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>> one, two, three, four. >> an immaculate success, i happened i can't's verdict on its test of a long-ring missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. the french president accuses syria of trying to wipe the city of homs from the map. at least 18 people have been killed in a series of bombings across four provinces in iraq. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm david eades. also coming up in the program -- market nerves at a 10-year bond auction in spain. another vital test of investor confidence. and why an explosive start in a drag race isn't always for the best.

>> thanks very much for being with us. the indian nation stands tall today. that's what the defense minister said after the launch of a long-range missile capable of carrying nuclear war heads said to be able to reach as far as china and europe. these pictures, just supplied by the indian defense ministry, show the test launch, which took place at a site off the eastern state. india calls the missile itself the agni-v. it says it has a range of 5,000 kilometers, enough to stretch across the whole of china. it's significantly greater than its spread success other, the agni-iii. andrew north is in delhi and says the launch itself has been seen as a huge success. >> very much so here. indian tv channels are really getting very excited about it. they're praising it as a huge technological leap for india and saying that india is now in

an elite club of nations with this kind of long-range missile capability. although, in fact, technically it doesn't count as a full intercontinental ballistic missile, because it goes beyond 5,000 kilometers. in a way, that tells you a loss of this is about image making, symbolism, india demonstrating to the rest of the world, especially to its regional rival, china, that it has this kind of capacity. >> a defense analyst in delhi pointed out it isn't just chinese cities that this long-range missile could reach. >> all i would say is that if you take a chart and draw circles of 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 kilometers, there would be many cities that would be covered in these arcs. but today's test, i would characterize it as being a very significant technological

accomplishment for india, that for a country that has what i call a dubious distinction of being the largest importer of conventional arms, we don't produce a single tank, an aircraft off of that matter, either a gun or ship. but india has been able to, with its own indigenous effort, arrive at a point where it can fire one off at 5,000 kilometers. >> an important technological development then, but with a very clear political message, many people would say. >> yeah, there is a geopolitical and a deal strategic relevant that this would enhance india's orbital, as when the agni is in the strategic forces, so that would take about two years. but since you spoke about china, i think it also merits recall that china has missiles which are in the 5,000 to

8,000-kilometer range already. china is developing a 10,000-kilometer range missile, and china has a very, very close weapons of mass destruction cooperation with pakistan. so india is in an adversarial neighborhood, so this is making deterrent more credible, as also india's commitment. i think that is a doctrine of india's nuclear capability. >> and do you think we should have cause to be concerned about the india-china relationship as we look at this? >> not really. my own sense is as india enhances its overall strategic profile, i think it will lead to a more stable area between india and china. symmetry between india and china may not be the best way of ensuring a stable track for

the india-china relationship. so i see this actually as a positive kind of development in enhancing india's overall deterrent profile. >> the syrian president, bashar al-assad, is trying to wipe homs from the map, that's according to the french president, nicolas sarkozy. he also said humanitarian corridors were kneaded to allow them to survive. the accusation is backed up by these latest pictures from the city, apparently filmed in the course of the last few hours. impossible to verify, but the commentator does show they show renewed shelling as buildings just continue to burn. the latest violence coming as the u.n. secretary general says they've failed under the new peace plan. now, monitoring events for us from beirut in neighboring lebanon is the bbc's jim muir. jim, the pictures say a very

clear story really, don't they? while president sarkozy's remarks may seem pretty incendiary, it's difficult to feel there's not something in them. >> well, yes, mr. sarkozy has always been one of the most outspoken critics of the syrian regime, and he is on the campaign trail with imminent elections coming up there in france, so he's really trying to, i think, possibly score some points with the electorate. but also, obviously, what he says has got something in it. homs itself has continued to be battered daily by heavy artillery which, according to kofi annan's peace plan, six-point plan, should have been withdrawal along with tanks and etc. over a week ago. the syrian regime is out of compliance with that plan, certainly on that point. and now mr. ban, of course, wants to expand the currently very tiny observer force of the u.n. on the ground there up to

300 people. it's not yet clear whether that's going to go ahead. obviously the bulk of the security council is behind it. but there are still some points of difference with the regime over the protocol that would cover their movements on the ground. in other words, the ground rules that they would be restricted by or which would enable them to work, depending on where you look at it. mr. ban had wanted to bring in helicopters and planes to help the observers, the 300, when eventually they deploy torque get around the country. it's a big country, obviously, and a very complicated situation. but the syrians are balking at the idea of the u.n. having its own helicopters. they're saying if you want them, we can give them to you on a local basis. >> so difficult in that respect. it was interesting, you say that the members of the u.n. security council are behind this plan, but they don't seem to believe in it particularly. now we've got another meeting in paris taking place of

foreign ministers trying to do what to do next with no russian and no chinese presence either. >> that's right. i mean, the russians see this as a one-sided meeting, aimed at putting more pressure on the syrian government and looking at a plan b, which would assume the failure of the kofi annan plan and get back to other ways of stepping up the pressure on the regime. so russia didn't want to be associated with that. it's saying basically that the west should be trying to pressure the opposition to call off its attacks, its rebel fighters on the ground, and to get them ready for dialogue with the regime. there's not a lot of sign of that happening at the moment. >> jim, thanks a lot. one other development related to syria, because from turkey, we're getting reports that the authorities are to search a cargo ship suspected of carrying iranian weapons to the syrian government. this is the atlantic cruiser. there it is in the distance. but it's docked in the turkish

port. syrian activists have warned that it might be breaking the arms embargo western countries imposed on syria a year ago. the german owners, along with the ukrainian firm that charted the vessel, both deny there are any weapons on board. police in iraq say more than 20 people have been killed in a series of explosions right across the country. in baghdad, at least five bomb attacks seem to target mainly shiite neighborhoods. blasts hit several other cities beyond baghdad as well. the biggest attack taking place in the northern city of kirkuk, where two car bombs aimed at police patrols killed at least four people. all these attacks happened just about simultaneously. they did seem to be coordinated. our correspondent in baghdad gave me more. >> yes, the coordination is a big concern, and it seems to be that whoever is doing this makes a point of saying that we can do this across baghdad, in the center of baghdad, as well

as on the periphery of the capital, as well as outside the capital and in various parts of the country, mixed parts of the country, and security forces as well as civilian targets, shops, pilgrims, all kinds of targets across the country. and it would seem very unlikely that such a fact could take place in a single day almost simultaneously without a very high level of coordination. >> the man who killed 77 people in a bomb and shooting attack in norway last summer has told a court he'd been planning an attack since as early as 2006. as he arrived in the oslo courtroom for what is the fourth day of his trial, anders behring breivik did comply with a request from his own lawyers, in fact, not to make a far-right salute this time. he's also described using computer games to rehearse scenarios before he bombed a government building in oslo, killing eight people and injuring a further 200 or so. he's back in court for the fourth day of the trial, and i see breivik there.

-- anders breivik there. steve rosenberg is following the case for us. he outlined the latest events to me. >> prosecutors have been questioning breivik about his apparent addiction to online war games. he said that in 2006, he took what he described as a sabbatical year and spent the whole year playing the game world of warcraft, which is an online role playing game. he said he spent 16 hours a day playing this game, just playing and sleeping, playing and sleeping. he said it was his dream to do that. he said some people have hobbying like sailing around the world and golf. his hobby was playing this game. he spoke of other war games too. he said it was useful to isolate himself and to distance himself from his friends and family. he said their reaction was shock and horror, but it was useful for him, he said, because he already had the plan that in a few years' time he would carry out his attacks. >> in fact, five years before he actually did so.

>> that's right. the plan was there. and he used some of these war games to work out strategies to plan what he would do. he's also said that when he parks his car bomb outside the government offices last year, he expected police officers to run out and to attack him. that didn't happen, of course, in the bomb explosion. >> steve is there at the court, of course. the testimony from breivik isn't being broadcast, but what we are getting are updates from both steve and matthew price, who's there for us as well. if you go to their twitter page, you'll get the developments as they happen from the court. well worth following both matthew and steve there. let's have a look at the business. very good time to do it, because the spanish bonds have just been out, and we were worrying about whether it would be above or below 6% in yield, which is critical. >> exactly. we're worried about whether or

not this would indicate that the spanish government eventually had to put their hand up and say, ok, sorry, we need a bailout. i think this indicates the relative success of this bond auction. i'll explain the details in a second. it suggests time hasn't run out just yet for the spanish government. they went to the international money markets to raise two-year and 10-year. the 10-year is what we're watching. this is 10-year spanish debt. they're only raising about $3.3 billion. in the grand scheme of things, that's a relatively small amount of money. they got all the money that they were asking for, but let's not kid ourselves. even the 10-year bond, it increased from the last time they went to the auction, an auction. in january, when they did the same sort of level, the interest rate that investors forced the spanish government to pay was 5.4%. today, they paid just over 5.7%, only 5.75%. let's want kid ourselves. it sill is just a bit below the 6% mark, the level that forced the likes of greece, portugal,

and ireland down the bailout path. but we've got to look at the picture. the fundamentals certainly haven't changed in spain. unemployment is still the highest in the industrialized world, up around 23%. yesterday the spanish central bank told us that the amount of bad loans sitting on the books of spanish banks is now at an 18-year high. the amount of debt in spanish banks is phenomenal and very worrying indeed. that still leaves increasing suspicions that spain, it's not a matter of if, it is really a matter of when that that country will need a bailout. but some people are referring to a light bailout, a mini bailout for the banking -- spanish banking industry, not the economy. but, look, i'll have a lot more on the bond auction, because we're also looking ahead to france. france goes to the debt auction, to bond auction today. there's no worry it won't be able to raise the money, but it's all about the election, of course, and the jitters around the election, and could we see a change. that's at about 11:30 our time. i'll have a lot more on all of

this, plus nokia's results. >> aaron, good. thanks a lot for that. let's go to something completely deferment. you would not want to be matt hagan. he's a drag racer, and in the wrong car, that one, i'm afraid. this is in north carolina. four cars competing just as a qualifying event. the pictures are extraordinary, aren't they? equally extraordinary is that hagan stepped off the track there, and after throwing a bit of debris to the floor in disgust, he walked away a very lucky man. you're watching "bbc world news" with me, david eades. thanks for being with us. coming up in just a moment -- the organizers go on the offensive as protests continue in bahrain in the leadup to the formula one grand prix. >> the media is really that conscious, get on a plane tomorrow, 7:00 a.m., an hour and a half to syria. go see the reality, then come

back for dinner here. >> the european parliament is voting on a controversial bill to transfer airline passenger details to the american department of homeland security. supporters argue the bill is needed to fight terrorism. opponents fear the information could be used for wider purposes, like controlling immigration. >> just how much did the security services need to know about us when we fly? the u.s. would like to know a lot about e.u. citizens, names, addresses, phone and credit card numbers, even religious meal choices and medical conditions. it's information we already give to airlines. but should they have to pass it on? >> the extent of this information has already proven use informal previous terrorism cases, in the mumbai bombings, in the 77 bombings, etc. we want to preserve people's

private data. but on the other hand, we have to contribute to the fight against terror. >> the proposal on passenger information have divided politicians here at europe's parliament, and there are many big questions. how will the u.s. use this information, for example, how long will it be kept? and who will have access to it? questions many m.e.p.'s say the proposals simply do not answer. >> i would have preferred to have good agreement with our friends and allies, the americans. this agreement, unfortunately, does not meet our standards. it does not protect the rights of european citizens. they do not have adequate means of legal redress. and therefore, unfortunately, we cannot adopt this agreement. >> latest indications are m.e.p.'s will back the proposals, but very reluctantly by the narrowest of margins. if they don't, washington has already suggested it will negotiate with european countries individually. and those who don't cooperate

may find travel to the united states rather more difficult. >> you're watching "bbc world news" with me, dade eades. the headlines this hour -- the indian military has successfully tested a long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead as far as beijing. french president nicolas sarkozy accuses the syrian authorities of trying to remove homs from the map. >> coming up in sport today in half an hour -- european champions barcelona struggle to find their form in rainy england. they're beaten 1-0 by chelsea in the first leg of their champions league semifinal. rain is causing problems in trinidad, too, the second test betweened west indies and australia looks likely to end in a draw after rain. and a remarkable escape for a

drag racer in north carolina. his car literally explodes on the track, but he walks away unscathed. that's all coming up in 30 minutes' time. >> can't see too much of that. staying on the sporting theme, protests are continuing in the gulf nation of bahrain ahead of sunday's formula one grand prix. there have been new demonstrations in the capital, and there are reports security forces used stun grenades to disperse the crowds. the authorities say the race will go ahead without any problems. >> this is a district of the bahraini capital. we can't verify these pictures, but they appear to show hundreds marching in protests against the government. in what they're calling the days of rage. they want political prisoners released and democratic reform. their country is in the spotlight because of sunday's grand prix, and they want their message heard. all this, a headache for the authorities and the organizers of the race. but they insist it will go ahead without any problems, and

the country is unified. >> if the media is really that conscious about human rights, go see the reality and come back for dinner here. why are we worried about a couple of thousand or a couple of hundred who go out and protest and then go home? >> someone else who wants sunday's race to go ahead is this woman. her husband is in jail and on hunger strike. she's pleased that bahrain is hosting the grand prix, but is angry with the powers-that-be. >> what makes me angry, people who decide to come to bahrain because he thinks everyone is happy. i can assure him that i'm not happy. my family's not happy. >> the race is only days away, and the tension is mounting. for many, the checkered flag can't come too soon. >> catch up on other stories

for you now. the u.s. secret service says three of its agents are to leave their jobs. that's following alleged involvement with prostitutes in colombia. other agents are style administrative leave. they're alleged to have taken women back to a supposedly secure hotel in advance of an official visit to colombia by president obama. heavy rain is continuing to cause havoc in colombia. the security forces have been deployed across fields and forests surrounding the capital as bogota river threatened to burst its banks. authorities say 19 people have died with more than 60,000 badly affected by floods and mudslides over the course of the last month. the head of pakistan's army says his nation and india should demilitarize in the disputed car michigan region. it's often called the world's highest battlefield. one general was speaking as the search continues for 140

people, of which 129 are pakistani soldiers burried by an avalanche 12 days ago. >> we're at the edge of a glacier, and it's hard to imagine a more difficult place for a search operation. standing here, you really get a sense of what a challenge it is. we're at about 13,000 feet above sea level, and every minute here, you're at the mercy of the elements. we've already been told which way to run if there's an avalanche. there was an area of a square kilometer. the search operation has been going on since then day and night. heavy machinery is trying to shift the snow and ice, trying to see if there's survivors underneath. there's also digging by hand. but experts believe there's now little or no chance of finding any survivors.

the pakistan army has spoken of praying for a miracle. experts believe that's probably what it will take. but commanders say the motivation of troops involved in this rescue effort is extremely high. they're looking for their comrades, for their brothers in arms. now, there's a risk of avalanche two or three times a day. the search has to be stopped. rescuers have also been battling ex-stream cold and blizzards. the tragedy here has renewed debate in pakistan about whether or not the troops should even be here. they've been here since 1984. in that time, this area has been a graveyard for 3,000 pakistani troops, and most have been killed by the weather, about 90%. so critics here in pakistan are saying it's time to give up this frozen battlefield. they believe it simply isn't worth one more life. thank you this week, britain

has been hosting a whole array of chinese writers at a london book fair. the invitation to showcase the chinese publishing industry reflects their growing power in terms of its economy. but some have criticized the event for cooperating with the government in beijing. in china itself, writers can face censorship, even imprisonment, as emily buchanan reports. >> the publishing industry's shop window. china is keener than ever to promote its culture abroad, and here it is in force. nearly 200 publishers and nearly 1,000 new titles. but every author, every book represented here has to be approved by the chinese government. where chinese offers mustn't tread is clear, tiananmen square, tibet, yet many here say they can still write about the poverty and the suffering of ordinary chinese people.

>> currently, i think enjoy the freedom, but i use the artistic approach to express my opinion freely as much as possible. >> a few protesters turned up to highlight the lack of free speech in china, restrictions which they say have tightened since the beijing olympics. but one of china's most influential poets says compared to the 1980's, very few writers are now suppressed. >> when i hear something about this writer who's been accused of something, usually as a writer they're not so good. let me be frank. they have political minds, and that's important, but that's something political instead of literary. >> interesting debate. do follow it on the website, bbc.com/news. coming up in a moment -- aaron

will be here with "world business report." >> 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

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