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>> and now "bbc world news." >> this is "bbc world news." an emergency landing at singapore airport for the world's largest passenger airport -- airline. quantas and singapore airlines have suspended flights of their super bus 380. >> we are doing a detailed investigation. >> a special undercover report from inside burma on the eve of the first elections in 20 years. does the boat offer the prospect of real change? a new un development report says higher rates of economic growth do not necessarily deliver greater prosperity for the poorest people, but progress is being made.

and the story of a palestinian girl growing up in an orphanage. we speak to julian schnabel about his latest film. hello and welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and also around the globe. passengers on board the quantas airbus which was forced to make an emergency landing in singapore have been speaking about the horrifying moment when they heard an explosion on a flight to sydney. both quantas and singapore airlines have suspended flights of their airline fleet. this is one of the most serious problems to affect the largest passenger airplane. >> we have a technical issue with our number two engine. >> it is what every passenger

dreads thousands of feet up, a tear in the wing clearly phone from inside the plane from singapore on route to sydney. >> we are going to hold for some time. >> the a380 was caught from the ground in indonesia as it dropped debris as a coup over the island. parts of the engine had fallen to the ground. at first, they thought it had crashed. but after circling and dumping its fuel, the aircraft prepared to make an emergency landing. it went smoothly and comely. all 433 passengers and 26 crew were safe. but there were left questioning what went wrong when they arrived back in singapore. >> i was sitting just behind the wing. i felt this loud boom.

everybody was pretty shaken by it. you can imagine how fall on it was. >> part of the engine fell off. the engine went dead. >> on closer inspection, the extent of the damage was clear. but these plans are designed to fly with one or even two engine failures. >> it looks like an untamed engine fire, but it is too early to speculate. we are doing a detailed investigation with the manufacturer, airbus, and the manufacturer of the engine, rolls royce. >> tonight, quantas has grounded its six a380 planes. singapore airlines has also grounded the plans they have with rolls-royce engines. the question for investigators and those flying from around the world is what caused this engine to fail while in mid-air. was it just an isolated

incident, or is this a problem that could affect all 1380 -- a 380 planned across the world? >> it has emerged that the engine that failed was identified three months ago as being potentially unsafe. the european aviation authority voiced concerns in an air worthiness directive. the british company rolls-royce make engines for just over half of the airbus a380s in service. we're speaking to a u.s. magazine based in london. how significant is the turbine problem that has been identified a few months ago? >> clearly, there was a problem which was subject to what they call an air worthiness directive, which is where the authorities deem the possible repercussions from damage or where they found in the engine

-- or wear they found in the engine that may find -- that may require inspections. that happens all the times in all kinds of aircraft. it was being inspected regularly. there is no direct link to the incident in singapore. it is one of the prime suspect, obviously. >> there are a lot of questions now about the a380, which has been flying commercially for three years. people cannot be blamed if they have concerns about its safety now. >> the safety was as advertised by the manufacturer of the airplane. it was flying three engines. the engine damage did not cause substantial damage to the aircraft. it is unusual to see an aircraft landing with bits of its engine missing and damage to the wing. airbus, rolls-royce, and the airlines will be very keen to get to the bottom of what caused this. >> rolls-royce make the engines. they say safety is of course of

paramount concern to them. do you know how many planes might be affected? >> just over 40 a380s in service, of which about half have this engine. the other half are flown with an american engine. the biggest operator is all power by the other engine, so they are not affected by this at all. >> do you know if any action has been taken since that report that identified the problem with the turbines in august? >> that report was requiring the operators to inspect the engines regularly, so that was the action taken. obviously, if the investigation determines that this incident was related to that earlier problem, they will have to look at some sort of modification to the engine. clearly, something major happens to the engine. we will expect something out of this. >> it could be some time before the investigation reveals any clear answers. >> the engine has been quite

badly damaged by the explosion. they have to piece together from the debris found on the island in indonesia the jigsaw to get to the bottom of what caused the original explosion. >> how long might that take? >> it can take weeks before they get a recommendation, and it may be much longer before they get to the point where there is a modification required. the incident that happened a couple of years ago to british airways was also rolls-royce, but crashed on the pad at heathrow. it took over a year before there were clear on what caused that. >> quantas and singapore airlines have grounded the fleet of the a380. that might go on for some time. >> the ground and may not go on for too long. they can do a ground inspection to make sure the engine is safe. but long-term consequences may take longer to establish. >> the man from "aviation week," with all the answers.

thank you. the people of burma go to the polls this weekend for the first time in 20 years. in 1990, an overwhelming majority voted for the pro- democracy leader aung san suu kyi, but the military ignored the results. the new polls are part of a so- called road map to democracy which many say is a sham. journalists are not being allowed into burma to cover the elections, but our correspondent enter the country as a tourist, and this is her report. >> the site the generals want outsiders to see -- contented and orderly monks, a far cry it from the uprising of three years ago. angry monks led an exasperated people in a nationwide protest against the government. to prove to the outside world that the rebellion is in the past, the generals are holding

an election, but i found the people inside the country somewhat underwhelmed. "i have to go and work in the paddy field," says this woman. "i do not have time for such things." can you blame them? 20 years ago, the people of burma flocked to the polls and voted for democracy. the generals are not going to allow that to happen again. this time, the generals have organized the elections according to the new constitution, to ensure however people vote their remain in control. the constitution guarantees the burmese military a leading role in the new parliament, with a veto over all legislation. aung san suu kyi, whose party won the 1990 election, is under house arrest again until after the election. she has called on the people of burma to boycott the poll.

but hundreds of pro-democracy candidates are defying her call for a boycott. why? >> we are participating in the election to have some kind of chance to find an alternative way to have democracy. we will fight to show the people how democracy works. >> but the government is not making it easy for them. opposition candidates have to find their own campaigns. the cannot criticize the current government. they must get permission for a meeting of more than five people. those selected will come here to burn up with new capital -- come here to burma's new capitol.

it is not on the tourist map and taking pictures without permission is forbidden. there are modern highways and town planning seen nowhere else in the country. huge ministry buildings are separated from one another by acres of jumbo plane. these are first pictures of the vast new parliament building where a vast number of seats are reserved for the military and many more will go to the government-approved party. no wonder those who led the people in protest three years ago are unimpressed. >> this election should give us democracy, but it will not. it is just to legalize their constitution. the people of burma are between a rock and a hard place. it is bad to go forward like this, but we do not want to go back either. >> but said the monasteries, the monks feed the hungry with their

left overs. the majority of the people here live below the poverty line. few of them believe that this election will affect their lives. sue lloyd roberts, bbc news, rangoon. >> an undercover report from burma. in today's other knows, the irish government has announced plans to cut 6 billion euros, about $8.50 billion next year, in order to reduce its record deficit. the savings will be made through spending cuts and tax rises. the government wants to reduce the deficit to 3% of gdp by 2014. this year, the deficit is set to reach an astronomical 32%. france says china has signed a number of multibillion-dollar trade deals during the visit of the chinese president. they include the purchase of airbus aircraft and deals on

nuclear power. in the u.s., california police have found a half kilometer tunnel under the mexican border that uses a railway system for smuggling drugs. border agents also found more than 20 pounds of marijuana. equipped with ventilation and lighting, the tunnel connects warehouses in the u.s. and tijuana, south of the border. this is "world news today." coming up, history is being made in germany with the ordination of the first female rabbi since world war ii. stay with us. the serbian president has apologized for the massacre of croat civilians by serb forces during the war of the 1990's. he made the apology during a visit to vokovar. more than 200 croats were murdered in a pig farm near the town in 1991.

he and his croatian counterpart laid wreaths at the site of the massacre and another town where 23 were killed. >> a short journey across the river danube for boris tadic, but a big symbolic gesture. he came to vukovar, where he was met by the croatian president. this was the first time that a serbian leader had come to the village to lay a wreath at the site of one of the worst atrocities of the ethnic conflicts that tore yugoslavia apart. in 1991, more than 200 croats were dragged from a hospital and executed on the site of a former pig farm. serbia has apologized for this infamous deed, but no serbian leader has come in person to say sorry until today. "i came here today to about to the victims, to pay my respects

to them, to express our sympathy. i came here to share words of apology, to create the possibility for serbs and croats to open a new page in history." vukovar was bombed repeatedly during a three month siege in 1991. the city changed hands between serb and croat forces in bloody fighting. hundreds were killed. less than 20 years on, grievances remain very strong. but it is hoped the ceremony will help in the slow process of improving relations between the balkan neighbors. bbc news. >> you are watching "world news today." these are our main headlines. it has emerged that the engine design that failed during takeoff and a quantas a380 super

jumbo was classified a few weeks ago as unsafe by the european aviation safety authority. some of the poorest countries in the world are making the fastest progress, according to the latest human development index report from the united nations. it says for example that bangladesh, which has lower economic growth than india, has seen more progress for its poorest people than in a india. oil-rich norway remains the best country in the world to live in, while some of which is classified as the least desirable. our international development correspondent has the story. >> in 1970, fewer than half of children in brazil went to school. now the figure is 85%. it is the kind of statistic the u.n. puts into their number cruncher to try to measure progress in human development. >> if a country was very powerful 20 or 30 years ago, and

only a few kids were able to go to school -- even the poorest countries in the world, we see that going up to 80%, which is a profound transformation, especially for girls. >> progress in some of the poorest countries in the world -- those like sub-saharan africa. it is not just a measure of economic wealth, but access to education, welfare, health care, equality between the sexes, and so on. they said things are better now because the have access to proper doctors. the report concludes that aid works. but after 20 years, the cannot point to any one system of government that is better than another for development. an economist says there is more than one way to get out of poverty. >> it is an ongoing global economic and political battle. that is the way to judge, rather

than how particular government policies adjust. >> in bangladesh, cheap credit and access to mobile phones have transformed lives, helping to show that progress for the poorest year has been better than in neighboring india, although economic growth is higher in india. the kind of surprising conclusion you get with the human development index. bbc news. >> in a moving ceremony in berlin today, germany's first female rabbi since the holocaust was sworn in. it marks a milestone in the rebirth of jewish life six decades after the nazis obliterated the once thriving community. from berlin, steven evans reports. >> it was an emotional ceremony. a woman wrote in black accepted a white prayer shawl, and said many things in the softest of voices. she came to germany from

ukraine, and said she united three cultures -- the jewish, the german, and that of the former soviet union. before the ceremony, she told the bbc what it would mean to her. >> i am not proud because i am the first one, first female rabbi after the war. but i am very happy because i had this opportunity. before the war, we had here a big jewish community in germany. i think that now we are continuing the tradition. >> this is where rabbinical students in berlin do most of their learning. if you want to know why alina's ordination is poignant, look at all that remains of this building from 1938. but since the fall of the soviet

union, many jews have migrated to germany. "jews came here because for them it was the land of milk and honey. they had chances and opportunities here more than in israel in 2004. in 2004, more russians emigrated to germany than to the state of israel. >> which means germany needs more rabbis. that puts focus on the quiet new one who makes history. steven evans, bbc news, berlin. >> an historic day there. greek police say they have successfully destroyed a letter bomb addressed to the french embassy in athens. the controlled explosion followed a spate of mail bombing to european leaders and embassies. two suspected leaders of a greek militant group were arrested on monday in connection to the attacks. our correspondent in athens says the latest bomb attempt give some clues about the motivation

of the group behind it. >> the bomb sent to the french embassy is the 14th that has been identified by the authorities. it was contained in a hollowed book written by a 19th century greek separatist with a return address to the archbishop of athens. that is the bombers' idea of a joke, but it aroused suspicion at the french embassy. date sent word back to the courier company, where the bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion. another career -- there had been five other suspicious parcels. the greek authorities to have been carrying out this screening of parcels destined for overseas addresses for almost 48 hours now -- this ban on freight being sent abroad is due to run out around midnight local time. the greeks say they have no reason to extend that ban. they obviously think that are getting through all the mail that is suspicious and will

complete their task and that normal service will be resumed tomorrow. in the meantime, they are appealing for the public to try to help them track down five suspected members of this left- wing group. they have to people in custody already, and they are facing the prospect of 25 years in jail for terrorist offenses. >> our reporter in athens. a new film by the american artist and director julien schnabel is causing controversy in the middle east. it tells the story of an orphaned palestinian girl after the first arab-israeli war. he based the film on a best- selling biography written by a journalist. but this personal tale is being seen as a political story.

>> how nice to see you. >> she will be fine. >> set in east jerusalem before the formation of israel in 1948 until the oslo agreement in 1983, it tells the story of four women against the background of the arab-israeli conflict. the film, which showed in festivals around the world, is the latest feature by the academy award nominated director. >> i had to shoot it in palestine, had to shoot it in israel. by going there, i learned that the landscape -- the landscape is the protagonist in the film. >> you might have heard there is an uprising, what has been called the intifada. >> it is based on a book by the same name. it is a first hand account of growing up in eastern jerusalem at the start of the first intifada in the '80s. the book also tells the story of

the author's mother, and explorers the relationship with her teacher, who owned the orphanage where she grew up. the best-selling novel, which was written in italian, which translated to 12 nations, but not to arabic, the author's mother tongue. >> i wanted to tell the story to honor my father, my teacher. also, i wanted to connect my prison with my future. i really wanted, in a way, to be at peace with my past. i wanted not to be ashamed anymore with what happened not only to me, my mother, and my family. >> the character in the film is played by frieda pinao. -- pinto. >> a lot of facts needed to be set straight, and she was the only one who could do it. but there were parts in the torture scene that i thought were not right. she should not be around that. after the scene, she came up to bat -- she came up to me and

said, "thank you for doing this for me. it helped me he'lal." >> i cannot go on like this. >> the film received mixed reactions. some accused it of being politically naive, and others accused it of being anti- israeli. there are questions of how a jewish director could tell a story of a palestinian woman. >> first of all, i never thought of myself as a jewish film director. all of a sudden, doing this film, it seems to be an issue that an american jewish director would make a movie about a palestinian girl. i think that is good. i do not mind being called that, because nobody has ever seen a film like this. certainly, a palestinian person would not make that movie. the combination of that with me is so unusual. >> that is it for me. goodbye.

>> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the 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.

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