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>> this is "world news today." i'm jonathan charles. the headlines. >> it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> from the moon to mars, exactly 40 years after mann's first footsteps on the lunar surface, the history making crew says now it is time to do the

same on the red planet. >> as celestial bodies go, the mode is not a particularly interesting place. but mars is. >> guilty -- the only allege it surviving gunmen of the mumbai tax surprises his lawyer and changes his plea. hillary clinton hopes to seal a deal in an agreement to sell weaponry to india. also on the program, he brought grant tales of irish party to millions of around the world. we say farewell to frank mccourt, dead at 78. for decades ago one giant leap. ever since, baby steps. how many months will we be putting stage holidays -- space holidays. >> it is 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday in london and according to lunar standard time, 1:30 p.m. on the moon,

where 40 years ago today the crew of apollo 11 accomplished the long-held dream. neil armstrong took one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind in a few hours. heat and bonds -- buzz aldrin and michael collins will be at the white house. they are already calling for nasa to be more ambitious. they think we should be aiming to send a man did mission to mars by 2035. >> i'm going to step off right now. >> perhaps the most famous lending in history, the culmination of the space race. >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> the journey had begun four days earlier at the kennedy space center. with blastoff of saturn 5, rocketing neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and michael collins to the moon. billions had been spent. many scientific advances made.

but in the and, with their fuel running low, two men in a tiny lunar module that had to guide their lander down by hand. >> the eagle has landed. >> tranquillity, we copy you on the ground. you have a bunch of guys about to turn bluebeard we are breathing again. thanks a lot. >> we knew it was dangerous, but we don't think about those things. you are in there to execute. you are part of the team. there are other people who are members of that team, and your job is to be as cool as possible. >> that looks beautiful. >> as neil armstrong and buzz aldrin took samples that they, they would not have known in a few years the moon -- the space -- >> it was an honor to welcome the moon but as near -- neil armstrong observed, there are

still places to go beyond belief. my call is to the next generation of space explorers and their leaders, isn't it time we continue our journey out word, past the moon. we can venture out word to mars for america's future. >> 40 years ago, these men spoke of making a giant leap for mankind. now they want our generation to follow in their footsteps. bbc news. >> with me in the studios is professor williams from that astronomy unit at queen mary college in london. mars, that seems to be the fixation of the three men appeared why? >> why? >> in the first place, the next place nearest most likely to harbor life or have had life in the past. very similar to earth, and therefore it seems the obvious place to go. could probably build a base

there and expand outward. >> there is a reason it has not been attempted -- exponentially more difficult. >> it is a lot further than going to the moon. talking about a long, long time in the spacecraft. >> how long? not talking about a few days to get to the moon. >> we are talking seven months not more. that is we have a nice a lyman whether earth and moon are close to a job appeared but realistic, a year or so, a journey to march. >> i got the impression -- they were slightly critical of nasa for a lack of ambition. it bought more should have been done. then i think what happened is after the moon, which gave huge publicity to exploring space, scientists realized that maybe you get more return in terms of science by sending robotic missions and cameras, etc.,

which is far easier to do, far cheaper, and you don't have to bring them back and you don't have to protect them from heat. it is far easier and of dissent -- obviously less risk to human and it moved from, yes, we got there, too let's explore this bolt -- solar system. >> the three were talking about the race for space with them, the soviet union. i wonder if some of the urgency have been taken up by the fact that the cold war is over, and therefore not that great competition with the russians. >> i think the competition went -- we are first, and at that time, mars was on the question in terms of too far away. even then it would've been 20 or 30 years down the road. in a sense of urgency for the spectacular missions went out of the window a little bit. going down to basic scientific missions, gather all the

information we have. if you think about the images we have had over the last 20 years conditions -- galileo, jupiter before that, it is quite amazing what we learned about those places in the last 20 years are so. >> professor williams, on what is actually an amazing anniversary. thank you very much for joining us. >> now let us take a look at the rest -- i want to confess my crime. the words of the lone surviving government of the mumbai attacks. pleaded guilty for the first time. the 21-year-old from pakistan is on trial and a special court in india. 164 people died. he originally pleaded not guilty to his involvement. world affairs correspondent. >> the tanks brought terror to mumbai -- attacks brought terror

to mumbai. the perpetrators were 10 well- armed gunmen in a well-planned assault. this was seen at the taj mahal hotel last november as security forces tried to flush the last gunman out. here is the sole survivor, called on -- called on cctv camera. the 21 year old from pakistan is charged with 86 separate offensives, including murder, possessing explosives and waging war against india. he repeatedly denied it, until now. in a special present court he surprised his lawyer and everyone else by confessing what the words, sir, i plead guilty to my crime. he went on to detail how the gunmen arrived by boat from pakistan and attacked the busiest railway station. the attacks increased tensions between india and pakistan, two nuclear armed rivals.

india said the infamous group was behind all this. it is not clear why kasab confessed now, but it is likely to add to india pressure on pakistan to act against those responsible for planning this. bbc news. >> britain has downgraded its terror alert to its lowest level in at least three years. the joint terrorism analysis center, responsible for tracking the threat, reduce the level from severe to substantial. joining me now is our security correspondent. first of all, what is the difference between severe and substantial? >> they have five levels in this country. s estimate public three years ago. the top level is critical, meaning an attack is imminent below that we have severe, which is where we have been at the last few years, an attack is highly likely. what we are is a substantial,

meaning there is a strong possibility of an attack. >> this is a major step change. >> it is good news. does not mean the tariff threat has gone away, but they are not aware at the moment of any substantial terrorist plot against the country. they have a lot of investigations running, but it would seem to me we have come to sort of an end of and -- of a phase where core al qaeda from its bases in the pakistan tribal territories planned and plotted in 2005 and 2006 quite a number of attacks against this country, some were intercepted and some warts. 7/7 bombings were not intercepted and the 21-7 failed because of a failure of technology. but other ones were intercepted. fertilizer bomb plots, other ones, some of which have come to occur -- court has been intercepted.

there have been over 90 convictions for terrorist offenses, most pleading guilty. but that said, they still think the threat is out there. it is assessed on a continual basis by a unit within government. they look at a number of factors -- intelligence available, the capability and intense on international terrorism looking to target this country. not just al qaeda and the fillets, but irish republicans, extremists, and animal rights or far-right wing extremists. not just a person convicted recently but the lone attacker who wants to carry out attacks on individuals. >> all right, frank, our security correspondent. thank you, indeed. a group of reformers clerics been around, including a former president calling for referendum on the election process. this is a referendum is the only way to restore people's trust

and end the crisis. mr. cal thomas also praised former president rafsanjani who said it was duty to address people's doubts about the results -- mr. khatami. two people killed in western iraq. also wounded eight others. it is the second attacked bear in a week. 56 people including generals, journalists, academics on trial in turkey accused of plotting against the government. accused of organizing an arms terror group with the intention of overthrowing a party that has its roots -- roads and political islam. full market and financial analysis and 25 minutes. some interesting news out of the state about a bank that really did look like it was in trouble. >> cit, relatively small banking compared to the majors, but it has been really on the brink of bankruptcy. it did in december received just

over $2 billion in the bailout, but it had been hanging in. late last month it reached an agreement with bondholders 4 $3 billion rescue plan basically, so it can use its money to restructure. the problem is cit has a lot of debt payments due. first quarter next year, almost $7.5 billion. interesting story about this is that it sort of signal a turning point where the obama administration has said the banking sector is a lot stronger than it was ended last year so anyone in trouble now more likely to fail, no more money or bailing out. >> could be sweet news for porsche -- the boss. >> he has been the driving seat for 16 years. he actually turned it -- it around. but he piled a huge mountain of debt on porsche because of the last nine months it has been trying to take over folks like

and -- books by and -- volkswagen bid now looks like v w will swallow porsche so he may be asked to walk at the end of the week. he will not go empty-handed, he may get a golden parachute. $140 million. >> thank you very much indeed. we will have more on world business report and 25 minutes. coming up, arms for india. hillary clinton is meeting the indian prime minister in daljit for a key agreement. his memoir sold millions, frank mccourt, author of "angeles ashes" is dead. swine flu cases continuing to rise around the world. the health minister will update parliament today on the latest. it follows a weekend of

confusing advice for high-risk groups. >> they might have swine flu -- for pregnant women especially, it has been confusing. in britain concerns were heightened after a woman died of swine flu shortly after giving birth. the department of health advises pregnant women can reduce the risk of infection by avoiding unnecessary travel and steering clear of crowds, where possible. like everyone, they should adopt good, basic hygiene mike hand washing and if they get swine flu they can be prescribed and antiviral that is inhaled. this web site is one of the main sources of official advice. a help line to england will begin working ended this week. drs. welcomed the launch but they warn it needs to be adequately resource. kahl around 100,000 people in the u.k. are thought to have caught the virus.

most cases have been mild but 29 people are known to have died. across the eu, around 60 million are thought to be at risk. >> we made an estimation in the european commission that we have about 60 million people in the whole of the european union countries that need vaccination, the most vulnerable these 60 million, if they are vaccinated i think it is sufficient. >> a number of countries are adopting tough screening beard around 50 british schoolchildren on a trip to china have been quarantined. the u.n. says the virus is now unstoppable. bbc news. >> this is "world news today" from bbc world news. our main stories, 40 years on from the mean landing, the

astronauts from the apollo 11 access to much attention is lavished on the moon. buzz aldrin and michael collins says mars is the closest thing to urge that has been found. the only surviving suspect in the mumbai attacks admitted his role. muhammed kasab pled guilty to 86 charges. india may soon get high-tech weaponry from the united states. u.s. secretary of state tell the clinton is in delhi meeting the prime minister. hoping to seal a defense pact that would boost arms sales and user monitoring and safeguards to make sure what is the not end up in the wrong hands. joining me is our correspondent. sandra, this is a pretty important deal, not just for american arms manufacturers but also in the. >> that's right. they have been relying on russian-built weapons.

recently for some time they have been getting access to european weapons, but they never really bought american armaments. so this agreement will pave the way for u.s. companies like lockheed and boeing to start sending weapons to india and it is the -- particularly important because india is open to buy 106 new fighter aircraft, valued at about $10 billion. equally important. >> a lot of competition appeared the russians would quite locked -- like it, too. they seem to of been selling weapons to india. >> the >mig-35, and swedish aircraft, typhoon, and the french are in the market as well. it is tough competition. but the fact that the americans will for the first time be bidding for this just makes a lot more interesting and obviously gives india a lot more options. >> how is mrs. clinton going down generally with india.

i know shad run in with the environment minister. >> hillary clinton is very popular in india. she has been here before with her husband, bill clinton, when he was president of the united states. it in the public meetings she has been holding, the popularity is intact. but of course, a key contentious issues between the countries, like climate change, nuclear nonproliferation trading, these are issues in which the u.s. and india have not seen eye to eye and some of it differences are still evident because they have been receiving somewhat of a public airing. thank you very much indeed. quiet diplomacy nation not be construed as lack of leadership, a message from the u.n. secretary general ban ki- moon, reacting to criticism of his low-key style. speaking to the bbc halfway through his first term in office. he said he would serve a second term, if asked. our correspondent has more.

>> ban ki-moon is the global g-8 deployment -- chief diplomat, trying to solve conflicts and be the qana the conscience of the world. one newspaper called the invisible man. another analyst said you made almost no impact on the world stage. how do you respond to the criticism? >> the higher diplomacy, what they termed it, or humility -- should not be construed as lack of leadership or lack of determination. when it comes to real crisis problems, i have taken all decisive decisions. when it came to me and more -- myanmar, it was me who first had gone to the scene and i think the united nations and the whole humanitarian community of has a

half a million people at the time. it was me again what to gaza for the first time. i spoke out, and even express my anger about civilian casualties. >> do you want to have a second term in this job? >> this is what i have to leave to the judgment of the member states. it is too early for me. i am just in the middle of my tenure. i have to continue my job even harder as i have been doing in the past. >> right now he is pressing world leaders to reach agreement on climate change. he said for himself -- the melting glaciers of antarctica. this is where his quiet diplomacy could really make a difference. the united nations in new york. >> tribute to bing paid to a writer who found fame late in life, he was 66 when he

completed his memoirs -- pulitzer prize winning author frank mccourt died at 78. his best-selling "angela's ashes" detailed his life. the book also spurred many other people to write what is often been described as missouri. bernard, what do you think made these books so successful? why did they strike a chord? >> first of all come extremes. mccourt himself had been known and irish circuit. he was a character actor, lecture in creative writing. he actually had a fund of memoirs. he and his brother were usually associated with a slightly quirky side of life. people were taken back from that is sheer misery of angeles ashes, and some contended he exaggerated and came over the top.

not least over richard harris's original claims that he had given mccourt money to bring back his mother's remains but he had not used as intended. >> there are many people with similar stories. >> partially it was a combination of ireland emerging into a different era, looking to put it behind. limerick, an area that has enormous extremes between wealth and grinding poverty even to this day, so you were beginning to see the advent of the celts a tiger and people did not want to be reminded but so many deepa had similar backgrounds -- people died of tb in many families. the fact that he put one episode on top of another, he was accused of some extent of overdoing it, but then when it was so well received internationally and the film enjoyed such success, he went into a second stage. his subsequent books, he tended

to move away from that, almost a self consciousness of perhaps having gone over the top with the first book. he became more associated with the kind of quirky sideways look at life that he actually made his reputation with. the immediate reinforce the reputation of ireland as a literary place. irish writers are known to be very good adverse. >> superb style but he was a teacher of creative writing in new york for many years. he and his brother are both very, very articulate and entertaining storyteller is and always were. this is the first time, having been a lecture, late and life he defied the maxim that there are no second acts in american lives and he proved that in 1966 and for this midget first-time enjoyed some literary success of his own. >> thank you very much. let us go to all the sport. >> thank you, jonathan.

for four days he fought against time but in the end time caught up with 59-year-old tom watson, wanting to be the oldest winner of a golfing major. he bogeyed his final hole. when into a four-hole in against his compatriots stewart cink. the judge which already has watson's name one of 5 tons went to the younger man and cink couldn't believe it. david beck, greeted with uncomplimentary banners and boos from first home appearance to galaxy. -- beckham. but were upset that he extended his stay with milan of the return to galaxy. they made their feelings clear. beckham and galaxy were facing milan. early touches jird though the midfield played -- midfielder

play role in the goals. the most of the fans were great. there were a few. it was to be expected. i expected it to a certain point and sometimes it went beyond it, it went beyond a couple of times. i tried to take one of the guys home, but he did not want any of it. >> david beckham. not our rivalry, is it? elway and . you can get all the news online at bbc.com, including the back room of the stores we have been covering this half-hour. this is "world news today." >> funding was made possible by --