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>> and now "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome. >> the u.s. says syria will be judged on actions, not words, after the president accepts the u.n.-sponsored peace plan. >> a u.s. domestic flight makes an emergency landing after hysterical capt. needs to be restrained by passengers. tuberose salt -- keelboat rules out political reform. it is 11:00 in the morning in singapore. >> it is 4:00 in the morning in london. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world.

>> did united states has reacted cautiously to the news that syria has accepted a peace plan put forward by the u.n. envoy kofi annan. hillary clinton says president bashar al-assad will be judged by his actions, not his words. more than 9000 people have been killed in the past year. the latest estimate came as president assad visited the city of homs. our middle east editor reports. >> the question is whether the president is playing for time or whether he is serious about finding a way out of the violence. that would mean concessions to the armed opposition.

opponents the president condemns as terrorists. the regime has shown more enthusiasm for victory at the negotiations. -- vera negotiations. he congratulated the soldiers. >> some of the residents are coming back. it is thanks to you and your sacrifice. >> a soldier response. >> we're here to defend the country to the last drop of our blood. >> kofi annan was in beijing. he now has the support of china, as well as russia. he needs their help to keep the pressure on the regime. >> we need to see how we move ahead. >> this peace plan, now accepted by president bashar al-assad,

calls for syrians to negotiate not fight. the regime has agreed to pull back its forces. it's as the opposition must stop shooting. the u.n. wants a daily truce to allow fat -- food and medical aid. it is a long list. the regime has made similar promises in the past and has found reasons not to keep them. in london, the foreign secretary was with his bosnian counterpart. of boarding a repeat of the bloodshed 20 years ago in the balkans is concentrating mind at the foreign office. " this is a regime that has been involved in the murdering of thousands of people. torture and abuse of many others. we have to see actions in that light. of course, we want them to respond positively. >> for a while, the fighting in serious built over into lebanon. a warning that the nightmare that could follow if the peace

plan does not work. >> the u.s. secretary of state gave this reaction to the syrian announcement. >> it is an important initial step that the regime has written the united nations to accept the plan. let me pause here to say, however, given the history of over promising and under delivering, that commitment must now be matched by immediate action. we will judge his sincerity by what he does, not by what he says. if he is ready to bring this dark chapter in the syrian's history to a close, he can prove it by immediately ordering regime forces to stop firing and began withdrawing from populated areas. >> history clinton. kofi annan has been in china

garner support for his peace plan. we have been lost in the developments in beijing. >> this situation touches on capitals across the globe. washington, moscow, beijing. china and russia have given diplomatic support to u.n. resolutions, which reported critical on the syrian government. the chinese have now given their full support and backing to kofi annan's plan. the premier told kofi annan in a meeting on tuesday that that would be the case. it is implementation that is important now. the premier -- >> i am just wondering, michael, in terms of the chronology of events.

pope came first? russia accepted the plan and -- who came first? is it a case that china followed suit? >> it did follow suit. kofi annan went to moscow and got their approval. that is the order of events. i do not think beijing is acting just because russia is acting. beijing has always had its own foreign policy. they were worried there might be a change of government and that government might be more friendly towards the americans and the chinese would lose influence in the middle east. that is what he wanted to avoid. that is why he did not back the original u.n. resolutions. this time, he seeks not to blame anyone. just to try to end this situation. the town is less strident. that is why china feels it can support the plan.

>> an independent report has identified half a million families struggling with a range of problems. among the causes of the unrest, poor parenting, low academic achievement, and too much emphasis on materialism. >> over the course of five extra nine days last august, it england learned how order and chaos are close neighbors. rioting, looting, and arson at spreading like bush fires across the country. the politicians initially blaming criminality, pure and simple. but then it a report to look at the deeper social causes and lessons to be learned. the panel went to many of the riots damaged neighborhoods and

shocked by the sense of hopelessness they encountered. >> i always find it shocking when presented with the starkness of individuals about their lives and their prospects. the memory will be talking to young people and that is what they said. we need hopes, we need dreams. >> the report recommends the government planned family support program be expanded to cover 500,000 forgotten families. they want a new requirement for schools to develop policies of building character in young people. a government guarantee of a job for all young people who been out of work for two years. the report throws responsibility for the rights back at government. it identifies a slice of society which has become disconnected from the mainstream. half-million forgotten families. their children grow up without

the character and skills to become responsible citizens. >> each has to take personal responsibility for the decisions they made to burn down someone's shop, or to drive someone out of their home. in the end, we know that parenting, materialism, all of those things contribute to this. >> the rioters in manchester came from the poorest areas of the city. president gave reaction to the report. >> -- the residents gave their reaction to the report. >> there is no way out for people. >> i do not think there was a point to it. >> the right saw some neighborhoods turn on themselves. the appalling scenes also

inspired a flowering of community spirit. after this convenience store was stripped bare, president came together to help the owner to rebuild his business. today, he has forgiven those who raided his store and believes the real lesson is the need for government to help young people. >> they have to listen. they should listen to the youngsters, about what they want. >> the riots were initially dismissed as criminality, pure and simple. today's report agrees it was commonality, but concludes there was nothing simple about it. -- criminality, but concludes there was nothing simple about it. >> a u.s. domestic flight forced to make an unusual landing.

>> it was an internal flight across the u.s. and it was forced to make an emergency landing after what was described as a medical situation involving the captain. passengers said he had to be locked out of the cockpit and was heard pounding on the door and ranting about al qaeda. >> it is one of those terrifying moment you usually see in the movies. the captain of this flight is on the floor being restrained by passengers apparently after an outburst. these pictures were filmed on a mobile phone by one of these 135 passengers. the plane had taken off from new york jfk airport. 3.5 hours into the journey to las vegas, the captain left the cockpit, forcing an emergency landing in taxes.

an off-duty pilot had been on the plane, and landed it. >> he started to curse at me. iraq, iran. i took him in a chokehold. i was not letting go. i was on top of the sky until we landed the plane. >> the captain was carried away once on the tarmac. he is receiving medical attention. the passengers came to terms of what happened. >> the only thing i could think of was my wife and my children. >> they are now safe. many of these people are calling for tighter screeners of the pilots before they can take to the skies. >> you are watching "newsday."

the plot thickens over the sacking of one of china's top leaders. however british businessmen -- >> is a time to face the music in indonesia? conservative movement of his modern singers as corrupting the country's youth. ♪ we start with the gulf news detailing the six-point plan by kofi annan to broker peace in syria. the moscow times picks up on comments by u.s. republican presidential hopeful mitt romney that russia is the number one geopolitical foe of the united states. his words, after president obama was overheard telling president

medvedev that -- cutting red tape, at the takeoff leads the south china morning post. the reports on news by the chinese government to bolster private aviation in the country. the number of private jets being flown in the mainland nearly doubled in the last year and demand is still growing. >> this is "newsday." >> washington has warned syria's present that lee be judged by his actions, not birds bashar al-assad accepted a u.n.-sponsored peace plan. >> one of china's top leaders

was sacked in one of the country's biggest political scandals in years. he had been seen as a candidate for a top position within the communist party. the scandal took a new twist earlier this week. >> he is known -- is known for -- much is obscured from view. built on the banks of the river, it is a place where it is easy to lose your bearings. on the streets, normal daily life continues. in the corridors of power, there has been a purge. the party secretary of the city was sacked. his removal from power revealed a power struggle at the very top of chinese politics. he had been expected to join the

nine-member body during a leadership change later this year. he had made his name once in a crackdown against organized crime. as police chief, shown here at the right, apparently tried to defect. it was this extraordinary political scandal. in a new twist, the u.k. embassy has asked china to investigate the spirit -- the mysterious death of a british businessman. he died in a hotel room last november. he was a friend of the family. despite his sacking, he remains a popular figure in the city. he improved the lives of many here and still commands the support. >> his achievements are more

than his failings. he governed the city well and cared for people. people miss him. >> with the leadership change starting later this year, beijing had wanted to project an image of unity. but with this major political scandal, those plans are now out of a stamp. >> the court of appeals has said that made living in the city space will not be allowed the right. all other workers are allowed citizenship. manes had been denied that right. with more details, let's cross over to hong kong. what was the reason in overturning the maids residency ruling? >> i had a chat with a lawyer.

he told me that he believed it was a unanimous decision by the three judge panel. he did not go into a lot of details about the overturning. he told me he needs to brief his client. but we understand is that the government of argument all along has been it has the right to decide who is able to apply for citizenship. they believe that for domestic workers are not so-called ordinary residents of the city. in fact, when they decided to come here to work, they understood they were not allowed to apply for citizenship. that is the government's reasoning. i also spoke to a spokeswoman for domestic workers in hong kong. she says they are disappointed about the court ruling. she believes that what the court is doing is legalizing discrimination against foreign domestic workers in hong kong. the lawyer has told me that he

believes there is a high likelihood he will be appealing this case one more time to the highest court in hong kong. >> what has been the sentiment of locals regarding this issue? >> it is fair to say that today's decision will be received very positively by the resident of hong kong. this is a city of 7 million people. it was already feeling that the city was too crowded. there are a lot of protests earlier this year about mainland chinese people who have the right to work and to live here. they do not believe that hong kong can absorb potentially hundreds of thousands of foreign domestic workers who may want to live here. they believe the system is completely unfair and should be changed.

>> thank you so much for the update. >> paul benedict has held talks with the cuban president in havana. the talks were hours after a senior minister dismissed any prospect of political reform. the pope visited cuba's most important catholic shrine, where he called on cubans to work for justice and prayed for those deprived of freedom. >> very keen to play down any suggestion that political reform is on the agenda in cuba. in response to the comments from the pope in his various speeches, talking about renewal, talking about the need for openness in society. mentioning human freedom, talking about the respect for human freedom. we can interpret the comments

from the official as a response to those messages. while cuba is in the midst of the economic reform, those reforms would continue, those were reforms mayn't -- aimed at sustaining the socialist model here and not about any political change on the island. in a strong message from cuba. that would have been on the agenda for the talks between the pope and the president. after about an hour of discussions, they did come out smiling and chatting as they walked around the presidential palace. it is not a confrontation. the pope making his feelings pretty clear. >> he received a warm reception in santiago yesterday. and today in havana. how significant a trip is this for the pope? >> it is extremely significant. people talk about it being a privilege that the pope is

visiting the island. it is an island that is isolated. this is a big moment for cuba. the church has struggled for so many years in a communist country. it is about reviving the faith, it is about supporting the church as an institution in cuba. as far as the government is concerned, it is a chance to have its voice heard. talking about the socialist model, talking about reforms, talking about that the fact that political reform is not on the agenda. >> indonesia, the world's most populist islamic nation. it takes its influences from indian, arabic music and is extremely popular. a growing group of conservative muslims are unhappy saying the

traditional music is being corrupted by it. >> ♪ the rain kept coming, but so did the fans. braiding the bad weather, hundreds attended this -- braving the bad weather, hundreds attended this show. the popular singer was invited to perform at this wedding reception. even the young children have been allowed to stay up late. critics say it has become increasingly vulgar over the years. this is the singer muslim clerics have the biggest problem with. this song is banned on radio stations in one province.

there are concerns that she is corrupting indonesia's youth. >> in indonesia, they think that sexy is a crime. this is not too much. if you see me like this, there is something wrong in your brain. >> muslim clerics said they are ruining and turning it into something is not meant to be. >> you can gyrate, but it should not be erotic. it is too sexy. >> fans may not agree. back at the neighborhood concert, she is busy raking in the tips and working the cloud.

it has always been the music of the masses. it is popular with indonesian's of all ages, even young children. that is why conservative groups want to clean it up. the majority are dancing to a different tune and they are not complaining. >> thank you. >> an american man has been given a new face in the most extensive facial transplant ever performed. doctors say his recovering well after the 36-hour operation. he is already able to brush his teeth and shaved. mr. norris was disfigured in a gun accident 15 years ago. >> miraculous. you have been watching "newsday." >> thank you for being with us. washington has said that it will respond cautiously to the fact that president bashar al-assad

has accepted kofi annan's deal. >> 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.