>> this is "bbc world 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. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your

growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to gm t on bbc world news. our top stories, confusion combined with terror in the algerian desert as western officials insist on hostage crisis is not yet over. the fate of dozens of foreign workers at a remote gas plant is still unclear after algerian forces launched an assault on a hot -- and on the hostage takers. after years of denial, a choreographed confession, lance armstrong finally admits he daud

his way into cycling's record books. >> yes or no, did you ever take banned substances to enhance your second performance? >> yes. >> slowing down but not stalling, can beijing deliver a goldilocks economy? not too hot, not too cold. and jimmy robertson is here with our business news. >> we will have the latest on the dreamliner investigation and the leaking battery that has grounded boeing's entire dreamliner fleet. >> is 12 noon in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington d.c. -- washington, d.c., and 1:00 a.m. in algeria where dozens of hostages held by al qaeda

militants remain mired in confusion. the crisis is being played out in and around the sprawling gas production facility seen here in a satellite image, which was attacked by gunmen on wednesday. yesterday, the algerian forces launched an assault, apparently triggered to leave the compound reported and with many british nationals of risk, the prime minister david cameron has offered his support to the algerian government collects from the outset i have -- >> from the outset i have said we will stand against these terrifying force is, but i also stand for the support of hostages. i offered intelligence support including hostage negotiation and rescue to help find a successful resolution been thursday morning, the algerian

forces mounted an operation. we were not told about this and events. i was told about it while it was taking place. he said the terrorists tried to flee and a judge did as in the media fret to the lives of the hostages. -- an immediate threat to the lives of hostages. the late last night when i spoke to and he told the first operation was complete, but that was a large and complex site and they are still pursuing terrorists and possibly some are still hold hostages in other areas of the site. the from the senator told me that they're looking at all routes to resolve this -- the prime minister told me that they are looking at all routes to resolve this crisis. >> the complex is owned by a french businessman pierre. -- at a french businessman.

>> i stayed for almost 40 hours in our room, under the what -- under the bed. i had food and water to sustain myself. i did not know how long i would stay there. when the soldiers came to get me, i did not even know it was over. otherwise, i would never have opened the door. >> the story is still unfolding here in the studio. a longtime specialist in an algerian affairs joins us. george, i will start with you. tell me how you read this militant group and their motives. >> the group is a split off from a much larger group called al qaeda, which is responsible for a large part of the fighting inside mali. this split -- this group split off because the

leader was forced out of the leadership of al qaeda a year ago. i think he is trying to stage a demonstration of his own relevance inside this region. from that point of view, this is a spectacular attack, but not designed as an overall jihadist purpose. >> those in france to directly link this to what is going on in mali. it sounds like you think that link should not a sisterly be there. >> it is bound to be, just as the group has claimed it has taken action to punish audra -- are algeria for france. but in the context of this era and in a struggle that goes on there, it is part of a long 700

-- on a longstanding pattern going back to 1983 when they took 33 hostages. >> the immediate challenge for western governments, and of course, the of year in government, is to house -- is how to get this and it. what interventions are being made? >> last night, the signs were that this was over. the military component was in the search phase. but today, the fines are that there may still be some hostage- takers on the site. it is not clear where and whether they of hostages still. but there are signs that the military operation has been ongoing there has been a lot of confusion about how many hostages might have died and might still be missing. -- and how many might still be missing. >> no real information coming out, but david cameron made it quite plain that he was not consulted, nor other western

leaders before the algerian assault began. is there any indication of more coordination today? >> there is and how does -- there is unhappiness on the part of many countries over not being consulted. whether they felt they had to move because of the hostages and could only tell them afterwards, that is not clear. i think of iraq is very precious about its sovereignty -- i think algeria is a very precious about its sovereignty. i think it felt it had to take action itself. the foreign office has been trying to get a team down there and has not been given permission vermont syria to do that so far. >> george, -- from algeria so far to do that. >> george ramallah --

george, how counter are they to western intervention? >> i think they feel they are quite capable of handling and they do not want interference, a particularly from western states. the interference in libya last year they did not approve of. they have had longstanding suspicions against france. and they do -- and they do not deserve a trust burden anymore either. i should point out, by the way, that the operation was massive and involved 800 people being taken hostage on two separate sites. i think the out during really did feel that they -- the algerians really did feel that they had to take the lead on this. >> has there been any sort of negotiating? or is this not a negotiating scenario? >> ironically enough, it is, or

could have been, because the purpose of taking hostages was to use them as a source of ransom. but the miscalculation was profound. there are algerian government does not negotiate, nor does the british government or the american government. i think we could see the catastrophe from the fact that the hostage-takers attempted to escape from the site and it was bought, that -- and it was ... that precipitated the attack. >> thank you, and of course, we will keep you updated with every development on this story here on bbc world news. after years of denial, cycling superstar lance armstrong has finally made a very public confession. he confirmed what everyone in the sport had assumed for some time, that he joked his way to

seven toward france winds. -- that he doped his way to seven toward france winds. -- wins. he was stripped of his titles late last year. here is more. >> for years, he deceived and are finally, he confessed. the man, once a global hero, admitted his success was down to drugs. >> yes 1 a, did you ever take band substances to enhance your second performance? >> yes. >> and all seven of your tour of france victories, did you ever take band substances or blood dope? >> yes. >> he said his battle against cancer had given him a "win at our cost" mahdavi. he said it never even felt --

a win at all cost mentality. he said it never even felt like cheating. >> and to win, you had to do this, you felt. >> yes, and are not sure this is a mexican poll answer, but that is like saying we ought to have air -- and i'm not sure this is an acceptable answer, but we have to -- it is like saying we ought to let air in our tires or water in our bottles. in my view, it is part of the job. >> but he admitted he was a bully in his behavior was inexcusable. he said he will be apologizing for the rest of his life. >> this is too late. it is too late for probably most people. and that is my fault. i view this situation as one big lie. >> armstrong said he would now cooperate with the cycling authorities, but the downfall an

icon -- the downfall of the icon is now complete. it was the smith, the perfect story, he said, and it was not true. >> -- it was this myth, a perfect story, and he said, it was not true. >> for now, jamie is here with all of the business news. we are starting to get more on the travails of boeing and the reminder. >> it is not just going in many ways. -- it is not just going in many ways. this affects a lot of airlines, and of course, a lot of passengers as well. >> to you think they were taken aback with the grounding of the fleet? >> i think it was taken as a huge blow. a week ago, they did on the and it was going to be that serious. u.s. safety officials have arrived in japan to inspect the dreamliner 787 forced to make the emergency landing on wednesday. the pilot had emergency lights

and the smell of burning in the cockpit. never a good sign. investigators are now focusing on a set of batteries on the plane. >> according to japanese investigation team, they made a statement but it is believed that the battery over heated due to excessive flow of electricity and pressure. but that is an assessment. what they will need to do now is to pull everything apart and find out why this battery meltdown. >> the other story we are looking at is photo sharing. website instagram has put a new privacy policy interaction. the site sparked a major route last year when it appeared to claim ownership of users photos and then reserve the right to sell them to our advertisers if it wanted to. instagram said -- was all a mistake.

it has changed its wording. it has lost almost all of it -- almost half of its users in the past month alone. my next guest says users are still concerned about the changes. >> the new set of terms makes it clear that instagram is not taking ownership of the photos that users put on there, however, there are still concerns with the proposed conditions coming tomorrow. they are asking users to allow them to license the images. the photographic society will have concerns about in the real world. it tends to operate by its own role. >> to do stay with us. we will be live from moscow in a moment to find out why the artistic director stirrer -- the art director of the bolshoi

ballet was the attack. sydney, australia's biggest city, has just experienced its hottest day on records with temperatures reaching 145.8 degrees celsius. a heat wave has affected much of the country and invited many huge bushfires. it has affected new south wales and victoria. >> for the people of victoria, these fires are especially terrifying. they were devastated by the black saturday disaster in 2009 in which more than 170 lost their lives. the 40 degree temperatures and raging winds are of similar one wins and intensity. many are of risks from the fast advancing fire france. one person had to be rescued

after being trapped in a burning house. a fire crew survived what is called a board over, when flames leaped over their truck. -- a. byrne over, when flames leaped over their truck. for the local wildlife, too, the combination of heat, winds, and dry bushland is potentially deadly. in neighboring new south wales, where fires have been raging since the beginning of the year, residents are confronting the same hazardous conditions. this week around a rural town, some 50 properties are been destroyed and today, fires are jumping containment lines. sydney is experiencing the hottest day on record. these are some of the most treacherous conditions that fire crews have faced for years. bbc news, sidney. >> and talking of he, you can

read our body parts of the affected by extreme temperatures atoll bbc.com/news. the top stories this hour. the military raid a of the algerian complex continues. dozens of foreign workers are still being held hostage. 18 the islamic militants have now been killed. the cyclist lance armstrong has finally had to using its performance enhancing drugs during all seven of his tour de france winds. -- wins. the artistic director of the bolshoi theater is being treated in in moscow hospital for severe burns to his face after a masked man through asset asim. doctors are now fighting to save the -- who threw acid about him. doctors are now fighting to save

his eyesight. the bbc's steve rosenberg has more. he joins me from moscow. an extraordinary story. do we have any idea what lies behind it? >> we do not know for sure. russian police have launched an investigation. what we found out today is that he had faced intimidation over the last few months of. the tires on his car were slashed recently. he suffered a cyber attacks. and of course, a physical attack, which has left him battling for his eyesight. we believe he will be flown to belgium, to a special burn unit later today to try to help the treatment. >> the bolshoi is something russians are extraordinarily proud of. is it known that there is a great degree of politics, and possibly very nasty politics, inside the bolshoi?

>> yes, it is no secret there is not -- there is a lot of politics to this jewel of russian culture. and certainly, the suspicion is talking to people today at the bolshoi, that this could be the result of some fighting there. the director of the bolshoi said today that he is 100% certain that the attack is related to the artistic director's activities. this could be the result of that, he suggested. every day, the artistic director of the bolshoi, he took some actions that made some people happy, but some very unhappy. he handed out roles for the ballet. >> as you speak, might it of the movie: " black swan." -- i am reminded of the movie open " black swan." is he a household name?

>> he is a huge star, really. he was a star when he was daddy on the stage of the bolshoi ballet. he moved to be artistic director. and he was well-liked by his colleagues. that is why there is so much shock at the ballet today. i spoke to one ballet dancer who could hardly speak, she could not believe how such an attack could be carried out against a man of such culture. >> thanks for joining us from moscow. last year, growth in the world's largest economy, china, slowed to its slowest level in 13 years, but there are other signs of rebound. china's export driven economy has been hit by the global financial crisis. its leaders have been trying to encourage domestic consumption. how to achieve the transition?

damian reports from an industrial town in central china. >> through the grind, the sun rarely shines. the tower blocks shadows. chairman mao built the steel works, one of the biggest in the world. they employ 80,000 people. as china boomed, so did his business. but now china is slowing and is struggling to make a profit. >> the slowdown in china's economy means there is too much iron and steel being produced. they have been told to cut production, but it is not allowed to cut large numbers of jobs to save money. >> it is china's allow, giant state firms still dominating -- it is china's dilemma. giant state firms still dominates the economy. where will the jobs come from? >> it is like deep winter for

the whole industry. it may last another five years. to get through, we need to reform and diversify. >> despite the problems at its biggest employer, this city is one of the fastest-growing parts of china china's relentless drive to organize has reached these cities. it seems this is a construction site. the chinese know about this building spree cannot go on forever. to replace the grimy old ways, they are encouraging spotless new industry. innovation and high technology. and out what the city craves. here, they make screens for mobile phones. the hires go and higher-paying jobs. what china's future looks like. >> in china is producing on a

massive scale, low-quality, but low-cost. we are losing in that advantage. in the coming 10 years that has got to change. leaders haves new got to -- want to see more of this, too, and upscale, shopping district. changeshoping that the here will be good for them. in the future, china wants to rely less on exporting overseas and more on domestic consumers. area's new uncrosses forging a new path for this city built on steel -- is forging a class a new path for the city built on steel. >> you may have noticed that we are treating our -- blowing are troubled about our

new look. -- blowing our trumpet about our new look. we have been recorded again the music at the start of each bulletin. and we have recorded at abbey road, where the beatles did some of their greatest work, of course. let's have a look at our countdown sequence as it path fn through the eyes of the musicians who recorded it. ♪ >> music is interesting, because you do not want to push far one emotions too way or the other. ♪ >> my challenge was to take all of davis computer models and make them work for input --

for an orchestra. what is difficult is that if you are using samples, you can dial- up won a symphony orchestra and if it is not quite enough, you can dhanapala another -- you can dial up another or a third. in the real world, you're only half alive. -- you only have live. ♪ i think -- >> i think if you are going to ride because truly -- if you're going to write orchestrioally, you have to show the difference between some of the net comes from a box and some that comes from the heart. -- between something that comes from a box and sevine that comes from the heart. ♪ >> starring stockard a quick

reminder of our top story. a military raid of and the algerian gas complex is said to be ongoing. does this of hostages are still held by islamic militants. out your it is unlikely to seek foreign military assistance -- algeria is unlikely to seek foreign military assistance. >> make sense of international news at 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. >> at union bank, our

relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored