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america." >> more than did the people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in a status? . -- in afghanistan. and in the euro zone, a leading credit agency is threatening a downgrade. and bp is found in the wrong in the february oil spill. can chelsea survive in the tip in league in a game against valencia that they must win? if you suffer from road rage, it could be your music that is driving you mad. afghan police say that more than 60 people are reported killed in

a series of coordinated attacks in afghanistan. the attacks have targeted shiites marking their holiday of ashoura. is is unprecedented. there were explosions in the northern city of mazar-i-sharif and the capital of kabul. the afghan president said it's the first time that terrorism has been unleased on such an important religious day. >> hundreds or gathered at the riverside shrine when the suspected suicide bomber struck. security forces cleared the area as news of two other attacks came through. one of them in the northwest and another in canada are in the south. kabul is used to violence, but this attack during the last festival of ashoura is seen as particularly brutal and

sectarian. >> many people injured. margaret. -- martyred, my friends among them. >> the worshipers were targets. the festival marks the martyrdom of the grandson of the prophet mohammad. the attacks will be seen as a the liberal party of the minority shia community -- will be seen as specifically against the minority shia community. >> thank you for your encouraging words, but the, and condolence for the victims of

the terrorist action today in kabul and in was our easter recess, which was the first time on such a religious day in afghanistan back terrorism of such horrible nature is taking place. >> the injured are rest of the hospital and the taliban are suspected. but analysts say this level of brutality against afghans could be a sign they are losing support. >> our correspondent in kabul said that exploded in the capital seemed to be part of a series of coordinated attacks. >> it's a place at a shrine not far from where i am standing. there have been ambulances and security forces. at least 30 bodies at the scene.

it seems that they have targeted the ashoura festival. there's been an explosion also in the north of the country in mazar-i-sharif in a mosque. >> this comes as the meeting in the city of bonn in germany is looking at the future of afghanistan. much international focus on the country. >> that's right. president karzai trying to find a roadmap, defined a future of what happens in this country at the end of 2014. a number of people in afghanistan, security officials, holding their breath with the thought that the taliban might launch an attack to divert

attention. no one has admitted to carrying out the attack. they are still waiting who will claim responsibility. >> quentin sommerville on the attacks in afghanistan. a leading credit ratings agency is increasing pressure on the euro zone to resolve the debt crisis. standard & poor's has warned 15 european countries could lose their triple-a rating if a deal is not reached soon. this comes days before crucial meeting of european union leaders in brussels. >> the second day and already the euro zone members have suffered a setback. no sooner had the leaders of the two largest economies in the zone unveiled their plan to save the currency when the u.s. ratings agency. them they were on the negative creditwatc watch.

it was not just germany and france on the list. other countries as well. there would be practical ramifications. standard & poor's decision would raise the cost of borrowing and that would make it harder for the euro zone bailout fund to borrow from the market's. with italy and other major euro zone economy's looking vulnerable, it is the last thing the euro zone leaders would want at this stage. the french and german leaders said that they would know the warning. they still firmly believe the plan that sets out earlier in the day would provides a way out of the debt crisis. that included calls for tougher european union treaty with stricter rules for budgets and sanctions for over-borrowing. a big step towards monetary and

fiscal union. it is against this background that the u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner applies to germany. his presence increases the pressure further. the u.s. is deeply concerned about its exposure to the euro zone and like so many others washington wants the instability to be over. >> timothy geithner touring european countries this week. angela merkel tanseh nicholas's, are trying to get their position clear. no matter what is decided, it still has to and get past euro zone members. >> proposals from the two are one thing, but we will get another set of proposals probably today or tomorrow from the president of the european council, who will chair the summit this week.

those are going to be out there. diplomats i've spoken to or from some of the smaller member states say that france and germany have a deal but we need to see the details and we need to see the fine print because if we want to know exactly how they plan to make this work. it was important to have a sense of confidence and togetherness about them at the beginning of this critical week, they say. that was really highlighted by a news from standard & poor's. there's no guarantee all countries will automatically sign off on whatever france and germany suggest. >> are those other countries speeling they will have to hand over some sovereignty as some critics of the plan will see that is the price to pay. >> there's a general feeling that some sovereignty will have to be handed over, some control over national budgets will have to be shared with others.

the critical question is who will that sovereignty be handed over to germany and other countries have said they would like the european commission to be in control. smaller countries like that because it is something they believe would be looked after their interests. some would prefer the power is to remain in and hands of member states, which would mean member states regulating themselves. and the smaller countries would fear that would mean the big countries would be regulating the small ones and they would not like that. >> thank you. in terms of what this means for small businesses and big businesses, much potential for uncertainty. >> exactly. that's one pink euro zone economy does not need is uncertainty. they have been pushing hard for some sorta ct of resolution.

looks like we can have something concrete going into the weekend. yesterday there was a meeting between the french and the germans and the s&p warning. the markets to pat in stride. the markets have given up some of their losses. to some degree perhaps the markets still vacant post things further we did feel that they can push things further. >> -- >> olympus, there have been plenty of accounting irregularities at that company. an independent panel says there was $1.7 billion accounting scandal.

there's no evidence of organized crime within the company, but there was an elaborate scheme to cover up investment losses. we will be talking to the former boss of columbus, a whistle- blower, about the story. >> thank you. the oil giant bp has accused one of its partner companies of intentionally destroying evidence regarding the massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico. it's said that halliburton destroyed the results of tests on the cement which was a principal factor in causing the accident. halliburton says the claims are without merit. this is an interesting exchange of allegations which will be poor court battle. >> the context is we are into legal arguments ahead of civil court case that will take place in new orleans early next year at which blame will be apportioned and damages in this

case will be quantified. it was the biggest oil spill in u.s. history. various companies were involved. the u.s. government appointed the commission but and pinpointed the cement that should fco to comic-con doh oil well as having been the root of the problem, it shouldn't prevented the leaks of oil and gas, but it did not. bp says that halliburton the contractor had the primary responsibility for the cement. halliburton says that bp meddled in the type of mix that was using in the cement at the last minute and did not carry out the protests. so that is the existing legal argument. accusedabp has halliburton of deliberately destroying evidence related to this case. bp alleges that halliburton deliberately destroyed evidence of test results carried out on the cement slurry that was used

in the macondo oil well and also accuses halliburton of destroying computer analysis. halliburton denies that claim and says the claim is without merit and looks for to arguing the case in court. we are potentially talking about a multibillion-dollar legal case. it is a lot of stakes for both sides. >> let's find out what's going in and the football game today. >> it's the champions league in europe today and also on wednesday to chelsea primarily in london. what the money behind them. a new coach. but some questions about the aging players like john shirey. they're playing against valencia, the spanish team. it is a must win games for them to go to the next level. they could go through with a draw, but it just depends really on the results elsewhere in that group. we will now hear from the chelsea boss.

>> such an important game. strategy will be the same. we don't speculate on the game. we want good quality possession. >> that was the tells the coaches saying they will be positive. his thinking about rebuilding his clsquad. a loss could be a blow to their bank balance down the road. some people feel that the players have not been very good. the tells the board are known to be fairly ruthless. is there to restructure the whole team and perhaps a few more months he can do so. >> thank you. you are watching bbc world news. coming up, you could change your

driving stress levels depending on your stereo. thousands of people in indonesia have been forced to flee after a volcano erupted. lava blood and roads in the east of the country and there was ash blowing through the rivers -- lava flowed on the roads. if anyone has been wishing to get away from it all, we might have the tickets. there has been found a habitable zone in the solar system. they say water could exist on the surface of a planet similar

to the earth. nasa scientists have found the closest thing yet. it or did not unlike our sun and is well-positioned to have liquid water on its surface. it sits in the habitable zone of the solar system's 600 light years away. >> if you have water and a source of heat and the right chemistry and enough time for live to develop, that is when you can get life. we are not saying that life has been found on this planet. >> it was found by a telescope that was launched two and a half years ago, designed to hunt for distant planets by looking at 150 cows and stars in the sky. the telescope's sensitive instruments can register when a

planet it passes in front approve the machine as the light diminishes by a minuscule amount. kepler 22b is the closest planet to a twin earth that scientists have seen. >> provisional election the figures in the democratic republic of congo suggests the president is leading the opposition leader. two thirds of polling center votes uncounted. the opposition has called for of the results to be an old. -- anulled. pablo neruda died in sunday i go santiago.died in

some are now calling for the poet's body to be exhumed because they believe he was poisoned. >> this is bbc world news. more than 50 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in afghanistan. the u.s. ratings agency standard and poor's has said that almost all the euro zone including france and germany are now on creditwa watch. at the top of the agenda will be a french and german proposals for nutrients to try to deepen economic and political ties in the face of the sovereign debt crisis. the two have been a powerhouse behind euro zone unification, but now seems the french are

falling out. >> it was in france that the european project got its start. 1951 the six founding members signed the treaty of paris. that set up a cold and steel community. 60 years later almost by instinct the french still see themselves as at the heart of the european union, along with germany, the most important country. as one british prime minister once said of general day gaulle, when he speaks of europe, he means france. that is still alive today. over the years mass opinion in france has shifted. today people are deeply suspicious of political issues in brussels and paris. their attitudes of a single currency is less enthusiastic. >> i understand people who say

we should go back to the french franc. switch into the euro is a monumental act of stupidity. >> people have the idea that the euro caused prices to increase, but if we go back to the french franc, that would make things worse. >> we should have all stayed with our original currency. but it's my opinion. the euro has been the ruin of europe. >> euro skepticism is very much alive in paris. >> police in new york are hunted for a suspected serial killer. a body was found hidden in long island a year ago and now 10

sets of human remains evidence found. >> on the trail of a serial killer, the police searched the undergrowth of an isolated banner island 50 miles from new york city. this quiet lonely highway has been used as a dumping ground for murder victims. shannon gilbert, a person in the sex trade, bannister 19 months ago. during the search for this woman along this remote area, police and discovered the remains of 10 other bodies. >> this picture was taken on christmas 2009. >> this common hopes her sister shannon is still alive. she is following a latest surge closely, waiting for news. >> in has been hard because we keep getting a phone call, like it could be your sister. it never is.

there's always that sinking feeling, appear that it really couldn't her. >> the remains of five women who worked as escorts have been found across parts of eastern long island have been found in the past year. five other bodies found as well, including a man who worked in the sex trade and a toddler believed to be the daughter of one of the women. the police search. was search >> no significant items of evidence were found today. >> 100 miles away in new york christmas approaches and there's still no relief for the family of shannon gilbert. >> i don't think the police took it seriously before now because she was a missing escort. i don't think that they thought she had loved ones looking for her and caring enough about repher.

>> the police originally believed multiple killers were hiding bodies here. now they believe the 10 murders are now the work of one serial killer. >> more on the website on that story. it seems like you listen to in your car can affect the way you drive. the new survey found it propfan's and rock fans are more likely to speed and have accidents -- the found that hip- hop and rock fans are more likely to speed and have accidents. >> if you listen to classical music, are you less likely to have an accident than someone listening to rock music whole pop music -- or pop? a survey of 2000 drivers suggest

that what we are listening to in our car does influence driving behavior. rock fans are more likely to experience road rage. 67% of them admit to swearing or gesturing at other drivers. 31% have been involved in a minor accident. classical music listeners are the least likely to speed, tailgate, or lose their cool with other drivers. 42% of them say they found driving relaxing. i know what your thinking, this is too obvious, of course if you're listening to mozart the music is calming and you are probably an older, more experienced driver. but the survey found surprises.

only 13% of pop music fans have been involved in a minor road accident. and what about jazz music? people listening to jazz are the most likely to get speeding fines. >> people are listening in a more analytical way to jazz, is a very complex sound and is more distracting. that can take your attention away. with pop music one of the things about it is that it is simple and a lot of people know the lyrics very well, so there's less of a drain on your concentration. >> if you want to drive home safely this christmas and you forget thee experts, t head banging. try a bed of mozart insteit of .

bbc news reporting. >> 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. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to

work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet los angeles. presented by kcet los angeles.