BBC在线收听下载:中日韩领导人会议在成都举行

BBC News. Hello, I'm Jerry Smit.

The leaders of China, South Korea and Japan have promised to work together to reduce tension in the region where there are fears that North Korea could be about to carry out a long-range missile test. At a news conference in the Chinese city of Chengdu, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said all three countries had strong concerns. Laura Bicker has more. When it comes to the security situation, Japan and South Korea face the same threat. Now remember, North Korea has fired 13 missile launches this year. It's been one of its busiest years. Those are short-range missiles, which the United States has brushed off. But it's not so easy for Japan and South Korea to brush off when they're in range, so it does seem that they may want to cooperate in the future on the kind of security issues with regards to North Korea.

Government figures in Japan show fewer babies were born in the country this year than ever recorded before. The authority has first began collecting the data more than a hundred years ago. Japan's population has long been in decline. There were over half a million more deaths than births this year. The government has blamed on aging society, saying there are now fewer women of child-bearing age.

There have been more rallies across India demanding the government withdraw a controversial citizenship law. Activist students and members of the opposition gathered despite a ban on such rallies. The biggest demonstration was in the city of Kolkata. In the capital Delhi, hundreds of protesters were moved to a different location after the police denied them permission together in the city center. The law allows fast-track citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from three nearby countries.

Reports from Syria say five children are among the latest casualties of a week-long offensive by Syrian government forces backed by Russia against the mainly rebel-held province of Idlib. Sebastian Usher reports. An air strike hit a school where locals were taking refuge from the onslaught that's been unleashed in the past week. At least eight people are reported to have been killed. Activists say that more than 80 civilians have died in the air and ground bombardment over the past few days. Pictures from the region in and around the city of Maarat al-Numan show a level of devastation that became horribly familiar during the height of the Syrian war. Many thousands are again being forced to flee their homes. Idlib itself has become a refuge in recent years for more than a million people forced out of other parts of Syria.

The German car manufacturer BMW says its being investigated by financial regulators in the United States. The company said it was cooperating with the probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but gave no details. According to the Wall Street Journal, BMW was accused of a practice known as Sales Punching by which sales figures are artificially inflated.

World news from the BBC.