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objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." we treated a classmate with respect. they treat us well in return. that is sort of how we became who we are today. that is how we learned what leadership really means. it is about stepping outside of your comfort sound to explore new ideas. about rising above divisions. treating people the way you want to be treated in return. and as young people, you all are in a very powerful position

to make some of those same choices yourselves. you have the freedom of an open mind. you have a fresh perspective that can help you find solutions to age-old problems. with today's technology, you can connect with other young people from all over northern ireland and all around the world. so right now, you have a choice to make. you have got to decide how you will use those advantages and opportunities to build the lives you dream of. because that decision will determine not only the kinds of people you will become, but also the kinds of communities you will live in, the kind of world we will all share together. standing here with all of you today, i have never felt more optimistic. let me tell you, time and again i has seen young people like all of you choosing to work

together, choosing to lift each other up, choosing to leave behind the conflicts and prejudices of the past and create a bright future for us all. powerfulhat is so about your generation. that is why we are here today. because we want you to know that we believe in each and every one of you. that is exactly why we are here. we believe you all have the ability to make a mark on this world that will last for generations to come. so we are so proud of you. we expect great things. with that, i think it would be a good opportunity for me to introduce someone who accompanied me here today. [laughter] i let him travel with me every now and then. but he is someone who is just

as excited and delighted to deliver a message of encouragement and support to all of you. my husband, the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] thank you so much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. please be seated, please. hello, belfast. [applause] hello, northern ireland. we now know why it is so difficult to speak after michelle. she is better than me. [laughter]

but on behalf of both of us, thank you so much for this extraordinarily warm welcome. i want to thank hannah for introducing my wife. we had a chance to speak with hannah backstage. she is an extraordinary young woman. i know she will do even greater things in years to come. --ant to thank two men who for their warm welcome. first minister peter robinson. [applause] deputy first minister martin mcguinness. [applause] i spent the whole year trying to unite washington around things, and they came to visit on st. patrick's day and did it in a single afternoon. to thank thet

secretary of state for northern ireland. [applause] to all the ministers in the audience, to lord mayor mark shane. and i want to thank all the citizens of belfast and northern ireland for your hospitality. [applause] as our daughters pointed out as we were driving in, i caused a big futz wherever i go. traffic and barricades and police officers, all a big production. a lot of people are involved. and i'm very grateful for you accommodating us. the first time michelle and i visited here was two years ago.

tens ofhonored to joine thousands on college green in dublin. we travel to a little village where, as it turned out, my great great grandfather was born. -- i only identified this individual a few years ago. when i was first running in chicago, i did not know this but i wish i had. [laughter] and i was in chicago campaigning, they look at my last name and they say, oh, there is an obama running on the south side. he must be irish. but i've never heard of the gaelic name barack. but it pays to be irish in chicago. so while we were there i had a chance to meet my eighth cousin,

henry, who was also known as henry viii. [laughter] we knew he was my cousin because his years flapped out, just like mine. [laughter] i leaf through the parish logs were the names of my ancestors are recorded. i even watched michelle learn how to pull a proper pint. cheering for the. -- that's. it was a magical business -- visit. the only problem is it was far too short. if ok no when iceland forced us to leave before we could even spend the night. we have been eager for a chance to return to the emerald isle ever since. this time we brought our daughters. in particular, we wanted to come here. to northern ireland, a place of remarkable beauty and extraordinary history. part of an island with which tens of millions of americans

share an eternal relationship. america's story in part began right outside the doors of this cleaning all -- gleaming hall. 325 years ago, a ship set sail from the river leg and for the chesapeake bay, filled with men and women who dreamed of building a new life in a new land. they followed -- today, followed by hundreds of thousands more, helped america write those early chapters. they helped us win our independence. they help us draft our constitution. soon after america returned to belfast, opening one of our ,irst consulates here in 1796 when george washington was still president. today, names familiar to many of you are attached on schools and

courthouses and memorials across the united states. names like wilson and kelly, campbell and o'neill. so many of the qualities we americans hold dear we imported from this land. perseverance, faith, and unbending belief that we make our own destiny. an unshakable dream that if we lived hard and live responsibly, something that her lies just around the bend. so our histories are bound by blood and belief. by culture and by commerce. our futures are equally, inextricably linked. that is why i have come to belfast today. to talk about the future we can build together. , the youngeron

generation, has come of age in a world with fewer walls. you have been educated in an era of instant information. by some been tempered very difficult times around the globe. and as i travel, what i've seen of young people like you around the world show me the currents have conspired to make you a outration with both clear realism and also an optimistic idealism. a generation keenly aware of the world as it is, but eager to forge the world as it should be. when it comes to the future we share, that fills me with hope. young people filmy with hope --

phifill me with hope. in northern ireland, this generation has no more rapid change than many young people have seen around the world. well you have unique challenges of your own, you also have unique reasons to be hopeful. you are the first generation in this land to inherit more than just the hardened attitudes and bitter prejudices of the past. you are an inheritor of a just and hard-earned peace. you now live in a thoroughly modern northern ireland. of course, the recession spread through nearly every country in recent years and has inflicted hardship year. there are communities that still endure real pain. but day-to-day -- >> we will leave it there. the speech by president obama, his first in northern ireland.

talking about the future link between the u.s. and northern ireland after thanking everyone for the hospitality. he is of course in northern ireland for the g8 summit. he is just there talking before the g8 to 2000 youngsters. later today he will move on to the g8. that is 8 of the world's richest, most powerful nations. they are gathered there very much to discuss the conflict in syria. rich prime minister david cameron said he hopes they can inject momentum into efforts to end the syrian crisis. president obama is due to meet the russian president vladimir putin. that is one of the biggest splits in how to move forward. a lot of security there.

at meeting due to be held the area that has now been cordoned off, a massive security and police operation at the summit gets under way. president obama will be going there shortly. we will cover all that throughout the day. other news today. in turkey, too big trade unions two biging -- trade unions are staging a strike to protest the methods police used to clear a demonstration. there was more trouble between demonstrators and police last night. james reynolds is in istanbul for us. is it quieter there now, james? is the strike unfolding? >> yes and soon is the answer to that. the morning in this conflict tends to be quiet. over the last two weeks,

usually nothing happened in the morning while the demonstrators and police recover and catch their breath. we will only know the status of the unrest later on in the day, when two things will happen. number one, trade unions will carry out a march from two different areas of istanbul. they say their aim is to march it isim square, but unlikely the police will let them arrived there. later in the day and at night we will find out just what kind of protest residents of istanbul -- last night was some of the most rheumatic yet. >> how ruffle does the government by all this? >> not at all. -- how rattled is the government by this? >> not at all. we can tell by the pro-prime minister rally held here on sunday. i was at that rally with colleagues. tens of thousands of people there. some came up to us and said, we are with the prime minister until the end. he urged them to take even

tougher action against the protesters. essentially, the prime minister believes he still has the 50% of the country that voted for him in 2011 with him. and with that he feels he can do as he pleases. >> thanks very much. the wife of nelson mandela has expressed her gratitude to well- wishers from around the world for the love and support they have been sending to the former south african president who is in hospital for a recurring lung infection. she says the recurring -- continuing support has brought comfort and hope, and has been a source of strength. during the onus, the anti- apartheid icon has been in the hospital for 10 years and is said to show a sustained improvement although he remains in a series condition. we are just going to go over now to greece.

the three coalition party leaders are meeting to try to sort out their differences over the closure of the national broadcaster, ert. the prime minister is defending the coalition, but his coalition partners are against it. they threaten to withdraw from the government and draw fresh elections. our correspondent is in athens for us. why is this so controversial? >> it is really the way in which it was done. this is a 75-year-old institution that was closed down within a day. that has absolutely infuriated the coalition partners, and a lot of the country. the latest opinion poll says around 65% of greeks are against the way in which this was done. remember, this is a country in which institutional reform is notoriously slow, yet the

public broadcaster was closed within a day. year marks exactly a since antonis samaras was elected prime minister, yet it is not a happy birthday. he is facing the worst political crisis of his premiership as he faces the deep rift with coalition partners. later on today they will need to try to bridge those divisions. as you say, the national broadcaster is still occupied. we are waiting to hear the results of an appeal which the administrative court will rule as to whether this was legal or illegal. if it rules against the government, mr. samara's will face a lot of pressure to roll back. if he is unable to reach an agreement with partners, we could see the government collapse and a slide into fresh elections. >> thanks very much. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come, a spanish town that rented its tramway to australia to get its budget back on track.

i want to show you our new video upload or. it is so much easier for you to give us things you have seen or questions or comments about today's news. some of you are using it already. >> i am from pakistan. >> i am an american, but i live in canada. >> i am from northern australia. .> i recorded this on my phone i came to this page and clicked .n upload, and that was that >> you can use a webcam to any computer. go to the same page. click record, say what you have to say, then pressed up and submit and we will do the rest. the new bbc video upload or. i am interested to see what you sent in.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines. within the past few minutes, president obama has said peace beaconhern ireland is a for conflict around the world. at the --aking before the g8 meeting that will be dominated by syria's civil war. in istanbul, a nationwide strike and our tests against police violence on antigovernment demonstrators. >> coming up in sport, the first enlistment to win the u.s. open in over 40 years, justin rose, holds off nicholson. cup campaign with a winner in uruguay. it is party time in san antonio.

the spurs contain the heat in game five and are one win away from becoming nba champions. all coming up in 30 minutes. now, a political scandal involving spies and bribery is grip ring the czech republic -- gripping the czech republic. the prime minister is resigning after his aid is convicted with corruption and abuse of power. he is accused of -- she's accused of spying on three people, including the prime minister's wife, who he is divorcing. >> this one has it all, bribery, corruption, and rumors of a love triangle. little surprise that it is called the czech prime minister to resign and brought down his government. mr.'s arrives to hear their leader step down after some of the most turbulent days in check politics. very attentively

following the development in the political situation, which started here last wednesday. i know well what consequences this has for me. tomorrow, i will step down from the role of prime minister. i would like to stress i know about my political responsibility and i'm facing the consequences. >> his resignation came after his closest aide was arrested for bribery and illegally using military intelligence to spy on three individuals. one of the targets was the prime minister's own wife, who he is currently divorcing. the aide is a woman he is also accused of being romantically linked with. she is now in custody, along with some of the former politicians accused of accepting bribes. the prime minister claims he knew nothing about the surveillance and his aid also denies many of the charges against her. it will not stop the prime minister handing in his resignation to the president later on monday. here into let you know,

london the queen's husband, prince philip, the duke of edinburgh, who has been unwell in hospital, he is now leaving hospital. he has left the private london clinic where he was being admitted for exploratory abdominal surgery. pictures have just come up of prince philip leaving the hospital. thanking all the staff there in london. no doubt getting back to his family. his second birthday in hospital, around a week ago. he is now well enough to go back home. a bit of good news there. more good news, we hope, from the g8. the other big subject apart from syria is taxes.

have to see what comes out of the meeting. as you say, prime minister david cameron, who is hosting the g8 summit in northern ireland this week, says he will put tax evasion and aggressive avoidance at the heart of the meeting. 's the run-up, britain offshore jurisdictions, including the isle of man and jersey, have signed up to an initiative led by the oecd to be more transparent and exchange information and details on the true owners of so-called shell companies. one tax specialist says this could be a real breakthrough. >> this could really change the mood. it will show we are seriously about exchanging information, potentially about the uk register of ultimate ownership of country -- companies. that will pay very well -- they very well, not only with domestic populations but with

groups concerned about tax justice. >> more on that and many more stories in around 10 minutes time. >> short and sweet. now, six years ago the spanish coastal town in built a brand- new tramway to link it with a nearby beach resort. it cost 38 million euros. then the global economic crisis, and the town could not afford to run the service any longer. they took a dramatic decision -- he has boxed the whole thing up and assented to sydney. >> it was once the prize of and = --a, -- and alysia andalusia. after a year of going nowhere, the tram cars will be headed to australia. the running cost derail the town's budget, and it is being dismantled to seek his fortune on the other side of the world. >> on a day like today, there

would have been scores of people waiting here for the tram to take them to the beach. now, as you can see, it has just become an extension of the car park. the tram themselves will go to australia. the rails, the tracks, will stay here, an ugly scar of the recession. >> the little town is haunted by the ghosts of better times. construction projects, begun in the economic boom, were quickly abandoned when the property bubble burst. the tramway belonged to a different economic era. >> it was a very difficult decision to take. we had our tram for six years. now the economic climate has changed. we have to tackle a problem head-on and reduce our deficit. >> with no one here spending any money, long-established local businesses like this furniture store have folded. >> it is very sad.

.ou can say to them the truth it is impossible to work. it is not business now. we have to change. we have to change the style of life we have had before. back very soon. stay with us.