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>> hello and welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> i am in london. our headlines this hour. an ultimatum for president assad. the free syrian army gives him a 40 hour deadline to withdraw forces. a mother and father are charged with the murder of the six children who died in a fire at their home. >> the cost of borrowing rises. a nationwide manhunt is launched in canada after a human body parts are posted to political parties. it is a love and a clock in the morning here in singapore. >> -- it is 11:00 in the morning here in singapore. >> broadcasting debut is an america and around the world, this is -- broadcasting to viewers in america and around

the world, this is newsday. the free syrian army has given the government a 40-hour deadline to withdraw all of its forces. otherwise, it will abandon any commitment to the international peace plan. the ultimatum comes as 13 bodies were found near a city. some had been shot in the head. the u.s. security council is searching for a new response following the massacre of 108 people last week. this warning -- warning, this report contains images of bodies. >> there is no sign of kofi annan's plea for peace in syria. the latest pictures show outbreaks of violence in different parts of the country. syrian forces may have pulled back from this check point where last friday's massacre took place, but the government insists the terrorists carried

out the atrocities. >> the government, the people are extremely troubled with these heinous and unjustified terrorist crimes. >> today in eastern syria, another massacre. the head of u.n. monitors said some had been shot from close range. he did not blame any particular group. kofi annan in jordan fears that killing could spread through the region. it is a concern widely shared. >> the worst case, it seems to be the most probable, that is the violence escalates, the conflict spreads and intensify as, it reaches a higher degree of severity, it involves other countries in the region, it takes on sectarian form, we have

a major crisis, not only in syria, but in the region. >> what are some of those risks? iran already arm in president = = arming -- arming president assad. saudi arabia and qatar are increasing the flow of weapons to the rebels. lebanon is already seen violence spread to its street. it is syria which is facing the bloodiest war. these pictures show rebels attacking a government position. today, the free syrian army gave the assad regime 48 hours to stop fighting or face violence. the signs of increasing

polarization and a determin ation to fight on para >> one- woman once served as a un ambassador to the detonations. she worked alongside kofi annan. she says assad has no intention of bringing the violence to an end. >> he is acting with impunity. it will continue until the international committee mary is the diplomacy of kofi annan with the use of force. >> kofi annan has been trying to implement a peace plan. it is not working. the violence still's continues. the un observers are showing us bloodshed. it is not working. what of the diplomacy can be used? >> the diplomacy has to get stronger.

if russia moves, china will follow. the real question is what will stand up to the forces in the short term? that has got to be a multinational force to protect the city is on the ground. only that will prevent the violence while the negotiations go forward. the international community lacks the will to do that right now. the missing ingredient, how many more lives will need to be lost before the international community gets the will to do that? >> what kind of multinational force the suggest? the violence is the continuing. what they see as the solution? >> i think you need -- what do you see as the solution? >> i think you need some western support. to sit there and protect the population.

so their forces are not in the position to slaughter civilians. that is what has been going on over the past year. i did not know how much longer this killing can go on before the international community realizes that assad is not going to negotiate peacefully. he has to be stopped with force. essentially, the negotiations, it is ok if it take a while. he will have to realize he needs to step down. i endorse put in force on the ground -- putting force on the ground. >> here in the u.k., a mother and father have been charged with murdering their six children who died after a fire in their home earlier this month. nick and mary will appear in court on thursday. we are in darby.

>> it is three weeks since the fire in which those children died. it has dominated the front pages of the newspapers ever since then. the funerals have not been held. arrangements are still being made. before they can be held, the parents will appear before a court. in the days after, there was an emotional news conference and which they were crying. they sat alongside members of the police. one man spoke highly of neighbors who tried to rescue their children. the officers have arrested them. they have been charged with the murders of their children. the statement from the police, this is people have come forward with information that they have described as useful. this is not the end of the

investigation. they say that they are determined to get to the truth of what happened here at this home in england. after reviewing all of the evidence, the detectives have taken the decision to charge both parents. they will appear tomorrow morning in court, charged with killing their six children. >> there is more bad news for the future of the eurozone. >> that is right. it continues to go from bad to worse in the resin. the spanish government's borrowing cost has risen again. they tried to secure $23 billion to rescue one of the biggest banks. it has prompted new fears that spain will need a european bailout. we have more. >> the european commission has published its annual check. it reveals the gap widening between the leaders and the

strugglers. germany is expected to see growth. not great, well ahead of others. the italian economy is expected to shrink by 1.4%. an even bigger contraction is expected for spain, one. %. that is heightening concerns about the spanish economy. >> there are big challenges. a rescue operation for bankia is underway. there are questions over the ability to fund the bailout. there are no easy solutions to the crisis. >> there is no magic bullet. there is not going to be a miracle solution. these issues take time. they require a sustained effort and perseverance. >> a key barometer is the borrowing cost for 10-year loans. a stick, it crept up to 6.7%.

-- last year, it crept up to 6.7%. then it fell back to below 5%. in the last few weeks, it has gone up again. it went above 6.6% today. markets are concerned about spain's public finances. >> spain is in a serious situation. it is inevitable it is going to need some bailout. >> the uk will be affected if there is a serious spanish downturns. british banks have lent money to the government. the weak outlook for the economy will keep u.k. growth subdued. british consumers will still be squeezed with inflation above wage rises. >> the lawyer for charles taylor says he will appeal against his

sentence of 50 years for war crimes. last month, mr. taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting rebels in sierra leone between 1991 and 2002. in sentencing, the judge described the crimes as among the most heinous in human history. >> when charles taylor arrived in court, he knew there was no precedent in modern times for sentencing a former head of state. he had hoped that might help him. he was wrong. >> we wish to underscore the gravity of mr. taylor puzzle the trail of public trust. this the trail out ways the distinction that mike i.s.o.'s pertain to the liability discussed above. -- might otherwise pertain to the liability discussed above.

>> the judge said that because charles taylor had been a powerful man, he should have shown more responsibility. >> for the foregoing reasons, the trial chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment of 50 years. >> the court reminded the world of some of the atrocities committed by the rebels mr. taylor had backed. the hallmark of the rebels was hacking of people's limbs as a terrible warning to anyone who opposed them. there are scars that will never heal. >> the long term impact is devastating. amputees who now have to live on charity because they can no longer work. young girls who have been publicly stigmatized and will never acrecover from the, they

were subjected. >> mr. taylor could only listen. his defense team had never denied awful crimes were committed. the issue was whether mr. taylor had directed them. the defense had always said it was political theater. that was an argument the judges rejected. the stories of the victims would be told. the man that the judges found responsible was there to hear them. bbc news. >> you are watching news day on the bbc, live from singapore and london. still to come, andy coulson is charged over perjury allegations. >> let's take a quick look at the newspapers from around the

world. the herald tribune asks if spain is rescued, who foots the bill? the financial times says the response to the crisis is the reason why investors are fleeing to safe havens, plunging u.s. borrowing costs to post-war lows. brussels has put francois hollande on notice, saying the european commission is concerned about his economic agenda. a problem usually associated with the west is moving east. the south china morning post says that hong kong's aging population is accelerating. it could hinder development. a former chef to queen elizabeth has revealed her very normal male habits. -- meal habits.

>> this is newsday on the bbc. i am in singapore. >> i am in london. the free syrian army has issued a 48 hour ultimatum to the government to pull its troops out of towns and cities. >> borrowing costs in spain have risen to new highs. to the level that forced greece to seek a bailout. the world economic forum begins this week. its focus is on the east asian region. it continues to grow. it may help offset a global slowdown. they expect to see decent growth this year. bangkok.n why is the region important? >> it is important because of

its incredibly large population. the population in east asia is about 600 million people. it has a combined gdp of almost $2 trillion. there is a lot of hope of being pinned on this region to hold up the rest of the world. europe has a huge slowdown. it is not being ignored here. a lot of heads of states, economies, they are worried about the fact that exports started to slow. a lot of the delegates by pinning their hopes on the consumer market, the fact that infrastructure is undeveloped. there is a lot of investment potential. >> what about the slowdown in the chinese economy?

a delegate concerned about that? how it could impact east asia? >> they are worried about china. china has become a big trading partner. i get a sense that people are a lot more worried about the austerity measures in europe. some of the chief executives, they all seem incredibly positive. you have markets like indonesia with its 240 million consumers. consumer demand is still quite strong and resilient. we had the world report on east asia. they are expecting growth of 5.2%. they say china is beginning to slow. this region is holding up. what is really exciting is suu kyi's presence. a lot of hope for the economy of burma.

>> joining us live from the world economic for for the upda. in other news, bangladesh officials say pollution levels and the capitol are reaching above acceptable limits during winter months, posing serious health problems to its 14 million residents. they say dust levels increase in winter because of a low air flow and less rainfall. on average, the dust particle level is thought to be more than that of beijing and seven times higher than that in singapore. >> it is one of the fastest- growing cities in the world. as the demand for space is increasing, all of the buildings are replaced by multiple story apartment blocks, office buildings, and shopping malls. there is the presence of thousands of old-fashioned brick

making factories. officials say during dry season, the presence of dust particles in the air remained about two hundred micrograms per cubic meter. except that level is 150 =-- the accepted level is 150. the government has been caring at various programs with the help of the international organization's program to improve air quality. they want to phase out old- fashioned brick making factories. they want to replace them with less polluting factories. >> reporting. a nationwide manhunt is underway in canada following the delivery of body parts.

one man is wanted in connection. a foot was sent to a party. a commander from montreal police describes what is known about the suspect terry >> we do have a suspect who is a 29-year-old person. we know that he knew his victims. the victim and suspect were in a relationship together. it is not a random attack. we have been on the scene on that long. we are still missing body parts. it is one of the worst since they have ever seen. the body was cut in different parts. you mentioned that two parts were shipped to ottawa to different parties. it was very, very graphic. >> do we know the motive of the

suspect? why he sent these body parts to two political parties? >> i will be honest, a lot of people have questioned the fact that these parts were shipped to two different parties. the suspect is a very deranged man. we have no reason to believe there is a political issue. it is really just a person. he is 29 years old. we came across a lot of very, let's say, the range to the ideas about him. -- deranged videos about 10. >> andy coulson, who served as communications director to david cameron, has been charged with perjury.

police are investigating whether he lied in the trial of a scottish politician in 2010. >> his day started at his home in london. by mid afternoon, he was driven into a police station in scotland to be questioned on suspicion of committing perjury. the allegations have their roots here. headlines about the scottish politicians. he sued and won. he was later tried and convicted. it was during that trial that mr. coulson was called as a witness. he was working for the prime minister. he said he was confident the police would find no evidence he was aware of illegal phone hacking. mr. sheridan also asked if the news of the world paid corrupt police officers? mr. coulson replied, not to my

knowledge. >> we now have a start to what will hopefully become criminal charges and hopefully mr. coulson will be joined by colleagues in the future. >> of five years ago, david cameron appointed the former editor as his communications chief. a month after, he gave the evidence, he resigned. he was then arrested in july of last year by scotland yard over phone hacking. he had his bail extended earlier this month. today, he was detained and questioned by offices in scotland over allegations of perjury. no. 10 is already under scrutiny. mr. coulson was once close to

the prime minister. these allegations are likely to cause more discomfort. there are now two police investigations looking into his action. one is by police here in cosco. the allegation of perjury is the most serious. within the last few minutes, he has been arrested and charged. >> he is a fictional comic book character read none for his crime fighting skills, now memorabilia is about to go under the hammer in paris. we explained. >> here in paris they are putting the final touches to tin tin's latest escapade. rare first editions of the comic book as well as pictures, toys, and post guards are about to be auctioned off. also going under the hammer will be an additional cover of -- and

original cover. this could be worth up to 1 million a year rose. >> these are images that have been etched into our memory. collectors buy back what they have previously thought away. -- thrown away. >> he was one of the most famous reporters, a boy renowned for his blue jumpers. he captured the imagination of millions of children. although he was accused of promoting colonialism and stereotypes, his latest caper at auction could secure his position as the ultimate. >> you have been watching newsday from the bbc. >> from both of us, thank you very much for watching newsday from the bbc.

>> 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 presented by kcet, los angeles.