermons are ratcheting up tension. as the rift deepens between sunni and shea, many at this pro had of government rally, believe iran is behind the unrest. we're not with iran and not with anyone else. >> the country's justice minister says lessons have been learned and it's time to move forward. >> the issue of trust should not be a reason, it cannot be supposedly the issue between -- i'm not agreeing with the

description of shia or sunni but a segment of the population is not trusting the police but they should trust each other. >> there was continuing reports of police brutality and ongoing clashes with young proefforts to, some now armed with molotov cocktails. the chance of a peaceful solution looks vanishingly small. >> north korea is preparing to mark the birth date of its former leader, kim jong il, this week. his personality dominated the country for almost two decades but since his sudden death in december, north korea has been headed by a less familiar figure, his son, kim jong un. our correspondent has been looking at a very different public personality. >> identities are their kim's bread and butter. here in south korea, business cards and rubber stamps are essential daily needs.

ironic, because when he's not validating other people, mr. kim gets paid for being someone else, the former north korean leader, kim jong il. take much to pull off the former dictator, he says, the permed hair, distinctive jumpsuit and maybe a bit of clapping. having the former north korean leader as a guest on your tv chat shows or a prop for your music video is surprisingly popular here in the south. but now that kim jong il is dead, will impersonators like mr. kim switch to mimicking his son? he says, there's not much similarity between kim jong il, his son. i'd need to get a different haircut. he'd probably need to do more than that. kim jong un has a very different style to his father, much more, well, matey, more tactile, more hands-on.

north korean state media has shown him testing soldier's equipment, tasting their food, sitting on their beds. even the anchor who carries news of his exploits has been replaced by a younger, softer looking model. the new chummy style has generated a few column inches here in the south. this online newspaper for north korean defectors in south korea is run by a man better prepared than most to make the comparison. mr. jang dined with kim jong il before leaving north korea. >> kim jong il had such status that people didn't dare look him in the face, but kim jong un has no choice but to approach the people and embrace them. he's begging for their loyalty. >> the style signals warmth or weakness, here in the south, officials say it's the policies they're watching for. on that score, north korea says

nothing will change. the style may be new, but when it comes to substance, it says, kim jong un is kim jong il. >> you're watching news on the bbc live from singapore and london. still to come on the program, the duchess of cambridge is greeted by fans as she makes a royal visit to liverpool. >> and we look around burma's newly built capital and get special access to the nation's semi civilian government in action. let's have a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world. starting with the "financial times," focusing on the greek debt crisis. the front page shows a report on the european financial ministers meeting that has been canceled. a warning for greece, summing up

portugal's position post-bailouts where the debt-to-g.d.p. ratio is rising and economic growth is slowing. china daily says the relationship between china and the u.s. is maturing. the paper looks at the importance of a sound relationship between the world's two largest economies. we can see the "independence" front page dedicated to a new report that found a quarter of the world's children are too malnourished to grow properly, saying 200 children die of malnutrition every hour. >> news on the bbc in singapore and london. >> the headlines for you this hour. president obama tells the man expected to be china's next leader that his country must play by the same rules as other economies. >> euro zone finance ministers cancel their meeting about the

greek debt crisis after the country fails to live up to its austerity commitment. until recently, burma's new capitol was an isolated refuge for an authoritarian regime. it was built in 2005 and few foreigners have been allowed to visit but that has changed with the new semi civilian government. our correspondent sends this report from there. >> you can see that when it was designed, it was a vision on a vast scale. this is the presidential palace. look at these ornate columns. the building itself is absolutely huge. if we move around in this direction, sweeping vistas. it's all sort of super sized. it's a strangely soulless, sterile city. it is still a work in progress and the town planners have big ideas. there aren't many places in the world where you could safely stand in the middle of a

multilane highway. this is the road that leads up to parliament. parliament is in that direction, grandiose building. back up in that direction, there's an ornate round-about. between, as you can see, there's not much at all. you count the lanes, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine -- 10 into the center. so double that, i can carry on walking, 20 lanes across, and since we've been here, i think i can count on one hand the number of vehicles i've seen. yet, this is the seat of government and the site of burma's new parliament. 40 seats in the lower house are up for grabs. >> this gives real access inside the parliamentary chamber where they're discussing the budget. that is a new concept because under the old military seniorhip, it was the generals that decided how the nation's money should be spent

and on what. now it's been brought to parliament and they're going through it line by line. there's a lively debate about how the nation's wealth should be distributed. legislators are finding their voice, understanding their role in holding the government to account and finding their power and using it, if you like. as you look around the room, over here, different legislators from different parts of the country. the right hand section of parliament is row upon row upon row of khaki uniforms. 25% of parliament is still reserved for the military. they are still hugely powerful and the majority of other delegates here, well they belong to military backed party. it's the fact that this debate is happening, the fact that there is -- that is new and welcomed by legislators here and around the world. >> today is the 70th anniversary of the fall of singapore, the

surrender of the british garrison to the japanese was a turning point in the second world war. two singaporeans have been recounting their experiences from 1942. we'll hear from a luis branson, a child when the war broke out, and retired military gunner. >> it was not a day to remember. everything was quiet in singapore. we felt something was wrong but we had planes fly over, drop over pamphlets, saying surrender. >> 15th of february 1942, i was 11. i and my sister, myrtle was

taken to the convent. the convent in town, as orphans or whatever you call it and from there we were taken to chinese prison, taken by japanese, early hours of the morning. my mother had -- we had gone with my mother and the other children and managed to take only what we could take with us, right. i was one of the lucky ones. i had a bag. i was taken from the school. so we went and we didn't live in cells. we were just given space. i keep saying my body space, this is where i sit, this is where i stand, this is where i eat, this is where i sleep. >> it was a sudden silence around the city. we were next lined up. those that were fit were put in one place and those that were not too fit or suffering would

be left out, put on the railway to thailand to build the railway. >> because we were children, we were lucky. we didn't have to suffer. in a sense, you work. we did have a little bit of schooling because we had a lot of nuns with us and our parents, they were the sufferers. and then all of a sudden we were taken just like that and of course everybody panicked because we wanted ton, what are they going to do with us now, to kill us? but the next morning, we were taken in big loreys to this place, this camp, where i was until the end of the war.

>> i think back of all of the friends i had in the army and locally, who -- it's not an easy thing to say or think about. >> many turned out in liverpool to greet the duchess of cambridge, there to visit a charity devoted to helping recovering addicts. she certainly made a lot of people very happy. >> her husband may be posted 8,000 miles away in the but the detches was happy on valentine's day. prince william sent a card and flowers to his wife who spent the day in liverpool. her stop, the brink, an

alcohol-free bar in the city center. she was shown how to make a non-alcoholic cocktail called "the duchess." there was also a performance by this choir of recovering addicts run by the charity, "action on addiction," one of only four organizations of which she's patron. >> she knows a bit about what we do but to actually come here was fantastic and i know some of the stuff she heard today and some people's personal testimonies about their life with alcoholism and addiction. >> onward to the children's hospital where the crowds braved the cold for catherine. this is the first time the duchess has done a public walk-about without her husband at her side and she's come here to liverpool to find all of these people have turned up just for her. she was a big hit with the children here. 9-year-old jack karuthers has crohn's disease and is being treated at the hospital.

>> amazing when she came and she was very nice to me. >> just months into her royal career, the duchess is becoming known for her relaxed personal approach, something appreciated by the parents and children here on the cancer ward. style watchers were satisfied, too, the duchess' high street outfit met with local approval. >> she was looking stunning. we only got pictures of the back of the hair. >> next month, she will accompany the queen on two engagements and later in the year, will travel far east with william. from now on, her public life will only get busier. >> you've been watching newsday on the bbc. >> let's bring you reminder of our main news. china's leader-in-waiting is welcomed at the white house as he meets barack obama for the first time. you've been watching newsday on the bbc. stay with us.

asia business reports and headlines on the way 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 understand the industry you operate in. working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of

industries. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.