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what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> they you win aid chief visits -- the un aid chief visits homs. tributes to the british soldiers fallen in afghanistan. we have a special report on fukushima one year after the tsunami. who is up and who is down in the rich list. we will have the details. hello, and welcome. the syrian deputy oil minister has affected, becoming the most

senior official to abandon president assad since the uprising began. he announced he joined the revolution of the syrian people. the u.n. humanitarian she's visited -- humanitarian chief visited the city of homs. >> they are setting off to the north. of the humanitarian chief held talks with the syrian minister. he told her stereo was primed to meet citizens' needs despite the western embargo. it was not clear whether valerie was hoping to see for herself the massive destruction, which was besieged for more than a month. the syrian red crescent had been allowed in but not the

international red cross. now a huge cleanup operation had been going on. valerie also witnessed scenes like this. the footage reports to show patience of the military hospital, chained to their beds, apparently blindfolded and showing signs of torture. but is why many people wounded are not being taken to the state hospital. this is another corner that has seen much of violence. the wounded are patched up as best they can by using any material at hand. she is not the only envoy in town. the chinese are supposed to be outlining a proposal for peace. the chinese want to seek dialogue and a syrian solution, not regime change imposed from outside, but if the situation worsens the chinese do not want

to get caught out as they were in libya. >> we have to evacuate and most of our workers. there are only about 100 personnel behind to guard workers and the equipment. we will go back when the situation stabilizes and there are conditions for peaceful construction and development. >> the most crucial visit will be that of the special un envoy, kofi annan. he has the experience and a balanced approach than my just succeed. if he cannot do it, probably nobody else can run. >> the sunday times photographer recently returned from syria. he was working with the sunday times reporter when she was killed along sign region along side of french journalists. -- when she was killed along side of french and journalists.

you had firsthand experience. is this an understatement? >> what she has seen is the sanitized version. i have never seen it before. i covered many wars. devastation is an understatement, and the regime has had time to cover their tracks. i have no reason to doubt the slaughter will continue out of the public high. this regime has no boundaries, and now unless the international community presses with everything they have got. i fear we will not be seeing an end to this. we all know the results in bosnia. it is critical that the pressure is kept on the regime and they are not allowed to destroy

evidence and to continue this for roche's attack on the syrian people. --did this for roche's continue this attack. >> you know what the conditions are? >> at times we have a steady supply of information. that is drying up daily. it is more difficult. i assume it is because the troops are going house to house. conditions are almost unworkable. they faced snipers. there is a fear it is almost unworkable, hence the drying up of information. >> when you hear about are the u.s. defense secretary saying the u.s. will not take unilateral action, how does that make you feel and the people

back in syria? hamas maybe feeling -- how must they be feeling? >> on a personal level it is devastating, but i also realize it is in fact too late. this is something that should have been discussed eight or nine months ago. people have made their peace. they were expecting to die. i am afraid we are to laid once again. good the world is watching it unfold, and it should have never been allowed to get to a last- minute attempts. it breaks the hearts of these people have ready. i think it is too late. that is my conclusion. >> thank you for sharing your

fothoughts. british forces in afghanistan have suffered one of their worst losses in a decade when six soldiers were killed by a single explosion. that takes the number killed in afghanistan to more than 400. >> the flags fly at half mast, marking a landmark british loss. six of the comrades killed in a single explosion. >> you feel it in your gut. it is a sickening blow, but one thing i have learned over the years is these young soldiers are incredibly resilient, so they grieve, and in many ways it makes their resolved even stronger.

>> the wreckage was quickly secured by the british troops. the force of the explosion left a vehicle barely recognizable. they landed over 100 meters away. ago we have traveled along this road before. high wind is the main road -- highway 1 is the main road. the british soldiers were travelling along highway one. they were described as a routine patrol from a nearby base. it was twilight as they approach. here they left the road. it is a common tactic. they were part of a convoy. the explosion was still able to cut into its underbelly. the wreckage of the vehicle and the remains of the men have been returned to base.

an initial assessment appeared to indicate this was a large caliber gun, -- large taliban gun. david cameron paid tribute to the sacrifice of men have made. >> it is a reminder of the huge price we are paying for the work we are doing in afghanistan, the sacrifice our troops have made and continue to make. i believe is important work right here at home, but this will increasingly be carried out by afghan soldiers, and we want to see that transition take place. good >> they stopped to honor the dead your good -- to honor the dead. this is for five or six soldiers serve. most british troops are relieved by the end of 2014. that seems like a long way off.

britain will continue to fight alongside afghan soldiers as they sacrifice their lives for a far off country. >> this sunday japan will be remembering the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeast coast a year ago. some 16,000 people were killed when towns and cities were devastated, and tens of thousands more were evacuated when the fukushima military plant suffered a radiation leak. residents still live in fear of radiation. [speaking foreign language]

fax we seem to be having some problems with that report. let's remind you, you can get all of our details on our web site, and you are watching news today from the bbc. theng up, we're right in record books in the champions league. regent -- reriting the record books in the champions league. the government announced the closure of most of the factory for disabled workers.

the government cut its support, saying there are better ways to help. union leaders say is an attack on vulnerable people. the government has been defeated three times over aid in wales. good they also back the demand for retaining expert reports and criminal negligence cases. the government wants to focus on criminal cases. the actress who went missing last week, divers have found her body in a timeout -- in a canal in west london. a 35-year-old man has been are arrested. goothis is bbc news today.

the u.n. humanitarian envoy makes a brief visit to homs and calls for better access to aid agencies. a single explosion in afghanistan. the attack means more than 400 british troops have died during the 10 years of the afghan war. scientists have the side of the genetic code of a guerriorilla y help explain why there are so many similarities and differences. they say it will help explain the differences of allowed us to develop language and culture. >> they are one of our closest relatives. they are sociable and live in communities, and in the distant past, humans were little different from guerrillas region evening -- from gtorillas.

>> we live in social groups, probably in africa, and at some point we develop language and art. did we do not know what that particular star was. >> behavioral studies show that fellow eighth are intelligent. they can use simple tools. they can put on a show, but humans can do much more. what happened in the past has enabled our species to rise above fellow apes? it could be down to genetics. the dna is around 98% identical, but somewhere are tiny differences that have allowed us to stand upright, develop a bigger brain, and learn to think. researchers have decoded the dna of gorillas. for the first time they can

compare our dna to the other apes and discover the changes that make our species unique. >> amongst those are changes that allowed einstein to come up with the theory of relativity or shakespeare to rights romeo and juliet. i could not put my finger on exactly what the key elements are, but i think through this study and others we are making progress of understanding the genetic forces iof evolution. >> creatures and greeted researchers discovered we separated 10 million years ago, and something in their jeans presents gorillas from suffering dementia, a finding that could help find a cure for senility, but the ultimate prize would be to discover what makes us so different from them. >> let's go back to one of our main stories, the death of the

six british soldiers in afghanistan. the former u.s. ambassador to nato and now the executive director for international leadership. you joins us from washington. this is not a change in tactics, but this is deeply worrying. >> it has been one of the most successful types of attacks. it is something we have gotten better at a feeding, but it remains a deadly type of attack we did better at a feeding -- whee have gotten better at defeating. >> what does this mean for the hole with drawl? price i think the announcement from the u.k. government saying it is the same as before the attack, i do think this kind of

attack illustrates a larger question. but we will always be losing lives, but the question is do we have objectives of what we are trying to achieve in afghanistan's of the sacrifices are worth something? if you look back, most of the discussion has been about a timetable for withdrawal with the objection to be getting out. -- the objective of getting out. if that is the case, it is hard to justify these sacrifices. i think we need to hear more about what we are trying to achieve. >> is there not a question that that would be too little, too late. >> that is something to focus on because of economic downturns. if we are going to have any troops on the ground, we need to

have a clear idea of what we are trying to accomplish. >> what about the fact that our forces are not able to find out where they are? there is still a problem with intelligence. >> that comes and goes as well. i think one of the downside of having the deadline out there is that it emboldens the taliban, but we are going to be asking them to place cerveza -- place their bets. you are going to see less help from the populations. if that dries up you are dealing with less and less. >> thank you very much for your time. the latest fourth which was has

been released. forbes magazine says there are now a record 1200 26 billion airs on the annual whist compared to 140 when it was rated 1226 millionaires on the annual list compared to 140 when it started. >> he has a fortune of $69 billion. he is still ahead of his closest rival. this is asia's richest man. his net worth is $25.5 billion, something to enjoy at the age of 83. one of the winners this year is mark zuckerberg, who is worth

$17.5 billion. the biggest loser was this man from india, the owner of the biggest steel company. his net worth dropped $10.4 million. the russian oligarch also dropped. it is roughly half of what it was last year. it has been an unstable time for the world's richest. >> it was an amazing year of volatility. it is only a net gain of six teen who. -- 16. there were 117 who dropped off, another 12 who died. >> there were also new faces. ford said there were as many who gain wealth us who lost it, and in terms of countries, the

united states is still home to more billionaires than any other nation. >> the u.s. went up a little beit. there is a lot of churn. >> with the economic outlook looking gloomy, the game of generating economic wealth can stay on top. >> an australian man has pled guilty to stabbing an apparent on tune in an 18-year-old girl. he was extradited for breaking into our house and no attaining the girl in an attempt to a export money. experts spent 10 hours trying to remove the device before discovering its did not contain any explosives. the argentine messi has proven

again why he is rated the best footballer in the world. he was the first to claim five goals in the championship game. how good is he? >> i do not think there is anybody who even comes close to him. there are other brilliant players who do other things better than him your your and -- done him. in terms of the complete package, it has to be said it is also because of those players who surround him. all of these guys together make for possibly the best club team that has ever played the game of football, and sometimes people

describe him as of playmaker. i disagree because i think he is so much more than that. he almost does it all by himself. he took the ball from inside his own area all the way past seven players and then scored a goal. that is the kind of staying he used to do. is leonard messi as good? i will say he seems to be getting more prolific as the seasons ago. the last season, only 42, but it is still 2/3 of the season is gone. he is a phenomenon.

>> he certainly is. thank you very much. prince harry has spent the day queen elizabeth's jubilee, although his activities were scaled back as a mark of respect for the troops killed in afghanistan. >> this was a captain whales rather than prince harry. he had been told about the latest losses in afghanistan. at the camp, a chance for a reunion. the jamaican army was keen to show the prince a new tower for training who soldiers. prince harry was meant to be joining and now coming off the tower. understandably, a british deaths

in afghanistan have changed the tone of the visit, but carries the went to the firing range, and he had this offer for the media. he is a soldier prince who has recently qualified as an apache helicopter pilot who wants to serve again in afghanistan. last night at a state dinner the prince paid tribute to the woman who is still queen of jamaica. >> she combines all her virtues as a leader and head of state with being a wonderful, caring grandmother, to whom we are utterly devoted. >> it was harry representing his wonderful grandmother who visited this youth project. he was soon onto the dance floor. >> you have been 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 we use our global expertise 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.