:00:06. > :00:10.Britain aims to tighten the screw on Iran. It's calling for more
:00:10. > :00:12.sanctions from the European Union at a meeting of foreign ministers.
:00:12. > :00:18.Iran's all-important oil industry could be a target, says Britain's
:00:18. > :00:20.William Hague - just one of the options being considered. I hope we
:00:20. > :00:24.will agree today additional measures that will be an
:00:24. > :00:34.intensification of the economic pressure on Iran. Peaceful,
:00:34. > :00:46.
:00:46. > :00:49.Welcome to GMT, I'm George Alagiah. Also in the programme:
:00:49. > :00:58.So far, so good - America rewards Burma for progress, but says it
:00:58. > :01:02.needs more reform before it's business as usual.
:01:02. > :01:09.And green is red hot at the Tokyo Motor Show as Japanese
:01:09. > :01:13.manufacturers unveiled their visions for the future of the car.
:01:13. > :01:15.It's midday here in London, 3:30 in Tehran, and 1:30 in Brussels.
:01:15. > :01:18.That's where the British Foreign Secretary William Hague is pushing
:01:18. > :01:22.for more sanctions against Iran at a meeting of fellow European Union
:01:22. > :01:25.foreign ministers. The talks come two days after Iranian protesters
:01:25. > :01:27.stormed the British mission in Iran. Mr Hague, who's since ordered the
:01:27. > :01:30.expulsion of Iranian diplomats from London, suggested that Iran's
:01:30. > :01:40.money-spinning oil industry could be targeted, though he acknowledged
:01:40. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :01:47.that there could be a variety of views on that.
:01:47. > :01:50.Here is James Reynolds. This morning in Brussels, Britain's
:01:50. > :01:55.Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived to test Europe's desire for
:01:55. > :01:57.further steps against Iran. European Union has taken many
:01:57. > :02:01.measures already but the additional measures, I hope we will agree
:02:01. > :02:07.today, that will be an intensification of the economic
:02:07. > :02:10.pressure on Iran. A peaceful, legitimate economic pressure,
:02:10. > :02:16.particularly to increase the isolation of the Iran financial
:02:16. > :02:20.sector. The attack, British Embassy is still fresh in every one's mind.
:02:20. > :02:25.-- the attack, V. There is enormous amount of support for those people
:02:25. > :02:31.who have had a dreadful experience. This is what British diplomats are
:02:31. > :02:34.still recovering from. The country's two compounds in Tehran
:02:34. > :02:39.work stormed by protesters on Tuesday. In response, Britain has
:02:39. > :02:43.withdrawn its staff and ordered the closure of the Iranian embassy in
:02:43. > :02:48.London. It wants Europe to act together. Here is what may be
:02:48. > :02:52.discussed in Brussels. Iran is one of the world's largest oil
:02:52. > :02:55.exporters and it is how the country get much of its revenue. There is a
:02:55. > :03:01.suggestion that an oil embargo may be debated.
:03:01. > :03:05.The EU and Iran do a lot of business, but Iran's key market is
:03:05. > :03:10.in Asia, China in particular, which means that more European sanctions
:03:10. > :03:17.can only have a limited impact on Iran.
:03:17. > :03:27.Let's get some more analysis on the story. We will be like that the
:03:27. > :03:27.
:03:28. > :03:33.Iranian embassy in London shortly, but first, let's cross to Brussels.
:03:33. > :03:39.His Tehran going to be concerned that William Hague, up the British
:03:39. > :03:45.Foreign Secretary, is talking about targeting the oil industry? I think
:03:45. > :03:50.they are very concerned. I think they should be concerned. Judging
:03:50. > :03:53.by the muted response from Iran today after the events of the last
:03:53. > :03:58.24 hours, the closure of the embassies and the expulsion of
:03:58. > :04:03.Iranian diplomats from London, it is quite clear that either they,
:04:03. > :04:10.Iranian leaders, they recognise that the attack on the British
:04:10. > :04:14.Embassy was pretty much a major mistake bad miscalculation -- and
:04:14. > :04:18.miscalculation and has projected Iran of working outside the norms
:04:18. > :04:23.of international relations and international law. Here, it has
:04:23. > :04:28.firmed up the attitudes of the foreign ministers here, who are not
:04:28. > :04:34.talking, are they don't have any more doubts, if there were any,
:04:34. > :04:37.about increasing sanctions against Iran. Here, the idea... Can I just
:04:38. > :04:42.interrupt? When you say there is a sense that there has been a
:04:42. > :04:48.miscalculation, are you suggesting that within the administration in
:04:48. > :04:55.Tehran, there is now, if you like it, various factions vying for
:04:55. > :04:59.status, vying for power? Well, there was always a division about
:04:59. > :05:05.this issue of relations with Britain and how to handle the
:05:05. > :05:12.latest sanctions that Britain imposed about 10 days ago. The
:05:12. > :05:17.Government of President Ahmed dared Jack was against the idea are such
:05:17. > :05:22.taking -- the Government of the present was against taking such
:05:22. > :05:27.drastic measures, but the opposition had different ideas.
:05:27. > :05:32.Let's go back to or oil sanctions, it has been suggested on BBC World
:05:32. > :05:36.News by our colleague James Reynolds that most of Iran's oil
:05:36. > :05:42.coast eastwards towards China and Asia, so they wouldn't really have
:05:42. > :05:52.to be worried about sanctions from Europe -- goes eastwards. Europe
:05:52. > :05:55.
:05:55. > :06:01.accounts for about 15-20% of Iran's oil exports, and the drying up of
:06:01. > :06:07.20% of the oil exports, it is not going to impact that much. But
:06:07. > :06:11.these things have a tendency to be incremental, NSX that today, the
:06:11. > :06:16.European Union is going to do that, tomorrow other countries might be
:06:16. > :06:22.under pressure to do the same thing. If, for example, the banking
:06:22. > :06:30.sanctions are tightened further and many countries are going to censure
:06:30. > :06:34.and Iran's central bank, bent Iran's -- then Iran's ability to
:06:34. > :06:40.get its hands on its oil export revenue from countries like China,
:06:40. > :06:45.South Korea, India, it is going to be difficult. Already, Iran has
:06:45. > :06:48.trouble getting the money for its oil exports from China. Apparently,
:06:48. > :06:52.they have signed some kind of barter agreement. They have trouble
:06:52. > :06:57.getting the money getting back from the Indians, who are channelling
:06:57. > :07:03.their money through Turkish banks these days. These are serious
:07:03. > :07:10.problems. A we will leave it there for the moment. -- we will leave it
:07:10. > :07:16.there. Let's go to the London Iranian embassy, described the mood
:07:16. > :07:21.there. Diplomats were given 48 hours to leave, were they not?
:07:21. > :07:26.know that they have to leave very soon, but it is rather quiet here,
:07:26. > :07:32.despite some calls or demonstrations in front of Iranian
:07:32. > :07:36.wet -- embassies in European capitals. We only have one protest
:07:36. > :07:41.here, but in front of the Iranian consulate, 10 or 15 minutes' walk
:07:41. > :07:45.from here, we heard that there are some Iranians killing to do their
:07:45. > :07:49.paperwork, because the consulates said it is opened their -- queuing
:07:49. > :07:53.up. They say they are doing their best to try and finish the
:07:53. > :07:59.paperwork and give people their documents, including passports
:07:59. > :08:08.under ID cards. They have also started moving things out of the
:08:08. > :08:11.consular. Both of you, thank you very much. American Secretary of
:08:11. > :08:13.State Hillary Clinton has told Burma's leaders that changes
:08:13. > :08:23.they've made so far are unprecedented and welcome, but just
:08:23. > :08:24.
:08:24. > :08:29.a beginning. Mrs Clinton said it was encouraging that Hang Seng Sue
:08:29. > :08:33.Key was free to take part in the talks but the US would not take any
:08:33. > :08:38.further part until broader Reformation as were taking place. A
:08:38. > :08:44.we are not that the point yet until -- that we are considering lifting
:08:44. > :08:54.sanctions. That is because of ongoing it concerns, policies that
:08:54. > :08:55.
:08:55. > :09:01.have to be reversed. But any steps that the Government takes will be
:09:01. > :09:09.carefully considered and will be, as I said, matched, because we want
:09:09. > :09:14.to see political and economic reform take hold and I told the
:09:14. > :09:22.leadership that we will certainly consider the easing and elimination
:09:22. > :09:31.of sanctions as we go forward in this process together. Let's cross
:09:31. > :09:36.live to Thailand, where many Burmese exiles live. Thank you for
:09:36. > :09:44.joining us on GMT, of what is your reaction to what you are hearing
:09:44. > :09:51.from Burma? -- what is. We are quite excited, this is an
:09:51. > :09:56.historic moment. We certainly hope that Hillary Clinton can break the
:09:56. > :10:06.ice and can leverage the reform of the Burmese pro for -- process. We
:10:06. > :10:12.are the same as many Burmese, cautious as to whether this change
:10:12. > :10:20.is irreversible, and especially within the military administration,
:10:20. > :10:24.because there is ongoing and oppression -- ongoing depression.
:10:24. > :10:28.I'm sorry to interrupt you. When you say you are excited, are you
:10:28. > :10:38.not concerned that there are still something like 1,000 political
:10:38. > :10:48.prisoners behind bars? That is where we have concerns, for
:10:48. > :10:49.
:10:49. > :10:53.political prisoners under -- and oppression in a wider area. The
:10:53. > :10:57.President was saying there were no political prisoners left, so at
:10:57. > :11:05.least acknowledgement about those remaining political prisoners and a
:11:06. > :11:14.dressing on going -- and a dressing ongoing issues. And there are many
:11:14. > :11:21.other concerns, when we talk about reconciliation. Would you accept
:11:21. > :11:27.that in the end, in these sorts of things, you have got to be prepared
:11:27. > :11:32.to take risks, and that is what America is doing? That is exactly
:11:32. > :11:40.what we are doing it, of course. Every change has always risk
:11:40. > :11:49.involved. Especially taking risks... The President is taking risks to
:11:49. > :11:59.change. It is so via a oppression. A lot of people have suffered -- it
:11:59. > :12:00.
:12:00. > :12:09.is so via. -- Severe. It is all about risk taking. But the question
:12:09. > :12:16.is whether shall we take this risk? Is it worth it? Then the question
:12:16. > :12:23.is, well a lot of stakeholders take this risk? We will have to leave it
:12:23. > :12:28.there, sorry to interrupt again, it is a difficult line. Let's take a
:12:28. > :12:32.look at some of the other stories today.
:12:32. > :12:36.Thousands of people are protesting in Athens about salary cuts and tax
:12:36. > :12:40.increases. They are staging a 24 hour strike against austerity
:12:40. > :12:43.measures which Greece must implement if it is to reach the
:12:43. > :12:46.next stage of the international bail-out plan.
:12:46. > :12:49.The cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco says it will
:12:49. > :12:53.challenge a new law passed in Australia that requires tobacco
:12:53. > :12:58.companies to sell their products in non branded packets. The changes
:12:58. > :13:01.due to come into force in a year's time. -- changes.
:13:01. > :13:08.Police in Mexico have discovered the 600 metre tunnel used
:13:08. > :13:14.discovered -- Korea drugs from Tijuana to San Diego. The tunnel
:13:14. > :13:19.entrance was close to the headquarters of the federal police
:13:19. > :13:23.force Bob bash. Still to come, the Afghan women out
:13:23. > :13:31.of their homes and now working. They are afraid it will all change
:13:31. > :13:39.if there is a reconciliation with the Taliban.
:13:39. > :13:42.Let's get all of the business news. I didn't know this, but there are
:13:42. > :13:48.much fuel made in China labels around.
:13:48. > :13:51.You wouldn't believe it, but yes, the overheated economy looks like
:13:51. > :13:58.it is cooling down. The latest figures from China manufacturing
:13:58. > :14:02.figures show that the economy fell by one. In November. This is a sign
:14:02. > :14:06.of the Government's's efforts to cool the economy but also a sure
:14:06. > :14:09.sign that the problems are the Eurozone are filtering through to
:14:09. > :14:15.China and affecting demand for Chinese goods. Let's listen to what
:14:15. > :14:19.they had to say. The PMI data we saw today shows the economy is
:14:19. > :14:23.slowing and slowing fast, so with growth coming off quite
:14:23. > :14:26.considerably, if you take that in conjunction with calming inflation
:14:27. > :14:30.under property market that looks like it is correcting significantly
:14:30. > :14:35.and the disastrous looking efforts in the euro-zone, it means that
:14:35. > :14:39.policy makers in China are fairly concerned. This comes after the
:14:39. > :14:43.Chinese central bank announced it is cutting reserve ratios for banks,
:14:44. > :14:47.basically meaning it is easier for banks to lend money. Talking of
:14:47. > :14:51.central banks, Mario Draghi is the new head of the European Central
:14:51. > :14:56.Bank and has been speaking in the European Parliament, I think it was
:14:56. > :14:59.his first time, any hint as to what he is going to do with the bank and
:14:59. > :15:05.its policies? He has been talking about what he thinks government
:15:05. > :15:07.should do. He has said he wants more integration between
:15:07. > :15:11.governments and wants European economies to work closer together
:15:11. > :15:15.and warns that the risks to Europe's growth have really grown.
:15:15. > :15:23.Basically, it is pretty grim reading. Let's listen to what he
:15:23. > :15:28.had to say. Whatever the approach, companies, markets and the citizens
:15:28. > :15:34.of Europe expect policy makers to act decisively to resolve the
:15:34. > :15:40.crisis. It is time to adapt the euro area designed with a set of
:15:40. > :15:50.institutions, rules and processes that is commensurate with the
:15:50. > :15:50.
:15:50. > :15:53.He is basically saying they need to work together, European leaders of
:15:53. > :15:59.the Eurozone economies. There will be a meeting in Brussels in nine
:15:59. > :16:03.days' time between Eurozone leaders. His words come only a day after the
:16:03. > :16:09.central bank, the Federal Reserve and the central banks across Europe,
:16:09. > :16:13.agreed to come together to create more liquidity in the markets. If
:16:13. > :16:23.we can look at what the markets are doing now, that is what the
:16:23. > :16:32.
:16:32. > :16:42.We have not got the European markets for you, but they are
:16:42. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:47.stable. This is GMT from BBC World News.
:16:47. > :16:51.The headlines: Britain pushes for more sanctions against Iran at a
:16:51. > :16:56.meeting of European foreign ministers. On an historic visit to
:16:56. > :17:06.Burma, Hillary Clinton says more democratic reform is needed before
:17:06. > :17:06.
:17:06. > :17:08.full diplomatic ties with the US can be restored.
:17:08. > :17:11.Women's rights activists in Afghanistan say the international
:17:11. > :17:14.community is preparing to abandon them in the rush to withdraw troops
:17:14. > :17:17.from the country. Improving women's rights was one of the major
:17:17. > :17:20.objectives cited when US-led forces toppled the Taliban ten years ago.
:17:20. > :17:30.Now campaigners fear that women and their concerns could be sidelined
:17:30. > :17:30.
:17:30. > :17:36.at the upcoming Bonn conference on the future of Afghanistan.
:17:36. > :17:40.Fashioning a new future, for themselves and their country. Every
:17:40. > :17:48.stitch testament to a fragile freedom. Under the Taliban, Afghan
:17:48. > :17:52.women were trapped at home, uneducated and unemployed. Spalford
:17:52. > :17:56.Teniers, and they make up half the workforce -- if you spool forward
:17:56. > :18:00.ten years, they make up half the workforce at this company where
:18:00. > :18:04.they toil alongside men. Zargona says she is proud to be the
:18:04. > :18:08.breadwinner for her two younger brothers. But the company's founder
:18:08. > :18:12.worries about the outlook. If there is reconciliation with the
:18:12. > :18:18.insurgents. None of the Taliban have come forward to say, I am a
:18:18. > :18:26.moderate and I believe differently. We are fooling ourselves if we
:18:26. > :18:31.believe that the Taliban have changed their view or philosophy.
:18:31. > :18:35.They have not claimed that they have changed and will be different.
:18:35. > :18:41.There are big plans for this business. The hope is to begin
:18:41. > :18:45.exporting to the US and Europe, and eventually to create a hundred jobs
:18:45. > :18:51.here. All of that might be possible in the future if the future is not
:18:51. > :18:57.shaped by the Taliban. In areas under their control, women are
:18:57. > :19:01.still voiceless and defenceless. This is Siddiqa, 25 years old. Her
:19:01. > :19:06.final moments are captured in this footage, which emerged in January.
:19:06. > :19:13.For the crime of adultery, the Taliban stoned her, then shot her
:19:13. > :19:21.dead. This woman is another of their targets. She is a prominent
:19:21. > :19:25.member of parliament who survived a Taliban ambush on her car last year.
:19:25. > :19:30.This outspoken activist refuses to be silenced, but she fears that
:19:30. > :19:37.Afghan women could soon be abandoned by the international
:19:37. > :19:41.community, which promised them so much. They seem to turn their faced
:19:41. > :19:45.to women's issues and say, we just want to say goodbye and leave
:19:45. > :19:50.Afghanistan. That could put us more at risk, because we have been
:19:50. > :19:56.outspoken about what we want. eldest daughter is studying hard.
:19:56. > :20:00.She wants to be an aerospace engineer. But she and her younger
:20:00. > :20:07.sister are afraid for themselves and their mother. They want a
:20:07. > :20:10.future outside Afghanistan. The Tokyo Motor Show is getting
:20:10. > :20:13.underway at the end of a dismal year for Japan's car industry.
:20:13. > :20:16.First it was hit by the earthquake. Then floods in Thailand disrupted
:20:16. > :20:26.its supply chain. Still, Japanese manufacturers remain confident in
:20:26. > :20:35.
:20:35. > :20:41.their capacity to lead the way to a new generation of cars.
:20:41. > :20:45.The Tokyo Motor Show is a celebration of Japanese cars. But
:20:46. > :20:49.this has been a terrible year for the industry. The earthquake, the
:20:49. > :20:55.tsunami, the floods in Thailand. Nissan is showing off new types of
:20:55. > :20:58.electric vehicles, putting the technology into his sports car. The
:20:58. > :21:04.chief executive says more production will leave Japan unless
:21:04. > :21:08.the high yen can be tamed. That is why we are being very vocal to the
:21:08. > :21:12.Government to say you should not underestimate what is taking place.
:21:12. > :21:19.Take action. I do not buy that there is nothing you can do. Look
:21:19. > :21:23.at what the Swiss have done. They have drawn a line in the sand. The
:21:23. > :21:29.whole country was a lined on a position, and they made their
:21:29. > :21:33.position respected. Japan is one of the largest economies. It has a lot
:21:33. > :21:37.of financial clout. Japan can make it happen if it wants.
:21:37. > :21:42.challenge for these companies is to ensure that making cars in Japan
:21:42. > :21:47.remains profitable in the years ahead. Other countries are simply
:21:47. > :21:54.cheaper. But the future for Japan could lie in the -- becoming more
:21:54. > :21:57.high-tech. Toyota is pushing ahead with hybrids. The mass
:21:58. > :22:07.manufacturing of cheap vehicles, Japan struggles to compete, but it
:22:07. > :22:13.is leading the way in developing the next generation of cars. In the
:22:13. > :22:23.market, we successfully transformed the conventional engine into their
:22:23. > :22:24.
:22:24. > :22:29.new type. That activated the industry. So I really hope the
:22:29. > :22:34.future course is now starting. amount of Blitz can hide the
:22:34. > :22:39.difficulty faced by manufacturing because of the strong yen. But the
:22:39. > :22:44.car industry is putting its faith in what made it a world beater -
:22:44. > :22:48.Japanese ingenuity and innovation. Ask anyone about Hamlet, and they
:22:48. > :22:53.are likely to answer back with another question - To be or not to
:22:53. > :22:56.be? Unless, of course, it is a foreign production, in which case
:22:56. > :23:01.the question will sound completely different. Well, on today's GMT, we
:23:01. > :23:04.are talking about one such production in German. And it is not
:23:04. > :23:07.just the sound that is different - its look is also a radical
:23:07. > :23:11.departure from the Shakespearean standards. In the original, there
:23:11. > :23:16.are over 20 characters. In this one, directed by Thomas Ostermeier, just
:23:16. > :23:19.six actors play all the characters. Well, the German Hamlet is now on
:23:19. > :23:28.tour in Britain and the lead actor, Lars Eidinger, joins me from our
:23:28. > :23:32.central London studio. I was reading about you, and I gather
:23:32. > :23:38.there was a time when you thought this play would not transfer very
:23:38. > :23:43.well to Britain. But you have changed your mind? No, it was more
:23:43. > :23:49.that we were afraid that people with the English tongue, they don't
:23:49. > :23:55.want to listen to Shakespeare spoken by German translation by
:23:55. > :23:59.Germans. That is a good point, because there are purists in
:23:59. > :24:05.England who say Shakespeare should not be modernised even in the
:24:05. > :24:12.English language, let alone hearing it in German. It is difficult,
:24:12. > :24:16.because you lose so much of the meaning. But in a way, it is an
:24:16. > :24:21.advantage, because people say that even English people sometimes do
:24:22. > :24:28.not understand the original Shakespeare. So in our performance,
:24:28. > :24:31.I am sure you will get everything. But it must put an enormous stress
:24:31. > :24:36.on you as an actor if the audience cannot understand what you are
:24:36. > :24:42.saying. We are relying entirely on what you are doing with your eyes,
:24:42. > :24:47.your voice, your hands. But we are very used to play in foreign
:24:47. > :24:53.countries. Our experience is that people can follow. In the beginning,
:24:53. > :25:00.it is a bit difficult with the surtitles. But then they get into
:25:00. > :25:05.it. And they do not read the whole time. The whole performance is very
:25:05. > :25:10.visual, very physical and very strong. So I think people know how
:25:11. > :25:15.that already. And this will not be the first time it is playing to an
:25:15. > :25:23.English audience. You have been in Australia? Yes, and it has been a
:25:23. > :25:27.big success in Sydney. Wherever we play, people love it with, although
:25:27. > :25:32.it is always translated. producers tell me that this
:25:32. > :25:40.particular production is a gritty and sexy. What are you going to get
:25:40. > :25:50.up to? I take it as a compliment. I think it is something to do with,
:25:50. > :25:50.
:25:50. > :25:57.how do you say, the physicality. I think it is very passionate. The
:25:57. > :26:04.way I am interpreting the character, it is very emotional. And yes, of
:26:04. > :26:10.course, there is a sequence where Hamlet and Horatio are doing the
:26:10. > :26:16.play, which used originally played by a company. We play it ourselves.
:26:16. > :26:20.And I am playing my mother and I am half naked. Well! Hopefully, that
:26:20. > :26:25.will do something for your audience. I wish I had worked out how to say
:26:25. > :26:32.good luck in German. But the best of luck from us. But I like the
:26:32. > :26:36.English expression, break a leg. Don't do that!
:26:36. > :26:40.Serving at night is not usually recommended, but this group of
:26:40. > :26:44.surfers in Sydney have not let cover of darkness stop them.
:26:44. > :26:48.Australia's famous Bondi Beach was lit up with colour as the surfers