>> 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. shell. 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.

>> short-term failure for north korea's long-range ambitions, as a rocket launch fails to make orbit. a brief skirmish between the syrian army and rebel forces, so a precarious cease-fire does seem to be holding. david cameron becomes the first british prime minister to visit burma since independence, as he assesses their moves toward democracy. >> there is a government now that says it's committed to reform, that started to take steps, and i think it's right to come here and encourage those steps. >> welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up in the program -- international pressure on sudan and south sudan is mounting after days of clashes there. we'll be live in car tomb. formula one says the bahrain grand prix is going ahead despite concerns about civil unrest in the gulf state, but should it?

>> hello, long awaited and very short lived, that best sums up north korea's controversial rocket launch as the rocket itself failed to enter orbit. now, the north's official news agency has acknowledged that failure. south korea and japan say it crashed into the sea, the yellow sea, shortly after takeoff. just getting reports coming in from seoul that the defense ministry of south korea believes that the rocket actually exploded in midair just more than two minutes after blastoff, and that the missile splintered into two parts, probably due to a blast. that's a spokesman from the defense ministry. well, the rocket itself was launched in the northwest of the country, and technicians there are trying to find the clues as to why it didn't work out. north korea consistently

claimed that the purpose of this launch was to put an observation satellite into orbit, yet the united states and north korea's neighbors say the launch was actually a disguised long-range missile test, something washington has described as a provocative act. north korea has tried to launch satellites into orbit at least twice since 1998. intelligence sources suggest that all previous attempts have failed. our correspondent, damian grammaticas, is in the north korean capital, pyongyang. >> the failure of this rocket launch is without doubt a real embarrassment for the north korean regime here in pyongyang. it had in the days before been saying this would be a sign of the north's technological achievement. but the news that the launch had failed was given to the north korean people at about midday local time. north korean state media said that rocket scientists and technicians were looking into the reasons why, as it put it, the satellite had failed to enter orbit. but for four hours after the

launch, there was absolutely no word at all. the international journalists have been brought here and were assembled in the press and were told nothing at all. in previous days, we'd been taking to see that rocket on the launch pad out on the west sea launch silte. we were shown the satellite that was going to be loaded onto it. north korea wants to insist that this is nothing but a satellite launch, not the test of missile technology that others had feared, and it wanted to show off its mastery of these technologies. so, the fact it has failed is now an embarrassment for north korea's leaders, and it is also being condemned internationally. what appears to have happened is that 60 to 90 seconds into that launch, while the first stage of the rocket was still burning, there was an explosion and it fell back down into the sea. but the response from britain, america and others has nevertheless been to condemn the launch, to say it's a violation of u.n. security council resolutions that

prohibit north korea from testing missile technology, and they're promising more condemnation in the hours ahead. >> damian grammaticas there in north korea. let's pull all this together. lucy williamson is in seoul. >> strong and prosperous, that was the message north korea's rocket was meant to send to the world. instead, it barely got off the launch pad. that's nothing new for north korea. neither of its past attempts to launch a satellite have been recognized as successes by the international community either. unlike before, the comminist state has been uncharacteristically honest about its failure. a couple of hours after the launch, a news reader appeared on state television admitting that the satellite never reached orbit and that scientists were trying to find out why. south korea's defense ministry says it exploded in midair just a minute or two after takeoff and broke into around 20 pieces, which fell into the sea off korea's west coast. the fact that north korea went

ahead with this launch despite u.n. security council resolutions against it has angered not only south korea, but the u.s. and others. north korea has always said this launch was a peaceful one to put a satellite in space, but others say it's a covert test for ballistic missiles and that north korea could one day use them to deliver nuclear weapons. the question now is what the international community can do to stop pyongyang's missile launches. there are already u.n. resolutions banning them, already strain gent sanctions in place, and neither they nor the promise of u.s. food aid was enough to stop it this time. lucy williamson, bbc news, seoul. >> the united nations security council says it hopes to get a small team of observers into syria within the next few days to monitor the cease-fire. there's been sporadic violence since the truce came into effect and reports of firing near the turkish border. the first major test will probably come in the course of

the day after friday prayers. that's when anti-regime protesters are saying they intend to take to the streets. the latest reports have been of gunfire at a rebel post on the turkish-syrian border. a short while ago, our correspondent joined us on the phone with more details. >> this happened after midnight when syrian soldiers saw a free syrian army flag over some kind of base and attacked it. shooting was reported. tanks were reported in the area. but we have had no reports on this side of any casualties, and certainly the free syrian army people that i've been speaking to don't describe it at this point ads a major incident. i think it seems to be -- and again, one has to stress it's seen, because news out of syria is notoriously difficult to pin down, but what seems to have happened is a skirmish between both sides. you did see things like that

yesterday, and i suspect you will see more as the cease-fire progresses. >> the bbc's jim muir is in beirut. jim, i suppose we're bound to focus on these occasional outbursts, but give us a sense, if you can, as to what sort of impact you think the cease-fire has had so far. >> oh, it has had a very big impact. obviously there are some incidents on the ground. i was going to say, reformist activists saying something like 20 people or more killed since the cease-fire came into effect well over 24 hours ago. but that's from a number of incidents involving some fighting and here there, some shooting and so on. overall, the general level of violence undoublet has come down very remarkably. that's not to say that it isn't extremely fragile, because it is. there are these instances happening that could spark a wider clash if that's what one or others -- or the other side

wants. of course, there's always the fact that kofi annan is trying to address these problems by stabilizing the troops and getting it into a more solid form, partly by focusing on getting the troops and tanks and heavy weapons away from population centers back to their barracks. they've taken it out of the equation, and also, of course, by starting to bring in international observers in the next few days. he's working very hard behind the scenes, and a lot of other people are try to shore up what is a really quite shaky truce. >> we spoke to an activist just a short while ago who was saying this is far from perfect, there's still gunfire being aimed at us. nonetheless, his hope was that they would put the army to the test as he saw it by coming out and demonstrating today. should we expect that across the country? >> i'm pretty sure. that's certainly what the opposition wants, a big turnout. they're calling it the friday of the revolution for all

syrians, and they would like to have a really big show, a kind of show of force, if you like, getting the maximum number of supporters out on the streets after friday prayers. the key question, of course, is how will the security forces react to that. they're already being accused on thursday of having opened fire on a number of demonstrations in different parts of the country. so, there are fears that if there's some kind of provocation or some kind of incident, things could get very ugly. >> jim muir in beirut, thank you very much indeed. we'll keep a very close eye on how things do develop over the course of the next few hours. some other stories for you now -- one police officer has been killed, several injured in a shooting at a home in the american state of new hampshire. authorities in the town of greenland say officers conducting a drug investigation were confronted and fired upon. the wounded officers are now being treated at a local hospital. a police helicopter searching for a group of gas workers kidnapped by shining path

rebels in southern peru has come under attack. the co-pilot was killed. three other crew members were injured when gunmen opened fire from the ground. peru has september 1,500 troops to the area in an attempt to free the 40 hostages who were abducted near the country's main gas field in the amazon jungle on monday. soldiers have taken control of large parts of bissau, the capital of the west african state of guinea-bissau. there are reports of heavy gunfire in the city, and state television is now off the air. witnesses have said that troops had attacked the residents of the former prime minister, carlos gomez jr. he won the first round of presidential elections last month. now, we've been focusing on north korea's failed launch of a rocket, but they have successfully unveiled two statues, huge statues as they are, in fact, in pyongyang.

we can go now to pictures of that live. kim jong il and kim ill sun are the two men, of course, if you like, the founding fathers of the modern north korean state whose statued have been unveiled in frovent a vast gathering. there they are as the sun dips below the horizon in the background. they were only unveiled a matter of moments ago, part of the celebration of the century of the state. another grand ceremonial occasion for the people of north korea, on a day where, to be honest, pretensions towards space flight and satellites something of a battering. ok, ben is here now to have a look at the business. let's start with china. they're still over 8% growth, so that's what they always said they wanted as a baseline. >> we're looking here at growth in the first quarter.

as you say, 8%. it is worse than expected, but a far cry from some of the anemic group here in the eurozone. you might say in many respects this is good, but concern this is the slowest rate of growth in about three years, and that will worry investors right around the world because, of course, the workshop of the world that china is, particularly its exports to europe have been a concern. perhaps not surprising given everything that's happening in the eurozone that exports are falling. there's also some concern about domestic demand, and concern really about where this growth comes from within china. >> they're managing it for themselves, aren't they? >> absolutely. this has already been factored in on the markets. the markets knew this was going to happen m. people are looking at what exactly happens next. the challenge really is the housing market. prices are soaring over the past few years, so a real concern there. as you said, 8% growth, $6 trillion economy. so while it is worse than expected, by no means is this a bad number to be talking about. >> no, and i suppose we have to

draw the painful comparison with a major european economy, but italy is at the other end of the scale. >> massive strikes getting underway. three of the biggest trade unions now are on strike. factories and offices are likely to close today. they're protesting pension reforms. these were introduced late last year, and some plans all set to make it easier to hire and fire workers. workers are understandably concerned about what that means for their jobs. concerns here about growth. we're expecting a cabinet meeting today, likely to slow growth prospects. we've already heard from the european commission. they're likely to get some confirmation of that today. more, of course, in "world business report." >> familiar territory for a raft of countries. ben, thank you very much indeed. thank you for watching "bbc world news." i'm david eades. plenty more still to come, including saving the world's most endangered wildcat. conservationists get ready to pull the iberian lynx back from

extinction. an elderly spanish nun has appeared in court in madrid accused of baby stealing. that's after a mother used d.n.a. to prove the baby she was told had died 30 years ago was alive and had been adopted. >> an 80-year-old nun is hounded by the preps as she leaves court. her alleged crime, telling mothers their babies were dead, then selling their children. senior maria gomez denies all charges, but some are already calling for her to be excommunicated. >> i'm a practicing catholic, but if she's done what she's alleged to have done, then there should be no judas in church. every judas in the church should be excommunicated. >> the story is after the spanish civil war, thousands of

children were taken from left-wing families and from mothers who were poor, unmarried, or very young. the mothers were told the babies had died. but the truth is they were either trafficed or given to families who couldn't have children of their own. those who benefited were said to be supporters of general franco. later that practice allegedly became a lucrative business. this woman is one of thousands searching for her birth parents. >> i don't know who i am, she says. i'm registered as their biological daughter as if i was born in their home. >> she's not alone, but now the government is stepping up to help people who believe they were separated from their parents or children illegally. they're being given d.n.a. tests, and the results are to be put on a national database in the hope of reuniting them with their families.

>> this is "bbc world news" with me, david eades. the headlines this hour -- north korea admits the launch of its long-range rocket has failed. activists in syria say there's been a brief skirmish between the army and rebels close to the turkish border. i want to take you straight back to pyongyang. they're getting over the failure of the rocket pretty quickly, because their attention is now focusing on these two gentlemen, kim ill sun and kim jong il, founder and successor of the modern korean republic, democratic republic. these two statues have been unveiled literally in the last five minutes or so before another mass assembled throng of people, including the military, just bringing forth

ceremonial gifts virtually to commemorate, of course, the century of the state. there's a much better picture of the great show of loyalty to kim jong il. the one on the right is kim jong kim il-sun. another chance to revel in the stories of the north korean republic. >> international pressure on sudan is mounting. the african union has condemned south sudan's occupation of an oil field, but also sudan for aryan bombardment. the united nations security council has demanded an immediate and unconditional end to fighting, asking both sides

to pull back their forces. there's not much sign yet of either side backing down though. we're monitoring events. our correspondent is there. james, give us a sense. did you get any indications that this is going to cam down any time soon? >> south sudan's president made it clear that he wasn't prepared to withdraw his troops immediately unless he could be sure that heglis, the oil field that the south sudanese troops are occupying, would not be launched as a base to attack them. the south sudan says they've been attacked several times from the air, and certainly the tone here is increasingly militant with politicians and generals and so on, talking about the need to teach south sudan a lesson. what i think was interesting in the african union.

they're saying that the border, in fact, is some way south of here. that position won't go down very well in south sudan, and for once sudan gets the feeling it's being supported by the international community. >> james, we'll keep very close tabs on that, of course. thanks very much indeed. the people in charge of formula one racing say the bahrain grand prix is going ahead as planned next week despite concerns over staging the ration, as long as there's continuing political unrest in the gulf state. pro-democracy groups have called for that race to be cancelled, as indeed it was last year. i'm joined now by the bbc's security correspondent, frank gardner. frank, if it goes ahead, what might they expect to find when they get there? what's the state of unrest?

>> first of all, bernie ecclestone said he's sure it's going ahead. i don't think formula one or the f.i.a. specifically -- the governing body of the formula one industry -- they're not going to be the ones to call it off. it will be the bahrain government, which called it off last time. >> but that was under pressure also from the drivers and from the teams. that doesn't seem to be there at the moment. >> well, there seems to be a gap between the management and the teams. the teams are nervous. they're reading reports in the press which some people are saying is exaggerated. at the moment, it is going ahead. they're unlikely to see the sort of clashes that we see on television, because those are mostly confined to the village says that ring the west of the capital. so bahrain is a small country. they will chaperone the teams very carefully and protect them, i think, from the airport to the hotels to the race

venue, which is right down in the desert. so there are two issues here, really, one of safety, and i think the teams will be safe, and one of morality. should this race go ahead in a country as troubled as bahrain? a very large number of people want the race to go ahead, but a large number of people don't. so it's split. those who don't, the more hard-line protesters say this is a tool of repression. how can you hold a race like this when people are being locked up in dubious circumstances? i think we should mention this video in a second. others are saying bahrain needs the investment. the only way the jobs are going to be provided for these rather depressed villages is by bringing in the money and prestige. >> i think the video refers to looting in a supermarket. no, i believe we have the

video. we have got some pictures. essentially, we're 10 days away from the race itself, but only a matter of a few days before they have to go or not go. it's the melting pot. >> yes. this isn't the video in question. this is just a fairly usual, very commonplace occurrence of civil unrest going on in bahrain. the video we're referring to is cctv footage which is going on youtube and elsewhere which appears to show -- it's about six minutes long, and it shows looters coming in and trashing a supermarket, a shia-owned supermarket, and police appearing to do nothing to stop them >> frank, thank you very much indeed for that. the first visit by western leaders since burma's government came to power a year

ago is by britain's prime minister, david cameron. he's arrived on a visit to a former british colony to consider the state of the country's move towards democracy. he's been holding talks with the president and is due to meet the pro-democracy leader, aung san suu kyi, as well. our correspondent, rachel harvey, is in burma. she is following events there. let's just listen to what david cameron said about the prospect of reform in burma. >> this country is desperately poor. one in three children are malnourished. it doesn't have to be this way. there is a government that said it is reformed, started to take steps, and i think it's right to encourage those steps. i think it's also right to meet with aung san suu kyi, who has shown incredible courage over these past decades, and frankly, is a shining example to people all over the world

who yearn for freedom, for democracy, and for progress. >> david cameron there. right, i want to bring you more images we've been getting from pyongyang, as they've been pretty dramatic celebrations taking place to mark the unveiling of two absolutely huge statues of kim jong il and kim il-sung to commemorate 100 years of the korean state. lucy williamson in seoul is marvelling at the pictures. >> quite dramatic pictures indeed, and obviously a great distraction for north korea from the failure that they had just a few hours ago, trying to launch the rocket. south korea, other countries in the region still reeling from the rocket launch, while in north korea, the celebrations go on. >> yeah, i mean, one more, i suppose, demonstration of the outside of the government in

north korea. does it tell us anything, do you think, about kim jong un and how he perceived thinks own role, i suppose? we seem to have lost lucy there, judging by the look on her face. we'll stay with the pictures just for a moment. as i say, and as lucy was pointing out, this is not a day that will be regarded as hugely auspicious. that was kim jong un we saw just there, given the failure of the rocket launch, an attempt, north korea said, to get a satellite into orbit, but seeing as having slightly more military ambitions and pretensions by the likes. united states and japan and south korea as well. but there's more on the website, both on that launch, and indeed, on the celebrations which have been going on for some time now and we can expect to continue to run for quite some time. but dramatic scenes there.

>> 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. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, were developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us get the most from our energy resources. lets use energy more efficiently. lets go. >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.