>> this is "bbc world newsthe freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide to to the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies and small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now, "bbc world news." >> six soldiers missing after coming under attack in afghanistan. shipping of to be the most devastating and in the attack for britain since the invasion began. >> this is a desperately sad day for our country and desperately sad for the families concerned. it is a reminder of the huge price we are paying for the work we're doing in afghanistan. welcome to gmt. also coming up in the program, mitt romney takes super tuesday. as syrian's humanitarian crisis

continues, the un special envoy continues in damascus. it is midday here in london. 7:00 a.m. in boston. mid afternoon in afghanistan were six british soldiers are missing, believed killed in the worst enemy attack on british forces since operation began in 2001. the troops were on patrol when their armored vehicle was hit by an explosion. their debt will bring the total number from the british military killed two more than 400. this report. >> since 2001, british troops have been sent to serve afghanistan to rid the state of those in al qaeda and to provide stability. in that time, members of the army, the world marines, and special forces have all lost their lives. and now, the army has announced

that number includes five soldiers and one from the first battalion. this was the reaction from a former commander of british forces in afghanistan. >> clearly, it was a very significant explosion which managed to, as we understand it, killed six soldiers in an armored vehicle, which is a very heavily protected vehicle designed to withstand a blast from some of the most powerful weapons in the world. so, a very big explosion. >> the prime minister had this to say to mark this sad milestone of more than 400 british troops now killed while serving in this war. >> this is a desperately sad day for our country and a desperately sad, of course, for the families concerned. it is a reminder of the huge price we are paying for the work we're doing in afghanistan. the sacrifices our troops have

made and continue to make. >> the naval party spoke of the role british forces say stabilize the nation it says should never again become an incubator for terrorism. only this january, while visiting the u.k., the afghan leader thinks the british people for sacrificing, as he put it, blood for the future of his country. today's news is especially poignant since the numbers had been falling. >> the fact that there has been relatively low instances of loss, is an indication that progress is going on. it is important we continue to follow the mission. >> all british combat troops are due to withdraw by the end of 2014, as are others from france and, above all, the united states leaving the afghans to take care of their own. bbc news. >> we'll be hearing more a

little bit later in the program. stay with us for that. the seven looked at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. super tuesday is often seen as ointpotential turning bop in the republican race for the white house. with six states up for grabs, mitt romney's when does look exceptional. and yet, questions do still remain about his ability to rival -- to rally the whole party. a busy night of voting. >> a smiling mitt romney, but this was a long, nervous night for the republican front-runner. >> go, mitt, go. >> they shouted, but super tuesday was slow going.

>> we have taken one more step towards restoring the promise of tomorrow. tomorrow, we wake up and we start again. the next day, we will do the same. and so will go, day-by-day, step by step, door-to-door, hard by heart. >> but love is proving hard to come by for mr. romney. >> the next president of the united states, rick santorum. but rick santorum responded with three victories courtesy of a blue-collar voters and evangelical christians. >> we have ruwon races all over this country against the odds. they thought, ok, he is finally finished. we keep coming back. [applause] >> from alaska to massachusetts, they voted. from the industrial rust belt to the bible belt in the south, 10

states, together carrying more states than all the -- more weight than all of the previous contests. it was in the south that newt gingrich tramp, winning his home state of georgia. >> with your help, we are going to go on to tampa and win the nomination. [applause] >> that seems unlikely, but the gingrich campaign has come back from the debt before and he will fight on. >> thank you. >> super tuesday showdown. >> mitt romney is the apparent winner of the all-important ohio victory. >> ohio mattress because no republican nominee has ever won the white house without it. mr. romney remains on course to face barack obama in a fight that is not yet over. bbc news, washington. >> jane, i heard one describe

this race as a victimless crime, lacking enthusiasm. is romney still beatable? >> it depends, of course, who you listen to. his campaign is expected to say, later today, that he is not. if you crunch the numbers, he cannot be beaten at this stage. but it is something that rick santorum would definitely disagree with and he is still in the race, even at this stage. even though mitt romney beat him narrowly in ohio, he is saying he still has momentum and the support of the conservative base that he needs to tip mitt romney out of the race. this is the biggest problem that mitt romney still faces at this stage -- that many of his own party still do not believe in him. they do not think that he has the credibility, the authenticity, and he certainly has not been able to prove that he is one of them. >> all of which will be amusing

to democrats. is there a cabinet you think it would most feared? >> i think it is mitt romney. if he had his way, he would be campaigning about the economy, which is the number-one issue for voters. it is the issue that president obama will have to defend what he starts campaigning. the problem that mitt romney has is he is being forced to talk about social issues, such as whether or not women should be allowed free contraception. things that he really does not want to be talking about. when he does, it pushes them further toward the right, which is not where he wants to be going into a general election where, as i said, the economy is the all-important issue. i think the obama campaign to recognize him as the front- runner. they do think he is the man they have to beat. interestingly, the conservatives support him because they think he can beat obama. >> when obama were vying for the

position in the white house, it was highly-charged and exciting. t think it is hard for republicans to keep this going? to keep the focus on their dates, rather than the news dropping off? >> there are two ways of looking at it. one is that this campaign makes the eventual winner stronger -- it hardens them. but also, it does risk, going into a very bruising all attrition were weaknesses are exposed. this is what is happening with romney. he is not proving his conservative credentials and he is being pushed for the to the right, not where he wants to be. i think he will take more bruising in the weeks coming up. alabama and mississippi on tuesday.

these are deeply conservative southern states. he is expected to lose them. all the projections are that santorum will take them. at the same time, there is this feeling that eventually he will prevail. that does not make for an exciting race. >> thank you very much. the united nations humanitarian chief is in syria trying to get aid into some of the areas worst hit. she has been holding talks with officials in damascus. a red cross convoy is still waiting to get into the devastated district. so, we can now speak to someone in damascus. are you able to get us any idea of what she has been able to push and whether she has had any response? >> so far, we know she has arrived. she is just about to get in.

the negotiations are ongoing. but we'll understand strongly. they should be able to deliver the aid on the ground. for security purposes, she is still waiting there to get access for the last few weeks. >> what we understand about the situation now? >> we hear from some activists that the situation has calmed down. the army has entered the city. there has not bitteen any -- the

syrian television is saying that families who fled, but today, as she is arriving, the situation has been called so far. -- calm so far. >> thank you very much. now, we can go on to kabul. six british soldiers are missing, believed to have been killed. i am joined now. there is so much thought and talk about withdrawing from afghanistan. it feels like there is intensity building again in terms of the number of international troops that are being killed.

>> certainly, if we take the last two weeks or so, that is the case. we had six u.s. and nato troops killed. all of those killed. but the overall trend from may of last year has been for a decline in nato casualty's in afghanistan. that is the law is number of decline for a number of years. british casualties had also been following -- falling. we do not yet know the cause of the massive explosion which hit their warrior armored personnel vehicle. we understand it may have been one of these improvised explosive devices which are such a big killer here. there's also some talk that it could have been a so-called legacy mine -- a land mine that perhaps the been laid down as far as the soviet era.

they have secured the site at the recovery operation -- and the recovery operation is underway. who are waiting to find at the exact cause of this massive blast. >> there are plenty of discussions, can the situation on the ground, these thoughts of military incidents, still influence that broader, political push, do you think? >> i think the taliban appear to think so. the have not offered any kind of cease-fire, although they do is to get involved in some kind of peace talks. there is certainly no indication they are prepared to lay down their arms. what we are being told by afghan security officials is that increasingly, in that area, the taliban are becoming heavily dependent on improvised explosive devices -- roadside

bombs. they regard this as a very deliberate tactic on the part of the taliban. you might say that is weakness, or it is a case of relying on what works. they are relatively easy to plant. certainly, since the afghan conflict began, they are one of the biggest killers of civilians. almost 1-3 -- almost 1/3 of civilians killed were killed that way. they seem determined to fight to the finish. >> thank you. still to come here on gmt. a toll on businesses and workers. south africans are protesting over new challenges. time now to get a look at some

of it stories making headlines in newspapers. we began with "the financial times cot." the u.s. agreed to reopen negotiations with iran. that announcement sent crude oil to its lowest price this week. china reports that it will hire 400 ground staff. it is reportedly part of a move to modernize and expand the hong kong international airport. "the guardian" looks at brazil to become the fourth largest economy. after all the vehicles, a reality check. less interest in battery powered cars. because of poor sales figures.

>> time for us to catch up on the business news. we have a great story from australia. >> i am not sure one can actually say that. from the last quarter of 2011 showing the north point of 4% -- that is half of what analysts expected. a lot of euros and countries would really love that type of growth. it has a two tier economy. we have also seen its retail and business really suffering. the problem with the mining, of course, is it relies on china and india for demand. a little earlier we spoke to the finance minister. >> it is important that we do with the number in perspective when you consider the very severe turbulence and wait

global conditions that mark the final last quarter of last year. if you consider it in that context, this result is pretty solid in circumstances. >> exactly. it is pretty solid. we're expecting growth in the australian economy in 2012. >> does it matter? debt is nothing they can say now. >> and very true. they have basically wiped out their debt. this in a huge rise in their net profits. the biggest record profits. it is really looking forward to the year this year. it has the olympics. it has done rather well. a little earlier, i spoke to the chief executive and asked him how much the eurozone crisis has impacted business. >> we have some countries where

consumption is still very good. we have some more consumption is slowing down because of, for example, financial problems in greece. overall, as you have seen in 2011, we were able to grow by 10% and in 2012, with the european championship, healthy in in europe. we definitely expect growth for us as well. >> he said to me that he is helping design the olympic outfits. it makes me want to become an ouathlete. but i am not quite fit enough. >> i love the amazing results. >> very restrained. >> thank you very much. tens of thousands of africans have joined a strike on a new road tolls. the trades union are exploiting

workers. report from the heart johannesburg. >> we are in the center of johannesburg. we are surrounded by thousands and thousands of protesters. these are from the congress of south african trade unions. the idea today, to make a statement against the government program of the electronic polling system on the roads of south africa. these roads were built ahead of the 2012. these purposes are saying they already paid for the roads. they do not want to be taxed again. there also protesting against labor. they denied it benefits from their employer. that is what the what the employer to be directly connected to those companies that are exploiting them. today, they have drawn a line in

the fence, saying, enough is enough. >> here in the u.k., three former ministers will support an effort to ban officials from entering britain if there is evidence they are responsible for human rights abuses. his lawyer who died in a moscow prison in 20 11 inches -- in 2009 after he uncovered a huge tax fraud. >> on the outskirts of moscow lies the grave of the young lawyer. he believed he discovered a huge tax fraud by russian officials. but, he was arrested and in the space of one year, he was dead. his colleagues say he was projected to horrific treatment by his guards. >> after three and a 50 days of torture, he went into critical condition. -- 350 days of torture, he went

into critical condition. at that moment, they led guards beat him until he died in 2009. he was 37 years old. >> the russian government said he was put in prison because he himself was involved in corruption. the authorities there prosecute him pose to mislead. -- posthumously. the u.s. senator john mccain has been pushing for an actor in congress to ban officials who of been involved from entering the united states and to freeze any of their american assets. >> what we really want is to be able to name a shame those who have torture or other kinds of crimes and asset freezes so the catches come into this country

and do a bit of light christmas shopping. >> in the same week as the russian election, three former secretaries will join the call for tighter sanctions against they want to send a strong signal not just to president putin, but to other countries where human rights may be in jeopardy. westminster. >> he has been showing off his diplomacy and dancing on the latest leg of his tour of the caribbean. he is in jamaica to represent the queen ahead of her jubilee celebrations. describing her as a wonderful and caring grandmother. we have this report from kingston. >> music has helped define jamaica.

into the groove, onto the dance floor. >> he is not used to the style of reggae-style dance, but i think he did well. yes, something like that. >> a change of address, a change of scene, but not a change of theme. a marley track inspired part of the prince's speech. >> the majesty has asked me to extend her great wishes to you all a and is sorry she cannot be here -- and is sorry she cannot be here. but do not worry. >> harry paid tribute to the woman who is still queen of jamaica. >> she combines all her virtues as a leader and head of state with those of being a wonderful,

caring and the grandmother to whom we, her grandchildren, are utterly devoted. >> after the state dinner, we will nec's sea captain wales and prince harry in action. -- see captain wales and prince harry and action. >> the show goes on. before we go, we reminded that six british soldiers are missing. it is believed to have been killed. there were on patrol when their armored vehicle was hit by an explosion. if confirmed, their deaths pushed the number of british battalions in afghanistan above 400 since the start of the invasion in 2001. on hearing the news, the prime minister said it is a desperately sad day for the country. that is it for the moment. do stay with us here on "bbc world 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, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance 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.