king abdullah of jordan told the bbc syria's president, bash iral assad should step down. he's the first arab leader to do so openly. >> police in the united states have closed down an anti-wall street protest camp in the california city of oakland. it's just a day since at least 50 people were arrested in a similar clear-out of a camp in portland, oregon. the chinese dissident and artist way sent nearly 1.5 million to help fight a huge tax bill that he says is government harassment. the support money is enough for him to put down a guarantee of more than 8 million yuan by tuesday required by the tax authority to obtain -- he was detained nearly three months earlier this year. and joining me for details from beijing is our correspondent martin patient. way is do to make a payment by the end of the day. what is the latest on that? >> that's right. there's been so many twists and turns in this case. he needs to post this bond in order to fight the tax charges against him. the artist and supporters say these tax charges are politically motivated. now previously, the artist to

king abdullah of jordan has added his voice to those condemning the regime. he called don bashar al-assad to step down. the arab league has announced -- damascus said welcome such a mission. over the weekend, the arab league suspended serious membership and is also planning to introduce economic sanctions. in addition to that, eu foreign ministers meeting in brussels agreed on tougher measures to impose on syria for its crackdown on opposition protesters. this comes as turkey warns that the syrian leader is committing political suicide by going after his own people. >> german foreign minister insisting military intervention is out of the question, saying syria is a completely different case that libya. >> it means assets worth several hundred million euros will be frozen. their bank accounts will be frozen. >> in a reference to russia's recent veto against sanctions 40, they called -- sanctions, they called on moscow to rethink its stance. >> the dutch foreign minister says his government no longer rule out military action. germany and france disagreed. >> we

the prime minister of turkey and king abdullah of jordan both now critics. the arab league and turkey appear to be planning for a transition to a post-assad era. so much depends on what happens inside syria. more funerals, as the violence seems to be growing in intensity. there are signs that syria might be splitting towards civil war. the pressure is on the arab league to find a solution before that happens. >> back over to press. he has some latest pictures of president obama is the arrival in australia. >> air force one has just touched down. amid tight security. the u.s. president is going straight from the asia-pacific cooperation forum in honolulu. this visit comes as the two countries marked a 60-year security alliance. they are expected to announce plans for expanded military cooperation. we could also see a pledge by president obama to refocus on allies of the asia-pacific region. there is australia's prime minister walking out onto the tarmac to welcome barack obama up. this visit was twice delayed. it has finally happened and is expected to focus

king abdullah of jordan became the first arab leader to ask him to step down. >> he will also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of a syrian political life. >> the syrian response has been almost theatrical acts of defiance. huge numbers of syrians were encouraged on to the streets over the weekend to support the government and to protest against the arab league decision to suspend syria. angry mobs attacked the embassies of qatar, saudi arabia, and turkey, three countries that have taken a very tough line against syria. it is just leaving syria into more price isolation than ever before. at the european union, britain joined other countries in voting for new sanctions against damascus. they were targeting key figures around president faÇade. >> it is so important in the european union that we consider additional measures to put pressure on that regime. >> there is evidence the sanctions are beginning to bite. there may be the syrian government trying to start out opposition supporters. syrian opposition figures have been at the arab league in cairo discussing how to

king abdullah of jordan said that if he were in assad's shoes he'd step down. s all from us in london and singapore. >> 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. >> 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? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. 

prime minister verdoorn of turkey and king abdullah of jordan are both critics.h appear to be encouraging a post-assad era. but so much depends on what is happening in syrup. the violence seems to be growing in intensity. there are signs that syria may be slipping toward civil war. the pressure is on the arab league to find a solution before that happens. >> smoke in rome at last. >> that is right, positive news from the italian prime minister designate. mario monti will meet the country on wednesday morning to confirm he can form a new government. and mr. monti says he is convinced the country can overcome its financial crisis. >> a day three in the corridors of power for mario monti, and it seems he is starting to read some success. after what must feel like a never-ending schedule of meetings and talks, the new italian government finally beckons. >> i will be able to present the conclusions of this work to the president of the italian republic. clearly, out of respect, i cannot anticipate the contents of it, but i would like to confirm my absolute serenity and

this comes hours after king abdullah of jordan called for president assad to step down from his family's four decades of rule. turkey is also signaling it may be time for assad to go, threatening to cut off key supplies to syria as this continues. >>> turning to business, the european bond market jumped yesterday as a group of relatively stable companies in the eurozone were dragged deeper into the global financial crisis. let's get a look at the early markets as we get all up in your business. steve sedgwick is live in london. good morning. >>> good morning. what i want to emphasize today is the strength of the u.s. markets compared with what we're seeing in europe. we see a bit less jittery reaction to every time we see a problem in the euro zone market. yesterday they were reacting on u.s. sales figures, and the dow managed to have a flat session despite the fact that yields jumped on eurozone bonds, and the physical bond market fell in europe as even worried about the spread of the crisis, not only from greece to italy but also to countries that had been immune, countries such as fra

of iraq the whole question of israel the ukase apparently been handed its leading role by king abdullah of jordan so far the only arab leader to publicly call for to quit but the patience of series other neighbors and crucial regional brokers' is now wearing thin to the arab league suspended series membership and given presents a sad until saturday to end the violence with britain already primed this could be the last ditch attempt at conventional diplomacy but in a position now where they have to take some back. in effect they've extended it on the region to a point yesterday another difference or another three days so perhaps they try their office as much as possible in order to get over that unity for having sort of taken action but they've gone this far beyond a position where they have to have to make good on the promise of the free market the voice of civilians about their credibility and free syrian army has been the main driving force behind the growing opposition movement most of the thinks is from the army launching their latest attack on a security base russia and china still appealing

of iraq the whole question of is well the ukase apparently been handed its leading role by king abdullah of jordan so far the only arab leader to publicly call for and sad to quit but the patience of ceres other neighbors and crucial regional brokers is now wearing thin to the arab league suspended series membership in the free syrian army has been the main driving force behind the growing opposition movement most to defectors from the army launching their latest attack on a security base russia and china are still appealing for. dialogue is the way to in they call two way violence desperate to avoid another libya style intervention but that chance may be fading but the wheels are already in motion for a coordinated attack it's verbal for now but when it came to libya it wasn't long before the words were backed up by weapons and bombs after bennett r t russia refused to back calls for president asad to step down after hosting serious opposition council in moscow earlier this week during a meeting with foreign minister sergey lavrov said dialogue wasn't possible without sufficient pressure on the s

has apparently been handed its leading role by king abdullah of jordan so far the only arab leader to publicly call for and sad to quit but the patience of series of other neighbors and crucial regional brokers' is now wearing thin to the arab league suspended series membership and given presents a sad until saturday to end the violence with britain already primed this could be the last ditch attempt at conventional diplomacy they're in a position now where they have to take some action in effect they've extended the different regions like strike yesterday from syria three days out so perhaps they're trying to offers us out as much as possible but so it's kind of an opportunity for having sort of taken action. congress for the very heart of this would have to have to make good on the promise a trick of the white stuff for free got them on the credibility and free syrian army has been the main driving force behind the growing opposition movement most to defectors from the army launching their latest attack on a security base russia and china are still appealing for dialogue and they're

has apparently been handed its leading role by king abdullah of jordan so far the only arab leader to publicly call for to quit but the patience of ceres other neighbors in a crucial regional brokers' is now wearing thin to the arab league suspended series membership and given presents as sad until saturday to end the violence with britain already primed this could be the last ditch attempt at conventional diplomacy they're in a position now where they have to take some action in the first place expect that they're from the region that works right yesterday another conference or another three days so perhaps they're trying to offer as a side as much as possible in order to get over your virginity but having sort of taken gregson them. gone this far we really are in a position to have to have to make good on the promise that if you like otherwise the civilians of money credibility the free syrian army has been the main driving force behind the growing opposition movement most of defectors from the army launching their latest attack on a security base russia and china still appealing fo

details of this most following a meeting between the british prime minister david cameron and king abdullah of jordan earlier that that took place earlier this week in london king abdullah is actually the first arab leader to publicly called for president assad to step down that he's believed also to prefer britain and france over america to lead any such mission because of their success they had in libya where they led military intervention that ousted colonel gadhafi now there's no mention of any such military activity with syria at the moment at the moment this is clearly the offensive is clearly verbal but that is of course how the libya intervention and an operation started is already several similarities france and will have already recalled their ambassador from the masses and of course the timing with the militarization of the opposition which would make any kind of intervention a lot easier to support now russia they see it as a two way street because both sides are guilty of violence the free syrian army which is one of the main opposition groups that in syria the moment is largely made up

these terms about these moderate arab regimes such as saudi arabia hosni mubarak's egypt king abdullah of jordan. yes these are moderate in the sense that they are working very closely with us foreign policy but they're certainly not moderate with respect to any objective definition of what constitutes democracy and any objective definition of what constitutes you know universal standard of of human rights so i think you know his point is an important one what really matters is not. how some people in the west are characterizing events in the arab spring what really matters and i think what really needs to be celebrated is that for the first time in the modern history of the arab and islamic world you are having democratic revolutions and and perhaps the first opportunity you know for people in these regions to really exercise a meaningful self-determination and so that's where i think the focus of the discussion should be that's something to celebrate and once again we see tunisia sort of leading the way they led the way with the with the revolt last january and and now they're leading the way

said to step down now these details have emerged following talks between david cameron and king abdullah of jordan was actually the first arab leader to publicly call for president and sad to step down and that was early this week and now he's thought to actually prefer britain and france rather than the u.s. to lead this international group task of this diplomatic offensive after their success in libya that's what they're calling it now now why why now well. the situation in syria how that irritant certainly of the last few days with the militarization of the opposition now at the moment this offensive is purely verbal there's no mention of military activity but this is of course how the libya operation began it was all just words to begin with there are already similarities front has withdrawn and ambassador from damascus as i say there is all militarization of the opposition now as well and it wasn't long before in libya certainly those words turned to action. live for us in light of that report. where russia says if there is to be any peaceful resolution of the ongoing violence in syria the in

neighbor in syria the first of the arab leaders to call for president bashar to go as being king abdullah of jordan he said that if he was in the same position as the president of syria he would be stepping down now to what we have seen in response in syria to the decision to suspend them from the arab league is must protest in damascus in the pro syrian government protesters they've also been some protests outside of the embassies of saudi arabia and qatar over the past couple of days since that decision was made saudi arabia and qatar to the nations this voted to suspend syria from the arab league and the syrian people in damascus showing their displeasure that decision when from the saudis on the guitar is now the big worry that it could be for syria is the last nation to be suspended from the arab league was libya and one thing that russia from the past has said is they definitely do not want to see any kind of outside military interference in syria similar to what we saw in libya whereby the u.n. mandate was widely well the parameters of the u.n. mandate to a straight beyond with wild disarray

. >> reporter: as protests continue to an 8th blood-soaked month, king abdullah of jordan has joined for president assad to step down. among his allies only russia and iran appear to be holding firm. >> things are escalating. there are certain measures we are requesting that will squeeze the regime economically and financially to bring this whole atrocity and massacre to an end. >> reporter: no one can tell if the regime is close to cracking. but as security forces continue to round up opponents, activists posted this video online. they say that the syrian police are defecting to join an opposition that increasingly is armed and ever more determined. >> woodruff: margaret warner takes the story from there. we're joined by michelle dunn formerly at the state department and national security council, now director of the atlantic council's middle east center. and shibley telhami, a professor of government and politics at the university of maryland. he conducts public opinion surveys in the middle east and has just returned from a polling trip there. welcome, both of you, back to the pro

wake of the fukushima accident, for jordan, where energy costs are high, the options are still limited. leoni lakhani from marketplace middle east. >>> an exclusive interview with jordan's king abdullah we come back. >>> along with jordan's plans to tackle higher oil prices, there's a wave of unrest hitting the country earlier this year. in an exclusive interview with jordan's king abdullah ii, i talked to him about the arab spring and the biggest challenges still to come. >> it started economically. there's a lack of confidence because there was a problem in our country as there is throughout the region with a lack of jobs and poverty. that's the major challenge we have, how do we get an individual away from voting for somebody because he's from my tribe orvilleage to voting for people to come out with a economic, political and social package? that's going to be the most challenge of democracy. >> the first thing the business community says we need to tackle corruption. >> absolutely. >> the people around you shield you from the real corruption that's on the ground in this society. it's not a big economy. can you get your hands on the root causes of the corruption today? >> i think

king abdullah of jordan spoke to bbc world.e said this, "i believe if i were in his shoes, i would step down. i would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing." jordan has been pretty critical of this crackdown in syria on protesters of king abdullah in the past has said assad to create a whole new era of syrian political life. a couple other countries, too, that have protested. saudi arabia and qatar, kyra. they withdrew a while ago because of the crackdown. this is a huge deal, you have an arab ruler saying this. one thing if the u.s. says it and a total other thing if an arab leader says step out, get down. a couple things the arab league which is seen as a toothless organization in the nation, they surprised everyone by kicking syria out, temporarily, of that group. the european union is also putting more sanctions on syria. so, the whole thing here is that they're trying to put more pressure and to isolate syria as much as they can to get bushar to bend. >>