>> this is "bbc world news." funding of 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 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? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> barack obama comes out fighting in the second debate of the u.s. presidential campaign. he was playing catchup afternoon mitt romney's performance in the first. >> i had a question, how much did you -- >> do you want me to -- >> you will get your chance in a moment. i'm still speaking. >> mr. president. i'm still speaking. >> i'm sorry.

>> hello and welcome to gmt. i'm george al guya. the new round sparked in america. two servicemen accused of remain. >> and cambodians pay their respect to a man who died on monday. >> it's midday here in london. 6:00 p.m. in -- and early morning in new york where the spin doctors have been hard at work after the second debate in the second debate of the presidential campaign. barack obama came out fighting, because he had to. the debate comes at a crucial time. he has seen support drop in a swing state. >> if barack obama was listless

in the first debate as many commentatorsal suggested that behind the traditional handshake with his challenger this time, was a president clearly more determined. that that was no mariano rivera evident than when mitt romney accused him of taking two weeks to say the attack was terrorism. >> there was no demonstration involved. it was a terrorist attack. and it took a long time for that to be told to the american people. >> mr. romney questioned whether the american people might have been misled. the president snapped back that he talked about terrorism the day after the attack. >> the suggestion that anybody on my team whether it was the secretary of state, our u.n. ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead

when we have lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. that's not what we do. >> responding row bestly on domestic issues. >> the president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. he is great as a speaker and describing his plans and visions. that's wonderful, except we have a record to look at. and that record shows that he just hasn't been able to cut the deficit and put in place reforms for medicare and social security to preserve them -- >> governor romney, here's what we did. >> president obama hit back with his economic proposals and said romney wants folks at the top to play by a different set of rules. did his performance help him this time? >> a few points scored here and there. but i didn't find either candidate particularly

captivating. i do think president obama might have had the edge over governor romney. >> three weeks to election day. one more debate to come with the stakes now higher than ever. mike woolridge, "bbc news." >> all right. let's leave that and take a look at some of the other headlines making way around the world. the taliban have attacked a military base causing several casualties. the base was involved a suicide bomber and a vehicle packed with plosist. the taliban said others were on the base with machine guns and rocket launchers. >> there were allegations in a new report from human rights that looks at the last hours of the libyan dictator. rebels stay he was killed in

crossfire during the battle. investigators in america have searched the premises of a massachusetts pharmaceutical company linked to a menen jithes outbreak. 16 people have died apparently after using con contaminate nated drugs from the firm. now the u.s. ambassador to japan said he shares the anger felt in japan over the alleged remain of a woman by two servicemen. two american sailors were arrested on tuesday after japan's defense minister described their actions as abhorrent. it is likely to less at any idea of a base on -- in that area. >> to what extent might we say

relations between the two countries have been affected because of this? >> well, you're right to point out that this is at the moment an allegation of a remain. -- of a reign judging -- of a rape though you wouldn't have thought so by the coverage it's getting in japan. you can see by the u.s. ambassador scrambling to go to the foreign ministry to make an apology to the japanese people. the reason it's so serious is because these bases are a problem the oaky now wans are sick and tired of having close to 50,000 troops squeezed on to their island. they want them removed and have been campaigning to have them removed and 10 years ago they thought they had an agreement to have at least half of them

removed, but that hasn't happened so people describe okinawa as a bit of a tinderbox and something like this could set off an angry reaction from the locals. >> there's never a good time to have this sort of thing happen but there doesn't seem to be a worse time given the tensions. >> of course we've seen in the last few weeks tensions between japan and china in particular but also japan and korea and japan and taiwanal heighten over a number of territorial disputes over islands and shown how significant this military presence by america is in this part of the world for keeping the peace. but also how och in a with a is the biggest u.s. base in this part of the world. it is a key strategic u.s. asset for deploying military

forces around the region. but of course with the rise of china with a major military power and now increaseingly a naval power, it's something the united states and japan clearly want america to hold on to and want america to stay here. >> now tens of thousands of mourners line the streets to pay their last respects as the coffin carrying the former king passed by. the form monarch will lie in state for three months. it marked for start of the official mourning. he died of a heart attack in beijing on monday at the age of 89. let's go now to our correspondent, johnathan. jonathan, the crowds i've been talking about, a sign of how much respect the people had for their king.

>> that respect went right across the generations. he abdicated in 2004 even before then, though, he stayed out of the country for long periods of time. he often went back to china where he felt comfortable. but even the younger people recognized that he is almost the definition of cambodian identity. this man became king in 1941, 71 years ago anded that most extraordinary career in life. he was -- he abdicated twice and deposed by a koup once and at one point he was in alliance with another group and cambodians see him as a man who represents their history and does have that aura. they see him something of a spiritual figure. they call him king father.

so there were people from young to old out there saying he is very, very important. whatever people think of his volatile personality and sometimes inconsistent track record, he is an enormous man for us and they are really feeling a tremendous sense of loss that an era has gone with his passing. >> you talk about the young people and how they, too, have been moved by this. and of course they won't know some of the more turbulent times that the king presided over. i'm thinking in particular, as you mentioned just now, the kumer period. >> that's an interesting period because he allowed himself to be used by them and allied himself with them before they came to power and was their prisoner in the four years they destroyed the country but then aligned himself with them when they were fighting against the other government here.

history is quite carefully taught here in cambodia. you don't get a very good look at all the complex twists and turns but cambodia anchored him as a man who played such an essential three he is beyond touch. older people i thought today were genuinely distraught. they remembered him from a golden mira. you saw people absolutely breaking down in tears and simply saw this was a great man of a different era and are very unlikely to see a man like him again. with all his foibles he was always there and stood up for their nationality and i think they realize he was a real champion of their identity. >> we'll leave it there.

jonathan head. >> the hated exit permits people had to get before traveling abroad, it's the latest in a series of slow social and economic changes on the communist-run island. reporting now from havana. >> for over 50 years every cuban wanting to travel from this island had to ask permission and stay away too long and you would lose your right to return. >> from january all cubans need to go abroad is a visa. so all the permit paperwork cost over $300. well over a year's salary for a state worker.

so it's no wonder people are happy here. >> i am very happy. really happy. because we can now see our families. we can reunite and come and go just like everywhere else in the world. >> january 2, 1959. >> cuba closed its wars soon after the 1959 era. travel restrictions for some like doctors will remain and there's ample room in the new rules to stop government critics from traveling , too, but will others rush for the exit? only if other countries relax their visa laws and only if those cubans can afford the airfare. the government explains the change saying most cubans want to travel for economic reasons not politics seeblinging the work and wealth they struggle to find here. the hope is they will travel and return bringing much-needed

money and skills back to the island. opening its borders is a gamble after so many years of tight control, but cuba is changing slowly and this is a much awaited part of that. sarah, "bbc news," havana. >> and still to come on gmt. with violence in serbia strks junior english team accusing the crowd of racial abuse. >> police this spain have arrested scores of people accused of those involved in money laundering. the chinese mafia they claim laundered up to 300 million euros a year and extortion and prostitution were involved. >> this crackdown was swift and unannounced. as this police video shows,

suspects were rounded up without ceremony. businesses across the country and 6 million euros in cash and items of jewelry and pieces of artt. >> people who witnessed the raids were shocked. >> this woman said she'd seen policemen knocking down walls to enter premises and make arrests. >> more footage without sound shows a business being raided and the safe broken open. it followed a two-year investigation. suspects have been rounded up. with so much money at stake the chinese have sent a clear signal to bring all those involved to justice. james kell yes, "bbc news." >> the australian prime minister took a tumble. julian gillard was on her final

day when she slipped and lost her shoe. the visit is aimed at boosting ties between the two countries. she joked abou wearing heels. >> i'm fine. for men who get to wear flat shoes all day, every day, if you wear a heel, it can get embedded in soft grass and then when you pull your foot out, the shoe doesn't come and the rest of it is as you saw. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i'm george. the headlines. president obama and the erepublican challenger, mitt romney went back and forth on taxes and energy policy during their second televised debate before next month's election. the british government is calling for top sanctions after

england's -- saying they were racially abused. it's about that time when we catch up on all the business news. alex is here. i want to start with germfully. because new growth figures out in the last hour, not so good. and it raises questions, doesn't it? if the u.n. power house is stumbling a bit. what does that say about the euro zone? >> we're very used to hearing that description, power house. so it's hugely worrying for the euro zone as a whole. we have relied on germany to steer europe through recent troubles and the slowing growth we're seeing outside as well as in the emerging markets, and within the last hour the government has slashed its growth forecast from 1.6 to 1%.

that despite a small increase it's predicting for late they are year. >> that's a big drop, isn't it? >> it is. early earlier i spoke to sister economist and he explains that this is actually hugely worrying for the euro zone as a whole. >> clearly germany is supposed to be the engine for recovery. the fact that it's going to grow fairly anemic has suggested the region as a whole is in for a rough time over the next few months. >> so a slow, painful period of growth. >> the european commission reports, and it's quite a congregated issue but they are trying to put a cap on what crops are grown for biofuel. food prices have been shooting

up and there's a sense that the energy market and food market are in competition with each other. >> yes. this is the first time they have directly been competing. the european commission on how to address these growing concerns that we have seen over the past years about rising fuel costs. food is being used to turn into fuel so food prices have gone up. and some biofuels are not quite as environmentally friendly as we thought. for its part the biofuel industry has insisted any levies or caps placed on the number of crops will cost thousands of jobs and cost the industry millions as a whole.

earlier we spoke to the head of the farmers union and he said it's hard to know how the respond to please the market and european regulations. >> in the u.k., in europe and in all the developed agriculture, we're looking into markets. what has happened in the last two or three years is the supply and demand for food and food for fuel agriculture has altered things those that cast gated farm for overproduction say now we want you to produce something we won't because we're concerned about food prices. >> taking place in brussels and the farmers here and across europe are affected. >> thank you. >> the british government is calling for tough sanctions after claims that england's under 21 football players were racially abused ein their match against serbia.

the uafa president has been written to. a mas brawl erupted between opposing players and coaches after england won the playoff 1-0. they also allege they were pelted with coins and seats. vladimir is the sports editor at b 92 radio in belgrade. >> it was a really badtempered game. everything was ok until the english team went in the last minute and then all went wrong. serbian supporters claim that they were provoked by some of the english players, and what followed was really, really ugly. i suppose you saw the scenes. fighting all over.

it was many things. >> well, let's speak now to our correspondent in the capital of belgrade. i don't know how much of that you heard. he called it ugly but that's something of an understimet, isn't it? >> yes. and vladimir's own organization b 92 is described as a scandal on their website and another popular media outlight a popular tabloid got footage of what went on and the headline serbian shame and talking about a racist riot. so actually the reaction here has been in some ways every bit as fures as we're seeing from the united kingdom. i think people are embarrassed by it. serbian supporters have been embarrassed. serbian fans were throwing flares on the pitch and in the crowd and five years ago a

similar incident involving racism. people have had enough of it, i think. >> you say people have had enough and are embarrassed but begs the question, does it not, i mean, you can't get serbian supporters behaving like this if there wasn't some kind of wider culture that tolerated this type of culture. >> you hit the nail on the head. there's been a lot of tieup between the ultra nationalist movement and those as anywhere else hold on to certain ideas of ethnic purity and may explain why you see some of the ugly scenes as we did last night. the problem is, there's been a strong hand coming down whether it's the football or government authorities we saw earlier rather than assist people organizing a gay pride mar in which belgrade, they were being threatened by ultra

nationalists, the government responded by banning the march supposedly due to public safety and these are the sort of messages sent out, and until there are stronger messages, this is going to continue. >> now at least 10 policemen have been injured in the coast region of 10 people. two suspects were killed in the fight following the attack. a spokesperson said al sha bod loyalists may have been behind the incident. a panel of experts eye accused the rowanden defense minister of organizing a conflict and says rwanda is continuing to support the n 23 rebels who have been fighting in eastern drc since april.

rwanda has repeatedly denied the accusations. trying to negotiate an end to the miners strike which has spread since august. about 80,000 mine workers are striking in a an area crucial to the south african economy. now an air canada passenger flight bound for sidney helped pinpoint the location of a yacht in trouble off the coast of australia. the alarm had been raised after a captain called for help. the maritime safety authority asked two party airliners to help. their plane swooped down at about 1,200 meters while the crew peered out using binoculars borrowed from passengers. all right. let me give you a quick reminder of our top story on gmt. u.s. president barack obama and

mitt romney have clashed in their second televised debate. more on the debate and comments in the next half-hour. so do stay with us here on "bbc world news." >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation 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 understand the industry you

-- to guide you through the opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended 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 presented by kcet, los angeles