>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding for this presentation is 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?

>> and now "bbc world news." >> the bloodshed in syria continues as arab league observers are right to monitor the violence and historic moment as the man chosen as the next leader of north korea has his first known meeting with the south koreans. japanese experts stand accused of multiple failures in response to the nuclear disaster in fukushima earlier this year. a teenager stabbed to death on one of london's most famous shopping street as crowds flock to the sales. welcome to bbc news, broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, and al sadr on the globe. coming up later, why this is becoming -- and also of around the globe. coming up later, why this is

becoming an increasingly rare sight. >> the first group of arab league observers has arrived in syria to monitor attempts to end the violence in the country. it is believed they are in damascus. syrian opposition leaders are urging them to go to homes immediately, while monday they will -- at least 20 people were killed in shelling. here is this report from beirut. >> this is what the activists want the arab observers and the world to see, and verifiable, but hard to fake images posted on the internet of destruction of what they say is the country's third biggest city. they also showed pictures that

are too gruesome for us to broadcast of the limp and leading corpses of at least four gunmen struck and amidst the rubble of one of the districts. activists are calling it a massacre. this has been going on for weeks, with people reported killed every day. under the peace agreement signed with the arab league, the government is supposed to withdraw armed forces from the street. apart from the shelling, it is clear that the tanks are still there now. the arab observers want to go as soon as they can. the plan in team, which arrived last week, has been seen -- has been taken to see the aftermath of the double bomb attack on friday. it was an unprecedented development, of which the authorities say the uprising was based on terrorism. the regime -- activists say the regime itself staged the bombing. the monitors are hoping the authorities will be at least as

cooperative in letting them see what is happening. >> a panel investigating the nuclear incident in japan, which followed the sazanami in march, has criticized the authorities handling -- the tsunami in march, has criticized the accord is handling the incident, saying the operators and regulators failed to anticipate such a disaster and grossly underestimated the risks of a tsunami and the risimpact it wod have. >> more than nine months ago, the fukushima plant in meltdown, its cooling system knocked out by a tsunami. it is now stabilized, but the incident is badly -- was badly mishandled, according to a report by the japanese government. it left holddowns unnecessarily exposed to radiation are not passing on what it knew. tens of thousands were evacuated, but the warnings could have come much sooner. it also criticized authorities

for seriously underestimating the threat posed by a tsunami. the size of the waves destroyed four reactors and set off the world's nuclear disaster for 25 years. it was more than double what they were prepared for as the crisis unfolded earlier this year. workers at the plant were called heroes for risking radiation to save their country. now the report said they were not trained to handle emergencies like a power shutdown caused when backup generators were destroyed, and misunderstood many of the problems that arose in the cooling systems. the company's own report said there was no way it could have prepared for the disaster. reports from witnesses and hundreds of people, including government officials and workers at the plant, said the approach at the time damaged their efforts. the head of the report said

that when those in charge saw that the tsunami was beyond what they conceived, it was a denial of responsibility. that attitude, he said, may have led to a lack of precautions that would have been taken. the report will be full of lessons to be learned when it is released in full by the middle of next year. >> at two prominent south koreans have met the leader of what will the north -- and have met what will be the leader of north korea. they talked with the leader for about 10 minutes after arriving in p'yongyang, to pay their respects to his father, kim jong il. it is the first known meeting between the new leader and south koreans. how a very historic occasion. the >> that is right. south korean had hoped to mend

fences somewhat by allowing these two families to go to the north to pay their respects to kim jong-il. and as you say, their picture is now on local television showing that meeting happening as the two women were paying their respects to kim jong-il. they met kim jong-un, the presumed successor. we are hearing from government officials this morning that the two south koreans have also visited the titular head of state for not with the power that kim jong il had common -- a head of state this morning. he does not have the power that can john hill had, but -- that kim jong il had, but they had a meeting with him already. it may be that they met kim jong-un as they were paying their respects and had a moment with him at the scene.

it is not clear exactly what happened. either way, officials are sticking firmly to the line that there was no official message being passed. there was a purely a personal trip to express their sympathies. and that is what happened. >> representatives are saying this is an entirely private trip. there is no hidden message from government to government being relayed? >> it is very difficult to believe from the outside, isn't it? but that is what officials have been saying very firmly. these two families with very strong ties to north korea, they received condolences in person from north korea when their respective husbands died. this would seem to be a typical arrangement for their -- for them to pay their respects. as one of the ladies from south korea said before they passed the frontier into north korea

that she hoped it would improve relations with north korea and start a new era between the two countries. there is a sense that this could help improve that relationship, but neither side, no one involved in this is saying anything like an official message being delivered. >> many thanks. a chinese court has announced that the veteran activist has been jailed for 10 years. he was found guilty of subversion proposing essays on line calling for political reform. the united nations has condemned this latest move against human rights activists by the chinese authorities as part of a very unfortunate trend. jonathan joseph reports. >> he was jailed for posting essays on line. the 57-year-old had been an active human rights campaigner for decades. the links he has posted to sites like these criticized chinese

authorities for oppressing human rights. they also talk about charter 08, a manifesto published many years ago that calls for an end to one-party rule. speaking to the news rate -- the news agency by telephone, his wife expressed her frustration at the jail sentence. >> if the government wants democracy and progression, you need people to speak out there- opinions. this is not to overthrow you, to subvert you. does he have an army? does he have a police force or courts? with a piece of paper and a pen can he said for you? -- can he subvert you? >> more direct actions saw him jailed for taking part in the tian'anmen square protests more than tent -- 20 years ago. just last week, he was also jailed for subversion. and earlier this year, the well- known artist ai weiwei was also jailed, supposedly over a tax

bill. it is part of a trend that the u.n. has condemned. the statement from the human rights office said we are alarmed at what appears to be a very unfortunate trend on the restricting of activities of human rights defenders and freedom of expression in china. the chinese government has been accused of launching a crackdown against dissidents this year. supposedly, their response to calls for arab spring style protests. but they claim they are simply upholding the rule of law. >> i do not know the specific details of the case you mentioned, but i would like to point out that china is a country that abide by the rule of law. >> he faces 10 years in prison. he says an appeal will be few trial, so he will not bother. -- will be futile, so he will not bother. but many others will be facing the same fate. >> police in london say they are investigating two stabbings of

one of the busy shopping street in the world. in the first incident, and 18- year-old man was stabbed to death as thousands shot nearby. that happened during a fight between two groups of young people. >> police officers had to hold back thousands of shoppers intent on bargain shopping in the heart of london as the news filtered through that a young man had been stabbed to death. there had been an argument inside a foot locker shoe store. the fight spilled out onto the pavement outside and a faith -- and 18-year-old was fatally wounded. police had to begin gathering evidence. >> he would seem to have been stabbed, but i cannot absolutely confirm that yet. but certainly, a weapon has been used. what happened precisely, afraid, i don't know. and it appears to be two again -- two groups of young people opposing each other in this.

>> a number of arrests have been made and a number of knives retrieved. police have told me that this section of oxford street will be cordoned off at least through tomorrow. it should be one of the busiest sections of shopping in britain, but instead it is a crime scene. >> a second attack was reported nearby tonight. another young man was taken to hospital. it is too early to know whether they are linked. >> prayers have been held in the nigerian capital abuja for those who perished in the bomb attacks on sunday. at least 40 were killed when the churches and of these buildings were blown up on christmas day. one group has claimed the attack. >> the military kept guard outside while hundreds gathered inside. st. theresa's catholic church. they are here to remember friends and relatives killed in

the bombing. during the service, priests lead to the obligation in prayer. at least 30 people were killed, and dozens more were injured. it was one of five bombs planted by islamist militant group boko shahram. at -- boko haram. it wants to impose islamic sharia law, and appears to be willing to go to any length to make that happen. over the past year, the number of attacks by the group has escalated, resulting in clashes with security forces, which have met -- left many dead and many more fearful for their lives. the international community has condemned the christmas day bomb attacks as senseless violence and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. bbc news. >> still ahead, the future is

not so bright for the uranga tapings of indonesia. -- rang it hangs -- oragutangs of indonesia. it is estimated that in millions of shops across the u.k., bargains on the day after christmas. many shops are offering huge discounts. >> and they are off. the customers came from around the world to be first through the doors of suffrage as in london. they helped break a sale records for the firm today. its four branches made more than 1 million pounds per hour. >> [unintelligible] >> i don't really have a budget. i just came to have a look around and see what bargains i can get, really. >> they were weary already, having lined up long before

dawn. some shops were several thousand strong by opening time. shoppers reported big increases in the numbers of people looking for bargains. when the shops are as busy as this, it is hard to imagine that this year has been a tough time for retailers. but it has been for many, of course. some did not even make it to christmas. and for those that remain? -- and for those that remain, it will be make or break for some. stores have been inviting customers to come in with big price cuts. profit margins have been cut to the bone. >> there is a massive margin impact to this. some of the stores will come out of this in january and february and look back counting the figures and say this was a not very good christmas. >> shoppers are drawn out by the big farmers -- big garmentbarga.

researchers will be checking -- and retailers will be checking their sales to see if they got enough to cover their costs. bbc news. >> this is bbc news. i am gavin grey. the headlines this hour, the main contingent of arab league observers has arrived in syria, to monitor an initiative aimed at ending months of violence that has killed thousands of people. the japanese government panel has accused experts of multiple failures in response to the nuclear disaster of fukushima earlier this year. queen elizabeth's has been, the duke of edinburgh, is spending a fourth night in the hospital where he had driven for a blocked coronary artery. he is said to be eager to leave hospital, but is not expected to attend the church service on tuesday. here is this update. >> the duke of edinburgh will

spend a fourth night here at the hospital in cambridge share. a spokesperson says the duke remain under observation and in good spirits. the queen is being kept informed. prince philip, who is 90, has not had a royal visitors today. yesterday, six of his eight grandchildren came to the hospital and spent about 45 minutes at his bedside. they included prince william, prince harry, princess beatrice, and others. on saturday, the queen and the couple's four children also came here to hospital. it is understood the duke is eager to return to norfolk, where the royal family are celebrating christmas. we're hoping for an update from buckingham palace in the morning. >> despite the gloomy global economic outlook, brazil's economy is surging ahead and is expected to soon overtake britain as the sixth richest

nation. their growing wealth has defined the growing trend. >> the uk, like other developed economies, struggled to revert -- struggled to emerge from recession and pay down its government debt. but brazil has been strutting ahead. in 2010, its economy grew by 7.5%. next year, it is expected to grow at 3.5%. the high price of export commodities like coffee has also helped. and brazil has the surge in production of crude oil but having the economy the size of the u.k. does not mean richer citizens. brazil shares at $2.20 trillion among a population three times the size of the u.k.'s

population. brazil is typical of the emerging economies, says one expert. it predicts that by 2020, oil- rich russia, which is currently in ninth place in the table, will have overtaken germany to take fourth place. and it predicts that india, with its population of over 1 billion people, which is currently at 10th place, will overtake france in fifth place. >> we can take a look at the markets now. when we spoke an hour ago, use of the markets in singapore were pretty quiet. how do they look at the moment? >> they are still pretty quiet. a month the market that are open, we have that japan nikkei, the cosby, the singapore index -- all lower. investors are away on holiday. it is traditionally a quiet time

for financial markets at this time of year. but there are a few factors that we are still watching. it might propel the market higher. monday was expected to be the third busiest shopping day of the holiday season in the u.s. it is doug to mega monday. expectations were expected -- expectations were something of a windfall. the u.s. national retail federation predicted holiday sales would rise to a record $469 billion, and that is higher than they had originally forecast. there are still concerns about the eurozone, and that has taken its toll, with south korea posting a key consumer sentiment index earlier, which shows a sharp fall earlier, the most in nine months. >> fire services in northwest

italy have evacuated hundreds of people from their homes as smoke from forest fires chokes the air. multiple fires on six separate fronts have been blazing in woodland around three coastal villages. some people have been returned to their homes. >> surrounded by blazing with land, they are clogged with smoke, these fire fighters joined a team of over 1000 battling fires that have been burning along italy's picturesque coast. the fires first broke out early on christmas day, and within hours, it had destroyed two square kilometers of forest. near this riviera town, water went some way -- water bearing planes went some way to dousing the plaflame spirit

of the fire spread 4 kilometers -- the flames. the fire spread 4 kilometers wide. there were questions later about how this holiday season blaze was sparked. >> the fire has traveled all over the mountain up to over there. i believe someone start of the fire. -- started the fire. >> emergency services denied any suggestion there was malicious intent. >> no, not us. someone has lit a fire and did not keep a check on it. this is negligence. >> one man did suffer slight burns, but here there is relief that no lives have been lost. a small blessing for the 250 people who were forced to spend their christmases' away from home.

>> and orangutans were once thought to have lived throughout much of southeast asia. there are now confined to one area and even there they are increasingly under threat. >> 8 month old elaine would never have survived without her keeper, rosa. she lost her mother when workers chase them away from a plantation. she was brought to this country, and for the first few months was very ill. it is not clear whether her mother is still alive. the baby orangutan it depends on rosa for care. >> she easily cries when i leave. i need to always be close to her. >> 20 years ago, most of the orangutans that were brought to this country were saved from people's homes. stop when there was rescued from

the circus. but recently, a disturbing trend. more and more of them brought here have come from palm oil plantation. environmentalists say they aren't urgent need of being rescued because they face being injured -- they are in urgent need of being rescued because they face been injured or killed near the plantations. >> 4 miles on end, all you can see are all -- oil trees. >> we ask some palm oil plantation workers whether they had heard about the are renting killings. all of them denied any knowledge of the horrific acts. but finally, one of the workers spoke. >> i have co-workers who said they caught an orangutan and they give it to the company and was -- and they were paid $100. the country wants to -- the

company wants to get rid of the iran attend because they are past. >> they have been found beaten and bruised. this one suffered grave injuries to his head and legs and could not move until the activists came to help. but environmentalists say it is not the workers who are to blame, but the palm oil companies. >> around it hangs in the wild will become extinct in five years because of the way -- these animals in the wild will become extinct in five years because of the way the plan are hunting them. >> many have already been here for years. this one come on now to unruly to play with the others, has spent nine years -- this one, now 21 lead to play with the others, has spent nine years at the sanctuary. -- now too unruly to play with

the others, has spent nine years at the sanctuary. >> you are watching bbc 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.