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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. you're watching "g.m.t." on "bbc world news." our top story -- america in its sights. north korea announces what it calls a new phase in its battle with the historic enemy. a top line from kim jung you know, there will be more nuclear tests, and north korea claims that the weapons are designed to reach the u.s. mainland. women on the front lines, america lifts a ban on females serving in combat units. a win for equal rights or a headache for the generals? we'll hear what you think.

accused of carrying out summary executions, is a war against islamists rebels turning into an ethnic battle? also on the program, aaron is here with the world of business. better news for nokia, but still a long way to go, aaron. >> i don't know how they say hooray in finland, but i know they're using it. nokia has sold nearly 4.5 million of these babies, the new lumia smartphone. good news, but is it enough to play catchup with the likes of apple and samsung? >> it's 12:00 noon here in london, early morning in washington, and 9:00 p.m. in pyongyang, where the government has issued a chilling warning, claiming its nuclear weapons are designed to reach america. now, whether that's credible or not, it's certainly the most provocative statement to come

since kim jong un came to power, and it's not just rhetoric in what's being referred to as a new phase in its struggle with the historic enemy. north korea says it's planning a third nuclear test. for more on that, we can join lucy williamson, who's following developments in neighboring seoul. lucy? >> thanks, george. yes, there's been months of speculation here in south korea as to whether the north was planning a third nuclear test. today we got confirmation not only that it was, but also that it was a warning to the united states. so if those u.n. sanctions this week were meant to dissuade pyongyang, they seem to have had the opposite effect. six weeks after it launched a long-range rocket and just a day after receiving extra u.n. sanctions for doing it, north korea has raised the stakes again with the news that it would carry out a third nuclear test.

state television made the announcement, saying that north korea was locked in an all-out war of confrontation with its people's archenemy, the united states. and that its satellite and rocket launches and its nuclear tests were all carried out with the u.s. in mind. that's given the u.s. north korea envy something to talk about. he just arrived in the region to talk to north korea's neighbors, south korea, china, and japan, about how to manage relations with the communist state. another nuclear test, he said, would be highly provocative. >> whether they will test or not, we hope they don't. it would be highly voluntary -- highly provocative. it would set back the solution to these long-standing problems that have events the peninsula from becoming reunited. i think it's very important that they don't test. >> but north korea has proved

resistant to sanctions and not even its main ally, china, has been able to stop its long leader, kim jong un, from showcasing his country's military might. this time the north has described the upcoming test as high level, a sign perhaps that it's moving forward with a new uranium-based nuclear program, which it revealed to the outside world in 2010. >> lucy, in your report there, you seem to suggest that china wasn't having as much influence as perhaps it would like, so what are we to make of beijing's call for restraint from all concerned? >> well, china does seem to be increase going irrated with pyongyang. if you remember back in december, when north korea launched that long-range rocket, we were told by officials here in seoul that beijing had sent envoying to north korea just the week before to try to dissuade them from doing it and got absolutely no response. when that rocket was launched,

beijing came out with a slightly harsher than it usually does. following on from that, you'll notice they backed the new u.n. sanctions announced this week. there are signs that beijing is increasingly irritated. on the other hand, it has more to lose than perhaps anyone else in the region from a sudden change in the status quo. north korean refugees flooding across its borders, a lack of access to north korea's resources, and a lack of a buffer zone against the 28,000 u.s. troops. so, china has a lot of reasons to be cautious even if it is irritated. >> lucy, how about this claim, and that's what it's got to be, this claim that the weapons can reach the american mainland? i guess there must be a lot of experts trying to work out just how credible that is. >> that's right. well, one of the reasons why the satellite launch as north korea billed in was december was such a big story is because the technology uselessed to

send the satellite up into space is very similar to that which is used in the intercontinental ballistic missile. the big dnchts is you have to get a melf down again, so that's something that north korea hasn't proved it can do. but it certainly proved it can put a satellite in space, which is the first stage of that process. and now we hear it's carrying out a third nuclear test. many people are very worried about where that path will end. having said that, north korea does appear to want a nuclear deterrent, a kind of bargaining chip if you like, and certainly most experts think it hasn't been able to make a nuclear device that's small enough to go on a war head as of yet so. that's some cause for consolation from many people here in the south and indeed in the u.s. >> lucy, thanks very much. thanks very much indeed. now, should women serve on the front line? it's a question that divides opinion, both in military circles and in the public at large. but america it seems has settled that argument.

the defense secretary, leon panetta, is lifting the ban on women serving in combat. the move could open hundreds of thousands of jobs to welcome, but it could also implicate the way in which battle-ready troops are organized. our washington correspondent, ben wright, has more. >> women have not getting closer to combat for years. they serve in the u.s. military in many roles, as pilots, medics, mechanics, and police. but since 1994, women have not banned from joining front-line artillery and infantry battalions. patrols and front-line fighting has been the job of men. until now. the decision to overturn the ban has been made by the obama administration. but its u.s. military chief recommended a change to the rules. more than 20,000 women serve with u.s. forces in iraq and afghanistan. several have since filed lawsuits against the pentagon, claiming they served in a combat role, but have not been

recognized for it. it seems the pentagon now believes the current restriction is at odds with the reality on the battlefield and an unfair limit on the women's military career, and members of congress agree. >> if women can meet the performance standards and can do the job and are willing to lay down their lives, then i think that's good for the nation. i think america's daughters are just as capable of defending liberty and freedom as our sons are. >> of america's 1.5 million members of the arms forces, 14% are women. lifting the ban will open up hundreds of thousands of new jobs for them. but it will not happen immediately. it's thought the u.s. defense secretary, leon panetta, wants initial plans in place by may, and military chiefs will have three years to decide if some combat roles should remain off limits to women. but this is a groundbreaking step, one that will lead to american women and men fighting on the front loons together. ben wright, bbc news,

washington. >> before that report, there was plenty of argument about women in the combat zone, and many of have been posting your thoughts on our facebook page. let's just give you an idea of just what some of you are saying. here's one, who got in touch from nigeria, and he said military assignments should not be based on sex, but on ability, considering the toughness and difficulties in the battlefield, such level of military operations should be a man's job. he's pretty sure where he stands. benjamin wrote that, even from alaska, women are children, individuals, and well capable of making their own decisions in the battlefield. and david lloyd heard from here, from the u.k., says i'm happy with equal opportunities, but i do worry about them in case they end up as p.o.w.'s, prisoners of war. that actual sal question that comes up over and over again, that women in some sense are

more vulnerable if they are, if they're captured. well, let's give you one more. wendy lane wrote in, personally, i say it's about time. women are proven strategic thinkers, and they know exactly what they're letting themselves in for. >> there you go. some of the comments on women in combat. now it's time for the business news. listen, and you i have talked about nokia a lot of times, got a mountain to climb. can we say that, well, they've reached the foothills perhaps? >> george, they've had good news today, but they have got an uphill struggle. and let me give you an example. good news they had on their new mobile, the lumia, the new model out in the last three months, the buildup of last year, including the christmas period. nokia sold 4.4 million of theseless babies, and that was good news, first time they got over four million. here's what they're up against, the iphone. apple, last night we heard in that same period of time, apple sold 48 million of these, 4.4

million, 10 times, 48 million in the same period. that was the struggle, george, that nokia is facing. let me explain in more detail. hell on there. bosses at nokia must be breathing certainly a sigh of relief. they have announced the results for the last three months of 2012, and with the help of the sales, assist i said, of this little baby, the flagship, the nokia lumia, the company made a profit for the first time in 18 months. let me show you some of those numbers. they made a net profit of 270 million in that fourth quarter period. that's compared to a net loss of morn a billion dollars, the same period just a year ago. record sales lumia certainly helped boost the numbers. nokia sold 4.4 million of them over the christmas period. but signs -- there's always a but, isn't it -- signs the company is falling behind. overall, it sold just under 16 million smartphones in that quarter. the year before, it sold 19.5

million. soolingts bit of a slippage there. it also said today it won't be paying a dividend to shareholders. that's the money it pays out every year to shareholders t. won't be doing that for the first time in 20 years. technology correspondent, our very own rory told me what nokia's doing to try and catch up to its rivals in the market. >> they've got a twin strategy. they know they've got to be big in smartphones. they've got to have flagship phones. but they have also hung on to their position in much of the developing world. in india, to a lesser extent in china, they are making an impact with those cheaper phones, which beginning to become smartphones themselves. it's quite difficult to differentiate the market, but nokia is doing well there. the important thing is the margins on those kind of phones are pretty thin. >> they sure are. from one household name to another, because just like its cappuccinos, there's likely to be a fair bit of froth -- i

didn't write that -- on the latest earnings from starbucks. in spite of the economic times, starbucks is widely expected to report a strong set of figures, all thanks to robust worldwide sales and fast-pace program. the seattle-based company, well, it reports its latest quarterly earnings. that comes up after the closing market bell in new york today. profits, though, for starbucks may be up well over 10%, but it has not been all smooth sailing. starbucks got a roasting for paying no corporation tax on new sales of some $600 million. it's now volunteered to make some payments. starbucks arrangements are perfectly legal and typical of a multinational of its kind. but critics have not been silent, forcing starbucks into damage control. >> one of the things that's really tricky about that situation on corporation tax is how do you educate the public of the complexities of the british tax code, and does the public really care about those intricacies? probably not.

so, on the one hand, by educating the public, you look defensive. by not educating them, then you're almost encouraging them to think that you are a big, greedy, terrible company trying to exploit your workers. it's a very difficult thing to play. >> big numbers expected later on from starbucks. >> aaron, thank you, thank you. do stay with us. there's much more to come here on "g.m.t." our science correspondent explains why biscuits provide a clue to the link between dogs and their canine ancestors. >> now, to the controversial construction of winter in airland, as they're being built to power homes in the u.k. there are combines the turbines stretching hundreds of feet into the air could damage the irish countryside. our environment correspondent, matt mcgrath, reports now from the irish republic.

>> one shining light in ireland's economic gloom is green energy, especially wind, where investment is booming all across the landscape. today's deal is part of that expansion. supporters say it will save money for british consumers as it promises to be cheaper than electric generated from wind in the north sea. but to work, the plan requires hundreds of new turbines to be built all across the flat and boggy irish midland. building wind farms on bogland has already been done successfully here in on the island. but to generate the green electricity needed to power three million u.k. homes is going to require much bigger turbines than the ones you see here. in fact, it will need some of the biggest ever built in the world. campaigners say the giant wind farms will be a blot on the landscape of a country that trades on its unspoiled green image. irish ministers disagree, saying the energy deal is just a first step, and tough planning laws will protect the

countryside. >> i think there's a mutual interest here for both countries. and ireland doesn't want a wind farm at every crossroads. we don't want that. >> the hard-line opposition of some conservative m.p.'s to wind turbines in the u.k. is believed by opponents to be the real driving force behind the plan. the scheme is an irish solution to a british political problem. matt mcgrath, bbc news. >> and if you want more detail, more analysis, all you've got to do is go to our website. of course, the address, bbc.com/news. >> the top stories this hour -- north korea warns of more nuclear tests and long-range rocket launches, responding to what it calls its american archenemy.

the united states military is to lift its bob on women taking part in front-line combat. now, france has warned mali to rein in its soldiers after mali troops were accused of carrying out sum air executions of rebels. a paris-based human rights groups says malian government soldiers have carried out at least 30 execution-style killings in the past two weeks. france has sent 2,000 troops to mali to help the fight against the rebels. our international development correspondent, mark doyle, reports from central mali. >> for the past 24 hours, mali and government troops have prevented most foreign journalists from reaching the town close to the front line. these allegations may explain why. the human rights organization said there have been some 30 sum air executions by the army in the area and in the front line town.

>> the malian army feels hue mile ate, as they were defeated several times in 2012, and they wish to take some kind of revenge. we're afraid this revenge could focus on civilians. the civilians in arms, there were civilian clothes and distinguishing between civilians and islamist fighters is not easy. >> these allegations are embarrassing for france, which is fighting alongside the mali army. the french defense minister said malian army officers should ensure abuses were avoided. their honor was at stake. and so, by implication, of course, is that of france. reports suggest that the mainly black african malian army has targeted arabs and ethnic from the north. this exposes a racial aspect to this war, which has been hidden by the emphasis on western

troops fighting a war against islamist insurgents. >> that was the bbc's mark doyle reporting from central mali. let's catch up now with some other stories from around the world. a french woman is on her way home after being set free by the supreme court. florence cassez was jailed in 200 up. her former boyfriend was a member of a notorious kidnap gang, but she always knowledge of what was going on. severe flooding has hit northern queensland after a period of torrential rain. roads were cut off and vehicles stranded in an area known for sugar cane farming. more rain is forecast for the next three days, generated by the tail end of tropical cyclone oswald. women smokers are far more likely to die as a result of their habit than they were in the 1960's much that's according to a new study. the trend is being blamed on changing habits as women start

smoking earlier. death rates among women smokers have now caught up with men. novak djokovic has reached the final of the australian open in melbourne for the third year running. the defending champion beat the fourth seed, spaniard david ferrer, in straight sets. he'll face either roger federer or andy murray in sunday's final. the five men accused of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in india are back in court. the prosecution is presenting its opening arguments to the special fast track court, which was set up in response to the national outrage about the assault. the defense is expected to put its case on monday. a sixth suspect is expected to be tried as a juvenile. in response to calls to make delhi safer, authorities have set up a help line exclusively for females. each day the help line receives

thousands of calls by women in distress. most callers complain of sexual molestation, stalking by men, and harassment over the phone. a senior consultant of the help line explains how this works. >> i work with help line as a consultant. and this is my team who handle the complaints of women in distress. awe we have three callers who take the calls. after the 6th of december, this happens in delhi. they had a discussion of the high level, and then she decided there's a new way for women. and daily we receive around 3,000 cases.

around 600 cases are quite serious matter. and out of the whole lot of cases which we receive, around 60% of the cases are of stalking and following and sexual abuse, to phone, internet, email. it's a help line for women, but that help line was not very proactive. we tried to make this help line or any other help line by bringing in the callers who, they have the right. and since they are survivors, they have a very emphatic attitude. soon there will be a day when women will be an equal part of the whole society, and they'll be respected and given due

space in society. then i think there will be help lines or any call centers or support system, and for that purpose, we have started this help line to make this whole process very speedy and faster. >> that was about the call center in india. now, domesticated dogs have evolved into man's best friend much more recently than previously thought. that's the revelation following new analysis of their d.n.a. a study published in the journal "nature" has found that dogs began to evolve from worlds as recently as 11,000 years ago, thanks to the habit of scavenging for leftovers. our science correspondent explains. >> wolves were once common in the world. but now they're scarce. they tend so shy away from humans. it's a mystery how they first

came into contact with us and how they evolved into dogs. but a genetic study has shed new light on how these creatures became man's best friend. >> one of the most popular theories of how involved evolved into dogs is that the process began 30,000 years ago, when our ancestors stole wolf cubs and trained them to help them hunt a food. but a new study suggests the process began much more recently, around 11,000 years ago, when human communities settled down and began to farm. a genetic comparison between canine and wolf d.n.a. has shown that dogs are better able to absorb starch. it's the sort of starch that would have been found in cereals grown by our ancestors. it's why dogs love biscuits to this day. >> wolves would have started to eat from human scraps around settlements, around waste and so on, and those that were able to eat starches would have done

this more and would have become more associated with humans, and perhaps ended up becoming pets. >> good girl. >> so how did the early interaction between wolves and humans develop into the bond we see today? >> the wolf became our best friend, because what the wolf did was it protected our homes and our families from the most dangerous animal in the whole world, and that was of the human. >> the friend shp over dogs and people helped both species. small human communities were protected, and their dogs were loved and cared for. >> we're going to stay with this theme of animals and humans. we often hear about the special bond between humans and dolphins. that's certainly the case between one diver who came to the rescue of a dolphin in hawaii. divers say it's incredibly rare for dogs to stay close to them,

but this one waited for nearly 10 minutes while a scuba instructor cut and unwrapped the wire from its head and fin. the person who filmed it said there was no question the dolphin was asking for help. do stay with us. plenty more to come here on "g.m.t." >> 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. newmans own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our

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