>> 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. united healthcare. union bank. and fidelity investments. >> your personal economy is made up of the things that matter most, including your career. as those things change, fidelity can help you adjust your retirement plan, rethink how you are invested, and refocus as your career moves forward. wherever you are, a fidelity ira has a wide array of choices that can fit your personal economy.

fidelity investments, turn here. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business. butoffering specialized solutions in the 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, your watching "gmt," on bbc world news." the south african athlete is formally charged with murdering his girlfriend. his lawyers have applied for bail. the prosecution accused him of premeditated murder. the defense says the shooting

was accidental. his girlfriend's funeral took place today. a secret community behind the series of hacking attacks on u.s. infrastructure according to an american u.s. computer security specialists. australians this -- australian swimming in the dock. lack of strong leadership. also, we take a look at what is happening in business. dell could be going private? >> absolutely. they are going to be talking about their earnings later on, but shareholders at the moment saying that there is a glitch in the system and it does not add up.

it is -- >> it is 12:00 noon here, 7:00 a.m. in london, and in south africa different stories have been appearing in court. he broke down crying after hearing the story of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend. the prosecutor told the court that he had got up from bed, put on his prosthetic legs, walked to the bathroom and shot his crow friend through the door. with the latest details, here is naomi. >> oscar pistorius was in court today. the pair lived decathlete sobbed into his hands as he listened to the arguments about whether he should get bail. prosecutors gave more detail of what they say happened last

night. they'll age that -- they allege that he woke up, put on his prosthetic leg, and fired his gun to the bathroom door. of the four shots, three hit his girlfriend. the defense lawyers declare that the shooting was accidental. meanwhile is a state of mourning in the postal -- coastal town of port elizabeth. the deceased's family spoke briefly after the funeral. >> at a certain point, we were smiling as we remembered her. because we only have good memories of her. i think that is what we were all thinking. >> the family has been praised for their dignity, but the mother has made it clear that they, like the rest of south africa, want answers.

>> for a while oscar pistorius has been in prison, awaiting trial. what do we know about how the funeral ceremony went today? >> the funeral service here was a somber one. we saw family and friends streaming in, some carrying flowers. we met old friends of the deceased. one of the ladies went to high school with her. she told me that she and her friends had dusted off an old high-school playbook. there were many tributes to her sense of humor and her intelligence.

today the family and friends came to the park crematorium. as they were saying, some were ready set -- very sad, but some -- some stories made them laugh. >> a great deal of public attention, this must make it rather difficult for her immediate family. >> yes, indeed. the parents of reeva steenkamp are a very private family. they lived in their old homes with their dogs. they did not want the spotlight during the service. we have been cordoned off and we stayed outside the crematorium. but there's still a huge presence of local and national media. >> have any public statements been made on behalf of the

family? >> yes, indeed. after the service came, adam steenkamp and his uncle came to speak to us. >> thank you very much. coming to us from the funeral of reeva steenkamp in port elizabeth today. in other news in brief, police in brussels are looking for a gang who drove on to the tarmac of an international airport and stole $50 million from the hall of an airplane. these marked men used two vehicles to crash through the fence around the airport. within minutes they had made their way to the airplane.

the number of civilians killed in afghanistan has fallen for the first time in six years according to a u.n. report. there was a slight increase in the number of civilians injured last year. [indiscernible] has walked away from a spectacular crash in california. his engine suddenly exploded, sending debris everywhere. the driver was able to walk away with only minor injuries. joining me here, tonya is a joke -- lucky meek, yet is joining me here. >> if you are a private company, you do not have to report

earnings and dance to the tune of wall street, which many have called a great relief. some years ago michael dell suggested that the founder of apple, steve jobs, should close apple and give the money back to shareholders. the share price for dell has moved down quite sharply, looking to give money back to shareholders, turning the company back into a privately owned company. later today they report their earnings and if the buyout is successful, analysts say that his motivation is simply to get back control. >> ultimately i do not think he would be taking this company private. his name is on the door. it is on the computer. and he is opportunistic. at this point he will be glad to take off the hands of

shareholders. >> meanwhile, the world's biggest hotel group has reported a rise in profits. inter-continental hotels made $640 million. the owner of several well-known brands, including holiday and, did see a marked slowdown in business at the end of the year. they own 4.5 -- 4500 hotels around the world. the boat -- they said that it was because of their diversification. >> the u.s. and china are our biggest markets. the u.s. has done well. europe is low growth. that is just to stay we are in. with intercontinental at the top and, we perform well. >> a couple of brands on the move there. >> thank you very much indeed.

now, a secretive chinese military unit is believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks on the u.s. infrastructure according to an american based computer security specialists. they say they believe that many of the most serious attacks came from a power bloc in shanghai. they have analyzed more the 140 attacks launched by the target since 2006 and say that china has targeted critical infrastructure in the united states and that their electrical power grid and waterworks the tax can be placed on addresses in shanghai. for a bit more, john is in

shanghai. what have you tried to discover and what are the difficulties you have encountered? >> it has long been alleged that china is behind this kind of systematic cyber-attack. but i think that this report has something qualitatively different. it is very different and contains keystroke by keystroke analysis of what some of these alleged hackers have said to have done. the internet security company does work for hundreds of companies who have suffered breaches. they have said that over the years their investigations in many instances point back not just to one country or one city, but to one particular district in shanghai. in this small suburb.

>> what happened when you tried to go and investigate the whereabouts a bit more? >> we went down there to try and film, it is a shanghai suburb. they pretty normal cityscape. shops, restaurants, karaoke bars. in the middle of the 12 store a block. we tried to get some video footage and were not successful. we did confirm that it was a military base. we were only released from the soldiers in uniform when we agreed to release our videotapes. it may be that they have been alerted because of this report to the sensitive allegations. >> as you were saying, the song is a bit different, have the chinese authorities said something specifically this

time? >> no, they have not, other than rejecting it again. they say what they always say, with some truth, of course, which is that it is very difficult to trace the source of hacking attacks and easy to disguise the location or give an indication of another location to the one you are in. they point out that china itself is the victim of hacking attempts. in this instance it is pretty detailed and well researched as a piece of work. rather than the broad claim that china was involved in hacking, they pointed the finger at a specific address. >> all right, john, thank you indeed. stay with us on "to bbc world news." still the come, the italian economy with high unemployment,

what are italians facing ahead of the general election on sunday? the world's largest food maker has become the latest company to be caught up in the scandal in europe regarding the contamination of beef products with horse meat. they have relief -- there were traces of course dna in the food. >> the scandal refuses to go away. one week after nestle said that its products were clear, confirmation that some of their products contained traces of horse meat. ministers had good news for the company. representatives from the company at the heart of the controversy were told that some operations could restart after the work was suspended.

the french government stands by its claim. with most of the company's stock tested and cleared, they conceded that hundreds of unwitting workers should not be penalized. >> we have two objectives. guarantee security and allow workers to maintain work security. >> the netherlands have a gone into over 100 businesses. german officials are trying to control the meat products and enforce stronger penalties for companies that violate the rules. >> we rather expect more cases to be uncovered. that is why these controls are being put in place, to get everything completely on the table. >> with the extent of the scandal still widening, it is clear that the complex relationship between these

suppliers, producers, and distributors have failed consumers. what is left is how to ensure what is in europe's meat products matches the label on the outside. >> these are our top stories at this hour. a south african athletes, oscar pistorius, has been charge of premeditated murder. he said that he shot his girlfriend believing she was a burglar. a chinese industry in shanghai is behind a series of cyber- hacking attacks. when it comes to supporting champions, australia made a strong showing at the national event. last year's olympics, they failed to deliver. there is a toxic culture amongst australian swimmers. an official report on their

performance regarding the bad behavior of team members went unchecked. this use of prescription drugs and bullying. they said that strong leadership was needed but that no such response was given. first, let's have a look at this. australian swimming has seen a decline in its fortunes since the 2000 olympics, when they won five golds. in 2004 the australian team picked up seven golds. in beijing they had six, but in london the disastrous result of one gold left the decision to investigate the culture of australian swimming. nick joins us now from australia. tell us a bit more about what

the report was saying? you talk about colorful language? >> it is the same as a land when it comes to support and field, the sporting swimming pool. it was a very damning report and the language is very strong. citing a toxic culture with a misuse of prescription drugs, drunkenness, intimidation and bullying. but this used of social media. there was no team spirit. some spoke of the lonely olympics. a pretty scathing report after what was a fairly dismal performance. this is the worst they have had in the pool since 1992. >> any reason as to why swimming in australia has degenerated to this extent?

>> there are a number of factors. they just underperformed at this olympics. james madison was called the missile, fired in london. he would have actually won that day. but they failed in the four by 100 meter freestyle relay. on as a medal. some big names have dropped out. they tried to get them back. the star of the sydney games, they thought that he might come out of retirement and they tried to give him a lot of money to do so, but he did not make the mark. a lot of veterans that did not come out of retirement. and the young ones experienced stage fright in london. >> is this kind of culture

fairly pervasive in other sports at which traditionally the australians have excelled? >> swimming is a really big deal here. it is the event that starts the olympics and they have always done well. it is a sport that holds a special affection. other sports that hold a bit of a problem, one week ago they were reporting the blacklist of australian sport. claims that there is a widespread use of performance enhancing drugs, especially in the big money sports. cricket is not doing particularly well at the moment. they have not won the cup series, i am delighted as an englishman to say. one of the reason is the coaches of here be being poached.

>> all right, nick bryant, the wake-up call for australian swimmers and perhaps other australian athletes. life in sydney. in the last half-hour or so, fifa have invited new goal line technology to brazil. italians will vote in a general election this coming sunday. the third largest economy in the eurozone has beaten recession. the bbc is traveling by train through northern and central italy to find out how people feel before the vote. >> it is a gorgeous day along

the tuscan coast line. people are out and about and in trying quality time. despite the sunshine, the overwhelming feeling here is bleak. >> there is no work. people are going hungry in italy. i am afraid that things are already broken and are just going to get worse. >> who should we vote for? the right? we have tried that. the left? not even worth talking about. i think that all applicants feel the same as me. what future do our children have? where will they find work? >> the situation for young

italians is really sad. many are unemployed. it is a critical moment. italy has much to offer. >> most italians say that they will go out and vote, you have to by law, but a large protest vote is expected. italy has the third largest economy in the eurozone. what happens here matters inside and outside the country. >> testing the mood and temperature on the tuscan coast. you may have noticed that the universe is moving faster than expected and scientists are struggling to explain why the galaxies are rotating at these speeds and planets are flying apart more quickly than they should. a team from america is going to use the hubble has -- hubble telescope to investigate what is called dark energy.

our science correspondent explains. >> the world around us is made of atoms. they link up to form the buildings that we see, the water that flows, and all life on the planet. scientists have discovered something else out there that makes up most of the universe, a force that was present at the beginning of time. the current theory of physics suggests that the expansion of the universe slow down after the big bang and would then contract. instead with seems to be happening is that galaxies seem to be flying apart faster than ever before. scientists believe that this force is called a dark energy and it accounts for two-thirds of the universe. >> this acceleration defies the current theories of feet -- theories of physics. scientists want to know where the energy driving the universe apart is coming from.

they are using the hubble space telescope to fault -- to find out. they will measure how fast galaxies are accelerating away from us. one of the researchers involved told me the results may show that the universe may continue to accelerate apart forever. >> the bigger it gets, the faster it will go. that will be a universe that just expands forever. the piece of the universe that we get to see will have fewer and fewer galaxies in it, it will be a dark, lonely, cold place 100 million years from now. >> the solution will rewrite theories of modern physics and change our own notion of the universe and our place in it. >> we are getting reports from syria that at least 20 people have died in a rocket attack.

syrian opposition activists say that another 25 people are missing. the report -- the attack is reported to have taken place in a district that has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict. over the next half hour we will take you to the troubled southern region of thailand, where soldiers are fighting for independence. in this area there much in evidence of independence. that is it for the moment. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. fidelity investments. and united healthcare. >> we speak a universal language, but when i was in an

accident i worry that the health care system spoke a language all its own. with united healthcare i got help for my life. estimates on what might care might cost. so that i did not miss a beat. >> 70,000 people working for 70 million americans. that is held in numbers. >> your personal economy is made up of the things that matter most, including your career. as those things change, fidelity can help you readjust your retirement plan, rethink how you are invested, and refocus as your career moves forward. wherever you are today, a fidelity ira has a wide range of investment choices that can fit your personal economy. fidelity investments, turn here. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet in los angeles.