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>> arrested, plotting to over throw the government. a turkish head is held in custody. and investigating claims that 600 protesters have been tortured to death. and britain's foreign secretary tells us the burmese government will be judged by its actions. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up on the program. they say life begins at 40. a shame science and the brain doesn't see it that way. and we visit mexico's greatest achievement, the tallest bridge in the world. >> hello, thanks for being with us. a turkish court has ordered a

former head of the armed forces to remain in custody pending a trial for allegations on plotting to overthrow the government. allegations he ran an internet campaign to destabilize the government. the first time a former army chief had been referred to the court as a suspect. joined by our world affairs correspondent mike woolridge. the single capture of what is a huge investigation. >> no doubt about that at all. this is about the network being accused by prosecutors of being behind multiple conspiracies against the ruling party government and the investigation of general ilker basbug centers on allegations

the military set up a website to spread eavent government propaganda and destabilizing turkey and there are charges of gang leadership and -- >> i mean the language is pretty powerful stuff. the thought and concept is powerful stuff but there's been rumbling for a long time and there's been multiple arrests. >> in many ways this touches on the falling out between the government and government rooted in the parties but a government that's now tpwhn power since 2002 and re-elected since then and the military which has always seen itself as the guardian of secularism in turkey, and the general himself after several hours of interrogation yesterday put his own reaction to it this way. republican chief of staff has been remanded in custody for heading a terrorist group and i

leave it to the great turkish nation to judge and says as my pride as a general and much commentators speculating about whether senior officers will re-sign. -- will resign. >> news just coming in to us from syria where state television is reporting a an explosion in damascus. no further details were immediately available. now the arab league's monitors in syria have now been urged to investigate more than 600 protesters allegedly tortured to death.

we report. >> in the suburb on the outskirts of damascus a crowd is growing. three arab league observers in bright orange vests emerge. in order to be unhindered by security forces, the first time that's hatched since they arrived in the country 11 days ago. the bbc correspondent being given rare access and they have accused the government of misleading the arab league monitors by taking them to only pro government areas but during mohammed's visit the demonstrators encircled the diplomats, many giving their own yines accounts of what they have seen. >> these women died trying to save the other from being taken

hostage by security. >> this man said his son had been shot by a sniper and then knifed to death and he was only leaveing a mosque during a protest. suddenly while he was filming these pictures a masked man drives up to distribute plaquerds and banners, this the last one to be taken out. observers, please help us. monitors may have seen them but during their visit they saw no violence. this was the same place at a different time of day. the pictures were filmed by an anti-government group whose work we cannot identify they show people running amidst gunfire and twhast they want us to see.

the sentiments now being expressed by some members of the league and they have agreed to send around 40 more monitors on friday. >> with a little bit more detail on news of that explosion that takes place damascus, state television saying several people were killed in the attack and one syrian official stayed explosion targeted a bus in the district of the capital and it's being blamed on an unknown terrorist group. police in nigeria say gunmen carried out an attack on a church and it's not known who is responsible but an infamous group has repeatedly attacked churches and the group says it wants christians to leave the area. this is several regions of

northern nigeria and six firefighters have died as they fought a blaze in the mountain forest when the fire crew was engulfed by flames as driven bay sudden gust of wind. over the weekts multiple forest fires and some have been appeared to have been started deliberately and he wants an anti-terrorist law to hold responsible those who set these fires. >> and the euro stat which is the firm based in brussels that looks after all 17 members of the euro zone comes up with a figure of unemployment. it's not a good story and remains at a high of 16.3 million people. over 10% of people out of work in the euro zone members.

it highlights the contrast or multispeed we often talk about, because we've got germany doing very well and germany manufacturing very savvy, their unemployment level is at the lowest level not seen in recent history since unification and spain's unemployment once again had risen to 21.5% the highest in the industrialized world or industrialized economy. youth unemployment is up around 40%-plus. so huge problems. also italy and greece are facing it, and they think those economies are only going to get worse in terms of jobless. >> and you look for occasional beacons of light. maybe the americans can provide one of two? >> absolutely. i think we're planning to see a shining beacon. if you put the sand around the

middle of the atlantaic you can see the imbalance because we're expecting the month of december 100,000 jobs to be created and if we get that, that will be six consecutive months that over 100,000 jobs were created every month and coincides with jobless claims down at three-year lows and very strong christmas sales and autosales in the months of november and december the best of 2011 and positive signs at the end of last year the u.s. economy was at a strong momentum and yesterday we had private a.d.p. creating 150,000 jobs. so also some sam sung numbers on the world business report in a few minutes' time. >> now the burmese government believes international

sanctions -- william hague has been delivering a message during his visit to the country. thursday he met with pro democracy leader to gauge how britain can help support the reform process in burma i spoke to william hague on the line from burma, and his acknowledging the shortcoming of the release political prisoners. >> this is one of the areas in which the government here in burma have made some progress. they have released some 250 political prisoners so far and few more in the announcement they made earlier that there are still hundreds more. and that, i think is a very important task to be completed. we look to them to do that as we look at how we can lift what we call restrictive measures and sanctions the

union has imposed. so i made it clear to those here from the president down from our international perspective, it remains a top priority, the freing of those political prisoners. >> if 12 political prisoners are released this week and also when 900 prisoners in all are being set free on independence day, it's hardly a drop in the ocean, is it? >> well, as i said, there's been quite a bit of disappointment about that and quite rightly, but what matters is what happens in the end and whether this happens soon, so that's why it's important to maintain the pressure. what leverage do we have over this? the sanctions over restrictive measures and obviously the government here want those to be lifted and as soon as possible and think the european decisions as very important, so

it's important for us to be clear about what we expect and want to see in order to be able to do that kind of thing. obviously, we also want to see free and fair elections with 48 bielections being taken place and access to places plagued by internal conflict in some cases it's been going on for decades and there's been particularly bad fighting in the north of burma. we are giving additional help to the british government humanitarian help but we want to see proper access to those areas. >> now back to the breaking news in syria. damascus, reports coming in of an explosion and there have been certainly some deaths. john in neighboring beirut, what can you tell us that the early stage? >> well, syrian state

television are running some pretty graphic pictures from the district in central damascus, bloodied streets. it would appear that there have been people killed, certainly severely injured, and a lot of damage to cars. windows blown out and syrian state television saying this is the worst of terrorists. >> i understand them suggesting a suicide bomber. that would i suppose replicate the views of the blast from a couple of weeks ago. there were quite a lot dead then, weren't there? >> yes. 40 people killed exactly two weeks ago close to explosions. this explosion today appears to have happened in a similar neighborhood and happens while arab league observers were visitting the country and the syrian opposition was skeptical

of the explosions two weeks ago saying they had been staged by the syrian government and syrian state tv saying this is the work of terrorist insurgents. >> john, thank you very much. obviously we'll keep right across that story as the news comes into us we will bring it straight to you but these are the latest coming in of that supported blast of that. you're watching "bbc world news." i'm david eades. plenty more still to bring you including new research that shows how the brain drain begins 40-45, that's when the brain's capacity starts to decline. a hungry center right government still defending its new constitution critics claims erodes democracy in the country. the e.u. is examining whether the changes brought in this country breech e.u. law.

here's matthew price. >> we found little cheer on the number 49 tram. no wonder. hungary's economy is in a slump and so here accuse the government of turning back democracy. >> there you go. >> this is what all the fuss is about? the new constitution. >> ministers are not shy of showing off the new constitution. as for the idea it's anti- democratic, i think it's the question is a bizarre question. finally we are managing to get back on track to the democratic position. >> that's not how they see it. tens of thousands turned out to protest the new laws claiming the independence of the judiciary and central bank are threatened. the public tv stayings some yournl journalists are on

hunger strikes in protest. >> they are dismantling the democratic process and trying to set up a kind of tierney and regime which is unprecedented here in europe. >> this row couldn't have come at a worse time with the country in dire straits and the country needing euros in international loans to help it pay its bills. however, the legal changes put such loans in jeopardy. >> ministers say they'll do all they must to satisfy international debts but will they give up their democracy? >> you're watching "bbc world news." i'm david eades. these are the headlines. syrian state television states several people have been killed in an explosion in damascus but

the arab league announces more monitors are being sent into the country. a former member of turkish armed forces is arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. >> now key functions of the brain including memory and reasoning may start to decline at age40. more research concludes a good diet and exercise is the key to protecting our mind's functions. joining us from the alzheimer's society. thank you for joining us but what is not great news for a lot of us in the newsroom here, what do you make of the finding? >> it's a large study involving 7,000 people followed up over 10 years so it's unusually large for a study of this kind. the findings are important and suggest that we all know the

brain discuss -- does start to slow down and we study saying these people are by no means the developing dementia but because we do see cognitive decline earlier in life there are things that people can do. >> at the moment we are talking about 45 and upwards. but when do we think this actually starts? because this research was for people starting at age 45. i thought brain cells die from the moment you're born yes. we can't say that 45 is the cutoff point but the important message is if there's things we can do, it's simply a case of leading a healthy lifestyle. >> and those things are? >> reducing dementia, regular exercise can reduce your risk of dementia by 45%.

which is large. vitamins, minerals, vegetables, low intake of fats and salt. and what about cross word puzzles and things like that? >> they can help improve your performance no those brains but there's no proof they prevent dementia overall. >> to france now, hundreds of people are facing deportation from the country. notices to many claiming they are involved in criminal activity particularly using children in pickpocket groups. worries over immigration and crime are likely to increase as this year's presidential election draws closer. >> on the platforms, french and row mainian police patrolling together. it's the election year in france and they are exercising politicians again.

renewed focus on law and order centered on those who are reportedly responsible for a disproportion nat level of crime. >> sometimes these people are subject to international warrants, and they are in the european database so with the help of our french colleagues we can capture them send a them back to romania. >> yet countrywide the government's crackdown over 18 months have largely failed, most have already returned. and in the garden the beggers and pickpockets working the concourse, they are too young to be repate yated. their unscrupulous, invisible gang mongers hidden. >> and he claims 10% of all crime can be contributed to the roma and half of that is children. >> it's a cruel, unacceptable situation.

young people exploited by mafia bosses who will draw them into delink when as i and slavery. all there are roughly 15,000 roma living in france in camps like this one in the northern suburbs. it's exclusively row mainian home to 300 travelers. half of them children and excluded from state-funded education. they are left to wash up in a local cemetery. >> no one protects us. >> those already served with expulsion orders will be rounded up and ordered to leave. they say he is pandering to the national. the far rights are opposed to the freedom of movement within

the european union but in the past weeks president sarkozy says we cannot sustain unlimited social immigration. the roma won't have a vote in this election. chances are at some stage in the next few months they might well find themselves center stage. christian frazier, "bbc world news," paris. >> and another story that does nothing for the reputation of boxing. >> a controversy brewing with a long way to go. a britisher who fought last month and he was saying that he is unhappy with the score cards and the referee now saying the chief judge was interfeared with in some way, the supervisor and he's posted pictures on twitter saying that this man was talking to the main supervising judge during

the fight which was not supposed to happen and this was all going on during the fight. the fight in which he lost, obviously which is why he's so upset basically which he lost in washington and has already fought through an appeal which is going to be heard later this month but put these images on twitter and say people can have a look at this and the wba have said they are going to respond to the allegations by the bbc but the international boxing federation was saying there was no problem with the score card and they were not tampered with and we can hear from the american boxing journalist. >> nobody should be allowed to talk to the judges during the fight. i don't know the specific rule, but i do know what we discuss during our seminars on judging fight sincere you have to give 100% concentration to do a really good job, because

anybody can judge an easy 19-9 round but you need 100% concentration to get the close 10-9 round right. >> an american journalist but khan asking for a rematch. >> and we are looking to speak to him later today. >> and president coldiron inaugurated what is now the tallest bridge in the world 430 meters high part of a new highway crossing some of mexico's most rugged terrain. >> a birds eye view of the world's tallest bridge. stretching over 1,000 meters long and 400 meters high. crossing the mountains in northern mexico. it's so tall that the eiffel tower could fit under the span. >> and it marks the

bicentennial celebration from its independence from spain in 1810. >> it is definitely one of the most impressive infrastructure projects. it is a key piece of durango, the project that is going to unite the people from the north of mexico like never before. >> nearly four years in the making, it's cost hundreds of millions of dollars but government officials believe it's money well spent. they hope for the safer and more direct route to the so-called devil's backbone so tourists try this record-breaking bridge for themselves. >> taking you back to the situation in syria. damascus, there's been a bomb blast there, and we are told some people have been killed in the process. more details for you building up the picture on the website, www.bbc.com/news.

>> make sense of international news. bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by freeman foundation of new york; stowe, vermont; and honolulu; newman's own foundation; and union bank. >> at union bank we offer strength and capital to help you meet your growth objectist. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you?

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