31/01/2013 BBC World News

Israeli territories violate the rights of Palestinians. Air

pollution has reached worrying levels in Beijing, it has been

classed as very unhealthy. Remembering Stalingrad, it has been

70 years since German troops surrendered. Hello, Russia says it

is gravely concerned by reports that Israeli warplanes have bombed

targets in Syria close to Damascus. Syrian state TV says the planes

hets a military research centre killing two workers. But diplomats

say the target was a Convey of arms, bound for the Lebanese group

Hezbollah, there has been no official confirmation of the raid

from Israel. With me is the editor of BBC Arabic television. Why this

attack and why now? This is very significant, because it has been a

while, western countries like the US and Israel, including Israel

expressed concerns about the possibility of smuggling some

sensitive weapons, including chemical weapons, or air defence

missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon. We have two stories now, because

the Syrians are saying the attack targeted a research centre,

military research centre, while other reports are saying it

targeted a convoy, that was shipping missiles, SA17 missile,

that are one of the most sophisticated miss for air defence.

Is that the true, Syria is passing to Hezbollah, some very

sophisticated weapons that could help in any future confrontation

between the party and Israel. So the fact that rail is attacking now,

is there is something -- Israel is attacking now is there is something

on the ground. We still, we don't know, for the moment. And Israel,

of course, has not confirmed that this was carried out, but that is

not surprising of course. Israel never confirm such thing, it is

going to take maybe a long time before they tell the story about

this. The significance of this attack, coming at a time of such

great turmoil in Syria. Of course, especially that we have heard that

the official television have said that insinuateed this area, this

research centre was targeted by the rebels, in many times and they

failed to occupy it. So now, veil has achieved the job, so they are

insinuateing that, like Israel is helping the rebels, in achieving

what they couldn't do. Of course, this is, this attack, the target

could be establishing the balance, or keeping the borderlines, I mean

the moral and the military ambulance in its status quo right

now, without any changing in the military ambulance that could

affect the region, the whole region in the future, in any confrontation,

the region is boiling all the time. And confrontation is a possible

sthar owe that could happen any time. -- scenario. We are watching

the situation very closely, thank you very much indeed. We are going

to stay with Israel now, because a United Nations report says Israeli

settlements in the Occupied Territories violate the rights of

Palestinians. The report by three UN human rights experts claims

settlements are driving Palestinians off the land, and

subjecting them to discrimination and intimidation on a daily basis.

Israel does not accept the findings, saying the report will only hamper

efforts to find a sustainable solution to the Israel-Palestinian

conflict. The French Defence Minister has said he backs the idea

of sending a UN peacekeeping force to Mali. France was hoping a multi-

national African force would replace its troops but speaking on

French raid he said a UN force might be preferable. This comes as

French-led forces secured the last main stronghold of the Islamist

militant, the town of Kidal on Wednesday. They took over Kidal

without firing a shot, but it is thought the militants are hiding in

the mountains. Our West Africa Thomas Fessy sends this report from

Timbuktu. The French recaptured the town of Kidal near the Algerian

border yesterday, they did so without a fight, because it appears

that the Islamist militants had already fled in the surrounding

mountain what they found instead was the Tuareg rebels before they

broke off from the alliance with Al-Qaeda, these tuer relation

Tuaregs have offered the French support in what they call the fight

against terrorism the Tuareg rebels probably explain why the Mallian

soldiers haven't reached that town yet, in fear of potential reprisal

attacks and clashes between the two groups. What is clear is that the

recapture of Kidal marks the end of the first phase of this military

intervention which consists of freing the population from Islamist

rule in the major towns in northern Mali, but the troops must prepare

for a much tougher kind of operations, they will have to drive

these Islamist militants out of the desert hide outs and they will have

to make sure any potential community clashes in the major

towns, will be prevented, as many will be seeking revenge in the

towns that are recaptured. That is Thomas Fessy in Mali. Air ploughs

has reached worrying levs in Beijing, the city has been shrouded

in thick smog. Although levels have fallen since Tuesday the air

quality is classed as very unhealthy by a monitoring station

in the city. Much of it comes from coal. China produces and uses half

the world's supply. Most of that is used to generate electricity for

homes and factories and with China's economy continuing to

expand, the recent figures show coal consumption shot up by almost

10% in a year. This report from Datong in Shanxi province. It is a

dirty, grimy business. But in China it is crucial work. Coal fuels the

country's economic boom with consumption tripling in a little

over a decade. With demand still rising there is little time to

waste, in China's coal capital of Datong. It falls on the shoulders

of these men to keep China's economic engine on track. Enormous

coal fired power plants dominate the skyline here, generating vast

amounts of electricity. You get a real sense of China's insatiable

demand for energy. Coal trucks are pulling up every minute. The coal

will be off loaded and burned to produce electricity. But

increasingly, it is coming at a huge cost. China burns almost as

much coal as the rest of the WorldCom biened. But that is

leaving its city's choking on hazardous smog. Many in Beijing say

this winter's pollution has been the worst they can remember.

TRANSLATION: we have to change our ways. The pollution caused by coal

is too severe. If nothing happens, then the public outcry in the

cities will keep growing. But in the shadow of the coal mines, there

are different expectations. -- expectations. This farmer can

remember the day when all he wanted was sheep. Now he has big dreams.

He tells me if he had the money he would buy a fridge and even a car.

And that is the challenge for China's leaders. Balancing the

farmer's aspirations with more sustainable economic growth. But

for now, any way, China's reliance on coal and the pollution that

comes with it, shows little sign of ending. In Bangladesh police have

fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protestors during a

nationwide strike called by the Islamic party. The party is

demanding the release of 12 people, mainly their leaders who are

accused of committing atrocities during the war of dense --

independence in 1971. They deny the charges. This report from Dhaka.

Manufacture The streets and towns in Bangladesh were quieter because

of the strike. Despite the heavy presence of police across the

country, there were clashes reported from a number of areas.

Activists came out in protest, setting vehicles on fire, forcing a

swift response from the police, several were arrested. Two of the

activists have been after rested and a put many this vehicle. The

police have secured this area. Cleared it completely and are

taking up positions to make sure there no repeat of this incident.

As for the activists they melted away as swiftly as they came. These

are the kind of violent protests have been taking place azgaebs o

process they believe is unfair. Nine leaders are among 12 men being

tried a War Crimes Tribunal. Looking into atrocities committed

in the wake of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The Bangladesh Government says up to three million people were killed

by Islamic militias linked to the group and loyal to Pakistan. But

the group described the process as flawed. It says this trial is of a

political nature and is a witch hunt which is why it opposes it. It

is an emotional issue, one that can lead to violence on the streets.

Let us update you on news coming in. The former England football captain

David Beckham is expected to sign for the French club Paris St

Germain. The midfielder is having a medical in the next few hours, the

club is holding a news conference later, and David is expected to

begin training with the club in the next fortnight. He has been without

a club since he left LA galaxy in kes and had been traening with

Arsenal in London: Training with Arsenal in London. There has been

so much speculation about where he might be going after the LA Galaxy,

how much of a surprise is Paris? suppose it is a surprise in a sense

when we got up this morning we did known he would be going anywhere,

but at the same time we knew he was training with Arsenal. That said

that for him to be back in Europe and making sure that he is up to

full fitness, it suggested that perhaps a move could happen. Paris

St Germain makes sense, he will be reunite with the the manager he was

one for one of his two loan terms at AC Milan. In terms of impact

what will he do. You were talking about LA Galaxy bs he has been away

from the sharp end for five years but he is coming into a league

which isn't at the same level as the Premier League and Serie A

where he has played before. We know what David Beckham can bring to any

club, and in terms of what he will be able to do physically, he will

give that dead ball delivery, brilliant crosses for his club and

maybe help them win a league title. How much of a playing career is he

thought to have in front of him. is dangerous to say his career is

nearly over, because he has been told by a number he should stop

playing at international level before, he came back from that when

Steve McLaren got rid of him from the England set up. He is a player

who time and time again, has surprised us all with his

performances and there is still two or three years left in those legs.

I am sure his fa mouse fashion designer wife will love Paris. Now,

stay with us, coming up here on BBC World News. -- famous. I started to

question the capitalist system. I started to question everything

about me. I thought I would like to do something about it. Colombia's

rebel fighter group. Find out more in a few moments. Tight

einspections of nightclub, cinemas and theatres have been ordered

throughout Brazil after the nightclub fire in which 235 people

died. The fire has led to a national debate about safety

regulations in public venues before next year's World Cup. Is-year-old

Anna follows the coffin of her mother, the latest victim of the

nightclub fire. Her mother was an army doctor. She was buried with

military honours. The disaster has shocked Brazil and there is anger

about the safety failings of the Kiss nightclub.

TRANSLATION: The expert report points in the same direction. Even

has said the same thing. The fire started above the box, where the

person using the pyrotechnics was located. Investigators say sound

proofing materials were flammable. There was no sprinkler system, only

one fire ex teng wisher and that was out of order. But the deputy

Sports Minister insist there's is no problem with safety in the

country. Unveiling the poster for next year's World Cup. He said

Brazil is being unfairly singled out by critics and visiting

TRANSLATION: Why does nobody ask these countries if they are ready

to host a World Cup or Olympic Games? One of the two owners of the

nightclub has blamed the whole country for the tragedy, saying he

trusted engineers, inspectors and other experts to guarantee safety

in the venue. Several cities have already ordered tighter inspections

to try and prevent a similar tragedy happening again.

For something cute, but not cuddly, two litters of white lion and tiger

cubs have got their vaccinations at a zoo in Germany and they are not

happy about it. They are actually producing a low, slightly menacing

growl. The zoo says it is extremely rare to have two litters of

quadruple, white ones, even more rare and they certainly don't like

the vet. You are with BBC World News. Our

latest headlines: Russia has said it has grave concerns about reports

of an Israeli air strike on Syria. The French Defence Minister says he

backs the idea of sending a UN peacekeeping force to Mali. It's 70

years since the commander of the German forces at Stalingrad

surrended. The six-month long battle is seen as a turning point

of the Second World War. As many as one million soldiers are believed

to have died in intense urban warfare. This weekend, the city,

reVolgograh, will commemorate the event.

-- re-named Volgograh will commemorate the event. 70 years

since the end of one of the world's bloodiest battles. The Stalingrad

memorial remains one of the most symbolic sites in Russia. Here,

close to one million soldiers died in just six months of ruthless

combat. A breath-taking German advance into Russia had been

blocked at Stalingrad. Hundreds of thousands of men died in brutal

urban warfare, as the Red Army refused to yield. Then once the

Russian winter set in, fresh Soviet forces surrounded Hitler's army,

capturing or killing every man. The German commander was forced into a

humiliating surrender. This man witnessed the surrender,

but the images etched strongly on his 90-year-old memory are images

of death and a burning river. TRANSLATION: Everything was on fire.

The bank of the river was covered in dead fish, mixed with human

heads, arms and legs, all lying on a beach. There were remains of

people being evabg rated over the - - evacuated over the river.

scale of the loss of live at the battle of Stalingrad is almost

beyond imagination. It all happened in a few months. All these grave

stones have the same dates of death, either the end of 1942 or the very

beginning of 1943. For this week's anniversary, 17,000

new names have been carved on the monuments, including this woman's

father. When just five she survived the battle by eating clay by living

in a mud bank. She searched for her father's body and just three years

ago she discovered it was just two miles from her home. TRANSLATION:

They have only started to put up these plaques now - 70 years after

the battle, with my generation dying out and my mother already

dead. The Stalingrad memorial is built on a hill which saw some of

the bloodiest fighting. Tens of thousands of bodies lie under this

frozen earth. Among them fathers and friends of the remaining

survivors, for whose the horrors of that battle 70 years ago, are very

real. The Colombian rebel group farkfark

is holding a new -- FARC is holding We must warn you this report does

contain some flash photography. These are militants of the FARC, to

negotiate an end to five decades of conflict. One delegate has been

stealing the limelight. Tanja Nijeijer is a teacher, turned

fighter for the Farc. They now style themselves fighters for

social justice. The long conflict in Colombia has killed tens of

thousands and displaced millions more. At its height when Tanj first

went there in the 1990s to teach English. She told me she had been

shocked by the poverty and inequality. She said that drove her

into the ranks of the FARC and she does not reject that. I saw the

poverty and I started to question the capitalist system. I started to

question everything around me. I thought I would like to do

something about it. You did not have to do it with violence. A lot

of people with a social conscience in the world - why, you are a

person from a European demock ca casy, why did you de-- democracy.

Why did you choose violence? I did not choose violence. I choose

politics in a country where doing politics implies violence. I was

not able to carry on living in Holland and have a good life and

have my job thinking about other people in other places of the world

by living a miserable life. could have worked for a charity?

could have done that. I had received my political education in

Colombia. I agreed with the guerrillas and that's why I joined

the guerrillas. Probably if I had gone to Africa to do my practise

fordown union, I would have ended up in something -- for university I

would have ended up in something else.

We are a movement and with that I respond.

That is now here attempting to negotiate peace. They are the first

talk-to-TalkTalks with -- face-to- face talks in a decade. Success at

this table may now been the Dutch woman's only way back from the

jungle. The Colombian Government once thought Tanja had been

forcibly recruited. Here she made it clear to me she joined freely

out of conviction. A decade on, this language graduate has been

indicted by American and Colombian courts as part of a terrorist court.

She would face up to 60 years in jail if she was caught.. I don't

think the combatants who are victims of violence of the state

should be judged as the victimisers of this conflict. You don't think

they will demand some justice? people of Colombia and the people

of the world know who are there -- their victimisers. The FARC is

listed as a terrorist organisation. I thought I came to an interview,

not to a trial. Do you have any ejects about the victims of this

conflict? I don't have any rejects about joining the FARC. I feel I am

showing my solarty with people who have been very, very -- solidarity

with people who have been very badly treated by the Government and

I feel very proud of it. Do you think about those who suffer as a

consequence? It's like a logical consequence of a war which have

been going on for more than 48 years, that there are victims of a

war and that's why we're talking about peace now. The FARC released

this video ahead of those talks, the Dutch guerrilla sings of her

devotion to the cause. It is a line she never devevaited from as we

talked. A hint of the complexity of We will talk a look at some other

stories making headlines: Police in Alabama have surrounded a man who

has taken a six-year-old boy hostage. The man killed the driver

of the bus before dragging the little boy to an underground bunker.

Mexico City's stray dogs have been given legal protection against

maltreatment. Under the rules people could be jailed for up to

four years if they mistreat any abandoned pets. Strays have been

blamed for the deaths of up to four people if the city's parks. The

last surviving member of the Andrew's sisters has died in

California. Patty Andrews was 94. The group sold more than 80 million

records. Their hits include Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Don't Sit

Under the Apple Tree. News from South Africa, reports are

coming in that 300 people have been injured in a train crash. The

accident took place during rush hour when a commuter train near

Pretoria ploughed into a stationary train on the same track. Three are

in a critical condition and one person was airlifted to hospital.