>> hello and welcome. >> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news."

>> half of a million public sector jobs are to go in the biggest cut to the state in peacetime britain. a hard road to a better future. >> today as the day that britain stepped back from the brink. when we confront the bills from a decade of debt. >> in france, pension reforms with more clashes on the streets. accusations of fraud. one out of four votes for afghanistan's parliament from the elections declared invalid. welcome to our pbs viewers in america and around the globe. the one found guilty of murdering her rival by sabotaging a skydiving

parachute. the business of pregnancy is growing and growing. hello, the world's six largest economy has announced the biggest spending cuts since the second world war. the british finance minister says that they are essential to drag britain back from the economic brink. cut striven by ideology and a reckless gamble with people's livelihoods. the country currently has an 11% budget deficit. mr. osborn announced plan that savings of 83 billion pounds. there has been an average 19% cut in department of budgets.

nearly half of a million jobs will be lost across the public sector. the pension age will increase to 66 by 2020. >> are the cuts going to hurt? >> the chancellor met the treasury, having promised not to cut national health service, with plenty of other budgets in his sights, determined to stick with it produced a massive budget deficit. >> at 109 billion pounds we have the largest structural budget deficit in europe at the time when the entire world is concerned about high deficits and economic stability relies on the late concerns. to back down now would be a road to economic ruin. we will stick to the course and secure the country's stability.

>> i am told mr. osborn announced $120 billion worth of spending cuts. have a billion jobs in the public sector. he also announced that state pension age by 2020, the welfare budget cut by $10 billion, spending at the foreign office cut by 20%. >> for some members, this is their ideological objective. for many folks, this is what they came into politics for. >> britain is not alone in needing to cut its budget deficit. the unrest in greece underlined the need for action in most economies. compared to 10.7% in the world's

largest economy, the u.s.. after its cutts, greece has a deficit of 11% with germany having a deficit of 5.4%. hence the need for drastic measures in britain. >> once in denmark in the early 1980's. >> one key question now is whether these measures will be enough to deliver the savings required. there are economic uncertainties as well. will growth be damaged? will the public workers be out of a job? the verdict may not be clear before then. >> full details on our web site. the french president has ordered riot police to reopen fuel depots blocked by days of

strikes, determined to end the wave of strikes that have partially paralyzed the country, insisting he will press on with a plan to raise the french retirement age from 60 to 62. >> for the third day running, violence in a paris suburb, roaming the streets, searching for a confrontation. there were similar scenes in leon, where the police fought running battles with protesters. a touchstone for general grievances around the country and a pretext for protesters to join in. riot police broke up three blockades at night in the west of the country, although other pickets have appeared elsewhere. leading to a 500% jump in fuel

consumption. tonight, 3190 petrol stations are closed with others running low. they're promising a robust response. now authorizing the use of the special intervention force to break the blockade, the equivalent of a swap he. is not just to get at the refineries. it is chaos around the country. several hundred workers came to paris airports with fuel shortages and major disruptions around the country. some have already revise their plans. the pension bill will be approved by the senate, perhaps on thursday evening, although that will not be the end of it. some unions argue that the process should continue after further legislative steps are taken before it becomes law.

2006, the student protest in the controversial labor reform bill, with no sign that president sarkozy is about to represent -- relent. >> a sad day for football, the world government body has suspended its executive committee members implicated in a vote selling scandal. members tonight offering to sell their votes in the world cup. a saudi prince has been jailed for life for murdering his servant in a london hotel. the iranian government has said that three american hikers will face trial, meeting their families in may, arrested when

they strayed across the border from iraq. in afghanistan, this critical year, the country's democracy has suffered a final blow after the parliamentary election being cleared invalid by the election commission. quentin somerville reports now. >> this mobile phone footage seems to show the ballots in action. across the country, fraud was rampant.

the independent election commission says that 224 candidates were involved in fraud. >> i do consider them a success in a situation like in afghanistan. in such an environment conducting an election is a success, of conducting a better election than the previous election is a great achievement. >> irregularities were to be expected, not much better or worse than other elections. afghanistan's international partners need these elections to be credible. >> these are only preliminary results with 224 disqualified

candidates subject to appeal with final results in the election being weeks away. >> the supreme court in turkey has said that the violation of head scarves of violates the secular constitution. the governing party has been seeking a compromise to get rid of the band. four or more than 80 years old, but the other 120 are not eligible for taking part. a report in new zealand has reported that the indigenous newsdealer language is in danger of dying out. fewer and fewer young people are

learning it. a belgian skydiver found guilty of murdering a rival, the victim was sent plummeting to her death at the center of their affections. >> spending almost every weekend skydiving, in 2006 he felt -- she fell to her death. the main in reserve parachute had been sabotaged. both women were lovers of the same man. there was little forensic evidence. prosecution persuaded the jury for the motive and opportunity to murder rivals. this case has gripped the country's attention as they are still protesting innocence, sentenced later this week.

>> still to come, a german air risk is the keeper millions. first, to a marriage of the modern and the mystical. faith healers have taken part medicine in malaysia. elements of those treatments are under question. health officials are afraid that road practitioners are using a new law to crack down on offenders. >> a traditional site across malaysia, practicing their art for many years. tours hundred and 50 people, with repeated chanting and the occasional laying on of hands, it decided intervention to kill the patient.

>> god created and can heal the illness. man does not possess the power to heal. >> partly this continue -- continuation of faith healers that has regulated this kind of alternative. government officials say that anyone infringing could lose their licenses. >> now they can not cheat or molest patients. if they do anything outside of the guidelines we can take disciplinary action. >> for the moment, this applies only to the islamic faith healers. officials said they may expand it to include spirit meetings. something that those at the chinese temple regard warily. they say they provide an important service. >> if you have any problems,

deities will help you to overcome them. >> they hope their treatment of the subject will allow faith healing to continue alongside more modern medicine. boo>> latest headlines for you,e british government has laid out the biggest reduction in public spending since the second world war. president sarkozy of france has ordered police to reopen fuel depots that are being blocked by protesters. a big day for britain in the battle to regain control of the economy. perhaps lessons can be learned from latin america. nations like brazil are blooming when others are cutting to the bone. details from tom barrett's. >> back in america, namely its

beauty. in recent decades its finances were not so pretty. new reports in the region just offer more confirmation that things are changing with but american economy is growing faster than expected, the economies of south america of the biggest winners. gdp growth this year in brazil is expected to exceed 7%. the chilean economy has recovered after this year's earthquake. why is south america enjoying relatively high levels of growth so soon after a global downturn? partly because of the growth of domestic industries, like cars that are billed to in brazil. the fact that south american countries have developed their own industries and maintain and strengthen growth in the future is one of the most significant findings of the report. the imf warns that the investment needs to grow at a sustainable pace. take the marathon approach,

rather than a sprint. the other main factor is south american exports to emerging economies. chile's exports huge amounts of copper to china. commodity prices are relatively high and predicted to remain so. meaning the south american economies are less dependent on the united states. the same cannot be said for the economies of countries in the caribbean, which are highly dependent on tourism from the united states in europe. their growth is slow. in central america of the growth is faster. once again, central america is struggling because of its strong link to write about -- relatively sluggish u.s. economy. >> do you still have time for an afternoon nap? in spain it has long been a part of daily life, now at risk in an

increasingly healthy -- hectic world. >> in the middle of a madrid shopping mall, something strange is going on. it is the first ever contest to find the best siesta sleeper. every hopeful gets one of these to measure their heart rate. despite the game, the aim is to map for as close to 20 minutes, if you can. judge eduardo has two clear favorites in this round. elegant no. 5 in a landmark dressing down. no. 4 went out last night to give himself an advantage. to some this is madness, but some others argue it is a healthy choice. >> siesta is good for work.

if you are breasted, even do your work much better. >> even in the center of the spanish capital, many shopkeepers seem to agree. look at what happens at 2:00. but does anyone sleep anymore? kelly says that there is no time. he goes home, eats, takes the kids to school, goes back to work. >> it seems that the spanish really are losing this tradition. he only 16% admitted to taking a nap after lunch. >> extra points for the lark -- for the loudest storing, the spanish are hoping to wake again to the merits of a good old map. >> divorce courts in england and

wales will have to give more weight to a prenuptial contract. a german eris has one a long, legal battle over their fortune. until now, premarital agreements are generally on how to divide their assets, but they have not been binding. >> german erez, victorious after a legal battle with her husband. the prenuptial agreement that they signed was fair. >> they promised each other that if anything went wrong between them, they would not make financial claims against each other. it was meant to be married for love, not for money. >> worth an estimated 100 million pounds, married in 1998. an investment banker. the couple lived in london.

when they separated, he was working at university on a fraction of his former salary. the divorce settlement was up held at just under 500 billion pounds. >> this is not about a change in the law. each will be decided case by case. the clearest indication yet that given the right set of circumstances, prenuptial agreements will be upheld. >> in 2012 a report on whether a change in the law is needed. >> hundreds of childless couples from around the world have been traveling to india to have children through surrogate mothers. concerns about irregularities have forced the government to bring in regulation.

we visited the town there to find out more. >> these women have little in common, but share a special bond. pregnant with her twins, the second time that the indian woman has lent her womb to the american. >> i had a positive experience, which is why we are doing this for the second time. because the process went smoothly for me, i wound up starting a business because of that to facilitate other companies -- couples with a smooth transition. >> surrogacy is a multimillion dollar business in india. >> it was initially difficult to give up the child. one tends to get attached.

but i am getting paid for it. >> it is all happening here i am ireland, -- all happening here, in this little town in western india. in the past few years it has transformed through the surrogacy industry, led by women from surrounding villages. as surrogacy remains largely unacceptable in this society. >> many surrogates are forced to hide their pregnancies, as very few people in their communities would believe that a baby can be conceived without having sex. but these concerns are the least of their worries.

>> the issue of the health of the surrogate mother is a concern. there are some markets going on between the surrogates. >> the indian council of medical research has suggested legislation for this booming and unregulated market. after hundreds of stories of abandoned babies and the legal tangle regarding a japanese couple divorced before their child birth. the new legislation would prevent doctors from taking care of the surrogates. in short, the baby cannot legally enter the parent country. the new laws mean that this doctor would have to change the way that she works.

currently she helps a surrogate mother is in hospital. -- she helps surrogate mothers in hospital. >> we should not create harder obstacles for the procedure. these agencies are so difficult. how could i know? >> she sends up accusations that surrogates are being exploited, saying that their health and finances are well taken care of. in the meantime, more babies will be born to surrogate slight these. changing the face of this booming industry in india. >> just an update from 24 hours ago, lady thatcher does still

receiving treatment in hospital. the former british prime minister was suffering from a condition affecting her muscles. her son says that he is not expecting her to be discharged for several days. the main news, the british government has announced what it says is the biggest cut in spending since the second world war. george osborn has told parliament that the savings are essential to drag britain back from what they called the economic brink. many government departments will lose one-quarter of their budgets. he will get much more on that and international news online at bbc.com. meeting in touch with myself and most of the team on twitter.

thank you so much for watching. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global

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