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>> and now "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to "newsday." >> pope benedict xvi and his visit to cuba. he urged cubans to search for greater freedom. an american teenager is found guilty of murdering two british tourists in florida. >> north korea plans a new missile test. the biggest scandal four years with china's communist party. it is 9:00 in singapore. it is 2:00 in london. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. this is "newsday."

>> hundreds of thousands of cubans have gathered to see pope benedict in revolution square. for the first time, the pope met with the leaders -- the nation's leader, fidel castro. >> it is not quite the dawning of a new era, but from first light, the faithful made their pilgrimage to the applause of the revolution. tens of thousands flocked to from their homes, emerging from a dark past of religious intolerance. a mixture of the devout and the dutiful. revolution square is normally home to giant socialist rallies.

today was not about the rule of man, but the rule of god. as the crowd surged for a brief glance at the pontiff. >> i am happy, happy, happy, happy. today is a wonderful day. wonderful, wonderful. >> pope benedict has chosen his words carefully and a homily to the masses was no exception. a subtle message to the people. >> the truth is a desire of the human person, a search for which always supposes the exercise of freedom. >> he spoke at length about the need for full religious freedom and a vision for the future. >> cuba and the world needs

change. this will only occur if each one is in a position to seek the truth and uses the white of love, so and reconciliation. choose is the way of love, sowing reconciliation. >> it has been an opportunity to push the case for reform. it is something that cannot come quickly enough for many cubans. this is the kind of change people want. cubans can now buy and sell their homes to the very first time. handwritten signs advertise property for sale as residents talent for business in an open street market. it is one of many economic reforms to tackle poverty and deal with the housing crisis. >> what are the biggest problems? >> a lot of people living in little houses. ten people in one room.

>> when the father of the revolution talks to the father of the catholic church, they talk about the problems of the world. catholic and communist, church and state. two such separate systems with very different values. in cuba, at least, perhaps they will find a way to live together. >> an american teenager has been convicted of murdering two british tourists in florida. james cooper -- they were shot dead in a housing estate last april. it did not take long for the jury to reach a verdict. >> this had been a trial that lasted just under a week and the jury reached its verdict in less than 2 1/2 hours. it is a little surprising given that it was a circumstantial case against the defendant by

the prosecution's own admission. there was no murder weapon, no eyewitness. questions about the motives. but the prosecution felt very confident that it had witnesses who could secure the guilty verdict. they did that by coming to court. these were people that lived alongside tyson. they testified to the court that he had confessed to the killings, telling one witness, i did that. beyond that, he gave the friend his gun it to hide after the killings. the murder weapon was never recovered. the seventh bullet casings were. prosecutors argued that even though there was no concrete ballistics link, the casings were of the same type that had been used in the killing.

i think that was the kind of threshold evidence that pushed this beyond a reasonable doubt. >> the details emerged showing continued government shelling of the city of homs. the united states has accused president bashar al-assad of reneging on the peace plan agreed on tuesday. this all comes as tight security is put in place in baghdad, where an arab league summit is due to take place on thursday. let stand a member of the syrian national council. what are you hearing from the ground from places like homs? >> there is no change at all. more killings, more snipers.

six women have been attacked by snipers. not far from any demonstration. those are civilians walking the street. this is why we believe the president is buying time. none of the elements of the mission -- kofi annan is a skilled diplomat. he has enough experience, but he has to understand that the regime -- there is no hope that will change the course. >> syria was suspended from the arab league. will they accept a plan put forward by kofi annan?

>> we do not need more blood. we do not need more and she gives. it has been 13 months. -- we do not need more and issue tickets. it has been 13 months. we'd actions to put accountability for those to give the orders to kill the syrians. assad will continue the killings and not continue the course. the arab league issued in last february a decision asking for you in and arab peace troops. -- u.n. and arab peace troops. this is -- the arab league's position is much more advanced than the position of the united states and europe. this is creating more questions about the role of the international community helping

the syrians and helping the cause of democracy in the region. >> the arab league summit is being held in iraq. the expected to be critical of president assad? >> we are afraid about the role of iraq. hopefully, kofi annan will be successful in convincing the russians and the chinese to change their positions. we need one united voice in the security council. >> ok, we have to leave it there. thank you very much for your time. more pressure on north korea over its planned missile tests.

>> that is right. the united states has suspended plans to resume supplying food aid. this is in response to the country's declaration that it will launch a new rocket next month. days ago, president obama and visited the demilitarized zone which separates north and south korea. they had delivered -- they had agreed last month to deliver food again. >> the united states says it has put on hold plans to start delivering food aid. an agreement between the united states and north korea reached in beijing that as long as the north koreans froze to their uranium enrichment programs and they did not do any more missile test, the u.s. would go ahead with the delivery of 240,000 tons of food aid. earlier this month, the north korea's announced they are going to conduct a satellite launch.

here in washington, that is seen as a ballistic missile tests in disguise. now we have the americans confirming that because of plans for the satellite launch, the americans will not go ahead with their plans for the food aid. we've gone very quickly from cautious optimism about the relationship with north korea to once again being in a deadlock stage with the possibility of a launch being planned in north korea next month. >> the north koreans have a policy of diplomacy and confrontation, we did the south koreans have a policy of diplomacy and confrontation. the americans do not have any confidence on the missile stability. >> the north koreans say that this is about launching a satellite into space.

what the americans are saying that it is a rocket, in the analyst in washington will tell you emphatically that the belief is entrenched that the launch vehicle is almost identical to the ballistic missiles that north korea has and has tested in the past. the americans have confidence that this is -- has very little confidence that this is really a satellite launch. the worry here is that the food aid will be diverted to the north korean military. the americans clearly do not want that to happen. >> british officials have confirmed that a police chief in the center of a major political scandal in china arranged a meeting the policeman had

concerns that the death of a british man was not accidental. we have this report. >> tonight, the scandal that began in its booming metropolis has a new twist. at the heart of the affair are three men. rising star in the communist elite sacked this month. a british businessmen, now dead. and a police chief who fell out with his boss and ran to foreign diplomats for help, triggering a crisis. tonight, a u.k. government officials have confirmed to us that the police chief are arranged a meeting here with british diplomats on the consulate in early february. he did not turn up. the next day, he fled to the american mission instead. his antique -- he said he tried

to seek asylum in there. he was taken away by chinese security, and he has not been seen since. one of china's most popular politicians, it was a huge embarrassment. he had encouraged to establish a for the days of the chairman and heavy-handed crackdown on corruption. those policies earned him enemies. at the annual congress, he looked tired, under pressure. days later, he was sacked. it exposed the parties divisions. why did the police chief or arrange to meet british diplomats here? he may have that information ought to pass to them. he might of been looking into the death of the british man linked. the official explanation was that he died from excessive drinking. some of his friends said the

death is suspicious. the british government has asked china to reopen the case. a source has told the bbc that he is the victim of a smear campaign. the affair that started here was unleashed in fighting among china's elite and no one knows what will end. >> you are watching "newsday." after the brutal murder of a young man in the chile, four suspected neo-nazi are said to face murder charges. let's take a look at the stories making headlines around the world. let's start with "the times." a dispatch from a reporter in syria. he says a sense of betrayal by the west has suspended over

residence in rebel areas. most feel a violent death of the hands of the regime is inevitable, but they will continue to resist. the second meeting in delhi leads the pages in " the gulf news." panic at a petrol pumps leads "the daily telegraph." the financial times counts the fiscal cost of natural disasters that plagued 2011. floods in thailand and earthquakes in new zealand and japan the most expensive. >> this is "newsday." >> the pope has met the former president of cuba, fidel castro.

to call for the authorities to grant a greater freedom to the catholic church. >> an american teenager has been found guilty of shooting dead two british tourists in florida in april last year. >> the australian council of social services holding a conference this week to discuss the problem of rising poverty in australia. a new survey found that there has been a sharp increase in poverty levels among working parents and those who are unemployed. it is five times higher. the study estimates that nearly a quarter of those who are given government subsidies cannot afford a decent secure hon. more than 40% cannot afford dental treatment or insurance. the government wants to spread the wealth to those less fortunate. the proposals have been met with stiff opposition from the country's rich.

this has come as a surprise that there has been a sharp rise in poverty levels. >> this is the conundrum for australia. how does this country spread the riches of the mining boom to all sections of society? the australian council of social service is discussing what is the worsening plight of the most disadvantaged people in the country. more needs to be done to address rising poverty in australia. there is a call for the government to increase unemployment benefits by up to $50 a week. academics in sydney say that the recipients of allowances and basic unemployment benefits are living below the poverty line. they say their standard of living is starting -- stuck in the mid-1990's given that their benefits have not increased

since 1994. >> would particular communities in australia are seen it -- are seen rising poverty levels? >> many of the 575,000 people claiming unemployment benefits are among the most disadvantaged people. the government has issued its response. its priority is not to increase, but to get more people back to work. the treasurer has described australia's welfare system as one of the best in the developed world, with the exception of unemployment benefits. he does can see that they do lie behind payments of families, those with disabilities. >> at the study also shows that the government wants to spread the wealth, from the mining boom.

their initiatives are being opposed by the elite. >> it is interesting that you say that. we witnessed a blistering attack by the treasurer on sections of australia's super rich. trying to undermine their resources tax, the mining tax that the government wants to introduce. the government attempting to redistribute more of the wealth from this country's resources. it has prompted a flurry of backlash from the mining sector. the government is intent on trying to redistribute more of australia's resources, wealth. the treasurer did make the point that some of the mining barons in this country but acting in a greedy and irresponsible way. >> thank you so much. prosecutors said they will seek murder charges against four suspected neo-nazis accused of

brutally attacking a young gay man. he was brutally beaten and has swastika's carved into his body. he died on tuesday. the case has prompted a national debate in chile about hate crimes. >> daniels old clothes for a living, but dreamed of studying the theater. prosecutors said the attack lasted an hour. he was beaten, burned with cigarettes, and at some bills were carved into his body. outside the hospital, hundreds kept a vigil as he lay in a coma. people are shocked, it was a homophobic attack. the crowd shouted out. under pressure to show that he is during more to tackle his crimes, the president has promised that he will not rest until an anti-discrimination law is passed.

>> we're going to construct a better protection society where no one is discriminated against for any reason. all chileans have the same rights. >> on tuesday, the day he died, his mother thanked those who had gathered. >> i want to sit on behalf of all of my family that we appreciate the support and all the beautiful things you have given us. >> before people have been jailed and attempted murder charges. it is not clear whether any of them have any links to neo-nazi groups. >> the relatively new field of synthetic biology could be dangerous. it makes it possible to create artificial genes. the cost of experimenting is dropping. >> in a back street in

manchester, a group has gathered to do something unimaginable. >> it is our amateur biologists and they're putting together a machine that makes copies of dna. a device for playing with the codes for life. a step towards ordinary people controlling nature. >> this is part of a whole movement. that is what is different about it. people coming together that would be tinkering in their own houses. >> this is the stuff that you code life with, so it is a big deal. >> they want to manipulate their dna. design new artificial dna. that is attracting huge interest and the technology is not easy to get ahold of. highly sophisticated scientific equipment is now tumbling in

price. anyone working on their own could pick it up of the internet. here is a dna synthesizer. well under 1,000 pounds. it is a machine the allows you to make artificial genes. for younger generation of scientists, this field offers exciting potential. >> we engineered a bacteria cell -- >> she made synthetic dna for bacteria so they can detect parasite in water. it is a device that could save lives in africa. >> to an area that does not get a lot of research. they have real problems that need to be solved. >> scientist and amateurs are trying to create new forms of life to produce everything from fuels to medicines. they said there been really careful about the synthetic

biology, but environmental groups are worried. >> the synthetic biology is the concern. the uncertainty, the unintended consequences could lead to harmful health and ecological effects. more research is necessary. >> the challenge, making sure the use is positive and not a danger. >> one of the world's biggest pop stars may not be sharing her name with the world's smallest puppy. beyonce was born in california and weighed just 28 grams when she was born. she is still no bigger than an iphone or a dog biscuit. incredible. i think that little puppy was

even cuter than you. >> 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.