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>> the u.n. says -- wants to send more observers to the country. those who are already in the country prevented from going to the city of homs. french president compared it to the libyan crisis. >> president assad is lying. he wants to wipe homs off the maps, just like gaddafi did and -- >> hello and welcome to gmt. i am george alagiah, with a world of news and opinion. explosions across iraq appeared to have been coordinated. no right wing salute for anders breivik after its lawyers

intervened. he said he began planning the massacre in 2006. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon in damascus, where the u.n. observers find themselves unable to carry out their mission as they had hoped to. notably, unable to visit the city of homs. u.n. secretary general ban ki- moon has said syria is in breach of the week-old peace plan. nicolas sarkozy compared events in homs to the fate of libya under colonel gaddafi. jim muir. >> despite the regime's crackdown, the finance keeps erupting, even in the heart of damascus. protesters frequently disrupt major streets with roadblocks. it has a nuisance value, stopping traffic for a few

minutes. it will hardly bring the regime to its knees. the tiny handful of the u.n. observers still on the ground, still in single figures, cannot monitor events are around the country. an agreement with the government on their operating procedures has not yet been pinned down. both sides say it is close. this is the biggest challenge the observers will face. ban ki-moon admitted there had been an escalation of violence. in parts of homs, rebel fighters are still being pounded by heavy weapons. according to the peace plan, they should have been withdrawn over a week ago. the tanks and heavy weapons are still very much there. ban ki-moon says it's critically important they should be taken away. the government says they're fighting armed terrorist gangs. the bombardment has provoked some of the toughest words so far from one of the regime's harshest critics, president

sarkozy of france. >> assad is lying. he wants to wipe homs off the map, just like gaddafi wanted to get rid of benghazi. >> the west has said it supports the kofi annan plan, but it is also preparing for a plan b. >> if a cease-fire does not work and the plan is not followed in syria, i think it will be very clear who is responsible for that, the assad regime. we look for russia to continue pressure on the regime to comply with the cease-fire. >> the russians are boycotting the paris meeting. they say it is one-sided and not helpful. the also back the annan plan, but they support that the violence has been provoked by rebel fighters. homs continues to burn as the international wrangling goes on and the un prepares for an

observer mission, which its current chief on the ground says maybe the toughest it has ever undertaken. >> let's take -- now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. police in iraq say more than 35 people have been killed in a series of explosions across the country. in the capital of baghdad, at least five bomb attacks targeted mainly shi'ite neighborhoods. the biggest attack was in the northern city of kirkuk. the attacks happened almost simultaneously and they seemed to be coordinated. our correspondent in baghdad has more. >> about one week before the arab summit was held in baghdad -- the very fact that the arab 7 did take place was a positive development as far as the iraqi

government was concerned. this kind of attack coordinated across the country is a reminder, which we seem to get every now and then, that there is somebody that still has the ability to undermine the states. >> the man who killed 77 people in a bomb in a shooting attack in norway last summer has told a court he had been planning an attack since as early as 2006. as he arrived in the oslo court room for the fourth day of trial, anders breivik complied lawyer not toom his make a far right salute. what are the key points we have learned so far today, matthew? >> it was a fascinating discussion this morning, george, when anders breivik was questioned about a year he spent fleeing an on-line computer war -- spent playing a

computer war simulation game. he first talked about it as a sabbatical. he said some people go sailing around the world. he decided you want to spend an entire year -- he decided you spend an entire year playing the game. anders breivik says that was the case. >> why do they think -- the whole attempt, as far as i can make, out of the prosecution, is to undermine this idea that you was planning its four years or that he was part of a wider group of extremists. is that right? >> essentially, yes. the prosecutor say they are just trying to get to theth a tru it is up to the court to determine anders breivik's

mental state and what he did. it is clear that they spent yesterday trying to undermine his version of events that he is part of this wider network of militant nationalists determined to stop the islamization. today, i felt, they were really trying to show that rather than a man with a five-year plan that he eventually carried out in this manner over one year ago, that he was a bit of a loner, that he cut off contact with friends and family. although, he was renting a room from his mother. and that he spent this year playing computer games. there were some other interesting things. you mentioned at the beginning, george, his contention that he was planning three bomb attacks. he said initially he wanted to hit government offices, the headquarters of the norwegian

party, but he said when he started to build his first bomb, he realized how difficult it was to build a bomb, and so he started to scale back his plans. he eventually settled on the horrendous plan that he did carry out, and then of course the deadly shooting spree. >> matthew, thank you very much. thank you. to find out more on what is behind the anders breivik closed fist salute, head to our website. it was popularized during the spanish civil war when it was used as a greeting by republican forces. go to bbc.com/news. in bahrain, four members of the formula one team were involved in a violent incident on

wednesday. a petrol bomb landed near their car as they were sitting in a traffic jam. authorities say it was not a deliberate attack on foreign visitors. >> this is a district of the capital. we cannot verify these pictures, but they appear to show hundreds marching in protest against the government in what they're calling the days of rage. they want political prisoners released and democratic reform. their country is in the spotlight because of sunday's grand prix and they want their message heard. all this is a headache for the authorities and the organizers of the race. they say it will go ahead without any problems and that the country is unified. >> get on a plane tomorrow. go see the reality in syria. come back for dinner here. why are we werinorrying [inaudi]

>> somebody else who wants sunday's race to go ahead -- her husband is in jail and on hunger strike. she is pleased that bahrain is hosting the grand prix, but is angry with the powers that be. >> people who decide to come to bahrain because he thinks everyone is happy. i can assure you i'm not happy. >> the tension is mounting and the race is days away. for many, the checkered flag cannot come too soon. >> let's look and little more on this. i'm joined by the bbccorrespond. i mentioned the incident with the india team. have you got any details? >> last night, when trouble has

been flaring, the team was on route to their demonstratiodest. a petrol bomb exploded close to their car. tear-gas came through the window or through the air conditioning. the team, although they were not injured, the burberry shaking up. one team member has returned home now to his home in england. it was an unpleasant incident. i think it underlines the fact that a lot of driving teams and drivers themselves are uneasy about the grand prix taking place in bahrain. >> hardly the kind of peaceful picture. >> the race organizers say there's nothing to worry about. there may be more violence, but there will not be any more problems in terms of the race going ahead.

>> thank you very much. thank you. the european parliament has voted in favor of the controversial bill to transfer airline passenger details to the u.s. department of homeland security. supporters argue that the bill is needed to fight terrorism. opponents say the information could be used for far wider purposes and could be kept for far too long. still to come on gmt -- a proud moment for india as it successfully launches a long- range missile. what does its neighbors say about this? >> but future is under discussion at a high-level conference in england. the meeting in brighton is timely for the government that is attempting to the for the radical muslim cleric to georgia to face terrorism charges.

an appeal has been filed with the european court. tom has more. >> anyone can ask the european court to hear their human rights case. he has just demonstrated that with devastating effects. facing deportation, he applied for a court hearing at the last minute, claiming he will be tortured if he is sent to jordan. a major brawl about the court just as its future is being discussed at the right in conference. the central question, should the european judges turned away cases which have already been properly considered by british courts? >> we will not cave in to this court. we will not give sentenced prisoners the vote in this country. >> the reaction to one of the european court's many controversial decisions that prisoners should be able to vote. if there is an agreement by 47

countries today, the court would still be able to accept cases it judges as raising serious questions about human rights. >> only 2% of the cases are ever decided against the uk. the serious cases, the cases that involve important new points, will. >> whatever the court should be most r a green it should be doing less. 150,000 cases fill its archives. tom simons, bbc news. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i am george alagiah. french president sarkozy accuses the syrian authorities of trying to wipe homs from the map.

at least 30 people are still in iraq across the capitol and four provinces -- are killed in erupt across the capitol and four provinces. news that the european parliament has approved a controversial bill to transfer airline passenger details to the u.s. a permanent homeland security. our correspondent joins me now. what sort of information are we talking about that will be transferred? >> we are talking about the kind of information that you have to supply to an airline when you fly anyway. quite a long list of details. name, address, phone number, credit card details, your meal preferences, where you are sitting, medical conditions. all of these things are collected by an airline.

it supplies a great deal of information about you. this is information that the u.s. department of homeland security has been asking for from the european union for quite some time. it has gotten some of this information on a more provisional basis over the last few years. the parliament has voted on making that formal and legal. many mep's here, although they voted in favor, were doing this reluctantly. >> you listed some of the worries and concerns. how have the members of the parliament managed to have any sort of safeguards or assurances on what this could be used for? >> there are some safeguards here. there is some provision for legal redress, if somebody feels that their information has been misused. opponents say the provisions are not strong enough. there are also some concerns about what some mep's have turned as a vague provisions as

to who will get access. could it be used in a public health scare or to control immigration? these issues were raised. on the other hand, many mep's said this kind of information has been useful in the past for tracking people who were going to attempt a terrorist attack or would commit a terrorist attack. this is a reason why we should supply it. who would want to take the risk? >> ok, thank you very much. time for the business news. aaron heslehurst is here. let's start with spain. they went to the market today. >> they did go to the market today. they went to the international money markets. spain was selling off two-year

and 10-year debt. we keep a close eye on the 10- year debt because that tests investor confidence. they raised the $3.3 billion they were looking to raise. george, the yield, the interest rate that investors pay to borrow money, that when up. -- that went up. they're not out of the woods yet. the bad loans are at an 18-year high. many are thinking that they do need a bailout. a could be a mini bailout. >> the bailout we are talking about would be a precautionary landing line from either the european bailout funds or from the imf. these things basically function as a credit line that is there in case you need additional support. they are a bit less onerous in

terms of the conditions attached to it. the big worry is the stigma that would come along with such precautionary programs. >> let's leave spain and talk about nokia. we have their figures today. they kind of lost out on the whole smartphones thing. that is still nailing them. >> continues to turn into a nightmare. once the world leader in mobile phones, nokia said they lost $1.2 billion. we knew there are going to make a loss, but it was a lot worse than expected. in a nutshell, the smartphone. that's where they really missed the boat. last year, they released their smartphone, but the sales are really poor. in the u.s., it holds only 1% of the market. listen to this, george. >> in a nutshell, they are too expensive.

north of 400 euros it's a little bit too rich, unless your brand happens to be apple. >> even when they were not on the boat, they were still selling millions of the cheap handsets. even the cheap handsets are now being hit by chinese and indian handsets which are even cheaper. >> thank you very much. thank you. so says the defense minister of the long-range missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. india calls the missile the agni-v and says it has a range of 5,000 kiloliters, enough to stretch across the whole of china. bbc's andrew north is there. i mentioned china, the ones who will be most nervous about this launch. >> certainly, that is how it has

been portrayed here. this is about india stepping up and showing that it can stand up to the country that is now increasingly seen as its main rival. not so much pakistan as it was in the past. the reaction from china so far has been to try to play down. the foreign ministry noted that test, but they wanted china and india, in his words, to be partners, not competitors, and called for more strategic cooperation to improve peace and stability in the region. perhaps a more measured reaction than some had been expecting. among the indian tv channels here, they are really saying this is about india at increasing its rivalry with china. >> you also mentioned pakistan. any reaction from there?

less so, as well. the pakistani papers are almost freezing india. it comes just after the head of the pakistani armed forces said it was time that pakistan and india to resolve their disputes -- where 130 pakistani troops were killed in an accidenavalan. they have been facing off for a long time. people are still working out exactly how far he is going with that, but very interesting timing as india test fired the missile. >> thank you very much. the head of pakistan's army says it is nation and india -- the disputed region which is often called the world's highest

battlefield. the general was speaking as the search continues for those buried by an avalanche near the himalayan glacier. >> we were flown in over jagged peaks. christine and unforgiving. high in the himalayas, we got access to the treacherous terrain around one of the world's most remote the battlegrounds. the area is now a scene of continuous searching an unspoken grief. 129 pakistani troops lie buried gmhere. while standing here, you get a sense of how challenging this is. we are about 13,000 feet above sea level. every moment, you are at the

mercy of the elements. heavy machinery is turning up the snow. the operation goes on the night and day. rescuers have to contend with extreme cold, blizzards, and the risk of further avalanches. they keep digging, as they desperately tried to find some of their brothers in arms. >> you eat, sleep, and live with them every moment. the sense of loss is there. that has not diminished the will to get them out. >> this tragedy has provoked calls for a pullout from the glacier in pakistan. 90% of those killed here were killed by the harsh conditions, not by combat. critics say the wasteland is not worth one more life. i put that to the pakistan army

chief of staff. he rarely speaks to the press. he suggested troops should leave the place year because of environmental damage -- should leave the glacier because of the environmental damage. >> we understand -- [inaudible] it was because of the indian [inaudible] >> could there be a thaw in the action? maybe. maybe not. reactions have been warming slowly. for now, these nuclear arms neighbors are still vying for the glacier, whatever the cost. >> that is it for the moment. stay with us on "bbc world news." there is plenty more to come.

>> 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, union bank, and shell. >> this is kim, about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. let's use energy more efficiently. let's go. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.