>> 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." >> a prominent chinese human rights activists has escaped

from house arrest and his appeal to the premier to protect his family. spain's unemployment reaches a record high. 1 in four or without a job. the former prime minister of ukraine shows injuries that she said that she suffered at the hands of prison guards. coming up later, what next for barcelona's super successful coach? he is stepping down. the space shuttle enterprise heads into retirement with a fly by ofing york city.

>> the u.s. state park and has refused to confirm or deny that chen guangcheng has taken refuge. -- the u.s. state department has refused to confirm or deny. he investigated local officials and looked to clamp down on corruption. >> blind since he was a key, -- he was two, chen guangcheng has become an icon in china. many people are appalled that he has been locked out for seven years. he exposed policies such as forced abortion. he and his family were under house arrest. up to 100 guards were watching his every move. he smuggled this video out last year and they beat his family

savagely. western nations have called for his release. today, out of the blue, this. "dear, premier, i have escaped." he demanded that those that had imprisoned and insulted his family be punished. he said that his wife and child left behind could face cruel retribution. when we tried to visit him, we could not get near. how did a blind man escape all of these swatches? we have been given this photo of him now free, with another activist. he spoke to us tonight. he said, he tried to dig a tunnel. when the guard was not looking, he scaled a series of walls. he fell and hurt his leg. he was driven hundreds of miles

to beijing. the authorities given chase. from u.s. officials, there have been no comment. hillary clinton is due here to meet with the chinese leaders. they are already mired in their infighting and scandal. this date is a new in paris but for them. he may be safe there are reports that his relatives and those that might have helped them are being rounded up. >> in europe, there is some depressing news from spain. newly released figures show that a quarter of the work force is now jobless. that is the highest level in spain in 18 years. that means that more than five and a half million people are looking for work. spain has the highest unemployment rate in all of europe. >> the unemployment lines are getting longer. on employment reached 24.4%.

reduce unemployment is at 54% and the government expects the figures to go higher. >> i keep looking but there is hardly anything. i am living day to day. >> the economy has been devastated. the banks are nursing billions in bad loans. the economy is expected to shrink by 1.7% while the government is having to cut its budget. >> at this time, we are living in one of the worst moments in the spanish economy. >> in spain needs bailing out, it will be no easy task. their economy is twice the size of those countries already bailed out. spain would severely test the rescue fund. the risk that the crisis could then spread to italy.

across europe, a political backlash against austerity has started. this led to the collapse of the government. the favorite to win the french elections will make growth his party, not austerity. >> there is a new focus on the need to try to generate growth. a lot of the problems not just for spain but for other countries is that the governments are trying to cut deficit at a time when the economies are in recession. >> the spanish economy is in deep trouble. the government is trying to cut the deficit with a country in recession. the markets have forced other countries borrowing costs. this raises fears that spain could be heading for a bailout. >> two leading politicians have

been allowed to leave the country two weeks after a military coup. they are the interim president and the front-runner in the presidential election. reports say the leaders have agreed to a 12-month transition period to installing new government. nine people have been killed in an explosion in central damascus. a television station blamed the attack on a suicide bomber. the u.n. secretary general warned of a contravention of the arab-leaseback plan. arab league-backed plan. there has been another long night at a london's heathrow

airport. this is one of the busiest in the world. arriving passengers waited for three hours to clear immigration. the immigration minister will appear before the u.k. parliamentary select committee to answer questions about these delays. leo on the line. he arrived at 9:00 p.m. on friday evening. it is seven minutes past two. 07 hours since your right to presumably, you are out of heathrow. what was it like inside? >> it was madness. the reason why it stood out because i came here a few weeks back. today when i came back from germany, i was like, not again. what is happening?

just keeps -- the line keeps going on. >> did anyone explain why you had to wait so long? >> they had the helper's that had the turquoise bands and they said that they were here to help. what they really try to do is to create new lines. then if you get the new pr announcements, things about stringent immigration controls. it is really not a case of them doing that. >> the next time that you go into london, will you use heathrow? >> i probably will avoid

heathrow. i hope the issue is not too bad. from a personal point of view, it is embarrassing. they put everyone in the same line, whether you had eu or uk passports. it was quite embarrassing, especially with the olympics coming up. i think that we were going for the gold for this one. this is the longest line. >> thank you very much for that. that is quite a long way for many many thousands of passengers arriving at terminal 5 at heathrow airport. at least 27 people have been injured in four explosions in ukraine.

the first was close to a central stalk. the second, that went up near the cinema. the attacks come weeks before the ukraine co-host the euro 2012 football championship. this is also the home town of the former prime minister. she is serving a seven-year jail term. one that she and her supporters say is politically motivated pictures have been released of her apparently showing injuries. she says that they are the result of rough treatment by her prison guards. she has been on hunger strike for a week in protest. her daughter says that her mother is refusing to give up. >> i think that my mother decided to go on hunger strike after she has been brought to the hospital after she has been taken from the prison. at that point, she is protesting

this horrible treatment and she refuses to talk to anyone or eat and now she is doing this as a protest against everything that is happening. how long she will do this. i asked her to stop the hunger strike because of her health problems and her weakness and to give more opportunities for the regime to destroy her. she refuses. she says this is the only way. she said, she has the power to show and protest. >> an investigation is underway in england. more than 100 officers are involved in the search for the suspects. a known drug user is the main suspect. >> police patrolled the empty

streets. tonight, people have been told to stay inside, close their windows, and lock their doors. all because of this man, james allen. two people have been murdered and detectives say that he is dangerous and violent. >> we're putting absolutely everything into finding him, tracking him down, bringing him to justice. if you see james allen, dial 9- and 9-9 -- dial 999. on monday, and 81 year-old was found dead in his house. another body was discovered. police said that james allen knew one of the victims. he lived next door to him. they still don't know why he was killed. they don't know if he ever had a

problem with james allen or if anything was taken from his house. >> it was here at this local working man's club where he greets his friends. it was the same friends who ran police when he stopped coming in. >> he got a very wary. >> the police have joined the search for james allen. they hope that it can end quickly. >> this is "bbc news." why does the dutch government want to ban foreign tourists from its cannabis cafes? let's have a look at what is making headlines around the world. we began with the "financial times." they have a picture of chen

guangcheng on the cover. he claims to have sought refuge in the u.s. embassy. the u.s. state department has refused to comment on that. the kofi annan peace plan is on the brink of collapse. the u.s., the eu, and nato say that damascus is failing to live up to their promise. the loss to chelsea leads to the resignation of the parcel on a football coach. he cited exhaustion as a reason for calling it a day. -- the loss to chelsea leads to the resignation of the parcel on arcelona football coach. prominentna's most human rights activist has

managed to escape from house arrest. a former supporter of the spanish work force is now unemployed. the highest rate in nearly 20 years. the highest in the whole of the eurozone. an inquest into the death of an mi ^ officer said that it was almost impossible for him to lock himself inside of a sports back. he was found two years ago. >> intelligence officer found in the bag. the inquest has been tracing the final movement. did he get inside himself or was he put there? today, there was evidence including this video from experts. this shows how hard it is to climb into a bag in a bathtub and close it. he was either placed in 8 unconscious or he was dead before he was in the bag.

the experts whether -- looked at whether it could be clocked in the inside. -- locked in the inside of the one said it might be theoretically possible. he failed to turn up to work for a week. >> one of our members of staff is missing. >> when police entered his flat, and the top bathroom, they found a red sports back. his body was found inside of the back, with no sign of him having struggled. inside and underneath him was a set of keys for the padlock. the bag was locked from the outside. the police thought that early on, someone else was involved in

the death. today's evidence does seem to point to that. it is not clear who would my been. when police examined the phones and computers, they found a large amount of material on women's designer clothing, as well as traces of a small number of visits looking at bondage and people tied up into the inquest is expected to finish hearing evidence next week. -- a small number of visits looking at bondage and people tied out. the inquest is expected to finish hearing evidence next week. >> there is a government plan to ban tourists from cannabis cafes in holland. >> the netherlands is famous for its liberal approach to soft drugs. while it is not strictly illegal to smoke can of this year, its use is tolerated. -- cannabis here, its use is

tolerated. they decriminalized the possession of less than 5 grams in 1976. cannabis cafes a major attraction for tourists. but now, the government would like to tighten restrictions. >> i think it is ridiculous. it is a shame because i believe that the world really admires dutch for their pragmatic and forward-thinking to on handling soft drugs. it seems that they are literally going back in time. they are digressing. >> the new law is designed to cut the numbers of drug tourists. some residents have said that they have credit nuisances like traffic jams. this is also designed to cut

cross border crime caused by foreigners coming to the netherlands to buy drugs and then returning to sell them at home. from the first of may, coffee shops in three southern protestants will become members of the club's. up to 2000 cars will be issued by each cafe to residents over the age of 18. the law will come into effect across the country at the end of this year. there are around 700 coffee shops in the netherlands. the owners say that the new laws discriminate against eu citizens. some claim that it will cost up to 90% of their business. >> it is important for everyone in holland, we do not have problems with taurus to smoke a joint -- with tourists who smoke

a joint. >> some come for the opportunity to smoke cannabis. there are fears this could have a huge impact on tourism. they're looking to negotiate some kind of deal with the government to make sure that tourists that are attracted by the cannabis can keep on coming. >> a wide area of central london was shut down after a man threatened to burn himself up. police evacuated buildings and a close to two stations for several hours. >> central london in broad daylight. police rushed towards the situation. from the fifth floor of this building, computers and office equipment thrown on to the street below. it started at much time when a man entered the offices of a business that offers jobs to lorry drivers. he appeared to have explosives

tied to him. he does not care about his life. >> a large part of the road was cordoned off. workers went to safety. then, suddenly it was over. the man was led out of the building in handcuffs. if you are hours after it began, this has been brought to a successful conclusion. with the olympics three months away, the last thing they wanted to see was a huge security alert in the central london. tonight, the police are still questioning the man arrested at the scene. >> the european football champions are about to lose the man who guided them to three championship titles. pep guardiola will be leaving at the end of the season.

>> it seems the pressure of modern-day football can get to a man who has 13 major trophies. pep guardiola has decided to walk away from barcelona despite being the most successful coach. >> in time, everything where is down. i need a break. that is the main reason why i told the club that my time would come to an end. >> as a player, he spent 21 years at barcelona. left in 2001. he returned six years later to take control of the b team. then, he replaced the first team coach. they beat manchester united in the 2009 champions league title.

another victory over manchester united last year. their potent brand of movement thrilled fans around the globe. some declared them the best team ever. this season, things changed. last week and ensured that barcelona would not win the title. then, they were beaten in the champions league. >> he got agitated. they were pushing him and pushing him. this guy is the most successful manager in football in the past four years. he deserves more respect, better treatment. you would not find this with an english manager. the levels are so high, the success is so high that they have every right to push the manager. >> once again, they will look

within to find a replacement. the new coach will inherit a great squad and even greater pressure. where pep guardiola goes next remains to be seen. >> the space shuttle enterprise has taken an aerial tour in front of manhattan's well-known landmarks. it landed at jfk airport. >> riding piggyback aboard a 747, the shuttle was given a proper tore - -tour. it flew past the statue of liberty and down the hudson river. from below, new yorkers watched the spectacle with excitement. it was their first but not last glimpse of a shuttle that had been a part of history for over

35 years. enterprise was once a fixture at the smithsonian institution. after being replaced by the discovery, new york wanted it here. at john f. kennedy airport, it received a great welcome. >> just about every single city in the country wanted the enterprise. new york has the right stuff. we won. we say, welcome, enterprise. you will love it here in new york. we are so proud to have you here. >> in a few weeks, this will be carried once more. this time, down to its final destination. >> thank you very much indeed for your company.

>> 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 understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.