>> 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 work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures, and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries.

what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news. >> an immediate cease-fire in syria and access for emergency aid. the demands of 70 countries meeting in tunis. after three decades, a court in australia is set to make a final judgment on whether a dingo was to blame for a baby's death. another big loss by the taxpayers, this time lloyds announces it lost more than $5 billion last year. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up in the program -- some people in bolivia traveled for three months to get to this disabled protest. we'll show how it did not go according to plan. also, a choppy end for one brazilian rescue helicopter, which literally fell apart on landing.

>> hello. an international conference on syria is expected to call for an immediate cease-fire to allow access to homs and other areas under attack. the friends of syria group brings together foreign ministers, senior officials from around 70 arab and western countries for a meeting in tunisia. syrian opposition leaders are also attending. the former u.n. secretary general, kofi annan, has been appointed special envoy to syria. the latest reports from homs say continued shelling has today killed another five people. >> mounting dismay at the plight of civilians caught in syria's spiraling violence, now in tunisia the outside world will be searching for a way too help them. >> we hope to see new pledges of emergency assistance for syrians caught in assad's

stranglehold and international coordination and diplomatic pressure on damascus to convince it to allow humanitarian aid to those who need it most. >> already syria's main opposition group has called for three safe passages, one to bring in aid from jordan, one from lebanon into homs, and the third from turkey. over 70 countries will be represented here in tunis. opposition leaders are hoping the sheer size of the conference will pile on the pressure. >> ideally i'd like to see this conference declaring syria as a country in humanitarian crisis. this would force international powers to act and act immediately and forcefully in order to stop the atrocities committed. >> but the problem is, no aid can reach homs unless president assad agrees to a truce, and there's no sign yet he will. the one country he might have

listened to, russia, has refused to come to the tunisia conference. there's going to be an impressive array of countries here to show wide spread support for the syrian opposition and denounce president assad's crackdown. but when it comes to immediate humanitarian aid for those people inside homs, that's going to be difficult. >> now, a fourth inquest has begun into the death of a baby girl who disappeared from a tent in the australian outback more than 30 years ago. the girl's mother, lindy chamberlain, or insisted all along she'd been taken by a wild dog, a dingo, while they were camping. she was convicted of the baby's murder in 1982 and then freed four years later when the baby's jacket was found near a dingo's lair. our australia correspondent, duncan kennedy, has this. >> 31 years after her daughter disappeared, lindy chamberlain was back in a courtroom, but this time to present new evidence to a coroner about

dingos who she's always blamed for causing her family's misery. azaria chamberlain was nine weeks old when she vanished. the family was camping when mrs. chamberlain claimed she saw a dingo snatch the baby from their tent. azaria's body was never found n. 1982, lindy chamberlain was jailed for her murder. it was only when azaria's jacket turned up in a dingo's den four years later mrs. chamberlain was released. but rumors persisted over her involvement, so lindy and her former husband, michael, are at this new hearing to present their own findings, cataloguing dozens of dingo attacks on humans dating back to the 1980's. by calling for another inquest, lindy and michael are looking for one more thing in this long-running case. for a coroner to record formally and finally that it was a dingo that killed their daughter. after the hearing, she spoke about her hopes in the case. >> it gives me hope this time

that australians will finally be warned and realize that dingos are a dangerous animal. i also hope that this will give a final finding which closes the inquest into my daughter's death, which so far has been standing open and unfinished. >> the coroner's ruling is expected next week. lindy and michael believe dingos will be officially blamed, ending three decades of rumor, speculation, and heartache in what became australia's most divisive criminal case. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in darwin. >> get a look at the business now. there's a g-20 gathering in mexico. we can kick off with that. >> we certainly are going to kick off with that. it's interesting, the backdrop against which this is going to be conducted. i'm not sure it's fair to say

the feel-good factor from the greek deal, but certainly that's been concluded. and yesterday, of course, you actually had an agreement in the greek parliament, but then nothing is ever straight forward where the europeans are concerned. there are demands for actual contributions to the i.m.f., but also into the stabilization fund for europe. and what the americans and other groups are saying is, look, you can't have the i.m.f. as the ultimate backstop. in other words, you, the europeans, you've actually got to get your house together, because that's a big word in use right now. but at the same time, you don't get something for nothing, because you're looking for the chinese, because they've got massive currency reserves, but china will naturally want something back in return. >> yes, understandable, i suppose. just a quick look at lloyds bank, british bank, part owned -- >> yeah, about 40% is owned by us. >> big losses again. >> yes, that's right. it's falling off from a grand tradition. we had huge losses from royal

bank of scotland, and this time around it's the turn of lloyds. they lost around $5.6 billion for the end of the year after a $5 billion to cover losses from payment protection. a very peculiar british phenomenon, but also r.b.s. got stung on this as well. but having said that, one of the few consolations is that their pretax profits on their call operations actually rose by around 3%. they came in at just under $10 billion. just going through the figures, they were heavily exposed to the eurozone, so they got stung on the likes of portugal, ireland, italy, greece, and spain. but they lost around $39 billion on that, $25 billion of those losses in the eurozone related to ireland. that's where they got stung. >> not surprising, i suppose. well, thank you very much indeed for all of that. now, peru has a trial here for the alleged execution of rebel fighters during a 1997 hostage rescue operation. the case is being brought to the american court of human rights by relatives of one of

the rebels. he and 13 others invade the lima residence of the japanese ambassador and kept 72 people hostage for four months. during the rescue operation, two demanders and one hostage died. it was claimed that all the rebels were killed during the fight. it is alleged that he was captured alive. some pictures from bolivia to bring you. these are pretty extraordinary scenes, really. it's from la paz. police clearly expecting something of a confrontation, but this was a protest due to take place outside the presidential palace by dozens of disabled people. some of them had actually spent three months to get to this particular demonstration, and they were greeted with when they tried to break through was a very steadfast police line. violence broke out. it was all about demanding a higher annual state subsidy for the disabled.

as i say, the violence broke out after the police blocked off the street into the city center. quite a lot of trouble ensuing, and a number of people in the end facing arrest. now, it's going to be a weekend of pretty fierce campaigning in australia for the governing labour party, as a showdown between the former foreign minister, kevin rudd, and the prime minister, julia gillard, comes to a head. the ballots will be held on monday. mr. rudd quit the government on wednesday. he'd been deposed as prime minister by ms. gillard back in 2010, and he said the party is going to lose the next election unless he is put back in the top job. >> i believe that to do the best for the australian -- the best for australia and labour, things have to change. it's no secret that our government has a lot of work to do if it is to regain the confidence of the australian people. rightly or wrongly, julia has

lost the trust of the australian people, and starting on monday, i want to start restoring that trust. >> well, in response, julia gillard herself told a news conference that the choice of leader should be based on strength of character. >> the choice that the nation faces and my parliamentary colleagues face on monday is a choice as to who has got the character, the temperament, the strength to deliver on the -- to deliver on half of the australian people. it is about working out who can lead the nation, who has got the ability to get things done. >> russell is here. we're having a look at the tennis from dubai. a lot of attention on wozniacki again. >> yeah, she's shaping up. >> yes, now that she's lost the world number one ranking during the australian open, victoria azarenka went to the top of the rankings there. wozniacki is down to number four. but operation return to top spot has begun.

she's in dubai at the moment, and she's been involved in a quarterfinal with another former number one, ana ivan vick, which she has won, 6-3, -5, so she's through to the semifinals, where she'll play an unseeded german. both players really struggled with serve. four consecutive breaks at one point in the first set, six consecutive breaks of serve in the second. but it finished at the end of this long rally, the longest rally of the match, a 24-stroke rally, it was ivanovic who missed to concede defeat to wozniacki, who won 6-3, 7-5, as she begins that campaign to return to top spot in the rankings. >> you still wonder what matters most, number one in the world or win a grand slam tournament. >> well, she was number one in the world under the rankings as they were and as they are because she won the most number of matches on tour. many people, including the likes of martina navratilova, have suggested more weight should be given to the sort of players you beat, because wozz wozniacki has not beaten enough

top 10 players. there's a lot of fairness in her comments. but at the same time, under the rankings as they are, we all know she hasn't won a grand slam, but she ended both 2009 -- sorry, 2010 and 2011 as the world number one. >> tricky one, isn't it? russell, thanks a lot. and thank you for watching "bbc world news" with me, david eades. coming up in a moment -- a member of spain's royal household to testify in court amid allegations he misused millions of euros of public money. time now to have a look at the stories making headlines around the world. we're going to start with the guardian report on how the united nations is accusing syria's regime of crimes against humanity, including the use of snipers against small children. vladimir putin's presidency dominates the front page of the "moscow times." the paper also reports on a website that's using suggestive videos to encourage first-time voters to support putin, using

the slogan, "the first time is only for love." the gulf news, the financial hit has been taken by major british and european banks on their holdings of greek debt after the country agreed to what the paper calls the biggest sovereign restructuring in history. back off or we'll end up like the british. the "financial times" says that's the message, who says unless political interference with the taxpayer-owned banks stop, it could wind up like the old failed british carmaker. you're watching "bbc world news." i'm david eades. the headlines -- the friends of syria group will demand an immediate cease-fire and access for aid to syria when they meet later. an australian court is set to make a final judgment on whether a dingo is to blame for a baby's death 30 years ago.

let's get more on our main story, the situation in syria. as i say, foreign ministers from western and arab countries gathering in tunis are expected to demand an immediate end to the fighting in syria. this is the friends of syria contact group. as i say, they're gathering already in tunis. they have a number of demands, but in particular, an immediate cease-fire and the opening of access corridors to homs and other affected areas to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. the meeting is expected to discuss the recognition of the syrian national council as the representatives of the syrian people. also, calls for leadership to be tightened, and that's expected at least to come under consideration. move forward, the professor of international relations, from the london school of economics, and joins me now. thank you very much for coming in. there's the list of demands, no great surprise. is it going to make any difference, do you think? >> well, david, i don't think

we should expect any breakthrough decisions. i think the major goal of the meeting is to increase the pressure on the syrian government. the word is pressure, and also to find ways and means to help the opposition. in the words of the british foreign minister, the idea is to strangle the economy, so they're going to find the western powers, the arab league states, turkey, to really increase the pressure on the syrian government in the hope that the syrian government will respond. my take on it is i don't think assad at this particular moment will likely meet the demands by the western powers and the syrian people. >> and, of course, russia and china are not taking part, so they maintain their position. >> not only that, think of a similar group took place, both russia and china were part of the grouping. the fact that this particular meeting taking place in tunis tells us a great deal about the failure of international diplomacy. the security council has been neutralized. this particular meeting is

taking place outside of the united nations. both russia and china are not part of it. this tells you a great deal about the limits, the limited options that the western powers and syria's friends basically have, and that's why i don't think we should expect major critical breakthrough decisions. i am not trying to say that the meeting is not important. the international community has options in the sense of basically trying to strangle the syrian economy in the sense of recognizing the syrian national council, in the sense of arming the opposition. but so far, the western powers and the international community have not made a decision to go to militarize the uprising, because if they do, this would basically plunge syria into a civil war. >> thank you very much. the king of spain's son-in-law is to testify in court on saturday over allegations that he misused millions of euros of public money. he hasn't been formally charged, but the case could

have very serious implications for the future of spain's royal family. our correspondent in madrid, tom burridge. >> he's the son-in-law of the king, a former professional handball player who won medals at two olympics. in 1997, he married princess christina. he's now to appear in court as part of an investigation into serious corruption allegations. he's being investigated over claims he was involved in the misuse of millions of euros of public money. he ran a not for profit consult a firm with his business partner. in 2005 and 2006, he received 2.3 million euros from the regional government to hold cultural and sporting events. the main acquisition is that the price for holding those events was hugely inflated. the men also signed contracts

with the regional government of valencia. a total of 5.8 million euros of public money is implicated in the case. this week, his lawyer said he'd made administrative errors. he's not been formally charged, and both men deny any wrongdoing. the fear of the spanish royal household is that his wife, princess christina, could be called to testify as a witness or even to face charges herself. the couple used to live in this property in barcelona's richest suburb. its windows are covered over. the case has attracted intense media interest. many years ago, they left this house and moved to washington, d.c. it's believed his father-in-law, spain's king juan carlos, found out about the allegations against him and told him to leave spain. king juan carlos made clear

references to the case in his christmas address. the royal house then published for the first time a list of the royal family's earnings and expenses. >> what has happened already is that they are being talked about, they are being analyzed, they're being scrutinized in a way that had never happened before, and that is already bad that the royal family should not be talked about. it's the way it's happening now , in the dinner tables, in the streets, people are discussing does princess christina know? >> spain's king will always be remembered for his role in the country's transition to democracy. the head of a group of civil guards burst into parliament and took the deputies hostage. it was the king's defining moment. juan carlos' support for the

new government threw an attempted coup in 2001 was crucial. however, the accusations against his son-in-law could jeopardize a future succession for his son. the case has serious implications for the future of spain's royal family. >> retired british businessman is being extradited to the united states, accused of conspiring to sell missile parts to iran. 65-year-old christopher describes his treatment as a disgrace. he denies trying to export batteries for hawk air defense missiles and says he was the victim of an f.b.i. sting. he could be jailed up to 35 years if convicted. in the last few minutes, he arrived at heathrow to be handed over to u.s. marshals and then taken to america to face those arms dealing charges. our correspondent is at heathrow airport. he explains what the charges amount to. >> he was running an import and

exporting company, an engineering firm, a transportation logistics company. and none of these alleged offenses by him at least took place in the united states. all of the business was done in the u.k. he, it is said by u.s. officials, arranged to move some factories, industrial factories from the united states by the netherlands to iran, where it's alleged that they could be used in missile components. he says he knew nothing about that. he thought they were just being used in the motor car manufacturing industry. he claims that he has been set up by a sting operation and he's an innocent patsy in all of this. nonetheless, the aunited states want to try him on these charges, and if tried and convicted, he faces a very, very substantial term in prison. >> a burmese refugee camp has been ravaged by fire, and it's

resulted in the destruction of thousands of home after a camp was destroyed by the blaze. the camp has a 17,000 refugees from neighboring burma. bbc news understands there have been no deaths, but arrangements were being made for victims to stay at local schools and temples. got some extraordinary pictures to show you here of a rescue helicopter. that's quite appropriate given what we're about to see. this is in northern brazil. it just handed, and as it seems to go out of sync, the whole thing basically buckles, and as you can see, falls apart. there were crew in the copter, of course, and they escaped with one minor foot injury in all. but a sorry old state. in los angeles, preparations are underway for sunday night's oscar ceremony. the academy awards principally honors english-language pictures, but there is a category reserved for foreign

language films, of course. from l.a., talking movies, tom brooke has been surveying this year's field. >> a belgian film is in the running. it's a dark crime drama set against the back drop of the animal hormone trade. it's a triumph for the first-time filmmaker. israel's entry into the foreign language film category williams could "footnote," a tale of a father-son rival at hero university in jerusalem. for all foreign language films, the nomination alone gives the tremendous publicity boost to pictures that might otherwise be ignored. >> being a contender and being in that group creates more awareness and curiosity. they give these worthy films a chance to stand out, and the publicity around the awards create the kind of profile that they need.

>> a holocaust has been often visited and oscar-nominated films, and this year it's the theme of "in darkness," a polish picture. based on a real-life story, it chronicles the plight of a group of jews in world war ii poland who invaded the nazis by hiding in the sewers, thanks to the help of a petty thief. canada is up for an oscar with the french language film, set in montreal, it's a classroom drama which tells of an algerian immigrant teacher whose pupils have been traumatized by the suicide of his predecessor. los angeles is home to the largest iranian population in north american. more than 700,000, according to one estimate. and oscar's night could turn into a very big event indeed for many in this community, because, for the first time in 14 years, an iranian picture is up for a best foreign language film oscar. it's called "a separation," and it may very well win. "a separation" explores marital

relations, truth telling, a clash between social classes, as well as the religious and nonreligious, and conflict resolution in authoritarian present-day tehran. within iran, many filmmakers are seen as agents of rebellion and have been arrest and had jailed. an oscar trophy could really help the country's besieged film making community. >> i cannot make any predictions, but whatever happens to this film will make the cinematic family of iran very happy. >> for oddsmakers in hollywood, "a separation" is viewed as the film to beat. it is the favorite to win the best foreign language film academy award. >> i just got to bring you something else which could have come straight out of the movies. have a look at this. in ohio, the bridge built in 1929 demolished in a flash. how about that for getting rid of a bridge? it actually closed traffic a

couple of years ago because it was becoming dangerous. but the authorities felt that was the certainly most effective and quickest way of dealing with it. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding 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 operate in, working to nurture new ventures, and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored

solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.