>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding for this presentation is 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now "bbc world news." >> a chinese envoy is expected in syria, the first of several international diplomats heading to damascus. they all want humanitarian access. the syrian government says a cleanup of a district in homs is underway. activists claim sweeping away evidence of atrocities is going on. hello and welcome. a world of news and opinion. also in the program, it is super tuesday in the republican race for the white house. mitt romney's breaks free of the pack. benjamin netanyahu is warning iran, saying that u.s.-led diplomatic efforts have failed to stop the country opposing nuclear program and israel will

not wait much longer. it's midday in london, 8:00 p.m. in hong kong, 2:00 in the afternoon in syria. the most deadly battle there and now the focus of a diplomatic efforts for a humanitarian operation. a chinese envoy arrived on tuesday followed by if you and representatives later in the week. state television has been showing pictures of the government efforts showing bulldozers moving in to clear up after four weeks of shelling in homs. activists say they are clearing away evidence of atrocities. >> the cleanup operation is underway. syrian state television said things were returning to normal? as the bulldozers moved in to clear rubble left by weeks of bombardment. the international red cross has been prevented since friday from getting in on the grounds that is t dangerouso.

o some families have begun returning to the battered district. some fled months ago and others more recently as the army tightened its seed and escalated the shelling, of turning it to turning the district into a devastated goes down. >> at last we can get back to our homes and our jobs, thanks to the army. >> everybody is blaming the armed terrorist gangs for the trouble, accusing them of intimidating people and driving them from their homes, he says. but these families are in the dark and are telling a different story. there are very few men among them. many of them were detained or at checkpoints along the way. some said they witnessed men and boys being slaughtered by security forces or militia and feared almost all of their men had suffered the same fate if.

activist groups have said dozens have been killed in systematic summary executions. it's far from being the only trouble spot. shelling and shooting have been reported in many other places. defiance remains strong despite ruthless repression. the u.n. humanitarian envoy is expected in damascus on wednesday. kofi annan on saturday. >> it turkey's prime minister has called for syria to allow the immediate establishment of humanitarian aid corridors to deliver helped to civilians. it is thought at least three corridors would be involved in any such scheme from turkey, lebanon, and in jordan. if 100,000 refugees have crossed over into those three countries since the start of the uprising. now

our correspondent is in istanbul. what is the position of her duties in turkey? >> the official number is around 11 dows and. -- 11,00 refugees. there are still many more people on the other side of the border who may be coming now shortly. syrian forces have been pushing people right against the border. the idea of the corridors would not be workable unless turkey has signed up to them. so this would be critical for the turkish army to protect them. they are nervous about looking like intervention into syria, so the prime minister is still

waiting to see if such a thing is even a viable. nobody imagined they could fight their way into syria. turkey feels they have to put this back on the table to try to work out how the corridors could be practical. >> the turkish prime minister has already gone beyond looking at this as a refugee problem. he has spoken quite verbally on the issue of syria. >> he felt personally betrayed when he put his own credibility on the line earlier last year in negotiating with president assad and thought that he had gotten promises. there's also immense public sympathy in turkey's devout sunni population.

it plays into the sectarian cards as well. but the reality is strategic as well. turkey has a 900 kilometer border with syria and desperately wants there to be a settlement. last summer the turkish government decided that president assad had destroyed a -- destroyed any legitimacy that he had. the syrian opposition groups complain that the turkish government for all its powerful rhetoric is not doing anything. in particular they are complaining that turkey is blocking the free syrian army from getting weapons from other countries. >> thanks very much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines

around the world. none of us can afford to wait much longer. those are the words of the israeli prime minister, who reasserted his country's right to defend itself against an iranian nuclear threat. benjamin netanyahu's comments are in contrast to the views of president obama, who has cautioned against a rush to military action and wants time for new sanctions take effect. now this report from washington. >> four months his attentions have been toward israel. >> the jewish state will not allow those who seek our destruction to possess the means to achieve that goal, a nuclear armed iran must be stopped. >> he warns that a nuclear-armed iran could hold the global oil markets to ransom and state

terror attacks using nuclear materials. he was dismissive of existing efforts of deterrence. >> israel has waited patiently for the international community to resolve this issue. we have waited for diplomacy to work. we have waited for sanctions to work. none of us can afford to wait much longer. >> mr. netanyahu describes how america had refused to bomb auschwitz during the second world war, challenging obama to act now. the israeli and american governments agree that the iranian nuclear facilities must not produce nuclear weapons. the head of the u.n. watchdog has voiced serious concerns about a possible military dimensions of the program. iran insists it is producing only energy.

obama says sanctions and diplomacy must first be given time to work. >> we have worked so diligently to set up the most crippling sanctions ever with respect to iran. we believe there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution to this issue. ultimately, the iranian regime has to make a decision to move in that direction. >> the tone of the visiting public has been one of cautious course reality. what really matters is what they discussed behind closed doors. iran,rael the strike i will it tell washington in advance? and under what situation if any might barack obama offer military assistance? the two leaders have pledged to consult closely as the clock ticks toward a decision.

steve kingston, bbc news, washington. >> in 10 states, four candidates in a fierce battle for a place in the final. that is the short story of the super tuesday, one of the biggest days in the republican electoral calendar. the polls are open for voters to choose their favorite tuesday who will take on barack obama in the presidential elections in november. mitt romney has an early lead in the delegate count. rick santorum and newt gingrich are looming in the wings. with me in the studio is a former communications director to republicans abroad in the u.k. how is it looking briefly? >> 41919 delegates. that is important. they need to become the nominee 1144 delegates. mitt romney has about 200 or so.

santorum has about 100. >> essentially it is there for mitt romney if he can make a break for it. >> it is also santorum. santorum blew it in michigan. he had a chance to take the lead, to get the momentum,, the nop romney off. he could not do it in michigan even though he had a 15-point lead. now the big state to watch today is ohio. that is the bellwether state. if you want to win the presidency, if you have to win ohio. >> what will the issue be that will win it for either of these two? romney wanting to concentrate on the economy and santorum on social issues. >> here's the important thing. santorum wins on social issues, but our important is that? i think this is a year based on

winning. these are people really worried about mr. obama in the white house and there's an interesting statistic from michigan. among those that abortion is the most important issue, santorum is the big winner. that only made up 14% of the electorate, though. the majority, 79% cared about the economy. american elections are always about what is in your wallet. i think people are starting to coalesce around the fact that romney is the man who can talk about the economy. also, we have the whole deal on contraceptives, a major constitutional issue that is a sideshow. >> you think that the economy will come through shining? >> always. >> taking so long for the republican party. nobody is able to even think about. november at about. in other primary season's they

might have been able to start thinking about the main battle. >> one of the mistakes the republican party has made is the proportional of awarding of delegates. in the past, most states where winner-take-all. today it works in romney's favor. even if he lost ohio, that does not mean he would lose out on ki -- of getting delegates. newt gingrich will not get every delegate in georgia. by the convention probably in late august or early september, there will be many people talking in back rooms about how do we change the system to avoid this happening again. >> being a long. long events thank you. thousands of passengers have experienced delays because of a fault with an overhead power cable in france. four trains from london to paris for scheduled for tuesday morning have been cancelled. services are now returning to

normal. if they have apologized for the delay. flooding in australia has continued to cause havoc across three eastern states. almost 9000 people have been evacuated from their homes after a town was hearing the river would plug. the military has been deployed to help. eastern australia was hit by devastating floods last year. still ahead, campaigners condemn afghanistan's religious council's attempt to limit women's rights. it's time for a brief look at some of the stories making headlines in newspapers around the world. we begin with "obama reassures netanyahu." america will use all means to stop iraq developing nuclear weapons, he says.

"the guardian says that spain is on a collision course with the european commission after the prime minister said that the government would fail to meet the budget deficit targets and instead set his own goals. the south china morning post reports the premier says the economic target has been cut in an effort to enable the government to diffuse price pressures. and clashes broke out in moscow after president putin was elected and there are more calls for anti-putin protests. this is gmt from bbc world news abo. the turkish prime minister has called on the syrian regime to open up humanitarian aid corridors immediately. the israeli prime minister says

time is running out to stop iran from developing nuclear weapons. now for business news. let's start with geneva. glitz and glamour there. what are carmakers hoping to get this year? >> it is against a backdrop of austerity in europe. that's a problem for carmakers. they are coming out with their latest models. but will people buy the cars is the question. we have good news wenissan. nissan.ews from th it will build a car in the northeast of england, pretty good news for the u.k. economy and manufacturing sector. >> there is 125 million pounds

worth of investment all in all. the majority will be in our local supply base. when we have looked at the numbers before, for every one person employed in the nissan facility there are four in the supply base. >> plenty of new cars coming out of that. >> you were hoping the brazilian gdp figures would be out by now. >> they are. we have seen the brazilian economy grow by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, slightly higher than we expected. we expected 0.2%. this means economic growth in brazil in 2011 is estimated to be 2.7%, which is pretty good if you compare that to what is happening in the euro zone right now. brazil has an enormous economy. the unemployment rate of only 5.5%.

if 197 million people in the country. it may have benefited from high prices for food and oil. there's nbrazil exports a lot me than it imports. but some people don't believe brazil is as good an investment as you might think it is. some people think it is still. still >> brazil is an exciting investment area. but it is also much more volatile. look at the volatile market returns in the u.k. last year and it was down to a hundred% and the brazilian index was down 22%. brazilian equities have done very well over the longer term, but they are definitely more volatile and are a high-risk investment. >> nice to believe that brazil will overtake the u.k. as the six biggest country. the summer olympics will be in

brazil in 2016, so these are exciting times. >> leaders from the indian governing congress party say they are disappointed by the party's failure to make gains in regional elections. initial results show congress performed poorly in the politically significant state in uttar pradesh. the results are particular setback for rahul gandhi, seen as a possible future prime minister and campaigned extensively in the state. our correspondent has this update from the state capital of uttar pradesh. >> a number of elections taking place and results coming in. a bad day for the congress party and for rahul gandhi's family. in uttar pradesh he has been trying to resurrect a party which was already in bad shape. they have not been able to do very much. still in fourth place. top honors going to the regional party which is headed for a clear majority and the right to form the next

government. that's the samajwadi party. and congress is losing the state of punjab in the north and also losing in goa. poor results all round. it will likely have a bad effect on the government at the federal level. >> in afghanistan, the country's top religious council says that women should not mix with men in school, work, or other aspects of the life. it also says they should not travel without a male relative. the council statement was welcomed by afghan president karzai, but human rights campaigners say it is a worrisome attempt to placate the taliban. . now this >> news on afghanistan's channel one. women newscasters have been in the headlines lately after the government told them to wear head scarves and avoid. heavy

avoid -- and avoid heavy makeup. now the council says women and men should not work together. >> i am proud of my job and the fact that i work outside my home. >> but afghanistan's top religious council, which is government-funded, does not want women roaming freely outside. it says that under islam they should be accompanied by a male relative. critics say it is an echo of the taliban. there's growing concern among human rights activists and women's groups but the progress made in recent years could be turned back. president karzai willing to sacrifice women's rights to do a

deal with the taliban perhaps. many feel it is a journey back in time. a. mp who survived a taliban ambush is dreading a return to the dark days of the past. >> we struggled 10 years. we have done so much and now they are starting to take some of the basic rights like working together, living together, going out like a free human being. you are not allowed to do that anymore. >> for now in this private university in kabul, young afghans are allowed to share a classroom and that's how they wanted to stay.who thinks men and women should be able to study together like this? >> my apartment new this morning -- >> this person plans a career in business. another wants to go into politics. that is if the taliban and the

clerics don't agree right to rewriteture -- don't their future. >> britain's prince harry is in the caribbean. later he is expected to visit usain bolt and have lunch with the prime minister. now this report from kingston, jamaica. >> the latest stop for prince harry, a developing senior royal. after babies and the bahamas, he will visit jamaica, where he is representing his grandmother in her diamond jubilee year. for the 27-year-old son of diana, such a reception is quite an experience. it will be commonplace one day. this was a formal welcome for a representative of jamaica's queen.

the island is once again ditching a crucial link with its former colonial master. in a bbc interview, the prime minister miller told me it is time for independent jamaica to go one step further and replaced the queen with a homegrown head of state. >> even if the queen does not remain head of state for the country of jamaica, the queen would be welcome at any time and would be treated in the same way she has been treated for all the years that she has been visiting jamaica. >> on the streets of the capital kingston there is support and some concern. >> i know that we get a lot of financial help and good advice and we need that. we are third-world country. we need that motherly support.

>> prince harry and the governor general, the queen's representative here, both could become a part of jamaica's history. abc news, kingston. >> that was prince harry on his first solo trip representing the queen abroad. a reminder of our top stories. turkish prime minister has called on the syrian regime to allow the immediate opening of humanitarian aid corridors. it is thought at least record doors would be involved. they would be from turkey, lebanon, and and jordan. up to 100,000 refugees have crossed into those three countries from syria since the start of the uprising a year ago. that's all for the moment. stay with us on bbc world news. there's plenty more to come.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.