20/01/2012 BBC World News


20/01/2012

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France suspends military training operations in Afghanistan after

:00:11.:00:17.

four of its soldiers are shot dead. The founder and officials of their

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websites face extradition as the US Government charges the with

:00:22.:00:26.

Copyright infringements. New footage from the wreck of the Costa

:00:26.:00:30.

Concordia show the desperate conditions faced by search teams.

:00:30.:00:35.

Welcome to BBC World news. Also coming up - in business, the

:00:35.:00:39.

Italian government ignores the protests and prepares to open up

:00:39.:00:44.

big parts of the economy to more competition. And how to bring a

:00:44.:00:50.

personal touch to your own funeral, the movement to make it reflect

:00:50.:01:00.
:01:00.:01:11.

France has announced it is suspending all training and joint

:01:11.:01:15.

military operations with the army of Afghanistan after an Afghan

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soldier shot dead four French troops and wounded 16. The attack

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is amongst the most deadly for French forces in the Thames years -

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- in the 10 years they have been serving in the country. The Foreign

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Minister of France is on his way to Afghanistan. Our correspondents in

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Kabul and Paris gave us the latest on the story. Nicolas Sarkozy was

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already giving a speech before the country's ambassadors and foreign

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ministry representatives today, and he used the occasion to come out

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with a very strong statement condemning what has happened, and

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dispatching his emissary to the area, and hinting, I say hinting,

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at a possible early withdrawal of French troops. He certainly

:02:05.:02:10.

announced a suspension of aid and training to the Afghan army. But he

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also said, and I quote, we will have to make a difficult decision

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in the coming days. And he said, if the security conditions of French

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troops are not satisfactory when the emissary comes back, then this

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question of an early withdrawal will be seriously posed. There are

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supposed to be coming out in two years, but this is a pre-election

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period, and one does not know what decision he will take. I can just

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see from our office in Kabul that they are being told that the French

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Foreign Minister is also on his way to Kabul. Let's see if we can go

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quickly to Kabul. What is the likely response there to this news?

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I just spoke to a senior commander of the international mission and he

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said, we are speechless. Another diplomatic source at I staff

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headquarters said, this is unprecedented. There are many

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nations which make up the international force, but very few

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of them have more than 1,000 troops, and the French have something like

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3,500. There are one of the nations who do the heavy lifting in this

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:03:34.:03:37.

war, said my source. There is no doubt about it, if France withdraws

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from Afghanistan, it means that fighting the war here against the

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Taliban just got a good deal more difficult for the international

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mission. Specifically they're talking about the training

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operation - that is key for the smooth handover to be carried out,

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isn't it? That's right. This is a sizable fours remember. There's

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something like 130,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, but that

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number is rapidly diminishing. We are expecting the French to

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announce an accelerated withdrawal, that announcement was expected

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within the next week. But those French troops, along with the

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British and Americans, are trying to get the Afghan army and the

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Afghan police ready so that they can take responsibility for

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security of this country, when combat operations by international

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forces end at the end of 2014. It now looks like that timetable has

:04:35.:04:45.
:04:45.:04:49.

In a separate incident, the Taliban now say they shot down a helicopter

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which crashed, killing six soldiers serving with the NATO force in

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serving with the NATO force in Afghanistan. It came down in the

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volatile southern province of Helmand. Initial reports indicated

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no insurgent activity at the time. The nationalities of the dead are

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not yet he'd known. America's attempts to clamp down on what it

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considers to the Internet piracy has resulted in one of the world's

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most popular content sharing sites being closed down, and the people

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behind it being arrested. Four people from the Megaupload site

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have been accused of Copyright infringement, and arrested in New

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Zealand. They insist they have done nothing wrong. This is the house in

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Auckland, known as.com mansion, where the police carried out their

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raid. Three arrests were made, and another one nearby. A total of 18

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luxury vehicles were taken away by the police, including this 1959

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Cadillac. In New Zealand we have seized in excess of $6 million

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worth of motor vehicles, and more worth of motor vehicles, and more

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than $10 million in cash from several finance companies.

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Megaupload had 150 million users, and 50 million daily visitors. They

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were able to access films, games, TV shows and music which had been

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uploaded to the servers by people around the world. The US Justice

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Department has said more than 20 search warrants were executed in

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nine countries relating to breach of copyright, money laundering and

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racketeering. This particular type of action around Entombment

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copyright infringement is a first for New Zealand in terms of an

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overseas person being attempted to be extradited. These were the four

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men who were brought to court in New Zealand. On the right, one of

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the founders of Megaupload, who calls himself a Achilles. The

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accused say the allegations against the company are grotesquely

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overblown. It is a big day in Europe's ongoing debt crisis, both

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Italy and Greece affected today. Yes, let's start with Italy,

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because we're going to she a raft of controversial measures presented

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by Mario Monti, and the new government there. These are

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measures, not austerity, we have heard all about that, this is to

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open up certain sectors within the Italian economy, and basically make

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them more competitive. They're going to start the ball rolling in

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sectors like taxi licences, they want to look at public transport,

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they want to look at stores where they can hold sales. Apparently it

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is very strict at the moment. Things like that. There is a lot of

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controversy, as I said. Many people in Italy say, hang on, why is the

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government target in the small guys, not going after the bigger sectors,

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the energy sector, the companies that run the motorways, things like

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that? But despite that, the government does have some backing,

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because people know that the alternative is so bad. The

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government admits that they have not got any other options in their

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arsenal than these kind of measures. Will they get fast results, though?

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That is the big test, when it starts to kick in in a couple of

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months. But this is what the experts say. The government has

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made it very clear that fiscal policy cannot be used to create

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growth. Actually, Italy needs more austerity because of its debt

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burden. Monetary Policy and currency devaluation are no longer

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an option, therefore, the only stimulus can come from giving more

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power to the private sector, to private initiatives, and also to

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young people. Let's move on, because it is all happening in

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Greece as well. Talks between Greece and its private creditors

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will do them for a third day. Greece has to get its banks,

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insurers and hedge funds to agree to accept new bonds, effectively

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writing off 50% of what Greece currently owes them. Greece's

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official lenders, the European Union and the International

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Monetary Fund, say this deal must be struck before they can get the

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next slice of the International rescue plan. Without it, it will

:09:31.:09:36.

default on $18 billion of bonds. Those are due in March. I put the

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question, why are Greek debt holders willing to agree on a deal

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in the first place, and we'd be the final saviour? The other option for

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those investors would be that they would not get anything, or even a

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much smaller amount than they will get in this bond swap. The other

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issue here is that a lot of people are arguing even this reduction,

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which will knock about 100 billion euros worth of debt off Greece's

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books is relatively small beer in the big scheme of things. It sounds

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a lot but it will not necessarily make Greek debt sustainable. The

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economy is shrinking all the time, and people are asking, where is the

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growth going to come from for Greece to pay the rest of its debt

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back? Some Other stories - Vodafone will not have to pay a massive tax

:10:26.:10:29.

bill in India. It comes after the Supreme Court there rejected a

:10:29.:10:34.

ruling that Vodafone should have to pay a $2.5 billion in taxes

:10:34.:10:38.

relating to its purchase of a local mobile phone company. The ruling is

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very important for other international firms thinking of

:10:41.:10:46.

investing in India. Late on Thursday you may have heard, in New

:10:46.:10:56.
:10:56.:11:01.

York, Google reported quarterly results, it made $ 2.7 billion

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profits. But shares fell sharply, because the results were not as

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good as had been expected. Monday marks the start of the year of the

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Dragon in the Chinese calendar. Many Asian investors will be on

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holiday for that week, but they could be in line for a roller-

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coaster ride on their return, if Chinese horoscope experts are to be

:11:21.:11:31.
:11:31.:11:34.

believed. The story that we have this year is one of two hops. The

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first half will be lacklustre, an extension of 2011, and the turning

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point will come in August. One has to remember that when the dragon

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appears, the Chinese consider it to be a game-changer, a marker of a

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watershed event. So if you look at the previous five years of the

:11:52.:11:59.

Dragon, no matter if the markets are up or down, they all delineated

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by a very sharp turning point. After this Turning Point, the

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market will either go ballistic or collapse outright. Well, very

:12:09.:12:19.
:12:19.:12:21.

dramatic indeed! Signs from these figures that the US economy is

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doing a lot better than we have seen. Looking at the European

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markets, they have been hovering around, the FTSE 100 flat, as you

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can see. Basically, the European markets are waiting to see any

:12:39.:12:49.
:12:49.:12:53.

possible resolution of these crucial talks in Athens. As soon as

:12:53.:13:03.
:13:03.:13:12.

we hear any more from those talks, we will bring them to you. Still to

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come - we meet the most powerful religious leader in northern

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Nigeria and ask him what can be done to stop the bloodshed between

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Christians and Muslims. Now, it got a bit personal in South Carolina at

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the debate ahead of the latest Republican Party primary. Jonathan

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Blake as the latest on the battle for the White House. And then there

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were four. This 16th debate in the campaign to find a challenger to

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Barack Obama was billed as a knockout round. It comes two days

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before the crucial South Carolina Primary, and the fireworks came

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early. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came out fighting after

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claims from his ex-wife that he had wanted an open marriage. This story

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is false, every personal friend I have who knew us said the story was

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false. Front runner Mitt Romney faced fewer questions on his record

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as a venture capitalist this time round, but he was booed when he

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ducked the question on releasing multiple years' worth of tax

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returns. Maybe! I do not know how many years I will release. I will

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take a look at what our documents are. I will release multiple years,

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I don't know how many years, I would be happy to do that. The man

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in last place according to recent polls, Rick Santorum, went after

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his opponents aggressively. On health care, he attacked Mitt

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Romney for his record as governor of Massachusetts, where he signed

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into law a partly public funded health care system. It was a

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government-run health care system that was the basis of Obama care,

:14:57.:15:07.
:15:07.:15:07.

and it has been an abject failure, did not get much of a look-in. At

:15:07.:15:13.

one point he was heckled. Mitt Romney is still the favourite. Now,

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the talking in South Carolina is almost over. There have been many

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twists in the campaign so far. It is up to the voters of that state

:15:20.:15:30.
:15:30.:15:34.

whether known -- whether another is This is BBC World News. The

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headlines. France is suspending military

:15:37.:15:39.

training operations in Afghanistan, after four French soldiers were

:15:39.:15:42.

shot dead and others wounded by an Afghan soldier. France is

:15:42.:15:44.

suspending military training operations in Afghanistan, after

:15:44.:15:47.

four French soldiers were shot dead and others wounded by an Afghan

:15:48.:15:49.

soldier. Megaupload, one of the internet's

:15:49.:15:52.

largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the

:15:52.:15:59.

US. The site's founders have been charged with violating piracy laws.

:15:59.:16:02.

The rescue teams searching the cruise ship Concordia have

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suspended their operation, after the ship moved once again on the

:16:04.:16:08.

ocean floor. Fears are growing the wreck could fall into deeper water,

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making it harder to prevent pollution leaking into the sea.

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Meanwhile, new video has emerged, apparently from just after the

:16:13.:16:16.

moment the Concordia ran aground, showing crew members telling

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passengers that nothing is wrong and that they should return to

:16:19.:16:29.
:16:29.:16:33.

their cabins. The Italian authorities say the

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position of the Costa Concordia has shifted position again, forcing

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rescue work to be temporarily suspended. More bad news for

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relatives who will take little comfort from an amateur video

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released to the Italian media. It was shot shortly after the ship ran

:16:45.:16:48.

aground, and shows a crew member reassuring passengers there is

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nothing to run a worry about. TRANSLATION: We kindly ask you to

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return to your cabins or go for a walk in the hall. We will resolve

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the electrical problem with the generator. Everything will be fine.

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If you want to stand here it is fine, but I am kindly asking you to

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go where you will be seated and tranquil. Everything is under

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control. Shortly afterwards, the ship

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capsized. Other personnel also appeared to have played down the

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seriousness of the situation. In a phone conversation with a port

:17:22.:17:27.

official, a crew member said they had had a blackout. Eight weeks ago

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on the Costa Concordia, captain Francesco Schettino was being

:17:29.:17:32.

applauded by his passengers. Now under house arrest, he continues to

:17:32.:17:36.

plead his innocence, although it is reported he has admitted to making

:17:36.:17:44.

a navigational error. Italian investigators are looking at claims

:17:44.:17:47.

made by this Moldovan woman, a former crew member, and who was

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with the captain at the time of the accident. She says he tried to save

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passengers. TRANSLATION: I have heard in the

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Russian media the captain left the ship first, or was among the first.

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But this is not true. The events leading up to the tragedy and its

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aftermath are still being investigated. But questions are

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being asked whether the apparent delay to its evacuate the ship cost

:18:11.:18:19.

lives. The Italian authorities have

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released pictures of the rescue teams inside the Concordia. You saw

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some of them at the end of that report. These images were filmed on

:18:29.:18:33.

Thursday. You can see them using ropes and ladders to access the

:18:33.:18:38.

vessel. The ship is lying on its side, making it impossible to move

:18:38.:18:45.

around using the stairs in a conventional way. There is some

:18:45.:18:49.

natural light on the upper decks. But, as the rescue teams move down,

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it becomes dark, and sea water has flooded the ship. There is a lot of

:18:53.:18:55.

wreckage floating inside the Concordia, including furniture and

:18:55.:18:58.

fixtures, making it harder to move around. The rescuers have been

:18:58.:19:02.

trying to check every cabin, although they've said it could take

:19:02.:19:12.
:19:12.:19:14.

weeks to go through all 1,500 of them.

:19:14.:19:22.

Joining me from the island of Giglio is the BBC's Alan Johnston.

:19:22.:19:27.

Do work has been suspended, after they realised early this morning

:19:27.:19:33.

the wreckage had shifted a little. Perhaps not moving laterally on the

:19:33.:19:39.

seabed but settling down further on to the rocks. But it too dangerous

:19:39.:19:45.

for rescue work to continue. Divers are working in very confined spaces.

:19:45.:19:51.

The wreckage could suddenly lurch. Where there is any instability

:19:51.:19:58.

detected, all work has to stop. The situation will be reviewed at 1,300.

:19:58.:20:06.

Can you bring us up to speed on the speculation as to how this all

:20:06.:20:10.

happened in the first place? Speculation about the actions of

:20:10.:20:19.

the captain. Very much so. The most significant recent insight we have

:20:19.:20:25.

had it into that, actually came a little earlier, late yesterday. We

:20:25.:20:29.

heard that very interesting sounding conversation between port

:20:29.:20:34.

officials, and the ship, not necessarily the captain but a crew

:20:34.:20:39.

member. The port officials had heard there was trouble of some

:20:39.:20:44.

kind, this conversation takes place about 30 minutes after that

:20:44.:20:48.

almighty collision. The port officials desperately want to know

:20:48.:20:54.

what is happening. The crew man on event simply says there is an

:20:54.:20:59.

electrical problem, he repeatedly says that and makes no reference to

:20:59.:21:05.

that collision. Why wouldn't the ship want to alert the coast guard,

:21:05.:21:11.

the potential rescue services of a problem of that size?

:21:11.:21:14.

The There are reports that four senior Somali government soldiers

:21:14.:21:17.

have just been killed in an ambush in Mogadishu this morning. The

:21:17.:21:20.

killings follow a major operation against the Islamist movement Al

:21:20.:21:23.

Shabab. Government forces, supported by African Union troops,

:21:23.:21:27.

have sent hundreds of men and 20 tanks into bases on the outskirts

:21:27.:21:30.

of the capital Mogadishu. Al-Shabab admitted losing territory, but said

:21:30.:21:36.

it would strike back. I asked the BBC's East Africa

:21:36.:21:39.

correspondent Will Ross what more he could tell us about the deaths

:21:39.:21:45.

of the four Somalia government soldiers.

:21:45.:21:50.

We understand that a group of the Somali government soldiers were

:21:50.:21:54.

heading to the area that had just been captured from Al-Shabab. And

:21:54.:22:00.

they fell into an Al-Shabab ambush. They are senior soldiers, we are

:22:00.:22:05.

told, one being a logistics officer. This is a setback for the

:22:05.:22:08.

government soldiers, we are awaiting confirmation from the

:22:08.:22:14.

Government. It underlines the fact, even though territory can be seized

:22:14.:22:21.

from Al-Shabab, it does not mean that there is then say.

:22:21.:22:31.

The porridge and was a significant one, wasn't it? -- the operation.

:22:31.:22:36.

The commanders have said there were close to 1000 soldiers and 20 tax

:22:36.:22:41.

which took part in the attack. They were obviously a combination of

:22:41.:22:47.

Somali government soldiers and African Union peace keepers. The

:22:47.:22:51.

spokesman for the peacekeepers said the operation had significant

:22:51.:22:56.

firepower, the first time these African Union troops had gone to

:22:56.:23:01.

battle outside Mogadishu, it seems the aim was to push as about as far

:23:01.:23:06.

as possible back from the capital itself. In recent months, most of

:23:06.:23:10.

the capital has gone into the hands of the government and African Union

:23:10.:23:15.

forces. But, although these territories are being taken from

:23:15.:23:20.

Al-Shabab, it does not mean they are safe. 24 hours ago, there was a

:23:20.:23:26.

suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu, six people left dead. In recent

:23:26.:23:29.

months there have been several spectacular attacks by a radical

:23:29.:23:32.

Islamic sect in Nigeria known as Boko Haram. The name translates

:23:32.:23:37.

roughly into English as "Western Education is forbidden". Among the

:23:37.:23:40.

deadly activities claimed by the group are the bombing of the United

:23:40.:23:43.

Nations building in Abuja, and an attack on a Christian church on

:23:44.:23:47.

Christmas day. Our correspondent Mark Doyle went to the main city in

:23:47.:23:50.

the north of Nigeria, Kano, to find out what's causing the religious

:23:50.:24:00.
:24:00.:24:07.

The most powerful religious leader in northern Nigeria. In southern

:24:07.:24:12.

Nigeria, traditional Christian Kane's play a similar role. Here in

:24:12.:24:17.

the north, for hundreds of years, traditional Islamic rulers have

:24:17.:24:25.

maintained huge influence. Christians living in the north. A

:24:25.:24:31.

Muslim cleric has come to their church. He explains that Jesus and

:24:31.:24:41.
:24:41.:24:45.

Mary are in the Koran as well. name is Jesus, the son of Mary.

:24:45.:24:49.

Thanks to two initiatives by this, this city, the capital of the North,

:24:49.:24:56.

is largely peaceful. There is a big issue between Christians and

:24:56.:25:00.

Muslims in Nigeria of which is what has led to the historic split in

:25:00.:25:05.

the country. But these days, there is a potentially even more

:25:05.:25:08.

dangerous separation between the conservative Islamic or authorities

:25:08.:25:16.

in northern Nigeria, and the more radical groups. The Islamist group

:25:16.:25:19.

Boko Haram claimed this isn't bombing of a church, 38 people were

:25:19.:25:27.

killed, and there have been many other attacks. The Emir has no

:25:27.:25:32.

shortage of visitors but he granted the BBC a very rare interview. How

:25:32.:25:39.

are you? I asked him whether the existence of a violent Islamist

:25:39.:25:48.

group in Nigeria meant his traditional power was being eroded?

:25:48.:25:56.

TRANSLATION: The perpetrators are being told the texts of Islam which

:25:56.:26:02.

do not allowed doing anything bad to anybody. So his Highness is

:26:02.:26:06.

always telling his subject to embrace peace and live peacefully.

:26:06.:26:11.

The vast majority of Nigerians, Christian and Muslim, say they want

:26:11.:26:21.
:26:21.:26:23.

peace as well, but religion and politics often get in their way.

:26:23.:26:27.

Some news coming in from Northern Ireland, a high-profile Republican

:26:27.:26:31.

has been clear today of the murder of two British soldiers outside an

:26:31.:26:41.
:26:41.:26:42.

army base, Colin Duffy has been acquitted at Antrim Crown Court.

:26:42.:26:49.

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