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>> and now, "bbc world news". >> the headlines this hour. a possible breakthrough in relations with north korea. the country of ours to suspend its a clear program. the u.n. and arab league try to mediate a peace deal. >> the first thing we need to do as the secretary-general has set is to do everything we can to stop the violence in the killing. >> his mission is still on course despite the row over the burning of the koran. it is 12 in the afternoon here

in singapore. >> broadcasting to viewers in pbs in america and around the world. this is "newsday". the u.s. has welcomed an announcement by north korea that it is to stop and suspend a nuclear production and missile test in -- return for food aid from the americans. two months after kim jong un came to power following the death of his father, kim jong il. more from seoul. >> on both sides of the pacific, two of the world's most bitter adversaries confirmed what has been rumored care for months. the u.s. and north korea had a deal. north korea has agreed to implement a moratorium on long-

range missile launches, nuclear tests, and nuclear activity at .ongbyon o the representative -- the announcement represents a modest first step. >> north correct can expect almost a quarter of a million tons of nutritional assistance. along with people to monitor where it goes. one more reminder, says the u.s., that the world is transforming around us. not everybody is celebrating yet. many have been here before. four years ago the cooling tower at yongbyon nuclear site was destroyed. a symbol of success to multilateral negotiations. the mood of international cooperation lasted not much longer than the tower itself. since then, north korea has carried out a nuclear test, shelled the south korean island

and unveiled a new nuclear program. is this agreement enough to put all that in the past? in south korea the government has been cautious. the new deal it says could create the right conditions to return to full nuclear talks. getting a broad agreement is the easy part. details have scuttled bigger deals than this on the peninsula and the small print on this one is still not clear. >> joining us live with more details. how difficult is this initiative? >> this is the start of the process. everyone has got back in their car. these are irreversible steps. this is meant to be a test.

do they mean what they say? if so the americans and their partner say things can move forward to the six party talks. the real challenges will began. this is designed to get us there. it is not designed to implement the irreversible denuclearization of north korea which other talks city 1. -- say they want. >> pound young has a doddy track record. -- yongbyon has the doxey track record. >> it is a huge step. one of the questions is the issue of what they call sequencing, in what order are these commitments carried out? the americans have said they expect tough negotiations about that. the statement that the north koreans put out yesterday in

state media say they are seeing this as simultaneous moves. that cannot happen exactly in practice. something has to give first. the issue of what will give first and what will follow it and will be needed to trigger other things is something that will be hashed out in the coming weeks. >> how is south korea and the international community responding to this recent move by the north koreans? >> most are cautiously optimistic. south korea has welcomed this cautiously saying they want to silver -- see real action and progress toward a situation that could be part of the six party talks. japan has said it wants to see concrete action and china has also said it welcomes this move and is willing to play a constructive role. >> thank you for that update. in syria, government forces have

stepped up their action against rebel forces. >> they have in this city. there are reports that is -- a full-scale ground offensive has begun. a government official said troops would cleanse the district of baba amr. finding out what is going on in that part of syria can be tricky. some communications have been cut there. >> the pictures in their entirety are too graphic to show you. and impossible to verify. these depict that bombardment leveled against northern syria. this we're told [unintelligible] these picture seemed to testify. many believe president assad wants to send in his much feared

fourth armored division. this is a member of the opposition, syrian national council and he has been injured in the leg during sustained bombardment. under bring images like these have stepped up pressure on the united nations which has not yet managed to get the security council resolution on syria. the man on the left is accepting his role as an envoy to the country. the former u.n. secretary general kofi annan knows the difficulty and the weight of the task ahead. >> the first thing we need to do as the secretary general has said is to do everything we can to stop the violence and the killing. to facilitate humanitarian access and show their looked after. and [unintelligible] with a peaceful solution.

>> the syrian government has yet to fully cooperate with the proposed visit. it is wary of discussions between arab states and western countries on whether to arm the opposition. the spokesman said -- >> we consider these an aggressive act against syria. any party that issues such declarations will carry the responsibility of the bloodshed of the syrians. we would like our brothers in saudi arabia and qatar to cooperate in taking a position in dialogue. >> such comments will be met with distressed by the opposition and many of the syrian victims. who knows when life for them will return to normal. beck'>> the british policeman ws shot and blinded has been found dead in his home in

northumberland. he was shot at close range in his patrol car. late last year he split with his wife. no one else is being saw in connection with the incident. the south african leader has been expelled from the african national congress. 0 issued a complaint. an italian cruise ship which has been drifting in the indian ocean without power is reported to be close to docking in the seychelles. 1000 people on board. it was crippled recently by a fire in its engine room. the burning of grants from a military base in afghanistan led to many days of protest to. it was given as the reason for the killing of two americans by the interior ministry building

in kabul. the latest violence leaves many questions over the timing of this handover to afghan forces by the end of 2014. tim wilcox book to the top commander in afghanistan, general john allen and also to the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, ryan crocker. he asked the general allen if he accepted it was naive not to have understood the burning france would produce a violent reaction. >> they think we're not surprised in the least. there was this reaction among the afghan people. after all, the koran was burned. the holy book. for them, the word of god. the key point is to remember that over these 10 years, thousands and thousands of isaf forces have passed through afghanistan. they have shown a reverence for the faith of islam. they have properly handled the

religious materials. in this case where these individuals seem to have mishandled the materials, it will be investigated. the reasons for that mishandling will be established. action will be taken to prevent that from happening again. we have to remember all the troops who have pastor here who have done this right. we will focus on these for now. we will investigate what happened and we will take action to prevent it from happening again. >> does something like this and do all that good work and fall into the hands of the hands of of the taliban propaganda machine? >> it is with the afghan national security forces. we have been serving shoulder to shoulder with the afghan national security forces for years. we are operating right now as i speak, operating across south afghanistan. we have trust in each other. we have confidence in each other.

and even though we have this set back, i believe we're going to get through. i do not think this washes away the relationship. the relationship is stronger than that. we have to understand the significance of the great faith of islam to these people. we have to account for it. and we will. it does not push the relationship back. it does not set the relationship back. we will continue to -- with this campaign to execute this campaign and to deal every day as we do, tens of thousands of times with our afghan counterparts. >> would you be prepared to walk on armed into the ministry of the interior in kabul? >> i would. >> how would you characterize the way the counter insurgency is going? >> we have made tremendous progress. it is telling as one looks at the past week where

demonstrations did not occur. the area where your forces and hours have delivered the most punishment to the enemy in helmand and kandahar. kandahar was one of the quest -- quietest spots during this time. i would consider that a very considerable success on the part of our military and partnered with our great british allies. watching "newsday". freedom in the new burger. we meet the political activists who spent decades behind bars. ♪ davy jones, the front man of the monkees has died. time for a view of the papers. but have a brief look at what is

making headlines around the world. the resignation of james murdoch. the chairman of news, international dominates the british papers. news corp. press staffers will not have a member of the murdoch at the helm. for the first time since robert murdoch bought into the market in 1969. the sun also sets. the resignation lays bare how much power has shifted away from newspapers and also we from london. the times is an international publication and details the next steps of the former chairman and james will now focus his attention on the television business. news corp. is trying to depict the resignation as a routine part of his relocation to new york. despite intensifying criticism over the phone hacking scandal.

this is "newsday". these are the headlines. north korea says it is offering to suspend nuclear production and missile tests in return to food aid from the americans. after four weeks of bombardment it looks as though the syrian government ground defenses is underway. animal welfare groups in china have stepped up a campaign to stop bears being formed for their -- barmed ofarmed for the. it is extracted without anesthetic. animal campaigners are saying it is cruel and are calling for a to be stopped. a bear farm.

this video shows the full horror of the procedure. a farmer shows exactly how it is done. a tube is inserted into the stomach to drain away the precious liquid. it is supposed to cleanse the liver and improve my sight. westerners believe this is cruel, says the former but i think they are contributing toward society. >> this is the woman who shot the video and made it public. she spent four years collecting evidence against what she says is a barbaric trade. >> chinese people simply do not know that for years, we have been extracting from case bears and -- caged bears. >> the fight to stop this

practice is gathering pace. part of a gathering awareness about animal rights. their campaigns to stop eating dog meat and shark fin soup. there are plenty of people in china who buy medicine made from bear bile. bear farmers are speaking out and starting to fight back. >> one company already has 500 moon bears. it wants to list on the stock market so it can expand. it said extracting bile is easy and painless. >> making a hole in a bare stomach is a piercing a person's ear. the whole is like another nostril. -- hole is like another nostril. >> attitudes seem to be changing. the days of farming bears for

their bile might be numbered. >> in other news, among the most high-profile were the leaders of what became known as the 88 generation of students. they were the people among the forefront of pro-democracy protests. the leaders were sentenced to a decade behind bars. in january, some were set free. our correspondent met them in roentgen -- rangoon. >> a group led protests to demand democracy and an end to military rule. there were brutally suppressed and the leaders imprisoned. their first but not last stand behind bars.

there were jailed again in 2007 but at -- and sentenced to 65 years each. there were set free by the new civilian-led but still military- backed government. the three remain powerful symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy. in a rare television interview i asked as he now have plans to join the official political protests? >> , less, some are interested in politics. >> in the future, do you think you will form a political party of your own? >> not definitely. i would have to say we will see. >> you say you do not want to rush in to politics but you want to wait and see. there was some of people who respect you, who look to you for

leadership. what do you see as your future role? >> this is a burden to our shoulders. if we cannot fulfil their hopes for their expectations, this is a challenge. we will have to face. >> you are still not telling me what you think you might do. you think you might join a political party in the future? >> you ask me again. a good question. ok. i will consider deeply because -- [unintelligible] for the future. very consider for the time being. i do not want to talk.

>> you were present by -- imprisoned by the old government. many of the same people are still in positions in this new government. can you trust them? can you work with them? >> we want to trust anybody. this is an important. trusting in each other is essential. we want to trust them. at the same time it will have to prove how much we can trust. we have suffered a lot. it does not matter. we will have to face a brighter future for our citizens. that is all right. we do not need to bbc.co [unintelligible] >> do you believe this change is genuine? >> of course we believe.

>> that was rachel harvey. a presidential election in egypt. it will be held on the 23rd and 24th of may. they have been under increasing pressure to hand over power. britain has accused argentina o. in a sports -- reports that thye arthere stalking goods from the u.k. 12 people have been killed by severe storms in the u.s. 17 tourne -- tornado sightings e reported. the governors of kansas and

missouri have declared a state emergency. the electoral authorities in senate all say there will be a runoff in the presidential elections after the incumbent failed to win a majority of votes in the first round. mr. wade gained 35% of the boat last sunday. he will face a runoff against his former prime minister who came in second. the music world is in mourning with the loss of the head of a much loved pop group. the fans are mourning the loss of davy jones of the monkees. they became massive stars in the 1960's. davy jones died at the age of 66. the monkees have many hits,

including "daydream believer." monkey around ♪ >> he was the clean-cut singer of a ban put together for 1960's tv show. his talent and appeal as front man contributing to the chart success on both sides of the atlantic. >> there their work, long hair. everything to make the fans go wild. >> created to emulate the bills, -- beatles, the monkees enjoyed almost as much fan hysteria. >> he was born in manchester in 1945. before finding fame he was a child actor appearing in series like "coronation street."

face, now i'm a believer ♪ it was singing with the monkees that made him a star. it was not something davy jones found justified. >> we were labeled as a manufactured band. like anything you make arrangements to do stuff. whether your @ bj r.t. presenter. -- you are a dj or a tv presenter. >> their music has endured. davy jones will be remembered as one of the few produced pop singers who achieved their dream of stardom not just here but in america, too. ♪ davy jones. that is it from rico and from

me. goodbye. >> 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 harur expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies. from small businesses to major corporations.

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