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>> and now "bbc world news." >> welcome to newsday on the bbc. >> headlines this hour. a possible breakthrough in relations with north korea as the country offers to suspend its nuclear program. as the syrian army steps up its campaign, the u.n. tries to mitigate the peace deal. >> we need to do everything we can to stop the violence. >> made a stop military commander says his mission -- nato post top military commander says his mission is still on course. >> we have to remember all the troops that have passed through here. we will focus on these, we will investigate, and we will take action.

>> animal welfare groups have stepped up their campaign to stop bears from being farmed for their bile. >> broadcasting to viewers on pbs and the world, this is newsday. >> the united states has welcomed an announcement that it is going to suspend -- that north korea is going to suspend nuclear production. it comes two months after kim jong-un came to power. china has said it is happy with the move. we report from seoul. >> on both sides of the pacific, two of the world's most bitter adversaries confirmed what has

been rumored for months, the u.s. and north korea had a deal. >> north korea agreed to implement a moratorium on long- andge missile loaunches, nuclear tests and activities including iranian activities. today's announcement represents a modest first step in the right direction. >> in return, north korea can expect a quarter of a million of tons of nutritional assistance along with people to monitor where it goes. one more reminder, says the u.s., that the world is transforming around us. not everyone is celebrating yet. many have been here before. four years ago, the tower at north korea was destroyed. a symbol of success and multilateral negotiations. the mood of international cooperation lasted not much

longer. since then, north korea has carried out nuclear tests, shelled a south korean island, and unveiled a new nuclear program. is this agreement enough to put all that in the past? here in south korea, the government has been cautious. the new deal could create the right conditions. getting a broad agreement is the easy part, there have been bigger deals than this. the small print on this one is still unclear. bbc news, seoul. >> charles armstrong is a history professor at the center for korean research at columbia university, he says the transparency of the north korean nuclear program represents a breakthrough. >> it to be easy to test the

sincerity if they suspend the nuclear missile tests and allow inspectors. we should know that soon. this is the most important breakthrough we have had for years. it should be welcome. >> the north koreans have a track record, it is slightly dodgy. >> things have not often gone well in the past. we can do our best to try, i think. the u.s. is hoping this will lead to a set of steps which will satisfy the american side, with the north koreans moving towards de-nuclearization. the north koreans need food assistance. with a new leader in power, it seems a good opportunity for progress to be made. >> indeed, a very good

opportunity. one american official has been quoted as saying, "at least it is a first thastep." windy think negotiations will resume? >> we will have to see. there will be for the negotiations soon, some involving south to rick -- there will be further negotiations soon, some involved in south korea. the japanese have a vested interest in things progressing. i would imagine that in the next few months we would have six- party talks. >> when do you expect the united states to go ahead with the food aid program to north korea? >> this will not be in one blow. it is already being planned, a set of installments of this food aid over a period of one or two

months at a time. this is emergency additional assistance for infants and so forth. this is not just grain, but very targeted food aid. they will send monitors to make sure that aid gets to the people who it is intended for. >> professor charles armstrong from columbia university. we have some breaking news. >> from here in the u.k., the british policeman who was shot and blended over two years ago has been found dead at his home in northumberland. he was shot at close range while he was sitting in his patrol car. he was part of what had been described and since been described as one of the biggest man hunts in british police history. it was late last year that he split up with his wife. local police say they were

called at 7:00 p.m. local time with concerns for his welfare. they went to his home and he was pronounced dead at the scene. they are carrying out an investigation. >> that has come in the past 50 minutes or so. found dead at his home in the northeast of england. moving on to syria, after four weeks of the bombardment -- of bombardment, a full-scale attack is underway. finding out what is going on in homs can be tricky. some communications have been cut. we have this report. >> the pictures in their entirety are too graphic to show you and impossible to verify. these depict the bombardment

against northern syria. it is homs that is the epicenter of the violence. these pictures in to testify. many believe the president wants to finish off the free syrian army by sending in his fourth armored division. speaking from the city, this man, who says he is a member of the opposition syrian council, said he had been injured in the leg. unnerving images have stepped up pressure on the united nations, which has not yet managed to get a security council resolution on syria. the man on the left has accepted his role as envoy to the country. the former u.n. secretary general, kofi annan, knows the difficulty of the task ahead. >> the first thing we need to do, as the secretary general has said, is to do everything we can

to stop the violence and the killing, to facilitate humanitarian access, and inshore the needy are looked after. -- and ensure the needy are looked after. and working with the syrians to come up with a peaceful solution. >> the sitting government has yet to cooperate. it is wary of discussions on whether to arm the opposition. >> we consider these declarations an aggressive act against syria. any party that issues such declarations will carry the political responsibility for the bloodshed of the syrians. we would like our brothers in saudi arabia and all our other brothers to cooperate in virgin opposition to take part in dialogue. -- in urging opposition to take

part in dialogue. >> such comments will be taken with distrust. >> the seventh african leader has been expelled from the african national congress. the committee has ruled on an appeal that he had lodged after his five-year suspension. for the second time in a matter of months, the european central bank has made loans with hundreds of billions of euros to financial institutions. a hundred banks have borrowed 530 billion euros. they have taken that money at the rate of 1%. it is the latest attempt to shore up the debt. an italian cruise ship that had been drifting in the indian ocean looks as if it is going to be at sea for a few more hours.

it has refused the help of tugboats which could have sped up the mission. it has more than one dozen people on board. it was crippled -- 1000 people on board. it was crippled by a fire in its engine. the burning of korans was given as the reason for the killing of two americans. the latest violence has led to the question of timing. we have been speaking to the top nato commander in afghanistan, general john allen, and also the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan. he began by asking the general if he accepts it was naive not to understand that burning the koran would have caused a violent reaction. >> we are not surprised in the least. the koran was burned.

it is the holy book. the key point is to remember that over these 10 years, thousands and thousands of voices, from many different countries, have passed through afghanistan. they have shown a reverence for the faith of islam. they have properly handled religious materials. in this case, where these individuals seem to have mishandled materials, it will be investigated. the reasons for that mishandling will be established and action will be taken to prevent that from happening again. we have to remember all the troops who have passed through here. we will focus on these for now. we will investigate why it happened and we will take action to prevent it from happening again. >> does something like this undo all of the work and fall into the hands of the caliban propaganda machine?

>> we have a strong relationship. -- the taliban propaganda machine? >> we have a strong relationship. we have been serving shoulder- to-shoulder for years. we are operating all across afghanistan. we have trust in each other. we have confidence in each other. even though we have this setback, i believe we are going to get through it. i do not believe this washes away the relationship. i believe the relationship is stronger. we have to understand the significance of the great fifth of islam to these people. we have to account for it. we will. it does not set the relationship back. we will continue to continue with this campaign, to execute this campaign, and to deal every day, as we do, with our afghan

counterparts. >> would you be prepared to walked unarmed into the ministry of the interior? >> yes i would. >> ambassador, how would you characterize the way the counterinsurgency is going? >> i think we have made tremendous progress. it is very telling, as one looks at this past week, where demonstrations did not occur. the area where your forces and al is delivered the most punishment to the enemy. -- and ours delivered the most punishment to the enemy. i would consider that a very considerable success on the part of our military and our great british allies. >> you are watching news day on the bbc. still to come, hong kong's chief

executive is being investigated over whether he violated anti- bribery law. ♪ ♪ davy jones, the front man of the 60's pop group the monkeys has died. of thes have a review newspapers and see what is making headlines around the world. one story is dominating, the resignation of james murdoch. the financial times says press assets will not have a member of the murdoch family at the helm since 1969. "the guardian" has the headline, "the sun also sets."

"the times" details the next steps, saying he will focus his energy on expanding the tv business. "the international herald tribune" says it is trying to depict his resignation as a part of his relocation to new york. this is newsday. i am in singapore. >> i am in london. these of the headlines. -- are the headlines. north korea will suspend the missile tests in return for food aid from the americans. >> after four weeks of the bombardment, the syrian government's ground offensive in homs is underway.

welfare groups have stepped up its campaign to stop there is being farmed for their bile. bear bile is being used as an ingredient in chinese medicine. it is supposed to increase i said. it is expected from living baer's -- increase eyesight. tracted from living bears. >> this is a bear farm, where animals are milked for their bile. campaigners say this video shows the horror of this procedure. hear, a farmer shows how it is done. a tube is inserted into the bare stomach -- bear's stomach. it is supposed to increase by

side. westerners believe this is cruelty. >> i think these bears into bidding toward society -- are contributing to society. >> this is the woman who shot the video. she spent four years collecting evidence. >> chinese people think we do not know that for years we have been expecting via -- extracting bile from bears. >> it is part of a growing awareness about animal rights. there are already campaigns to stop eating dog meat and a shark fin soup. there are still plenty of people in china who buy medicine made from bear bile. they support this practice. there farmers are also now speaking out. they are starting to fight back.

one company already has 500 bears, endangered animals, it wants to list on the stock market. it says expecting bile is easy and painless. -- extracting file is easy and painless. >> -- bile is easy and painless. >> it is like piercing an ear. >> the days of farming bears might be numbered. bbc news, beijing. chief executive is being investigated over whether he violated anti bribery law. he accepted invitations to use private jets during personal trips. some lawmakers are threatening

to impede jim. for more on this, let's toss over to the bbc -- to impeach him. for more on this, let's talk o the bbc.he >> the impeachment has not begun. it will not grow until 5 -- the chief executive will face a grilling by lawmakers over personal trips, trips taken on private jets, and whether or not he paid market price for a retirement home, a three-floor penthouse in a chinese city across the border. he has to answer all of these questions. the session will be taped live. everyone is paying a lot of attention to what he has to say. depending on how he answers,

lawmakers may or may not decide to impeach him. this would come out eventually, could mean he ends up being fired -- this would, but eventually, could mean he ends up being fired. >> his successor is also under scrutiny. >> a lot of politicians have in their integrity question. -- having their integrity wquestioned. -- integrity questioned. his successor is being investigated for an illegal basement built in one of his luxury homes. the investigation continues. his wife may be charged for this. her name is on the deed of the house. this is another political scandal that hong kong is

dealing with a head of the march election. -- ahead of the march election. >> thank you so much for that update. a date has been announced for a presidential election in egypt. a year after mubarak was ousted, the election will be held on the 24 of may. there has been increasing pressure to honor the promise to hand over power to civilian authorities. argentina has been accused of continuing a policy of -- bueons aires is calling on companies to stop importing goods from the u.k. it is the latest dispute between the two countries. the electoral authorities in senegal say there will be a runoff after the incumbent,

wade, failed to win a majority of the vote. he gained 35% of the votes last sunday. he will face a runoff next month against his former prime minister, who came in second. now, the music world is in mourning. the loss of the front man of the much loved, classic, pop group. >> thank you. we are talking about the monkeys and davy jones. he was the lead singer. they became massive stars in the united states in the 1960's. he has died at the age of 66. they had nine major hits. they were initially formed to star in the u.s. tv show. ♪ ♪

>> he was the lead singer of the band which was put together for an american tv show. his talent and appeal contributed hugely to the group's chart success on both sides of the atlantic. >> there they were, long hair, everything to make the fans go wild. >> the monkees sometimes enjoy it as much fan -- >> he was a heart of a kind of guy. >> he was born in manchester in 1945. before finding fame, he was a child actor. >> that is more like it. ♪ >> it was singing with the

monkees that made him a star. >> the press labeled us a manufactured band. you make arrangements to do stuff. whether you are a deejay or a tv presenter, you are introduced to the job. >> much of his music was so of baca dick. the music has endured. davy jones will be remembered as one of the few singers to achieve stardom, not just here, but in america too. >> you have been watching news day from the bbc. >> thank you for your company. we will be back in a few minutes for the asia business report.

for now, goodbye. >> 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.