>> 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." >> the new face of north korea. kim jong un wound is the supreme leader. arab league monitors in syria prepared to go where the uprising began, but activists say their presence has done nothing to stop the violence. at least 20 dead after a turkish air strike in a kurdish village. could've been a case of mistaken identity. welcome to "bbc world news. i am david needs. -- eads. a crucial bond auction takes place shortly in ireland. can the next generation of the familyandhi

revive the party in india? the leader is dead and long live the leader as north korea continues mourning the death of kim jong-il, his youngest son has been declared supreme leader of the country. the declaration was made in front of a huge crowd in the capital of p'yongyang. the military service was led by senior military and political leaders. here is lucy williams. >> a show of force. one nation, soldiers and civilians lined up with military precision. it last moment of national remembrance for their former leader kim jong-il. but this choreographed display it is also for the youngest son kim jong un, 40 years younger than anyone else in charge. he fidgeted through the

speeches. >> this was a chance for the military pledged their allegiance to the young successor. he will not to have much power without them. but how much control can he have over them? a military salute. across the country a moment of silence. an unofficial transition to the country's next young leader and a warning for this country and for others that it is not just hikm you are dealing with. >> our correspondent charles is with us. already this process is moving fast.

>> yes, they have moved quickly and nominated him today as the supreme leader of the army and of the state and of the people. moving much more rapidly than the last transfer of power. they need to get to work on the cult of personality, which is important. connecting him with his father, saying that he invented the characteristics and philosophy of his father. >> he is a young man in his 20s. he does have older brothers. >> they were conspicuously absent. they were not shown in any of the pictures by state television. the oldest brother isa few years ago was caught trying to sneak into japan on a false passport. he has been spending time in a gambling enclave in southern china in exile from his homeland. and another said that the

chinese put him under protection. >> kim jong un has a monumental task ahead. >> yes, he is unknown and not just to outside observers but to the north korean people as well. he was introduced to them a year or so ago when he was first given a post and the workers party. they are just beginning the process of introducing him and telling the people about him. >> thank you very much charles. al legal observers are visiting three more cities in syria as part of their mission to assess whether government forces are complying with a peace plan. one of those are in the city of daraa. others are in idlib and the city

of hoama. our correspondent jim muir joins us from beirut, lebanon army. they are supposedly there to monitor cessation of violence. >> their job is not necessarily to track everything that's happening all over the place all the time. they are looking to see that all armed manifestations of pulled from the streets and that all detainees are freed. obviously, none of those conditions has been met. it is not happening spontaneously. people are still being killed and in roughly the same numbers as well as being reported before. the regime did announced the release of 755 prisoners on wednesday, but that is a drop in the ocean. they have already freed.

2.5000 -- they already freed 2500. many prisoners were smuggled onto military bases where they are beyond the reach of observers. they have a long way to go and a lot of ground to recover. there's no sign that the peace plan is being implemented on the ground. that is what the monitors are there to verify. >> every step natick can be manipulated by both sides -- every step that they take can be manipulated by both sides. >> they will have to verify which is correct. there was an ambush of an army patrol on wednesday and several

were shot dead by insurgents. so it is not entirely one way. there is some violence coming from the other side, too. >> thank you. we had italy yesterday. that went extremely well. can they maintain their form? >> today is a lot more important. a much more important test to italy and an important test for investor confidence. 10-year debt. there were problems with the yield, the interest rate that investors forced the italian government to pay when they want to sell their debt, that it has always lately been hovering around 7%, incredibly

unsustainable levels for any economy. it makes very expensive money. yesterday the interest rate was in half. only six months is part of the reason and because the european central bank has provided very cheap loans, liquidity, and to those economies. it is a lot more different. 8.5 billion euros is what they are trying to raise today. we should get a response in the next 20 minutes or so. all eyes on? . -- all eyes on that. italy's time 450 billion euros on the money market next year and 50 billion of that is next month. there is the big test. we will get an idea of where they will be next year according to that. >> iberia strike is another

issue. >> iberia wanting to do an offshoot of a budget carrier, iberia expressed. 118 flights have been cancelled today. mostly european routes will be affected. to france, germany, britain, the netherlands. the pilots are worried with the budget offshoot that it may change their pension, their salaries, and so on. i will have more business news in about 20 minutes time. >> thanks allot. military officials say two members of nato-u.s. lead international security assistance force have been shot dead by a man wearing an afghan military uniform. it happened on thursday in eastern afghanistan. let's get more from caroline joining me from kabul. what more can you tell lus.

>> isaf usually leaves it to member nations whose troops have been killed to make the announcement. we presume that the assailant was an afghan soldiers and wounded at least one other. in a separate incident in afghanistan today, 10 afghan local police have been killed in helmand province when their vehicle ran over a taliban roadside bomb. it has been a difficult day in afghanistan. >> this incident of the two isaf soldiers being killed by someone in an afghan uniform, that is not new. >> right. it has been happening over the course of the past few years.

they have been living very closely with western soldiers. this is probably not liked the 30th such incident where someone wearing an afghan national army uniform or police uniform has turned on their mentors or on their own colleagues. >> thank you very much. 2011 has been a difficult year for india's governing party amid corruption scandals, rising prices, and an aging leadership. the focus is beginning to shift to raul. plenty of people hoping he can revive the fortunes of his party. he campaigned in the most politically influential state in india. withey came in the 1000's

all eyes on one young man. the heir to one of the will host are full political dynasties. the congress government has always worked for your interests, farmers, laborers, the poorest of the poor, he says, as they have been left output. -- out. this is only one massive rally that raul has held. he is trying to revive his party's fortunes. many within the congress and outside want to expand this campus and take on a more active role in national politics. as he goes to the next valley, they moved toward incomhim and e pushed back by a presidential- tight security. it is irresistible to not try to

get close to him. he obliges, stopping for cup of tea and a chat with locals. it is his iconic status that has always delivered and that congress wants to cash in on. >> this is a family recognized all across india. very few indian families of that position. all these things do give the family an advantage. remember, this is still a very -- >> this is a family touched by tragedy. one was brutally assassinated. raul cremated his father when he was only 21. now he must win over a country that is politically more complex and with widening economic disparity.

a rice farmer attended his latest rally. it is the support of people like him that the young waiter is banking on. >> we are hoping he can make our lives better. otherwise we will vote for someone else next time. >> some believe a dynasty is not compatible with modern democracy. others see his rise to the top job as inevitable. india may be prepared to embrace him. the question is, is he ready for india? bbc news reporting. >> you are watching "bbc world news." you don't have to be poor to feel the pinch. even switzerland is feeling the force of the euro zone debt crisis now. the italian government is investigating reports that pieces of rock have fallen from

the coliseum in rome. witnesses reported seeing this on christmas day. experts are concerned about the maintenance of the monument. >> built 2000 years ago, the coliseum is considered one of the greatest works of roman architecture and engineering. now there are fears that this monument may be crumbling. >> on december 25 a fragment detached from the face of the first level. it was small, less than 5 centimeters. >> two days later there was a second report, this one not confirmed, another fragment of mason very -- of masonry and breaking off. a precarious state. some claim exhaust fumes and vibrations from vehicles and a nearby subway are damaging the monument. but there's no cause for panic,

some say. >> this is typical of ancient monuments. this is due to the action of the rain and wind and pigeons. >> there's not much that can be done about the pigeons, but there is sufficient fear that input could be necessary to $33 million restoration project, due to begin in march. while stands the coliseum standsrome shall stand -- roma-- while stands the coliseum, rome shall stand. >> an apocalyptic message. i am at bbc davideads. how do you spend your money when things are tight?

let me know on twitter. kim jong un is hailed as a team leader of the north korean state, party, and army as his father's death this morning. cheryl lee monitors in syria go to the city of the ball where the uprising began the presence of the observers in the country has not stopped the violence. -- al police monitors in serious go to of the city of daraa. iranian naval exercises close to the strait of hormuz that they could close that waterway if the west imposes new sanctions. two jets pass overhead. this is an iranian naval drill that's taking place in sensitive international waters even before iran toughened its line.

the strait of hormuz is used by one-third of "'s tanker traffic. iran was made angry by recent tightening of the european union's sanctions that threatens to close it to oil shipments. this man, said to be every admiral in the iranian navy was quoted by one national tv station as saying that closing the strait was a piece of cake. in other words, very easy for the naval forces. but on wednesday washington increased its rhetoric. the pentagon said any attempt to close the strait of hormuz will not be tolerated and that no aggressive action had been reported u.s. vessels in the area. iran is a big oil exporter, the fourth largest producer of crude oil in the world. it is not the first time that it has sent strong warnings of closure of these vital waters, but the context has changed. the threat of an oil embargo for

the european union and the u.s. and some other arab states hangs over the country. iran now appears determined to demonstrate its regional prowess. bbc news reporting. >> more than 20 people have been killed in southeast turkey in an air strike by turkish warplanes. there was an attack overnight in a kurdish village near the iraqi border. our correspondent is in istanbul, david. suggestions that this was a case of mistaken identity. >> it does appear to be that way. the turkish military has issued a statement saying they attacked targets which were in northern iraq, just over the border from turkey. they claim they have information havethe pkk in the area, but no reports of a large group of

civilians headed towards the border. >> is that an acknowledgement that they have hit upon people? >> i think it is accepted that the people who were hit were civilians. >> thank you, david. trade unions in switzerland are warning that thousands of jobs could be lost because of the euro zone crisis and the very high value of the swiss francs. switzerland is not a member of the european union, but the european union is its biggest trading partner. now the swiss franc has increased in value over the last few months and it is putting pressure on a country which so far has escaped the worst of the economic downturn. >> is there any lights in the european economic gloom? yes, there's one place where the money keeps flowing. this is zurich, the millionaires

while. switzerland may be in the center of europe, but not in the euro zone or the european union. there is little sign of financial crisis here. but look closely and the economic success loses some of its sparkle. 60% of exports go to your opinion. the swiss are famous for high tech position projects -- products like these. but the crisis in the euro zone means the market for them is shrinking. >> since the middle of this year we have seen a slowdown in the european economy and an aunt in orders. -- and in orders. we do expect a slowdown ind europe. what will happen, not qualified

to answer. we do try to be prepared for anything that could happen. >> the swiss franc rose 20% against the your role in a year- and-a-half. swiss products were never exactly cheap in the first place and now they are much more expensive. companies are cutting costs and unemployment is rising. >> under the people are losing their jobs in industries especially the machine industry and chemical industry. if the situation does not change, then we are afraid that we will have major problems with unemployment in the next year. >> so the swiss are beginning to realize that staying out of the european union will not spare them the economic fate of europe.. >> we are hurt by the problems

in directly.zone a lot of uncertainty in the euro zone. >> switzerland is predicting the growth rates of 0.5% next year, a gloomy outlook for a traditionally strong economy. if european problems continue, switzerland will feel the pain as well. bbc news reporting. >> church leaders in the area say that their members will defend themselves if security forces of the country are not able to protect them. the statement by the pentecostal church after a series of attacks targeting churches across nigeria by a group that has killed about 40 people. at least 15 people have been killed and others injured in a large explosion in burma. the blast took place in the

middle of the night in a compound in eastern rangoon. the cause is not known. witnesses say three of those killed were fiveremen. ron paul, newt gingrich, and ron paul have been meeting supporters in the united states. paul has been given a lot of flak over setting the u.s. should not interfere in iran. a large wave has stranded a ship in the southern ocean off the western coast of australia. it belongs to an anti-whaling organization and was following the japanese whaling fleet when it cracked its whole. -- -- when a wave cracked its hull. kim jong un has been declared

supreme leader of north korea in front of a vast crowd in the capital p'yongyang. he led a memorial service for his father flanked by top military and party leaders. >> ♪ [instrumental music] [gun fired] g anthem]nthe

>> 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. >> 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?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.