21/01/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Kasia Madera. On the eve of the

biggest diplomatic effort to end the Syrian conflict, shocking pictures

of torture allegedly, by government forces. Thousands of prisoners were

starved, beaten and executed - investigators say the victims looked

like they'd been in concentration camps.

The pictures of starved bodies were reminiscent of the pictures one saw

that came out of Auschwitz and Belsen after the Second World War.

The standoff between riot police and protesters in the Ukraine capital

Kiev with a warning the situation could get out of control. Also

coming up: one wants independence from Britain,

the other from Spain. We have a special report about Catalonia and

Scotland's bids to breakaway. And the way we're listening to music

is forever changing, and from today, Americans get a new streaming

service to rival Spotify. Hello and welcome. As international

diplomats gather in Switzerland for a conference aimed at ending the

conflict in Syria, there are claims that Syrian government forces are

guilty of torturing and executing prisoners. It comes in a report by

three former war crimes prosecutors - they were commissioned by Qatar

which backs the rebels. They've examined 55,000 images smuggled out

of the country. The disturbing photos show injuries to 11,000 dead

prisoners. The Syrian government has denied claims of abuse. Our

correspondent Paul Wood's report contains some graphic images.

Tens of thousands of people have disappeared in Syria's jails. Many

tortured to death, according to the opposition. They say there's proof

of that in these disturbing images. A military photographer catalogued

some 11,000 deaths in custody. He defected, taking the whole library

of abuse with him. It shows body after body, beaten, emaciated. The

injuries were repeated time and time again. The brutal beatings - and

pictures of starvation, starvation can be used as a means of torture,

the pictures of starved bodies were reminiscent of the pictures one saw

that came out of Auschwitz and Belsen after the Second World War.

The photos are in a report commissioned by Qatar which backs

the rebels but it was written by some of Britain's leading war crimes

lawyers. They say such evidence would support findings of crimes

against humanity against the current Syrian regime.

Such evidence could also support findings of war crimes against The

-- against the regime. I have seen a lot of this evidence. It is

compelling and horrific. It is important that those who have

perpetrated these crimes are one day held to account. All that doesn't

augur well for the peace talks here where President Assad's

representatives are due to arrive shortly. President Assad is hardly

likely to want to negotiate his own exit if that leads to an appearance

at the Hague. He has made it clear all along he believes these talks

are about anything but the transition of power. For the

opposition, that is the main order of business here. But most of the

rebels are actually doing the fighting inside Syria aren't

represented. Most too want an Islamic state, not a democracy. Some

rebel groups are part of al-Qaeda. They will fight on, whatever happens

in the talks. Meanwhile, President Assad seems to be winning. No one

really expects a peace deal in Switzerland this week but perhaps

it's hoped a durable ceasefire might emerge, that's something the UN

could never achieve in three years of Syria's civil war.

A Syrian government spokesman has told BBC World News the findings are

not credible. The spokesman for the Syrian Information Ministry said

many crimes were being committed in the country - and not by the

government. And he said the forensic scientists couldn't be certain about

the provenance of the pictures. They don't know the source of these

photos, first of all so they are not really know these sort for whom,

because I cannot discuss with you if you don't tell me these pictures,

these images for who? Who are these person? We have professional killers

in Syria from around the world, they kill Syrian people, they attack

universities, schools, Mosques, I think who practising this kind of

torture against people - Qatar one of the states should go to criminal

court, not Syria. That was a spokesman for the Syrian Information

Ministry. As we have been reporting the Geneva two talks are due to take

place tomorrow in Switzerland. Our diplomatic correspondent is there

and has this update. Expectations are pretty low for what

can achieved because it's been so difficult, so tricky to get everyone

around the table. The spectacular row which blew up yesterday over

whether or not Iran should take part was a symptom, a reflection of how

fragile the balance is between who is invited and who is not and who

would say they wouldn't come if other people were here. The agenda

is a question of discussion. The Syrian delegation before arriving

here made clear they also want to see on the agenda the question of

fighting extremists in Syria. It's likely when the Syrian foreign

Minister gives his speech tomorrow he will make that part of what he

wants to say. The opposition say the main purpose of the talks should be

how to get rid of President Assad and they may bring up this new

report which was released today, no doubt deliberately on the Eve of the

talks, with all this evidence, this horrific photographic evidence which

they will say points to the fact that there have been mass killings

by the Syrian Government. Around the table will also be as many as 40

other countries and international bodies and the point of having them

there will be to endorse this process, to make it seem important,

to try and make it harder for the two Syrian delegations to turn their

back on it if they feel uncomfortable, if they feel what's

being discussed isn't going their way. As for what the organisers, the

UN Secretary General and his special envoy on Syria, what they want out

of the conference in the long-term they would like to see a political

settlement. But no one thinks that's going to happen quickly. In the next

few days. Some diplomats are saying these talks, if they can continue

and no one walks out, could go on for months, even over a year before

there is a real substantial political solution, if at all. In

the meantime, in the next few days what the organisers are hoping for

is that they can launch a dialogue between the two sides to talk about

some concrete steps which might amiliate the life of those Syrians

displaced by the fighting. Some are in besieged areas running short of

food and water. If at least there can be local truces agreed, or

temporary humanitarian corridors then I think the organisers of this

conference would consider that a real achievement.

We will of course keep you updated. Now some of the other news.

A car bomb has exploded in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese

capital, Beirut, in an area which is a stronghold of the militant

movement, Hezbollah. The Red Cross says at least four people have been

killed and 35 injured. Local media say a suicide bomber was inside the

car, packed with explosives. Our Middle East correspondent Jim Muir

reports. Caught by the cameras, the moment

the latest bomb went off in Beirut's southern suburbs. It exploded in the

middle of a busy street, plunging the area into chaos. Cars were

wrecked, shops and apartments had their windows blown out and some

were set on fire. Scenes like this have become all too prominent in

recent weeks and months here in Lebanon. This is the latest in a

series of explosions here in the southern suburb of Beirut, an area

largely controlled by Hezbollah and has been hit by rocket attacks and

various other forms of aggression in the past few weeks. Hezbollah

supporters chanted defiantly as one of their political leaders appeared

on the scene. I asked him whether the movement would be responding to

the attack. TRANSLATION: We have a religious,

moral and scrupulous and values which prevent us carrying out such

terrorist attacks. It's not in our customs, our traditions or our

religious morals. Hezbollah later said that some of the explosives in

the bomber's car had failed to detonate. If they had, the carnage

could have been much worse. Now everybody's asking where will the

bombers strike next? Some of the day's other news: French

intelligence services have reported the discovery of a new mass grave in

the Central African Republic. French Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian

described the grave as holding around 15 bodies outside the capital

Bangui. The discovery comes a day after the CAR's transitional

parliament elected Catherine Samba-Panza as the country's new

interim president to replace Michel Djotodia.

A senior cleric at the Vatican has been served with an arrest warrant

by Italian police for money laundering and fraud. Monsignor

Nunzio Scarano was already facing charges of trying to smuggle money

across the Swiss border. These latest charges relate to claims he

stole money from a home for the terminally ill to pay off his

mortgage. The English Football Association has

charged Nicolas Anelka with an aggravated offence following his

controversial quenelle goal celebration last month. The West

Brom striker has until Thursday to consider whether to contest the

charge, which could result in a five-game ban. The Frenchman says he

made the salute in support of comedian and friend Dieudonne M'Bala

M'Bala and has denied it has anti-Semitic overtones.

Football's world governing body, Fifa, has given one of the cities

which will host matches at this year's World Cup four weeks to have

its stadium ready - or face being dropped from the tournament. The

Arena da Byehada in Curitiba is behind schedule after problems with

costs and safety concerns. It's been chosen to stage four group stage

matches, but FIFA says those games could be taken elsewhere.

The Thai Government has declared a state of emergency to deal with the

growing violence. It will be in force for 606 days and gives them

wide-ranging powers to deal with the protesters who have been blockading

the centre of the Thai capital. After two-and-a-half months of

turmoil, the Prime Minister has finally been forced to declare a

state of emergency. Announced here by her hard hardline Labour

Minister. In theory, she can now deploy the Army to back the police

in dealing with the protests which have disrupted the capital and

threatened her hold on power. But it isn't at all clear how emergency

rule will be applied. The last time this happened in Bangkok four years

ago more than 90 people died when the Army put down an occupation that

had shown increasing flashes of violence. Back then, though, the

Army was a lot more sympathetic to the Government in power. This time

the military has been reluctant to support a Prime Minister whose

brother it ousted in a coup only seven years ago. And there have been

plenty of rumours it might step in again. If it is deployed to help

impose emergency rule, it won't be to help the Government. The

anti-Government protesters certainly believe they have the backing of the

military. And despite dwindling numbers they've shown no signs

they'll give up their blockades and rallies in central Bangkok. A spate

of recent attacks on the protesters, this man was caught on camera

throwing a grenade which injured nearly 30, may have pushed the

Government to act. The many weeks of chaos have emboldened armed groups

on both sides which may now be hard to rein in. Both sides seem to have

radical elements which the leadership can - well, the main

group publicly reject violence but there are radicals that we can not

really control. It's totally unacceptable. At an evening speech

to the faithful the protest leader was predictably unimpressed by the

Government's decree. How can it be right for this Government to use a

state of emergency against us, he asked? Come and get us, we're not

afraid. But this deadlock is imposing a heavy cost on Thailand.

Emergency rule now casts another shadow over the general election

scheduled for less than two weeks' time. In Ukraine, protests are

getting out of control, according to the Foreign Minister. Sergei Lavrov

described violent clashes between anti-government protesters and

police as scary. He has also accused EU politicians of stirring up the

situation. Tuesday saw an uneasy stand-off on the streets of Kiev.

That was after a second consecutive night of clashes. Let's go to Kiev,

to speak to Daniel Sandford. Bring us up to date with what the mood is

like. As you can see, there is a concert going on with a few hundred

people. Mercifully, the first time in two nights, there are no clashes,

as far as we can tell, at the bottom of the street reading up to the

Parliament. We have seen a couple of pretty violet nights with lots of

people injured, several people have lost their eyes from stun grenades

and plastic bullets. Tonight, there does not seem to be violence at

present. That means we have now had about 12 hours in Kiev which have

been relatively violence free. I guess a lot of anticipation and

concerned about these new protest laws that will come into effect on

Wednesday. Yes, there is the potential flash point tomorrow. I do

not think anyone can deny that. Large numbers of people are believed

to be heading to Kiev tomorrow, in order to complain about those new

protest laws. There were published in an official newspaper today, they

come into force tomorrow. These laws ban things like the stage down

there, the tents, which are a traditional part of the process, and

also, the wearing of helmets and masks, something which people were

doing long before these clashes broke out. So I think it is

definitely a potential flash point, it could be that everyone is

exhausted after those 36 hours of rioting, or it could be that they

are preparing themselves for a difficult day tomorrow.

We will continue to monitor that. Let's stop to Gianni Magazzeni, from

the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva. Thank you for speaking to

us. We heard Daniel in EEF, talking about concern over tomorrow's new

laws. -- Daniel in Kiev. That is an area you have flagged up. Yes. It

concern has been expressed about those laws that will be passed,

because they seem to fall short of vision for international German

rights treaties, that Ukraine has actually ratified. I think we are

concerned about the fact it will limit the rights of freedom of

association, as well as freedom of expression. There are also issues

with broadening the scope to cover violations by law-enforcement, or

criminalise defamation. These are issues that great concern with

respect to the legal obligations in Ukraine. These have been

international human rights treaties, which Ukraine ratified. We are also

concerned about the penalties, including risen sentences for

violations of the new laws. I know you want Viktor Yanukovych to

suspend the application of these laws, have you had any communication

with the Ukrainian government you Mac the government here has suddenly

received the communication, the press statement, we have been in

touch. Also with our colleagues on the ground in Kiev. The critical

issue is that as the High Commissioner has said, urgent

constructive dialogue, but one that will be inclusive and sustained over

time, and for it to succeed, it is essential that this dialogue would

be based on full respect for international human rights law. I

think, interestingly, there are also political commitments that Ukraine

has made, as recently as March 2013, and it has undergone what we call a

universal review, where every single member state of the UN has provided

comments to Ukraine, regarding it human rights situation, and laws and

practices. Interesting to note, some of these recommendations also

included the question of addressing the police impunity, or enhancing

the legislation that provides for the freedom of assembly. All of that

means that if we look at the root causes of the ongoing

demonstrations, I think addressing the human rights concerns, doing so

hand-in-hand with Ukraine Government, and whether sustained

and constructive dialogue, inclusive, with all other parties,

that may result in action that would eventually remove some of the

concerns. Jannie Mages any, sorry to interrupt, but we are out of time.

-- Gianni Magazzeni. Thank you for coming on to talk to us.

2014 is the year that Scotland votes on independence from the UK, it is

not really part of Europe where independence debate is raging.

Catalonia is scheduled to hold a referendum in November, although the

central government in Madrid says any vote is illegal and will be

blocked. The campaigns for independence in Catalonia and

Scotland have much in common, that also some key differences, as Alan

Little reports. Once, the Catalan language was

banned in schools here. Now, Catalan children grow up with a national

identity distinct from the rest of Spain. The hilltop town has declared

itself a free Catalan territory. A symbolic repudiation of its Spanish

heritage. The government in Spain see that it is real, this feeling

that we have for our dream. Catalonia will be independent.

Support for independence is growing here. This demonstration in

September 2012 attracted more than 1 million people. Scotland has seen

nothing like this. Spain says it will block November's referendum as

illegal. Catalonia's resident, Artur Mas, said he admires the more

pragmatic approach of David Cameron. With the British mentality. This is

to say, if you have a nation, Scotland or Catalonia, you have in

this nation abroad majority of the population that is asking for a

referendum, asking for real democracy, what you have to do? To

sit at a table, to talk about that, to reach agreements, and to let

people vote. This is the British way. There is another big difference

between Scotland and Catalonia. In Scotland, support for independence

has been pretty solid, at around 30%, arguably for decades. In

Catalonia, it has shot up to 50% in the last few years. Many

anti-independence campaigners believe that it is a short-term

response to a short-term economic crisis, but one which could have

profound and irreversible long-term consequences.

Opponents of the referendum want tough action from Spain, to rein in

Catalonia. We could, for instance, suspend the autonomy, we hope it is

not a scenario. But in any case, our Constitution, our democratic

constitution, it's us -- gives us some tools to stop illegal misuse.

But the popular mood seems unmistakable. In a country when even

eight-year-olds chant for independence, Spain's refusal to

grant a referendum risks wishing more and more Catalans into the

independence camp. How do you listen to your music, on

a radio or a record player, via download or do use a bleak stream?

Listening directly over the internet is increasingly popular, with super

successful Swedish company Spotify claiming more than 24 million new

users worldwide. Today, it gets a major new rival, American rapper and

producer Dr Dre, the mind behind Beats headphones, is launching a

rival streaming service in the US called Beats Music. Let's find out

more with Dave Lee. Just explain to us what is going on. For awhile,

Spotify has been the main player in the streaming industry. Until now,

it has not Billy had a competitor that is kind of cool and will be

seen as a major rival. But now, Dr Dre, using his hedge fund brand that

we see all over the place -- headphone brand, has launched this

platform. The first time we have seen a well-known brand challenging

Spotify's domination. Even I know that Dr Dre is cool. The result was

a concern about royalties and how the artists get paid, what is the

situation with this new Beats Music company? The problem the streaming

services have is impaired to buying music, the money artists get is

tiny. So, the battle that many websites have is to try and help

them make money through other ways. Like suggesting concerts that people

can go to, suggesting merchandise they can buy. That is the battle.

Convincing the artists it is worth having their music on these

services, instead of not being on them and just being able to buy the

physical CD. That is the main area. Some artists, they have ruled out of

Spotify. The artists by this new company, do you think? That is Dr

Dre's selling point. He ready has contacts, he can get people on this

platform. What about this other, Jim .com? He is fighting extradition to

the US for copyright theft. He has launched his competitor. The only

album on that is his own album. So it is not being seen as a major

player yet, but who knows? He may turn out to be won. But the main

rival is Dr Dre. Spotify remains to be the key one here. Weekly, do we

know how many bands, how much is it, that Beats Music will have on

it? At the back of the main selling point is not so much the size of the

database, what Beats Music hopes is its selling point is this ability of

musicians they have on board to recommend, they are humans doing it.

It is otherwise quite mechanical, but eats music is watch more human.

That should be there selling point. -- Beats Music. I know you have

written something on the website, so you can check out more on that. For

now, from me, Kasia Madera, and the rest of the team, goodbye.

Slowly, we continue to see this and of rain across western areas pushing

East. Showing up here on the pressure chart. Moving