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>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >>he health-care reform is in intensive care. can a summit improve its chances of survival? the american president hopes to recess its -- resuscitate his plan for universal coverage. republicans hope to cancel its light source.

>> i hope he will scrap it and start over with a clean sheet of paper. this is not the republican position but a position of the american people. >> india and pakistan are talking again. it is the first official meeting since the mumbai terror attack. the opposition boycott the ceremony. we will go live to havana for an in-depth look into the daily life and grind of ordinary cubans. ♪ hello and welcome to bbc. president obama's desperate attempt to push through health- care reform as the pundits reaching. if they agree it is on life support. the televised meeting is supposed to breed new life into

him getting crushed -- breathe new life into him getting congressional approval for it. there is not an outbreak of bipartisanship. >> when barack obama promised change, he meant healthcare first and foremost. >> we need a generation that says right here and right nw we will have universal health care in america. reform is not a luxury but a necessity. i am not the first president to take up this cause. i am determined to be the last. >> his party has been put at risk by the shock republican victory by the republicans in massachusetts. they are one key -- one vote shy of the votes needed. with the cameras rolling, he will seek common ground which

both parties can support. it may be elusive. >> i hope the president will scrap this big government takeover of health care and start over with a clean sheet of paper. this is not a republican position. this is the position of the american people. >> the polls suggest that americans oppose health care reform and disapprove of the president's handling of the issue. the rebels released his proposal which would reduce the deficit -- this week they released his proposal which would reduce the deficit. >> with -- if this comes to nothing, there is a plan that democrats have. it would require 51 votes in the senate rather than 60. >> that is a controversial tactic which republicans would denounce as big government through the back door.

it would make or break the presidential reputation. bbc news, washington. >> india's top diplomat describes the first formal high- level meeting between india and pakistan since the mumbai attack. speaking at the end of talks, the countries agreed to remain in talks. the country must do more to dismantle militant networks. the dialogue was shattered by the deaths of more than 160 people. we have more from delhi. >> these hours of talks between top officials from the foreign ministers of pakistan have now ended. the head of the indian delegation has been briefing the media on those talks. in the last few minutes, he is

basically giving the indian view of the talks and said india is still not happy with how pakistan had responded to the mumbai attack. india has told pakistan that they have not done enough to bring the culprit or to punish the culprits. india has passed on new information to pakistan to investigate. there has been a lot of speculation. there is hope that this meeting would have a date for the next round of talks. no dates have been set. they have agreed that india and pakistan have agreed to remain in contact and continue to try to rebuild trust which had been

destroyed by the mumbai attacks in november 2008. >> 30 more military officers were conspiring to overthrow the government in one area. that is in and symbol -- istanbul. after weeks of political turmoil in the ukraine, a man has been sworn in as president. he admitted his country faces great problems including large debts and corruption. our correspondent outlined what direction the new president' is likely to take. >> he addressed the nation after he was sworn into office.

he will work equally with russia and the united states. he wanted his country to be independent of any alliances. he wants to improve their economic situation. he wants to work equally well with all of the counies in the world. >> the syrian president's has held talks with iran and counterparts in damascus. he said the countries are working together to confront israeli terrorism. they will continually strengthen their relation. the u.s. has been trying to improve its ties with syria. the international monetary fund has approved a $600 billion loan to help rebuild the infrastructure. iraq economy is struggling with low revenues.

it is the biggest loan to be provided to iraq. the return home of a nigerian president has sparked a rising among his political advocates. some have referred to him as vice president and downgraded his status. cuba's president has taken the unprecedented step of expressing regret of the death of a leading political person. he blamed the united states for the death of a person who died in a cuba prison while on hunger strike. let's go over to have been and

now. -- havana now with my colleague. >> welcome to havana. the sun has come up. the cuban government has allowed western broadcasters like the bbc to be here live. here is the reason. they want to open up to the rest of the world. they have been reminded of the less savory side of this. one person was languishing in jail and died after a hunger strike. the president has wrist -- expressed regret about the death. there are tensions beneath the surface and most of the terrorists that come to the country are affected.

there is a war about economic decline. what is it really like? it is just before 7 and they are getting their stock children ready for school. -- getting their children ready for school. these people are around their blocks. she is a very picky about her school lunch, she said. breakfast is a rushed affair. there is some money here. a chinese-made stereo. thanks to the revolution, they pay virtually no rent and have lived here for quite some time.

the school feels like an exrsion into cuban history. this has been part here for 10 years. all of the policemen want to leave cuba. shea only dreams of going to brazil. the local school is free. salaries about 12 pounds a month. this man as well into his shift. he is an electrical repairman. together is barely enough to scrape by on. she is in charge of shopping.

they use bread and rice as staples. luxuries like fruit and vegetables, she gets from the market. there has been the biggest change in recent years here. it costs more, but it tastes better. back at home, he gets his monthly health as it courtesy of the state. it is free. the doctor comes to him. he does a quick check up. dinner time. fried pork and vegetables from the market. they talk about the david and goliath relationship with america. when obama was elected, we thought things would change.

nothing has changed. what about their freedom and their human rights? i asked. they are living the strain contradictions of cuban life. they are some soured by fear. it is truly an island. some are experiencing back attacks by guerrillas. doctors and medical experts around the world especially to developing countries and to make a lot of money for cuba. it is one of the top five corners of foreign currency in

the country. >> a familiar chant on this island, fidel. not one of these doctors is keeping. they are on their way to haiti as part of the canoe -- emergency assistance brigade from cuba. they graduated from the latin american medical school on the outskirts of havana. there are 10,000 foreign students here. discussions are paid for by the cuban government. >> i would not have been able to become a doctor without my scholarship. it is very hard to get this type of money. >> most are from poor developing

countries. some come from underprivileged communities in the united states. what the cubans ask in return is once they graduate they take their medical skills back home. >> they teaches everything to become a general doctor. a gun practitioner of medicine. they ask us to go back to the community that need you and practice. >> paying for foreign and medical students to come here is part of a health diplomacy. people spend -- sent doctors to needy parts of the world all bringing hundreds of thousands of foreign patients here for eye surgery. the cubans call it operation miracle, free eye surgery for those in need. it is -- its international

medical program cannot be cheap. that are paying dividends. every country in the region has restored diplomatic ties except for the united states. there is a new generation of doctors singing their praises back home. health care has become a key factor in their battle for hearts and minds. bbc news, havana. >> michael is with us here now. one of the really important things the cuban government likes to point out is there were some of the first people on the ground in haiti to help out with the earthquake. >> they had a prominent medical team on the island of about 400 people. many set up early field hospitals. they have about 1500 medical

people there. about 70,000 operations. one area that is cooperating with the united states. the cubans have allowed the americans to treat patients at guantanamo bay. >> they are still stuck in bad relations other than that? >> yes. the language has lessons. on key issues like ending the 50 year-old trade embargo, america and sensed that there must be reforms in cuba. cubans say the system here is >> have there been any reforms? >> there were expectations that there would be change. fidel castro did certain things.

the economy is going backwards. there is a growing frustration that there is a slow pace of change. >> how ma people own computers here? what still a small number. they are not allowed to have an internet connection at home. because of the trade embargo, it is making that difficult. it is a legal for cubans to have internet at home. >> anymore change down the road? what people are wondering what will happen next. the economy has been going backward. they were hit by hurricanes. castro is trying to make the state-run economy more efficient. it is not working at the moment.

>> thanks. but this is a first of our many broadcasts from cuba this week. it is important for the cuban authorities to allow us here. we will try to give a comprehensive plancher -- picture of this country over the next few days if we can. it is a very compelling and thailand. it has a lot of problems. back to you. >> thanks. you can see more at 7:00 and 10 eastern on bbc american. coming up, after a military coup, when will the army allowed a returno democratic rule?

it is an important day for the italy prime minister. they will decide the fate of a corruption trial of the man accused of corrupting a british tax lawyer. he was convicted last february of accepting a bribe and will spend 4.5 years in jail. both deny any wrongdoing. here as our correspondent. >> it is been a few years since he was accused of accepting a $600,000 bribe for giving false evidence that one of his trials. he was one of the consultants on offshore tax havens. the prosecution says he paid him

for not revealing details on offshore companies in 1997 and 1998. there is evidence as an expert witness. one person says the money was paid by someone else. he recanted his previous statement. he was sentenced last february to 415 years in jail. that sentence was -- 4.5 years in jail. that sentence was upheld. he said he ill return to italy to serve his sentence if he loses. a separate trial is also under way.

both men deny any wrongdoing. bbc news. >> the main headlines, president obama will try to resuscitate his health care reform by staging a televised bipartisan meeting. india calls on pakistan to do more to dismantle terror networks on its soil during their first official talks since the damage from the 2008 attack on mumbai. last week's military curb -- coup seems to have been widely expected by one president. he changed the constitution to stay in power beyond his second term. it physician time has begun that will organize democratic

elections. the west africa correspondent reports from this region. >> deadlock petrine president holding onto power and a battling opposition. these soldiers are part of the coup and are relaxed. most people support what they did. the political parties confronting the president were quick to applaud. now they are looking to the future. >> we arerganizing and we will face militaries that want a shorter transition. >> this is one of the poorest countries in the world. revenues have done little for most people.

chronic hunger is happening in the east. there has been little support for the coup. a spokesperson says that recent devastation in favor of the coup were tiny. hundreds of thousands used to turn out in every town. th will not seek confrontation with people that are armed. the streets of miami are remarkably normal. this was blessed by a rocket on the day of the coup. the president's remains in army captivity. the people are waiting to see what will come of this transition time. >> we expect the army manage a clean and honest transition. they do not want power, this man says.

they have seen many military crews. they have said another pop the president. democracy is far from won. bbc news, miami. >> much more on all of our stories on the website bbc.com. that is including our top story, the six hour summit regarding the health care reform plan of president barack obama. he faces a difficult balancing act in accomplishing this goal. most republicans want to tear up the proposal on the table and start from scratch. you can get all of the latest news coming out of the meeting on our website. it will start at 1500. on this edition, we have been

live in havana where our correspondent tells us about an . improvement in u.s. and cuba relations. we'll have more on bbc america and on other programming. that is all. stay with us for bbc world news coming up. ♪ ...xxxxxxx >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

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