>> gulf states have joined saudi arabia in withdrawing monitors from the arab league mission to syria. mitt romney releases his tax returns after pressure from rivals. and angry reactions from turkey after the french senate passed a law making it a criminal offense to deny that genocide was committed against armenians. welcome to "bbc world news. also, in the a judge in spain goes on trial for denying -- defined an amnesty on investigating human-rights abuses under franco. and creating the world's largest silicon textile. in the last hour, the gulf states have announced they are withdrawing their monitors from the arab league mission to syria. for more on the breaking news, our correspondent is there. john, we heard that the saudis would withdraw, was this necessarily going to follow? >> not necessarily, but it is happening now. six powerful countries and also qatar. so this is another big blow to the monitoring mission. they had just renewed the mandate for another month. at the same time, the gulf countries have called on the u.n. security council to take up the issue and take tough action against syria. that is more pressure on syria and particularly on russia and china, who until now have been vetoing a u.n. security council actions. the arab league is divided. padonia couple days ago the arab league did extend the mission and did not differ to the u.n. security council. so the arab world inseverable divided on how to deal with syria. >> the arab league leader yesterday said the violence had fallen to some degree while they were there. but the mission was massively criticized in any case. >> he would admit it is not a perfect mission, but he says at least while they are at a certain location they do give a degree of security and protection to protesters on the streets. that is what my colleague has been hearing as well in syria, that there is not complete condemnation from the opposition leaders about the mission. when there are monitors around, whoever is attacking the demonstrators to ease up. even if it provides some little short-term relief four protestors, the net effect is to allow the syrian government their time. the people who seemed most content to let it stay in place where the syrian government, which tells you a lot. >> thank you. the race to secure the republican nomination for the u.s. presidential election continues to build. mitt romney has finally released his tax returns after pressure from the media and viable candidates. he received $45 million in income over the past two years paying a tax rate of 13.9% in 2010. which is expected to rise still 15.4%. this tax rate is below that of most americans because much of his income is based on capital gains from investments. next to me is charlie, a former communications director. thanks for coming. there's been much debate in america about romney's tax record. we will get more detail, but what is the initial reaction? >> he paid legal tax and has not paid a penny more or a penny less than what he owed. the mormon church prize ethics and business and honesty in business very highly. >> because he is paying capital gains on his investments, he is paying much less than ordinary americans. his critics say that the last two years he might announce that he would come into politics at this level, so what about the last 10 years or 12 years? >> i don't know how much we have to look back on a person's tax records. the issue is whether he is honest. he is. does he pay less? yes. i may not have millions in shares like mitt romney, but i have some shares and i pay the same tax rates as mitt romney does on those capital gains and the same on interest. >> are those accounts in the cayman islands? >> there's nothing unethical or illegal about him having those. but you have to declare your income. all of my accounts are here in london. as long as i declare them as i do for the u.s. government every year, then that is. >> does not make him look incredibly out of touch with ordinary americans? >> no. he has been very successful and knows how to run a business. that is what he has been doing. >> will be damaged briefly? >> i don't. this will be a fast storm. the obama administration will try to play this 99% thing, but i don't think that will wash with most americans. we are country who prides success. we don't have the class warfare that we find in the united kingdom. >> thanks very much. the only u.s. serviceman convicted of involvement in the massacre of iraqi civilians six years ago will serve no more than three months in jail. the staff sergeant lead a squad marines who killed 24 people after a bomb attack on american troops. dereliction of duty. 10 people killed and more than 30 wounded in iraq after two car bombs exploded in solder city. one exploded near a group of laborers. there has been increased violence lately. the world's first human trials using a embryonic stem cells to treat diseases of the eye. two american women noticed some improvement in their vision. experts caution that years of tests are still ahead to approve the technique is entirely safe and effective. turkey is performing or threatening diplomatic retaliation against france. the parliament agreed to make it a crime to deny genocide against armenians during world war i. hundreds of thousands of people died and there's been a long- running dispute over the exact number and whether or not this matters. it is an enormously sensitive issue. tom explains. >> not many images exists like these. they share some of the death and destruction at the end of what was the ottoman empire. hundreds of thousands of armenians were killed between 1915 and 1918. what is in dispute is whether the killings constitute genocide. for armenians, that is not in doubt. nor is it for france. on monday night the french senate when they step further, adopting legislation that will make the ninth genocide punishable by a year in jail and a hefty fine. in armenia there was -- >> there is a history of friendship between the armenians and the french people. this is also for the protection of human rights worldwide. >> this is more of a sensitive area for millions of armenians in the wider diaspora whose ancestors were killed. turks believe president sarkozy and is seeking the support of armenians in the elections in april. the turkish government is not only angry. it has also started to respond. it said in a statement turkey is committed to taking all necessary steps against this unjust disposition which produces basic human values to enacting. turkey's 4 and minister scene outside his party headquarters warned france not takoma follow through on the new law -- and not to follow-throug through onw law. the bill could be signed as early as february. bbc news. >> we are bringing you pictures of the parliament in turkey. the turkish prime minister is speaking to his ruling party. we don't have a translation at the moment, but we will bring you more details on exactly what he is saying as soon as we can. the big issue right there in turkey. the euro, what have you got to say? >> we are talking once again about to greece and the meeting that did not come to agreement, the meeting between athens and holders of greek debt. we had a euro zone finance minister meeting yesterday. they came out and they rejected the offer on the table by these private debt holders. the debt holders are saying you want us to write off 50% of what the country owes us, ok, we will do that. but for the remaining debt, we would like athens to pay us over 4%. the euro zone and imf and germany are saying we don't accept that. we will only approve athens to pay around 3.5% in terms of the interest rate that is the sticking point. that's about half percent. to make it precise. the euro zone wants it below 4%. the euro zone finance ministers are telling greece that it has to make an agreement in a few days or you will not get the $130 billion bailout. they could default. >> marvelous. >> i don't know about that. >> irony. it all comes down to jobs. >> international labor, it's not a rosy picture. there's a global reports that says the situation -- the global labor market is worsening. they are very worried. 600 million jobs need to be created over the next 10 years. we have 1.1 billion people in this world without a job or in poverty. one out of three and a workforce don't have a job in the moment -- at the moment. it is a major concern. in about 17 minutes i will talk a little about irony. >> thanks for joining us. you're watching bbc world news. the defending australian open tennis champion knocks out the women's no. 1. here in britain the chief medical officer for england is writing to doctors over concerns about vitamin d deficiency within the population. if the recommends some people including young children and pregnant women should take a daily supplement. recent research found many people are not aware of the advice. now more. >> childhood rickets, seizures, and extreme cases -- death. up to one-third of youngsters don't get enough vitamin d. >> there's also suggested that the moment there may be a whole range of other diseases. the evidence is not clear yet, but there's research into almost all the major diseases at the moment that vitamin d deficiency might player roll. >> this is the main source of vitamin d. government guidelines say certain groups need daily vitamin supplements including pregnant or breast-feeding women, children under 5, and those over 65. according to recent research, most parents and a significant portion of health workers don't know anything about the recommendations. now the chief medical officer is stepping in. he says he will be contacting health professionals on the need to prescribe and recommend vitamin e supplements to at risk groups. this person's oldest son suffered seizures because she was not advised to take supplements during pregnancy. he's okay now, but it is crucial that doctors, nurses, and midwives understand the message and pass it on. bbc news reporting. >> hungary's controversial prime minister is due to meet the president of the european commission later and the talks will be on whether they can qualify for a loan from the european union and imf. the country needs to consider new rules which put its central bank at risk. this is bbc world news. gulf states follow saudi arabia and pulling their monitors out of the arab league mission to syria. multimillionaire republican presidential nominee mitt romney bows to pressure, releasing his tax returns for the past two years. the spanish judge who indicted a former chilean dictator is himself going on trial. balthazatom has this report from madrid. >> they want to remember the past. crimes committed under a dictatorship should now be remembered in a democratic spain, they said. they are supporters of this man. baltasar garzon. he was on trial last week and now will go on trial again. in 2008 he started to investigate alleged crimes committed during spain's civil war and under the dictatorship of francisco franco that followed. he stands accused of breaking spain's amnesty law which was brought in after franco died so that spain could move on. it is his second trial of the judge recognized around the world, which has serious implications about spain's silence and whether crimes committed in the past could be the subject of future investigations. baltasar garzon became a champion for human rights campaigners in 1998 when he indicted the former chilean dictator pimochet for crimes committed under his regime. in a roomful of spanish and foreign journalists in madrid, human-rights lawyers condemned the the judge's trial. they said this was the first time in an established democracy that a judge was being prosecuted for investigating alleged abuses of human rights. death,s after franco's someone is finally being prosecuted in spain in connection with his crimes. the great irony is that it is the very judge who saw to investigate those crimes. >> but not far away in his office full of files related to the case, the man whose organization brought to trial against judgthe judge said the l was politically motivated when he started to investigate alleged crimes during the franco era. >> undoubtedly, the judge has opened old wounds, which people of all political colors in spain had overcome and moved on from the franco regime. you have to take into account that he is a judge from left. >> a judge on trial for investigating alleged crimes and this has angered many in spain and abroad. but many others here feel the investigation started by him would achieve nothing but pain and perhaps reignite some of the divisions of the past. bbc news, madrid. >> a bit of an upset in austria. question no. one in the women's event going out in straight sets to the defending champion kim clijsters. it's been a tough match for caroline wozniacki. has she got what it takes? kim clijsters back in the women's game after retirement. issue better player than 10 years ago? caroline wozniacki has not quite made the step. >> the media talked to me sometimes like i am finishing my career and i have a year left. the fact is i have quite a few good years left hand and still improving and am a member of wimbledon. i will do my best and try to win even more. at the end of the day you can just do your best and nothing more. if your best is good enough, that's great. if not, then it goes to the other person. i will come back not only once, but more times. >> she is still the no. 1 until the end of this tournament, but then she palooza to any one of three players depending on how the results turnout. she is a comeback fighter, what you would expect. eder won his match. del potro was playing really well. >> international efforts are being stepped up to tackle the threat of a new food crisis in the sahara region of west africa. 7 million people and at risk of severe food shortages because of insufficient rainfall, poor crops, and damage from pests, and high prices in local markets. our world affairs correspondent reports from niger. >> this man and his family are struggling even harder than usual. at usual. after leaving his village in western niger two months ago, they are now trying to make a living in this district on the outskirts of the capital and keep honker at bay -- hunger at bay. they carry cement for people building houses in the area. some days they don't make any money. he and his wife have two children to provide for. this year like so many other families day have had a mere fraction of the normal harvest. >> there are a lot of people leaving their village and people who went to gonna or nigeria because of the difficult harvest. >> in this village, there are efforts under way to curb the honker migration and all the risks that go along with it. some of the poorest and most vulnerable are staying for now, constructing a basic irrigation system which will help developthe ability of future droughts and they are paid in grain. >> i would like to be given something that will last longer than food to help me raise animals or start a business. but sh >> but she says the work is good. this person gets a share of beans and millet distributed by the world food program. the un also provides a nutritious lunch for the children at the school in this area to help prevent them being pulled out of school. this is the kind of aid that makes the efforts to tackle the crisis with reducing malnutrition in the longer term and helping families with famine. education will play a big part in last. in a lifetime of these children, the country has seen the devastation. can the cycle of crisis be broken? bbc news, western niger. >> if you are afraid of creepy- crawlies, this might change your mind. silken thread extracted from spiders, this imported cape will go on display in london. probably not what you would wear to drop the children at school, but it is unique. it's made from the spread of more than 1 million golden orb spiders from nigeria. >> it is totally natural and this is the natural color. we have not tampered with ditka. -- with it. >> the spiders are clamped into special harnesses. a long continuous golden thread is then extracted by hand. after 20 minutes the spiders are released unharmed back into nature. the thread is woven on looms to produce the dazzling fabric. paul >> it is incredibly light and strong. you don't feel it when you touch it at all. you feel nothing. >> it has taken three years to make the cape, a labor of love for all those involved. even after all that time, nick has not conquered his fear of spiders. bbc news. >> we have all been in the cinema when a mobile phone rings. and joining. -- annoying. one musician responded in an unusual way when the telephone rang during his recital. >> ♪ [classical music playing] ♪ [mobile phone ringing] [musician playing the violin to the same tune as the mobile phone ringtone] [applause] >> that's a fantastic response. absolutely brilliant. "bbc world news. much more on all our news at our website bbc.com/news. the gulf arab states have announced they are withdrawing from the arab league observer mission in syria. they are calling on the u.n. security council to take up the issue to put pressure on the government. this is "bbc world news." >> 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.