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>> shares in spain's fourth largest bank, bankia, is suspended. bank is expected to ask for a multibillion euro bailout. france's new president, hollywood hollywood hollywood, meets his afghan counterpart in kabul after pledging to bring his country's troops home early. a conclusion to a 33-year-old mystery. u.s. police arrest a man over a missing child case. welcome to world world. i'm tim wilcox. also coming up -- the world's first private delivery is expected to arrive shortly at the international space station. and final rehearsals ahead of this weekend's eurovision song contest with azerbaijan's human rights record taking central stage. >> hello. bankia, spain's fourth largest

bank, is in trouble. shares in the bank, which was part nationalized two weeks ago, has been suspended much the move comes ahead of a board meeting later, where bankia's new management team is expected to present a restructuring plan. it's understood the struggling bank will then ask the spanish government for at least 15 billion euro toss help it carry out what it calls a clean-up. i've been speaking -- actually, let's go to madrid and speak to the will be will be's tom burridge, who joins us. is this potentially, tom, just the tip of the iceberg? >> well, tim, let's just tell people why bankia is here. it has huge amounts of bankruptcy loans, and it's now part nationalized. it's part owned by the spanish state. and therefore, the future of the spanish government is in part dependent on the future of bankia. and what we've had this morning is shares in the bank have been suspended trading. i've just come off the phone to an economist here in spain who said little a suspenseful mood, not that unexpected, really,

given all the uncertainty over bankia. we really don't know the extent of the losses in bankia. what the government is now coming up are figures reported in the spanish media to be about 15 billion euros of rescue funds, i and a real sort of plan to clean up the bank. >> will the spanish government have to borrow money at quite a high interest rate to actually bring about this bailout? >> well, that's the fear. the fear really is that spain's government that is cash-strapped doesn't have lots of their money to keep bailing out troubled banks. i asked this economist, is the 15 billion euro figure credible, and he said it could be more, and we'll find out this afternoon when bankia has a board meeting and then we might get more sort of clarity. earlier in the week, we had the spanish economy minister coming out and giving a figure of nine billion. the figure seems to keep on rising. and i think what the markets are craving, and therefore, the spanish government, is a bit of certainty, really, a bit of

sort of clarity over what is the position of bankia, how much are the losses, if it's possible to say. and therefore, can the bank be saved, which the government says it will be. >> but tom, this is spain's fourth largest bank. the other banks are exposed to property market as well. could there be others now? >> well, two other very small banks have been nationalized in the past in spain, spain's banking sector as a whole is problematic. the big banks, san tan door -- sanity an door, they're not in trouble. and they made a lot of the money that made the property boom possible. of course, because the market crashed, therefore those loans have turned bad, and that's why so many of these small savings banks are in trouble. actually, bankia was sort of an amalgamation, and therefore, it soaked up a lot of bad loans.

>> tom with the latest, thank you very much. david jones, a senior market analyst, has been telling us more about the markets now. >> with banks that need bailing out, last week it was nine billion. i think they suspended shares today ahead of the meeting. i think the feeling is i hope this is going to be a short suspension today. world stock markets, or european stock markets, haven't reacted too badly to this news, so we'll wait and see at the moment. >> as the fourth largest bank. how vulnerable are the others in spain? >> we know how vulnerable they are. they were downgraded a week ago, 16 spanish government downgraded, including santander. the worry is, is this just the tip of the iceberg, like we saw with our own banking system three years ago? it went from bad to worse. the worry is, if the fourth largest one needs bailing out, are we going to see this spread to the rest of the banks there? the markets will watch the market with baited breath to see what comes out.

>> can the spanish government afford this? >> that's the other problem, of course. spanish government lending is up around 6%. it's over the last couple of weeks. they have their own debt problems to deal with. it's not as if they're flush with cash. maybe we'll see the e.c.b. get involved. >> aaron is alongside me now. what happened in ireland? >> almost a mirror image, isn't it? of course, you've got the property boom, then the bust, and the banks need bailing out, and then the government needs bailing out. if you look at some of the sums involved with the spanish banking system, they're rather monumental. we know that the spanish banks were ordered to set aside the whole sector, set aside some close to $70 billion extra, extra money set aside to cover bad loans. last week they were ordered basically and told they had to set aside an extra $40 billion to cover bad loans, the

distressed assets. the bank itself has $40 billion worth of stressed property assets on its books. these figures are monumental. i just think, you know, as some of the experts that i talked to said, look, who are we kidding? everybody is just delaying the inevitable. the spanish banking system is in an absolute mess, and the spanish government does not have the money, nor the capability, to raise the money at the interest rates, the yields that they're having to pay to borrow money. >> you'll have much more on this throughout the course of the day. just talk about ali bob a. >> this is an interesting story. we're talking about alibaba.com, one of china's biggest ecommerce web sites. it's decided to buy back all of its shares from its investors. investors have agreed to sell. it listed in 2007, the listing price was in hong kong dollars, $13.16. that's exactly what they're buying back the shares for. basically, typically any time a company buys back shares, it's basically saying or essentially saying it doesn't believe the listed entity is a true representation of its value.

again, i'll have a lot more on this story and hopefully go live to an expert in china and talk about that on the world business report in about 20 minutes' time. >> thanks very much indeed. the new french president, hollywood hollywood hollywood, has arrived in afghanistan on an unannounced visit. >> the bbc's andrew north spoke to me a few minutes ago with the latest. >> this trip is about explaining to the afghan government, afghans themselves, and also france's nato allies, exactly what france plans to do, because, yes, they've said they want to end their combat mission here, to pull out troops. but no one has been quite clear what happened after it. now, earlier, he was meeting french troops, some 3,500 of

them who are based here, and he was explaining his position to them, saying that although the terrorist threat to france has not entirely disappeared, it has partially -- it has been partially curbed, were his words. and so, to justify his position to pull back, but france is also saying it will still to be involved with afghanistan. it still wants to support it. the question is what exactly that support will be. >> andrew north in kabul. a senate committee in the united states has cut aid to pakistan by $33 million a year. it's in response to the pakistani doctor who helped the c.i.a. track down osama bin laden. dr. afridi was sentenced to prison for helping the u.s. locate the al qaeda leader in abbottabad. the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, denounced his imprisonment. >> the united states does not believe there is any basis for whoileding dr. afridi.

we regret both the fact that he was convicted and the severity of his sentence. his help, after all, was instrumental in taking down one of the world's most notorious murderers that was clearly in pakistan's interest, as was ours and the rest of the world. this action by dr. afridi to help bring about the end of the reign of terror designed and executed by bin laden was not in any way a betrayal of pakistan, and we have made that very well known, and we will continue to press it with the government of pakistan. >> the bbc's aleem mack bull has been speaking to me from islamabad with the latest. >> 20 days after osama bin laden was killed and what he had done was work with the

c.i.a. ahead of that raid in setting up a fact vaccination, the idea being he collect blood samples from some of the members of the bin laden family so they could be d.n.a. tested and confirmed that bin laden was there. now, he didn't, it appears, manage to achieve that, but as you heard from hillary rodham clinton, officials have said he was inclumental in the killing of osama bin laden. but really, since then, the american officials, in spite of the fact that they had been calling for clemency, calling for his release, have been given something of a slap in the face by the pakistanis who have now imprisonned him for 33 years. this is really indicative of where this relationship is right now. pakistan, since the raid, have actually arrested numerous people for helping the americans, not really those accused of helping osama bin laden. i think this is a message from washington to say, look, we feel pakistan is working against us more than its

working with us. if that continues to be the case, then we're going to cut aid. >> but this $33 million is just a drop in the ocean if you compare it to the annual aid budget. >> yes, it's more about a message. it's more about putting pressure on islamabad on various fronts. there are lots of things washington wants them to do, like, for example, open nato supply routes. they were closed six months ago after a nato raid in which 24 soldiers were killed. on the other hand, pakistan wants an apology from washington for that raid. it wants more possessions, lots more in terms of compensation for those supplies that go through pakistan. but i think over the next year or so, when we see and remember elections in both the united states and here, i think we're going to see both administrations sort of playing to their domestic audiences. in the united states, barack obama would not want to be seen to be apologizing to a country which many feel is working against the united states. and here in pakistan, there are

very high levels of anti-americanism. the government here needs to show it's being tough with washington as well and that it's not a puppet of the united states. so, i think that will mean many more tense instances to come. >> at least seven people have been killed in a gun attack on a bus. 25 people were also injured in the attack, which is thought to be carried out by separatists. police in new york are holding a suspect in connection with a case of a 6-year-old school boy who disappeared 33 years ago. etan patz vanished while walking to a school bus in manhattan. his disappearance is the first to be featured in a public information campaign on milk cartons that changed the way missing children are dealt with. police say the suspect implicated himself in the boy's death. jonathan blake reports. his disappearance captivated america. etan patz left home to walk to the bus stop on his own for the first time and was never seen

again. the case sparked a national campaign to raise awareness about missing children, but despite huge publicity, police found only false leads. until now, more than three decades on, a breakthrough. detectives say a man who worked in a convenience store near etan's home has confessed. >> hernandez described to detectives how he lured young etan from the school bus stop at west broadway and prince street. with the promise of a soda. he then led him into the basement of the body egg a -- the basement of the bodega, choked him, and disposed of the body by putting it in a plastic bag and placing it into the trash. >> the first arrest over etan's disappearance comes amid renewed interest in the case after police dug up a basement flat near the boy's home last month. now, along with caution, there is hope of solving a case which

haunted new york. >> if you remember 33 years ago, this was a tragedy that broke the hearts of millions of people, especially parents, across this nation, and it's a case that, to his credit, the district attorney reopened in hopes of not only bringing justice, but also offering some closure to etan's parents. and as a father, i just cannot imagine what they've gone through, and i certainly hope that we are one step closer to bringing them some measure of relief. >> as he gave his confession, police say pedro hernandez showed remorse and relief. his admission alone may not be enough to secure a conviction, but the arrest marks a dramatic development, 33 years to the day since etan patz went missing. jonathan blake, bbc news, washington. >> you're watching "bbc world news." still to come -- 700 years on, the return of the rats, taking the town where the legend of the pide piper was born.

>> the first hurricane is heading toward mexico's pacific coast. hurricane bud is threatening heavy rains. but it strengthens into a category three storm with winds up to 185 kilometers an hour. opposition politicians in ukraine are demanding an investigation into why a session of parliament descended into this fist fight. at the time they were debating a bill to give the russian language equal status in ukrainians in some parts of the country. they really went for it, as you can see. one politician was taken to a hospital for treatment. >> scientists are expected to decide later on whether to whether a telescope will be in australia or somewhere else.

the captain, second officer of a ship, have both been jailed for seven months. the two filipinos were in charge of the cargo ship rena when it ran aground last october, causing an oil slick that killed several thousand birds. the official campaign encouraging scott to vote for independence is being launched in i had enburg today. the campaign is being backed by several parties, including the scottish national party. they are seeking to overturn the active union which has bound england and scotland together for more than 300 years. the referendum date has yet to be decided. but is likely to be two years away. it's expected that the groups organizing the stay part of the union will launch their campaign next month.

you're watching "bbc world news" with me, tim willcox. our headlines this hour -- trading in shares in spain's fourth largest bank, bankia, are suspended. the bank is expected to ask for a multibillion euro bailout. and pledging to bring them home early, france's new president visits his nation's trips and the president in afghanistan. >> coming up in sport today in half an hour -- could it be a 14th and final trophy at barca? the final of the copa del rey will be his last game in charge of the club. defending champion, after beating argentina on penalties. and mclaren's burton beats the rain and competition to the

fastest time in practice ahead of the monaco grand prix. >> thank you very much. the world's first private space ship is expected to stop at the international space station today. the space dragon craft blasted off in florida on tuesday, carried by the company's falcon nine rocket. the unmanned vehicle successfully completed a critical test run on thursday, given the go ahead now to approach to within 10 meters of the station, ready to be captured by a robotic arm. let's get the latest from jonathan amos. this isn't the way the shuttle used to do it, is it? >> no, the shuttle had systems, and indeed, humans inside who could help drive the vehicle all the way into the space station to a port. this vehicle, it doesn't go all the way in, it just silingdses up, and then the robotic arm that's dominated by the astronaut on board, he'll reach out and grab a dragon capsule,

hold it for a little bit, check that everything's fine, and then pull it underneath the station and berth it to one of the open ports. >> so parking a car? >> a little bit, but everybody is moving at 127 kilometers an hour while doing it. it's going to be very interesting when it happens. the key point here is government vehicles have done this for years. the difference here is that all of these systems have been developed inhouse by an internet billionaire and his start-up company, spacex, in california. they've done it very, very fast and at low cost. that's the big difference. >> and this is the way forward? could it eventually take up astronauts as well? >> nasa certainly hopes so. nasa's budget is under tremendous pressure. i know they spend something like $17 billion, $18 billion a year, but they have a lot of demands on that cash, and they're looking for savings. they have big projects in the future. they want to go beyond lower to places like astroids and mars.

they think by contracting out to companies like spacex, they may be able to save cash they can reinvest in other places. currently, enthuse don't have a shuttle. they can't lift astronauts into space. they buy seats in russian soyuz vehicles. the hope in the future is this capsule, dragon, they can put seats in it, put a life-support system in it, and not just food, water, and other supplies, but actually put astronauts in it as well. >> all right. jonathan, thank you very much. rats are plaguing the town of hamelin in the center of germany, where legend has it the pied piper cleared the rodents away back in 1884. they're in the fountain in the town's main square. let's go to berlin and speak to steve evans. have you been unpacking your pipes, steve? >> i read in the newspaper, very responsible newspaper, that the town of hamelin has a

plague of rats. basically, you remember the legend, 1284, you're absolutely right, a man in colored garb came along, plague of rats, he played his pipes and led the rats into the river, where they drowned. ask not whether rats can swim. these ones couldn't. they left. but anyway, now the rats are back, and they've been gnawing on electricity cables at a fountain and stopped the fountain. so the town is saying, where's the rat catcher? so, there's a bit of a row about cleanlyness in the city with tongue in cheek, i have to say. >> will they pay the rat catcher? >> we don't know. >> there is a rat catcher, and he's very earnest, and he says he likes his job, it's very

important, and he doesn't see himself as if he's sent into the pide piper. but everybody is saying, look, bring us back the pied piper. we need him. i should tell you there is that legend about 1284, but also then the brothers grimm wrote the thing up as a fairy tale, and you may remember that, in that version, the pied piper did pipe the rats into the river, but then, the town fails to pay the rodent operative his proper due, so he came back and piped all the children away. so a rat catcher can be a mixed blessing. >> have they evacuated children yet or not? >> they haven't. children may or may not be in fear. we do not know. >> thank you very much. steve evans there. now, they are putting the final touches to the crystal ball in azerbaijan ahead of tomorrow's eurovision song contest. tens of millions of people

expected to watch across europe. it's also put the spotlight on their human rights record. >> the u.k. has been down in the eurovision dumps for years, but could this be the start? 56-year-old engebert is a living legend. he sung with elvis. he has a star on the hollywood walk of fame. but he's never done eurovision before. he's not nervous. is he? >> i'm nervous. yes, i'm nervous. i always get nervous for everything i do. as a matter of fact, i'm a little bit information now talking to you, but you wouldn't believe it, would you? >> they'll be performing "love will set you free," a moving ballad unlike some of the other songs in this year's contest. montenegro got knocked out in the semis. not surprised, are you?

irish twins jedward made a splash and are through to the finals. >> it's awesome. >> the euro vision was something in the background, but now it's a main thick. >> we brought eurovision back to the glory days. >> but after rehearsals, these mystery musicians stole the show. who are they? they're russia's singing grannys with their disco number, "party for everybody." this woman is nearly 77, making her the oldest singer in eurovision history. we managed to extract them from the media scrub for an exclusive chat. we're fine, says alice. we've got a team of doctors here looking after us, and the chefs are cooking russian food. there's never been a eurovision song contest like this one before. one global mega star, six singing grannys, and a host

country where politics, not pop music, is center stage. azerbaijan has been criticized at home and abroad for its human rights record. anti-government protests on thursday was broken up by police. these activists are speaking out for democracy in azerbaijan. >> the names of prisoners, they can just say that we are supporting the human rights and democracy in azerbaijan. >> the authorities accuse the west of a smear campaign, but back to the contest. singers young and slightly older are trying to focus on the competition. it's not easy when jedward is around. on saturday night, we'll find out if the king of romance will be crowned king of eurovision. steve rosenberg, bbc news. >> summary of all the headlines

coming up. >> 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.