the latest attempt to stop the oil gushing into the gulf of mexico. hillary clinton calls for a greater international response as she condemns north korea for sinking a south korean ship. the prime minister of kingston promises an inquiry into 44 deaths in street fighting as supporters of a suspected drug lord battle security forces. welcome to "bbc world news." broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also on the globe. coming up later for you, we go inside the massive technology complex in china. why such a spate of suicides? and how people power has forced facebook to make it easier for users to protect their privacy. hello to you. right now, bp is making its latest attempt to plug the gushing oil leak that has caused such widespread damage to the environment and economy of the gulf of mexico. the procedure is called top kill. you are seeing it on your screen now. it involves pouring blood and semen into the damaged well. while that happens, more details emerged about what went wrong on board the deepwater horizon rig bids for the deadly explosion five weeks ago. -- it involves poring mud and cement into the damaged well. the company says it has let people down in its efforts to contain the disaster. from washington. >> these are the pictures that were sent to live from 5,000 feet under the sea as the operation happen. it is called top kill, bp's best hope of choking off the oil. only the company has the equipment and expertise to do this while president obama can only issue impassion instructions, telling them to plug that dance league. >> if this successful and there are no guarantees, it should greatly reduce or eliminate the flow of oil now streaming into the gulf. if it is not, there are other approaches that may be viable. >> bp has been drafting plans for the top kill for weeks, and rigs, barges, and other machinery are in place during it means pumping mud, a heavy flow of that contains clay and chemical additives, into the failed blowup, and it works, the minister will help solve the leak and stop the flow of oil, but it will not undo the damage done -- the mixture will help plug the leak. >> i'm absolutely devastated. something i never wanted to see. something we really thought really hard not to happen. if we cannot change the past, but we can do everything in our power to make the future better. that is all we are going to do. >> these pictures show the globules of oil but some are mistaking for food. louisiana is the united states biggest producer of seafood. this is not just an environmental disaster. it is an economic disaster as well and fast becoming a political one. leading democrats are blasting the president. >> it just looks like he is not involved in this. you have to get down here and take control of this. but somebody down in this thing and get this thing moving. we are about to die down here. >> president obama said what he called a heartbreaking still shows the need for alternatives to carbon fuels. the pressing problem is that by law, bp must be in charge of the cleanup. the president's immediate trouble is not a lack of energy but a lack of power. >> how do you solve a problem like korea? that is the question troubling the u.s. secretary of state on her trip to asia. hillary clinton wants a strong but measured international response to the crisis over the torpedo attack on a south korean war ship. and in her visit to seoul, she said there was over -- overwhelming evidence north korea was irresponsible and called on pyongyang to end its what she called belligerents -- overwhelming evidence that north korea was responsible. >> as so often, the people of this city carry on as normal despite the simmering tensions, but below the surface, there is concern about the threat from across the border. there are rumors that the north is in combat readiness, this man says. that is why the people are worried. >> have heard reports about more submarine movements. people are anxious. this woman agrees. this, then, was meant as a show of reassurance. two allies standing side-by-side against an extraordinary act of aggression. >> the international, independent investigation was objective. the evidence overwhelming. the conclusion inescapable. this was an unacceptable provocation by north korea, and the international community has a responsibility and a duty to respond. >> the shattered records of the warship recovered in two house -- halves has been examined by an international team including experts from the uk. they say the evidence is indeed strong that north korea is to blame. the remains of a torpedo were found close by. a weapon designed to detonate beneath the hull of its target, just like this australian navy torpedo test on and anti-ship -- on an empty ship. 46 sailors lost their lives i was a military disaster and a national tragedy for south korea -- in what is and military disaster in national tragedy. the government says the north must be made to pay. the question, though, is how. so the clintons display of solidarity included a pledge to take the matter to the united nations, but china, a prominent member of the security council, seems unwilling to lend its support for such a move, arguing that when it comes to north korea, caution is better than confrontation. an isolated cold war relic, the north uses tension and brinkmanship to win concessions and guarantee its survival. to the south, whatever the latest diplomatic efforts come to, that threat will remain always in the background. >> more on the main news for you more briefly. this is an unprecedented one. the international criminal court has reported sudan to the united nations security council for allegedly protecting two suspected darfur war criminals, just above for the president in a sworn in for a new term as the leader, the man told the securities as of this government refuse to accept warrants for two men. the european union has unveiled proposals for a new tax on banks, to ensure the taxpayer will not foot the bill for future collapses. the commission is based on the public pays principle -- the polluter pays principle. the amount of money to be based on profits and bonuses. the space shuttle atlantis has returned to earth for the last time. the shuttle and its crew touch down at the kennedy space center in florida. this is the end of a 12-day mission to the international space station. the shuttle's final flight now that president obama has put the brakes on national shuttle missions. the jamaican prime minister has promised an independent investigation into the deaths of at least 44 people in kingston. there were killed in battles between security forces and supporters of christopher code. local people are trying to prevent him being extradited to the u.s. on drugs and weapons charges. >> out on the streets today, ambulances needed -- has needed an army escort as they took the injured and dead to hospitals. battle scars are everywhere, and the operation is not over yet. there is still gunfire around here, and other police and army said the operation is coming to an end, they are taking back control of the streets, that is clearly not completely the case. local people are telling us they had seen bodies on the street. they say the official estimates of the number of people killed are far too low, and it also said that women and children are among the dead -- they also say that women and children are among the dead. >> they showed us bullet hole after bullet hole. they say the army fired at their house is indiscriminately. -- their houses indiscriminately. one man's girlfriend was killed in her garden. she is an innocent person who was killed? >> innocent person. >> it is difficult to verify this, but everyone here told us the same story, and the government said there will be an investigation. how difficult will it be for the government troops under its command have been guilty of human rights abuses? >> we have had incidents of that in the past. there is legal recourse in terms of that. >> that would be terrible for jamaica, wouldn't it? >> i would not want to prejudge. as i said, it is an operation that is ongoing. >> adding to the government's embarrassment and anger of the citizens is the fact that a suspected drug lord had still not been arrested. the fear is he may have given the soldiers to slip. >> another employee of the taiwanese technology giant foxcom has committed suicide. this is the 11 such deaths among the company's work force this year. is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer. its massive complex in southern china houses at least the employees are least 400,000. labor activists criticize the place. they say employees work under military-style discipline. >> a rare glimpse today and satisfactory with the pressure on young workers is said to be so great it leads them to take their own lives. the owners allowed reporters in to see the plan for themselves. labor activists plan a stream of suicides since the start of the year on a military-style discipline, long hours, and poor conditions here. the man in charge says he is investigating what has gone wrong and insists he is not running a sweatshop. >> i think that you should look closely into both the chinese and international forces. according to experts, once a regional gdp per capita -- $3,000 a year, then these incidents tend to happen. we have 540,000 employees in our company, according to experts, the suicidal rate is within the normal range. >> outside the factory gates, the family of one of the young workers who took his own life is demanding answers. >> our whole family will kneel down. i hope you'll publicly apologize and find out the truth. >> several hundred thousand people work in what is in effect a town with in a town, so large is the site. the company says it is doing all it can to help staff relax. knows it needs to stop the suicides. its customers like apple, whose iphones are made here, are concerned. there will likely look for other manufacturers for their products instead. >> stay with us if you can on "bbc world news." still to come, italian unions threatening strikes. italy is the latest eurozone country trying to push through massive job and spending cuts. first, though, in china, demand for self defense glasses for children has risen sharply because the spate of attacks on schools. at least 15 children have been killed, dozens injured in seemingly random attacks by a man wielding axes or knives. alex now on the children preparing to put up a fight. >> martial arts for children with a twist. the people here are learning how to defend themselves with whatever is at hand, whether it is a notebook or an umbrella. they used fake nice to simulate practice of tax, but the best defense, they are taught, is simply to run away. >> first of all, i have to avoid a direct confrontation. that is why i should try to run away first. >> in the past few months, there has been a series of attacks on chinese schools, all carried out by men wielding axes or nine -- knives. at least 15 children have been killed and dozens more injured. experts say there is a copycat element to the attacks. schools have tightened security. police officers and security guards now watch over the school gates, but for a growing number of parents, that is not enough. most chinese families are only allowed to have one child. the risk is simply too great. >> it is useful for them to learn this. i think it is good to know how to protect oneself and not rely completely on someone else. >> respond calmly, react quickly. that is what the causes are designed to teach. some of this young citizens are learning how to protect themselves. >> latest headlines for you on "bbc world news"-operation top kill has begun, bp's latest attempt to plug the gulf of mexico oil spill. hillary clinton calls for a greater national response as she condemns north korea for sinking a south korean war ship. could the greek financial meltdown be spreading to other countries in europe? that is the question haunting many, and italy has now responded by approving massive spending cuts to stabilize public finances. the government warns of a very hard sacrifice is ahead. italian unions are threatening strike. >> it may not yet feel like an era of austerity, but italy has joined the growing list of european countries cutting public spending. in response to europe's debt crisis, they are having to cut around 25 billion euros or $30 billion from the budget over the next two years. the italian prime minister said the sacrifices were needed to help save the euro. for years, italy like many other countries, he said, had been living above its means. it is the public sector that will take the brunt. roberto and earns just about $1,500 a month as a teacher. her salary will now be frozen for four years. >> i feel bad because just now, the teacher gains very little, and they are at the bottom of the social circle. >> margarita also works in the >> i'm very angry with these >> cuts greater than the local government budget is being reduced. there will be less money for schools, and there's talk of strikes -- the local government budget is being reduced. >> just to give an indication of the extent of the squeeze on the public sector, there will be delays in retirement, cuts in hiring for every five public- sector workers it goes, only one will be taken on, and there will be cuts in the wages of the higher and interest in the public sector, including government ministers. -- of the higher earners in the public sector. >> in rome today, italy's largest union threatened a general strike next month. >> nobody is happy overseeing salaries cut, so people will protest, but i do not envisage anything like greece. >> across europe, the debt crisis is forcing a cultural revolution would austerity turning the public sector. it marks an end to an ever expanding welfare state that some have defined as the european way of life. >> afghan tribal elders are arriving in kabul for a summit on how to end the fighting for the 1600 delegates, whether to talk to the taliban as high on the agenda, but do the taliban want to talk? we gained exclusive access to afghanistan's most notorious prison where many taliban are held. >> this country has known 30 years of war, and for 30 years, this is where every regime has ended up. you can tell -- has held its enemies. they call this deep zone. high-security, high-risk prisoners. there are more taliban here, including some of the organizers of the last riot. they demanded more freedoms. the authorities said they had too many. running in taliban's help from a cell block is in running a taliban sell -- running a taliban cell from a cell block. they do not allow many visits like this, so we attract attention. someone calls us over. he is facing a death sentence for what he did on the front line. exactly what that was is not clear, but his views are, and as hard-line as they get when it comes to the west. >> now the government is talking about talking to the taliban. maybe there'll be peace. [speaking foreign language. >> he is the kind of man and will not be easy to talk to, and he is not the only one. he tells us we should meet some of the leaders here on the floor above. these men say this is their floor, and it feels like it. in this corridor, they seem to have the run of the place. this is the man who said -- seemed to matter here. he said he commanded 100 men on the outside and still boasts about his role in the war. >> [speaking foregin language] >> i asked for more details of his claims. but it is clear that was not because of all the guards around us. as far as he is concerned, they do not get in the way of much. >> [speaking foreign language] >> as the sun sets, they prayed together. theirs is a taliban world within the world of police custody. the confidence is probable because history is on their side. >> the red cross has been giving first aid training to the taliban. more than 70 members of what the red cross called the armed afghan opposition received such training last month. a spokesman told us fighting and roadblocks prevent many afghans getting to hospital, so it is giving first aid training to people directly involved in the fighting. >> the red cross was founded on the battlefield of 150 years ago. one of the tenants we have worked on his impartiality, basically meaning we provide services to anyone who requires them, whether that person is affiliated with a group or not. take a doctor about to perform an operation on a patient. he is bound by medical ethics as being the only criteria as to whether to provide care or not to that person. not whether you like a person's views to treat them. the movements operate in absolutely the same way -- in partiality -- impartialitiy and need are the only criteria we use when deciding whether to provide help or not. >> facebook is overhauling its website. you cite is now used by 400 million people worldwide, and it will now simplify its privacy settings. the 26-year-old data says the changes mean less personal information will be visible to everyone -- the 26-year-old founder. will also give users more control over who can access their data. >> it is not facebook but spoofs side attacking the social nutlets attitude for privacy, the anger some of the 400 million plus users now feel. in recent months, they have woken up to how much of their lives they may be sharing. software developer shows me how much of my page was visible to the world. >> there we are. i can now scroll through your friends. what a very easy site to use. anyone can use it without much technical expertise, but to keep your data suggest to you and your friends, you have to get a very complicated settings. we know they have got the skills to make the website easy. they have got the skills to make the setting is easy. they are not doing it. >> after weeks of crisis meetings, the privacy settings are being made more simple. there has been a lot of anger -- when i spoke to the company's founder, he said they have listened to the complaints. >> we have spent the last few weeks listening to people at the we rolled out a bunch of new products, and the main thing that we heard from people was that they just want similar controls that they can control all of their information on facebook. >> facebook last promise of privacy settings back in december, but many people found them very complex. you are encouraged to set your data free to roam across the web. >> facebook users will start seeing any privacy page where they can choose with just one click what to share with friends, friends of friends, or everyone. but can september, who add a student laughed about it was willing to hand over data, when black people -- can zucker burke -- can zucker burg, who used to laugh about people's willingness to hand over data, when back people's trust? >> we have a company that serves one of 400 million people, our goals of making the web connected are still the same period >> facebook kept on acquiring new users amidst all the controversy, but the bigger it grows, the more of our valuable secrets it will own, making privacy all the more important. >> finally, a sad note for you. a south african opera star chosen by nelson mandela to sing at the world cup football opening ceremony has died from meningitis. she was admitted to hospital last week and was pronounced dead yesterday. he was due to perform in johannesburg on june 11. let's just hear a little more from him. >> ♪ when you rise to find your dreams ♪ >> you will find much more on bbc.com. thanks for being with us. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.