fire, at this time is hsbc feeling the heat. >> despite the best efforts and intentions of many dedicated professnals, hsbc has fallen short of our own expectations. >> from russia with love, this olympian is now competing for america. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the battle to liberate damascus has begun, that is a claim of the rubble -- rebel free syrian army today. there are reports that the president's army is moving in

reinforcements. the push is on towards the presidential palace. you can see on the top left-hand corner of your screen. rebels in the syrian army have en locked in fierce battles. on verified video appears to show government tanks and other heavy armored vehicles lining the roads. the rebels are reporting they have shot down syrian army helicopters over damascus. we report on these latest developments from beirut. >> the battle for damascus is on. that is what the opposition says and government forces have been on the move to defend the city. israeli intelligence says some syrian forces have been moved them -- have been moved here. on the air -- on the move in the air, too. it is the first time helicopters have fired inside the city

limits. clashes have moved to the northern side of the capitol, too. the government said what it called a terrorist damaged a power station here. activist said security forces used mortars and attacked. shooting was reported in a main street right in the heart of damascus. in other parts, things seem to be fairly normal. the main centers of the regime's power have yet to come under attack. the free syrian army is calling its operation at damascus volcano. after 16 months, the uprising has finally arrived in the capital.

>> to libya, the national forces alliance looks to of done very well. in contrast to a neighbor in -- neighborin countries, islamist parties are trailing behind. here is our correspondent. >> ever so slowly, the results of libya's first democratic elections in more than 40 years are being declared. thus far, a moderate technocrats is edging ahead. he was propelled on the world stage after the fall of gaddafi. welcome to warmly by nicolas sarkozy and other global leaders. western educated and english speaking, he was credited with attracting support. he was one of the first high-

profile defectors to the national transitional council at the beginning of the revolution. opponents have criticized his link to the gaddafi regime. before his defection, and he was head of the economic development board, a position he claimed was not a political. >> the most important priority right now is to unite behind one objective, order, stability and writing of the constitution. >> as results came in from across libya, the national forces alliance swept by thousands of votes. in this conservative muslim

country, many outside observers have assumed that post-gaddafi politics would be dominated by islamists. white is the muslim brotherhood performing so badly -- why is the muslim brotherhood performing so badly here? nato bombed what used to pass for a democracy in libya. colonel gaddafi always used to claim that his country was better than democracy. but the people's power prevailed. what is first democratic elections have shown is that people want -- did not want to return to the past. nor did they want a system dominated by religious rancor. the scale of his performance is still difficult to predict.

>> the highest per capita murder rate is a dubious distinction that belongs to honduras. there were close to 7000 murders in the country of just 8 million people. that is one murder every 74 minutes. the violence stems from a deadly mix of drugs, guns, and gangs. police efforts to address it are undermined by endemic corruption. this piece contains flashing lights and some disturbing images. >> the police are fighting a losing battle against violent crime. i joined them on a night patrol while the most lawless city in the world. the murder count has just gone up by one. dumped by a house, the body of a

young man, a bond, tortured, and then shot. another gang murder in a city where justice has gone missing. >> we do not have the resources to carry out proper investigations here. that is quite a culture of impunity has developed. >> the police check local area for guns and drugs, but it is a token effort. it is the business hub. there is a veneer of more not -- normality. look carefully, and you see that every business has armed guards. month after month, the killing has increased. two rival gangs are in a brief aside for the city's cocaine trade in an extortion racket. human rights activist said the entire system is broken.

>> most people are not seeing justice being done by the judicial system. quite the contrary. you do not have enough forensic experts to look at the bodies. that means that murderers are walking free. >> there is nowhere to hide. if the city's taxi drivers refuse to pay protection money to the gangs, they get a bullet in the head. one driver, too scared to show his face, told me that police offer no protection. >> we are afraid of the police. the police themselves are bank robbers and extortionists. dealing with a policeman is like dealing with a gang member. it is the same thing. >> cocaine is killing the city.

successful seizures are the exception. the criminal gang culture has engulfed the city. the government promises of the crackdown, but it makes this startling admission. >> did you basically all of the money that is -- due to all the money that is flowing into the country from the drug dealers, the government has lost control. >> the government has lost control? >> yes. >> in another shooting victim is brought into the overstretched hospital. the violence here is spreading like a deadly virus. there is no cure in sight. >> extraordinary murder rates in honduras. the party in israel is set to leave that governing coalition.

they joined a coalition to months ago -- to the zero months ago. we did two months ago. prime minister netanyahu still has a majority in parliament. a round the world, whether has become a source of complaint for many recently. london is hoping the rain stops and times for the olympics. in the u.s., millions are suffering -- suffering the worst drought in more than 50 years. >> in america, the world's biggest corn producer, this season's crop is a political issue. the governor of illinois examines the ravages of the worst drought in more than half a century. >> you can see firsthand how depled, how serious this matter is. >> the problem is repeated as hundreds of thousands of farms

across the midwest. record temperatures, no rain, and the withering crop. soaring prices. some ranchers have already begun reducing their herds. a vast range of food -- >> out of our paychecks, we have to spend more in our family budget on food. that means less spending in the generalconomy. >> reservoirs are empty. this one in texas should be twice as high. dry weather is set to continue. for more on the impact this draft is having, i am joined by a senior editor at "time" magazine. we heard about the food price rises.

can you give us an indication how bad they're going to be? >> you will start to see an increase fairly cent. corn has been the hardest hit by drought. that is the base of the food pyramid. it goes into processed food, it goes to feed animals. however, food itself is not the biggest part of what we pay for when it comes to food overall. processing is a lot more of the dollar you spend on food. while you will feel that, it will not be as bad as it will be in other countries where people do not get processed food. >> talking about other parts of the world, the u.s. is the biggest exporter. other countries may be feeling the result of this as well. >> absolutely. the united states is the breadbasket of the world.

if you see the corn crop's hit badly here, it will have an impact elsewhere. about 40% of the u.s. corn crop goes into ethanol. part of that high price for corn is the fact we are using a lot of that to feed our cars. >> gas pces, food prices, all this at a time when the economic recovery is faltering. >> exactly. farm income had been one of the bright spots of the u.s. economy. farmers had been doing very well. if you are in the middle of the country, you could be hit really badly if you are a farmer. that has not gone affect if you sell farm equipment. -- knock on a fact if you sell farm equipment. you are not likely to see a huge impact. if you do see that increase in food prices, that leads to an

increase in inflation. >> the data stream is out of place. that is white -- the jet stream is out of place. record rains in japan, poland. scientists talk about a ticket -- a tipping point. have we passed that point? >> it is entirely possible. you do not really know you have passed it until you've already passed it. scientists are getting better at attributing extreme weather to climate change. there was a major drought last year in texas that was 20 times more likely because of climate change. there are other factors happening at the same time. we are headed towards an era of weather that will be more unpredictable, more extreme. >> thank you. you are watching "bbc world news

america." red faces, apologies, and a resignation. in other dark day for the banking industry. thousands of homes built on stilts in nigeria are being demolished. the buildings are dangerous in the aborted occupancy to move out. >> no roads, the resourceful people have built their lives on top of the water. in nigeria's version of the venice, the homes are on stilts and everyone moves around by canoe. there are flooding shops and children pole their way to school. government has sent and the demolition men.

you can see the destruction going on of the properties. the demolition has begun. they do not know where they're going to sleep tonight. what this shows that, life can be pretty precarious. all of these buildings are illegal and dangerous. there been removed for the residents own safety. this is tell the other half lives, the glitz here side. the official in charge of improving the waterfront should be some of the latest developments. i asked him if the people being forced from their homes were being offered an alternative place to live. >> everybody -- they have come from somewhere. it will go back to wherever it is they have come from. >> people have lived here for

generations. now they're being forced to change their way of life. they will join the millions of others struggling to overcome the countless challenges in this vast city. >> the punches came at a u.s. senate hearing. hsbc was under fire. during the hearing, one of the chief compliance officers said he would step down and knowledge mistakes were made. >> despite the best efforts and intentions of many dedicated professionals, hsbc has fallen short of our own expectations and the expectations of our regulators. this is something that a bank seeking to conduct business in

the united states must acknowledge, learn from, and take steps to avoid in the future. >> for more on the hearing today, i spoke with our washington correspondent. we heard that david bagley announced he would be stepping down from his position. given the evidence, is that going to be enough to satisfy the senators? >> i think the senators are satisfied. the chairman of the investigative committee said that he was plead with some of the decisions that hsbc made. he was pleased they decided to close the camps in the cayman islands. they had brought the spotlight on it. this was not the end of the process. there could be legal proceedings and that could result in fines.

>> they are talking about sean the spotlight on some things. >> -- showing a spotlight on some things. >> what they saw as money laundering from organized crime, drug cartels, and from organizations suspected of funding terrorist groups. how that money was punched through affiliates around the globe. there was a lot of attention put on mexico. there were billions of dollars transferred over a short period from mexico to the u.s. from me hsbc -- from the hsbc subsidiary in mexico. that was not acted upon by hsbc monitors. they talked about the cayman islands, where there were 50,000 customers. no branch, no office, no employers.

they allowed people to avoid paying taxes in certain areas, but there was no safeguard. the regulators felt the money that had been put into those accounts had come from the various sources. derrin number of those things going up -- nefarious sources. there were a number of those things going on. >> an extraordinary evidence coming out on capitol hill. after you watch this, synchronized swimming requires a level of athleticism that most of us can only dream of. she has been perfecting her retain it for years. now she is -- perfecting her routine it for years. now she is heading to the u.s..

>> there is so much that you do not see. there is so much work that goes into it. during a performance, you only see smiling faces. it looks so light and easy. under water, it is extremely hard work and you feel like you're dying. ♪ i was born in russia. my dad was offered a job in california. we kind of jumped at the opportunity to come to america. that was when i was 9 years old. it was a huge culture shock. it helps me suggest to the new environment because i got to speak english in practice. i got to learn the language. i was really excited because we got to do that. when i was 14, i was the youngest member of the team.

i remember my coach setting, if your daughter works hard, she is going to be good enough to go to the olympics. i never thought that was ever possible. 2012, that is my year. ♪ it is huge, somebody else to help you through the long days. somebody else to be there by your side and somebody to push you. ♪ sometimes it is even hard for me to remember that i am going to the olympics. on our nine or 10, i think i just go numb. i am very proud to be on the

u.s. team. i cannot say that i am 100% american. i have a huge allegiance in my heart to russia. my parents are so proud. they have seen me go through incredible struggles to get here. ♪ it is so hard. this country has given all of us so many opportunities. we would have never had all this, we stayed in russia. immigrating to a new country, that is a challenge in itself. once you have done that, you can apply that work at the two other things. >> no complaints from this corner. she hopes to bring home a gold for the u.s. in london when the

game starts next week. we'll be bringing you stories of other american athletes would immigrant experiences. if you missed any of these profiles, you can find them on our website. that brings today's show to a close. thank you for watching us. we hope you will join us back here tomorrow. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, union bank, and shell. >> at union bank, our

relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and helping 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.

hi, there! dash here! to reveal my secret treasure, find the sea creatures that match like these seahorses! ready? what is this? an octopus! and this? a jelly fish! do we have a match? no! an octopus! an octopus! do we have a match? yes! a crab! a crab! do we have a match? yes! there's just one match left! kids: a jelly fish! what is our secret treasure? a fish! that's right! ord has our secret treasure, a yellow fish!

now go to pbskids.org and see what happens when you find today's secret treasure. thanks for playing! got to dash! (george chattering excitedly) this program was made possible by: >> chuck e. cheese's, proud supporter of pbs kids, who know when it comes to learning how to be fit for your life, you're never too young to start. pbs kids, where a kid can be a kid. for over 90 years, stride rite's been there, from the first wobbly walk to the first day of school, helping you choose the right shoes. stride rite is a proud sponsor of curious george. funding for curious george is provided by contributions to your pbs station... ooh. ...and from: ♪ you never do know what's around the bend ♪

♪ big adventure or a brand-new friend ♪ ♪ when you're curious like curious george ♪ ♪ swing! ♪ ♪ well, every day ♪ every day ♪ ♪ is so glorious ♪ glorious ♪ george! ♪ and everything ♪ everything ♪ ♪ is so wondrous ♪ wondrous ♪ ♪ there's more to explore when you open the door ♪ ♪ and meet friends like this, you just can't miss ♪ ♪ i know you're curious ♪ curious ♪ ♪ and that's marvelous ♪ marvelous ♪ ♪ and that's your reward ♪ you'll never be bored ♪ if you ask yourself, "what is this?" ♪ ♪ like curious... ♪ like curious... curious george. ♪ oh... captioning sponsored by nbc/universal narrator: most nights in the country, george waited up for an important call. allie: calling george! calling george! ooh! (hooting happily)