09/01/2014 BBC World News

Hello, welcome to BBC World News. Our top stories. The leader of the

Central African Republic is under pressure, as sectarian violence

threatens to tear his country apart. Afghanistan's president says a young

girl forced to wear a suicide vest should return home - but only if her

safety can be guaranteed. Thousands of civilians flee fighting

in South Sudan, as government troops try to recapture a rebel held city.

And could this be the world's scariest bridge? We'll take you on a

stomach-turning journey up the Swiss Alps.

Will he stay or will he go? The man who's been president of the Central

African Republic for the past ten months, will come under heavy

pressure to step down at a summit of African leaders today. Michel

Djotodia came to power following a coup in March last year. Since then,

the country has descended into chaos. Nearly a million people have

been forced from their homes by fighting between the country's

Christian majority and Muslim minority. Many are now living in

overcrowded and insanitary refugee camps. Paul Wood and cameraman Fred

Scott have sent this report from the capital, Bangui.

Dramatic evidence of how the crisis in the Central African Republic is

deepening. In one month, this camp has grown from a few thousand people

to perhaps 100,000. They hope French troops at the airport will provide a

measure of safety. Almost half of the capital has fled. These are

Christians. They told us that Moslem selector commission -- that Moslem

militia had gone from house to house killing young men. Alan's son was

shot dead in front of her. A second son was killed with a machete this

morning. Many people had similar stories. The car here is deceptive.

Last week there was sniping which killed two children, including a

six-month-old baby girl. There are barely enough international troops

to secure this place. There is certainly not enough to use. The

blood-letting in the capital or in the countryside beyond. -- there is

certainly not enough to stop the blood-letting. People are terrified

to go home. It could be the calm before the

storm. Nobody Bluenose. -- nobody really knows.

The camp was visited by the Archbishop of language. -- Bangui.

He has issued an appeal for peace. TRANSLATION: Revenge is never the

solution. You kill someone from my family, I kill someone from yours.

The cycle of violence continues. We have do and that cycle.

-- we have do end that cycle. The mainly Muslim militia, accused

by Christians of mass murder. They say they are defending their people

from Christian vigilantes. The killing is sectarian as part of a

power struggle. If the president resigns, you fear this country would

be engulfed in its worst violence yet.

The Afghan government says the young girl who was caught apparently

trying to carry out a suicide bombing at a police station, will be

returned to her family. The girl, who's thought to be about ten, had

appealed to the country's President Hamid Karzai to find her a new home.

She says her brother coerced her into the attack.

TRANSLATION: If I go back there, they will make me where the suicide

vest. I will not go back there. God did not make me be, suicide bomber.

Adela Raz, the spokesperson of the Afghan president, spoke to me

earlier. I asked what the Government would do with this little girl.

It was a very unfortunate and traumatic story for us and for his

Excellency, the president. To see how young kids have been manipulated

and forced into something that is against the culture of this

country. So the story of this young girl is something that is

heartbreaking. The president recently asked the Ministry of Ian

to -- the Ministry for the interior, to rescue this goal.

They are planning to send her back if they can get safety guarantees.

Thousands of people in South Sudan are reported to be fleeing in panic,

as government troops advance on rebel-held positions in the

country's Northern oil fields. The government's trying to retake the

regional capital, Bentiu, which has been held for the past couple of

weeks by forces loyal to the former Deputy Prime Minister, Riek Machar.

That's despite peace talks, which are still underway in neighbouring

Ethiopia. Alastair Leithead is in Bentiu - he described the military

exchanges he's witnessed there. We heard a huge range of explosions

not too far away from the UN compound. Heard a few things flying

overhead. When we filmed from one of the check posts here, it seems, from

what the commander has been telling the United Nations, that they are

rebel held base on this side of the small bridge, they are destroying

their own ammunition. Quite dramatic it is as well. Shelves, explosives,

you can hear them quite a distance away. You can see huge plumes of

smoke. We have seen a number of people coming up the road to try to

get into the UN compound for safety. We do not know how far the army are

away from here, whether they are close. We expect them to come down

the road. We expect to see them. The commander says they are destroying

their own ammunition. Presumably they could then retreat over a

bridge. They cannot carry the ammunition. Presumably that is where

they will take up positions to fight government troops. The people

clearly expect something to happen. Obviously the rebel forces expect

something to happen as well because they are destroying ammunition. We

saw thousands of people heading out of the area to the south. Obviously

when the fighting does come, that would put those people under a lot

of pressure. They will have to be out, presumably, in the bush. They

will not have very much with them. All they will have is what they can

carry, which does not seem to be a great deal. If this battle is big,

if it goes on for a long time, there will be even more pressure on the

United Nations and aid agencies to try to help those people. Presumably

there will be areas where we will see a need for people to be given

clean water and assistance. People have been here for a couple of

weeks. Conditions here are stable. They have got clean water and food

supplies for now. Obviously the fighting intensifies, and if it goes

on for a longer period, more people will find it a challenge, and the UN

and other aid agencies will find the same.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has defended his government's

refusal to give details of border protection operations. That's

following reports that asylum seekers were mistreated, and their

boats were turned back to Indonesia. The opposition Labour Party has

attacked the government's silence, but Mr Abbott said he did not want

"provide sport for public discussion".

North Korea has released pictures showing that the US Basketball

player Dennis Rodman DID have a face to face meeting with Kim Jong Un on

Wednesday. Rodman, who's been in Pyongyang to stage a basketball

exhibition match, sang happy birthday to the North Korean leader

before the match started. It wasn't clear if Mr Kim was in the crowd -

but these pictures show Rodman apparently presenting him with a

30th birthday present in the form of these bottles.

The big freeze which has brought record low temperatures to large

parts of North America for the past few days, is finally beginning to

thaw. Forecasters say temperatures should return to normal over the

next few days across the US and Canada. At least 21 people have died

in the cold, since Sunday. In Japan at least five people have been

killed in an explosion at a chemical factory. Many others are also

reported to have been injured in the blast at a plant run by Mitsubishi

Materials in Yokkaichi city. The company says the explosion had taken

place during maintenance work at the plant, which manufactures silicon

products and car parts. Stay with us on BBC World News,

still to come: Georgia embraces foster care by being the first

ex-Soviet republic to abolish orphanages, but is it enough?

FIFA has moved quickly to play down claims from its own general

secretary that the Qatar 2022 World Cup will NOT take place in the

summer. In an interview with a French radio station, Jerome Valcke

said the best conditions to play in would be between mid-November 2022

and mid-January 2023. Chris Mitchell reports. Since December 2010 when

cutout was awarded the rights to stage the tournament, it seems

everybody in world football has had their say on when the World Cup

should be played. On Wednesday it was the turn of FIFA general

secretary Jerome Valcke. TRANSLATION: The dates for the World

Cup will not be June or July. It will be held between November and

January. If you play between the 15th of November at the end of

December, that is the time when the weather conditions at the best. When

you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season

in Europe, averaging 25 degrees, that would be perfect for playing

football. It appears that he may have

overstepped the mark. FIFA certainly reacted swiftly to his Commons. The

precise event dates are subject to an ongoing consultation process,

they say. They insist no decision will be made until after the World

Cup in Brazil. What we are seeing our talks between

FIFA and stakeholders such as the Premier League, the other big

leagues, advertisers and sponsors. They are all getting involved to see

how our practical solution can be found. That will go on until March

or April of this year, and we should hear in December on the outcome.

Qatar won the bid with traditional summer dates. Soon after that,

doctors, including the chairman of the FIFA medical committee, said

temperatures were too great, with temperatures reaching as high as 50

Celsius in June and July. FIFA vice president Jim Boyce said he was

surprised by the statement made by Jerome Valcke. The organising

committee is in Qatar said regardless of the outcome of the

consultation, they will be ready to host the World Cup, whatever the

dates. This is BBC World News. The

headlines: the interim leader of the Central African Republic is expected

to face pressure to step down over his failure to stop sectarian

violence. And Afghanistan's president says a young girl detained

20 carry out a suicide attack, should return home if possible.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber has killed at least 13 new Iraqi army

recruits and injured more than 30 people. Police say the bomber blew

himself up near a military compound. Let's hear more on this

from our correspondent in Baghdad. The death toll is 13 people. 13 new

army recruits. And more than 30 people have been injured. Word

spread that the army was recruiting to support its effort in its battle

in western Iraq. Now we have this attack targeting this gathering in

western Baghdad. In the cities in western Iraq, which became a front

in the battle against Al-Qaeda fighters and Sunni tribesmen, the

situation is not clear. An agreement was declared invalid Jet two days

ago allowing local police to come back to work. -- in Faloon Jeff.

What more have we learned about the militants? Well, right from the

beginning there were two forces that controlled the city. One is a tribal

alliance of people who oppose the rule of the Shia Prime Minister.

They had a long-running protest and grievance against the Government.

There were also the fighters of Al-Qaeda who occupied a special

sector, sectors actually, in that city. It is not clear whether the

tribes have decided to fight Al-Qaeda or not. For them it is

actually a question of who you hate more. Is it the Iraqi government or

is it Al-Qaeda? Most of those tribes turned against Al-Qaeda in 2007.

That was one of the main factors that turned the tide in the Iraq war

and increased the violence. For the first time, a strain of bird

flu has claimed a life in North America. Officials in Canada have

confirmed that a person, so far unidentified, died after falling ill

on a flight from China. Tests show they'd contracted the H5N1 strain of

the virus. Transmission of this particular bird flu from human to

human is very rare. But when it is contracted, according to the World

Health Organisation, there's a 60% chance it will prove to be fatal.

So where was this infection acquired? Well, the victim had just

returned from China, where bird flu is most commonly found. Experts

think it spreads from poultry kept in homes or in markets. But

worryingly there's no immediate evidence the deceased was exposed to

infected birds or travelled outside Beijing, and the Chinese authorities

will now be anxious to track down the source of the infection.

Canada's Deputy Chief Public Health Officer gave this statement. It is

not the same seasonal flu. This is the first only confirmed case of age

five anyone in North America. The risk of transmission is very low.

There is no evidence of sustained human to human transmission. No

other illnesses of this type have been identified in Canada since the

traveller returned from China. This is an isolated case.

I'm joined now by John Oxford, Professor of Virology at the Queen

Mary University of London. Thanks for joining us. What do you know

about how this man might have contracted this if he hasn't been in

contact with poultry? Is there a risk he has got it from another

human? I hope not. As the deputy said, in Canada, it is not easily

transmittable. I hope they are not going to uncover some human cases in

China. I doubt it. It is more likely this person has picked it up,

inadvertently going to a live bird market or by getting into contact

with somebody they don't know who is keeping chickens themselves. There

is often a situation with these viruses that nobody has been in

contact with a chicken but they have caught it. They must have been in

contact with a feather or a chicken in some kind of way. Having said

that... I would congratulate the Canadians of picking it up, and

particularly the laboratory. This person comes into Canada, ill, and

four days later they are dead. Now they have got the virus isolated.

They are doing extremely well. But you can just catch this by coming

into contact with a further? Yes, it is often a feather or a bit of

feather dust that enables the transmission. There have been very

few examples of person to person transmission. The first examples...

There was one in Afghanistan. This is mainly family members who catch

it. Cousins, relatives who are living together. There is a degree

of closeness needed to catch it. Everybody is worried about catching

it on the plane. The Canadians have done very well. They are going to

trace everybody on those two aeroplanes and keep them under

observation. The chance of picking it up randomly on a plane,

fortunately, is very low. It is all mathematics. We know the virus is a

threat. It is on the threat list of every country in the world. In

Britain, we have got a vaccine stored away against it. We have got

medication. We are prepared. It is all mathematics. The more chance of

people catching it, the more chance it has of mutating. Thanks very much

indeed. Georgia has become one of the first

former Soviet republics to close down its state orphanages. For many

children it has meant a new life with a new family. But for disabled

orphans the prospect of life-long isolation from society remains. From

Tbilisi, Rayhan Demytrie reports. In this household, there's plenty of

help at hand. This lady is a mother of three and a foster parent for

four other healthy children. TRANSLATION: Orphanages were closing

down, kids needed families to have normal conditions for growing up,

and my husband and I decided to help the children. Thanks to families

like this, Georgia has managed to close off most of its orphanages.

Thousands of children have been reunited with their families or

found new homes with foster carers. Out of 49 orphanages in 2005, only

three remain. This is one of them. A report by disability rights

International says George's childcare reform has left behind the

most vulnerable. What you see here, this is his life. This is all he

does. The staff often say these children can't be integrated into

the community because they have too many problems to live successfully

in a family. We have just seen time and time again that that is not

true. A family can do amazing things. But the government denies

children with disabilities are being ignored. TRANSLATION: Children with

disabilities are included in the second stage of child welfare

reform. The priority for next year is to close down the remaining

institutions. Still, campaigners say an unaccounted number of children

remain hidden in church orphanages that are unrelated by the state.

They claim that the vast majority of disabled children still end up in

institutions like this one upon reaching adult hood. The majority of

children in this social care home were transferred from orphanages.

When children with disabilities reach the age of 18, coming and

living in places like this is their only option. For many of them, it

means living in isolation for the rest of their lives. Adult

institutions have not been included in the reforms. This home houses 69.

We were told that, with a right support, some of them could live in

the community. Back with a family, the cake is ready. Everyone here

gets an equal slice. There is reason to celebrate. These children have

been given a chance to wrap in a family and be independent in the

future. They are the lucky ones. A counter-terrorism operation is

underway in Russia after five people were shot dead close to Winter

Olympic Games venue. Thousands of security forces have been deployed

just three hundred kilometres from the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the

venue for next month's Olympics. This is one of the biggest security

operations in Olympics history. Our Russia correspondent, Steve

Rosenberg, gave me more detail. Russian security officials say that

yesterday, five bodies were found in four cars in different locations in

southern Russia. All of the victims had been shot dead. They have also

-- there have also been two explosive device found. One had gone

off, although there were no casualties. The other device was

made safe. It seems to be the discovery of these bodies which has

sparked this anti-terrorist operation in two districts of the

region. It is not that far away from Sochi. We are talking about 300

kilometres from the venue of the Olympics. Nobody knows whether this

is linked in any way to the Winter games, which begin in less than a

month. But the Russian authorities now that the Chechen rebel leader

has threatened maximum force to disrupt the Winter Olympics. There's

a lot of nervousness after the two suicide bombings involved low-grade

at the end of last year. -- in Russia at the end of last year.

A court in France has approved the extradition of a billionaire from

Kazakhstan to face charges of embezzlement on a huge scale.

Mukhtar Ablyazov is wanted by Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine on

allegations he stole up to ?6 billion from his former Bank, BTA,

which operates in all three countries. A judge in France, where

he had been in hiding, said he should be extradited, preferably to

Russia, but if that was not possible, then to Ukraine.

Winter has arrived in the Alps in all its glory. This week's clear

weather has been perfect for winter sports. But what can you do in the

mountains if you don't want to ski or snowboard? Imogen Foulkes has

been sampling the latest attraction on Mount Titlis in Switzerland. You

don't have to be especially sporty to do it, but you will need a cool

head. Welcome to Europe's newest and

highest suspension Bridge. Altitude 3000 metres, high above the Swiss

resort, it is not for the faint-hearted and certainly not for

those who are nervous of heights. But if you love the mountains,

there's no better place to enjoy them from Barnard here. This bridges

100 metres long but just one metre wide. You get the true meaning of

the word suspension when you are out here. There is no support in

between. It is suspended. When you walk, you do bounce up and down a

little bit. But the barriers are high. There is no danger at all, I

am told, of falling off. And once you get out, come along a bit more,

to the middle, their views are truly spectacular. Over here, you can see

all the way to Italy. Down there, 500 metres down into the glacier.

And over there, all the way down into the valley towards the next

region. Although this has been called the scariest bridge in the

world, it is well worth the visit. Once you are here, you're not

scared, you are really on top of the world.

She sounds like she is having fun! Another one high in the air. You may

remember the former US Congresswoman who was shot and severely wounded.

She has marked the anniversary by doing this. Look, she is

paragliding, skydiving, taking to the skies, apparently, with an, and

apparently had a fantastic experience even though she is still

struggling to walk and Spieth. She landed, I can tell you, safely.

Congratulations to her. See you