17/12/2013 BBC World News

Hello, our top stories: As Ukraine remains divided whether its future

lies with the EU or Russia, President Yanukovych is in Moscow

for talks on economic ties. Kim Jong Un leads tributes on the

second anniversary of the death of his father, days after executing his

uncle. A United States judge rules that

mass electronic surveillance of phone calls and emails - exposed by

Edward Snowden - is unconstitutional.

And we look at the photographer who gave Americans their first glimpses

of life in Africa. Ukraine's president Viktor

Yanukovych is due to meet his Russian counterpart in Moscow around

now, amid a growing sense of crisis over whether Ukraine should look

East or West. The talks in Moscow could secure a substantial loan for

Ukraine and a reduction in the price it pays for gas from Russia. But

that's not likely to please thousands of demonstrators on the

streets of Kiev who want closer ties with Europe instead.

A short time ago I spoke to our correspondent in Moscow, Steve

Rosenberg. He told me what's expected from the talks in Moscow

today. These talks are all about the stink up a, closer cooperation

between Russia and Ukraine. Something of a strategic

partnership, but the key question is how" and certainly the pro-Europe

protesters in Kiev feel that in return, in exchange for loans and

possibly cheaper gas, president Unicode which could commit Ukraine

at some point to joining the Russian led customs union. That is something

the protesters are completely against because they want

integration with Europe. As of these talks, Ukrainian official said that

wouldn't happen, there wouldn't be any signing of any agreement that

Ukraine would join the customs union. But the protesters don't

believe that and are waiting to see what agreements are signed. What

will that union mean if Ukraine does join it? In simple terms it will

mean that Ukraine will look East and not West. The Russian president has

made it clear that Ukraine would have to choose, it couldn't join

both blocks. It either put itself in a path to eventually join the EU or

becomes part of the customs union. As far as Moscow is concerned, the

Russian government is very keen to make sure that at some point down

the road, Ukraine does become a member of the customs union, because

this is an organisation, and economic bloc which is Vladimir

Putin's modern day version of the Soviet Union. And he cannot imagine

that without Ukraine as a member. From the point of view of Russia,

how important is it, how far will they go, to try and secure Ukrainian

support overall in this battle? We are seeing protests daily, lots of

fears about the direction of that country. Which is why it is unlikely

that we will hear an announcement today that President Yanukovych has

signed on the dotted line and committed Ukraine to becoming a

member of the customs union, that would just infuriate the pro-Europe

protesters in Kiev even more. I think we are likely to hear about

Moscow giving some big loans to President Yanukovych's government

and possibly agreeing to lower the price that Ukraine pays for Russian

gas. That would give support to President Yanukovych without the

protesters in Kiev. I just want to show you some live pictures coming

in from Moscow of the two leaders meeting. That is Mr Yanukovych,

talking there with Vladimir Putin. We don't have any translation there

for you, but we were promised pictures of the two men in talks.

There they are together, and image that obviously is designed very much

to show the political link between these two and will not go down well

with the Ukrainian opposition which is calling for early elections on

this whole question. Officials and dignitaries in North

Korea have been marking the second anniversary of the death of their

former leader Kim Jong-Il. But there were some notable absences from the

vast official ceremony. The current leader Kim Jong Un was there - but

the man who oversaw his rise to power was not. Jang Song Thaek was

arrested and executed last week in a swift and brutal leadership purge.

His widow was also absent from today's ceremony. Lucy Williamson

reports from Seoul. Slumped in his seat and facing his

vast Court, Kim Jong Un listens to the eulogies for his father. His own

eyes downcast while above him a giant portrait of Kim Jong-Il beamed

out towards the assembled elite. He was flanked on either side by the

country's ceremonial president and its army chief, but many of the

elder statesmen who oversaw the transition of power have

disappeared. The most notable and unmentioned absence, that his uncle,

Jang Song Thaek, abruptly removed from the ranks of power and executed

last week. Partly because of that perhaps, this was a ceremony as much

about the current leader as the old one. The head of North Korea's Armed

Forces about to uphold and defend Kim Jong Un and no one else. In the

freezing street outside, North Koreans have been remembering their

former leaders with their usual displays of grief full stop --.

TRANSLATION: It seems to me just yesterday, that day when our

respected general passed away, and I cried tears of sorrow. I still miss

our respected general everyday. I really miss him so much.

Commemorations like these are a time for North Koreans to reaffirm their

loyalty to the current leader as well as remember the old ones. Who

knows how much of either emotion is real. But some North Koreans have

covertly told contact here in Seoul that feelings towards Kim Jong Un

have taken a negative turn over the past few days, and with the country

still reeling from his brutal purge of his uncle and mental, is also a

chance for them to reflect on how their country has changed since he

came to power -- uncle and mental. Meanwhile, in South Korea, about 150

protesters marked the anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death with calls for

an end to the Pyongyang regime. Demonstrators held up signs calling

for their "North Korean brothers" to "rise up for freedom" and

congratulating them on the demise of Kim Jong-il. During the protest they

also set alight three effigies representing the Kim dynasty,

including current leader Kim Jong Un.

Police in Turkey have detained about twenty people on corruption charges.

Turkish media are reporting that three of those held are sons of

government ministers. In the capital Ankara, police also searched the

headquarters of the state-run Halkbank. Our correspondent James

Reynolds is in Istanbul. What is going on here? We understand his

dawn raids happened and 18 to 20 businessmen were arrested here in

Istanbul, there was a raid on this data bank in and colour. We

understand that the sons of three important government ministers have

been detained, we understand they are the sons of the economy

minister, environment Minister and interior Minister. That is what the

Turkish minister is reporting. That is obviously quite unusual, for the

police to carry out arrests on the sons of such important figures. In

general terms among the political elite, how big is the alleged

perception of bribery, corruption and so on? I think here in Turkey,

ordinary people believe it is a significant problem, and previous

raids or investigations have been carried out against targets not

related so closely to government officials and the families of

government ministers. That's why people are so interested and perhaps

fascinated by what has gone on this morning. Because clearly, the police

have targeted people so close to the government that other people in

Turkey believe there is a conflict within the government itself, that

the Prime Minister is on one side and their ministers and Sons on the

other side. Do we know which families are involved here? Just

going through it again, we understand from the Turkish media it

was the sons of the economy minister, interior Minister and

environment Minister. That's what the Turkish minister has been

reporting, we haven't seen any statement from the ministers

themselves. Thank you. A judge in the United States has ruled that the

National Security Agency's mass collection of telephone and email

data is unconstitutional. The case is a direct result of documents

leaked by the former CIA contractor Edward Snowden. The NSA's activities

were described as arbitrary and indiscriminate by a district judge,

but it's almost certain to appeal to a higher court. Helena Lee reports.

The NSA has been gathering masses of information from phone calls and

information is in a bid to track down anyone linked to terrorism but

it's huge data collection has now been ruled unconstitutional.

District Judge Richard Leon said: he went on to say that the American

founding Father James Madison and author of the US Constitution would

be aghast. The agency's election of meta data was disclosed by former

national security analyst Edward Snowden. Leaks of classified

information revealed the extent of spying activity by the NSA on

Americans as well as on foreign leaders. Earlier, an official at the

agency suggested a deal which would grant Edward Snowden amnesty could

be possible if he stopped leaking secret occupants. My personal view

is it is worth having a conversation. I would need

assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured, my bar for

those assurances would be high. But that was quickly rejected by the

American government. He has been accused of leaking classified

information and faces felony charges here in the US. He should be

returned to the US as soon as possible, where he will be accorded

full due process and protections. That's our position and it has not

changed. Officials still don't know what further information Edward

Snowden has and whether he will release more of it. The man himself

has responded to the judge's ruling, saying the American public deserved

a chance to see these issues determined by". Much more to come.

Three years after the Arab spring began, we hear from some of those

whose lives have changed. The relatives of some of those who

died in the horrific train crash in Spain are calling for an enquiry

into what happened. July, and the scene hours after a train derailed

on a bend as it travelled into the city of Santiago De Compostela in

northern Spain. Mark Woodward was a passenger on board. Someone said the

train had derailed but I remember thinking, it made more sense to me

that it had been dumped. I vaguely remember looking through the

carriage, and it seemed that the carriage in front of hours was

tilting to the right. Something like you see when you are on a

roller-coaster, carriage in front tips. The driver of the train was

Francisco Garzon. He has since admitted the train was travelling

too fast. He could face a charge of manslaughter for all 79 people who

were killed. The speed on this curve is now been cut. The stretch of

track, to 160 mph. Before the accident a train driver would have

to break from 200 kilometres per hour to 80. And crucially, there was

no back-up braking system if you failed to break in time, and that

system has since been installed. July's crash was a low point for

Spain's otherwise imprisoned network of high-speed rail, which keeps on

expanding. Even across this river in Alysia. But Spain's rail union

claims that the safety systems were not in place because Spain's then

government rushed to in great high-speed rail before the last

dinner or election. Concession macro petitions rushed this through

because they wanted to be remembered for bringing high-speed railways

here. Spain's high-speed rail company declines to be interviewed.

The victims of the crash are now calling for an independent enquiry.

They alleged that won't happen because they say economic interests

are being put before those of the dead, injured and their relatives.

This is BBC World News. The headlines: Ukraine's future stands

divided the tween Russia and the EU as President Yanukovych is in Moscow

for talks with fried Amir Putin. -- Vladimir Putin.

North Koreans have marked the second anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death

just days after his son and successor had his uncle executed.

Japan has announced a significant increase in defence spending, to

counter what it sees as a growing threat from China. It's planning to

spend billions of dollars over the next five years, on early-warning

planes, beach-assault vehicles and troop-carrying aircraft. It's been

engaged in a long running territorial dispute with China over

control of a number of islands in the East China Sea. I asked the

BBC's Tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes how significant is

this move by Japan. In overall terms, it is not a

massive increase in defence spending, but it is the first

significant increase in a very long time. What is really significant is

the shift in emphasis in Japan's hole defence strategy. To pan used

to have a defence strategy based on the main islands here, namely

looking north to Russia to defend against a Russian invasion during

the Cold War -- Japan used to have a defence strategy. Now the focus is

to the long chain of islands Japan has, which they believe are under

increasing threat by increasing Chinese military power and China's

increasingly expansionist desires in the East China Sea, particularly

around the disputed islands they have sailed around and argued over

for the last year or so. This is a shift to buy lots of new equipment,

to form a new amphibious assault force. It is putting military

forces, if you like, behind the Japanese government's stands, which

is to stand up to China and say we will not back down over these

disputes. Many people will observe the growing global influence of

China, but is this move backed by the United States? I think the

United States is happy to see Japan modernising its military and being

more capable of working alongside US forces in various scenarios. I

think, however, the American government is somehow a nervous of

the strongest ride and nationalistic tone that the Japanese Prime

Minister and his government are taking against China. They would

like to see more effort being put into building bridges with China and

trying to get over this dispute with negotiation rather than ramping up

what is already a very tense situation. The US Secretary of State

John Kerry has warned China not to declare a second air defence zone.

During a visit to the Philippines he said America would stand with its

friends in the region when territorial disputes were being was

altered. We are not taking action on

particular -- a position on particular claims, but we have taken

a position in how they should be resolved. We support our friends and

the rule of law, we do not support unilateral act... Actions which have

the impact of being provocative and raising the temperature. We are not

approaching this in any particular view towards China except to say

that when China makes a unilateral move we will state our position and

make clear what we agree or disagree with. We do not accept it, we think

there is a way to approach it. John Kerry.

Thousands have gone without food for days as sectarian violence hampers

humanitarian aid in the Central African Republic. In the capital,

the world food programme was finally able to deliver enough to feed

18,000 people, but the UN says at least a quarter of the population

risks going hungry. Finally food arrives.

Four days, these people have had little to eat. In the capital,

Bangui, they take refuge where they can in a country plagued by

sectarian violence. The UN world food programme has been distributing

food. They stopped a few times because of fears of rioting and

stabbings. TRANSLATION: We distribute rations

large enough to feed ten families for ten days. They divided amongst

themselves, allowing us to work faster.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was gravely

concerned about the imminent danger of mass atrocities. I call on the

country's transitional authorities to protect the people. I appeal to

religious and community leaders to prevent polarisation. The Central

African Republic is one of the poorest and least developed

countries in the world. Since its independence in the 1960s it has

suffered a series of clues and rebellions, but it fell into further

chaos in March when 5000 rebels seized power, ousting the country's

Christian president. For the first time, the country is being run by a

Muslim president, a former leader of the rebel Celica Alliance. This has

prompted months of clashes between rebel Christian and Muslim factions,

half a million people have been forced to flee their homes and a

quarter of the population, 1.15 million people, need food aid. But

the UN says this number could increase as the violence continues.

More than 1600 French soldiers are working to restore order and the

African Union are increasing the number of peacekeepers to 6000.

Widespread looting has disrupted farming and food production as well

is depleting seed and animal stocks. Unless security can be restored to

the country, the UN effort remain hampered in distributing food to the

people who need it most. Three years ago, Mohamed Bouazizi, a

poor market trader in Tunisia, set himself alight and sparked a wave of

uprisings across the region that became known as the Arab Spring. To

coincide with the third anniversary of Mr Bouazizi's self-immolation,

BBC News has returned to the countries affected by the uprisings,

to look at what's changed and find out whether people think the

uprisings were successful. I am from Yemen. I believe that the

revolution has changed lives for Yemenis as a whole, you many women

and men. The situation is not as is good as it was, security wise,

service delivery, but it will get better. I believe the cards have

been reshuffled and we will think of a better Yemen.

TRANSLATION: I am from Egypt. The Arab uprisings were a very good

idea, but unfortunately when we had them we did them the wrong way. We

didn't have control or focus well on the main objectives. It was not

properly organised, that was the problem. We need to go back to the

main idea, but with better organisation.

TRANSLATION: I am from Sudan. Despite the troubles that countries

of the Arab Spring are going through, it will have a profoundly

positive effect on the region in the future. No matter how bad things

might appear to us now, it is incomparable to the persecution

suffered by people at the hands of dictators.

Just a selection of some of the voices across the region.

The work of one American photojournalist has helped preserve

a unique record of life in Africa in the mid-twentieth century. Eliot

Elisofon travelled to the continent on eleven separate assignments for

Life magazine. Images from those trips gave Americans a glimpse of

the beauty and history of the region. Now they're giving new

generations a rare perspective. Jane O'Brien reports.

Out of Africa and into the living rooms of America. Eliot Elisofon's

camera captured a continent for an American audience largely ignorant

of its culture and diversity. Prior to his photography in Africa,

Americans were awash with Hollywood jungle films and Tarzan and things

that are graded African culture. What Eliot Elisofon brought was the

beauty and aesthetics of the art and culture is that American audiences

had not seen. 1947, Eliot Elisofon travel between Cairo and Cape Town.

The photographs from the trip began to influence American perception of

Africa. His portrait of the King of Kuba, now the Democratic Republic of

Congo, is one of his most famous images. This is a volcano. In 1972,

one year before he died, he took its two daughters on a trip to the

Congo. It was very tough and very exciting. It changed my life and my

perspective forever. We really gained a new respect for how hard he

worked and how difficult it was to capture those magical images.

Post-war Africa was a period of upheaval and transition. Many

countries were seeking independence, and Eliot Elisofon

helped to bring the new leaders to public prominence. It also coincided

with America's own civil rights movement. I think he saw so much

beauty and majesty in the African culture and people, and he really

felt it needed to be shared with the wider public, particularly an

American public. African-Americans in the 70s were going through a lot

of strife. And I heard him say this, he really wanted people to

have a sense of pride in their background and culture. But Eliot

Elisofon was a collector who helped establish the first formal study in

the US of African art. Of course, his Africa has changed.

But the 80,000 photographs he left to the Smithsonian's African Art

Museum are a legacy of his personal mission to help the world to see.

Lovely pictures. We will leave you with some lovely pictures, this time

an ash cloud from Mount Edna's latest eruption which I am afraid

has forced the closure of the airport in East East and Sicily.

Etna is the most active volcano in Europe, this explosion has been

going on for a few weeks, causing a change in flight routes, but no

evacuations as yet. That's over