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>> welcome. i am in singapore. >> the headlines this hour. the u.n. says it cannot cope without more peace monitors in syria. we have a special report from inside the country. >> and villages across the north, collective punishment. >> police in bahrain cleared the streets the head of the formula one grand prix. the first visit by the burmese head of state in more than three decades, and a special report on the growing number of pakistani women scarred for life by their husbands. it is 11:00 a.m. in houston.

>> this is newsday. axe the mission in syria have yielded few results. attacks are escalating, and he is urging sending 300 more monitors. ian has just returned from where people have accused the government of breaking promises with deadly attacks on civilian areas. >> syria agreed to kofi annan costs peace plan, saying it would not move to other areas. as the soldiers rolled in.

>> the story of what has happened is perhaps worse than many areas, but it is not unique. many called its audacity to call for change. >> this is a dangerous place where rebel fighters offer a thin veil of protection, but it was a chance to see firsthand what has happened here. many people were crushed when their homes were shelled. even the playground was not saved. no playgrounds when the tanks rolled in. this is what they face. on april 3, the army advanced. from a nearby airfield,

helicopters attacked. for today's the army shelled, burned, and killed -- for two days, the army shelled, burned, and killed, even after the cease-fire was supposed to happen. he held collect bodies of lay them here on the floor of the mosque, a grotesque scene in the place of worship. >> this was full of dead bodies. it was terrible. some could not be identified, even our friends. they were innocent people. >> they now have two masquerades. at nine years old, she has already learned to say a prayer for the dead. her father is one of those very here. we believe 57 people were killed

in just two days, and it does not end here. the ceasefire may have reduced violence, but it has not stopped, and these are atrocities that cannot get forgiven or forgotten. >> the united states and france have taken a tough line against syria at a meeting in paris, although they stopped short of urging military action. hillary clinton called for a global arms embargo if the syrian government continues to break the cease-fire. >> we need to start moving for chapter seven sanctions resolution, including arms embargo, and the pressure that will give us on the regime to push for compliance with kofi

annan's plan. >> and in norway, and he said he planned to assassinate the entire norwegian government and the former prime minister. he said he aimed to kill more than 500 people last july. a u.s. blackhawk helicopter has crashed in southern afghanistan. soldiers were believed to of been on board. an attack cannot be ruled out, but by weather might have been to blame. in britain the government has denied claims it has jeopardized the deportation of the radical cleric who faces a terrorist charges in jordan. his removal has been delayed after an appeal with the european court of human rights. final preparation for bahrain's grand prix are under way, but the event is steeped in controversy. the car was caught in battle as

police fought with teargas. >> another protest in bahrain. on the streets, men, women. the demonstrators have a clear message, and they want god to hear them. some of the people who joined in are now in jail, among them sportsmanlike this woman's son, a volleyball player. >> look at the suffering of other sports man. look at their suffering. they are not criminals, not killers. all they did was express their opinion. greg >> on wednesday night a

firebomb exploded close to a van carrying members of the british- based scheme. last year protesters fought for cancellation of the formula one. now there is pressure for that to happen again. >> i do not think the british driver should go. i think they should not go ahead in bahrain. there were demonstrators by protesters who have been violently suppressed. >> they were saying at hosting the formula would be an opportunity to whitewash, but if you look at availability on the ground, it is quite the opposite. >> with the countdown under way,

they want is a lucrative event to go ahead. for that to happen, many people want something in return. praxair has been another sign of ermine -- burma opening to the world. he is on his first official trip to japan by a burmese leader in almost 50 years. japan says it is ready to start assistance as part of the transition to democracy. the japanese government appears to be coming up with a comprehensive solution. >> i would resume aid, which could pay for infrastructure to help bolster.

another sign the country has been welcomed back into the international community because no head of state has been here for 28 years. >> we saw video of creating an -- the eu agreeing to suspend sanctions. do you see japan being seen to do likewise, and do they have an eye on natural resources to? >> japan is keen to help the reform process along where it can. japanese companies as well are very keen to get into burma.

the people are poor, but it is rich in resources. one of the main japanese airlines has said they want to resume direct flights to burma as soon as possible, so there is a gold rush under way. certainly japanese companies would like to be a part of that. >> in pakistan is estimated there are as many as 150 women that are victims of acid attacks. most of the victims are still being denied justice despite tougher penalties introduced last year. this report contains strong images. >> she has been scarred for life with burns on 15% of her body. her name means kendall, and like

many other pakistani women, she says her husband and allows her with acid. she was too proud of her beauty, he said. >> i feel pain out what i was and what i have become. all the colors have gone from my life. i feel like i am a living corpse. >> she is one of the newest arrivals in the currency unit of this dilapidated hospital. the doctors tried to relieve hurricane but cannot ease her despair. >> i cannot say anything about the future. maybe i will not be alive. i will try to get back to how i

was. i have to work to build a future for my kids. if i cannot, i will do what one done.o other girls have gon they killed themselves. >> she was one of those girls. here is how she looked 13 years ago before acid was fun in her face -- was flung in her face. her former husband was acquitted of the crime. this is her after the attack. she endured almost 40 surgeries before committing suicide last month. in this hospital alone there are one or two new cases of acid attacks every week. the laws have been tightened. offenders can be sentenced to between 14 years of life

imprisonment, but campaigners say most of these women never get justice. says mostr impmp attackers the get off scot-free. >> it is an easy way to punish the woman, because of the woman does not agree to what the man once, you can throw acid and destroy her entire life in one second, and that is all it takes, and even if he gets caught, he will pay the police and get away with it in most of pakistan. >> another victim has just arrived, the fabric of her clothing eaten away by acid. she says her son in law did this after a small family disputes. he is now in custody. now the government admits it needs to do more for women like her and says implementing the

new law is a major challenge. doctors tell as many victims are forced to return to their tormentors, the husbands or in- laws who disfigure them because of social pressure or money problems. a few beds away, her children come to visit. the good, she says. cray mommy gets well soon. for their sake, she will try to keep going. her husband is still at large. >> live from singapore and london. still to come, another two months in jail for the, who sang an anti putin song in a moscow cathedral. is this enough to give the olympics a sense of humor? one are to his version of the british icahn.

-- icon. a quick look at what is making front-page news. nicolas sarkozy is what is likely to become the first one- term presidents in the 1980's. the gulf news business pages report spain and italy will not need to resort to international bailout, but economic ills may draw out the recession for months to come. the south china morning post says it does not faze staging despite the capability of striking major chinese cities. and forcing barclays to have onus conditions, saying that they held the balance of power and is shifting of some of the biggest and banks. a member of a punk band being driven to court to face charges after the group performed and

type putin protests at an orthodox cathedral. -- anti putin protests at an orthodox cathedral. >> are headlines this hour -- amid evidence of continuing violence in syria, the head of the u.n. has called for the international monetary mission to be rapidly expanded. >> further violence in bahrain ahead of the formula 1 rahm 3 -- graemnd prix. south sudan says it does not want a war with saddam, but it is looking like it may well get one. -- of war with sudan, but it is looking like it may get one. tension has mounted dangerously.

>> troops still controlled this vital oil field in the most difficult conditions. they say they will not be forced back, despite being attacked by the air. militarily, it may be prospering, and the aggressive occupation has been popular, but diplomatically, south sudan is on the backs of. they say they will withdraw troops obligations are met. that is not enough in the eyes of the world. >> i called him to immediately withdraw his forces. i believe this is an infringement on the sovereignty of sudan. i also call on the government of sudan to immediately stop bombing south of sudanese

territory and with forces from his territories in particular. >> sudan's president has continued to threaten our return to all-out war. he talked on thursday about giving a final lesson by force. it seems likely despite all the talking and the fears of spreading, the next decisive moment will occur here. some sources say heavy fighting has already broken out. >> accord in moscow has extended to the attention of three young women accused of singing an anti putin song in a cathedral. they have already spent six weeks in jail. now they will spend another two months with no trial in sight. this has divided russia.

>> the punishment could be seven years in jails. one of the women thank her supporters, saying they had made her very happy, but that support has cost some of them dear. there is no free speech in this country, says this demonstrator. they use force to get this across, as you can see from the bruises on my face. he was taken away by police. around 30 people were detained, either for talking to the press or holding up posters. this is an ideological battle between two russias, the younger ones on the one hand and the older ones who find these

actions offensive. >> you cannot do that sort of thing in a cathedral. >> most people do not agree with what they did. it just was not right. >> amnesty international describes the women as political prisoners, and it could be another six months before the trial takes place. until then, it looks like they will stay in jail. but 16 members of an amish community have appeared in a federal court on charges of being involved in your and hair cutting a tax on fellow amish -- beard and hari cutting attacks on fellow amish. all of them have pleaded not guilty. steve gave me the background of the case. >> between september and november of last year, there was a series of strange sounding

attacks within the amish community in which the defendants break away within a particular amish sects in ohio allegedly tied up, held down, and cut their hair off members of a different amish sect in that area. it is elected by prosecutors as a long-term feud between the groups. the context is that long hair and long beards are a mark of the amish faith. they say they believe the bible tells them women should not cut their hair and after marriage men should not shave, stowe the most -- so the most provocative thing they could do is cut their hair in this way, so it is being viewed as a hate crime. >> it is rare these types of crimes are reported to the

police. >> there are about a quarter of a million amish people in america, and about a quarter are in ohio. they live in predominantly rural areas. they live very simple lives, shunning modern technology, so it is unusual for them to make headlines in this way, and some of the details will come out in this particular hearing. it is a legend greeted a legend that after cutting the hair they use disposable cameras to take photographs of their victims so they could shame them within the broader amish community. all 16 defendants denied the charges. >> an american cruise company says it is deeply regrets one of its ships failed to help a disabled panamanian fishing boat. they say passengers spotted the vessel and alerted staff, but it was not passed on to the

captain. two of the three fishermen later died. a south african body border has been killed by a shark off the coast of cape town. witnesses say the man was attacked by a single sharp measuring up to 5 meters of a popular surfing spot. is the second deadliest attack in south africa this year. stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments, but prepare to see it in a rather different guise. >> there is a new arrival on the glasgow's skyline, the stones of stonehenge. it is an art work by a turner prize-winning artist, and it is -- >> fancy. >> the real stonehenge is 5000 years old and a sacred site. this replica is called sacrilege, and after its unveiling, it will head to london.

why is all this about an art work? it is over and take your -- olympic year. they want something that says britain, and what is more british than stonehenge? >> it is about having a sense of humor, and we have to look at your past wit smarm, but the olympics lacks a sense of humor, and i think it is going to in just sense of humor into the olympics. >> it only took a few minutes before some local art levels are rough, keen to engage in a critical dialogue with his work of conceptual art. is this art seminars -- is this art? >> this is as good as it gets, isn't it?

cracks like an inflatable stonehenge in your backyard? >> who would not? history, humor, the raw physical challenge. britain in its olympic year. >> nasa has handed over the space shuttle discovery to the museum for official retirement. two astronauts attended the ceremony in virginia as the oldest surviving shuttle entered the smithsonian air and space museum. it is the first shuttle to stop at the exhibit. if you have been watching news day. >> thanks for watching.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, union bank, and shell. >> this is jim valerio -- this is kim, about to feel one of his favorite hot sensations. at shell, we are developing technologies that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.