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>> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america" reporting from washington. go home now, the british government expels iranian diplomats the day after its embassy was stormed. >> the idea that the iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or this could not have taken place without the regime consent is fantasy. >> deke government cuts sparked the biggest strike in a generation. -- deep government cuts sparked the biggest strike. hitting a high note with the on students, can classical music unchanged -- music change minds?

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. it is a diplomatic dust up on a dangerous scale. britain ordered the immediate closure of the iranian embassy in london and said that all diplomats from iran must be out of the country and 48 hours. this comes a day after students stormed the british compound in tehran. now, relations are at their lowest point in decades. sometimeshard-liners called britain saying. protesters invaded the headquarters in tehran. demonstrators even raided a residential compound and iran's government did not stop them. britain has decided to pull up the drawbridge. >> the iranian contingent is

being informed that we have ordered the closure of the embassy in britain and all diplomats must leave within 48 hours. if any country makes it impossible for us to operate, they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here. >> in west london, the flag will fly for just two more days. the iranian diplomats have until friday afternoon to leave the country. after that, this embassy will be empty and britain and iran will have to find another way of to indicating. this morning in tehran, the parliamentary speaker said that the protesters' actions reflected popular opinion. iran state television called the closures hasty. and the indices' will not bother hard liners. -- empty indices -- embassies

will not bother hard-liners. after yesterday's violence, the phones in tehran and london will go unanswered. diplomatic ties are at their lowest point for more than 20 years. >> for more on all of the events unfolding in tehran and the international reaction, i am joined by a senior fellow at the u.s. institute of peace that has written extensively on iran. you were in iran and the american hostages were released into this rest remind you -- your in iran when at the american hostages were released. >> absolutely. >> what is the fallout of britain closing there and see? this does close an important means of communication. >> you have six major powers in

the world along with germany, france, russia, the u.s. try to find a diplomatic solution to the controversial program and this will make it much tougher without the kind of relationship that britain has with tehran. the kind of avenue of discussion to put pressure on iran to sit down at the operating table. there are not many good options out there right now. this is making diplomacy difficult. no one would like to engage in a military option. >> the risk of doing what they have done. presumably, you could push iran further into isolation and we could see more like we have seen in the past 24 hours. >> there would be other actions by other european countries, potentially even the european union. this could cut off one of the most important diplomatic channels as well as

commercial relations. >> what does this tell you about what is happening there in the iranian government? >> this could not have happened without tyranny in government sanctions. >> that is exactly what the british foreign secretary. -- this could not have happened without the iranian government sanction. >> the security forces were probably ordered not to do anything. this was a fairly small crowd of protesters. this shows that the iranian government does not care about its relations with the international community. they are still acting like a child. >> you understand iranian politics, do you think that everyone in tehran is on board with his radical action against the west or do you think that there are those that still need lines of your vacation? >> i suspect that there is a line. there are opposed to having a

channel through to britain. this is very important to the u.s. and tehran and knows this. hard-liners, those willing to take hard action are in the ascendant. >> thank you very much for coming in. in other news from around the world, there are reports of violence in a syrian town close to the turkish border. activists say that people have died. -- six people have died. 900 prisoners have been freed that were involved in anti- government protesters. supporters of the former i varian -- the former ivory coast president are expressing outrage that there is a warrant out for his arrest from the icc. two men have been sentenced to

death in belarus for the bombing of a metro station in the capital of minsk which killed 18 people. the two men were both 25 and childhood friends. belarus is the only country in europe that uses the death penalty. eating fish might help to improve your brain health and reduce the development of alzheimer's. this is according to a study that is looking into the development of dementia. the biggest walkout in a generation, that is what labor unions are claiming in britain today. millions of workers joined a nationwide strike to protest the spending cuts. this is a scene we have seen played out across the industrialized world as workers feel the pain of austerity measures. >> this is the biggest strike

for a generation, huge protests wound their way through the city. not just in london but in leeds and birmingham. those involved are unhappy that they are being asked to work for longer while paying more toward their pensions and they say the government isn't listening. >> i am sick of the government lies about these pensions and being under paid and overworked. >> i think there would be more and more strength. they just don't seem to get it. >> despite the numbers out on the streets, the ports seem to be functioning well. hospitals in england saw over 5000 operations canceled or delayed. the opposition labour party says they do not support the strike. inside of the house of commons, there were rowdy exchanges about whose fault it was.

>> i don't want to see any strikes, i don't want to see schools closed. this government must make responsible decisions. 800,000 low-paid part-time workers, 90% of whom are women will be paying more and you deny this but this is true. >> what exactly is the government proposing? well, ministers say to balance the books, most public-sector workers must decide three% more for their pension. the retirement age will have to increase to 66 by 2020. this would be based on career average, not a final salary. polls suggest that there is a degree of public support for those striking but with the disruption, that could change. there is little sympathy from business leaders. >> these are not a victimless crimes. we know of loads of small

businesses where parents are missing out on a day's work and companies are missing out on labor and productivity. suppliers in the public sector have had business is disrupted. there are effects into other areas of the economy. >> the government announced the economic rate was lower than expected. the age of austerity will stop britain for longer than originally thought and that could mean much more public- sector strife in the future. >> of course, we have seen those scenes right across europe -- athens, madrid. as people took to the streets in london today, the central bankers of the most powerful countries took to their tool chests in an attempt once again to stop the european debt crisis from causing more pain. they have joined forces to make more money available for banks so that they can lend to

businesses and consumers. how successful will this be in the long term? we go to new york for more. can i ask how close we were to the kind of credit crisis we saw back in 2008 when the central bank decided they had to take this action? >> we are not entirely sure how close we came because they thought it was already started to happen or whether they are acting creatively -- preemptively because they see the possibility looming large. one thing we can see is that clearly the danger was close enough to persuade the central banks to act together. what we're hearing is that some people have said that while this addresses the problem of liquidity, this does not do much more than that. this does not solve the debt problem facing europe at the moment. that was something mentioned by the governor of the bank of japan speaking to the press after these moves were made.

this is certainly the feeling among analysts. >> in the short term, looking at the market reaction -- the dow went up 500 points today, markets think that the imminent crisis of the credit crunch has been solved. >> yes, what we have done is seen the central bank's support the banks for more time. what had started to happen is that everyone had become convinced that the eurozone crisis is moving into a deadly your face at the moment. -- a deadlier phase at the moment. many of these european banks have had difficulty in getting enough dollars. so, last month this problem had been getting more and more acute. the european central bank had had to give as much as $255 million from the federal reserve to try to settle that demand.

they are making more dollars available to the banks so they can meet their obligations and avoid the credit crisis that we saw a few years ago. >> we are dealing with two separate problems. we are dealing with the short- term problem of not enough credit being available the longer term problem of too much credit available in the past. >> that is going to be the challenge lies ahead. what we see today is that the central banks have bought time, the question now is what is done with that time? all eyes are turning to a meeting between european leaders. there is pressure on them to try to come up with a plan. obviously, that is the big concern now -- what can be done? certainly talking to investors, they would like to see the european central bank play a greater role in this crisis.

possibly buying up the bonds of troubled countries like italy and spain, something that they have been reluctant to do. >> thank you for joining us with that. as the world's economic leaders try every trick to spark growth, for a few lucky countries, it has been a boom time. one of them is brazil. it was 10 years ago this week that a goldman sachs economist a lump them together with china, india, as newly successful economies. we look to see how far they have come. >> how far things change. 40 years ago, brazil was a net exporter -- and net importer of food. now, they are an economic superpower. >> we have enough to feed everyone in the world. >> a modest ambition. >> you are second in soy.

>> first in coffee, 1st fisher king, 1st in large juice, 1st in beef. -- first and coffee, 1st in sugar cane. >> they have vast reserves of iron ore and countless other minerals and recently struck oil as well. the real change in brazil lies on the other side of the world from the country's capital. the key is the high price of commodities due to the rapid industrialization of china and india. >> brazilian and chinese economies are very complementary. brazil needs capital to create jobs in brazil and to grow its economy. china needs the strategic resources for its sustained growth and to feed its people.

this is so that countries such as brazil can provide. -- this is something that countries like brazil can provide. >> cheap chinese imports are squeezing out local products because the commodity boom has driven their currency through the roof. this is one of the biggest story farmers -- soy farmers. he has presidential ambitions. >> i think if we're not careful, china will eat us and after that, india will come. how will brazil compete with chinese industry? i must the government takes adequate matches to protect us, brazilian heavy machinery will disappear. >> for the moment, brazil continues to grow, 3.5% this year. growth is perhaps the most powerful argument. the nation's represent the fastest-growing economies in an

otherwise stagnating world. >> you are watching "bbc world news america" still to come on the program -- struggling to get by in russia and elections approach. it is basic needs and not balance that occupy most people's minds. -- and not ballots that occupy most people's minds. hillary clinton is the most senior official to visit burma and half a century. she says she is hopeful that the reforms by the government could lead to a broader movement of change. visitlary clinton's starts here in the new capital. she will meet with the country's civilian president, thein sein. she will hold talks with him for over two hours. she will also meet with members of parliament. mrs. clinton would like to gauge

for herself how serious the country's leadership is about reform and how much further their rolling to go. if she likes what she hears, she might announce that washington is willing to take steps in return. in essence, rewarding burma for good behavior and incentive to do more. these are baby steps. there is no talk of lifting sanctions. whatever the u.s. does, they will do so in consultation with the opposition, namely aung san suu kyi. she will meet with the nobel peace laureate. they will be discussing how to take to reform movement further. mrs. clinton will be meeting with representatives of civil society and ethnic communities. on the surface, this is all about encouraging democracy in burma. for washington, this is about pushing back against china's influence in the country. >> in iraq today, u.s. vice-

president joe biden continued his visit marking the u.s. lead. protests against his trip to mistreated the difficulties that the two countries still face. followers of al sadr to to the streets and shouted "no, no to america." >> and russia this sunday, the people cast their ballots in parliamentary elections. many elderly russians believe that life was better before. today, they struggle to make ends meet and have lost faith in the democratic process. we have traveled to a town 500 kilometers from moscow. it is called the black heart of russia because of its rich farmland. we look at the challenges the older generation faces. >> retired doctor has just

collected a state pension. now comes the challenge, survive in the month on $230. at the supermarket, she has no spare money to spend on luxuries. she just buys the basics. >> there is enough here for three days. i would like to get a nice piece of meat but it is just too expensive. i can really only afford the bare necessities. >> if she needs clothes, it is off to the second-hand shop. she can pick up a pair of trousers here for $3. it is back to her flat. there are plenty of bill's waiting to be paid. central heating and electricity are the most expensive. like most russian pensioners, she has no savings to rely on. she lives on pension to pension.

>> if the pension runs out, i try to borrow from friends. there are other problems here like medical care. when you call for an ambulance, it is not always come. they ask you how old you are. if you say you are over 70, they say, goodbye, granny. >> this is the pension that she gets every month. of this, just under 1/3 is spent on utility bills. she spends this much on madison, this on her telephone calls which she says she cannot afford her telephone anymore. -- this she spends on her medicine. that leaves money for food, clothes, and everything else she needs to get by. when life gets her down, she events her frustration in her palms. she has written hundreds of

them. -- she vents her frustration in her poems. >> that they have promised paradise that now it is too late. >> she is not expecting elections to make her life better. she has lost faith in politicians and feels abandoned by the state. >> now to a program which is out to prove that music can truly change lives. using a system developed in venezuela, children and the most deprived neighborhoods across england are going to get intensive training. intensive lessons are under way and we are going to look at how it works. -- and we have gone to look at how it works. ♪ ♪ >> five years ago, in this area,

one child was on to play an instrument. today, there are 450. ♪ ♪ >> this is a neighborhood with a reputation. however, it is now becoming famous for music. practicing for a school christmas concert might appear on remarkable but this orchestra is different. the students are in the orchestra. at home, they practice among their brothers and sisters, their mother has a musical family. >> i just never thought that they would be interested in music.

>> this is a story repeated again and again. 10 children, four of them are learning to play. >> it is not just one kid. the orchestra has everyone. >> katie is learning much to her mother's surprise. did they have this when you were a school? >> no, never. >> it begins when they are toddlers, a total immersion. >> not 20 minutes a week, this is four days a week for hours every day. >> this is a regular too dear. >> i am almost quite emotional when i come here because this is an emotional thing to see. -- this is a regular tutor. >> they are thankful for me

coming. i like to see this happen. the fact this is working so well proves that it can work anywhere. >> next year, this field will become this -- the opening concert for the olympic festival. research suggests that the children are happy, more confident, better able to concentrate. the more test is the long term, how far music really can change lives. >> a big noise having a big impact there in scotland. that brings the program to a close. you can get updates at our website at any time. to reach me and the rest of our team, you can reach us at twitter. thank you so much for watching. i will see you back here tomorrow.

>> 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. >> union bank has put its global strength to work for a wide range of companies.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet los angeles.