:00:09. > :00:17.This is BBC World News. Our top stories: The body of Ariel Sharon,
:00:18. > :00:20.Israel's former prime minister, is taken to his family farm, where he
:00:21. > :00:24.will be buried with full honours. As Iran announces the date when it
:00:25. > :00:28.will freeze its nuclear programme, the ruler of Dubai tells the BBC it
:00:29. > :00:31.is time sanctions against Iran are lifted.
:00:32. > :00:34.After a mass rally by the Thai opposition shuts down central
:00:35. > :00:36.Bangkok the government says it is willing to discuss postponing
:00:37. > :00:41.elections. And what now for France's first
:00:42. > :00:44.couple? Valerie Trierweiler is due to leave hospital after treatment
:00:45. > :01:03.for stress following claims that President Hollande has been having
:01:04. > :01:08.an affair. A memorial service has been held
:01:09. > :01:12.injuries and for the former Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. He
:01:13. > :01:17.died aged 85 on Saturday after eight years in a coma. The service was
:01:18. > :01:22.held outside the Israeli parliament. Ariel Sharon will be
:01:23. > :01:26.buried shortly with full military honours at the family ranch in
:01:27. > :01:29.southern Israel. To many Israelis, Ariel Sharon was a military hero who
:01:30. > :01:35.fought in four was. But many Palestinians considered him a
:01:36. > :01:38.warmonger. Israeli politicians and world leaders have been paying
:01:39. > :01:44.tribute to him today as a major figure in Israel's history. The
:01:45. > :01:47.president, Shimon Peres, said Ariel Sharon was a military legend. The
:01:48. > :01:53.country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his contribution was
:01:54. > :01:57.engraved in Israel's historical writings, and US Vice President Joe
:01:58. > :02:03.Biden said the security of the Israeli people had been Ariel
:02:04. > :02:09.Sharon's unwavering mission. Joe's relationship with the United States.
:02:10. > :02:14.There were times when he acted, and those actions earned him a
:02:15. > :02:19.controversy and even condemnation. In certain instances, American
:02:20. > :02:23.leaders, American presidents, had profound differences with him. There
:02:24. > :02:33.were never shy about stating them, nor was he ever shy about stating
:02:34. > :02:38.his position. As I said, from my observation, he was a complex man.
:02:39. > :02:44.But to understand him better, it is important that history will judge
:02:45. > :02:49.that he also lived in complex times in a very complex neighbourhood. It
:02:50. > :02:52.was to show wrong's death has revived questions about what he was
:02:53. > :02:59.planning at the time he had his stroke in January 2006. The summer
:03:00. > :03:04.before, he had pulled Israeli settlers out of Palestinian Gaza.
:03:05. > :03:10.Some Israelis believe he would then have withdrawn settlers from what of
:03:11. > :03:14.the West Bank. Ehud Olmert, who succeeded Sharon as Israel's prime
:03:15. > :03:21.minister, is one of them. I am absolutely certain that he would
:03:22. > :03:33.have acted to separate Israel from the Palestinians to the utmost,
:03:34. > :03:37.which means that Israel would have pulled out from most of the
:03:38. > :03:40.territories. Some people say Ariel Sharon had a change of heart towards
:03:41. > :03:45.the end of his political life, urges why he pulled settlers out of Gaza.
:03:46. > :03:51.Or do you think he was really always the same person, but using different
:03:52. > :03:58.tactics? I think Sharon was much more practical than people thought.
:03:59. > :04:05.He was not an ideological person. That is why they used to call him a
:04:06. > :04:12.Labour man, which meant that he did not cherish the holiness of the
:04:13. > :04:15.territory as such. But he thought the territories were essential for
:04:16. > :04:19.the security of the state of Israel. When he found out that the security
:04:20. > :04:26.of the state of Israel perhaps could be served better by not being in all
:04:27. > :04:30.of those territories, he then drew the inevitable conclusions. It was
:04:31. > :04:36.not a matter of ideology. The ideology was the security of
:04:37. > :04:40.Israel, and he found that the best way was to separate Israel from the
:04:41. > :04:47.Palestinians. What about the actions with which Sharon's actions are
:04:48. > :04:52.associated abroad, the killings in the refugee camps and the subsequent
:04:53. > :04:56.enquiry. He had to resign. And the raid into Gaza and the West Bank in
:04:57. > :05:00.the 50s, which means that Palestinians looked on him very
:05:01. > :05:06.differently, and saw him as a butcher with blood on his hands?
:05:07. > :05:12.Well, the Palestinians view him in this way. We look at some listing is
:05:13. > :05:18.in a much worse way. -- we look at Palestinians in a worse way. They
:05:19. > :05:21.killed many more innocent Israelis. What about the fact that those
:05:22. > :05:28.episodes in Mr Sharon's political career, many people believe, brought
:05:29. > :05:32.Israel into disrepute around the world and put a black mark on his
:05:33. > :05:37.head? Look, the circumstances in which we had to fight against
:05:38. > :05:42.terrorist organisations required measures which are unpleasant and
:05:43. > :05:47.sometimes lead you to do things you are not happy about. So while Sharon
:05:48. > :05:55.may have committed mistakes, when you look at his overall record of
:05:56. > :06:02.what he did as a warrior in the wars that were imposed on Israel, in
:06:03. > :06:05.1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, you must give him great credit as one of the
:06:06. > :06:09.greatest Jewish fighters in modern times.
:06:10. > :06:15.Ehud Olmert, speaking to Jeremy Bowen with his view of Mr Sharon,
:06:16. > :06:21.who has been buried today. In other news, one person has been
:06:22. > :06:27.killed and up to 400 homes have been damaged by a powerful storm in
:06:28. > :06:31.Tonga. Cyclone Ian hit the islands with gusts of up to 280 kilometres
:06:32. > :06:35.at the weekend. Officials say relief efforts have been concentrated on
:06:36. > :06:40.the Ha'apai islands in the south and the Vava'u islands to the north.
:06:41. > :06:44.A bushfire has killed one man and there are four others missing as it
:06:45. > :06:48.swept through a residential area on the outskirts of the Western
:06:49. > :06:51.Australian city of Perth. Temperatures in the region have
:06:52. > :06:55.soared to more than 40 Celsius. The appeals court in Cambodia has
:06:56. > :06:59.freed a Russian tycoon who is wanted by the authorities in Moscow.
:07:00. > :07:03.Authorities have accused Sergei Polonsky for embezzling millions of
:07:04. > :07:08.dollars. The judges ruled that he could not be extradited to Russia,
:07:09. > :07:12.as he faces separate assault charges in Cambodia.
:07:13. > :07:19.Now that Iran's deal is in place, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed
:07:20. > :07:22.bin Rashid al Makhtoum, has called on the international community to
:07:23. > :07:28.lift sanctions against Iran. He rarely gives interviews, but with
:07:29. > :07:30.the emirate hosting Expo 2020 that it is rebounding strongly after the
:07:31. > :07:35.near collapse during the world financial crisis, he has been
:07:36. > :07:40.speaking to my colleagues. Welcome to Dubai, where behind me,
:07:41. > :07:43.you can see the boats that ply their trade between here and Iran
:07:44. > :07:47.regularly. The trade between Iran and Dubai used to be worth about $20
:07:48. > :07:52.billion, but since sanctions were introduced, that has been reduced to
:07:53. > :07:56.five billion dollars. So it is this a prize that Dubai wants to see the
:07:57. > :08:01.sanctions lifted. They said there must be guarantees that Iran's
:08:02. > :08:05.nuclear programme is peaceful. In a rare interview, I sat down with
:08:06. > :08:13.Sheikh Mohammed. Do you believe the time is now ripe
:08:14. > :08:22.to lift sanctions against Iran? I think so. Give Iran space. Iran is
:08:23. > :08:33.our neighbour. We don't want any problems. They agree with America
:08:34. > :08:37.and America agrees. If they lift the sanctions, everybody will benefit.
:08:38. > :08:43.We suffered from the sanctions on Iran. But to be clear, Iran has done
:08:44. > :08:51.enough in your mind that the sanctions should be lifted? I think
:08:52. > :08:56.so, if they allow people to go and look at their nuclear work and they
:08:57. > :09:00.are not making nuclear weapons, because that would be dangerous for
:09:01. > :09:07.me also. But if they are not, it should be lifted slowly and fairly.
:09:08. > :09:12.So you believe them when they say that their nuclear ambitions are
:09:13. > :09:18.purely for civilian nuclear power? I saw their leader and I asked him,
:09:19. > :09:25.are you building nuclear weapons? He said, what would I do? If I had the
:09:26. > :09:31.means of transporting these weapons to Israel, how many Palestinians
:09:32. > :09:36.would I kill? The Europeans and Americans would finish my cities in
:09:37. > :09:43.Iran. He said, I am not crazy to go for that. They are weapons of the
:09:44. > :09:50.past. Can President Assad stay in power? Somebody asked me about
:09:51. > :09:57.Syria. I said it will take a long time. But if you kill your people,
:09:58. > :10:05.you cannot stay. I hope there will be a peaceful solution and a new
:10:06. > :10:09.elected government will come. So because he has killed his people, he
:10:10. > :10:16.will go eventually? Eventually, he will go, yes. Do you believe you
:10:17. > :10:21.ought to be offering any support, financially or militarily, or are
:10:22. > :10:32.you, to the Free Syrian Army? We are supporting the people of Syria who
:10:33. > :10:37.are in Jordan or Turkey. We are helping those. But the free army, we
:10:38. > :10:42.don't know, because there are some extremists and you don't know how
:10:43. > :10:46.many groups of people are now in Syria. You hear that some groups are
:10:47. > :10:51.fighting each other. So you don't want to do what Qatar or Saudi
:10:52. > :10:59.Arabia have done? No, our foreign policy is different. We try to help
:11:00. > :11:03.and not to interfere. I just want to talk a bit about Dubai and the
:11:04. > :11:07.criticisms that have been made about your country's human rights record.
:11:08. > :11:11.We have just had a case of an American who has just been released
:11:12. > :11:18.from prison who made a spoof video about youth culture, and he was put
:11:19. > :11:28.in prison for several months. Why? We have a law. If the Muslim
:11:29. > :11:33.Brotherhood want to stay and work, they are OK. If they want to go
:11:34. > :11:38.extreme, we have a law for that. But the kids said, I have nothing wrong.
:11:39. > :11:42.We have no idea what our crime was. We had no idea what we would be in
:11:43. > :11:47.prison for. We were not told what our crime was until five months
:11:48. > :11:53.after we were taken in. For a modern country which you strive to be, is
:11:54. > :12:03.that satisfactory? No, we try to change it. We are not perfect. Any
:12:04. > :12:08.mistake, we try to change it. We are not perfect, but we are doing our
:12:09. > :12:11.best. A nine-year-old Afghan girl who was
:12:12. > :12:17.found wearing a suicide vest has told the BBC she knew she would die
:12:18. > :12:22.if she followed her family's wishes and attacked a police station in
:12:23. > :12:25.Helmand province. The girl, known as Spozhmai, is now living in
:12:26. > :12:30.protective custody, having said she would kill herself if she was forced
:12:31. > :12:33.to return to her family. TRANSLATION: The same thing will
:12:34. > :12:36.happen again. They have told me before, if you don't do it this
:12:37. > :12:41.time, we will make you do it again. I did all the things at home. I
:12:42. > :12:45.cooked and cleaned the house. They would treat me badly, as if I was a
:12:46. > :12:50.slave. My brother told me, you are here in this world and you will
:12:51. > :12:53.die. You are not here to learn or to do other things.
:12:54. > :13:00.The type reminisced, Yingluck Shinawatra, has offered to meet
:13:01. > :13:03.opponents and has been the general election scheduled for February the
:13:04. > :13:06.2nd. The offer comes as thousands of protesters take to the streets of
:13:07. > :13:11.Bangkok, bringing the city to a standstill.
:13:12. > :13:19.It is interesting. It shows that this story is moving, spite the
:13:20. > :13:22.sense of deep and protract the political deadlock. Prime minister
:13:23. > :13:28.Yingluck Shinawatra has offered to meet the opposition leader to talk
:13:29. > :13:33.about the possibility of postponing the election. She just is that they
:13:34. > :13:37.should meet this Wednesday. But we understand that that overture or has
:13:38. > :13:42.been rejected. As he has said all along, the opposition leader is
:13:43. > :13:47.staying firm to his main demand. He says these protesters will stay on
:13:48. > :13:52.the streets, shutting down Bangkok until the prime minister goes.
:13:53. > :13:55.The first lady of France, Valerie Trierweiler, is expected to leave
:13:56. > :13:58.hospital later today after spending the weekend receiving treatment for
:13:59. > :14:03.what her staff have described as a severe case of the blues. She was
:14:04. > :14:06.admitted on Friday after a celebrity magazine published allegations that
:14:07. > :14:10.her partner, President Francois Hollande, is having an affair with
:14:11. > :14:12.an actress. Today the French Foreign Minister has said the private life
:14:13. > :14:20.of the president is just that, private.
:14:21. > :14:25.Christmas with invited children at Elysee Palace. The last time Valerie
:14:26. > :14:27.Trierweiler was seen in public. On Friday, it appears that she suffered
:14:28. > :14:32.some kind of take-down, requiring her to be hospitalised over the
:14:33. > :14:38.weekend, officially for rest and tests. The cause can only have been
:14:39. > :14:42.this, a report in close the magazine that her partner, President Francois
:14:43. > :14:45.Hollande, has been conducting a secret liaison at a flat literally
:14:46. > :14:53.round the corner from the Elysee Palace, with an actress. Valerie
:14:54. > :14:56.Trierweiler, a journalist, has been at files one: 's side for the last
:14:57. > :15:00.seven years. It was for her but he left the politician Segolene Royal.
:15:01. > :15:04.In his election campaign, she paid a key supporting role. He often looked
:15:05. > :15:08.to her for advice. How their relationship has changed he became
:15:09. > :15:12.president is a matter of speculation. It was rumoured that
:15:13. > :15:16.they became increasingly estranged, but in France, reporting of such
:15:17. > :15:20.matters is minimal. But now there is pressure on the Elysee Palace to
:15:21. > :15:24.clarify matters. We are told Valerie Trierweiler will leave hospital
:15:25. > :15:30.shortly . Where she goes after that, back to the Elysee Palace or
:15:31. > :15:33.not, is a key question. Stay with us on BBC World News.
:15:34. > :15:37.Still to come: A positive sign from Syria? The US
:15:38. > :15:39.Secretary of State says the Assad regime is considering allowing
:15:40. > :15:44.humanitarian access to besieged rebel areas.
:15:45. > :15:49.This week, Egyptians will vote in a referendum on a new constitution.
:15:50. > :15:53.It's the first vote since the military ousted the Islamist
:15:54. > :15:56.president Mohamed Morsi last July. The poll is seen by many as a
:15:57. > :16:00.referendum on the popularly-backed coup. Orla Guerin has been speaking
:16:01. > :16:14.to the veteran Egyptian diplomat Amr Moussa. She asked him how important
:16:15. > :16:18.the vote is for Egypt. There have been successive
:16:19. > :16:27.transitional periods since January 2011, so now we want to put an end
:16:28. > :16:36.to that and into a stable period with elected institutions and a new
:16:37. > :16:39.constitution. One of the major objections to the constitution has
:16:40. > :16:42.been that it still keeps the provision for civilian is being
:16:43. > :16:47.brought before military trials. For many people, this is not an aquatic.
:16:48. > :16:54.In cases where civilians will be tried before those courts, well,
:16:55. > :17:00.specifically mentioned, I, like many others, like the majority of us, we
:17:01. > :17:06.are against trying civilians before military courts. But in those
:17:07. > :17:11.specific cases, the three cases that have been mentioned in this article,
:17:12. > :17:15.they have taken into consideration the current situation, the actual
:17:16. > :17:19.situation, the events in the country that have to be dealt with in a
:17:20. > :17:23.specific way. You have said this constitution will promote a modern
:17:24. > :17:26.and democratic country but how can that be when the Minister of Defence
:17:27. > :17:31.is not going to be chosen by the President, it is going to be chosen
:17:32. > :17:39.by the Army? Look, the names will be offered, will be presented by the
:17:40. > :17:44.high command. For eight years, for two presidential terms, it is not a
:17:45. > :17:48.matter of principle but as a matter under the present circumstances. But
:17:49. > :17:51.do you accept there is disappointment from some who believe
:17:52. > :17:57.this document is not delivering on the revolution of 2011? Yes, I
:17:58. > :18:01.understand there are people who oppose the constitution all who
:18:02. > :18:09.expressed their disapproval of this or that article and there are many
:18:10. > :18:12.who say, OK, it will be the constitution in its totality. It is
:18:13. > :18:26.a good document, an acceptable one, and we are going to vote for it.
:18:27. > :18:34.This is BBC world News. Family and friends, as well as world leaders,
:18:35. > :18:43.gather for Ariel Shrum's funeral, in southern Israel. -- Ariel Sharon.
:18:44. > :18:49.And Mohammed Sheikh Inda by has called for sanctions to be lifted as
:18:50. > :18:52.a finalising the deal related to Iran's nuclear programme.
:18:53. > :18:56.New developments now on the crisis in Syria. The American Secretary of
:18:57. > :18:59.State, John Kerry, says that Syria is considering opening humanitarian
:19:00. > :19:03.access to besieged rebel areas in the run-up to peace talks in Geneva
:19:04. > :19:06.later this month. Mr Kerry was speaking in Paris after a meeting
:19:07. > :19:10.with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and the UN Envoy, Lakhdar
:19:11. > :19:13.Brahimi. A short while ago, Mr Kerry said all the key issues, including a
:19:14. > :19:17.cease-fire, had been discussed. Talk today about the possibility of
:19:18. > :19:22.trying to encourage a cease-fire. Maybe a localised cease-fire,
:19:23. > :19:26.beginning with Aleppo. And both of us have agreed to try to work to see
:19:27. > :19:31.if that could be achieved. The opposition has already agreed that
:19:32. > :19:35.if the Assad regime were willing to declare that, they would live up to
:19:36. > :19:40.it and they are prepared to do that. We also discussed the possibility of
:19:41. > :19:44.prisoner exchanges. And we have discussed that with the opposition.
:19:45. > :19:49.The opposition has declared that they are prepared to put together
:19:50. > :19:53.lists, they are prepared to entertain such an exchange.
:19:54. > :20:02.Finally, we discussed the all-important issue of humanitarian
:20:03. > :20:04.access. I am pleased to say that the Prime Minister indicated he is in
:20:05. > :20:12.conversations with the regime and that the regime may be prepared to
:20:13. > :20:15.open up a number of areas, specifically an area we have been
:20:16. > :20:22.pushing for for some time, and it may be possible now for convoys to
:20:23. > :20:26.access this area. The proof, as we say, is in the pudding.
:20:27. > :20:33.With me now is Edgard Jallad from the BBC Arabic Service. The first is
:20:34. > :20:42.possibility for access to humanitarian areas. We still have no
:20:43. > :20:45.reaction from the position in what the superpowers are doing on ago
:20:46. > :20:53.shooting because they are still debating the possibility of
:20:54. > :21:05.attending Geneva. These messages, described as positive, were sent to
:21:06. > :21:08.Geneva ahead of the discussions. But is it not extremely hard to get
:21:09. > :21:13.access because of the number of groups involved? Yes, that is why
:21:14. > :21:18.they are talking about a localised area where they could have just some
:21:19. > :21:23.control. We're not talking about a cease-fire to cover the whole
:21:24. > :21:28.country, because especially in the North... There are some areas which
:21:29. > :21:32.are easier for the opposition to control and negotiate than other
:21:33. > :21:37.areas and are sure our Assad knows this very well and he wants to look
:21:38. > :21:43.like you's the positive person in these negotiations and send a clear
:21:44. > :21:47.message that, I want peace. -- and President Assad knows this very well
:21:48. > :21:57.and wants to look like he pronoun is the positive person. It has been
:21:58. > :22:02.warned that if the crisis continues any longer it will definitely affect
:22:03. > :22:08.the neighbouring countries and many are already affected. What is he
:22:09. > :22:11.saying? What is the message? He is trying to convince everyone that it
:22:12. > :22:17.is of your interest and, especially, for example, Iran, Lebanon, because
:22:18. > :22:23.the Iranian Foreign Minister is in Beirut today and he is going to Iraq
:22:24. > :22:26.after that, so there is some action taking place in order to convince
:22:27. > :22:33.everyone and all the countries that could be affected by this situation
:22:34. > :22:40.in Syria or influence things in Syria to follow a more positive
:22:41. > :22:44.track regarding peace or trying to negotiate things peacefully. When
:22:45. > :22:50.you stand back and look at where we are in Syria, we start a new year,
:22:51. > :22:54.2014, what is the state of play in terms of who controls which parts of
:22:55. > :23:00.the country and who has the most power? This is maybe one of the most
:23:01. > :23:11.complicated questions one could ask! There were divisions between
:23:12. > :23:16.groups and areas so the situation is very complicated and that is why
:23:17. > :23:19.there are some question marks regarding the possibility of
:23:20. > :23:24.reaching a cease-fire, even after Geneva, too, because, who will
:23:25. > :23:28.decide the cease-fire in these areas? And nothing is clear on the
:23:29. > :23:33.ground on the opposition side. Thank you very much indeed.
:23:34. > :23:36.As the global population grows, cities are coming under increasing
:23:37. > :23:40.strain to find places for everyone to live. Mumbai is no exception, but
:23:41. > :23:44.one group of developers has come up with a novel solution. They've built
:23:45. > :23:47.a new town from scratch to offer an alternative, and our correspondent
:23:48. > :23:52.Yogita Limaye went to see what's on offer.
:23:53. > :23:59.Nestled in a valley 200 kilometres south-east of Mumbai, this is a
:24:00. > :24:05.planned Hilltown ELT by a private company. It's look is distinctly
:24:06. > :24:13.European and a far cry from the hustle and bustle of regular Indian
:24:14. > :24:18.cities. This man is one of 1000 people who have moved inside. He
:24:19. > :24:22.works at the hotel management institute just a short walk away
:24:23. > :24:28.from home. He says he is glad to have left Delhi. It is an absolute
:24:29. > :24:33.mess, and absolute chaos. It is nothing but ordinary to live in. You
:24:34. > :24:39.have got to be superhuman with a super amount of patients to live in
:24:40. > :24:42.a Metro city! Everything here, including sanitation, water and
:24:43. > :24:46.electricity, is managed by the company behind the town, rather than
:24:47. > :24:52.a government entity. Residents pay a maintenance fee. The land used to be
:24:53. > :24:56.owned by 18 villages, and, for now, the village councils still have some
:24:57. > :25:02.say in matters. But it has had its share of problems, too. A few years
:25:03. > :25:04.ago it had to stop work over allegations of breaking
:25:05. > :25:08.environmental rules. The company has denied this and the court case is
:25:09. > :25:14.still under way. But construction has been allowed to continue. At
:25:15. > :25:18.present, the people buying into this town are mostly those looking for a
:25:19. > :25:25.second home or a place to retire. But when all of this construction is
:25:26. > :25:27.complete, the idea is to get businesses, medical facilities and
:25:28. > :25:32.schools set up so people can actually live and work here. Cities
:25:33. > :25:38.like Mumbai are bursting at the seams, as people come in search of
:25:39. > :25:41.work. Resources like energy, water and housing are proving inadequate.
:25:42. > :25:48.So there is a need to create new urban centres. But will these new
:25:49. > :25:52.cities be accessible to everyone? The towns as it does plan to build
:25:53. > :25:58.affordable homes, too, but programme has been -- the programmes have been
:25:59. > :26:03.slowed by the economic downturn, and it still has a long way to go,
:26:04. > :26:11.building be in for structure and getting people to put their faith in
:26:12. > :26:15.a privately run city. -- holding the infrastructure.
:26:16. > :26:20.We're just going to leave you with these live pictures from Israel as
:26:21. > :26:27.the country prepares for the funeral ceremony for their former Prime
:26:28. > :26:31.Minister and are -- Army General Ariel Sharon on. The coughing is en
:26:32. > :26:36.route but the funeral is due to start very shortly. The final
:26:37. > :26:42.journey is to the sycamore branch, very close to Gaza, and he will be
:26:43. > :26:48.buried beside his wife, Lily, who died in 2000. There was a memorial
:26:49. > :26:51.service injuries in this morning outside Parliament, with Israelis
:26:52. > :26:55.and Palestinians remembering Ariel Sharon on in very different ways, of
:26:56. > :26:59.course. A very controversial figure. Much more on that throughout the
:27:00. > :27:02.day. Thank you for being with us.