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>> mitt romney clinches his place as the republican challenger to barack obama in november's u.s. presidential election. after the deaths of a hundred people, the un special envoy to syria says the violence must stop now. >> an ecstatic welcome for suu kyi on her first trip outside burma into decades. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the globe.

>> of the former governor of massachusetts has clinched his place as the republican challenger to barack obama in november's u.s. presidential election. votes -- most projections show he won comfortably, passing the threshold of delegates to acquire -- required to affirm his selection. he made it clear that he is concentrating on fighting president obama, particularly on the issue of jobs. >> we need to have president to understand how this economy works, day today, small business, big business. i want to use that experience to get us to work again. [applause] >> our correspondent in washington says mitt romney is the first to clinch the presidency.

>> it was stronger than i expected. ron paul is only getting about 10% of the vote. there is very little protest vote. the republicans seem to be a very well and unified. >> mitt romney was not focusing on texas because they expected rick perry to be the winner in the state. mitt romney has had a very tough time moving the conservatives in his party. it is all coming together for him at the right time. we will see a very divided electorate going into november. >> the heartland, what are texans telling you about how they see this race developing? >> it looks like a bass election. there are very few people who are undecided.

the conservatives and republicans are overwhelmingly for mitt romney. if you look at the democratic side, barack obama is getting about 90% of the vote. that is very strong we're in a state, even democrats are a bit more conservative. getting nearly 100% of the minority vote. that says something nationally. barack obama is running very strong in the latinos, which could be pivotal in many of the swing states. >> the divisions we have seen within the republican party, the conservatives against a more broad stream thinking of newt gingrich. is that the problem? >> there are divisions. there is a race for the united states senate in texas replacing one of the moderate republicans.

it looks like we may have a runoff between the person who is considered more moderate, the lieutenant governor of texas, and someone with tea party support. you do see some of those divisions still evident within the republican party, even if they are uniting behind being against barack obama. >> ron paul, what of him? >> this is the end of his delegates gathering. he is gone to focus on several small states that have state convention. he will go to the convention with about 200 people in hand. it is enough to give them a voice, but not to control anything. >> i think we can now -- describing how history is being made with mitt romney's nomination. >> he -- this is an historic moment. mitt romney has become the first

mormon nominee of a major party. mitt romney is the first mormon, running against the first african american president. it is a moment to mark, a symbolic. in other ways, it is just business as usual. mitt romney did not go to texas today. he went to nevada and colorado, key western swing states. mr. obama and mr. romney are running neck and neck for those swing states. they are crucial in this election. >> it has not been an easy road for him. he has these really heated televised debates against his opponents, ron paul, newt gingrich, rick santorum. >> a very tough. very bitter at times. the republican candidate really treated each other as enemies.

there was a famous occasion when newt gingrich accused mitt romney of being a liar. since then, they have kissed and made up. the billionaire tycoon, donald trump, he is making some waves again. he is repeating discredited claims that president obama may not have been born in america. the obama campaign call don mitt romney to disavow donald trump. that is some signal of the kind of a bitter election campaign you're going to see. >> the u.n. special envoy to syria has told president bashar al-assad that syria is that a tipping point following the killing of more than 100

civilians. 10 western nations took the step of the spelling syrian diplomats. there has been further violence reported in syria on tuesday. 98 people were killed, including 61 civilians and 28 government troops. our diplomatic correspondent reports. >> syrian shelling of heavily populated areas was only part of the slaughter of civilians which has caused such international outrage. the u.n. says most victims, including many children, were murdered inside their homes by the president militia. france's president is saying it is not possible to allow the regime to massacre its own people. he is not ruling out international military intervention. >> it is not excluded, provided it is carried out under

international law. authorized by a u.n. security council resolution. >> at the white house, they are talking down suggestions of armed interventions in syria. >> we do not believe that militarization is the right course of action. we believe it would lead to greater chaos and greater carnage. >> one thing seems clear, russia would veto any attempt to intervene in syria. russia would not repeat its stand aside abstention, as in the case of libya. today saw the coordinated expulsion of syrian diplomats. this was the ambassador in france, and this was the ambassador in spain. britain and the united states were among others ordering syrian officials call. >> we will go one time to increase the international pressure on the regime. >> serious top diplomats and two

others at the embassy in london art being given seven days to leave britain. top diplomat and two others at the embassy in london have been given seven days to leave britain. in damascus, the un special envoy urged syria's president to stop the killing and start serious dialogue with the opposition. but he denied having anything to do with the gas, even having heavy weapons in the area. -- to do with the deaths, even having heavy weapons in the area. >> we are at a tipping point. the syrian people do not want their future to be one of bloodshed and division. the killings continue and the abuses are with us today. >> if the massacre is the tipping point, it could be to still greater violence. the regime has always

calculated that its survival depends on overwhelming force, not on dialogue. >> the death toll from the latest earthquake to hit northern italy has risen to 216 -- has risen to 16. >> factories and a warehouse, several churches or raft. >> rescue workers used dogs to search for survivors. this latest quake has shaken a beautiful region. the cathedrals, palaces, homes had been destroyed. warehouses and factories, not built to withstand tremors, have simply collapsed.

>> my son is under the rubble of the factory. i am not feeling well. i have nothing else to say. they cannot tell us if he is in hospital or fee is still under the rubble. -- or if he is still under the rubble. i am going crazy. >> some people are still getting used to their life in a tent, forced from their homes in the first earthquake 10 days ago. of the 14,000 people have been evacuated. horrible, horrible, said this woman. i just feel like crying. they once boasted about their architecture and their history. they are clearly silent. -- eerily silent. this region has been rocked to the core, prompting calls for the government action.

they can say for certain whether there will be more aftershocks and when it will be safe to return home. >> the italian prime minister has suggested that football and the country should be suspended. after the latest arrest related to match fixing. it resulted in 14 address, to bring the total number to about 50 since 2011. the authorities in ukraine have denied allegations of racism. they were responding after secret filming shows footage of fans giving nazi soviets and taunting black players. she was the daughter of the ukraine-d.o. former prime minister. the euro 2012 tournament should go ahead despite the ongoing

political tension. yulia tymoshenko also says she is hopeful of a resolution and never looked -- treatment of her mother and other political prisoners. >> the sport event should go on. my mother, when she was in the government, fought for the right to host this championship in ukraine. because of the action of the regime, we see the consequences of this. >> you are watching the bbc. suu kyi spencer first hours outside of burma in more than two decades. " the olympic torch reaches new heights.

>> the entire cover of the times is devoted to the massacre of the syrian town of houla, detailing the way in which the 49 children were killed. christine the guard -- lagarde pays no tax on her salary. the chinese yuan will begin direct trading with the japanese yen. theancial times reports that two of the best known business in this is -- will come together in a strategic partnership.

porcelain airport on tuesday cupboards in -- barcelona's airport on tuesday was covered in a rubbish. >> good to have you with us. mitt romney has clinched the republican presidential nomination as he won the texas primary. >> kofi annan has told president bashar al-assad to take bold steps to ensure that his peace plan is implemented, warning that the country is that a tipping point. suu kyi is meeting members of the burmese migrant community in thailand today on her first trip outside her native country in a quarter of the century. her trip has been made possible by a period of rapid changes. our correspondent was given a

rare access to burma's information minister. >> we have to put aside our differences. we must try to find common ground. we must collaborate. that is our national policy. the president had to make some changes. we must not be speaking about the past, we should be looking forward. >> why did the government decide to involve -- embark on its political reforms? how big role did economic sanctions play in that decision? >> in 1988, the people expressed a wish that they did not want the one-party system. they preferred a multi-party system. we are deal elected government

and the elected government is fulfilling the wishes of the people. >> is this reform process irreversible? >> if you look at the world, the most stable countries are the ones with free-market policies and democracy. we are moving forward and going ahead with this policy. it is not reversible. >> your party, the government party, lost 44 of the 45 seats. do you worry that you and your colleagues are deeply unpopular? >> it will benefit the country. they have joined the parliament and we hope will collaborate and work together for the benefit of the country. the elections have shown what the people would like.

we are looking into the wishes of the people and trying to fulfill them accordingly. >> do you understand why many people do have doubts about your commitment to democracy? >> if you understand burmese army tradition, you would not be doubtful about the power that runs the country. there is democracy. they all understand the system and the tradition and they all value democracy. >> that was burma's information minister. you are currently at the migrant learning center. what is going on there? >> in the last 10 minutes or so, suu kyi has arrived. she just delivered a speech from

the third floor of this migrant center. tens of thousands of burmese migrants have filled the streets and surrounded -- i am surrounded by a party of burmese migrants. a real sense of celebration. she has been such a symbol for them for so long with a struggle against the military dictatorship. there is a real sense of excitement here. the crowd savored every moment of her speech today. >> what the initiative can we visitt from the suu kyi's today migrant learning center? >> the symbolism is very clear. this is the first morning that she has spent outside burma in more than 24 years. she could have spent its in the

five-star hotel. she has chosen to come out to an area where there are tens of thousands of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged burmese migrants. to spend time with them, to listen to them. that is a testament to the woman and her extraordinary popularity, that she has chosen to come here first on a trip to thailand. >> can you put a number of how many burmese are there in thailand? and what they're doing there? >> it is a mix. there are hundreds of thousands, probably many more in the camps which border thailand and burma. many of them have been displaced for various reasons, conflict along the border. the military government in burma, people have fled from that. many people also fled for purely economic reasons. thailand is a much more

prosperous nation that burma. many people have come here to work and send the money back home. >> thank you so much for the update. >> mohammed mursi has been trying to allay fears about the growing party -- growing power of islamists. he said he would include a wide range of peaceful forces and his government. he was speaking -- the reports from cairo. >> outside the campaign headquarters, the debris is still strewn on the street. the remnants of an attack on a building late monday night. nobody knows who the attackers were, but mcanally benefit him. he is a former prime minister and retired general. he is winning support on his

promise to restore law and order. today, it was the turn of his rival, mohammed mursi. he is trying to convince the middle ground that he is the candidate to protect the revolution. he insisted he would run an inclusive government in which ideology would take second place to competence. >> our respect all the presidential candidate and i have been in touch with some of them. i will be happy if there were a vice presidential candidate. >> it has already been a troubled start to the second round of elections. and the discontent is not likely to end after this candidate is elected president.

as for egyptians, many are deeply disillusioned with the revolution after turbulence. they fear more violence during the election campaign and beyond. the candidate who persuades them that he can restore law and order and to bring austerity is the one most likely to win their support. >> the british mountaineers who carry the olympic torch to a spectacular heights. the olympic flame will travel around 95% of the people living in the u.k. >> it is a world away from the stresses of london 2012. this was the moment the torch reached the peak of its journey. it could not have been in more experienced hands.

this was something special. >> of course, i am emotional about it. i started coming here 50 years ago. just seemed so many people, the involvement of the people of britain in the olympics, means a lot to me. >> on every leg of its journey, the torch has drawn crowds. despite being 3.5 -- 3,500 feet above sea level, today was no exception. >> there is a train, you know? >> in its journey, the torch has reached some of the u.k.'s remote communities in the hope

of convincing them they are part of london 2012. with 59 days of the really left, there will be plenty more opportunities to try to draw people end. -- people in. >> i will be with the torch and a couple of days. you can follow its journey on line on our website. barack obama has bestowed the highest civilian honor at a ceremony at the white house. bob dylan was one of the 13 people given the medal of freedom in honor of his sport and its impact on american culture over the past 50 years. the award is given to people love made exceptional contributions to society. thank you for being with us. we will see you again soon.

>> 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 know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was

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