23/01/2012 BBC World News

As the Arab League meets to discuss their monitoring team's mission to

Syria, Damascus rejects calls for President Assad to resign.

TRANSLATION: And there were clashes, of motor attacks.

Four Kenyan politicians are to stand trial for violence in which

thousands of people have died. Also in this programme, find out

why the Chinese Year of the Dragon Welcome to BBC World News. The head

of the Arab League monitoring mission says there has been less

violence since his team arrived in the country. He also said it was

and his team's responsibility to stop the violence that has fled

across the country since anti- government protests last March.

Syria has rejected the latest peace plan. The head of the mission at

said that violence did subside but only in some areas.

TRANSLATION: In Homs and Deraa. We witnessed some fighting and firing

amongst the people, the use of arms. We noticed that this action took

place from armed members, and some people at some checkpoints were

forced to fire back. And to shoot back. In Idlib, we witnessed a new

development. We noticed that there were some strange elements,

explosions, which targeted a number of institutions. And buildings. And

I would like to say, frankly, this was not acceptable to the Arab

community and international community.

The head of the monitoring mission. Our correspondent has been

monitoring of that conference. He has given me his interpretation.

Basically, this is not going to be music to the ears of the Syrian

opposition. For example, when he says the violence diminished

cricket after they arrived and demonstrators were not being shot

at any more, that is at variance with what the activists on the

ground have been reporting. In some areas where the observers have been,

perhaps it has tapered away, but it has still been going on where they

were not physically present. He taught about the release of

detainees, which has only been partial and not verified. So this

will be taken by the opposition as further evidence the mission is and

having much effect, it has failed now that the Saudis have pulled out

as well. The opposition would like this to be referred to the Security

Council and they will react quite strongly to his statements. Further

evidence that the Arab League is not making much progress in its

patchy operation. He said it wasn't their mission to stop the violence,

but to implement their protocol. And also he said in a couple of

cities, he witnessed people using arms, and at checkpoints people

were forced to fire back, which might seem controversial too many.

Certainly, the last element, again, will not please of the opposition.

There is widespread recognition there is a lot of armed activity

going on by rebels, provoked from their point of view by the massive

crackdown by the Army itself. As for the observers being empowered

to halt the violence, that is not their job, they are there to

monitor compliance with the agreement calling for the cessation

of all violence, the withdrawal of armed manifestations in the streets.

He is perfectly correct with that, that is what the protocol calls for.

One reason why the opposition has been sceptical about the whole

mission from the beginning. They didn't believe the regime would

comply but use it as a way of playing for time.

A year to the date since protests erupted in Egypt, Parliament is

sitting for the first time. Islamists dominate the new

Parliament. The Freedom and Justice Party won the largest number of

seats. It remains up to the President to decide which party

gets to form a government. The first session of Parliament it

is going very smoothly. A historic moment, the first properly

democratic elected Parliament in Egypt's history. A completely

different make-up from what we have seen in the past decade when it was

dominated by the ruling party, notoriously corrupt. We are

watching the swearing in as they go through with each MP. They will

choose the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. They wanted to get this in

before the marking of the demonstrations on January fed.

is dill not clear how the groupings will work out, and what

accommodation they will make with the military? It looks as if the

Muslim Brotherhood, the largest party, portraying themselves as the

pragmatists, a success of La negotiating -- successfully. Over

foreign policy and defence policy. They're working on that behind the

scenes. The liberals fear a cosy car but between the two main forces.

But there is no great clash in prospect.

Aaron joins me now with the business.

The top management at the maker of Blackberry smartphones have stepped

down. Research In Motion says both its co-CEOs and co-chairmen will

make way for former Siemens executive Thorsten Heins. The move

was initiated by activist shareholders who wanted the

phonemaker to keep up with rivals. Let us listen to the new boss and

what he had to say today. More internally from a process

perspective, we need to get a bit more discipline in our own

processes. We are in great innovative company but we innovate

too much while we are building the product. I want to spend more time

on prototypes, research and development, while we are building

the product. Has he hit the nail on the head, discipline, innovating

too much? This is the interesting thing about Research In Motion,

what other company can rethink of which has been successfully run by

two joint chief executives? The founder, running the business

successfully with another. Google came in with its android operating

system. We have the Blackberry market being attacked from both

sides and not knowing how to respond. Having two at the helm,

let us look at last year. Their system outage. On top of that,

there Siv -- their share price, falling 75%. The market has been

very hard on the company. It is still making profits. The market

was looking at how rapidly any company that falls a little bit

behind, gets into trouble. Nokia. That company has been suffering

problems. The feeling is there will not be many survivors. These

smartphone world is sorting itself into three or four big players. The

question is, will Blackberry be one of them? The new chief executive,

can he do it? Do they have the technology? They certainly have the

technology. They have had command of the Business section of the

market. It was the defining device for any executive. Their problem is

that this top-of-the-market is under assault from Apple in

particular. They have brilliant technology on board. The founders

in particular had a lot of nous. But, do they have the speed to move

in a different direction? Private creditors to Greece say

they have now made their best offer in talks to reduce the country's

debt. Charles Dallara, the chief negotiator for the Institute of

International Finance, that's the group representing the private

lenders, says he's offered the maximum possible. Greece needs to

persuade bond holders to forgo more than half the money they're owed.

And it's crucial because Greece's 130 billion euro rescue package

from the EU and IMF depends on a deal being reached with these

private debt holders. Without the money, Greece would be unable to

pay the interest on its debt, and would more than likely default on

some $18.5 billion in March. Jan Randolph is head of Sovereign

Risk at IHS Global Insight. The key is the IMF which will not

lend in a situation where it seems that the debt is not sustainable.

If there is a shortfall, they are looking to the European Union, in

particular, Germany, to make up the difference. The IMF will not do so.

It is up to Germany and France and the eurozone finance ministers,

whether they are prepared to make up the shortfall. If the IMF sees

that there is a shortfall. Some reports by suggesting some of

these private debt holders would almost preferred going down a Greek

default path, because they are insured against that? There are

hedge funds and mainstream banks which hold these insurances against

default. They are secretly hoping it will fall apart, there will be a

disorderly default, a hard dead destruction, and they can collect

the insurance claim. But the IMF and EU are trying to avert that

situation. Time for a look at some other business stories.

The founder of Megaupload has told a New Zealand court he is innocent

on charges of piracy and money laundering. Kim Dotcom, also known

as Kim Schmitz, was arrested last week after police raided his estate

in New Zealand at the request of the FBI. Megaupload had about 50

million hits a day when it was in operation, putting it within the

top 100 most visited websites, according to estimates.

The United Arab Emirates' Central Bank says it has fended off hackers

trying to bring down its website. The bank's web server had been

flooded with information to try and make it crash. The hackers called

themselves the IDF Team, which is thought to be a reference to the

Israel Defence Force. They also claim to have disrupted the

websites of the Saudi Arabian and The political future of Kenya's

looks to be influenced by its political past. Over 1000 people

died in violence after elections in 2007. The International Criminal

Court in the Hague decided that four prominent Kenyans will be

tried for crimes Against humanity. Kenyans have been eagerly awaiting

this day. The judge confirmed the trials will go ahead for four out

of the six. They include the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime

Minister, as well as another former minister. Both those men want to

stand in another election, due in December or early next year. This

decision from the International Criminal Court in the Hague has a

huge bearing on the future politics of Kenya and those elections. The

last election was such a mess and led to so much violence that

Kenyans have been hoping things will be cleared up between the last

election and the next one. The process is so slow in the Hague, it

is quite possible once we have had their appeals and more activity

from the lawyers that the trial may not even have begun by the time the

Kenyans are queuing up to vote in the next election. An interesting

few months ahead and the lawyers will be busy. EU ambassadors agree

the details of an oil embargo against Iran during its nuclear

programme. The American congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords,

who were shot and nearly killed, has announced she will step down

from office. She wants to focus on recovery. One year ago, Gabrielle

Giffords were shot in the head. She was left seriously injured and

unable to walk or talk. 12 months on, the extent of her recovery is

clear. I do not remember much from that horrible day. But I will never

forget the trust you placed in me. In this video message posted online,

she thanks people for their prayers and support but admits she has a

long way to go and resigning from Congress is the best thing to do.

will step down this week. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting voters at the

supermarket when she was shot. The bullet passed through her brain.

She has undergone intensive speech therapy. It is best for her, she

feels, and the voter she represents, to step down. Everyone has wished

her well. It is clear she plans to return to politics in the future.

will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great

country. After months of violent protest in Yemen, the President has

left the country of the parliament granted him immunity from

prosecution. He is reportedly in Amman but is expected to travel to

the United States for medical treatment after an attack in his

This is BBC World news. The headlines: The head of the Arab

League mission to Syria describes the violence his monitors witnessed

in Homs and Hama. The new is a missed dominated parliament in

Egypt meets for the first time since the downfall of President

Mubarak. It is the start of a new year in the Chinese lunar calendar

and celebrations are well underway. Dancers performed in the Chinese

Spring Festival Gala, where moving images of dragons were projected

onto the stage. Thousands of people also visited Beijing's Lama Temple

to pray. It is the Year of the Dragon, which is believed to be

especially lucky. So, many couples are making an extra effort to give

birth to dragon babies. Our Hong Kong correspondent explains. It is

the start of a Brand New Year for this family. The countdown is still

on. At this holiday market, they are buying a toy for their soon-to-

be baby - a dragon just like their future sun. Thanks to careful

planning he will be born under the mayor special of all the signs in

the Chinese zodiac. We believe that dragon babies are more lucky,

clever and smart. I went to a doctor for a special check-up. Only

once every 12 years can you have a dragon baby. So many other couples

want dragon babies that doctors say there could be 10% more berths this

year. It has put a particular strain on the Hong Kong medical

system. Mainland Chinese mothers are also arriving to give birth.

Even if I would like to put someone into August, I cannot. There are no

beds. Even this morning I have been receiving e-mails from distressed

mothers who are only on waiting lists. People born in the year of

the Dragon are believed to be destined for greatness. Of course

that went be true for everyone. With so many extra Dragons around,

life could be more competitive as well. That is especially true in

schools. There are struggling to cope with the number of students,

even without the added burden of the Dragon Room.

TRANSLATION: Our schools cannot deal with it. There were not be

places in pre-schools and primary schools. A child may actually be

worse of being born in the year of the dragon? Yes, they may not

receive the quality of education as children born in other years.

down side does not faze Catherine. She has made sure the timing of her

pregnancy is perfect. Her first child was born in the year of the

VAT which is not nearly as special as the dragon. Catherine says she

will love her children equally. But with the Chinese world so obsessed

with certain animal years, her unborn child is likely to get extra

attention, which is why so many couples want dragon babies.

European Union ambassadors have agreed the details of an oil

embargo against Iran over its nuclear programme, according to

diplomats. These measures are expected to be officially approved

by EU ministers. There are concerns that Tehran might have the nuclear

weapons programme. Our correspondent is with me now. We're

not exactly clear whether this has been fully passed yet. What will it

mean? William Hague is talking about this as an unprecedented

package of measures. It is the first time the EU has put together

such a force for packaged to basically block the vital oil

export of Iran. If Europe buys about 20% of Iranian oil. It is a

difficult thing for the EU. Some countries rely more heavily on

Iranian oil than others. Some of these are in economic difficulties.

It could make the economic problems of Greece even worse because Boyle

will be higher priced. -- boa. will be looking to countries like

Saudi Arabia for reassurances. They will be getting money from the EU.

A lot of negotiation is happening behind the scenes. How much damage

will it do to Iran? Will it make a real impact? Lots of people are

saying extra pressure could have a factor. There are still quite

provocative remarks being made by government ministers. It is talking

about blocking exports before the full ban takes effect. Iran is in

dire -- has dire economic problems at the moment. It will put pressure

on the Government and the people. Emergency crews have today resumed

their search for missing passengers from the Costa Concordia cruise

ship, nine days after it ran aground off the Italian coast.

Questions still remain about whether Unregistered passengers

were on board the vessel when it was damaged. The number of debt has

risen to 13 after divers found another body. Earlier from Porto

Santo Stefano on the Italian mainland, Bethany Bell gave asked

the question on those Unregistered passengers. We do not have a number

on the question of unregistered passengers. One official told us

yesterday that a Hungarian family had rung the Italian authorities,

saying that their daughter had rung them up from the ship's saying she

was on board. They have not heard from her since then. According to

the authorities, she is not on the passenger list. This does raise the

question of unregistered passengers. This morning, the search and rescue

team have been continuing. Before I came on air, a number of controlled

explosions were heard. The divers are trying to get into areas of the

ship which are very difficult to reach, where there is a lot of

debris. We understand this morning they are looking into an area which

is at the back of the ship, near the restaurant area, to see if they

can discover anyone there. I think there are about 1500 rooms on this

ship. They were saying it could take weeks to search every single

corner of the ship. That holds up the salvage operation. Yes. It is

taking a very long time. The head of this rescue mission is to meet

with a prosecutor in Tuscany later today. What we expect from that

meeting is that there may be some sort of decision as to when this

rescue and Search Phase is actually called off. That will allow the

salvage stage to begin and removed the tulle. Some news that has just

come in to us. European foreign ministers have agreed to suspend

these are bans -- visa bans. Burma is due to be holding by-elections

in April the shares will start this will be contested for the first

time by the opposition party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Some more news

from the International Criminal Court. It accepts that safe out

Islam Gaddafi will be tried in Libya rather than at the court in