>> 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? >> and now "bbc world news america." >> here are the headlines. the australian prime minister ask calls a snap election following the resignation of kevin rudd.

it skewed the government's achievements. >> a bloody week in the syrian town of homs. two foreign journalists among the dead. a train crashes into a terminal in monasteries. 49 are killed. gloria are arroyo pleads not guilty to election rigging. it is 12:00 here in singapore. this is newsday. the julia gillard has called for

an election after the resignation of our foreign minister. kevin rudd step down. he said he could no longer serve without confidence. >> the prime minister came out to defend our record and her abilities. for the sake of the party and the country, speculation about her leadership had to end. kevin rudd, the man whose job she took, what was the center of the argument. >> in order to settle this question once and for all. i believe it is in the interest of the party, but much more important in the interest of the australian nation. >> speaking from washington where he resigned, kevin rudd

announced his intention to run and made clear only he could save the government. >> [unintelligible] >> speculation about the labor leadership has dominated politics for months. tapping the government's energy and focus. julia gillard and kevin rudd do not have many political differences. this is much more personal. supporters have also been getting personal. julia gillard's ministers are calling kevin rudd dysfunctional and disloyal while his aides say she should leave before the next election. the ballot will be held on monday. julia gillard is the favorite.

maybe it is the size of kevin rudd's defeat that will be more important. it could leave of italian politics even more uncertain. -- australian politics even more uncertain. >> the syrian government is again facing internal condemnation. it is another date. the city of homs has come under assault. recall the and -- marie colvin and remi ochlik were killed when they were shelled by government forces.

>> today's shelling of homs was indiscriminate. it has been like this every day for almost three weeks. syria's regime is trying to crush the resolution. the opposition is running out. houses have been reduced to rubble. this was the base of the few foreign journalists here. among them, marie colvin, one of the most respected war correspondents of her generation. speaking to the bbc yesterday, she described an attack on the city and the hungry civilians. >> it is absolutely sickening. shelling started at 6:30 in the morning. i counted 14 shells hitting

civilian areas within 30 seconds. there is a small clinic. you cannot really call it a clinic -- it is an apartment. a baby died today. absolutely terrific. they stripped him and found shrapnel had gone into his left chest. the doctor said they could not do anything. they left him until he died. that is happening over and over and over. no one here can understand how the international community can let this happen. >> the french cryptographer -- photographer, remi ochlik, was also killed. their death were a reminder of the british foreign secretary that scores were dying yesterday.

the white house spoke of shameless brutality in syria. such words are welcome in homs, but you must move quickly begs this activist. the british photographer, paul conroy, was injured. efforts to get him out with the wounded a french journalist. the ferocious bombardment is making that difficult. the international committee of the red cross has called for a humanitarian cease-fire for all the victims the international community has often been paralyzed over syria. the demand for a cease-fire may get support from even those nations that backed the regime. the question is whether the

syrian government is listening. >> marie colvin was one of the world's most respected war correspondents. she was one of the most talented reporters of regeneration. tributes have -- tributes have flooded in from her colleagues. >> read: it was a great foreign correspondent. she was devoted -- marie colvin was a great correspondent. she was devoted to the news. she wanted her readers to know the truth, especially true that powerful people wanted to keep hidden. the middle east was her speciality. >> she believed she was a witness there, to report things other people could not do. she could go places other people could not go. she would stay there, report it,

and try to make a difference. >> she covered the civil war in sri lanka. it was very traumatic, but she went back to work. >> if you are going to cover a war, you have to weigh the risk. i had shrapnel in my eye and lost sight in my right eye. there was no way to go without taking that risk. >> marie died doing what she loved. >> i know she did. she was totally committed to what she did. the importance of telling stories and writing new matter what. that was her life. she told me she was on a story that was important and she wanted to finish it and that she would leave today. it is really hard because in just -- it is just one day.

>> in tripoli a year ago, colonel gaddafi's people nominated two reporter to interview him beside her. she chose me and christiane amanpour of abc news. >> reet spoke with the fierce urgency of right now. she was on the front lines of trying to get the word out. the people she was covering -- but with the most important thing to her. >> on monday, she said the an e- mail from homs. she wrote, "yet today the -- they are killing with impunity. it is sickening." >> the talented and respected foreign correspondent for the sunday times, marie colvin, has been killed in syria. this is a sad reminder of the

risks journalist take to inform the world of what is happening. >> in her e-mail to me, she had a chuckle about the way she was smuggled into syria. >> it was kind of fun as long as you did not go next to the syrian post. i hope to see you soon. >> marie colvin. in buenos aires, at least 49 people have been killed and 600 more injured after a commuter taint -- commuter train crashed. an investigation is underway to find the cause of the accident. the train arrived at rush hour, packed with commuters. these pictures show it was unable to stop before smashing into the buses. the second carriage crunched

through the first. the authorities say it approached at normal speed, but at the last minute, was unable to slow down. >> people started to break the windows and get out however they could. i saw the engine destroyed and the train driver trapped below the steel. there were a lot of people hard. >> officials are trying to work out what caused the crash. they say it may have been brake failure. they are not ruling out driver error. the driver was young and had just boarded his shift. an investigation is under way. the rescue workers getting to those trapped alive was a priority. hundreds were injured. many were examined by medical staff at the scene to check for whiplashed and possible broken bones. nearby, the maine national

cathedral, mourners gathered to pray. the archbishop described the incident as inexplicable and senseless. it has shot the local community, one seeking answers to the worst rail disaster in more than 30 years. >> you are watching news day on the bbc live from singapore and london. still to come, the philippines' former president, and gloria are arroyo, faces charges of election rigging. on the frontline in somalia, how the conflict has shifted from the capital of mogadishu to the surrounding countryside. in the u.k., eight former -- a person has been sentenced. he was two weeks of giving -- giving birth when she was killed

by her boyfriend's cousin. he tried to cover up the crime before returning to a party. a man will appear in court on thursday charged with the murder of a retired teacher. they were stabbed to death two weeks apart. he was arrested in can following a tip off from the public. nine men have been cleared of the murder of tommy english in 2000. the two brothers who turned informer said they have given evidence that was flawed, and reliabl -- flawed and unreliable. this is newsday on the bbc. these are the headlines. the australian prime minister,

julia gillard, has said the government labor party could face questions over its leadership. in syria, the intense bombardment of civilian areas continues. two foreign journalists are among the dead. the former philippines president, gloria arroyo, has pleaded not guilty to alleges election rigging. she was president for almost a decade. she was arrested last november after leaving the philippines for medical treatment. the former president's court appearance was rigged. quite this is the beginning. it could take several years to process. the last trial took six years.

>> according to the court, the trial will begin on the 19th of april. what our legal analyst telling you? how long do they think this whole procedure will last? >> it is anybody's guests, to be honest. some are saying it could take several years. mrs. arroyo has very good lawyers, the same lawyers that joseph had. trials in the philippines take a long time. it could take another couple of years. this is the beginning of a very long process. >> indeed, a very long process.

you have the trial of the former president, arroyo, and the impeachment trial of the supreme court justice. this is all part of an anti- corruption campaign. >> it is, exactly. the president really wanted to see gloria arroyo in court. at the moment, she is charged with electoral fraud. there are many other allegations. there is no love lost between the president and gloria arroyo. he is pushing for the trial to go all the way and to make sure she is investigated properly. >> negotiators from the united states and north korea will

meet at a later on thursday to talk about the north's nuclear program. the talks are the first since the new leaders took power in december. the director of a mexican prison and 28 guards have been arrested on suspicion of helping organize a massive breakout and massacre last sunday. 30 inmates late to a drug cartel estate in northern mexico. 44 prisoners were beaten to death. a key victory for pro-government forces in somalia. it has come under somali government control without a shot being fired.

the frontline of the conflict has shifted from the capital of mogadishu to the surrounding countryside. >> is this the moment for the ruined city? this was a us in mogadishu in the bad old days. today, it has transformed. whistles' instead of gunfire. the militants who held half the city for years have been driven out. >> we are optimistic now. >> yes. >> a politician takes a stroll,

unthinkable a few weeks ago. almost everything needs fixing. somalis are counting on the outside world. >> no running water, no electricity, no food. what we expect from london is a real plan. >> money? >> of course. money. billions. >> but somalia's long wars are not over. the frontline has shifted outside these troops are now launching new of the set -- offenses against al-shabab. >> we are moving to the open ground. >> more families are on the move. coming down the road behind us heading into mogadishu, a convoy

of thousands of trucks and vehicles carrying civilians who are fleeing what they fear is an offensive against al-shabab. somalis have been running like this for 20 years. >> it is very hard. there is no food. we are afraid of al-shabab. >> some of those fleeing are getting outside aid. the turkish are urging other nations to step up. >> there is nothing but scarcity here. when you want to do something for these people, they welcome it. i would like all of the members of the international community to come. >> the needs are still staggering. thousands of families are waiting for aid. the city may be calmer now, but the politics remained chaotic.

rival clans vying for power across somalia. two decades of enmity cannot be wished away. >> at least by people have been killed and dozens injured over what nato says was the burning of copies of the koran in afghanistan. the crowd chanted death to america and smashed -- smashed windows. supporters of vladimir putin are staging a rally in moscow in the next few hours. the demonstration is intended to show he still has widespread support ahead of the presidential election. organizers are expecting more than 200,000 people to take part. police have retaken a prison in

bali. security forces have been locked in a tense standoff for a second night. the violence began on tuesday following the stabbing of an inmate. the six month trial of former egyptian president, hosni mubarak, has been set for june 2. mr. barr has spoken at rarely and made no comment during the defense's final arguments on wednesday. looking at some of the stories making headlines around the world -- the times pays tribute to marie colvin as she paid the price of truth when she was killed in syria. some say the syrian army was deliberately targeting her and her colleagues. greece's debt -- the bank of

scotland's salary scheme -- the bank plans to cut bonuses. the china daily asked what is in a name? the intensifying between apple and who exactly owns the right to the name ipad? in italy, prosecutors have added seven more people to the list of those being investigated in the sinking of the costa concordia. the vessel struck rocks and went down, causing the death of more than 20 people. >> salvage workers have found eight more bodies on the wreck of the costa concordia. rough seas have hampered efforts by rescue workers to bring all the dead a short and identify them.

video released by the authorities showed divers preparing to bring up the bodies found on the sock and decks of the cruise liner. salvage workers have located remains on deck for of the partly submerged wreck. the authorities say among those found were the bodies of a woman, a man, and a child, thought to be a little girl who was 5-years old. she was the only child listed as missing after the disaster. altogether, 25 bodies have now been found in the wreck. another seven people are still unaccounted for. the inquiry into the disaster initially named two people as being under investigation -- the captain and one of his senior officers. now the prosecutors have added new names to the list. for more of the ship's officers

and three employees of the company that operated the bustle will also be investigated for charges including involuntary manslaughter. the names of the new defendants have not yet been released. >> you have been watching news date from the bbc. the main -- the australian prime minister calling a snap election for leadership of the labor party. that is it. take care. >> make sense of international news. 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.

% n]♪ hello. i'm becca king reed. welcome to this is us. this week, we're at the hiller aviation museum in san carlos. and as you can see, it's just filled with amazing aircraft. you may not realize it, but many of