:00:18. > :00:21.This is BBC World News. Our top stories.
:00:22. > :00:25.Millions of Americans told to stay indoors and stock up on food, as a
:00:26. > :00:28.polar vortex heads across much of the country - bringing the coldest
:00:29. > :00:31.temperatures in almost 20 years. The German Chancellor, Angela
:00:32. > :00:33.Merkel, has been injured in a skiing accident while on holiday. It's
:00:34. > :00:36.understood she has a partial fracture of her pelvis. She has to
:00:37. > :00:38.remain with bed rest for three weeks.
:00:39. > :00:41.The election in Bangladesh was marred by violence, an opposition
:00:42. > :00:46.boycott and a very low turn-out. The governing party wins - but how much
:00:47. > :00:51.credibility is left? And we are in Amsterdam to hear
:00:52. > :00:52.about the controversial new scheme that lures alcoholic 's back to work
:00:53. > :01:13.with beer money. Hello. Parts of the United States
:01:14. > :01:18.are braced for potentially record-breaking world to riches --
:01:19. > :01:22.low temperatures as a polar vortex brings freezing weather. A
:01:23. > :01:28.potentially life-threatening wind-chill will make it feel as low
:01:29. > :01:31.as -50. From Montana in the north-west to Alabama in the
:01:32. > :01:40.south-east, there are warnings of a danger to life.
:01:41. > :01:47.Four days, there has been heavy snowfall across many parts of the US
:01:48. > :01:54.and Canada. The white winter weather wreaking havoc. Over the coming
:01:55. > :01:59.days, severe freezing gusts of wind will add to the misery. Forecasters
:02:00. > :02:03.call it a polar vortex, and arctic blast which brings with it subzero
:02:04. > :02:08.temperatures. Wind-chill warnings have been issued for large swathes
:02:09. > :02:12.of the country. This weather combination that we are seeing right
:02:13. > :02:16.now, with all of the snow and the cold, is unlike anything we have
:02:17. > :02:23.seen in decades in this area. The cold really scares me. Those in the
:02:24. > :02:27.worst hit areas are being urged to stay indoors. Doctors warn that
:02:28. > :02:33.frostbite and hypothermia can set in after a matter of minutes in the
:02:34. > :02:39.severe cold. But in some parts of America, they have been braving the
:02:40. > :02:41.chill in the name of sport. A big American football fixture between
:02:42. > :02:45.the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin could
:02:46. > :02:51.be one of the coldest foot all games ever played. Loyal fans chipped in
:02:52. > :02:57.to help get the stadium ready. And wrapped up extra warm themselves. We
:02:58. > :03:11.have brought our ski babes and work overalls -- skied bibs. I think we
:03:12. > :03:19.are ready to go. I love going to the Packer games. I will bundle up with
:03:20. > :03:27.every layer I have. The biting cold weather is expected to last for the
:03:28. > :03:32.next five days. Angela Merkel, the German
:03:33. > :03:36.Chancellor, has been injured in a fall whilst cross-country skiing in
:03:37. > :03:43.Switzerland. She has cancelled meetings for the next three weeks.
:03:44. > :03:47.Her spokesman told reporters that Mrs Merkel had suffered a fall on
:03:48. > :03:52.Friday and what seemed to be a bruise is a partially fractured
:03:53. > :03:55.pelvis. She must lie down for at least three weeks but will remain in
:03:56. > :04:00.contact via mobile phone and other means.
:04:01. > :04:03.Sunni militants have overrun parts of the Iraqi city of Ramadi. These
:04:04. > :04:06.pictures show government forces confronting them. Meanwhile the
:04:07. > :04:09.Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has urged residents of
:04:10. > :04:12.the embattled city of Fallujah in the same province to force out
:04:13. > :04:19.insurgents linked to al-Qaeda, who have taken control of the city. Most
:04:20. > :04:25.of Cambodia's garment factories have reopened after a dispute over pay.
:04:26. > :04:30.Which brought the country's main export industry to a standstill and
:04:31. > :04:33.led to rioting. Four workers died on Friday when police opened fire on
:04:34. > :04:38.workers who were demanding the minimum monthly wage be doubled to
:04:39. > :04:46.$160. To Bangladesh, where on a --
:04:47. > :04:54.unofficial election results show the country's ruling Awami League party
:04:55. > :04:56.has a huge lead in the polls. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist
:04:57. > :04:59.Party is demanding that the results be declared null and void and has
:05:00. > :05:02.called for another 48-hour general strike, beginning today. The
:05:03. > :05:05.election has been marred by violence. At least 20 people have
:05:06. > :05:08.died since voting began on Sunday, with police firing on protestors.
:05:09. > :05:11.100 polling stations have been set on fire by opposition activists,
:05:12. > :05:15.bringing the total of people killed in political violence to 300 since
:05:16. > :05:18.February. The country is one of the poorest in the world which relies
:05:19. > :05:22.heavily on its $20 billion garment industry, which employs around four
:05:23. > :05:26.million people. The industry has been rocked recently by a series of
:05:27. > :05:35.disasters, including a factory collapse in April which killed more
:05:36. > :05:41.than 1,100 workers. With me is Manoshi Barua from the Bengali
:05:42. > :05:44.Service. How much credibility does the political system now have in
:05:45. > :05:51.Bangladesh, with such a major boycott? Actually, the voter turnout
:05:52. > :05:56.was very low. The general assumption is that it is close to 20%, although
:05:57. > :06:04.the election commission has not officially given the official
:06:05. > :06:07.turnout. What about the credibility? Very few people turned out although
:06:08. > :06:10.the prime minister held a press conference, she is holding a press
:06:11. > :06:17.conference right now. She is saying she has got people 's mandate,
:06:18. > :06:22.because her party has won more than enough seats in the election. What
:06:23. > :06:28.is your assessment, given most people did not vote? It has very
:06:29. > :06:35.little credibility, obviously most people did not vote. It has been
:06:36. > :06:41.unchallenged in 153 seats, people did not have the choice. So it has
:06:42. > :06:43.very little cred ability. The opposition BNP have called this
:06:44. > :06:50.election a farcical election and they are saying that the new
:06:51. > :06:54.government is an illegal government. When you look at what happened in
:06:55. > :06:59.the election and the fact that the Awami League carries significant
:07:00. > :07:03.clout in the commercial sector and among those who matter in
:07:04. > :07:08.Bangladeshi life, where does it leave the cred ability of the Awami
:07:09. > :07:14.league, claiming a win in a election where so few people voted customer
:07:15. > :07:18.it will be very difficult for the Awami league to claim credibility.
:07:19. > :07:26.Because not many people went out to vote. Is their reputation battered
:07:27. > :07:30.by this? It has been badly battered. Since February, because of the
:07:31. > :07:35.political violence and the blockades, the economy has been
:07:36. > :07:41.impacted very badly. The commerce sector is the second largest export
:07:42. > :07:46.industry for Bangladesh. That has been hit quite badly. And other
:07:47. > :07:52.sectors as well. Economically, the government is losing a bit of ground
:07:53. > :07:58.at the moment. Thank you very much for the assessment.
:07:59. > :08:01.Let's go to Afghanistan, an eight-year old Afghan girl wearing a
:08:02. > :08:08.suicide vest has been arrested by the police in southern Afghanistan.
:08:09. > :08:11.She was detained by the Afghan border police in a district in
:08:12. > :08:15.Helmand province. She was wearing a suicide jacket and was trying to
:08:16. > :08:25.carry out an attack against a police post. We are joined from Kabul. What
:08:26. > :08:32.do you make of this fact that an age old girl wearing a suicide vest,
:08:33. > :08:39.with a clear target of murder? It is quite shocking. We are being told
:08:40. > :08:45.she is between the age of eight to ten. She was encouraged by her
:08:46. > :08:49.brother, who is thought to be a loyal to Alabama commander in the
:08:50. > :08:58.area. Police are now saying she was caught -- loyal Talib Taliban
:08:59. > :09:01.commander. Its called a Polar Vortex.
:09:02. > :09:08.The discovery is very concerning. We have had children in the past to
:09:09. > :09:15.have carried out suicide attacks but they were above the age of 14. This
:09:16. > :09:21.is shocking, even for the people in Helmand and Kabul. What is the
:09:22. > :09:26.community reaction to something like this, with a young girl being used,
:09:27. > :09:29.at a time when there will be those in the militants and among the
:09:30. > :09:34.insurgents who are trying to give the impression of being the people
:09:35. > :09:42.that the community can rely upon, once NATO forces have withdrawn from
:09:43. > :09:48.combat duties? It looks very bad for the Taliban, at least. Tribal elders
:09:49. > :09:53.have already made their way to the provincial capital. They are very
:09:54. > :09:59.shocked and quite upset that something like that has happened. In
:10:00. > :10:05.this case, the girl was encouraged by her brother, a Taliban commander.
:10:06. > :10:11.Afghan officials are saying that she will get proper protection and the
:10:12. > :10:19.support that she needs in order to overcome this shock. Thank you for
:10:20. > :10:29.joining us. Here on BBC World News, still to
:10:30. > :10:33.come: We get analysis of the deepening conflict in South Sudan
:10:34. > :10:36.from our correspondent on the road, where he and the BBC team were
:10:37. > :10:48.caught up in the ambush of government army convoy.
:10:49. > :10:50.Much has started to change in me and -- the country formerly known as
:10:51. > :11:21.Burma. The circular line goes about 50, it
:11:22. > :11:25.around the outskirts of Yangon. It is hot and dusty but this is the way
:11:26. > :11:54.nearly 100,000 people get to work every day.
:11:55. > :12:00.At times this train is more like a market than a normal train. This
:12:01. > :12:07.station is particularly busy, lots of things being brought on and off.
:12:08. > :12:48.A thriving part of Yangon, connecting the city together.
:12:49. > :12:54.I have been allowed into the front of the train and the driver has
:12:55. > :12:59.generously allowed me to fulfil something of a childhood ambition.
:13:00. > :13:19.Do you mind if I have a go? OK, here we go. R and L is.
:13:20. > :13:25.You with BBC World News. These are latest headlines.
:13:26. > :13:30.Temperatures are well below freezing and still falling as a polar vortex
:13:31. > :13:35.whips across much of the US and Canada, threatening temperatures as
:13:36. > :13:38.low as -50. Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel,
:13:39. > :13:42.has been injured in a cross-country skiing accident. It is understood
:13:43. > :13:47.she has a partial fracture of her pelvis.
:13:48. > :13:50.To South Sudan. It is estimated several thousand people have been
:13:51. > :13:54.killed in the violence between government troops and rebel forces,
:13:55. > :13:58.who were recently their colleagues. The brutal intensity of the rivalry
:13:59. > :14:01.was experienced by a BBC team. A senior general was killed as a
:14:02. > :14:04.government convoy came under attack near Bor, in South Sudan's
:14:05. > :14:12.oilfields. Our correspondent, Alistair Leithead, and cameraman,
:14:13. > :14:17.Jack Garland, were there. These men grew up fighting for
:14:18. > :14:23.independence. After taking that price, they are now fighting each
:14:24. > :14:27.other. It began as a political crisis which sparked tribal
:14:28. > :14:31.violence. It has become a battle between these troops, still loyal to
:14:32. > :14:37.the government, and the men up the road they are preparing to face, who
:14:38. > :14:41.now fight under different banner. These are government reinforcements.
:14:42. > :14:47.We saw hundreds arrive today. We joined them on the road north to
:14:48. > :14:51.Bor, the most fiercely contested city in South Sudan. Four days,
:14:52. > :14:58.there have been clashes here. Barracks and villages lie empty. --
:14:59. > :15:05.for days. The commanding general was confident that the slow potholed
:15:06. > :15:20.road to Bor was clear. He strode out, unaware he was walking into
:15:21. > :15:25.trouble. We are just walking up the road with the general, when suddenly
:15:26. > :15:33.the firing started. It seems to have been that the convoy was ambushed
:15:34. > :15:36.from the front and from the back. It was a costly setback, and in the
:15:37. > :15:41.chaos this young soldier was shot in the back of the neck. There are no
:15:42. > :15:47.doctors here. A senior general was among those killed in the ambush.
:15:48. > :15:52.This battle on the banks of the Nile is escalating. Until talks agree a
:15:53. > :15:56.cease-fire, each side will fight hard to strengthen their hand. These
:15:57. > :16:00.are some more of the government reinforcements coming in by boat.
:16:01. > :16:08.They are coming up the Nile. Some are coming in by road. There is a
:16:09. > :16:11.huge mass of these troops coming forward. They are facing a split of
:16:12. > :16:15.their own army that is defending the town up ahead. It could be quite a
:16:16. > :16:22.battle. There are heavy weapons and thousands of troops on both sides.
:16:23. > :16:31.That any incoming fire creates panic and retreat. This former gorilla
:16:32. > :16:37.Army lacks discipline. And the President of Sudan, Omar
:16:38. > :16:47.al-Bashir, has now arrived in South Sudan. He hopes to expedite peace
:16:48. > :16:51.talks when he meets President Salva Kiir on -- to discuss the nation
:16:52. > :16:58.which she was once president of. Let's look at what Alistair Lees
:16:59. > :17:02.said experience yesterday. One incident. What is it has about the
:17:03. > :17:09.government and the rebel forces who were once colleagues? This is a
:17:10. > :17:14.pretty messy conflict. These were troops advancing up to apparently
:17:15. > :17:19.recapture Bor, which has fallen twice to the rebels already. They
:17:20. > :17:24.were ambushed, it appears, in a surprise attack, so a failure of
:17:25. > :17:29.intelligence. We were also hearing reports of some troops defecting to
:17:30. > :17:34.another town. As the military balance swings, we could see more
:17:35. > :17:36.defections. There is the general walking north, and then you saw the
:17:37. > :17:42.beginning of the ambush from the front and the back. That suggests
:17:43. > :17:47.that the rebels have pretty good intelligence of what the government
:17:48. > :17:51.forces are up to. Essentially there is one road up to Bor, so it would
:17:52. > :18:05.have been easy to guess the direction they were travelling. This
:18:06. > :18:13.is good guerilla country. Guerilla 's have been able to take much of
:18:14. > :18:25.the countryside. It is good conditions for ambushes. When the
:18:26. > :18:28.President was -- win this nation was first created, President Omar
:18:29. > :18:38.al-Bashir was nominally in trudge. He has now arrived. He supported
:18:39. > :18:43.Salva Kiir in the past. People will be watching closely to see what he
:18:44. > :18:48.does now. He wants stability on his borders. He wants a better deal with
:18:49. > :18:52.whoever is in charge of South Sudan, because he accuses them of
:18:53. > :18:57.supporting rebels. And he wants the oil to flow, because that brings
:18:58. > :19:03.money into Saddam, through the pipelines. Let's look to Ethiopia.
:19:04. > :19:07.It appears that the rebel and government forces have barely got
:19:08. > :19:11.through the proximity talks stage, heavily mediated by the Americans
:19:12. > :19:17.and the Brits and others. No negotiations at the moment. It keeps
:19:18. > :19:21.getting pushed back. I am not that surprised. There is going to be lots
:19:22. > :19:26.of squabbling. It is losing time, but I wasn't expecting anything that
:19:27. > :19:31.quickly. People in South Sudan are saying, come to an agreement, come
:19:32. > :19:35.to a cessation of hostilities, we need to stop the fighting to enable
:19:36. > :19:38.us to recover from this terrible conflict. From the leaders'
:19:39. > :19:43.perspective, they will be watching the balance on the ground and how
:19:44. > :19:48.that shifts. I expect international pressure to ramp up if we do not get
:19:49. > :19:54.some sort of face-to-face talks soon. Thank you.
:19:55. > :20:04.Now the latest medical bulletin on the former Israeli Prime Minister,
:20:05. > :20:07.Arial Shannon,. -- Arial Sharon. He is still in a critical condition
:20:08. > :20:10.with immediate danger to his life. Hospital director Dr Zeev Rotstein
:20:11. > :20:13.said Mr Sharon's cardiovascular system is stable. But there
:20:14. > :20:17.continues to be a slow deterioration of his other organs. He's been in a
:20:18. > :20:19.coma since 2006 when he suffered a stroke.
:20:20. > :20:24.Crowds of African immigrants are expected to protest for a second day
:20:25. > :20:27.in Tel Aviv. They want the Israeli government to stop detaining them
:20:28. > :20:31.without trial. They want the right to live and work in the country.
:20:32. > :20:36.Israel says they've arrived illegally and should return home.
:20:37. > :20:41.Thousands of them gathered in the centre of Tel Aviv, saying it was
:20:42. > :20:46.their biggest protest yet to call for legal status and asylum.
:20:47. > :20:52.Rejecting the government's description of them as illegals,
:20:53. > :20:56.most of the protesters come from Sudan and Eritrea. They say in new
:20:57. > :21:01.Israeli law will leave them in prison without trial for up to 12
:21:02. > :21:09.months, or will force them back to the persecution they fled. They
:21:10. > :21:16.check our Asylum records, and we wanted to be done a fair way. We
:21:17. > :21:22.want rights, such as the right to work and the right to health
:21:23. > :21:25.service. Israel says its crackdown on immigration is working, and many
:21:26. > :21:32.migrants are returning home. The Israeli prime minister Binyamin
:21:33. > :21:37.Netanyahu said on Sunday that the protest as well law breakers.
:21:38. > :21:40.TRANSLATION: These are not refugees. They are people who are breaking the
:21:41. > :21:45.law and we will deal with them to the fullest extent of the law. The
:21:46. > :21:51.immigrants say their protests will continue, starting with a fresh
:21:52. > :21:53.demonstration on Monday outside the United Nations office and in front
:21:54. > :22:01.of foreign agencies -- foreign embassies.
:22:02. > :22:05.Now an unusual method of tackling anti-social behaviour. Alcoholics in
:22:06. > :22:09.Amsterdam are being offered free beer to clean the streets. It is
:22:10. > :22:14.hoped it will reduce crime, and is being partially funded by the
:22:15. > :22:18.government. The idea is pretty controversial.
:22:19. > :22:24.They are playing a constructive role in a community where they were once
:22:25. > :22:31.despised. They have respect now for us. Chronic alcoholics are offered
:22:32. > :22:39.an incentive. Five cans of free beer and ten euros a day. It is less than
:22:40. > :22:44.the minimum wage, but offers an opportunity they couldn't find
:22:45. > :22:49.elsewhere. This peaceful away since was once shattered by stabbings,
:22:50. > :22:53.muggings, and families and women were intimidated. Now more than 20
:22:54. > :23:00.of the regulars have been convinced to abandon their park life. This
:23:01. > :23:04.might seem a bizarre concept, giving alcohol to alcoholics, but it is a
:23:05. > :23:09.typically Dutch pragmatic approach to tackling the problem. It is based
:23:10. > :23:15.on a strategy of harm reduction, and they say it is working. They are the
:23:16. > :23:19.Rainbow Foundation, a partly state funded group that runs this project.
:23:20. > :23:24.It is better for them to do something back for society. They
:23:25. > :23:31.clean the streets. They have more structure and they drink less. It is
:23:32. > :23:36.a win-win situation. In a city where prostitution is legal and cannabis
:23:37. > :23:41.decriminalised, some Conservatives feel free beer for alcoholics is
:23:42. > :23:46.taking the liberal approach to far. It might not appear to everyone's
:23:47. > :23:49.taste, but it has been Fred's salvation. He became alcohol
:23:50. > :23:56.dependent after the death of his wife. This is now his life. I try to
:23:57. > :24:02.give up, but I cannot. I cannot stop. None of these guys intend to
:24:03. > :24:06.get clean, but changing their habits and channelling their energy does
:24:07. > :24:16.appear to be having a positive impact on the streets.
:24:17. > :24:22.India has launched its first rocket using domestic league just domestic
:24:23. > :24:31.reproduced booster technology, after two previous attempts failed.
:24:32. > :24:38.Liftoff. Here is the rocket lifting off, moments before it launches its
:24:39. > :24:43.communications satellite in orbit. This is seen as another step forward
:24:44. > :24:46.in the country's ambitious but quite young space programme.
:24:47. > :24:54.Now to the arrival of a new baby panda. Get ready for the newest
:24:55. > :25:00.celebrity. The first giant panda cub to be born in Taiwan. The public in
:25:01. > :25:05.Taipei getting its first glimpse of Yuan Zai. We were at the crowds at
:25:06. > :25:12.the zoo. Thousands of people have been lining
:25:13. > :25:16.up to see the panda cub, since before the zoo open. Thousands of
:25:17. > :25:21.people have gone into this panda house behind me, whether cub is
:25:22. > :25:26.living. The zoo is expecting so many people it has to control the crowds,
:25:27. > :25:33.so they are limiting the amount of people who can come in to see her
:25:34. > :25:38.219,200. Many people have taken time off work and school to see her. To
:25:39. > :25:44.them, this panda cub is the cutest thing they have ever seen. She is
:25:45. > :25:50.the talk of offices and she has been on TV programmes day in, day out.
:25:51. > :25:56.Her parents were given to Taiwan in 2008 as a sign of the warming ties
:25:57. > :26:01.between Taiwan and mainland China. Relations are the best they have
:26:02. > :26:07.been since the end of the Civil War in 1949. Beijing is hoping that her
:26:08. > :26:11.cuteness can somehow convince more Taiwanese people to have warm
:26:12. > :26:16.feelings towards mainland China. For many people, she is just very cute
:26:17. > :26:21.and there is no politics involved. Let me just give you the video which
:26:22. > :26:24.has just come in from South Sudan. Here we have the Sudanese president,
:26:25. > :26:32.Omar al-Bashir, arriving from Khartoum, to meet President Kiir in
:26:33. > :26:40.South Sudan. Until two years ago, when South Sudan was created as an
:26:41. > :26:43.independent country, President Bashir was nominally the president
:26:44. > :26:49.of this area. The main news: German Chancellor
:26:50. > :26:54.Angela Merkel has been injured in a fall whilst cross country skiing in
:26:55. > :26:57.Switzerland. She has a partial fracture of her pelvis. She will
:26:58. > :26:59.have to have bed rest for the next three weeks.
:27:00. > :27:01.Goodbye.