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what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> a severe crisis threatening millions in west africa. the worst affected country needs million dollars a loan or else the food crisis could become catastrophic. hello and welcome. also in this program, talks in seoul about nuclear weapons and north korea and iran dominate the agenda. the director of the bill "titanic," james cameron returns

from diving to the bottom of the ocean. hello. midday here in london. also across much of south africa were the specter of a major troop crisis is casting its shadow. u.s. and international agencies are warning that food shortages are because of a harvest. andrew joins us live now from about 60 kilometers from the capital of nigeria. can you tell us about the food shortages here and elsewhere? >> the hunter season is beginning here. -- the hunger season is beginning. a lot of harvests failed spectacularly so a lot of people will be running out of food. they need a very quickly to make sure that in the coming months, while it will be a crisis, it

will not turn into something more serious. we have been seeing activity in the villages around here trying to make sure the people are in a condition to sustain themselves in the family's through the next few tough months. this is one way to try to fight malnutrition. we are on in. playing in the center. there are hundreds of women here pilings john d. and rocks -- piling stones and rocks to save the rain water that falls here. once the water has been trapped, the idea is that they can use it to bring their crops back to life. they're being paid by the u.n. food program, $2 per pale for time and labor which allows them and their families to have

enough to eat during the coming months. the encouraging news is that the nigerian government, which is a democracy now, has taken big steps to of knowledge their problems and make plans with the international community. panics no real sense of at this stage. >> at this stage, you say, but give us an idea of the time line before this food crisis becomes catastrophic. >> the next harvest will not come through until october. there are the toughest months. you hear different things from different groups. some aid agencies are very worried. at the world to program in the european union, they say they are doing pretty well and plans are in place. they do need more money, but

they're pretty confident that what will happen here will bear no resemblance to the disaster we saw in the horn of africa last year. >> andrew harding outside of the nigerian capital, thank you. now let's get into some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. in afghanistan, on an afghan national army soldier killed at two nato troops. this appears to be the latest in a string of shootings in which afghan security forces have apparently turned on international colleagues. it happened inside the main nato base and sidelashkar gah. can he give us an update on the state of affairs? what do we know about this latest incident? >> a spokesman for the government told the bbc that a verbal clash between an afghan

national army soldier and a member of the nato forces happened. the soldier was serving for the afghan national army. he killed two nato soldiers outside of the p.r.t. in lashkar gah. this is a serious incident for the nato camp. this is one problem the have not been able to deal with. they have not found a solution to put an end to this. afghan officials say any single incident of that nature leads to more mistrust between may to ram a national security forces. >> thank you for that update. japan has shut down another nuclear power station bringing it one step closer to suspending atomic energy in the wake of

the fukushima disaster. only one of the 54 reactors remain in operation and it is due to be switched off in may. from tokyo, bbc has the story. >> it looks like any other day in the control room of this nuclear power station. the workers were shutting down the plant. with the push of a button and, the active electricity fell to zero and japan took another step toward abandoning nuclear power, for now. with just one of the country's 54 reactors still running, the government is warning of power shortages in the months to come. >> if no nuclear reactors are restarted, and considering the peak use of electricity during the 2010's summer, if we do not come up with any effective power saving measure, there will be a 10% difference between supply and demand. in order to prevent this from

happening, we will implement any and all measures for power savings in order to reduce the gap between demand and supply. we're looking at what measures need be taken. >> the explosion sent fukushima last march shattered confidence in nuclear safety. three reactors were melted down after being hit by a massive tsunami. they now have been stabilized, but the land 4 miles of ground has been abandoned because of radiation. it has triggered protests against nuclear power. local communities have been refusing to give the go ahead for plants to be switched back on after routine maintenance. the japanese government has ordered stress test at our station is to try to persuade people living nearby that they can withstand disasters. the last reactors still running is due to be switched off in may. much of the shortfall is being

made up by enforcing more fossil fuels, like gas. they are warning that electricity is more expensive and more scarce that it could damage the economy. bbc news, tokyo. >> sticking with massive nuclear, president obama has been speaking to his chinese counterpart, hu jintao, on the sidelines of a summit in seoul. the went to stop nuclear stockpiles from falling into terrorist hands. north korea's nuclear ambitions have dominated the discussion. >> there cannot have been many surprises in the conversation between these two men today. he began the meeting never minding his chinese counterpart to have met 11 times before. the topic was largely familiar. on the top of it, north korea and their nuclear program.

he has already criticized china for not being tough enough. the approach in dealing with north korea was not working. he demonstrated the kind of message he wanted p'yongyang to hear. >> this is a decision must make. today we say, p'yongyang, have the courage to pursue peace and give a better life to the people of north korea. >> america has no ha stylet tend toward north korea, he said. -- has no malicious intent toward new career. >> i say this of the president of the nation to only use nuclear weapons. it's a this as the commander in chief who knows the nuclear codes are never far from my side. most of all, i say this as a father who wants his two young daughters to grow up in a world where everything they know when love can be instantly wiped out.

>> president obama's visit began on sunday with his first glimpse inside the closed communist state. north korea has continued to dominate discussions ever since. china has urged the delegation not to be sidetracked by the north korean agenda because it is not really why they are there. north korea is not coming to the summit. they are not even on the official agenda. this is about preventing nuclear materials and to falling the hands -- from falling into the hands of terrorist groups. north korea is just one hour's drive away. his speech in scandal shows just how much a part of the discussion it is. bbc world news, seoul. >> giving support to efforts to try to end the fighting in syria. president medvedev says the plan is backed by the arab league and

the united nations and it could be the last chance to divert the bloody civil war. the vetoed a u.n. security council resolution to condemn the syrian government for their use of force. pope benedict leaving mexico today for cuba. the least roman catholic country in latin america. the pope is hoping he can inspire the same outpouring of faith that he did in mexico. he will celebrate in an open air mass this evening. the action film "the hunger games" as polled $155 million committee biggest ever tally for a film that is not a sequel. this follows a teenaged girl fighting to survive a life-and- death game show. now we're going to an ongoing

story, the costa concordia that the dollar this people on board dead. there are still two missing. this image of light from the italian coast where they have -- i'm sorry. by the body's still trapped. this would bring the death toll to 30 with two still missing and presumed dead. the liner struck a reef on january 13th and capsized off the tuscan island of giglio. they're still trying to recover the bodies on the ship. still to come, preparing to honor an 88-year-old pledge to take gold from the top of everest. the german chancellor angela merkel has told the bbc that it would be a huge political

mistake it agrees were to leave the eurozone in an exclusive interview for "news night." germany would do everything it could to will the eurozone together. >> greece has explained again and again that they want to remain in the euro. it has weaknesses, but they're trying to overcome them, be they in the administration are the competitiveness or their business community. it will be a long and arduous road. we've taken the decision to be in a currency union. this is not only a monetary decision but a political one. it would be catastrophic if we were to say to one of those that have decided to be with us that we no longer want you. incidently, the treaty does not allow for that anyway. people over the world will ask, "who would be next?" the euro area would be weakened.

the exports in germany in particular benefits from the euro. it be a huge political mistake to allow greece to these. that is why we will be clear with them and say, if you want to be a part of the common currency, you have to do your homework. at the same time, we will always support you. >> chancellor angela merkel talking to bbc. a man has set himself on fire at a rally protesting against the visit of the chinese president, hu jintao, later this week. he was seen in bulk in plans. the doctor treating the man for extensive burns. -- he was seen engulfed in flames. debate of ther the chinese rule of tibet.

.ou're watching "gmt" from bbc it's a beer brewed crisis severing -- a severe food crisis threatening africa. talks about preventing nuclear proliferation, but north korea also on the agenda. let's catch up with the latest business news. the german economic engine, is not out of steam? >> absolutely. we're talking about a highly regarded business competence survey that looks at about 7000 companies and tries to gauge optimism or pessimism among corporate leaders. the survey from march was up just slightly, the fifth month in a row it was higher. further down the road, many

believe the german economy is losing momentum. germany is an interesting thing. that time, it appears to be an island of happiness. the worry is germany, can they remain economic island? at the end of the day, we know they are not immune from the eurozone debt crisis. they're not immune from a cooling chinese economy. listen to this. >> may be a slowdown in china is starting to have an impact because so much of german manufacturing heads out to the east either in the form of machine tools, flash cars. a slowdown in china will have an impact on germany. >> we already know the forecast. they had healthy growth of 3% in 2011. this year, only 0.7% expected.

>> the downturn in china affecting germany. economic data from china not looking so good? >> this is the second-largest bank, the second-largest lender in the world, the china construction bank. they had good numbers from 2011, profit up by 25%. looking forward, it does not look that good. there are increasing worries in the. the amount of bad loans on the books have been increasing. they were up nearly 10%. the reason being? the slowdown china is seeing in the manufacturing sector, chinese retail, as well as the property market. given them permission, there are many saying the party in china is probably over for this time. >> it could not last forever, not least because of the risk of

stoking inflation. the question is not whether but by how much the economy is likely to slow. increasing numbers of bad loans are increasing the case of a slowdown in manufacturing, property, and retail sectors. the more banks have to set aside money to cover such loans, the less than half for a landing. >> hitting the nail on the head. -- less they have for lending. typically that is an indication they are on shaky ground. >> slowdown for china and germany. the hollywood director james cameron has become the first person in more than half a century to reach the deepest placed on earth. the director of the film "titanic," made the trip is 7 miles down.

he spent three hours filming in exploring the depths of the mariana trench. this was the first solo dive to reach the bottom of the trench. the only previous manned dissent was in 1960. we are live in guam and have the latest on mr. cameron's dive. >> about 300 kilometers out to sea, the director is celebrating having made the deepest dive to the deepest place on the planet. he had been waiting for days to go out there, but the weather has been atrocious. his last words, "released, released." it took him 2.5 hours to descend to the bottom. once down there, he had a few hours to roam around and then had to come straight back up to the surface. they are now celebrating his dive.

>> i bet he is celebrating. quite a feat. that is what he had to say after arriving. >> it was a long way down. you go past where these can go. then you are still only halfway there? it is crazy. it is one heck of a ride. you just scream down and scream back up. >> james cameron from the bottom of the top. it and all of the pledge made 90 years ago and he is taking a special gold medal to the summit of mount everest. in 1922, the british everest expedition did not quite make it to the top, buteering. there was a promise attached. >> the 1922 expedition to everest was the first serious attempt on the highest mountain,

and they nearly made it to the top, nearly defeated by an avalanche that killed seven indian quarters. >> they fell just short of the goal they had said. it was just an amazing achievement. they got to 8,300 meters, 500 from the very summit. that was in 1922. you can imagine what they were wearing, very basic. >> everyone on the epic climb was given a gold medal to honor their efforts. colonel edwards made a promise that one of the metals would be taken to the peak of everest. a promise that no one has tried to honor until now. he said that on behalf of the british nation, at the next opportunity, one of the metals would be taken to the very summit. he has already climbed everest nine times.

in honoring that olympic promise, he hopes to make it to the top for his 10th. >> for lots of reasons, that pledge will not be a gold until now, 2012, when the olympic s are coming to our own shores. what better time to the bill this pledge, 90 years after? >> the medal he will carry to the top was presented to the doctor. another member of the party was back in evora's two years later ran died in the attempt. it was now larry who coined the famous mountaineers' reason for why they seek the summit -- because it is there. bbc news. >> we have been telling you about the food crisis in west africa. in nearby san miguel, the end of a political era.

-- senegal, the end of a political era. mr. sall, a former prime minister, says this marks a new beginning. thousands took to the streets to celebrate. >> after a chaotic, and at times campaign, these are the supporters of a man who will now lead senegal back. very happy. it very happy. macky is polite and courteous. everyone was hoping he would win. >> this is the man he beat, abdoulaye wade. his attempt to cling to power for a third term and abetted

the tranquillity of the opera's most stable democracy. it was a better campaign at times -- of africa's most stable democracy. who is macky sall? born to a modest family in the west. it is father, a civil servant, his mother, selling nuts. he carried a number of political posts. he has many task on his hands, chief among them the food crisis. in the capital of dakar, a new era. senegal's new leader will want to embrace. >> three people recovering after

being rescued after their hot air balloon crashed into a power line. there were suspended 4,500 feet above the ground and showered with electrical sparks. fire crews had to wait several hours for the power to be switched off. then they could begin the road to kriski. to remind you of the top story, the specter of a major food crisis casting its shadow over west africa. warning of food shortages after a series of poor harvests. nigeria particularly at risk. that is all for the moment. from all of us at "gmt," goodbye.

>> 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 to help to provide capital for key strategic decisions. we provide expertise and

tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kce