that is what william hague wants to change. he is here, in his own words, to encourage steps towards reform. many western governments say they're pleased with what they have seen so far, the changes that seem to be under way, but the want to see a lot more, not the least of which is the release of all political prisoners and the improvement of human rights and freedoms. the messages we are here to support you in trying to speed up this process of reform. it is a process the government describes as a move towards democratization. the question is, how far and how fast that process will go. >> apart from leading burmese leaders, is william had also set to meet the opposition leader? >> absolutely, this is becoming a familiar pattern for these diplomatic visits. william hague is currently on his way for a first meeting with his counterpart, the foreign minister of burma. then he will meet the speaker of parliament. after rent. after lunch, he will meet the president. then he jumps on the airplane, comes to rangoon for another round

that has been the clear message from william hague and from other visiting diplomats.he whole idea is to try to continue the pressure on the new government, to try to encourage and cajole them to continue on the path they appear to be going down. and at the same time, reassuring aung san suu kyi -- that ultimately there can be more investments and opportunity for burma. >> rachel harvey on the busy streets of rangoon. a turkish court ordered the former head of the armed forces to be remanded in custody pending trial for an alleged plot to overthrow the government. general ilker basbug is at the center of an investigation over allegations he ran 8 internet campaign to destabilize the government. turkey's -- turkish state-run media says it is the first time a former army chief has been referred to the court as a suspect. the husband of jailed with ukrainian politicians yulia tymoshenko has requested political asylum in the czech republic. alexander tymoshenko made the request at the end of last year. in october, his wife, the former prime minister, was sentenced to seven

william hague visits the country and is told change is irreversible. what does the opposition think? >> it is not as fast as a lot of us would like it to be. >> hello and welcome to gmt. i am george alagiah, with a world of news and opinion. also in the program -- several explosions leave dozens dead in iraq. the attacks lead to fears that the political crisis has turned into full-blown sectarian violence. the family of the indian student shot dead on boxing day are in london. a senior mp says foreign students are safe in britain. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 6:30 p.m. in b the briti 6 -- 30 p.m. in burma, where william hague is visiting. hillary clinton was there late last year. it marks a new phase in relations between burma and the outside world. after several meetings, he says he has been assured political reform is irreversible. there was some caution by burma's opposition leader, aung san suu kyi. rachel harvey sent this report from burma. >> arriving @ a brand new airport to mark an even newer departure. william hague is

. >>> the british foreign secretary william hague will visit burma, the first visit by a british foreign secretary to burma and more than 50 years. the aim is to help their budding reform process. >> in burma, independence day calls for foreign celebrations. there are marking 64 years since the end of british colonial rule. for much of that time, burma was tightly controlled by the military. any dissent was ultimately crushed. that is now beginning to change, as over a year ago there were democratic elections. the face of the democracy movement was released from house arrest six days later. the west sees this as a big opportunity. u.s. secretary of state visit burma in september, meeting with the former general, now the country's president. recently, after encouragement from the west, he ordered the release of a number of political prisoners. now and what is seen as a crucial visit, william hague hopes to encourage the burmese government to continue on the path of reform and hope to see the release of all remaining political prisoners, free and fair elections, and also humanitarian acces

foreign secretary william hague in response to iran's refusal to halt its nuclear program and continue to enrich uranium which he has mentioned labeled as increasingly dangerous so now it's just a threat. the u.k. says it will continue to pursue a diplomatic attack i.e. increasing sanctions with the hope of bringing iran to the negotiating table after talks over its nuclear program stalled a year ago but that tactic has been tried for the last year hasn't seemed to work tactics have actually seemed to encourage this dangerous game of brinkmanship each side countering the other's threat and what with one of its own the stakes getting higher and escalating each time so this mention of military action still being on the table is really the latest play in that game the u.k. important allies than one percent every branch total oil output what's in this for britain why such the strong rhetoric. well exactly. it's all imports just one percent from iran the rest of europe also similar levels italy is the most just seven percent of its oil imports come from iran so they've got that to play with

. >> 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 dr

yes, there have been many positive signs, signs that william hague has described as encouraging. they believe that there are some figures, including the president, who are sincere about the reform process. it is well known that there are others within the establishment, within the military, that are very wary about what is happening. to the outside world, things moving slowly. inside, they are worried about where all of this may lead. that is one of two questions, where is this process going? is this limited in scope and ambition or is is moving towards freedom and democracy? what can the outside world and do to support and encourage that? there are still sanctions in place. another question, when might the time the right to begin lifting those sanctions? when will those rewards be offered to the reformers and the government? >> specifically between britain and burma, what did the two countries want from each other? >> this is a renewal of relations. there is a long history between the countries because britain was the former colonial power. for decades, there has been no direct

we heard william hague earlier on talking about the u.k. cost desire to stay within the terms of the resolution. staye uk's desire to within the terms of the resolution. lawyers were very skeptical it could be done. eventually, it was done. finally, these troops that went in, the two dozen or so, where armed, i am so. the earlier missions, they were mentoring and they went in plain clothes. >> how significant a contribution was it? >> it is easy to argue it both ways. a lot of people would say after the fall of tripoli, those gangs of men in their pickup trucks and heavy machine guns were a pretty wild, uncoordinated and undisciplined lot. they had achieved their objectives and i think it was important that if you like, they wanted to bank from the political influence that came from helping them achieve their objectives. they claim that hundreds of qatari troops were involved. the french wanted to be known that they aren't the -- armed the ntc at some point. they hoped to get influence in the new libya. >> dto what extent do you think that

. >>> british foreign secretary, william hague, is visiting myanmar in an effort to improve bilateral ties. he is the first british foreign minister to visit the country in 57 years. he will meet president thein sein and prodemocracy leader aung san suu kyi during the two-day visit. britain is considering easing economic sanctions on myanmar if the country makes progress on democratization. the u.s. and japan is also trying to improve relations. u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, visited the country last november. the first u.s. secretary to do so in over 50 years. japanese foreign minister, koichiro gemba went there last month. >>> the european union is set to impose a ban on crude oil imports from iron. the eu has been considering the sanction since last year as a way to increase pressure on the country over its nuclear program. french foreign minister, allen jupay, told reporters on wednesday that eu foreign ministers will discuss a ban when they hold talks at the end of january. >> translator: i hope we will be able to adopt the measure on the embargo of oil and petrol from

william hague is one of the key foreign ministers who have come to new york to back arab league ministers. he deliberately stresses that it is the arab world, not the west, leading demand for change. >> we are underlining that thousands of people are dying, that we want a way forward in this crisis, and the arab league are here today presenting a way forward. >> the arab league is urging the security council to unite and endorsed their peace plan. catarrh -- qatar's prime minister says the syrian regime 's only solution is to kill its own people, and says the killing regime is still at work, but russia insists the united nations wants to open the way to outside intervention and threatened to veto the agreement. the wording most council members support condemns the regime's use of what they call gross violations of human rights including murder, sexual violence, and torture, including against children. the resolution also backed arab league demands for president assad to turn over his power within two months, hand over to a national unity government and open the way to free and fair electi

later, she's due to meet patriot an's foreign secretary, william hague, who's on the first visit there by a british foreign minister since 1965. he promised recent changes would not be reversed. for aung san suu kyi, she spoke to the bbc about democratic changes in burma and her expectations for the future. >> i don't think it's as fast as a lot of us would like it to be, but on the other hand, it's slow, not too slow. >> do you trust the government? >> i trust the president, but i can't say i trust the government. >> the focus is hugely about compromise, isn't it? how difficult was it for you to go along a path of compromise with this government? >> so far it hasn't been too difficult. let us look at the issues on which we've compromised, to begin with a registration. by the way, i understand that we have -- the reason why we didn't register or re-register in 2010 was because it was told we could not act accepts the election in the political party. >> in terms of the international community and sanctions, is it now time for economic engagement with birm a? do you believe the time has

is refusing to rule out taking military action foreign secretary william hague also spoke of his confidence that embargo on iranian oil will be in place by the end of the month bennett reports from london. in response to iran's refusal to halt its nuclear program it continues to enrich uranium which he has mentioned as labeled as increasingly dangerous so now it's just a threat. the u.k. says it will continue to pursue a diplomatic attack i.e. increasing sanctions with the hope of bringing iran to the negotiating table after talks over its nuclear program stalled a year ago but that tactic has been tried for the last year hasn't seemed to work the tactics have actually seemed to encourage this dangerous game of brinkmanship each side countering the others threaten what with one of its own the stakes getting higher and escalating each time so this mention of military action still being on the table is really the latest play in that game the u.k. has also said that along with other european governments it plans to block iran oil exports by the end of the month in other escalating step in this

is refusing to rule out taking military action foreign secretary william hague also spoke of his confidence that an e.u. embargoed on iranian oil will be in place by the end of the month. bennett has the latest from london. iran's oil exports only make up one percent of britain's oil imports the most in europe is italy with seven percent of it's all coming from iran so there's a lot to play with there which will severely damage iran's economy however iran has taken steps itself threatening to block the straits of hormuz which is a crucial oil shipping lane which in itself could severely damage already very fragile western economies through the increase of oil pricing if that occurs now that the u.s. has already said that any such move from iran will be considered an act of war the question is though how far is each side willing to go here so for now it's just a threat. the u.k. says it will continue to pursue a diplomatic attack i increasingly sanctions with the hope of bringing iran to the negotiating table after talks over its nuclear program stalled a year ago but that tactic has been tr

to refuse him to rule out taking military action foreign secretary william hague also spoke of his confidence that anyone bargo iranian oil will be in place by the end of the month bennett reports from london. iran's oil exports only make up one percent of britain's oil imports the most in europe is italy with seven percent of it's all coming from iran so there's a lot to play with there which will severely damage iran's economy however iran has taken steps itself threatening to block the straits of hormuz which is a crucial oil shipping lane so whilst the iran oil embargo won't have any detrimental effects on britain's economy or europe's really this play by iran definitely could because a third of all seaborne oil trade goes through the straits and that could increase oil prices and have a detrimental effect and severe consequences on already fragile western economies the u.s. has already said that any such move from iran will be considered an act of war and the question is though how far is each side willing to go here for now it's just a threat. the u.k. says it will continue to pursue a

william hague is meeting with government officials bringing a message of reform and offering britain's help. he's also meeting with pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi. her party has been re-establi re-established and will be part of elections in april. those are the top stories from cnn. "world business today" starts right now. >>> good morning from cnn london. i'm charles hodson. >> and good afternoon from cnn hong kong, i'm andrew stevens. you're watching "world business today." our top stories this thursday, january 5th -- >> european investors are on edge as greece sounds the alarm and france faces a big test on the bond markets. >> after remaining -- for four months can yahoo! regain direction with a new man at the helm? >>> also ahead -- >> honorable gentleman could perhaps aten more closely to what i'm saying. rather than how i am saying it. he may receive a valuable education in spite of himself. >> as the iron lady debuts in london, we chart margaret thatcher's lasting economic legacy. >>> the word on the world stock market is not particularly cheerful this thursday. exchan

the british foreign secretary william hague is there to meet leaders who hope to end western sanctions. he'll meet aung san suu kyi as well. they're hoping to secure the release of thousands of political prisoners in return for the lifting of trade embargoes. >>> for years myanmar has been a no-go area not just for foreign politicians but for many regular travelers as well. as the country begins to open up, there are signs it's earning its place back on the tourist trail. paula hancock visited at the end of last year to see what's attracting all the interest. >> reporter: this is the pa goda, 2,500 years old, it's said to enshrine various items. in any other country, such a site would be swarming with tourists. but this is myanmar. until earlier this year, off the list of desired places due to the brutal military junta. with a strong government, albeit linked to the military and tentative reforms comes new travel interests. there are definitely more tourists coming here to myanmar, according to the ticket office, around 1,000 foreign visitors every single day on average come to see thi

but now, britain's foreign secretary, william hague, says he's confident that the european union entirelywill follow suit. that in turn would be another blow for tehran. eu countries accounted for a fifth of iran's total oil exports last year, equivalent to china. iran is pushing back after earlier threats to block the strait of hormuz. iran issued a new warning to its fellow opec nations. its told them any effort to increase oil production will be seens aunfriendly towards tehran. >>> investors are watching this closely to see what it means for the price of crude. as expected, the tensions that we have been seeing in the gulf over the supply of oil there have sent price of light sweet crude bubbling higher. it's been trending higher for the past few months. and if you look at where it is at the moment, currently just a shade under $99 a barrel. that's in electronic trading, nina. >> andrew, saudi arabia's oil minister is trying to downplay potential supply concerns. he says that saudi arabia, the world's biggest exporter, is ready and willing to increase output to meet customer demand. s

. >>> britain's foreign secretary william hague has continued his talks with leaders in myanmar. he's demanded the government release all political prisoners. hague is the first british minister to visit myanmar in years. he met the pro-democracy leader suu kyi on friday. hague follows the visit on wednesday of 30 of an estimated thousand or more of political prisoners. >> what has happened so far is not sufficient, because there are still political prisoners who are being held. and so it's very important that we do not relax the pressure prematurely. >> suu kyi said she hopes elections in april will be free and fair and that her party will win. >>> the chinese communist party says it punished 422,000 civil officials for civil violations last year. the communist party's disciplinary watch dogs punished minute 130,000 people for the second year in a row. communist party official in charge of discipline said rooting out corruption will take time because the system for dealing with it is flawed. >>> japan says sea shepherd has harassed a ship in the antarctic for the second time thi