>> and now, "bbc world news." >> is a hot air balloon burst into flames and crashes in new zealand. 11 people are dead. an attack on the hearts of the syrian capital. the government vows to respond with an iron fist. the united nations warns yemen against granting amnesty to perpetrators of war crimes. we're broadcasting to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a good news state for president obama and the u.s. economy. unemployment drops to 83-year low. the african national congress begins a weekend of celebration to mark 100 years since its foundation. hello again. a hot air balloon has crushed in new zealand, killing all 11 people on board. flames 30 feet high were sticking out of the balloon. the accident was near wellington happened in bright conditions with little land. duncan kennedy reports. >> they woke up to news of the tragedy. an early morning crash that took 11 lives. the balloon plunge down in flames after the pilot had appeared to be trying to gain height. >> i was driving down the road. i saw a hot air balloon literally on fire on one side. the wicker basket was on fire. i saw something holding it down. it was 50 meters in the air. the whole basket started to go up in flames. i was pretty shocked. >> the five couples on board came from the wellington area. the weather and wind had been favorable. the pilots had more than 1000 hours commercial experience. >> 11 people have died. this is a tragedy. >> crash investigators have begun an inquiry as to the accident, which has become one of new int -- new zealand's worst disasters. >> the syrian government has claimed terrorists -- blamed terrorist for a suicide bomb attack in damascus. the opposition has accused the government of being behind. our diplomatic correspondent reports. >> the latest escalation in serious violence. a deadly suicide bomb in damascus. spattered blood, shattered glass, shrapnel. at least 26 people dead, according to the government. many dozens injured. >> this policeman who survived the blast told bbc he saw a pedestrian carrying a black bag. the bomb exploded before anyone could stop him. behind the police cordon, a pro- government supporters vented their anger at those responsible. al qaeda, he says. it must've been al qaeda foreigners. necessary and could have done it. the syrian interior minister also blamed terrorist. he vowed to strike back with an iron fist. syrian opposition groups said they had nothing to do with the blast. they claimed it was part of a dirty trick campaign staged by president bashar al-assad and his allies. it is hard to disentangle claims and counterclaims about this attack. in the past, occasional mysterious bombings in damascus were blamed on islamic extremists. it is also true that a bombing like this place into the syrian government hands by reinforcing their claims they're fighting terrorist, not the popular uprising. it may also mark the start of a dangerous new phase in syria's conflict. across syria, demonstrators continued to take to the streets to fight government forces. the latest amateur footage apparently from -- gives glimpses of the violence. yesterday in damascus, one small group of monetarist from the arab league mission did manage to break away from government minders to meet protesters. a cameraman was with them to fill the encounter. their mission is to be reviewed this weekend amid concerns about the ambition to bring peace to syria has made little headway. >> in nigeria, there were reports of an attack on christians. in the latest, eight people are said to have been killed at a church in the northeastern states. it follows another sitting in the same place earlier in the day. -- shifting and the same place earlier in the day. that followed a similar attack on thursday. these are pictures from the militant islamist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. it has made repeated threats to the country's christians in the past few weeks. the u.n.'s human rights chief has warned yemen not to grant amnesty to those above committed war crimes as part of the deal for the president to step down. an amnesty law should go to parliament in yemen shortly. >> it drew thousands. they lined 60 streets in neat rows. the intense heat did that keep them away. women and men took part in the protest demanding the release of political prisoners. even children, their mouths taped up, their hands bound. this show of opposition. the demands of the protesters is clear, said this man. it is to establish a state, one that has a national army instead of different military factions. and one with an independent security forces. a around the corner, at another rival demonstration was taking place. people carried banners and supports of the president. he is still present even though he has agreed to stand down in february as part of the u.s.- backed handover deal. it was signed at the ceremony in saudi arabia in november. the president was to get a lifetime immunity as part of the deal. prisoners were to be freed, but this has the united nations worried. human rights chief has warned yemen it not to grant amnesty to those who committed war crimes during the years of unrest. in a statement, she said there was reason to believe some of those crimes were committed during for which amnesty is under consideration. such an amnesty would be in violation of yemen's international human rights obligations, she said. the government says the opposition protest court affecting public services. the protesters of all ages of. undeterred. the future were in their hands. >> the united states navy has rescued the 13 iranian fishermen who were being held by pirates in the arabian sea. >> at a time of tension between the united states and iran, a friendly gesture from the u.s. navy. this is the moment and navy helicopter crew rescued an iranian fishing boats, which a been commandeered by pirates. the sellers put out a distress call after being taken hostage more than 40 days ago. >> this is an incredible story. this is a great story. the very same ship that the iranians protested on its last voyage, they just rescued this iranian ships from cards. >> the rescue took place in the arabian sea or the fleet of u.s. navy vessels is currently located. close by is the strategically important shipping routes. iran recently threatened to close in response to a new western sanctions targeting iran's oil industry. the iranian navy recently held military exercises and warned u.s. not to returned. these fishermen, though, will not mind who was then arrested them. they will be pleased to get tom. -- to rescue them. they will be pleased to get home. >> the husband of the ukrainian prime minister has requested political asylum in the czech republic. it is believed made his request at the end of last year when in october, his wife was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of office. the french president nicolas sarkozy insists his country will go ahead with a new tax on financial transactions following talks of the italian prime minister in paris on friday. sarkozy announced he wants the tax enforced by the end of the year and is willing to do so unilaterally if necessary. the government of chile have suggested indigenous activist or responsible for a forest fire that killed seven firefighters. activist accused the government of taking advantage of the disaster to criminalize their movement. aircraft engineers and australia -- to be grounded. >> of been discovered in some of the aircraft wings found on planes operated by qantas and singapore airlines. airbus insist their planes are safe. >> the giant of the sky, an imposing sight. there are some concerns about its safety. more cracks have been found. aircraft engineers and australia said it is better to be safe than sorry. >> we cannot continue to gamble with people's lives and allow those airplanes to continue to fly around. >> they were filed on planes operated by singapore airlines and qantas airways. the qantas plane had been grounded in singapore after one of its engines blew out in 2010. the airline said the issues were unrelated. airbus issued a statement saying, we confirm that minor cracks were found on some of non-critical wing attachments. on a limited we have traced the origin. developing inspection and repai procedure, which would be done during scheduled maintenance checks. in the meantime,e emphasize safe operation of the fleet is not affected. singapore airlines says it has repaired the wings. airbus is recommended airlines check for cracks, but did they do not pose a safety risk. >> conflicting advice from european government involving the safety of faulty breast implants made by a french company. the appearance of an indian student who was shot dead in the north of england on boxing day have flown on with this body after witnessing the scene of his murder. he was studying engineering at lancaster university and was shot at point-blank range all he was out of some of his friends. >> he laid flowers, the spot where her son was shot dead. she and her husband made the journey from india to see the place where he was murdered. it is 11 days since the 23- year-old student was killed, shot at close range. the families say it was important to come here. >> this has been a difficult journey to make. he was full of hope and ambition for the future. we were very proud of him. he was our only son and we cannot comprehend this dreadful tragedy. >> he spent christmas night with friends at this hotel. in the early hours of boxing day, the left ear to hand into manchester city center. -- they left here to have -- to go to manchester city center. the 20-year-old has been charged with murder. he told the court his name. his family said they have faith in the british justice system and the police investigation. this afternoon, they had a phone conversation with david cameron. the prime minister assured them that everything possible is being done to achieve justice for his son. tonight, the family is flying his body back to india. tomorrow night, his funeral will be held. >> these are the headlines. a hot air balloon has crushed in new zealand killing all 11 people on board. a bomb attack in the syrian capital has reportedly killed 25 people. the government blames activist and is about to respond with an iron fist. more conflicting advice to the hundreds of thousands of women who received faulty breast implants from a french company. the french government has advised their immediate replacement. germany has told them and the implants should be removed as a precaution. british officials said they have no evidence to warrant their removal. >> these breast implants are being filled with medically tested silicon. this company is the only british firm which makes them. by contrast, the french implants had industrial grade silicone. france and germany are recommending there were milk -- and the removal. an expert group here says that is unnecessary. ministers -- is causing so much anxiety. patients will be offered free replacements. >> what is important is not to exaggerate the reasons to be worried. if women are worried, we will support them. we expect -- we want to see private providers offer that same standard of care. >> it is bought 40,000 or more of u.k. women have these implants. 95% were done by private clinics, mostly for breast enlargement. by percent summer done for breast reconstruction -- 5%. dunned for breast reconstruction after cancer. ministers said there is a moral duty on the cosmetic industry to treat patients like -- free of charge. if the clinic refuses, the nhs will remove the implants, but will not replace them. >> obviously, these can be removed. it puts my help in a better position. it is not really be out, i was after. they're very robust. >> should the nhs be helping women cosmetic procedures? isk.hey did not know the res the nhs pix of the bill for smoking and alcohol-related diseases. we know smoking and alcohol cause problems, but they pick up the bill. >> this issue comes down to an assessment of risk. everyone is still there is a danger of complication. that increases the longer the implants stake in. eventually, they all need to read -- be replaced. that would require the removal. the experts admit they cannot make a final judgment on safety because the information provided by the cosmetic industry was an adequate and reliable. >> of the data we have received implies the risk of rupture is very low. in fact, the data implies the risk is so low, the data is unbelievable. we need to go back to organizations to pursue that further. >> to private firms have offered women replacement in plants like these free of charge. those which did the majority of operations say they need time to consider their position. >> president obama has welcomed the news that u.s. unemployment has fallen to 8.5%. that is the lowest level in three years. the figures may also hamper attempts by the present republican opponents to discredit him ahead of them burst presidential election. >> there are now more americans doing this, working, then there have been in three years. the u.s. jobless rate is down to 8.5%. employment is up for the sixth straight month. it is a boost for a president whose stewardship of the struggling economy will be the main issue in this year's election. >> we are making progress. we're moving in the right direction. one of the reasons for this is the tax cut for working americans we put in place last year. >> republicans competing to replace them say they are the ones to speed up recovery. >> we have a president who did not cause the downturn. but he is making it more difficult for the economy to recover. >> there is a long way to go. there are still 6 million fewer jobs in america done in 2007. spending and incomes are rising. house prices are still depressed. u.s. stock markets did not respond well to the news. they are more worried the euro zone debt crisis could drag u.s. economy is down. >> to make his new prime minister says she and since to make the island a republic and removed the queen as the head of state. in her inaugural address, she said she loves the queen, but it is time for jamaica to abandon the monarchy. >> this will be a time for reflection on the lessons of the past. as we celebrate our achievements of an independent nation, we need to complete the circle of independence. in this regard, we will therefore initiate the process of our detachment from the monarchies to become a republic with our own indigenous president as head of state. >> the u.n. says it is launching a massive humanitarian operation. around 50,000 people caught up in violence in south sudan. local reports say more than three dozen people were killed in the fighting. about 250 kilometers of the capital. >> the face of thousands of depends on these helicopters. the u.n. says it does not have enough in south sudan to cope with this emergency. the needs are great. tens of thousands have lost almost everything. fearing for their lives, they have fled their homes and land. >> they have travelled over 150 kilometers over a 10-day periods without any food and water. this is the first time we have been able to find a safe place where we can help them. >> these people are from this tribe. their attackers are from a rival tribe and there has been vicious fighting between them for months. a conflict of cattle. cattle is like a savings for the tribe. young men did the livestock to pay dowries for brides. the spread of modern weapons has made disputes much more deadly and destructive. this woman says she was attacked in the bush and lost three children. she does not know if they are alive or dead. she has come to this camp to try to find them. local officials say they have counted 3000 bodies in the past few days, but that number has not been confirmed. peacekeepers and government soldiers have largely stopped the fighting. south sudan only became independent six months ago and even with international support, it is struggling to cope with the crisis. the situation appears calm now, but the potential for further violence remains strong. >> the african national congress is marking its 100 anniversary this weekend. years after the end of apartheid, there are questions about the direction. >> we have come to fix a small struggling south african town. sewage on the streets, one tap shared by a whole neighborhood. how long has it been like this? >> 10 years. >> anger is growing. people expected more from freedom. the ruling party is corrupt, bloatedd. >> i think they have collapsed. they cannot even provide for the people. we do not want to be like it happened in libya and egypt. >> it has been a long momentous journey. the struggled during racial oppression, africa's greatest liberation movement, armed rebellion and negotiation. nelson mandela can south africa's first democratic president. this party is celebrating its one -- its 100 birthday. the president is leading the festivities. the party has done so much for the country, seems weighed down by corruption. look how popular they are. that because and loyalty account for a great deal here. >> many have died. >> is the party of revolution losing its touch? at a golf tournament, a man imprisoned with nelson mandela, acknowledges mistakes. >> we have not delivered the services to lead to the people of south africa. >> the anc keeps winning elections. they gave us freedom. i will die of voting for the anc. >> this is "bbc world news." >> make sense of international news. bbc.com/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 meet your growth objectives, we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small 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