>> 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news.

>> a nation in mourning as the survivors of the belgian bus crush rush home. this is the school in heverlee in belgium where many of the children attended. the lawyer for the american soldier accused of killing 16 afghans says his client was not fit to be sent to afghanistan. beijing changes the rules on blogging by demanding users register their real identities first. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up in the program -- one happy ending for one lucky dog, but we have a story of misery for many more, as the dinner tables of southeast asia beckon. and how some of london's most famous landmarks are getting a pre-olympic makeover.

>> hello. thanks very much for being with us here on "bbc world news." flags are frying at half-mast in belgium as the nation observes a day of mourning for the 28 victims of tuesday's school coach crash in switzerland. after a ceremony held away from the media at the airport in switzerland, two belgian military planes took off with the bodies of many of the victims, all 28 of whom have now been identified. memorials have been created at st. lambertus school in heverlee, where some of them were from. our correspondent, hugh psychofield, is there for us. hugh, another desperately difficult day, and not just for the school, but very much, pointedly, for the whole country over the next few hours. >> indeed, a national day of mourning. in a country like belgium, where national events are so rare given the traditional

division, this is an important day, a day of coming together for a whole nation. you join me in the university town of which heverlee is a part, a suburb, and next to the famous 15th century city hall. the flags are there, the european flags are at half-mast as part of this day of contemplation and coming together to remember the 28 who died. let's first of all hear a little bit more about what's been planned in this report from chris morris. >> back in brussels last night, a government plane carrying the parents of children killed in the bus crash in switzerland. the dead have now been identified, their bodies will be brought back to belgium shortly before a series of heartbreaking funerals begins. outside the schools where the children had studied, make-shift shrines. today has been declared a day

of national mourning in belgium . a minute of silence will be observed at 11:00 a.m. local time. the crash in a chris mountain tunnel killed 28 people, most of them children aged about 12 years old, returning from a school skiing trip. the swiss authorities are still unsure why the fatal accident happened, and a dry road in clear conditions. their focus is on whether the driver who died in the crash may have been momentarily distracted or whether he suffered sudden ill health. in belgium, the focus is on paying respects to the dead and on comforting the bereaved. chris morris, bbc news, brussels. >> at one minute past the hour, the bells of belgium will peel

out in remembrance for those who died. >> hugh, obviously a very difficult day again, and yet the media, the newspapers understandably are trying to pick through what on earth what happened and how it happened. >> the one that's getting the most air play is this theory about the d.v.d. player. was the driver distracted for a moment by the task of putting in a d.v.d. into the player? that apparently is what some surviving children have told investigators in switzerland. it's one rumor, it's one report, and what the coach company here is saying is, well, it's dubious, because on those buses, the drivers are right down at road level, the children are much higher up, could they really have seen what was coming up? they doubt it. it's just one rumor, just one of many unanswered questions

about how this crash happened. >> hugh, that happens very much indeed. hugh schofield there. the afghan soldier may have seen one of his friends seriously injured just the day before his attack, that's what his lawyer has declared. he's also said the staff sergeant had suffered a head injury when he was serving in iraq. the man himself was flown out of afghanistan on thursday, apparently fearful for his own safety and that of his family. from washington, jonathan blake has more. >> they were shot dead in their homes, men, women, and nine children, most killed with a single bullet. the soldier responsible apparently handed himself in. now his lawyer has spoken, suggesting his client was not fit to be serving in afghanistan. >> i think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has been an exemplary record, decorated soldier who was injured in iraq, to his brain

and to his body, and then despite that was sent back. i think that's an issue. i think it's a concern. >> visiting afghanistan in the wake of the killings, u.s. defense secretary leon panetta sought to reassure president karzai that a swift and thorough investigation was underway. the soldier's lawyer said his client saw a friend badly injured the day before the shootings and that his family had been left stunned. >> i think everybody that knows him is in shock about the allegations and also the fact that he's in custody. this is a decorated, exemplary soldier who certainly -- i question the family members, and he has no animosity toward muslims or middle eastern people, so i already convinced myself that's the case. >> the soldier accused of the killings is likely to be brought back to the united states in the coming days amid

speculation of what may have driven him to commit these crimes. he's not been named for fear of revenge attacks. although no charges have yet been brought, it's a such time for relations between washington and kabul, and officials will be keen to show that everything is being bob to bring the person responsible to justice. jonathan blake, bbc news, washington. >> a grave, provocative act, that's what south korea is calling north korean plans to launch a working satellite to mark the century of its creation as a nation. the satellite is to be taken into orbit a a long-range missile, and that would be a violation of a united nations ban on north korean ballistic missile tests imposed after previous launches. north korea said the launch is to take place in mid-april. new government regulations on microblogging come into effect in china today, beijing specifically. the rules require beijing-based users of china's popular user

sites, the chinese equivalent of twitter, to provide their true identities to website administrators before they're then allowed to publish anything. other major cities, like shanghai, are expected to adopt similar rules. our correspondent in beijing, martin patience, explains why the government had introduced the rules. >> part of the reason is that microblogs have been a huge success story in china. there's more than 3300 million users. most of them talk about what they had for dinner, what their dog's doing. but some do engage in revealing scandal or criticizing the authorities. so this is seen as an attempt by the authorities who say that unfounded rumors -- that's how they put it -- spread on these accounts, could trigger social unrest. that's why they say these measures are being enforced. but i think critics will see this as an attempt by the authorities to try and restrict freedom of speech. >> yeah, i noted one economist, in fact, was saying despite 30

years of reform, there's less and less room for discussion pushing reform forward. this is a national tragedy. and yet there's also a suggestion this is good news in advertising, a business move. >> well, that's right, because obviously if you got people's real identity, you'll know who they are and how to market to them. on the issue of political reform, there hasn't really been any political reform in china in the last 30 years, but what's so striking about some of the microblogs is that this is a very vibrant society. this is a place where people are prepared to get online and are prepared to discuss topics, which they wouldn't do in comparison. it's very interesting. when you speak to many chinese, they say that microblogs, microblog accounts are changing china, that the authorities know about some of the issues out there, that the microblogs

allow them to take the temperature of the country and be more responsive to the people's needs. >> martin patience. some other news for you now -- argentina says it will take legal action against companies involved in oil exploration in the disputed falkland islands. the islands are british territory claimed by argentina. its foreign minister, hector timmerman, says oil development in the waters are illegal. he warns that any companies providing support to british prospectors could also face sanctions. hungary's conservative prime minister, viktor orban, has launched an outspoken attack on the european union. he denounced what he called the command of foreign powers and likened it to post-war soviet domination. on wednesday, the e.u. suspended funding for hungary over its high budget deficit. an organization which handles most international payments between banks says it will cut off sanctioned iranian banks

from this saturday. the move by the swiss is designed to enforce e.u. sanctions on iran aimed at stopping its nuclear program. we have a bigger view on business stories now. italy has enough problems, don't they? the thought of losing part of their cherished fiat. >> yes, they have five plants, fiat has five plants in italy, one of which moved back because it wanted to promote manufacturing in italy. u a situation in italy where the underlying climate is one of austerity. there's already a lot of tension there. and some of the drivers are now striking, and this is causing down time in the plants. and over a couple of things. one of them is the fact that fiat simply wants to make its plants more productive, because the number of cars produced in those plants doesn't make them productive. and, of course, there is a government subsidy tax, which is also very unpopular. so mario monti runs the italian

government, and they're trying to resolve this. because yeah, you're right. it's a very important part of manufacturing. >> let's have a look at india, the budget coming out today. >> it's come out. >> it's come out early. >> there's very little room for maneuver, and indeed the budget demonstrated that. they've got a high budget deficit. growth is flagging a bit, and it is in china. they're not alone in that. and the inflation rate is too high. it's really not a great combination. and india doesn't really have a lot of room to maneuver because it's already overborrowed. and this was the first before the preelection budget, which we'll see next time around, and there were hopes that it might come up with something inventive, but really, it seems to be rather disappointing for an economy that could do with an injection of growth right now. >> you'd be challenged to find a popular coalition anywhere in the moment. >> well, apart from and you me. >> indeed.

thank you very much indeed. the latest version of apple's ipad goes on sale today. another big promotional push for the electronics giant. there is also growing focus on what it takes to make these products. the company's code of conduct for suppliers does insist that all workers should be safe, fairly paid, and well rested wherever they are in the world. bbc has spoken to workers who make ipad parts in one factory in china, who say they have little choice but to work excessively long hours, often 12 hours a day, seven days a week. john sudworth reports from shanghai. >> the broken bones and the burns are almost three months old, but still visible. these men and women were making parts for ipads when a cloud of dust exploded, the second such explosion in less than a year at one of apple's chinese suppliers. they worry they'll be scarred for life, they tell me. apple proudly displays a code

of conduct for suppliers on its website. it says factories risk having their contracts terminated if they're unsafe or if they treat workers unfairly. but alleged breaches of the code are easy to find. at the same shanghai factory where the explosion took place, there are claims that the working week is often well in excess of the 60-hour maximum that apple demands. >> what's normal for people here? do most people work seven days a week? 12-hour shifts are the norm, people told us, days off are rare. in a statement, apple said every year we inspect more factories going deeper into the supply chain and raising the bar for our suppliers. in 2011, we conducted 229 audits of supplier facilities around the world and reported their progress on our website. the factory itself denied that any employee works for more than 60 hours a week. apple's slick brand image is at

risk, of course, if it is seen to be failing to get suppliers to live up to the required standards. but on the day the new ipad is launched, consumers might also reflect on the difficult commercial reality now facing all the big electronics firms. these unemployed laborers are at these factory gates in the hope of wages that many in the west would consider a pittance. but, of course, if consumers do have moral qualms about pay and conditions in china, then they also want to continue paying rock-bottom prices for their gadgets. those who make those gadgets see little prospect of real improvement. apple's code of conduct couldn't save her from injury, nor has it won him more than the $700 compensation he's been given so far. john sudworth, bbc news, shanghai. >> you're watching "bbc world news" with me, david eades. plenty more still to come,

including dressing the olympics. london's most famous landmark is getting a makeover for this year's games. we'll have more. a north korean orchestra has given a landmark in paris with a south korean conductor and french musicians. the performance itself was organized by the conductor, who says that he hopes music could help bridge the differences between north and south korea. from paris, here's our report. >> a rare note of harmony between north and south korea, made possible by the determination of one man. the conductor visited north korea last year to try to organize joint concerts in both north and south korea.

that proved too difficult diplomatically, but he did manage to organize this concert in paris, where he also conducts the radio france philharmonic. he left north korean and french musicians in on a performance by brahms, as well as korean music, and he still wants to conduct north korean musicians on korean soil. >> something that one has to understand, we don't consider this two countries. it's one country, and one family which has been forced -- forcibly divided by political -- for political reasons. >> this exercise in musical diplomacy may resonate with many people in the north and the south. any talk of reunification is still certain to jar with north korea's leaders, yet, for the head of the north korean delegation, it was also about more than music. >> it's a historic event,

because it's the first time that musicians from the people's democratic republic of korea and from the french republic have come together like this to put on a joint concert. >> here's "bbc world news." i'm david eades. these are the headlines -- a nation in mourning. the survivors of the belgium bus crash return home. the country begins to reckon with its loss. the lawyer for the american soldier accused of killing 16 afghans says his client fears for his safety and his family's. authorities in thailand say that in the last course of the last six months, they've rescued 2,000 dogs that were destined in the dinner table in southeast asia. from thailand, here's jonah fisher.

>> home at last. this incredible journey had more than a touch of hollywood about it. just before christmas, a picture on a mobile phone was all this man had to remind him of his beloved pet. a fireworks display had scared him, and he disappeared. and after a week of searching, he had almost gin up hope. he's like a member of the family. the first week he went missing, we couldn't sleep at all, he says. we'd get up in the middle of the night whenever we heard dogs barking, hoping he'd come home. but it was never the dog. weeks later, his hopes rose again when he saw a television report on a successful operation by the thai police. more than 800 battered dogs in cages was stopped as it tried to leave the country. their destination, the dinner plates of vietnam, where dog meat is considered a delicacy. the last six months in thailand

has seen a sharp rise in the number of dogs stolen to order. the bruised and extremely sick animals were brought to this shelter in the thai countryside. this place has only been open for six months, but there are already more than 2,000 rescued dogs here. some of them were originally strays picked up off the streets, but looking at the condition, the collars even on some of them, it's clear that at least one-quarter are stolen domestic pets. in hope rather than expectation, he traveled to the shelter. the manager clearly remembers the emotion of his visit. he found his dog down there and came back carrying him in his arms, he said. his wife said, is that him? and he couldn't answer her because he was crying so much. it's amazing. this is the only stolen dog who was found by his owner.

all is not lost for the stolen dogs rescued with him. thailand is a buddhist country, and many people believe in reincarnation between animals and humans, so these dogs won't be put down even if no one comes to claim them. his epic roundtrip is over, but he says fear of dog nappers means many owners are now thinking twice before letting their pet off the leash. jonah fisher, bbc news, thailand. >> that's one happy story there. we're going to get the sport now much russ sell here. this is quite a victory. >> very happy story for them. yes, they knocked manchester out in the europe league. they won the second leg 2-1 in spain, so they've gone through 5-3 on aggregate. it means they're in the last stage of any european competition for the first time in 35 years. fernando scored a cracking volley to extend their aggregate lead to 4-2.

oscar's 65th minute goal made sure of victory. wayne rooney did pull back one for manchester united in the 80th minute, but there was no miraculous united comeback. and they're very complementary to describe him as a team of fantastic qualities which has a higher work rate than any he has seen in europe. it does mean, though, that manchester united, like manchester city, who is also knocked out of the last 16, can concentrate on this battle. and then thursday night, no more distractions. >> and also, you've got a little bit of a focus, for someone who has been a has-been. >> yeah, padraig harrington, the man of the moment in the world of golf in 2007 and 2008, when he won three major championships. he's perhaps showing that he can still play the game, having sunk to 90th in the world. here he is shooting around a 10 under par 61 at the transitions championship in florida.

how about that for a putt on the 17th? that was measured at 23 meters. he finished with three birdies in a row. here he is finishing his round on the 18th, 10 under par 61, the lowest he's ever scored in his career, david, and he leads the field by three after 18 holes. >> russell, thank very much indeed. we're going to stay on the sporting theme just a moment because the greatest sporting show on earth arrives in london, organizers want to make the british capital feel like a real olympic city. >> we have an idea of how the olympic venues are going to look and feel during the games and what sort of atmosphere they'll have with more crowds. but how are organizers going to get this excitement and color into the rest of the capital? what's the rest of london going to look like this summer? we've seen how the rings will travel to different places along the thames, and this is how they'll be mounted on to tower bridge and how other landmarks will be decorated. and now we've been given a first look at the flags and

banners which will go up around streets across the capital. they call it dressing the olympic city. >> i think it's really important that london shows the world that we're ready to celebrate the games. we've ordered over 200 miles worth of bunting. it's about 60 miles worth of fence. we have a large set of olympic rings on the river. and this is round two. this is going to be a lot of street dress to really make people they're in an olympic city. >> they're getting 50,000 pounds from the mayor to dress up the streets in olympic colors, like here in greenwich. they want to take the look and feel of the games to the whole of the capital. but do we really need all of these decorations? >> it's a good idea to have banners and flags, but i would imagine it could be done more cheaply. >> it's a nice touch perhaps, but it's not essentially important. >> london has got a lot of interesting things to look at already. you don't need to put extra colored banners on there. >> just make everyone feel like they're a part of the olympics,

i guess much >> but it's the more dramatic plans for london's famous buildings, which will be remembered around the world. this is one of the most creative ideas. they're going to project images of athletes on to the palace of westminster, and they're even talking about changing those images during the games to celebrate medal winners. this dressing of the city is costing 32 million pounds. it's coming out of the money which london council taxpayers are putting towards the games. but organizers want london to look its best for a global you'd audience, both inside and outside the venues. >> we're all getting pretty excited about it, i have to say. if you go to the website, bbc.com/news, there is so much on these games as they head our way. you've got to have a look at all of that. coming up in just a few must not' time, we've got trillion dollar woman, an interview with christine lagarde, but first a look at the weather.

>> 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 use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.