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>> and now "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome. the headlines. at least seven people are dead after a gunman opens fire at a christian university in california. syria partially excepts the un peace plan to bring to restore military units by april 10. >> hostages have been released. argentina's president reaffirms the claim in the falkland islands. it is not the clock in the morning here in singapore. >> forecasting -- broadcasting on pbs in america and around the world.

>> a gunman has opened fire at a small private college in california in the city of oakland, killing at least seven people and wounding several others. a police spokesman has said the suspect is now in custody. we are showing you the scene live at the oakland police department, where we are expecting to hear from the authorities that have assembled their to brief the media that has gathered about the latest. i think they are just establishing some rules and checking their. we are hoping to hear from the fire department, the police department, and the mayor of oakland after this tragic incident but there are still -- still sketchy details regarding the incident. >> good evening.

today, unprecedented tragedy was shocking and senseless. our hearts and prayers go out to the victims, the families, and their friends. at 10:30 a.m. today, the oakland police department received in 911 on edgewater drive regarding a woman on the ground bleeding. patrol units were dispatched at 10:30 4:00 a.m.. additional calls from the location received both directed to the police to berman and the california highway patrol. the first police patrol officer arrived at 10:30 6:00 a.m. and located victims suffering from an apparent life-threatening gunshot wound amid a truly chaotic scene. officers from local law enforcement agencies responded and established a perimeter around the location on edgewater drive. the suspect was initially

believed to be still on the scene are inside. potential victims remained inside the building either trapped by a locked door, as officers were unable to open, or unable to evacuate due to injuries. police officers joined by unified school district police entered the facility searched for him to render aid to possibly injured persons as well as to search for additional suspects on the scene. approximately 35 persons are believed to have been in or near the building when this crime occurred. officers extracted a total of 13 persons from the building, some of whom were gravely wounded. in all, a total of 10 victims were shot, seven of these victims are confirmed fatalities. 54 pronounced at the scene and to make victims later died after being transported -- victims

later died after being transported to local laws bidders -- local hospitals. the preliminary investigation led to the identity of the suspect. 43-year-old juan l. goh. it is our belief that he fled the area, most likely before the first officers arrived. within an hour and a half, officers work in route to his home as well as a separate residence of a relative. the suspect, who is believed to be an oakland resident, surrendered to officers in the alameda police department in their city. he was arrested and is currently at the police department. i want to thank the men and women who assisted for their heroic response and action.

dispatchers, officers, firefighters, and all first responders did in incredible job in bringing this situation to a peaceful ending. thank you all to the oakland unified school district, the alameda county sheriff's office, the police departments from berkeley, university of california berkeley and the bay area rapid transit police department. requested assistance -- we requested assistance in handling the scene. the agency immediately provided 19 officers to assist with this incident. again, i want to offer my deepest condolences to the victims and their families. no words can express the gravity of these events in the pain caused by this incident. as additional information becomes available, we will share, pending notification of the families in order to ensure

the investigation is not, as it did not compromise, we will not immediately released the 911 calls or name the identity of the victims. that information will be shared later this week. now like to turn it over to the mayor. >> no american mayor wants to have this situation. we have gotten used to seeing senseless mass killings like this and will have to question the availability of guns and the need for other citizens and our community. this has been a terrible tragedy on has been most of the day making contact with members of the korean-american community and other asian-american communities here in oakland. the committee has a long history

here in this city. the korean methodist church will probably have a memorial tomorrow. i want to thank the pastor of the korean methodist church and the president of the northern california korean church association for reaching out today and helping to provide potential counselors and other grief counselors for the people who have been involved and to the community that has been traumatized. we want to thank the county and our own police chaplain and we have represented here from the greater faith community, we have forever in chambers and pastor hopkins, both hear from the oakland community organization come here to show their support. again, we are recruiting and looking for additional korean speaking crisis counselors.

we want to thank the asian mental-health services, catholic charities, and the county for stepping up with that. this is the kind of incident that hurts the whole community, and we know there are at least 35 people in the school at the time. we know that the school has hundreds of students, and it is a kind of paint and situation that we will not understand totally, immediately, but that will leave the community asking questions for a long time. on behalf of the city of oakland, i particularly want to thank the oakland fire department and police department and the other agencies who responded very, very quickly. one of our officers was hurt breaking the windows making sure they could get in and rescue anyone else who might have been hurt inside the building. this is the kind of situation where we need to pull together and support the korean community in particular, where most of the

victims appear to be from, and i just hope we will put our arms around this group of people and these families and do our best to bring peace back to the city. thank you. >> so that news briefing there by the oakland police department, speaking at the start of it, police chief howard jordan, giving a more detailed account of actually what took place with the initial 911 call that was made local time at 33 minutes past 10:00, whereby the first police officer attended the scene three minutes later, and then an emergency evacuation, and of course the search for additional suspects as the police chief named it. at that time, they did not know the suspect or suspects in all, but the information coming out that they know the suspect is in

custody now is a 43-year-old korean man. he was identified an hour and a half later after the initial 911 call was made, and then was later arrested in a shopping mall nearby to the school, the university building where the shooting took place. burdick of people in the school at the time of the shooting, 13 were seriously wounded, 10 sustained shot wounds. seven of those were fatal. fiver killed immediately at the scene and two later on in the hospital. all those victims are thought to have been adults. our correspondent has been listening to this with us. you have more information coming out about the chronology of events that took place.

>> i think it really painted a graphic picture of the chaos surrounding that school in the moments and just a couple of hours after the shooting happened and the first emergency calls were made. we did here initially from some eyewitnesses talking about the sheer panic, seeing people running out of that school, clearly injured, the bodies being laid on the ground in front of them. it was a terrible scene, by all accounts. i think the account we just heard by the police chief really summed up the grave nature of what happened in northern california today. then we heard from the mayor just now, talking of a community that will be asking questions for a very long time. she herself raised one of those questions in one of the first you think she said, questions about the availability of guns in society, and she reflected on the fact that this is an all too familiar situation that we see in american society these days,

over the last decade, she referred to several very similar incidents in schools involving guns. so it will not just be this society in oakland or california asking those questions, it will be the entire nation. of course it is a political, election year, and that is always one of the issues. >> also the mayor strikes a poignant chord regarding the impact it has had on the significant korean community in oakland and has a long history there. >> yes, a very long history, very tight korean community, and a significant community in terms of the numbers of people. it clearly is a very tough time for them and they will be asking questions within the community, what led to this and what led to an atmosphere surrounding that school. was it a isolated incident

involving the person who has been arrested? those are the kinds of questions we don't know the answer to yet, but certainly it is a situation from this relatively quiet community that they will take to heart and will be struggling to come to terms with over the next few days. >> thank you, peter, our correspondent in los angeles. more details will come out from that press conference and we will bring that to you. this confirmation, a 43-year-old man is in police custody following the death of seven and the shooting of three others as well in northern california. syria has told the un security council it will end military operations against rebels by april 10 in a partial exceptions of the un and arab league peace plan. despite the latest diplomatic efforts by a country in non -- despite the latest diplomatic efforts by kofi annan.

this is what this peace plan is trying to stop. pictures taken by anonymous syrian activists appears to show the continued bombardment of the city. the possibility of a cease-fire has not inched closer to syria announcing it will in military operations by april 10. that is part of his plan. x the syrian government is committed towards making these -- the implementation of this six. plan a successful one and of the sovereignty of syria. a plan would not be successful unless everybody is committed to it. >> annan has pressed the syrian president to take the first step by ending the assault on activists. bashar al-assad agreed last week to accept the peace plan, but the violence continued. it was seen as a declaration of

victory against the rebels. a spokesman declared the uprising would soon be over. a western diplomat through -- reacted with skepticism on the announcement of the cease-fire. >> we have seen over the course of the last many months promises made and promises broken. we have seen commitment to end the violence followed by intense evocation of violence. the united states, for one, would look at these commitments and say yet again, the proof is in the actions, not in the words. >> the actions of western and arab nations also send a clear message. they backed the opposition, offering political and financial support at this weekend's conference, but the endorse the plan as the only peaceful opportunity to end the conflict. there has not been some movement, largely, say observers, because mr. anna has been working with crucial players to put pressure on them.

>> or rebels have released the last police and military hostages they have been holding for some time. >> that is right. according to the international red cross, the captives for picked up from the colombian jungle by the brazilian ministry and are being flown to safety. all had been held for more than a decade. >> there are two reasons they decided to release the hostages. they are looking to open a peace dialogue with the government's. one of the preconditions to considering talking was the release of the kidnap victims. the farq have abandoned a plan they had that began more than 15 years ago, the kidnapping in

capture of soldiers and politicians and trying to exchange them for rebels, a plan that never came to fruition and unraveled in 2008 when the army managed to rescue some of the highest profile hostages, among them ingrid betancourt. >> despite the release of hostages, the rebels still hold a significant number of civilian hostages. >> that is correct. they have used kidnapped for ransom as one of their sources of income and their -- after four hundred victims kidnapped in the past who have not been accounted for. people do not know whether they are dead or still waiting for ransom payments.

>> it reports if the civilian hostages will be released, and how is the peace dialogue between the government and the rebels progressing? >> there is no dialogue at this moment. the president has just made a national address where he says it is still not enough. they are still holding the civilian hostages, and until that is done, it sounds like there is going to be no official peace process. >> political analysts are saying there will not be any peace talks or reconciliation between the government and the rebels, maybe not until the 2014 presidential polls. >> that certainly would be a very strong card for the president to play during his reelection campaign, if he can say we are now going to begin a

peace process with the gorillas and bring an end to 48 years of civil conflict. that would certainly be a strong reelection card for him to play. >> osama bin laden three widows and two daughters have been given jail sentences for living in pakistan illegally. all five were captured during the raid on the compound where bin laden was found and killed last may. they will serve 45 days each and will be deported afterwards. this is news on the bbc. >> the headlines this hour, seven people have been killed in a shooting at a small christian university in california. police say a 43-year-old man is now in police custody.

>> the burmese opposition leader has said the success might elections is a cry for the people. she won a parliamentary seat in her party gain nearly all the seats it contested. the burmese army and its allies still dominate parliament. our world affairs correspondent reports from rangoon. >> there are rare moments when the troubled country -- in burma today, you could not mistake the surge of optimism. a landslide victory brought out the crowds to cheer the woman they call the lady. for a few moments, the slight figure was lost from view in the press of bodies.

then she appeared, mindful that the country's powerful military would be listening, she reminded them this was a democratic victory. >> it is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people that they must be involved in the political process of this country. there will be more emphasis on the rule of the people in the everyday politics of our country. there will be more chances for many more people. >> endeavour international supporters and those in her own party that believes democratic elections might be a mistake, given that there would not deliver full democracy. but today, thanks for the sweeping victory, she will feel vindicated. images like these will make

burma's rulers nervous. they want something in return for reforming. >> we have so much ability to develop our country. [unintelligible] >> in all likelihood, these are the fading days of burma's economic isolation, but remember the majority of people were not voting this time around. for some families come the next that must be a general election. >> he will be our president. i believe it. >> if she wins a chair, she can help our people. that is our people hope for the best.

>> when the cheering fades, the hard talking will begin with the government. those and certain negotiations will depend on whether a woman who carried the day can carry the country. >> how are developments in burma being seen by the country's neighbors? in the cambodian capital, what has been the reaction of the leaders regarding the political exercise that took place in burma over the weekend? >> burma has long been sort of the black sheep of the family, but it has never been cast out. the other ossie on members have been taking a softer approach. there is indication that now we have had the election, it seems to have been conducted in a free and fair manner. we have already had cambodia in

its role as the current share, calling for the lifting of economic sanctions. a very respected figure saying it is an important step toward further reform. people here are very much ready to embrace in burma and move forward in an orderly fashion. >> apart from the german elections on april 1, other high-profile issues being discussed include competing plans of the south china sea and north korea's launched this month. >> it will be extremely entertaining to see how they deal with the self china sea issue. a number of asean members have an overlapping claims with china. president hu jintao is a very close friend of cambodia. it would not have been surprising if he would have been

urging cambodia to keep the south china sea issue either off the agenda or low profile. but best of luck in doing that, really. >> thank you so much for joining us from cambodia and for this update. you have been watching newsday from the bbc. reminder ofng you a our breaking news this hour. within the last 20 minutes or so, authorities in oakland, california have been giving details about a shooting on a college campus which left seven people dead. authorities have confirmed that a 43-year-old korean man is the only suspect being held by police in connection with the incident, and that 13 people were seriously wounded, seven killed, and three remained in serious condition. more on that to come. stay with us.

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