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opposition suu kyi's party gets the green light to take part in burma's elections. william hague visits the country and is told change is irreversible. what does the opposition think? >> it is not as fast as a lot of us would like it to be. >> hello and welcome to gmt. i am george alagiah, with a world of news and opinion. also in the program -- several explosions leave dozens dead in iraq. the attacks lead to fears that the political crisis has turned into full-blown sectarian violence. the family of the indian student shot dead on boxing day are in

london. a senior mp says foreign students are safe in britain. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 6:30 p.m. in b the briti 6 -- 30 p.m. in burma, where william hague is visiting. hillary clinton was there late last year. it marks a new phase in relations between burma and the outside world. after several meetings, he says he has been assured political reform is irreversible. there was some caution by burma's opposition leader, aung san suu kyi. rachel harvey sent this report from burma. >> arriving @ a brand new airport to mark an even newer departure. william hague is the first british foreign secretary to

visit burma for half a century. a lot has changed since then. this handshake would have been unthinkable one year ago. now julius malema williawilliamn burma to try to offer potential rewards, but only if the recent trend continues. >> my message is, if he wants those sanctions, those restrictive measures lifted, it is very important to show that you are completing the process of reform. we now believe you are sincere about it. >> more concrete action is needed. a handful of political prisoners were released a few days ago, the latest in a series of such gestures. hundreds more remain behind bars. their freedom remains elusive. former political prisoners are now testing the boundaries of their new-found liberty.

the recent film festival was the first of its kind in burma. images of political protest shown in public without censorship. aung san suu kyi, among the high-profile sponsors of the event. in an interview with the bbc, she expressed her confidence in the changes under way in her homeland. >> it is not as fast as a lot of us would like it to be. >> risks will need to be taken by all sides. for the first time in decades, there are no signs of hope. the fact that we are here filming openly on the streets is a testament to how much has changed in burma. visiting diplomats alike william hague say they are very encouraged. they want to make sure the

momentum of reform is maintained. the old lament aim -- the ultimate aim is to really improve the daily lives of ordinary people. rachel harvey, "bbc world news." >> now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. at least 30 people have been killed in a series of bomb explosions across iraq. dozens were injured when the explosive devices, most of them roadside bombs, were detonated. joining me from baghdad is the rafid jabboori. there was a fifth one. can you give us details about that? >> there was a fifth attack in the southern iraqi city.

initial reports are that there were seven people and more than 60 injured. the target was one of the police checkpoints, according to one of the reports. a gathering of shi'ite pilgrims -- as we know, this is the extended season of mourning for the shiite muslims. the official total was seven killed and more than 60 injured. you take that attack and the four attacks in baghdad, are we seeing full- blown sectarian violence as a result of the political crisis?

>> we cannot make that early link between the two. almost everyone i talk to, whether they are among the iraqi public or the politicians, they agree that there is a link between the political crisis and the security deterioration in iraq. they all agree that there was a link. the attacks today all targeted shiite neighborhoods in baghdad. those areas were targeted today. we still remember the attacks on december 22 of last month. 14 different neighborhoods in baghdad were struck on that day. al-qaeda claimed responsibility. not all of those neighborhoods were shiite.

al-qaeda in iraq claimed responsibility for the attack. >> thank you very much for that update. thank you. the leader of the main syrian opposition group has said the arab league observer mission should either prove itself or leave syria. he added that western countries should establish a safe area within syria and enforce a no- fly zone over parts of the country. eu member states have agreed in principle to ban imports of iranian crude oil to put pressure on the country over its nuclear program. the move is expected to be announced formally at the eu foreign ministers' meeting at the end of january. the u.s. recently imposed fresh sanctions on iran and welcomes the news. 31 people have died in a gang fight in a prison in mexico.

at least 13 others were injured. it is believed the fight involved members of the drug cartels. the family of an indian student who was shot dead and england on boxing day has arrived in london. the 23-rolled was killed while walking with friends -- the 23- year-old was killed while walking with friends. his father found out about his death on facebook in india before police could get contact with the family. an update on the police investigation into the case. he said what happened to his son should not deter students from coming to britain. >> it was really unfortunate that i lost my son. as a father, this should not happen again. a lot of students come here for

education and go back to their own countries. i address you all kindly. i kindly want to make sure that all the students come here for the studies -- they have their own studies and go back to their own countries. >> let's go to dehli and speak to our correspondent there. calm and reassuring words from anuj bidve's father. in general, how is this murder scene in india? >> initially, sadness and anger that it should have happened at all. we have more reassuring words. you heard his father. there has also been a statement from the university stating that

the uk as a destination is very safe for international students. it is something they needed to do quite quickly. a lot of indians to travel to the uk to study. the most important thing from their point of view, trying to assure everyone, in general, the safety of students from india or any other country is very secure in the u.k. in india, it has been followed closely. there has not been the kind of reaction we sell a couple years ago when there were attacks targeting indians in australia, which led to a massive decline in indians traveling to study there. that has not happened of yet. >> there is not a suggestion that britain is somehow much worse on the safety of foreign students than anywhere else. >> no, i do not think so. of course, this is an isolated case as of now. this is not the first time

indians have been targeted abroad. at about the same time of this attack on christmas day, another indian was shot dead in canada. it is not something they're not used to hearing. of course, when there tends to be more than one killing and it seems quite clear that the motives or racial or targeted killing -- it is then that you get the kind of reaction across the board from governments and society. a sense of outrage. that has not happened. the legal proceedings are under way in this case. that is certainly helped calm emotions. of course, were once a motive is established and made clear, then we will see how people react. >> thank you very much. thank you. still to come on gmt -- can pay but won't pay. china's airlines says it will not pay the carbon tax to the

eu. if you are running a charity, you want as much as everythingre celebrating a new royal stamp of approval to the duchess of cambridge has expected positions with a range of charities that tackle issues from drug and alcohol addiction to children with behavioral problems. the duchess will be participating. >> more than eight months since she married prince william and joined the royal family. eight months in which the duchess of cambridge has fulfilled relatively few public appearances. she has now made up her mind what charities she will support the ones she has chosen have an

interest in young people and several having to do with the arts. she will become a royal patron of the card room -- the art room. patron of the national portrait gallery. the art room is a small charity that operates in oxford. uses art to help children who become disengaged with the educational system. when the duchess came to visit, she had an immediate affinity. >> she has such an understanding. the combination of what we do here, art and therapy, seemed to really attractor. we are thrilled. >> the royal newcomer, who will be 30 next monday -- it is a

start for what will be a lifelong commitment to supporting worthy causes. nicolas mitchell, bbc news. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i am george alagiah. the headlines -- as aung san suu kyi's party gets approval to participate in elections, the pro-democracy leader said she trust political reform will continue. in iraq, bomb blasts have killed dozens of people and left many more injured. he made a grave mistake, but he will not resign. that is the position of the german president, christian wolff, who has admitted his error. in an interview on german television, he said he has not

broken hill law and the situation had to be seen in human terms -- broken the law and the situation had to be seen and human terms. >> [speaking foreign language] >> you have to stand in front of your family and explain how intimate details -- how private things -- when that gets dragged into the public eye, one has defense mechanisms. you feel helpless. i asked the publication to be postponed by one day so that we could talk about it, so that the publication would be factually correct. >> our correspondent in berlin says it is unclear to what extent his reputation has actually been damaged. >> it has made a bit of difference. it is slightly less likely that he would go now. we simply do not know. absence of a revelation, the papers this morning do not quite

except his tone. the tone was -- i'm sorry i left that voice mail. his justification, that it was in intrusion into his private life -- a loan he kept private from a businessman. it was not quite a tone of contrition. it was regret, i think, of the phone call. the papers basically say he did not do enough. the papers do not matter, of course. it is what his own party colleagues thing. they are rallying around him. that would relieve him. the public before the interview were pretty well split down the middle on whether or not he should go. it is not clear on it that has changed. it is clear that he has been damaged by this. whether he has been so damaged

that he goes is not certain. >> iran is here with the latest business news and more on the -- >> aaron is here with the latest businesses and more on the eu carbon tax. >> harsh words. china is taking it a step further today. let me explain. airlines in china are refusing to pay the new carbon emissions charged to fly into eu airspace. the charge was announced five days ago. the chinese airport association says its members will not take part. how did this begin? the eu launched the emissions trading system seven years ago. from january 1 of this year, they extended this to include airlines, meaning airlines have to buy pollution permits to fly into europe. the move, as we've mentioned, has upset not only the chinese,

but also america's government. just last month, the highest court in the eu rejected a legal challenge from u.s. airlines against paying the charge. chinese transport association says chinese airlines will now be forced into paying the charge. the chinese government is considering countermeasures against the european union. thus get more on this. the former chief executive of china's biggest carrier is now the director general of the international airportransport association. tony, great to have you with us. where youo ask you stand on the eu ruling? >> we are against this trading scheme. we are not against trading schemes in general. this one is this common discriminatory. we believe this is a bad way to address a very important

problem. >> i guess part of the problem is we do not have a global solution here. the eu does it. we are starting to hear that others may follow suit. part of the problem is, we are not looking at a global picture, are we? >> that is absolutely right. we have said for a long time that the international civil organization, which looks after civil aviation -- we need to go there and get all the governments of the world involved in coming up with a solution. we have been involved with that. at the moment, we are seeing governments arguing with each other. we want to come up with a permanent fix to this issue. >> let's talk about today's announcement from the chinese airlines. if chinese airlines refuse to pay, what will happen? >> we will have to see.

there are certain sanctions that the europeans can take against any airline that does not produce the emissions permits that it needs. of course, we hope it will not come to that. we hope, and sense will prevail and we will see europe sitting down -- we hope we will see, and sense prevail and we will see you're sitting down and the other nations sitting down to resolve this before any unpleasant consequences happen. >> for the airline industry, they have been complaining for many years about the different tax is imposed on the industry, many crying foul. is that the problem with this particular eu ruling? is this cash strapped europe trying to raise some revenue? >> i think that's run of the problems, yes -- that is one of

the problems, yes. the money raised in the name of the environment -- none of it gets spent on anything that will reduce emissions. it does look like something of a tax grab. we see overlapping taxes in the u.k. a huge air passenger duty. nothing is happening to that in light of this extra tax. this is one of the problems with this emissions trading scheme. it is something that we believe should be resolved in a global way to avoid the overlapping and avoid the discriminatory nature of this. we all need to sit down and sort this out once and for all. >> thank you very much for that. great stuff from you. he joins us from geneva. a quick look at asian markets. financials are mixed.

banks, the same old story. big worries there with the eurozone debt crisis. >> interesting interview there. thank you. police in pakistan say a british aid worker has been kidnapped in the country. they say he had been working there for several months with the international committee of the red cross. our correspondent joins me now from islamabad. to what extent is this something of an ideological kidnap, or is it just plain and simple crime? >> it's hard to say at the moment. we have not heard from any group yet that they have carried out the kidnappings. there are ideological kidnappings in that area. there are two problems in the

area. there have been kidnappings in the past. also, the national movement. they have kidnapped many people. sometimes, it is to raise funds for their movement. at the moment, we do not know exactly who kidnapped him and why. police have been named the aid worker who was kidnapped. they say he was taken at gunpoint in the secure area. the international community, the red cross, has confirmed that an expert expatriate has been kidn. >> thank you very much. thank you. four people have been saved of the eastern coast of australia after using an ice box as a

flotation device. two men and two boys had to cling to the box. duncan kennedy reports from sydney. >> two men, two boys, and an icebox. it is all they could grab. their boat sank in under a minute. the box is supposed to keep not save the crew. luckily, they also sent out a mayday message using a gps device. they all climbed aboard, hauling the box with them. soon after that, a police boat also arrived at the scene.

all four were taken back to shore. the 11-year-old smiled. his dad came to talk about the experience. tell us about what happened this morning. for riley, the moment was overwhelming, leaving it to dad. >> just something to float on. i knew we would be in the water. the boat lies in 65 meters of water now. the only thing to remind them of the unorthodox rescue is the icebox. now, a very cool family souvenir. >> that's all for the moment. stay with us here on "bbc world news." there is plenty more to come.

iennant o international news. bbc.com/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. >> you are no longer in the service. only an outsider can find the double agent. >> i'll do my utmost. >> from the bestseller by john le carre -- >> all i want from you is one code name. >> it will take a master spy -- >> you are alone. >> you can't mention me. >> to catch a spy. >> you have to assume they're watching you. >> what the hell are you doing up here? >> things aren't always what they seem. >> "tinker tailor soldier spy." >> rated r.

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