14/02/2012 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Tanya Beckett. Violence flares

on the state of Bahrain. Police used tear gas and stun grenades as

the proposed new government try to mark the first anniversary of pro-

democracy protests. Officials in Thailand say a man

they believe to be from Iran is seriously hurt after trying to

throw a bomb at police in Bangkok. Back to square one. Eurozone

finance ministers' council meeting after concerns over the spotlight

latest austerity plans. Also coming up in the programme: Barack Obama

welcomes to the White House, the man expected to become China's next

president, our Internet matchmaking sides all that they promised?

The science of seeking someone Hello and welcome. One year ago

today, protesters in Bahrain inspired by the Arab Spring began

an uprising, a challenge to the Sunni Muslim dominated rulers from

the majority Shia community. Today, anniversary was marked by a ten

stand off and clashes between activists and the security forces.

-- tense stand off. Thousands of riot police took up positions in

the capital, Manama. In particular, Pearl Roundabout, which last year

became a symbol of Bahraini resistance. Here is Security

Correspondent, Frank Gardner. Bahrain's uprising. Thousands of

mainly Shia Muslim protesters have tried to converge year. They are

ringed by security forces. They have several villages under lock

them, determined to stop these protesters from blocking traffic in

setting up a protest camp. Given the large numbers involved, it is a

relief to the protest is not more violent. It is still a stark

reminder that the Sunni Muslim population have deep-rooted

grievances that need addressing. it any kind of democracy that

appointed Prime Minister for 40 years? We understand that people

should be represented in the parliaments. Frustration are

amongst Shi'ite villagers is obvious. The government blames

opposition parties for the failure of negotiations. The opposition has

been calling for reform for you but it has rejected every reform

initiative since February. It is hard to see that in a productive

liked. Bahrain's King Hammett commissioned an international

investigation into human rights abuses last year. It called for

sweeping reforms which it has promised to enact. Senior lawmakers

and policemen have been brought in from outside with cameras installed

in police stations. These demonstrators say that despite

earlier promises, some of those sacked for taking part in protests

have still not been reinstated. Bahrain's Shi'ite majority does

suffer discrimination and the government has been slow to address

this. The security forces were heavily criticised last year for

excess of brutality. Despite nightly clashes with men in

government, vandals, they have issued some restraint. They have

come under constraint -- attack from Molotov cocktails and tear gas

and have not always come out on top. The attacks are set to continue.

We will speak to a reporter in just a minute. Mohammed is a resident in

Sanabis village on the outskirts of Manama. Can you tell us what

happened here today, please? though. -- Hello. We wanted to go

to the town scare but the police forces gave us a chance to do so. -

- Square. We understand that a great number of people were

arrested. Is that what you which is as well? And number of people were

arrested. Police attacking homes and knocking down doors to enter

homes to arrest people. There had been people in the streets and

people are shouting. My cousin was in a house there. There was an arm

tank and seven men were arrested. - armed. What is the protesters

immediate objective? We wanted to go into the town square but their

tanks were everywhere, seven armed tanks were moving inside the

village. Muhammad, thank you very much.

I am joined now by our security correspondent, Frank Gardner. We

were hearing their from one of the protesters. What is the government

line on this? You would probably have to ask them. In a way, Bahrain

has dodged a bullet today. It was always going to be a day of clashes

with the first anniversary of the uprising. This time last year, it

resulted in multiple deaths. The security forces were not prepared

for the massive outpouring of demonstrators and shot several of

them dead. There were then funerals with more people dying at the

funerals and a terrible cycle of violence. They seem to be much

better prepared. The deployed in force but seemed to show some

restraint, which is hard to believe given the footage. In these

villages, they have legitimate political grievances, but at the

same time, there probably undermining their cause in the eyes

of the rest of the country through this vandalism. Twitter is

absolutely alive with people on both sides of it, with the protest

are saying, help us, we're freedom fighters. The rest of the country

saying, these people are vandals. They are setting fire to property

and attacking police. They are firing darts at police. There are

two sides to this and Bahrain is a very polarised place. There is very

little common ground between the two. You have been covering the

story for a long time. Is this the beginning of a new cycle of

violence? I do not think it is. If anything, it is an enormous release

no one was killed today. -- relief. I think it is an urgent reminder to

the government that it has not much time and it needs to sit down. It

is an urgent reminder to the main opposition party that they have to

find some kind of common ground. Both sides are blaming the other.

The government have said that they have offered through the Crown

Prince's initiative, a fully elected parliament. They have

offered to change electoral boundaries to make it more

democratic and so on. The opposition are saying we're not

seeing any substantive concessions and it is all lip-service. They are

both quite a far we're part and there is no question that they are

people on the monarchy who would very much like the current state of

affairs to continue. They would like to continue the upper hand and

there is a hard line caucus within the monarchy who do not want to

give up any concessions to the Shi'ite majority, who are perhaps

not the majority of residents over all but are a majority of Bahrain

nationals. Hardliners are saying, give them nothing, and give them

the full punishment. I have seen posters saying hang of protesters.

At the same time, there are moderates within the government who

are saying that we cannot survive like this. 20 years from now, we

will be gone if we continue like this, so we have to find common

ground. Police in Thailand say a man they

believed to be an Iranian has lost both his legs and a bomb explosion.

Witnesses say the man was about to throw the bomb at police when it

exploded. The man who was taken to hospital was one of five people

injured in a series of explosions and a busy commercial centre of

Bangkok. The areas where the explosions

occurred were sealed off as the authorities tried to piece together

the train of events. The first blast had been up in a house close

to the centre of Bangkok. Then, one of the men inside had tried to fail

-- hail a taxi. It failed to stop and he appears to after a bomb at

the vehicle. There was then a third explosion. This same man had

attempted to throw another expose about police. He missed and the

device blew up causing him serious injury. We discovered the injured

man's passport. It is an Iranian passport. It shows he entered

Thailand and then to Bangkok last Wednesday. He had bombs. He used

them three times and we are trying to defuse bombs inside the house.

Officials are not prepared to speculate but these explosions, one

month after security measures were stepped up following warnings of

possible terrorist threat. Also in January, Thai authorities found a

large supply of bomb-making materials near the capital. The

American embassy said there could be attacks in Bangkok. There is no

sign of who the attackers might have been targeting, but with a

suspected link to Iran, Israel already saying this was an

operation sponsored by it Tehran. The head of the eurozone countries

has called off an EU finance ministers meeting scheduled for

Wednesday because Greece has still not met all the necessary

conditions. Instead of a face-to- face meeting, it will now just be a

conference call. What sort of assurances is he

looking for? There are two conditions he still wants Greece to

meet. They are, first of all, they have to find an extra 325 million

euros in savings on top of the austerity package that the

parliament passed on Sunday night. Secondly, the euro group once

written pledges from the main political leaders fear that they

will implement the austerity measures and cuts before elections

in April. Added pressure for Greece and the euros on is aware that if

the pressure is increased on this country, they feel, the European

Union feels, that Greece will deliver more than it has in the

past because there is a lot of frustration at the haste of pace

here in Greece. Time is of the essence here because we're talking

of 20th March as the next repayment that has to be met. Is there a

sense that this could in the end prove counter-productive and be

could be reaching that point now? It could certainly backfire in

terms of the order many great people here who feel incredibly

frustrated that the barrage of austerity cuts that had been forced

upon them. There is already a growing sense of anti-European

sentiment here and the feeling that Greece's financial future is very

much in the hands of the European Union now. Particularly in the

hands of Germany and there is a lot of anti-German sentiment around

that a lot. Yet more pressure and more demands will go down very

badly with the Greek public. The government are very aware they are

relying entirely on his bail-out and it is a vital lifeline for this

country to avoid bankruptcy next month. The reckoning is that more

pressure to implement the cuts, for them to not just the there will

simply do so, will mean that they will go along with it because the

daylight is so essential. The next take a look at some of the day's

other news. Chinese leaders have told visiting

European officials that Beijing wants to do more to help Europe is

of its debt problems. The Prime Minister Wen Jiabao did not give

any other assurances regarding money.

Italian prosecutors have appealed against the decision last year to

throw out the murder conviction of Amanda Knox and her former

boyfriend for the killing of the British student, Meredith Kercher.

At the time, the Italian appeals court said the evidence did not

hold up. The High Court is expected to issue its decision towards the

end of the year. With football, one of the world's

best-known clubs, Glasgow Rangers, has entered financial

administration. The Scottish champions have faced financial

difficulties for some time and are awaiting the verdict of a tax

tribunal. Rangers where Uefa Cup runners-up four years ago and have

won the Scottish title a record 54 times.

He is China's tomorrow man. The current vice-president is widely

tipped to take over as China's leader. As befits a leader in

waiting, he is honing his international diplomacy with a

visit to the United States. It comes when ties between Beijing and

Washington, the two worlds biggest economies, a strained because of

human rights. President Obama today welcomed him to the White House

saying the US sought the White -- China's piece for rise as positive,

although with it, comes more TRANSLATION: If nothing goes wrong

for them, these men will but the President's next year. In their

first meeting they set the tone. President Obama welcomed Wen Jiabao

with a cabinet. With power and prosperity comes increased

responsibility. We want to work with China to make sure everyone is

working by the same walls of the world when it comes to the economic

system, ensuring there is a balanced trade flow. It also means

that on critical issues like human rights we will continue to

emphasise what we believe is the importance of recognising the

aspirations and right of all people. The Chinese leader was more guarded.

TRANSLATION: At the main purpose of my visit is to implement the

important agreement that was reached and to do some work on a

work relationship and leave it in the right direction so we can build

a relationship on mutual respect. From there Oval Office meeting took

talks with Cabinet members, there was a lot of substance on the

agenda. The Obama administration went above protocol to show respect.

There was also a lavish lunch at the state apartments. For the

United States, this is about building a rapport and getting a

better sense of how the Chinese vice-president inks and operates.

For him, it is a chance to show how he operates on the world stage.

know you will be visiting I you were, where you visited when you

were a governor. I understand you are also going to Los Angeles.

it is a carefully choreographed visit to show that Xi Jinping is a

man of the people and will potentially make a good leader.

Andrew Billo is Senior Program Officer for Policy in the Asia

Society's New York Public Programs Office. One is always looking for

some sort of change in relations between China and the US, all

attempts at political one this. Are we getting there with this new

future leader? Absolutely. I think this is a critical visit, in light

of the potential leadership change in China and the US. It does bode

very well. What do you think is most important in the US-China

relationship? Trade has been there for a long time and the issue of

the currency strength, or tackled it really. Is that still top of the

agenda? Yes. The trade and currency issues will continue to be in the

political arena in the election year. Fundamentally, both countries

have the same interests, which are economically based. They had

concerns for the coming months and years. They need to look to each

other to learn and recognise that despite the differences between the

two countries, fundamentally, both share a common interest. Do you

think that there was room on the agenda to discuss, for example, the

European financial crisis and Syria, or do you think the United States

is more interested in honing its own interests and relationship with

China? At this point, given that Zayd Jin Ping is not President, it

is an opportunity to focus on their relationship. The more pressing

issues regarding Syria I think will be left off the agenda in favour of

looking at how in light of the situation, the potential of both

leaders to work together and understand each other. Did you see

a fundamental difference in personal style? Yes. The Chinese

vice-president is an insider. His father was a senior member of the

Communist Party in China. President Obama is a Washington outsider who

came from a diverse background. Once they had these differences, I

think be vice-president, whose daughter studies in the United

States, has an understanding of American culture. Thank you for

joining us. As millions of couples around the

world celebrate Valentine's Day, thousands of them will attest to

the seemingly scientific match- making abilities of internet dating

sites. Online dating is growing at a phenomenal rate with many sites

claiming their algorithms can help singles find their perfect match.

However, one American psychology professor says such algorithms are

not scientifically valid and despite some sites boasting

thousands of success stories, the science behind match-making can't

yet be taken seriously. Joining eight is the managing director of

one of our popular website. Sir, How does the process work? It is

less about the up orisons and what they don't like, it is about what

they like. So oh you are looking for a profile that is replicated?

We are not mathematical geniuses, it so weak employ a third party

tall that makes recommendations. I am joined by Eli Finkel, an

Associate Professor of Social Psychology at Northwestern

University in Chicago. Do you think there is anything in this? I think

that it is probably Banque, although I did not here at the

entirety of the previous speaker. I should make an important

distinction. Do I think an algorithm can detect who like, but

that is not the goal of online dating. But goal is to get off-line,

develop a relationship that has the potential to be long-term. So, are

you saying you don't think there is any scientific structure that can

be applied to online dating? I am not saying that it will. In fact,

over the last 80 years, relationship scientists who use the

empirical evidence have discovered all sorts of things about what

predicts relationship will bring in the long run, but that work is

being largely ignored by the algorithm matching sites. Does that

relate to a couple who are already together, or does that relate to

finding to people who fit? Where would the online dating services

dismiss this? There are three things you can use to put it

relationship well-being. Firstly, independent information about

people. Secondly, personal dynamics. Thirdly, things they have in common.

The problem with the way the current match an algorithm site

work, they rely on the first of those three, and it turns out that

although you can identify who is likely to be a bad relationship for

almost anybody using methods like that, you cannot use methods like

that to detect which two people are uniquely compatible. That is

interesting. There is information it is difficult for a website to

get access to. I agree. We do not match on hard attributes, so we go

down the behavioural algorithm. We also believe in testing and

chemistry, meeting up for a quick coffee, for example. When our

members do come to wasn't so they have found love, we do not asked

them whether or not it was the algorithm. Do you have any proof

measuring your success. We don't, but a study front end to end would

be interesting. When people meet in a bar, for example, the environment

is different. So you are a part - that so you are up against a lot of

competition. We are, but we will continue using behavioural

algorithms when it comes to matching. Thank you.

A reminder of our main news - there has been a massive security

operation in Bahrain to stop protesters marking the first

anniversary of the uprising. The authorities have sealed off roads

and deployed armoured vehicles in the capital and outside the city.

But least in Thailand say a man who they suspect is an Iranian has had

both his legs blown off after attempting to throw a bomb at

police. A man was one of by people injured in three explosions in a

busy district of Bangkok. The first occurred at a house where it is

thought that three Iranians were living. That is all from the

programme. That's it for now. Well, what does your Ballantyne --

Valentine's Day evening were the have in store? High pressure is

sitting to the West. Weather fronts will try to push in. There are

north-westerly winds. As they come in from the north-west, there will

be some brighter skies in central and eastern part as we had to the

afternoon. However, there will be cloud across the East and South

East. Three central and -- fruit central areas, it will stay bright.

Northern Ireland will be fairly cloudy with highs of nine degrees.