>> 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. shell. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength 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." >> police in new york move into

evict anti-wall street campaigners from their camp. one of the serious most bloody days of protest. in the arab league trying to remove president assad. >> and austerity measures have knocked back expectations of growth 2%. welcome to "bbc world news." the year of the release of answers. the written call for the release of all political presidents in burma. we report. >> do you ever get angry at what happened to you? >> no. no. no. >> no? >> no. life. >> american congresswoman gabrielle gifford talks publicly first about her recovery after getting shot in the head.

a huge police operation is under way in new york to evict the anti-wall street campaigners from their camp. there are hundreds of police officers clearing people and they have been there protesting since september. earlier there was a similar camp in oakland, california. we have more. >> do not give up. >> they didn't want to go. >> no surrender, they shout, as some tied themselves to posts to stop from being dragged away. two months of protests and the threat to actually shut down the stock exchange on thursday. the new york police moved in. they barricaded the streets. they lit up -- they lit up the

area with spots and started to clear the park. they were given only 20 minutes notice. news also came in a twitter message from the city mayor, michael bloomberg. they should temporarily leave the park. a day ago oakland and california was cleared in a similar way. this is now the strength of the government pithed against that of the protests against an unfair financial system. >> this is something that's significant for to listen to and it probably won't go away. >> these are scenes of the city park being prepared for cleaning. everyone knows this is far more the discontent of the gap between the rich and the poor. >> joining me now on the phone

is the press spokesperson for the arch bible street movement. can you tell me what's been happening in the last hour or so. how many people have been arrested and how are the police behaving? >> right now we have nothing confirmed but about 20 arrests quimplt i'm sure the number will increase. the police came in around 4:00 which was about four hours ago so for the past four hours there were crowds marching within new york city and people getting organized. now people are headed home and preparing for whatever action we decide to take tomorrow. >> so is the park now clear? >> as of now it's clear. there's police barricades for four or five blocks around the park, so it's impossible to get really close to the park to see exactly what is happening.

we'll have a clearer idea of what's happening. everyone's materials were taken and thrown away. the 500 books we had from a library were thrown into a dumpster and thank you. >> now laura. in new york, does that talenty with what you hear? >> it's a very confused scene. this is as close as i can get to the park. about a block away. police in riot gear are lining the way not allowing access. i have been told by people coming out that the police threw their stuff into a

rubbish bin and told them they could come back tomorrow and get it. right now it's an unclear picture. bureau what is for sure is that the protesters feel they have been evicted and this is against their right of free speech was being violated and protesters say they plan to retake the park in the morning but they are not allowed to have sleeping bags or tents, etc. maybe they will regroup in the city or try to go back in and reup a that park. >> but police said they are allowed to go back in as long as they are not pitching camp. has there been any real evidence of police mistreatment of the protesters or is this just something we're hearing word of mouth from the

demonstrators themselves? >> well, i talked to two protesters who were inside the camp at 1:00 a.m. one of whom just left at her own accord but the other a man said police used a baton on him. another came down as soon as he heard there was an eviction and he said the police used tear gas to dispurse them. right now the mood is tense. i've seen a lot of angry scuffles between the police and protesters. the protesters filming the police taking down their identification numbers but south korea see this is as close as we can get to the actual park itself. >> thank you very much. >> other news now in an unmanned american aircraft has carried out an attack near the afghan border.

six suspected militants were killed when they came near the area. the city set up air attacks. >> the toughest knowledge -- >> a ban introduced four years ago because india hadn't signed a non-proliferation agreement but -- >> the supreme court in the philippines overturned the president from traveling abroad to seek medical treatment. she is being investigated for alleged corruption says she wants to get expert help for a rare bone disease. italy's newly appointed prime minister will meet representatives of the two largest political firefighter

seek a new government. the -- they come as -- we have numbers for greece? >> yes. let me preface by saying there's an improvement in greece, but let's not kid ourselves. greece is still bogged down in recession. so the last three months greece's economy fell, contracted by 5.2%. horrible number. and large contraction, but if you look at the quarter before that, it fell by 4% and the quarter before that, 8.4%. so it's on a path of improvement, but still has a long way to go. >> if you look at the core of the euro zone. particular germany for the last three months its economy grew by one half of one percent and numbers were certainly better

than expected. good news here. what helps these numbers increase was the domestic demand, so we're seeing more french, moreer german, more domestic demand. so not much more of the domestic side. but let me say going forward, everybody expecting much more of a slowdown for all of this. the euro zone. >> so they have just -- >> the euro zone zures >> yes. grown by 4.2%. >> yes. that was expected. >> that was reported among the news agency. and the the whole worry here is with all these austerity measures. we're cutting, cutting, cutting taxes but not a lot of growth austerity plans. >> yes. >> and a third attack on the rating agencies. that's out today. in 20 minutes on the world business report. >> you need your own show. >> yes.

one day. >> let's move to syria where opposition activists where they say at least 80 people were killed. 34 of them civilians and army defectors. in cairo they meet to try to unify that position against ba sad. also in moscow, meeting with russia's foreign minister, sergiy. let's go live now to moscow as russia has of course been putting the block on any further u.n. security council measures. quite interesting that this meeting is happening today. >> yes. and leading from the syrian national council says it's about time russia started listening to the syrian people. he said the invitation to come to moscow are long overdue and of course we're to be held

partial lir responsible but part of the responsibility lies also with our russian tpwhroneds for a long time believed the lies of the dictatorial regime. so politicians from syria that they need somehow win over the russian government and try toe get them to back their calls for a change of regime in damascus. >> likely there will be any move in the -- >> opposing any increase in savengses saying they don't like thank you way things have been progressing and thought the arab league was a premeditated action and accused them as acting as patsies for american foreign policy. r but you can never predict what russia will do.

they have some legitimate points and their voice should be heard more widely in russia. >> and poll prisoners in burma were supposed to be released this week. andrea mitchell is -- andrew mitchell said they reported no more needs to be done. >> these prisoners released, bright hopes of the future. students, still incarcerated a very long way from their home. those people need to be released immediately and we also need to see the engagement of others in the political protest. there were a lot of bielections because of that. unlike in britain if you're a member of parliament you become a minister then you become an

m.p. and some of the parties which were not eeininvolved in the elections before can now engage. >> also there in burma is our correspondent david, who said there's still uncertainty over those prisoner releases. >> we just don't know. it became a rumor that the 14th they were going to be released. in the last year there's been a whole serious of graduated moves and now they are sying something significant. now there's an expectation that several hundred more political prisoners would be released. it's believed by the nlb and party there may be some 400 or so still in gail, and until they are released, the international sanctions and normal relationship that the world would want with, certainly can't be restored by

the e.u. at least. >> thank you. we're going to take you back now to new york. and that occupied wall street movement. the police evict vix. there's a big shot of hundreds of police officers on the streets. clearing the protesterses away. and we've been told by the spokesman that the scamp now cleared of tents and of people. they have all been told they can return later, as long as they are not going to be pitching tents once again. so we will keep you cover. no exact confirmation of how many arrests or exactly whether the police have fired any tear gas or pepper spray. you're watching "bbc world news." still to come, as the deadline looms for the chinese -- to pay

his 2.4 in taxes. now people who join choirs say they often enjoy the music but groups singing could also have medical benefits. england we tried to find out a bit more. ♪ >> some very strange noises. the sky larks are warming up. a choir made up exclusively of patients suffering from parkinson's disease. >> ♪ some where over the rainbow ♪ >> the choir started about 18 months ago to see if singing can improve health. it certainly had an impact on the patient's quality of life.

>> yes. it's nice to have something to be happy about. ♪ >> parkinson's is a disorder of the central nervous system and leads to uncontrolible movement and can lead to the voice. michael has been coming to the choir for about four months. >> i feel special and my voice is stronger and deeper. >> as well as making new friends and improving his confidence, michael is convinced it's led to a physical improvement in his condition. >> i think it's wonderful. walking into a room and singing our hearts out and laugh and joke and really enjoy ourselves. ♪

>> other choirs have been set up around the country for patients suffering from mental health and even cancer. all have shown similar results. an improvement in self-esteem and perceived pain. he says it's time for the their putic power of singing to be more widely recognized. >> we want to be able to get singing prescribed. so if the g.p. realizes maybe their patient could benefit from coming together. that's a very easy way of starting to get into a cycle of improvement. >> so for a range often conditions in the future, it may be that singing in a choir

could be part of the treatment. graham satchal, "bbc news." >> this is "bbc world news." the headlines. police in new york are moving into evict anti-wall street campaigners from their camp. reports now that the camp is free and clear. syrian opposition officials are going to the arab league headquarters to receive help in removing president assad from power. this news just coming into us. the chinese artist says he has paid the first installment of a $2.5 million tax bill the beijing authorities say heos them. the payment just over $1 million would allow them to launch an appeal.

my correspondent michael bioterroristo is in beijing. what more do you have on the cover of -- on this? >> earlier this year he was detained for three months and accused of tax evasion. he got the bill two weeks ago, $2.4 million. he says he doesn'to that money and hasn't seen any documentation as to how they arrived at that the figure but first in order to do so, the tax bureau insisted that he give more than one million in cash. initially he resisted that. eventually today, he has relented and handed over the money. he says he had to do that because the tax bureau

threatened to bring the police into the matter and he could have been charged with a more serious crime. >> and it's been really interesting in china. >> the reason i way has more than a million to give to the tax bureau is because so many people, about 30,000 people up until now have donated money and given him all this money in order that he can use it, initially to pay the tax bill. now it's being used as this pond so he can go back and i think the important thing about these donations is it was a real indication of so many people how much support he has out there. many people believe that he this tax demand was merely an effort to silence one of the government's fiercest critics and only people who have given

him money say they agree with that interpretation. >> francis is here. boxing has to say goodbye to a great name. >> they have had his funeral and the boxing community turned out to pay respects. this is mohammed aly former -- suffering from parkinson's. >> larry holmes was a sparring partner for both ali and frazier during what was referred to as a golden time in boxing. >> joe frazier, only a few guys can be put in his category. but he was one of the true fighters. he would go down. get back up. >> yes. thank you. >> to my ribs. [laughter] >> the likes of larry holmes and muhammad ali, it reminds

you what it was. >> these guys are legendary names. very sad in philadelphia yesterday. >> now the american congresswoman who was shot in the head in january has spoken in public for the first time about her ordeal. gabrielle gifford is still unable to speak in full sentences but told diane sawyer she hopes one day to return full-time to the house of representatives. >> from this to this. a recovery that almost defies belief. 10 months after she was shot in the head at point blank range, gabrielle giffords faces the cameras. she is a remarkable survivor. but this is the moment in congresswoman learned others had died in the shooting. >> died.

>> sad. >> this was gabby giffords back in january. being sworn in as a third term congresswoman. and here she was in arizona a week later meeting constituents outside a super market. moments after this picture was taken, a gunman opened fire killing six people and wounding 14. a bullet passed right through the congresswoman's skull. traveling the entire length of the left-hand side of her brain. this was filmed by her husband you see gabby giffords relearning how to walk and how to talk. a speech therapy even includes 80's pop. ♪ girls they want to have fun ♪ >> but there are setbacks, too. however remarkable, this

recovery is far from complete and asked whether she would run for re-election next year. >> she wants to get better. >> so you think to yourself, i'll go back to congress if i get better? >> yes. >> to many here she is already an inspiration wherever the journey leads. steve kington is, bbc, world news. >> to thailand where there's been terrible flooding, the worst in decades. and tourism is taking a hit. but the famous elephant palace has just been re-opened after it was forced to close after the rising waters. so they have to be evacuated from the residents when the flooding began. they were stranded on limited areas of dry land and lived on fruits and vegetables.

but now they are back. the famous elephant rides around this ancient temple. it's a heritage sight and the monks have been leading prayers and chanting, the elephants have returned. the one good piece of news for thailand. much more of course on all -- on our online websites headlines. bbc.com/news. more on these stories. live pictures coming in from new york where hundreds of police are on the streets clearing and evicting the protesters from a park in the city's financial district. they have been camped out there since september. you can see some of them tying themselves to a tree there trying not to be moved. but reports say largely peaceful that, protest. not sure how many of those people will return. bbc.com/news is the website. >> funding was made possible by

the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go.

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