:00:11. > :00:17.France suspends military training operations in Afghanistan after
:00:17. > :00:22.four of its soldiers are shot dead. The founder and officials of their
:00:22. > :00:26.websites face extradition as the US Government charges the with
:00:26. > :00:30.Copyright infringements. New footage from the wreck of the Costa
:00:30. > :00:35.Concordia show the desperate conditions faced by search teams.
:00:35. > :00:39.Welcome to BBC World news. Also coming up - in business, the
:00:39. > :00:44.Italian government ignores the protests and prepares to open up
:00:44. > :00:50.big parts of the economy to more competition. And how to bring a
:00:50. > :01:00.personal touch to your own funeral, the movement to make it reflect
:01:00. > :01:11.
:01:11. > :01:15.France has announced it is suspending all training and joint
:01:15. > :01:19.military operations with the army of Afghanistan after an Afghan
:01:19. > :01:24.soldier shot dead four French troops and wounded 16. The attack
:01:24. > :01:28.is amongst the most deadly for French forces in the Thames years -
:01:28. > :01:33.- in the 10 years they have been serving in the country. The Foreign
:01:33. > :01:41.Minister of France is on his way to Afghanistan. Our correspondents in
:01:41. > :01:47.Kabul and Paris gave us the latest on the story. Nicolas Sarkozy was
:01:47. > :01:50.already giving a speech before the country's ambassadors and foreign
:01:50. > :01:55.ministry representatives today, and he used the occasion to come out
:01:55. > :02:00.with a very strong statement condemning what has happened, and
:02:00. > :02:05.dispatching his emissary to the area, and hinting, I say hinting,
:02:05. > :02:10.at a possible early withdrawal of French troops. He certainly
:02:10. > :02:14.announced a suspension of aid and training to the Afghan army. But he
:02:14. > :02:18.also said, and I quote, we will have to make a difficult decision
:02:18. > :02:24.in the coming days. And he said, if the security conditions of French
:02:24. > :02:28.troops are not satisfactory when the emissary comes back, then this
:02:28. > :02:32.question of an early withdrawal will be seriously posed. There are
:02:32. > :02:40.supposed to be coming out in two years, but this is a pre-election
:02:40. > :02:44.period, and one does not know what decision he will take. I can just
:02:44. > :02:49.see from our office in Kabul that they are being told that the French
:02:49. > :02:59.Foreign Minister is also on his way to Kabul. Let's see if we can go
:02:59. > :03:03.quickly to Kabul. What is the likely response there to this news?
:03:03. > :03:08.I just spoke to a senior commander of the international mission and he
:03:08. > :03:11.said, we are speechless. Another diplomatic source at I staff
:03:11. > :03:14.headquarters said, this is unprecedented. There are many
:03:14. > :03:20.nations which make up the international force, but very few
:03:20. > :03:24.of them have more than 1,000 troops, and the French have something like
:03:24. > :03:34.3,500. There are one of the nations who do the heavy lifting in this
:03:34. > :03:37.
:03:37. > :03:41.war, said my source. There is no doubt about it, if France withdraws
:03:41. > :03:45.from Afghanistan, it means that fighting the war here against the
:03:45. > :03:49.Taliban just got a good deal more difficult for the international
:03:49. > :03:52.mission. Specifically they're talking about the training
:03:52. > :04:02.operation - that is key for the smooth handover to be carried out,
:04:02. > :04:05.isn't it? That's right. This is a sizable fours remember. There's
:04:05. > :04:09.something like 130,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, but that
:04:09. > :04:14.number is rapidly diminishing. We are expecting the French to
:04:15. > :04:19.announce an accelerated withdrawal, that announcement was expected
:04:19. > :04:23.within the next week. But those French troops, along with the
:04:23. > :04:26.British and Americans, are trying to get the Afghan army and the
:04:26. > :04:29.Afghan police ready so that they can take responsibility for
:04:30. > :04:35.security of this country, when combat operations by international
:04:35. > :04:45.forces end at the end of 2014. It now looks like that timetable has
:04:45. > :04:49.
:04:49. > :04:53.In a separate incident, the Taliban now say they shot down a helicopter
:04:53. > :04:56.which crashed, killing six soldiers serving with the NATO force in
:04:56. > :05:01.serving with the NATO force in Afghanistan. It came down in the
:05:01. > :05:04.volatile southern province of Helmand. Initial reports indicated
:05:05. > :05:09.no insurgent activity at the time. The nationalities of the dead are
:05:09. > :05:13.not yet he'd known. America's attempts to clamp down on what it
:05:13. > :05:17.considers to the Internet piracy has resulted in one of the world's
:05:17. > :05:22.most popular content sharing sites being closed down, and the people
:05:22. > :05:27.behind it being arrested. Four people from the Megaupload site
:05:27. > :05:31.have been accused of Copyright infringement, and arrested in New
:05:31. > :05:36.Zealand. They insist they have done nothing wrong. This is the house in
:05:36. > :05:42.Auckland, known as.com mansion, where the police carried out their
:05:42. > :05:47.raid. Three arrests were made, and another one nearby. A total of 18
:05:47. > :05:52.luxury vehicles were taken away by the police, including this 1959
:05:52. > :05:56.Cadillac. In New Zealand we have seized in excess of $6 million
:05:56. > :06:01.worth of motor vehicles, and more worth of motor vehicles, and more
:06:01. > :06:07.than $10 million in cash from several finance companies.
:06:07. > :06:12.Megaupload had 150 million users, and 50 million daily visitors. They
:06:12. > :06:16.were able to access films, games, TV shows and music which had been
:06:16. > :06:20.uploaded to the servers by people around the world. The US Justice
:06:20. > :06:23.Department has said more than 20 search warrants were executed in
:06:23. > :06:29.nine countries relating to breach of copyright, money laundering and
:06:29. > :06:33.racketeering. This particular type of action around Entombment
:06:33. > :06:38.copyright infringement is a first for New Zealand in terms of an
:06:38. > :06:42.overseas person being attempted to be extradited. These were the four
:06:42. > :06:48.men who were brought to court in New Zealand. On the right, one of
:06:48. > :06:51.the founders of Megaupload, who calls himself a Achilles. The
:06:51. > :06:58.accused say the allegations against the company are grotesquely
:06:58. > :07:02.overblown. It is a big day in Europe's ongoing debt crisis, both
:07:02. > :07:06.Italy and Greece affected today. Yes, let's start with Italy,
:07:06. > :07:10.because we're going to she a raft of controversial measures presented
:07:10. > :07:14.by Mario Monti, and the new government there. These are
:07:14. > :07:18.measures, not austerity, we have heard all about that, this is to
:07:18. > :07:23.open up certain sectors within the Italian economy, and basically make
:07:23. > :07:28.them more competitive. They're going to start the ball rolling in
:07:28. > :07:33.sectors like taxi licences, they want to look at public transport,
:07:33. > :07:39.they want to look at stores where they can hold sales. Apparently it
:07:39. > :07:44.is very strict at the moment. Things like that. There is a lot of
:07:44. > :07:48.controversy, as I said. Many people in Italy say, hang on, why is the
:07:48. > :07:52.government target in the small guys, not going after the bigger sectors,
:07:52. > :07:57.the energy sector, the companies that run the motorways, things like
:07:57. > :08:00.that? But despite that, the government does have some backing,
:08:00. > :08:04.because people know that the alternative is so bad. The
:08:04. > :08:09.government admits that they have not got any other options in their
:08:09. > :08:13.arsenal than these kind of measures. Will they get fast results, though?
:08:13. > :08:23.That is the big test, when it starts to kick in in a couple of
:08:23. > :08:28.months. But this is what the experts say. The government has
:08:28. > :08:34.made it very clear that fiscal policy cannot be used to create
:08:34. > :08:38.growth. Actually, Italy needs more austerity because of its debt
:08:38. > :08:46.burden. Monetary Policy and currency devaluation are no longer
:08:46. > :08:50.an option, therefore, the only stimulus can come from giving more
:08:50. > :08:55.power to the private sector, to private initiatives, and also to
:08:55. > :08:59.young people. Let's move on, because it is all happening in
:08:59. > :09:04.Greece as well. Talks between Greece and its private creditors
:09:04. > :09:13.will do them for a third day. Greece has to get its banks,
:09:13. > :09:17.insurers and hedge funds to agree to accept new bonds, effectively
:09:17. > :09:20.writing off 50% of what Greece currently owes them. Greece's
:09:20. > :09:25.official lenders, the European Union and the International
:09:25. > :09:31.Monetary Fund, say this deal must be struck before they can get the
:09:31. > :09:36.next slice of the International rescue plan. Without it, it will
:09:36. > :09:40.default on $18 billion of bonds. Those are due in March. I put the
:09:40. > :09:45.question, why are Greek debt holders willing to agree on a deal
:09:45. > :09:49.in the first place, and we'd be the final saviour? The other option for
:09:49. > :09:54.those investors would be that they would not get anything, or even a
:09:54. > :09:59.much smaller amount than they will get in this bond swap. The other
:09:59. > :10:04.issue here is that a lot of people are arguing even this reduction,
:10:04. > :10:08.which will knock about 100 billion euros worth of debt off Greece's
:10:08. > :10:13.books is relatively small beer in the big scheme of things. It sounds
:10:13. > :10:17.a lot but it will not necessarily make Greek debt sustainable. The
:10:17. > :10:21.economy is shrinking all the time, and people are asking, where is the
:10:21. > :10:25.growth going to come from for Greece to pay the rest of its debt
:10:26. > :10:29.back? Some Other stories - Vodafone will not have to pay a massive tax
:10:29. > :10:34.bill in India. It comes after the Supreme Court there rejected a
:10:34. > :10:38.ruling that Vodafone should have to pay a $2.5 billion in taxes
:10:38. > :10:41.relating to its purchase of a local mobile phone company. The ruling is
:10:41. > :10:46.very important for other international firms thinking of
:10:46. > :10:56.investing in India. Late on Thursday you may have heard, in New
:10:56. > :11:01.
:11:01. > :11:05.York, Google reported quarterly results, it made $ 2.7 billion
:11:05. > :11:09.profits. But shares fell sharply, because the results were not as
:11:09. > :11:13.good as had been expected. Monday marks the start of the year of the
:11:13. > :11:17.Dragon in the Chinese calendar. Many Asian investors will be on
:11:17. > :11:21.holiday for that week, but they could be in line for a roller-
:11:21. > :11:31.coaster ride on their return, if Chinese horoscope experts are to be
:11:31. > :11:34.
:11:34. > :11:38.believed. The story that we have this year is one of two hops. The
:11:38. > :11:41.first half will be lacklustre, an extension of 2011, and the turning
:11:41. > :11:48.point will come in August. One has to remember that when the dragon
:11:48. > :11:52.appears, the Chinese consider it to be a game-changer, a marker of a
:11:52. > :11:59.watershed event. So if you look at the previous five years of the
:11:59. > :12:03.Dragon, no matter if the markets are up or down, they all delineated
:12:03. > :12:09.by a very sharp turning point. After this Turning Point, the
:12:09. > :12:19.market will either go ballistic or collapse outright. Well, very
:12:19. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:28.dramatic indeed! Signs from these figures that the US economy is
:12:28. > :12:35.doing a lot better than we have seen. Looking at the European
:12:35. > :12:39.markets, they have been hovering around, the FTSE 100 flat, as you
:12:39. > :12:49.can see. Basically, the European markets are waiting to see any
:12:49. > :12:53.
:12:53. > :13:03.possible resolution of these crucial talks in Athens. As soon as
:13:03. > :13:12.
:13:12. > :13:15.we hear any more from those talks, we will bring them to you. Still to
:13:15. > :13:19.come - we meet the most powerful religious leader in northern
:13:19. > :13:28.Nigeria and ask him what can be done to stop the bloodshed between
:13:28. > :13:32.Christians and Muslims. Now, it got a bit personal in South Carolina at
:13:32. > :13:39.the debate ahead of the latest Republican Party primary. Jonathan
:13:39. > :13:44.Blake as the latest on the battle for the White House. And then there
:13:44. > :13:48.were four. This 16th debate in the campaign to find a challenger to
:13:48. > :13:52.Barack Obama was billed as a knockout round. It comes two days
:13:52. > :13:56.before the crucial South Carolina Primary, and the fireworks came
:13:56. > :14:01.early. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came out fighting after
:14:01. > :14:05.claims from his ex-wife that he had wanted an open marriage. This story
:14:05. > :14:11.is false, every personal friend I have who knew us said the story was
:14:12. > :14:15.false. Front runner Mitt Romney faced fewer questions on his record
:14:15. > :14:18.as a venture capitalist this time round, but he was booed when he
:14:18. > :14:26.ducked the question on releasing multiple years' worth of tax
:14:26. > :14:32.returns. Maybe! I do not know how many years I will release. I will
:14:32. > :14:37.take a look at what our documents are. I will release multiple years,
:14:37. > :14:42.I don't know how many years, I would be happy to do that. The man
:14:42. > :14:46.in last place according to recent polls, Rick Santorum, went after
:14:46. > :14:49.his opponents aggressively. On health care, he attacked Mitt
:14:49. > :14:54.Romney for his record as governor of Massachusetts, where he signed
:14:55. > :14:57.into law a partly public funded health care system. It was a
:14:57. > :15:07.government-run health care system that was the basis of Obama care,
:15:07. > :15:07.
:15:07. > :15:13.and it has been an abject failure, did not get much of a look-in. At
:15:13. > :15:16.one point he was heckled. Mitt Romney is still the favourite. Now,
:15:16. > :15:20.the talking in South Carolina is almost over. There have been many
:15:20. > :15:30.twists in the campaign so far. It is up to the voters of that state
:15:30. > :15:34.
:15:34. > :15:37.whether known -- whether another is This is BBC World News. The
:15:37. > :15:39.headlines. France is suspending military
:15:39. > :15:42.training operations in Afghanistan, after four French soldiers were
:15:42. > :15:44.shot dead and others wounded by an Afghan soldier. France is
:15:44. > :15:47.suspending military training operations in Afghanistan, after
:15:48. > :15:49.four French soldiers were shot dead and others wounded by an Afghan
:15:49. > :15:52.soldier. Megaupload, one of the internet's
:15:52. > :15:59.largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the
:15:59. > :16:02.US. The site's founders have been charged with violating piracy laws.
:16:02. > :16:04.The rescue teams searching the cruise ship Concordia have
:16:04. > :16:08.suspended their operation, after the ship moved once again on the
:16:08. > :16:11.ocean floor. Fears are growing the wreck could fall into deeper water,
:16:11. > :16:13.making it harder to prevent pollution leaking into the sea.
:16:13. > :16:16.Meanwhile, new video has emerged, apparently from just after the
:16:16. > :16:19.moment the Concordia ran aground, showing crew members telling
:16:19. > :16:29.passengers that nothing is wrong and that they should return to
:16:29. > :16:33.
:16:33. > :16:36.their cabins. The Italian authorities say the
:16:36. > :16:39.position of the Costa Concordia has shifted position again, forcing
:16:39. > :16:41.rescue work to be temporarily suspended. More bad news for
:16:42. > :16:45.relatives who will take little comfort from an amateur video
:16:45. > :16:48.released to the Italian media. It was shot shortly after the ship ran
:16:48. > :16:54.aground, and shows a crew member reassuring passengers there is
:16:54. > :16:58.nothing to run a worry about. TRANSLATION: We kindly ask you to
:16:58. > :17:04.return to your cabins or go for a walk in the hall. We will resolve
:17:04. > :17:08.the electrical problem with the generator. Everything will be fine.
:17:08. > :17:11.If you want to stand here it is fine, but I am kindly asking you to
:17:11. > :17:14.go where you will be seated and tranquil. Everything is under
:17:14. > :17:18.control. Shortly afterwards, the ship
:17:18. > :17:22.capsized. Other personnel also appeared to have played down the
:17:22. > :17:27.seriousness of the situation. In a phone conversation with a port
:17:27. > :17:29.official, a crew member said they had had a blackout. Eight weeks ago
:17:29. > :17:32.on the Costa Concordia, captain Francesco Schettino was being
:17:32. > :17:36.applauded by his passengers. Now under house arrest, he continues to
:17:36. > :17:44.plead his innocence, although it is reported he has admitted to making
:17:44. > :17:47.a navigational error. Italian investigators are looking at claims
:17:47. > :17:52.made by this Moldovan woman, a former crew member, and who was
:17:52. > :17:57.with the captain at the time of the accident. She says he tried to save
:17:57. > :18:01.passengers. TRANSLATION: I have heard in the
:18:01. > :18:05.Russian media the captain left the ship first, or was among the first.
:18:05. > :18:07.But this is not true. The events leading up to the tragedy and its
:18:07. > :18:11.aftermath are still being investigated. But questions are
:18:11. > :18:19.being asked whether the apparent delay to its evacuate the ship cost
:18:19. > :18:25.lives. The Italian authorities have
:18:25. > :18:29.released pictures of the rescue teams inside the Concordia. You saw
:18:29. > :18:33.some of them at the end of that report. These images were filmed on
:18:33. > :18:38.Thursday. You can see them using ropes and ladders to access the
:18:38. > :18:45.vessel. The ship is lying on its side, making it impossible to move
:18:45. > :18:49.around using the stairs in a conventional way. There is some
:18:49. > :18:53.natural light on the upper decks. But, as the rescue teams move down,
:18:53. > :18:55.it becomes dark, and sea water has flooded the ship. There is a lot of
:18:55. > :18:58.wreckage floating inside the Concordia, including furniture and
:18:58. > :19:02.fixtures, making it harder to move around. The rescuers have been
:19:02. > :19:12.trying to check every cabin, although they've said it could take
:19:12. > :19:14.
:19:14. > :19:22.weeks to go through all 1,500 of them.
:19:22. > :19:27.Joining me from the island of Giglio is the BBC's Alan Johnston.
:19:27. > :19:33.Do work has been suspended, after they realised early this morning
:19:33. > :19:39.the wreckage had shifted a little. Perhaps not moving laterally on the
:19:39. > :19:45.seabed but settling down further on to the rocks. But it too dangerous
:19:45. > :19:51.for rescue work to continue. Divers are working in very confined spaces.
:19:51. > :19:58.The wreckage could suddenly lurch. Where there is any instability
:19:58. > :20:06.detected, all work has to stop. The situation will be reviewed at 1,300.
:20:06. > :20:10.Can you bring us up to speed on the speculation as to how this all
:20:10. > :20:19.happened in the first place? Speculation about the actions of
:20:19. > :20:25.the captain. Very much so. The most significant recent insight we have
:20:25. > :20:29.had it into that, actually came a little earlier, late yesterday. We
:20:29. > :20:34.heard that very interesting sounding conversation between port
:20:34. > :20:39.officials, and the ship, not necessarily the captain but a crew
:20:39. > :20:44.member. The port officials had heard there was trouble of some
:20:44. > :20:48.kind, this conversation takes place about 30 minutes after that
:20:48. > :20:54.almighty collision. The port officials desperately want to know
:20:54. > :20:59.what is happening. The crew man on event simply says there is an
:20:59. > :21:05.electrical problem, he repeatedly says that and makes no reference to
:21:05. > :21:11.that collision. Why wouldn't the ship want to alert the coast guard,
:21:11. > :21:14.the potential rescue services of a problem of that size?
:21:14. > :21:17.The There are reports that four senior Somali government soldiers
:21:17. > :21:20.have just been killed in an ambush in Mogadishu this morning. The
:21:20. > :21:23.killings follow a major operation against the Islamist movement Al
:21:23. > :21:27.Shabab. Government forces, supported by African Union troops,
:21:27. > :21:30.have sent hundreds of men and 20 tanks into bases on the outskirts
:21:30. > :21:36.of the capital Mogadishu. Al-Shabab admitted losing territory, but said
:21:36. > :21:39.it would strike back. I asked the BBC's East Africa
:21:39. > :21:45.correspondent Will Ross what more he could tell us about the deaths
:21:45. > :21:50.of the four Somalia government soldiers.
:21:50. > :21:54.We understand that a group of the Somali government soldiers were
:21:54. > :22:00.heading to the area that had just been captured from Al-Shabab. And
:22:00. > :22:05.they fell into an Al-Shabab ambush. They are senior soldiers, we are
:22:05. > :22:08.told, one being a logistics officer. This is a setback for the
:22:08. > :22:14.government soldiers, we are awaiting confirmation from the
:22:14. > :22:21.Government. It underlines the fact, even though territory can be seized
:22:21. > :22:31.from Al-Shabab, it does not mean that there is then say.
:22:31. > :22:36.The porridge and was a significant one, wasn't it? -- the operation.
:22:36. > :22:41.The commanders have said there were close to 1000 soldiers and 20 tax
:22:41. > :22:47.which took part in the attack. They were obviously a combination of
:22:47. > :22:51.Somali government soldiers and African Union peace keepers. The
:22:51. > :22:56.spokesman for the peacekeepers said the operation had significant
:22:56. > :23:01.firepower, the first time these African Union troops had gone to
:23:01. > :23:06.battle outside Mogadishu, it seems the aim was to push as about as far
:23:06. > :23:10.as possible back from the capital itself. In recent months, most of
:23:10. > :23:15.the capital has gone into the hands of the government and African Union
:23:15. > :23:20.forces. But, although these territories are being taken from
:23:20. > :23:26.Al-Shabab, it does not mean they are safe. 24 hours ago, there was a
:23:26. > :23:29.suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu, six people left dead. In recent
:23:29. > :23:32.months there have been several spectacular attacks by a radical
:23:32. > :23:37.Islamic sect in Nigeria known as Boko Haram. The name translates
:23:37. > :23:40.roughly into English as "Western Education is forbidden". Among the
:23:40. > :23:43.deadly activities claimed by the group are the bombing of the United
:23:44. > :23:47.Nations building in Abuja, and an attack on a Christian church on
:23:47. > :23:50.Christmas day. Our correspondent Mark Doyle went to the main city in
:23:50. > :24:00.the north of Nigeria, Kano, to find out what's causing the religious
:24:00. > :24:07.
:24:07. > :24:12.The most powerful religious leader in northern Nigeria. In southern
:24:12. > :24:17.Nigeria, traditional Christian Kane's play a similar role. Here in
:24:17. > :24:25.the north, for hundreds of years, traditional Islamic rulers have
:24:25. > :24:31.maintained huge influence. Christians living in the north. A
:24:31. > :24:41.Muslim cleric has come to their church. He explains that Jesus and
:24:41. > :24:45.
:24:45. > :24:49.Mary are in the Koran as well. name is Jesus, the son of Mary.
:24:49. > :24:56.Thanks to two initiatives by this, this city, the capital of the North,
:24:56. > :25:00.is largely peaceful. There is a big issue between Christians and
:25:00. > :25:05.Muslims in Nigeria of which is what has led to the historic split in
:25:05. > :25:08.the country. But these days, there is a potentially even more
:25:08. > :25:16.dangerous separation between the conservative Islamic or authorities
:25:16. > :25:19.in northern Nigeria, and the more radical groups. The Islamist group
:25:19. > :25:27.Boko Haram claimed this isn't bombing of a church, 38 people were
:25:27. > :25:32.killed, and there have been many other attacks. The Emir has no
:25:32. > :25:39.shortage of visitors but he granted the BBC a very rare interview. How
:25:39. > :25:48.are you? I asked him whether the existence of a violent Islamist
:25:48. > :25:56.group in Nigeria meant his traditional power was being eroded?
:25:56. > :26:02.TRANSLATION: The perpetrators are being told the texts of Islam which
:26:02. > :26:06.do not allowed doing anything bad to anybody. So his Highness is
:26:06. > :26:11.always telling his subject to embrace peace and live peacefully.
:26:11. > :26:21.The vast majority of Nigerians, Christian and Muslim, say they want
:26:21. > :26:23.
:26:23. > :26:27.peace as well, but religion and politics often get in their way.
:26:27. > :26:31.Some news coming in from Northern Ireland, a high-profile Republican
:26:31. > :26:41.has been clear today of the murder of two British soldiers outside an
:26:41. > :26:42.
:26:42. > :26:49.army base, Colin Duffy has been acquitted at Antrim Crown Court.