:00:09. > :00:13.France says its military intervention? Mali has halted the
:00:14. > :00:18.advance of Islamist rebels. The worsening scale of humanitarian
:00:18. > :00:22.disaster now facing at least two million refugees. We're in
:00:22. > :00:27.neighbouring Lebanon, hit by unusual freezing conditions. It's
:00:27. > :00:32.been announced that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge is due to give birth
:00:32. > :00:39.in mid-July. Welcome to BBC World News. Also in this programme: From
:00:39. > :00:46.digital timepieces to the masses to diamond watchs to the elite. Swatch
:00:46. > :00:56.buys luxury jeweller Harry Winston. Can the muscle car help revive
:00:56. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:11.Detroit and get a slice of the Hello. France says its military
:01:11. > :01:16.intervention? Mali has stopped the Islamist rebels' advance towards
:01:16. > :01:24.the capital. At least 60 Islamist fighters have been killed. French
:01:24. > :01:28.warplanes have bombed the town of Gao. France's Foreign Minister says
:01:28. > :01:31.his country's direct military involvement would be over in weeks.
:01:31. > :01:38.The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to consider developments
:01:38. > :01:41.and what might be needed next. French air crews prepare for
:01:41. > :01:46.another mission. The Air Force is now carrying out around the clock
:01:46. > :01:50.strikes, pounding the rebel bases and forcing the fighters to flee.
:01:50. > :01:53.Although French officials have admitted the rebels are better
:01:53. > :01:58.armed than they expected. Seven other countries are supporting
:01:58. > :02:06.France, including Britain and the US. Speaking on French TV, the
:02:06. > :02:10.Foreign Minister stressed this would not be their Afghanistan.
:02:10. > :02:15.TRANSLATION: Regarding France's direct involvement, it is only a
:02:15. > :02:19.matter of weeks. Later on, we can come back as backup. We have no
:02:19. > :02:23.intention of staying on forever. In Mali itself, the French
:02:23. > :02:27.intervention has been welcomed. These villagers said it was
:02:27. > :02:33.reassuring. The rebels control the northern half of the country - an
:02:33. > :02:38.area larger than France itself. They impose strict Islamic laws -
:02:38. > :02:41.no music, no tobacco and no make-up. Flout them and you will be flogged
:02:41. > :02:44.N the capital, in contrast to the war raging in the north, most
:02:45. > :02:52.people are going about their business as usual. Some even
:02:52. > :02:58.cashing in on the conflict by selling French flags. France's 400
:02:58. > :03:08.-- France has 400 troops on the floor already. President Francois
:03:08. > :03:13.Hollande is pressing to send in re- enforcements quickly.
:03:13. > :03:17.At this air base in Chad, another French jet lands after its bombing
:03:17. > :03:26.mission over Mali. Officials in Paris say the offence is working
:03:26. > :03:31.with the rebels stopped in their tracks.
:03:31. > :03:34.I asked why it was so important for France to move into Mali,
:03:34. > :03:38.decisively with warplanes, supported by the US and Britain at
:03:38. > :03:41.this moment? The rebels were moving south. They had already taken the
:03:42. > :03:46.whole of northern Mali, but the shape of Mali - there's a sort of
:03:46. > :03:50.neck in the middle and then there's a larger part in the south and they
:03:50. > :03:54.got into that zone, in the middle. They were heading south. It looked
:03:54. > :03:58.like nothing that Mali had in its army could stop them. That is why
:03:59. > :04:05.the French had to step in. In the broader context, it is because if
:04:05. > :04:14.you have an Islamist state in Mali, it borders so many important
:04:14. > :04:24.African countries in the region, there's more tain ya, which has a
:04:24. > :04:26.
:04:26. > :04:30.huge amount of resources and there is you rainum. What people
:04:30. > :04:34.saw was this Islamist movement could take over a chunk of West
:04:34. > :04:39.Africa. That would be destabilising for the region. Islamist rebels
:04:39. > :04:42.said to be associated with Al-Qaeda - does this kind of orthodox
:04:42. > :04:46.military action actually end this kind of threat? The point I would
:04:46. > :04:52.have made if you had not asked the question. Yes, indeed. The French
:04:52. > :04:56.have been very good over the years. They have been much more involved
:04:56. > :05:01.in African than Britain. They often go in and sort out local political
:05:01. > :05:07.problems. This is different. This is money and an ideology coming
:05:07. > :05:12.from Saudi Arabia, that has spread right across North Africa. It has
:05:12. > :05:16.taken root, with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic magreb it is called. It is
:05:16. > :05:21.a real organisation. They made contact with the Islamists in
:05:21. > :05:28.Nigeria. Hence all the bombings there. You have seen it in Somalia
:05:28. > :05:33.as well, where they have been very, very powerful there. This is a
:05:33. > :05:38.whole pan-African movement. Do you believe this kind of orthodox
:05:38. > :05:44.poufrer the air, using bombs, is the kind of think which can destroy
:05:44. > :05:47.this movement and its threat and infrastructure? No. Because it's a
:05:47. > :05:51.very strong ideology, just destroying their ammunition dumps
:05:51. > :05:55.and their weaponry is not enough. I think there has to be a great deal
:05:55. > :06:01.more. There has to be some sort of political engagement as well. And
:06:01. > :06:06.protection of people from the sort of terrorism that's... When the
:06:06. > :06:11.French say they will be out of there in months, I would bet my
:06:11. > :06:14.house on the fact they'll be there this time next year and beyond.
:06:14. > :06:17.The scale of the humanitarian disaster across the Middle East
:06:17. > :06:22.because of Syria's civil war is getting worse. The International
:06:22. > :06:28.Rescue Committee says 600,000 people are now refugees outside the
:06:28. > :06:35.country. Another two million are displaced within Syria. The IRC
:06:35. > :06:45.says international reaction is drastically insufficient. Our chief
:06:45. > :06:48.international correspondent is in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley.
:06:48. > :06:54.-- Bekaa Valley. It has been the worst of winters for people who
:06:54. > :07:00.fled the worst of wars. Across a been ket of snow in the valley you
:07:00. > :07:05.can see Syrians in the distance. They have taken refuge by a mosque.
:07:05. > :07:10.All the roads in are blocked by snow. We could only reach them by
:07:10. > :07:16.foot. Two rows of concrete blocks are now
:07:16. > :07:24.home for 38 families. Crude metal roofs don't keep winter
:07:24. > :07:29.snows out. They don't keep anyone warm.
:07:29. > :07:35.The children are everywhere. You see them - their hands are freezing
:07:35. > :07:39.and their teeth are chattering. They are so cold. This is what it's
:07:39. > :07:45.like day in, day out. These children - there's no
:07:45. > :07:51.medicine for the children who get sick. At night, there's no windows.
:07:51. > :07:56.This is not enough to keep them warm.
:07:56. > :08:00.This woman has eight children, including eight-month-old Tima. Her
:08:00. > :08:06.husband was killed by Government shelling. Her eldest son fights
:08:06. > :08:10.with the rebels. She tells me, "We have no money to take the children
:08:10. > :08:16.to hospitals. No fuel in the heaters. Nothing. Would anyone
:08:16. > :08:23.accept this kind of life?" it is a life that breaks even the toughest
:08:23. > :08:32.here. Some aid is reaching Syrians in Lebanon. 300 families came to
:08:32. > :08:37.this centre the day we visited. Here they get vouchers for food and
:08:37. > :08:42.fuel from the UN and smaller NGOs. The numbers keep growing. There is
:08:42. > :08:47.not nearly enough aid here or in Syria's other neighbours to support
:08:47. > :08:57.the tide of people. What refugees really need is an end to the war.
:08:57. > :08:59.
:08:59. > :09:06.Everyone here fears that won't happen any time soon. And you can
:09:06. > :09:12.stay in touch via the web page or via Twitter. The details there on
:09:12. > :09:15.your screen. Now, the news that the wife of Prince William, the Duchess
:09:15. > :09:20.of Cambridge was pregnant emerged by accident when she was taken to a
:09:20. > :09:23.private hospital suffering from severe morning sickness. Now St
:09:23. > :09:28.James's Palace has made an announcement about the baby and the
:09:28. > :09:32.health of the Duchess. Details were give no-one the last
:09:32. > :09:36.few minutes. The most important and interesting thing is that the
:09:36. > :09:40.Duchess of Cambridge's baby is expected in July. St James's Palace
:09:40. > :09:44.has put out a short statement, confirming a baby is due and adding
:09:44. > :09:50.the fact that that birth is expected in July. Can we read into
:09:50. > :09:55.the fact that they are referring to a baby? The fact that it will not
:09:55. > :09:59.be twins - we don't know. The baby is expected to be born in July and
:09:59. > :10:04.that the Duchess's condition is improving. We recall that she was
:10:04. > :10:10.admitted to hospital for a couple of nights last month, when she was
:10:10. > :10:13.experiencing acute pregnancy sickness. She spent three nights in
:10:13. > :10:19.the King Edward VII Hospital in central London. We saw her last
:10:20. > :10:24.Friday when she was at the National Portrait Gallery, seeing a portrait
:10:24. > :10:28.of herself. It was clear then her condition had improved
:10:28. > :10:33.significantly since that admission to hospital. Today, I would imagine,
:10:33. > :10:37.if things had gone according to plan and if they had not had to
:10:37. > :10:40.announce the pregnancy last month, I imagine today would have been the
:10:40. > :10:44.day they announced she was pregnant. Instead of which, having been
:10:44. > :10:47.forced into announcing to the world she was pregnant last month, they
:10:47. > :10:52.are confirming today the pregnancy and saying that a baby will be born
:10:52. > :11:00.or is expected to be born in July and that the Duchess's condition is
:11:00. > :11:04.improving. Let's move on with the business.
:11:04. > :11:09.Alice joins me. What about the car industry - the destroit Motor Show,
:11:09. > :11:13.under way? It is under way. In Detroit we are seeing a boost by
:11:13. > :11:20.American car makers to try and claw back some of that lost market share
:11:20. > :11:29.in the luxury car industry, so Sunday saw the relaunch of
:11:29. > :11:35.Chevrolet's seventh generation Corvette. The bling is back.
:11:35. > :11:44.Diamonds are making a bit of a return. I am talking about the
:11:44. > :11:54.jeweller to Hollywood's biggest stars here.
:11:54. > :12:01.Gwyneth Paltrow wore diamonds through her Oscar speech. Swatch,
:12:01. > :12:09.best known for plastic watches is aiming to bolster its range.
:12:09. > :12:14.It already owns Breguet and Omega. John Guy told me that it made good
:12:14. > :12:20.business sense for both sides. is important that remember that
:12:20. > :12:26.Swatch has a high exposure to prestige and luxury brands. You
:12:26. > :12:32.mentioned Breguet as one. Within their watches and jewellery
:12:32. > :12:38.division they have a 60% exposure to prestige and high-end players.
:12:38. > :12:42.Harry Winston is a good fit within those brands. It gives them a lot
:12:42. > :12:48.more know how into the jewellery end of the business, where Swatch
:12:48. > :12:51.wants to increase its footprint. Around the world Governments are
:12:51. > :12:56.raising taxes on ordinary households to pay off huge debts.
:12:56. > :13:03.Big business has come under fire for failing to pay its share of the
:13:03. > :13:07.austerity tax bill. Amazon, Starbucks and Google faced customer
:13:07. > :13:13.protests. Corporate tax has fallen for the UK's biggest firms for the
:13:13. > :13:17.fourth year in a row. I think you've got to take into account the
:13:17. > :13:20.fact of the employment and the value added taxes that are
:13:20. > :13:26.generated as a result of the businesses being here. You cannot
:13:26. > :13:31.really just look at the corporate tax headline in determining whether
:13:31. > :13:35.it's worthwhile attracting people. If you can get the extra business
:13:35. > :13:39.here through the corporation tax regime being a favoured one, then I
:13:39. > :13:43.think it's in the interests of the country as a whole.
:13:43. > :13:47.Some other stories making headlines: Thousands of people were
:13:48. > :13:53.marching in Madrid on Sunday to protest against plans to privatise
:13:53. > :14:02.part of their public health care treatment.
:14:02. > :14:09.They have opposed selling 26 of its hospitals and public health centres.
:14:09. > :14:14.It said it needs this to preserve the health service. United parcels
:14:14. > :14:17.service will drop its 6.8 billion acquisition bid for TNT Express.
:14:17. > :14:24.The decision comes after the European Commission said it planned
:14:24. > :14:32.to block the deal. Struggling TNT, Europe's second largest delivery
:14:32. > :14:36.company, will receive a $265 million fee and now faces an
:14:36. > :14:41.uncertain future. Jaguar Land Rover has announced the creation of 800
:14:41. > :14:46.production jobs at its plant in Solihull. It comes on top of a
:14:46. > :14:50.successful retail performance by the car maker, and owned by Tata in
:14:50. > :15:00.2012. It employs some 6,000 people, producing the Range Rover Discovery
:15:00. > :15:02.
:15:02. > :15:05.If you're a lover of fast cars, a new are in foray high-octane treat
:15:05. > :15:14.this weekend. The North American International Auto Show kicks off
:15:14. > :15:21.in Detroit. -- then you are in for a high-octane treat. Ford has
:15:21. > :15:31.recently relaunched its Lincoln brand. Michelle Fleury was at the
:15:31. > :15:37.
:15:37. > :15:42.big show. This is the Stingray. This name has only been used by
:15:42. > :15:48.special generations of Corvettes. By giving it this name, General
:15:48. > :15:53.Motors is explicitly linking its seventh generation Corvette to the
:15:54. > :15:58.iconic 1960s model, driven by Elvis. The car maker needs new products
:15:58. > :16:05.like this too excited customers and to revive its declining market
:16:05. > :16:12.share. In the next 12-18 months, 20% of our portfolio will be
:16:12. > :16:22.refreshed or brand new. This is a first strong statement of what you
:16:22. > :16:27.might see over the next year-and-a- half. The Corvette is embedded in
:16:27. > :16:31.American culture, a heritage more meaningful to General Motors, as it
:16:31. > :16:41.redefines itself after a bumpy few years, including a stint in
:16:41. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:53.bankruptcy. Everywhere we go, somebody will yell out, I like your
:16:53. > :16:55.
:16:55. > :17:01.car. Nostalgia is common among owners of Corvettes. You hear the
:17:02. > :17:11.stories, you are raised on them. In my generation, we have watched
:17:11. > :17:17.these cars since 1953. That's 60 years, it is a lot. It is one of
:17:17. > :17:23.those things - one day, I am going to get a call that. I think the
:17:23. > :17:32.most important thing about the Corvette is that it represents the
:17:33. > :17:37.best of Chevrolet. Really, it is the personification of the brand.
:17:37. > :17:43.The Corvette Stingray is not just an important launch for Chevrolet,
:17:43. > :17:48.it is a big deal for the American home-grown car industry. It is the
:17:48. > :17:54.American American sports car, made right here in the United States,
:17:55. > :18:00.and a showcase of what Detroit can do. That's all from me, and from
:18:01. > :18:06.the business news, from this hour. Some important breaking news - the
:18:06. > :18:16.French Defence Minister says that the jihadists in Mali have launched
:18:16. > :18:18.
:18:18. > :18:23.a counter-offensive, and taken a town from opposition forces. So,
:18:23. > :18:31.clearly, the assault by the French, supported by warplanes, has not
:18:31. > :18:36.fully destroyed the Islamist network. Coming up - Islamabad
:18:36. > :18:42.calls for a clean-up of Pakistani politics. And worst ever pollution
:18:42. > :18:48.in Beijing, as a smog levels soar to dangerous levels. -- as smog
:18:48. > :18:55.levels. It is said to be the biggest gathering of humanity, tens
:18:55. > :19:00.of millions of Hindu pilgrims gathering for the Kumbh Mela
:19:00. > :19:10.festival at India. Tens of thousands have started baying at
:19:10. > :19:10.
:19:11. > :19:14.the point where the Ganges and Yamuna converge. I asked our
:19:14. > :19:20.correspondent Yogita Limaye to describe what is going on. It is an
:19:20. > :19:23.extraordinary scene, as it was 12 years ago. Today is only the first
:19:23. > :19:27.day of the 55 day-long festival, but it is an auspicious day in
:19:27. > :19:34.India, and so we have already seen millions coming into the festival
:19:34. > :19:39.today. Where we are standing is the banks of the river. Beyond and it
:19:39. > :19:43.is the point where the two rivers meet, which is considered extremely
:19:43. > :19:46.sacred by Hindus. You can see the crowds of people waiting to go to
:19:46. > :19:50.dip in those waters. They believe that if they do that, their sins
:19:50. > :19:56.will be washed away. We have been watching that happening since very
:19:56. > :20:01.early this morning, even before dawn. The first people to take
:20:01. > :20:08.their dip were the holy men, with their long, flowing beards and long
:20:08. > :20:12.hair. They were the first people to go in the water. We spoke to some
:20:12. > :20:17.people who said it was quite cold this morning, but they said that
:20:17. > :20:21.even amidst the chaos, the minute they took a dip, they found in a
:20:21. > :20:27.piece. What about the enormous numbers, how do the authorities
:20:27. > :20:30.handle this? Well, just today, the authorities to say they are
:20:30. > :20:35.expecting more than 10 million people to be here. Just to give you
:20:35. > :20:40.an estimate, that is about 10 times the population of this city. So, it
:20:40. > :20:46.does put immense pressure on the infrastructure here. As far as
:20:46. > :20:53.sanitation is concerned, we have been told that 15,000 mobile
:20:53. > :20:57.toilets have been put up, as well as 14 temporary hospitals. The
:20:57. > :21:01.noise you can hear behind me is announcements being made for people
:21:01. > :21:05.who have been separated from their families. There are places where
:21:05. > :21:09.people who have been lost can go and get there. It is like a
:21:09. > :21:14.complete tented city. 20,000 policemen have been deployed as
:21:14. > :21:24.well. We have also got back-up from the army. We have been told that
:21:24. > :21:30.
:21:30. > :21:36.more than $200 million are being Our main headlines... France says
:21:36. > :21:45.its military intervention in Mali has already halted the advance of
:21:45. > :21:47.Islamist rebels. Let's get more on Syria, and the warning from the
:21:47. > :21:51.International Rescue Committee that the Middle East is facing a
:21:51. > :21:57.staggering humanitarian disaster, as a result of the civil war. The
:21:57. > :22:00.emergency field director for the IRC, told me why a agencies were
:22:00. > :22:04.still issuing these warnings, when it had long been predicted that
:22:04. > :22:08.there would be freezing conditions. This is what Sanj Srikanthan had to
:22:08. > :22:14.say. It is important to speak about it now because we are at the worst
:22:14. > :22:17.point in winter.. But people knew it was going to be this bad, the
:22:17. > :22:21.international community knew it was going to be this bad. Yes,
:22:21. > :22:24.everybody was expecting a bad winter, but once you see it, it is
:22:24. > :22:28.a different story. The problem is that we still do not have
:22:28. > :22:33.sufficient funding to beat the winter needs of more than 600,000
:22:33. > :22:37.refugees, past two million inside the country who have been displaced.
:22:37. > :22:40.We need to keep talking about it, we need to lush and the communities
:22:41. > :22:46.to make sure they have what they need for the winter and beyond.
:22:46. > :22:51.it hard cash or simply a shortage of tents and support material?
:22:51. > :22:55.is everything. Horrible families need cash support. Many refugees
:22:55. > :22:59.have come without the men in the family. It is women who need to
:22:59. > :23:03.have cash for the winter. They are not able to find walk. They have
:23:03. > :23:09.got children to support. So, it is cash, clothing, food, fuel,
:23:09. > :23:14.everything. That was the latest warning on the humanitarian
:23:14. > :23:18.disaster around Syria. An influential religious scholar in
:23:18. > :23:23.Pakistan is leading an estimated 15,000 supporters to the capital,
:23:23. > :23:28.Islamabad. He is demanding electoral reform before polls which
:23:28. > :23:32.are due in May. Orla Guerin is in Islamabad. The city is bracing
:23:32. > :23:36.itself for the arrival of the protesters. Most approach roads to
:23:36. > :23:42.the city have been sealed off. Extra security forces have been
:23:42. > :23:47.moved into position in the centre. We are told an extra 15,000 police
:23:47. > :23:51.are on duty here today, including heavily armed riot police. A stage
:23:51. > :23:55.is being erected over here for the man who is leading this March. He
:23:55. > :24:00.is a charismatic Sunni Muslim cleric, Dr Mohammad Tahirul Qadri,
:24:00. > :24:04.who, until a month ago, was living in Canada. He says he wants to
:24:04. > :24:11.bring a democratic revolution, he wants to clean up Pakistani
:24:11. > :24:14.politics. He has promised to create a kind of Pakistani version of
:24:14. > :24:18.Cairo's Tahrir Square. He says his demonstrators will remain here
:24:18. > :24:22.until his demands are met. Critics are accusing him of trying to
:24:22. > :24:28.weaken democracy. They say he wants to delay elections which are due by
:24:28. > :24:32.May. They also say he is too close to Pakistan's powerful military,
:24:32. > :24:39.something he and they deny. The convoy set off yesterday from the
:24:39. > :24:43.eastern city of a wholly -- eastern city of Lahore. Many of them were
:24:43. > :24:47.waving the Pakistani flag. Many of the demonstrators say they are fed
:24:47. > :24:51.up with the current government, with rising prices and with
:24:51. > :24:56.continuing terrorist attacks, as well as continuing power shortages.
:24:56. > :25:04.All of this comes at a very difficult moment for the government,
:25:04. > :25:07.which has been dealing with a crisis in recent days in the city
:25:07. > :25:13.of Quetta, and now it is good to face another challenge right here
:25:13. > :25:16.on its own doorstep. -- it is going to face another challenge. The air
:25:16. > :25:21.pollution in Beijing has become so bad that even the state-controlled
:25:21. > :25:26.media is urgent action from the government. Driving home the point,
:25:26. > :25:33.the artist Ai Weiwei has produced - - has posted these pictures of
:25:33. > :25:41.himself wearing a gas mask. The BBC's Celia Hatton has this report
:25:41. > :25:46.from Beijing. I am at a bridge near the centre of downtown Beijing,
:25:46. > :25:50.where there is a thick layer of air pollution, hiding many of the
:25:51. > :25:55.buildings behind me. It is the start of the working week, and many
:25:55. > :25:59.of the city's 5 million vehicles have returned to the roads as usual.
:25:59. > :26:04.But many residents are staying indoors to protect their lungs.
:26:04. > :26:08.Sales of air purifiers are sky rocketing. Officials say they are
:26:08. > :26:12.doing what they can to combat the smog. Some factories have been
:26:12. > :26:16.ordered to reduce emissions, and construction sites are being
:26:16. > :26:20.sprayed with water. But the truth is that the government of the city
:26:20. > :26:26.can only do so much, since much of the air pollution has blown in from
:26:26. > :26:30.the surrounding provinces. It has emanated from coal-fired power
:26:30. > :26:34.plants and dirty, polluting factories. The truth is that the
:26:34. > :26:39.smog will probably stay in place until the wind picks up and blow as
:26:39. > :26:44.much of it away, starting on Wednesday. In a couple of minutes,
:26:44. > :26:49.BBC World News begins broadcasting from its new studios in London. We