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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> testing its latest missiles and the international community. ar games.letes its work grai >> hello and welcome to gmt. also coming up in the program, a cause for optimism. south korea's president says the change of leadership in the north could represent a turning point in the relationship with pyongyang. >> [speaking foreign language] korea comes forward with sincerity. >> republican presidential hopefuls face their first test at the polls in iowa.

>> it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 3:30 in tehran, where leaders are keeping a close eye on the final day of exercises. the iranian military says it has successfully tested what it calls a long-range missile and two other types of weapons. it follows a decision by president obama to impose extra sanctions against iran. >> today's showcases missile is called capable. iranian state tv says the missile is able to hit targets hundreds of miles away with precision engineering upgraded from previous ones. the targets could be israel or u.s. bases in the region.

the military exercises are projected as a show of strength to offset mounting pressure. the strait that carries a large proportion of the world's oil trade. the u.s. already bans imports of iranian crude oil and has signed into law new financial sanctions against iran's central bank. the eu is considering the same path. the talks may be on the way. iranian media says the negotiator will write to the head of eu foreign policy to say tehran is ready for fresh negotiations on its nuclear program. after the last missiles are tested today, leaders will be watching this region closely in 2012.

emily buchanan, bbc news. >> let's talk to the persian television special correspondent now. this needs to be seen in the context of president obama's the decision over the weekend. what message do you think iran is sending? >> the message is very clearly. he is escalating sanctions against it and that will sooner or later be taken as an act of war against iran. >> how much is iran itself suffering as a result of the sanctions already in place? >> the sanctions are crippling iran's trade with the outside world already. the sanctions president obama imposed on new year's eve will it iran even harder. it is targeting the central bank

of iran. that means that the trade with the outside world will be crippled. part of that will be iran's oil exports. if they cannot get the money back from the buyers of iranian oil, then, in effect, people are not going to buy iranian oil because they cannot pay for it. it is pretty serious. >> is the threat to close the strait something they would really be able to do? >> i think they're sending a message that if this escalates even further, there will be trouble in the persian gulf. they keep saying, if they close the strait of hormuz, the price of oil will hit $200 per barrel. they are playing on that.

if you pressure us too much, the oil market will get out of control and everyone will suffer. >> a lot of news from tehran about getting back in the talks about the nuclear program, but is there any sign of shift? >> not really. two days ago, they said they are prepared to go back to talks on iran's nuclear program based on the russian proposal. this is a rare proposal. if it takes steps to limit its nuclear activities, the west and other power world is will reward every step. it is not quite clear whether iran subscribes to that and whether that is going to solve the problem, and if iran is going to negotiate about those things. what it means, also, is that

there will be speculations on whether iran is playing for time again. at the end of this month, the eu ministers will sit down and impose pretty much the same sort of sanctions as the americans have done -- impose sanctions on iran's central bank and oil exports. iran wants to try to stop that. >> potentially this year, we are looking at development of a nuclear weapon. >> that is the idea and that is the fear. that is the reason why so much pressure is being put on iran to step back from that. >> thank you very much. >> pleasumy pleasure. >> now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. authorities in fiji say they intend to lift martial law. emergency regulations would and next week. the news media bans imposed

after it was ruled the military coup of 2006 was illegal. the trial of mubarak has been adjourned after a short hearing in cairo. the 83-year-old is accused of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during last year's uprising. the proceedings have been sped up to try to reach a verdict by april. the leader of hamas has visited turkey, paying tribute to the nine pro-palestinian activists who tried to break the blockade of gaza. the korean peninsula is at a turning point and there are opportunities for change, according to the president of south korea. the optimism from president lee myung-bak comes after north korea settles under the leadership of kim jong un. he warned pyongyang against any

provocative moves. this report from seoul. >> president lee myung-bak described the new year as a turning point for peace on the korean peninsula. he said that following the death of kim jong il, changes and uncertainty was expected, but there could also be new opportunities. >> [speaking foreign language] >> if north korea comes forward with sincerity, we will be able to open a new era together. through dialogue, we can get rid of distrust between each other. >> the president also said that the window was still open for the north and that if it halted its nuclear program, the government of seoul was ready to return to talks and even help the north revived its beleaguered economy. there were also warnings sent across the border. president lee myung-bak cautioned that the north engaged in in any hostile provocation, the south would respond firmly.

thawing in relations seems unlikely. days ago, north korea announced it would stop all dealings with the current government of seoul, describing in the south korean president as a leading a group of traitors. north korea's new leader and commander in chief, kim jong un, began the year by visiting a tank pyongyang residents have returned to work, as if things were back to normal. there has been a new directive, transmit the sorrow of kim jong il's passing into new courage. for kim jong un, maintaining stability is key. for the moment, at least in appearance, there seems to be little challenge against his

leadership. >> the u.n. is warning villages in south sudan to flee for their lives. tens of thousands of members of the tribe have been displaced by an attack by the lou nuer. the u.n. soldiers in the town. the government is sending additional police and troops. let's go to nairobi and let's get more from our correspondent, will ross declining death toll, despite the presence of peacekeepers in the region. >> the scale of the fighting is so huge that it is way beyond anything the united nations peacekeepers will be able to deal with and anything that the south sudanese army could really deal with, unless it wants to get involved in trying to separate two huge communities that have been fighting each

other for many years. the escalation of the attacks has reached such a scale now. basically, the u.n. and the south sudanese army are protecting the very center of the town, the administrative buildings. what happened on saturday is the lou nuer fighters came and torched some of the homes and looted and destroyed the only hospital in the town. we are getting reports that they have also been destroying villages in the last few hours and there has been an attempt to attack the barracks in the middle of pibor town by a group of those lou nuer fighters. >> what is the roots of the conflict? >> it goes way back before the independence came. this is a conflict which started out basically as cattle raids.

cattle are absolutely crucial in south sudan. they are basically the bank. people store their money in a number of livestock they keep. when somebody gets married, they hand over a huge number of cattle. they are incredibly important to these communities. for years, they have been raiding cattle back-and- forth. because of the lengthy civil war and the poor borders, there are more weapons in southern sudan. the government has not done enough to get the weapons away. when they use them, the numbers of people are huge that are killed. it has been tit-for-tat surprise attacks over the last month or so that has claimed more than 1000 lives. >> thank you very much. you are watching gmt. -- why fans in come

kenya are falling back in love with football. >> the british government is trying to convince cash strapped families that they can eat healthy and cheaply. they have sent out recipe as part of a new campaign. some supermarket chains are offering discounted products such as fruit, vegetables, and fish. >> the most important thing, of course, when you go shopping, a little bit of planning. >> he wants to convince these mothers it's not hard to eat well. he is backing a new year healthy eating campaign. it is aimed at families cooking on a budget with recipes for meals that cost about 5 pounds for four people. the idea is that you can save money and eat healthy without too much. extra effort >> it is simple. there are only four or five

ingredients. you're not been challenged. it's not like watching "master chef" or something. this is for families. it is to get them feeling happy about themselves and moving -- beginning to enjoy life. >> the cost of food has been going up in the last few years and lots of families are managing on very tight budgets. it's not an easy time to persuade them to try new things and new food. >> to help make food more affordable, at 3 supermarkets have agreed to put some healthier foods on offers. labour has says this will do more for the retailers than for hard-pressed families. >> they are calling it public health. it's a glorified program for their friends in big business. this government does not take its responsibilities around public felt seriously. >> the campaign for healthy living began under the last

government. it is not easy to change habits. >> hello. you are watching gmt from "bbc world news." i am tim willcox. the iranian military declares it has successfully tested what it calls a long range from two shipped missile on the final day of military exercises on the strait of hormuz. the president of south korea says the change of leadership in north korea could represent a turning point in relations with pyongyang. let's check in with the latest business news. a change of direction for india's economy. >> since march of 2010, the indian central bank has raised interest rates 13 different times. that may be about to change. let me explain that. the governor of the reserve bank of india has told the bbc that

it may reverse its trend of raising interest rates amid fears of a global economic slowdown. the central bank of india has certainly been seen as very aggressive in its interest-rate hikes as it tries to battle and control rising consumer prices. the governor spoke to the bbc and explained that the bank is likely to shift its focus towards boosting growth. >> from here on, we can't expect a reversal of monetary tactics -- we can expect a reversal monetary tactics, but it is difficult to say when that will take place. we have to be mindful of the fact that even as inflation is expected to trend down, there are -- the depreciation of the rubpy. we are more mindful of growth and the growth-inflation

balancing equation will be different in 2012 from what was in 2011. >> inflation has remained at high levels. in the past month, we have seen it up. how long before we could see it starting to ease? >> food inflation is coming down. we stayed with our projection of 7%. e trueieve that will be tha the trajectory. that is for march 2012. we also recognize that 7% inflation is above the tolerance level of the majority of the people in the country and certainly above the comfort level. >> a raft of manufacturing numbers have been released around the world.

let's start with china. the numbers there were better than expected. the government compiled index of purchasing managers showed an expansion in business in december helped by increased economic activity for the christmas holiday period, as well as the chinese new year. on the flip side, in south korea, manufacturers reported the worst conditions in three years. the purchasers managing index fell further, certainly indicating contraction. president lee myung-bak warned that the world economy was slipping into a new era of slow- growth, not just a temporary recession. manufacturing fell for the fifth consecutive month in december. the survey showed production levels and new orders fell in the 17 member nations. a warning that the industry is clearly undergoing another recession. that is it with the business. back to you. >> thank you very much.

the finishing line in the race for the 2012 u.s. presidential election may be a long way off. republican hopefuls are facing the first major test of their credentials today in the iowa caucus. it is the start of a period six- a during which each u.s. state will hold -- during the start of a six-month period in which each u.s. state will hold them. opinion polls on sunday by the newspaper suggests the former governor of massachusetts, mitt romney, remains the most popular candidate in iowa with 25% support. not far behind is the texas congressman, ron paul. he is at 22%. rick santorum is at 15%. his support is believed to be rising. let's talk to the former white house correspondent and london bureau chief, now with mcallister.

thank you for coming in. it seems that. it's still too close to. -- still too close to call. what is your view of candidates emerging with real power? >> the real thing in the last few days has been the rick santorum rise. he was at 10% last tuesday on one poll. he rose to 22% by friday. that's a fantastic surge. it is hard to know. we do not know who is going to show up for the caucuses. it could be 100,000 people. it could be 150,000. they could be all sorts of things. you can register as a republican at the caucus on the day itself. in the last election, it looked like mitt romney was the winner. mike huckabee came from apparently know where to beat him because he got the social conservatives excited in the last few days. billups to be mitt romney again. his poll numbers have not moved since june.

he is still at 25%. that is not a great number. it looks like a victory, but it is still showing that the republican bill is quite a fractured. >> mitt romney having nightmares about what happened in 2008. he is still campaigning with this flurry of attack. >> he thought he was not going to win in iowa. when newt gingrich came in and looked vulnerable, he thought maybe he could take him down. the $3.5 million minimum in the spending of attack ads. it shows you that the negative advertisement does work and it shows that money does matter in the long run. rick santorum has visited every county. he has done all the retail politics that is supposed to do well in iowa. now conservatives are looking for somebody besides romney. >> mitt romney does not have the

support of the tea party newt gingrich has had trouble with his personal life. is it more bewildering this year than in previous elections, or are we looking at a rerun? once they have all been bewildering in their way. this is unusual because there has been the succession of anyone but romney candidates. when faced with the kind of scrutiny that you get when you are the front runner, they're found to be wanting. santorum has never got that scrutiny. he is easy to run against. he has been a two-term senator. he had to vote in favor of things. therefore, there's a record that can be poured over. he is very conservative in some ways, but he was also defeated in his last bid for reelection in the pennsylvania senate race by 16 points. democrats and moderates who have to vote for the president of the united states to win -- he might not look very viable. >> fascinating.

we will get some sense of where it is moving in a few hours. thank you very much. kenya is internationally recognized as a giant athletics in long-distance running. when it comes to football, it has been the doldrums. that could be about to change. the east african country has seen a rejuvenation of the game. [whistles] >> colorful, enthusiastic, and passionate. these are fanskenya football. one of the factors that have brought about a rejuvenation of kenyan football. this beautiful game has gone through of we times. internal wrangling and corruption brought the game to its knees. this in one of the port areas of nairobi represents a field of

dreams. local football is back in a big way. it had been unheard of a few years ago. it's all thanks to the premier league and satellite tv. >> the local football league, it has been like crazy. you can see people missing their jobs and going to see the matches. it is a big effort. >> it has given football in can yet a second wind. the game has improved tremendously. as you can see, the fans are back in the saddle. >> the stability and sponsors are back. the money from the broadcast rights to provide the team and players with steady income. >> in 2008, we could not find players.

players would be calling one another and it would be an echo. they have come back. i think that is an indicator. >> for the players, an increased level of exposure has forced them to up their game. >> they assume -- they give 100% a week in and week out. >> with close to 80 league matches aired across the country, the future of kenya's sports stars may not come from just the athletic truck, but the football field, too. bbc news, nairobi. >> football returning to kenya. that's it for me. much more on the website, bbc.com/news. bey for now.

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