everybody is now beating a path to burma's door.ants to get their own take on the reform process that's underway here. so yes, in that sense, it is important. he's the most senior figure from the european union to come here, and he's been given access to all within the burmese government. he started off with a meeting with a powerful speaker of parliament, then went into parliament itself to get a view of what is, in essence, an embryonic democracy here in action. it's not perfect. nobody's claiming that it is. but it's taking steps in the right direction, and that is precisely why people like him are coming here. he then went on to say the president had an hour with the german development minister as well, just three of them in the room with their own private delegations. they say that was pretty substantive talks. they covered a lot of political ground, as well as development issues. >> so, what is burma hoping to get out of this changing? does it seem as though it is genuine change? because we've seen, of course, protesters, even

until recently, burma's new capitol was an isolated refuge for an authoritarian regime. it was built in 2005 and few foreigners have been allowed to visit but that has changed with the new semi civilian government. our correspondent sends this report from there. >> you can see that when it was designed, it was a vision on a vast scale. this is the presidential palace. look at these ornate columns. the building itself is absolutely huge. if we move around in this direction, sweeping vistas. it's all sort of super sized. it's a strangely soulless, sterile city. it is still a work in progress and the town planners have big ideas. there aren't many places in the world where you could safely stand in the middle of a multilane highway. this is the road that leads up to parliament. parliament is in that direction, grandiose building. back up in that direction, there's an ornate round-about. between, as you can see, there's not much at all. you count the lanes, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine -- 10 into the center. so double that, i can carry on walking, 20

norman and norm ma burma tied the knott 81 years ago. they are the state's longest couple. they are the guest of their governor for valentine's day. still love each other. norman is 101 years old. his bride is 98. they have 13 great grandchildren. the secret? mr. burma says the key to happy marriage is simple, listen to your wife. very wise man. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today" just your first stop today on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start on this wednesday. no rain expected to start today. 39 at the airport. the 38 insurers sold. becoming mostly sunny. you'll see some clouds early -- will come back and check the forecast going into presidents' day weekend. >> 41 degrees on tv hill. the george huguely murder trial has brought to light the dangers of domestic violence. >> waterfloods a gas main in southwest baltimore and hundreds of people are waking up without heat this morning. >> a big move in washington to keep your paycheck from shrinking. details on the late night deal. >> m

norman and norm ma burma tied the knott 81 years ago. they are the state's longest couple.hey are the guest of their governor for valentine's day. still love each other. norman is 101 years old. his bride is 98. they have 13 great grandchildren. the secret? mr. burma says the key to happy marriage is simple, listen to your wife. very wise man. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today" just your first stop today on your nbc station. >>> 4:28. 40 degrees. we had clouds above us earlier. beautiful view of the crescent moon peeking out earlier. good morning, i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to nuft for this wednesday, february 15, 2012. we're following a developing story out of capitol hill where congress has reached a tentative deal to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of the year. lawmakers are expected to reveal details today. they could send the measure to president obama as early as this week. the tax cut extension would havespired at the end of the month if no deal had been reached, taking about $20 a week out of average american's salary. >>> president obama

burma. this man knows. >> sounds like the secret. >> there you go. 81 years of happy marriage. >> seems like they've been married almost all their life. >> i know. wow. congratulations to them. warms my heart. >> true. >> tom? >>> something else going warm your heart, that's going to be the sunshine. it's going to be out throughout the afternoon. right now, starting off on the mild side for a february morning. right now here on the 15th day of february, it's in the upper 30s and low 40s throughout the bay and eastern shore. over the last 12 hours, cloud cover is beginning to break up. we're seeing more of the crescent moon showing through. here's the day planner. high pressure pushing in. sunrise at 7:00. we'll have lots of sun this afternoon. we'll be hitting the mid to upper 50s during the afternoon. this evening we will cloud up. it will be cloudy tomorrow morning, in the 30s. rain developing by late morning and off and on rain likely tomorrow afternoon, into the evening, as a cool front

a delegation from the european parliament has met burma's opposition leader, aung san suu kyi, at her home. the group also visited the country's president. the e.u. is due to review its sanctions on burma later in the month, earlier this week, they announced an aid package for health and education projects in the country. north korea is marking what would have been the 70th birthday of its former leader, kim jong il, who died in december. now, his son, kim jong un, has been leading a parade in pyongyang, where a bronze statue of his late father was unveiled. the bbc's lucy williamson has this. >> north korea is having to pack a lot into its ceremonies these days. here, on the 70th anniversary of his birth, the country's late ruler has to share the limelight with his youngest son. kim jong un has big shoes to fill. events like this are designed to help him do it. so, today, on his dad's birthday, north korea's new leader got a pledge of allegiance from the army. his dad got fireworks and waving flowers. but then kim jong il has already received several birthday gifts from the nation, a

military industrial complex where the same jason thank you for coming on the show that was jason burma's director of invisible empire a new world order to find well as the presidential campaign heats up we expect no issues to be off the table and as always the argument over gun rights and gun ownership is sure to fire off some heated debates it's an issue discussed time and time again the sanctity of the constitution and the second amendment is sure to be invoked in that conversation when it comes to another right surrounding the very making of a democracy that is the right to vote that discussion is had far less often as our to correspondent christine for southbound out it's an issue worth looking at as major changes are in the works. it is a right transcribed into the very fabric of our culture and our constitution. the right there was. only a certain number of things that were put in the constitution by the founders and they put a right to bear arms of the constitution for a couple reasons first of all they were just finished a violent revolution you know they overthrew oppressive gov

permission of governments were sometimes they sneak in and go in there without governments knowing in burma for example lots of people are being killed there we've got human rights monitors there so the technology of drones it's cheaper it's more available and you don't have to put why it's a risk why not use technology to further advance what people already doing and allow people to see more the force from the trees than ever before and let's not forget that when we say cheaper we still mean about a couple hundred thousand dollars right now they're not in the millions anymore but they're getting deeper but i think that you know and scott i want you to chime in here too does when this bring up a number of very big legal issues. you know we see that right now. with the cia and the state department's operating grown programs with clients over iraq which new york times tells us in the feature story yesterday is arousing all sorts of concerns there and it has and by christiane too but i think the big question is who's operating the drone so you know i i pranked really think you know the populat

here at r t the massive and profitable profitable military industrial complex alas spoke with jason burma's director of invisible empire a new world order defiant about the release of the mass e-mails here are his thoughts on the leak well absolutely it's part of this ensure goal check not believe that we now have not only in this country but across the world it shows you that corporations can now buy intelligence networks that are heavily heavily involved with our own u.s. intelligence networks in fact even the mainstream media is dubbing them the shadow cia this is a firm that was created in one thousand nine hundred six by george friedman this man was a political analyst political scientist he'd spoken to darpa the u.s. army war college on many occasions and essentially started this firm that is not only for hire but has facility to silicate of money laundering paying informants overseas already we're seeing some of these e-mails leak where stratfor is trying to cover their behind because they know that they're involved in illegal activity overseas with many of these informants and they

norman and norma burma tied the knot 81 years ago. in 1931.y are the state's longest married couple. they are the guest of their governor for valentine's day. norman is 101 years old. his bride is 98. they have 13 great grandchildren. the key to a happy marriage is listening to your wife. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop today on your nbc station. >>> spa day sound nice? how about a spa marathon? the third annual sauna marathon took place as teams of four spa hopped in bathrobes and bikinis. the goal was to hit 15 spas that scanned over 60 miles and stay in each treatment for 3 minutes. sounds tough. check-in points ranged from traditional spas to steam baths and historic smoke saunas. >>> are all of those valentine's day sweets running up your calorie count? a farmer has cornered the produce department with mini heart-shaped cucumbers. the green gourds take shape in four days as the country's full producer, the farmer had over 100,000 of the vegetables ready for valentine's day. >>> finally, couples in thailand prov

that is precisely the reason why in burma analysts are skeptical. >> this set of risks which can damage the sleek and some of them connected with the lake -- other stuff can get into this lake. >> the russians say they are the first to reach any of the lakes beating off competition from british scientists. it could take months for the russians to get their samples back from the laboratory. this is the only -- the only way to transport them to russia is by boat. quex a mysterious 28-year-old street artist is being held by some as the russian [unintelligible] there are more complicated works that use fire and videos set to protest music. he protected his identity and calls himself pavel 183. he agreed to a secret meeting. >> it was a visit to an art gallery and like no other. a hike past abandoned trains and across rarely use railway tracks. what we found there among the spray-painted graffiti tags was work of a much higher quality. the artist is a kind of russian -- and chooses to remain anonymous calling himself pavel 183 . he progressed to what he called street art. >> graffiti ought t

there is trade, investment, north korea, pakistan, burma, the south china sea. those of the aspects of shared values, human rights. if you take them one at a time, they're likely to use them against you. it sounds good in a presidential debate when you say you're going to go to a war with china but the real world is much different. >> and much more complicated. to one relationship to another that is more difficult and that of course is the relationship between the u.s. and iran. tehran has threatened to close the strait of hormuz in retaliation for tighter western sections. today, the uss abraham lincoln sailed through those narrow waters shadowed by iranian patrol boats. >> this is the most potent symbol of america's military might, the uss abraham lincoln loaded with warplanes and now preparing to pass through a potentially dangerous waters, the straits of hormuz. this is a show of force. they are here to send a clear message of who really controls these waters. >> as it approaches the narrowest point to 21 miles wide, the coast is in sight. iran recently thre

. >> we take a look around burma's newly built . capital.t's take a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world. the financial times still very much focusing on the the greek debt crisis. it reports that the euro-zone officials meeting has been cancelled today. it comes amid a growing fight about the merits of allowing the national default in greece. the herald tribune as a warning for greece. it sums up portugal's position where the debt to gdp ratio is rising and economic growth is slowing. china daily says that relationships our maturing. the paper looks at the importance of the sound relationship between the world's two largest economies. the independent front page is dedicated to a new report that found 1/4 of the world's children are malnourished. >> this is "newsday" on the bbc. >> i am babita sharma. the headlines. president obama tells the man expected to be china's next leader that this country must play by the same rules as other economies. >> finance ministers cancel their meeting about of greek debt crisis afte

. >> campaigning officially gets underway in burma. the pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi is standing as a candidate. we're joined from bangkok on this hour. what can you tell us about campaigning? has iit began in earnest? >> it should began today. there has some -- there has been some tentative campaigning ahead of the official start. this is when it gets down to the serious business when the candidates will be out in the stock. we are hearing that a senior dissident monk, shin gambira, was detained for questioning. we are hearing this from sources on the ground who have been talking to the bbc burmese language service. we don't know the reason for his detention but that is a potentially worrying sign. >> you say that is a potentially worrying sign, we know that shin gambira led the saffron revolution. he has expressed deep skepticism about the reforms. could that be a reason for him being taken away? >> we don't know the reasons because the authorities have not said but it comes at a very sensitive time. you are right in saying

there's trade and investment, north korea, pakistan, burma, the south china sea. they all have to be factored into these discussions. if you take them one at a time, they're likely to use them against you. it sounds good during a presidential campaign and you can get applause when you say you're going to war with china but the real world is much different. >> thank you the much for coming in. now to an even trickier relationship than that with china and that is between the u.s. and iran. in recent weeks, tensions have escalated and tehran has threatened to close the strategic strait of hormuz in retaliation for tighter western sanctions. today, the american aircraft carrier, the uss abraham lincoln sale through the narrow waters shelves by -- trailed by iranian boats. >> they're preparing to pass through a potentially dangerous waters, the straits of hormuz. this is a show of force. they are here to send a clear message of who really controls these waters. >> as it approaches the narrowest point to 21 miles wide, the coast is in sight. iran recently threatened to

this is a sensitive moment for of burma. let's go to our correspondent who was on the campaign trail with the opposition leader, aung san suu kyi, just outside of rangoon. reforming times and, but obviously not to reformist. >> the authorities have said that they did not arrest the month. apologies for the noise, there is a truck going past. they said they took away just a question him and now he is being released. going to collect this high- profile month in the middle of the night does send warning signals. a man who was such a high- profile figure. he is now out. the authorities are at pains to say that the reason that they picked him up and wanted to talk to him was twofold. he and some of his followers had been breaking into monasteries that were locked up because they felt they have not -- they should not have been locked up in the first place. the leadership government had asked him to come and talk to them about what he was doing. he failed to show up. that is why they wanted to bring him in. we have not heard from h

necessarily being required is as the private owner, they're not obligated to simply operate in a hard bed in burma and or historically low bid and firman. they have a lot more latitude to include elements of their assessment of the contractors they are selecting and of the -- in reviewing the bid. they cannot operate with a lot more confidence -- they can operate with a lot more confidence. they can select contractors who have the ability to meet the local hiring goals that are in the workforce plan. supervisor avalos: we had contractors apply for bids for america's cup? >> yes. the general contractor is power engineering. this is only for the first project, pier 30-32. the other project which is the construction of the end wall is not something -- it is a much smaller project. it will not take place until early next year. 30-32, that is the larger projects. that project went out to bid last year. the general contractor was elected not too long ago. and has advertised bids for all the subcontracting opportunities and that is what that what was about. supervisor avalos: has that contractor also bee

the return to politics comes after the spate of reforms announced by burma's military- backed civilianovernment. coming up in the "journal" -- a former high-ranking agents of the syrian secret services gives dw an insider's look at how the syrian intelligence agencies work. >> and the crimes they commit in the process. make sure you stay tuned for that special report coming up here on the new dw. >> that is it for right now. we will be back in one minute. >> stay tuned. >> you decide what you want to watch. all the images. all the programs. the whole package. dw on the internet. the media center on www.dw.de. where do you prefer to use dw? let us know where you are taking us. perhaps your snapshot will win. please send your pictures to mydw@dw.de. we are giving away 3 ipads. for more information, go to www.dw.de. >> welcome back, everyone. german-syrian relations are at a new low after the arrest of two men in berlin suspected of spying for syria's secret police. >> if the allegations are true, it will show how far damascus' reach really is. >> that said, syria is increasingly isolated

there are still millions of people urge to be free -- urine thing to be free -- north korea, cuba and burma. in iran where an oppressive thee i don't think crass cy rules -- thee i don't think crass cy student protests have been met with brutal repression. all revolution fire reese know the -- revolution fire reese know the spirit cannot be crushed unless the spirit is crushed. the hunger for freedom keeps the spirit alive no matter how extreme the counter forces. how can that hunger be fed? can the great works of western literature and a reading circle nurturer it? we'll ask the iranian author of reading lolita in tehran azar nafisi. announcer: if. for such a small word, it packs a wallop. if i live to 100. if social security isn't enough. if my heart gets broken. if she says yes. we believe "if" should never hold you back. "if" should be managed with coverage that builds on what you already have. together, we can create a personal safety net - a launching pad for all those brilliant "ifs" in the middle of life. call on our expertise and get dr. azar nafisi welcome. >> thank you very much.

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welcome them and i want to thank you for the great preliminary ground work you did with respect to burma. it made a big difference. >> thank you very much and i look forward to the meeting with some of your people. thank you. >> thank you, senator webb. senator demint. >> thank you for the way you represented us around the world and for being here today. i certainly agree with you that american power is a stabilizing force around the world and i am sure you will agree that any perception of american weakness is a destabilizing force around the world. in some circles today, because much a perception of financial trouble here at home and our determination to be a stabilizing forces in question. and the budget throughout the federal government and not so much as i once did with what we want to do or some shdo. what we are financially able to do given the money that we will be spending through the state department is either borrowed or printed money. we have to make that money work for us. certainly facilitating business travel in the trade and the key to american interest. i do question loo

initiatives, creating and joining important multilateral institutions, even pursuing a possible opening with burma all of which underscores america will remain a pacific power. third, we're focused on the wave of change sweeping the arab world. alongside our bilateral and securities support, we are proposed a $770 million middle east and north africa incentive fund. this fund will support credible proposals validated by rigorous analysis and by congress from countries that make a meaningful commitment to democratic change, effectively institutions and broad-based economic growth. in an unpredictable time it lets us respond to unanticipated needs in a way na reflects both our agility and our leadership in the region. it this budget request would also allow us to help the syrian people survive a brutal assault and plan for a future without assad. it continues our assistance for civil society and arab partners in jordan, morocco, tunisia and elsewhere. it provides a record level of support for our ally, israel, and it makes possible our diplomacy at the u.n. and around the world which has now put in

envoy to burma says the country's bielection in april will be a key test for the military-backed government commitment to reform. they welcomed reforms, but serious challenges remained, and it needed these elections to be free, fair, and inclusive. thanks for being with us here on "bbc world news." i'm david eades much these are the headlines -- syrian government forces have stepped up their bombardment of the city of homs over the past few hours. the opposition says 50 people have been killed. a three-story factory in the pakistani city of lahore vs collapsed, killing several people, trapping many others. i want to bring some more on our coverage of events in syria, because i'm joined by the bbc arab affairs editor. thanks for joining us. just want to ask what you think in terms of diplomacy. we are now, because clearly the situation in the u.n. points to disarray, lack of compromise. can the russians take the lead now? >> well, they are taking the next step. the russian foreign minister is going to damascus on tuesday, and he is expected to speak to president assad to try to put more pers

because the possibility of a of really really bad things happening are enormous special after all burma and alice disappeared at the pentagon by the way the pivoting from the middle east to asia this means more u.s. interference is cellcept in the china sea military zation the starting in north in australia but maybe in contacts with the philippines singapore and thailand specially very close allies of the us here in southeast asia so the chinese they look at this and they see in circle minds they don't want to be lecture about the you want for instance they have a mechanism inside the bank of china which is organizing a slew devaluation of your word for the next few years until two thousand and fifteen two thousand and sixty but it's their old piece they won't be lectured they won't be lectured on human rights and other saying it's ok you can't talk to them about why don't you try to deal especially with your ethnic minorities in a more civilized way like look what's happening it's a bet that the moment they close down to back to specify a base to foreigners now was there a lot of monk

we're having this opening to burma. we are actively involved in what is going on in the asia pacific because we think it is very much in america's interest to be so. and that includes being able to project both civilian and military power. and as we looked at where we had forces operating we saw some gaps and that's what the president addressed on his recent trip to australia. we think that there is a great deal for america to gain by, you know, being very much involved in and supporting the incredible growth of the region. so that's what we're positioned to do. >> thank you. i just returned several weeks ago, maybe a month ago from india. and we had an excellent trip and one of the things that was remarkable was seeing the activity out in the villages and seeing the cooking and seeing the pollution by the way they cook and i know that you have been a real advocate of these kind of modern stoves that if they're utilized, i think do a lot of things from pollution to using less food, fuel, to make it in a healthier home a

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

russian scientists revive a break the story plant at sea and cry after thirty thousand years locked in burma . the enemy the term used by spanish police to justify their most brutal crackdown yet on thousands of protesters angry at government cuts ongoing for five days now it all came to a head in the city of violence here where baton wielding riot cops charged at crowds of teachers students and even schoolchildren beating and arresting as they went archie sarah ferguson madrid with more on the unrest. scenes of the stares he hangs on the streets especially in valencia clashes broke out between riot police and university students and young protesters as they demonstrated against education budget cuts which they claim have left many closely and without even basic piecing the scenes of riot police chasing dragging and hitting the protesters in claims of arrests being made in some cases involving minors the spokes widespread criticism here in madrid a small group of protesters turned out by the education ministry in support of the protesters in philadelphia but this is just part of why did demo

it's ok i wasn't a part of burma has been this much younger on the way are you are you with her now all the. time.

rational actors when there's a there's a long way should we be in in somalia should we be invading burma's you know what he wants to invade we just want to protect ourselves that's all we want to do but what i think we're doing and i think that's what president obama's doing the whole battlegroup to the straits of hormuz to say you know if you decide to block this we will take you out we have nuclear submarines there we have battleships there we have preparing for war no wonder no obama obama i would say obama is using the military might of the military to say hey listen it's a deterrence measure you bring our ships they're like oh well they brought their ships or that means if there is an option to go to war we can do that the president also has said that every options on the table he's never taken an option off the table republicans on the other hand to take every other option off the table besides going to war with jack thirty seconds your thoughts on this although not at all republican candidate none of the republican candidates and we're going to go and just invade iran that's prepost

question and certainly china and russia's record is joint vetoes, whether it's obstruction on sudan or burmas surprised they came out on syria this way they did. do you think this is beginning to make a difference as the chinese look to their foreign policy? >> kmien a was was happy to have russia -- china was happy to have russia as the leading horse on this issue. one of the pill ars as they rise in the world, they do not want to set a precedent that the international community gets to set and then enforce outside conditions or norms on them. you know, whether it's taiwan or struggles inside china itself. they have as a central pillar of their thinking that we are dealing with our problems our way. >> in terms of china i think the president deserves praise, if you look at this, the pivot that they made, the pacific pivot with secretary panetta and barack obama, president obama in terms of sending troops, and maybe to the philippines, sending them to guam, trying to sort of keep china from controlling the south china sea, pj, do you think that conservatives or what might be considered hawks

like xi jinping and you say, we've got north korea, we've got iran, we've got pakistan, we've got burma, we've got the south china sea, we have trade and investment. and they all kind of interrelate, one with another, when you sit down and negotiate a deal. that's just the way the u.s./china relationship is, and has been for 40 years. this month we celebrate the 40th year anniversary of richard nixon stepping off that plane. >> february 22nd, 1979. >> and we forget when nixon stepped off that plane, 1972, we were fighting the chinese in vietnam. we had fought them not too long before in the korean war, where the chinese lost 400,000 men. there was a cultural revolution still playing out in china. we had no trade, no cultural contact. >> but nixon had the guts to step off that plane. -- >> can you imagine that happening today? >> have we gotten to the point in our presidential campaigns, and you've seen it from the inside, and now you're looking at it from the outside, where candidates say anything to play to audiences. and then they have to live with it once they get elected, and that's

don't see whatever our intentions are good if we could engaged in a ground war with china to defend burmaor hanoi for that very. and so, i see no point in mutual aggravation by using words or teaching symbolic action that can be intentions. or not intentions that really serve our national interests. the united states is not going to have the power to be the assertive arbiter even though could be in western europe. we can be a player, do we have to be a player much bar sophisticated and europe in the 19th century and that's an argument for. >> host: and you think the u.s. administration could clarify better what they will -- what they would not do in asia terms of actions might be taken outside of the binding treaty relation? casco i think perhaps the strategic object is not hasty theorizing about particular military strategies offshore hedging and staff of the sort. and i think we probably will have to ask ourselves for how long will the chinese so comfortable, which they no longer do in any case what the american overflights right on the edge of their territory. how would we like chinese

today the united states stands with liberia and burma, a.k.a.myanmar as the only nations not to haveetric america is proving to be a very long road indeed. ahead, is this the formula for love? >> osgood: valentine's day is just two days away. how in our complicated modern world do you fooind that special someone? in many ways our rita braver tells us including something old and something new. >> i wake up early in the morning and like to stay out late. >> i like horror movies. she likes comedy. >> i hate italian food. he loves italian food. >> i like beer. she likes wine. >> reporter: yet this couple are sweethearts. intensely attracted to each other, even though they're opposites in many ways. like an estimated 20% of american couples who got together in the past few years, they met through an on-line dating site. and they owe it all to an algorithm. yes, an algorithm. simply put, a step-by-step series of computer calculations that assign values to certain characteristics and leads to a conclusion which frankly doesn't sound like a prelude to romance. help me understand how an algor