:00:00. > :00:13.Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top stories: An opposition leader in
:00:14. > :00:18.Ukraine has called for a truce in the confrontation between protesters
:00:19. > :00:22.and police while talks take place. Tens of thousands of platinum miners
:00:23. > :00:26.in South Africa go on strike in their biggest action since 34
:00:27. > :00:31.workers were shot dead by police in 2012.
:00:32. > :00:35.13 men in India are arrested after a young woman was gang-raped
:00:36. > :00:38.apparently as a punishment for being in a relationship with a man from a
:00:39. > :00:45.different community. And President Rouhani tries to bring
:00:46. > :00:47.Iran in from the cold as he woos foreign investors at the World
:00:48. > :01:08.Economic Forum. A warm welcome to you. Police and
:01:09. > :01:18.protesters in the Ukranian capital Kiev are still in a tense standoff.
:01:19. > :01:23.This is the scene there live in temperatures of ten degrees below
:01:24. > :01:27.zero. A barricade of burning tyres marks the frontline between riot
:01:28. > :01:32.police and demonstrators. And within just the last few minutes we have
:01:33. > :01:36.heard that the opposition leader has called for a truce to allow talks to
:01:37. > :01:40.go ahead this afternoon with the Government. These are live pictures
:01:41. > :01:48.that we are looking at right now of the streets of key Eve in Ukraine.
:01:49. > :01:54.Earl -- Kiev. Earlier I spoke to our correspondent there for us. It's
:01:55. > :02:01.interesting, because yesterday evening Vitaly Klitschko says the
:02:02. > :02:05.Government needs to make concessions otherwise people would go on attack.
:02:06. > :02:09.Today he has been about ten minutes' walk from here on the road up to
:02:10. > :02:13.parliament which has been the heart of the violent clashes we have seen
:02:14. > :02:17.between riot police and protesters and he addressed the people there
:02:18. > :02:22.calling for calm, saying that they should not use violence, at least
:02:23. > :02:26.for the moment because more talks are set to take place between
:02:27. > :02:33.opposition leaders and the Government. He also called for riot
:02:34. > :02:38.police to have restraint and not engage in violence, as well. Those
:02:39. > :02:42.talks are set to take place this afternoon with Government officials.
:02:43. > :02:46.What comes out of them, we will have to wait and see. No one wanting to
:02:47. > :02:51.see a repeat of the violence that we saw on the streets of Kiev
:02:52. > :02:55.yesterday. You talked about talks lined up for the day with the
:02:56. > :03:03.Government. What have we heard so far from the administration on this?
:03:04. > :03:08.The Prime Minister spoke earlier where he said that the Government
:03:09. > :03:12.would be willing to make concessions but that opposition leaders
:03:13. > :03:16.shouldn't make ultimatums. The Prime Minister has described the
:03:17. > :03:23.demonstrators who have been violent as radicals, as extremists. They pin
:03:24. > :03:27.much of the blame on far-right group, one nationalist group
:03:28. > :03:30.fighting against the Government, certainly some protesters have
:03:31. > :03:34.blamed them for the violence, as well. It looks like the Government
:03:35. > :03:37.are keen to hold talks to try and find some sort of negotiated
:03:38. > :03:46.settlement. What solution that might be which satisfies all the sides
:03:47. > :03:56.involved is difficult to say? We have been speaking to Ukraine's
:03:57. > :04:03.Prime Minister. He asked whether talks will end the violence?
:04:04. > :04:15.I guess that this meeting was quite fruitful and useful and as far as I
:04:16. > :04:18.know some agreements can be made after this meeting with the
:04:19. > :04:22.President. I would like leaders of the opposition not to use language
:04:23. > :04:28.of ultimatums because we know very well there is also the sociology and
:04:29. > :04:33.we know to what extent opposition leaders supported by society of
:04:34. > :04:36.Ukraine. We have a President who was democratically elected at elections
:04:37. > :04:40.and who is supported by a great amount of the Ukranian populations.
:04:41. > :04:44.I would like to say that we are ready for the compromise. We are
:04:45. > :04:47.ready for dialogue but the opposition should understand that
:04:48. > :04:52.they also bear responsibility for those events which are happening in
:04:53. > :04:55.Kiev so that the Government, but it is absolutely wrong to put all the
:04:56. > :05:02.responsibility on the Government because together now we have to find
:05:03. > :05:09.a road to peace in Kiev. That was Ukraine's Prime Minister there.
:05:10. > :05:18.Tens of thousands of plat mum miners have gone on strike -- platinum
:05:19. > :05:27.miners have gone on strike in South Africa.
:05:28. > :05:31.The AMCU trade union says 70,000 of its members at the three top
:05:32. > :05:35.platinum producers are walking out indefinitely in the row over pay.
:05:36. > :05:39.Many more may refuse to cross picket lines. South Africa has up to 80% of
:05:40. > :05:42.the world's platinum reserves and the dispute is expected to cripple
:05:43. > :05:44.the global industry - cutting production by half. Our South Africa
:05:45. > :05:49.correspondent is at the site of the mine.
:05:50. > :05:54.We are in the north-west of South Africa, deep in the platinum belt.
:05:55. > :05:59.These workers, hundreds of them, who are surrounding us here are here on
:06:00. > :06:09.an indefinite strike. They are demanding what they call is a living
:06:10. > :06:16.wage. They want to be paid an amount of 12,500 rands a month, just over
:06:17. > :06:23.$1,000 per month. This means it will be double their current salaries.
:06:24. > :06:38.They say that the CEOs of the biggest platinum companies, earn
:06:39. > :06:43.millions, so they say they can afford to pay them. The mining
:06:44. > :06:49.houses saying they cannot afford to pay salary increases because of the
:06:50. > :06:55.global slump in the economy which has dropped the demand but also the
:06:56. > :07:01.rising costs of production. President Zuma is facing a crucial
:07:02. > :07:05.election this year and this sort of labour dispute trend which has been
:07:06. > :07:10.going on for months, remember in 2012 here there was a massacre of 34
:07:11. > :07:16.miners who were still demanding the amount they're demanding here today.
:07:17. > :07:25.This won't do him any good when he is trying to get a second term in to
:07:26. > :07:28.office. The Finance Minister is in Davos trying to trump up South
:07:29. > :07:33.Africa's economy, but with all of these disputes going on, not just in
:07:34. > :07:37.the platinum sector, but also in the gold sector, the gold sector is not
:07:38. > :07:44.on strike but they are hoping to go on strike as soon as a court case
:07:45. > :07:51.has been resolved. These strikes are not doing the South African economy
:07:52. > :08:09.growth prospects any good. A woman has been gang-raped by 12 men,
:08:10. > :08:14.apparently on the order of local village elders in the Indian state
:08:15. > :08:18.of West Bengal. It happened on Monday through to Tuesday morning
:08:19. > :08:23.but apparently it was only yesterday that the woman and her family
:08:24. > :08:28.summoned up the courage to go to the police to report what they say
:08:29. > :08:35.happened. It's really starting to go out across the Indian media today.
:08:36. > :08:39.As you say, I think it is particularly shock shocking. There
:08:40. > :08:46.are, though, many cases, particularly in village areas where
:08:47. > :08:50.couples who are seen to transgress certain codes are punished. It's
:08:51. > :08:58.very common for these so-called honour killings to happen. But we
:08:59. > :09:01.haven't heard in recent memory of a situation where two lovers are
:09:02. > :09:07.punished in this way. What happened, we understand, is that this man came
:09:08. > :09:12.proposing marriage. The village head man was informed. He didn't like it.
:09:13. > :09:16.The man was not from this tribe. They were then detained. They were
:09:17. > :09:20.ordered to pay a fine. The man could pay the fine. The woman and her
:09:21. > :09:26.family couldn't. As punishment, she was then gang-raped by other members
:09:27. > :09:30.of this village. Of course many of them people she knew, we understand.
:09:31. > :09:36.And now this shocking news is getting out. Of course yet again it
:09:37. > :09:40.highlights the issue of rape, how women are treated and how the
:09:41. > :09:48.country responds to that. Of course ever since that gang-rape of a Delhi
:09:49. > :09:54.teenager in 2012 made international headlines we have seen this real
:09:55. > :10:00.growth in public anger about violence against women across India.
:10:01. > :10:06.How staunchly would you say that this discrimination against women in
:10:07. > :10:11.India's rural parts of the country, how deeply is that still entrenched?
:10:12. > :10:17.I think it's still very deeply entrenched. We can see that in the
:10:18. > :10:21.way that politicians and many figures across the country in some
:10:22. > :10:25.of these village councils, as well, one that was involved in this case,
:10:26. > :10:29.where they have pushed back against pressure for greater rights for
:10:30. > :10:35.women. So in the cities you see the protests and so on, of course Delhi
:10:36. > :10:38.after the gang-rape, young people joining that particularly. Some
:10:39. > :10:43.politicians supporting them. But still a lot of resistance. A lot of
:10:44. > :10:48.sense, you hear a lot of men complaining their rights are being
:10:49. > :10:52.infringed by this movement and so I think there's - it's going to take a
:10:53. > :10:58.long time before things change for women. Stay with us here on BBC
:10:59. > :11:03.World News. Diplomats in Geneva are trying to persuade the warring
:11:04. > :11:07.parties in Syria to meet face-to-face after an acrimonious
:11:08. > :11:13.first day at the peace conference. Standing on the shoulders of Christ
:11:14. > :11:22.The Redeemer, workers repair the famous statue after it's damaged by
:11:23. > :11:28.several lightning strikes. Text has executed a Mexican man, in
:11:29. > :11:35.spite of objections from the US and Mexican governments -- Texas. A
:11:36. > :11:46.Mexican living illegally in Texas was convicted of murdering a
:11:47. > :11:53.policeman. His lawyers say he wasn't told he could get legal help from
:11:54. > :11:57.the consulate. The diplomatic tussle could, John Kerry warns, affect the
:11:58. > :12:02.way US citizens are treated overseas. He took the unusual step
:12:03. > :12:05.of intervening and asking Texas to review this case after the Mexican
:12:06. > :12:11.Government said that failing to do so would be a clear violation of
:12:12. > :12:17.international law. What the Mexican Government argue is when Tamayo was
:12:18. > :12:21.arrested for killing a police officer he wasn't informed of his
:12:22. > :12:25.right under international law to seek consular assistance. So they
:12:26. > :12:28.argue if he had that legal assistance he perhaps would have
:12:29. > :12:34.been able to uncover evidence that would have kept him off death row in
:12:35. > :12:38.the first place. Texan officials refused to reveal the case. They
:12:39. > :12:42.said if you commit a crime in Texas you are subject to states laws and
:12:43. > :12:45.have gone ahead with the execution. The state department warns that
:12:46. > :12:50.failing to comply with international laws could make it more difficult if
:12:51. > :12:57.American citizens get into legal trouble in the future when they're
:12:58. > :13:03.abroad. The mayor of Toronto is back in trouble again. A few months ago a
:13:04. > :13:07.video emerged of Rob Ford apparently smoking crack crow cane -- cocaine.
:13:08. > :13:10.Now he has admitted to drinking after being caught on camera
:13:11. > :13:15.swearing and slurring his words. In a press conference he called the
:13:16. > :13:20.events of a Monday night a minor setback but suffer r offered no
:13:21. > :13:26.apology. Monday was unfortunate. I had a minor setback. We all
:13:27. > :13:32.experience these difficult bumps in life. I am telling residents that I
:13:33. > :13:38.am still working hard every day to improve my health and my well-being.
:13:39. > :13:43.But again this is completely a private matter. There are some who
:13:44. > :13:46.claim that my personal life is somehow impacting their work. Folks,
:13:47. > :14:07.that is absolute nonsense. This is BBC World News. The latest
:14:08. > :14:11.headlines: One of the u vain opposition leaders -- Ukraine
:14:12. > :14:16.opposition leaders has called for a halt to protests while negotiations
:14:17. > :14:20.continue with the Government. Tens of thousands of platinum miners
:14:21. > :14:24.in South Africa go on strike in their biggest action since 34
:14:25. > :14:30.workers were shot dead by police in 2012.
:14:31. > :14:35.On the second day of the Syrian peace talks diplomats are now in
:14:36. > :14:45.Geneva for a series of intensive behind the scenes negotiations. It's
:14:46. > :14:47.still not clear whether the Syrian Government and opposition leaders
:14:48. > :15:05.will get as far as face-to-face talks. And the first day was sound
:15:06. > :15:10.and furious. Syria's government and the opposition in the same room, but
:15:11. > :15:14.these were angry speeches and not negotiations. In between, the
:15:15. > :15:20.world's most senior diplomats tried to remind them that the point of
:15:21. > :15:24.these talks is to try to end the war and not trade accusations about who
:15:25. > :15:29.started it. The time has come to negotiate. Syrians must come
:15:30. > :15:36.together to save their country, protect their children and find a
:15:37. > :15:40.peaceful path to a better future. Today, the talks transferred to the
:15:41. > :15:46.United Nations in Geneva, where each side will have separate, private
:15:47. > :15:53.talks with UN officials. On the agenda, not an immediate peace deal,
:15:54. > :15:57.not a transitional government, not the removal of President Assad, but
:15:58. > :16:03.instead, better access for aid agencies. Perhaps some local
:16:04. > :16:07.cease-fires. Anything to bring some small relief to the millions of
:16:08. > :16:13.Syrians who have suffered so much. If any of that is agreed, it will be
:16:14. > :16:17.a positive beginning. But it is still not clear whether the two
:16:18. > :16:23.sides will negotiate face-to-face as planned on Friday. These talks were
:16:24. > :16:34.never going to be quick or easy. This week is just the start of a
:16:35. > :16:38.very long process. Could this be the moment when Iran
:16:39. > :16:40.finally comes in from the cold? Iran's newly elected president
:16:41. > :16:44.Hassan Rouhani has been addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos.
:16:45. > :16:47.It's a first for an Iranian president and it marks a milestone
:16:48. > :16:53.along the road to Iran's rehabilitation with the West. Let's
:16:54. > :16:59.get all the latest from my colleague, Nik Gowing who's live for
:17:00. > :17:05.us in Davos. Welcome to Davos. Hassan Rouhani
:17:06. > :17:10.made a big impact, very low-key but it is what he said and how he said
:17:11. > :17:14.it which was important. He emphasised constructive engagement.
:17:15. > :17:21.Not just with the West, but the whole world. He said, I announced
:17:22. > :17:25.that one of my priorities of the government is that constructive
:17:26. > :17:29.engagement. That includes with the United States. He laid out the
:17:30. > :17:34.possibility of a significant change because of what has happened in the
:17:35. > :17:42.last few weeks, and the negotiations with Iran's nuclear capability with
:17:43. > :17:45.the reduction of 5% enrichment. This is how he put the prospects with the
:17:46. > :17:51.United States. TRANSLATION: the engagement between
:17:52. > :17:57.Iran and the United States also entered a new phase during the past
:17:58. > :18:04.month. For the first time politicians from both countries have
:18:05. > :18:07.negotiated, exchanged views, made decisions to resolve differences in
:18:08. > :18:16.relation to the nuclear issue. This is a major development since the
:18:17. > :18:20.Iran Islamic revolution. But the Islamic revolution and the
:18:21. > :18:25.foundation of the Islamic Republic will result in more than a century
:18:26. > :18:32.of freedom seeking from the Iranians nation. It is necessary that the
:18:33. > :18:38.ruling bodies in the United states accept Iran's historical realities,
:18:39. > :18:43.not only in words but in action as well. What we got was no
:18:44. > :18:48.understanding of any impression of any conservative pressure on him. He
:18:49. > :18:54.made it clear that what he was trying to do as president, was set a
:18:55. > :19:00.very clear ground work for strategic change in Iran's relationship with
:19:01. > :19:05.the world. Seeing Iran as maybe the 10th biggest economy in the world
:19:06. > :19:09.and maybe in a decade if sanctions are lifted things could move in a
:19:10. > :19:13.different direction, depending on what happens with nuclear
:19:14. > :19:19.enrichment. But what about internally? His winning of the
:19:20. > :19:23.election last year was extraordinary. After a lot of
:19:24. > :19:25.manoeuvring by the Guardian Council trying to make sure more
:19:26. > :19:31.conservative councillors went forward and somebody like Hassan
:19:32. > :19:38.Rouhani did not get elected. But he has laid out a new relationship
:19:39. > :19:42.between the traditional powers of the Islamic and Muslim state of
:19:43. > :19:45.Iran, and also the people and how they would now inject a form of
:19:46. > :19:51.democracy. TRANSLATION: we have to pave the way
:19:52. > :19:58.for the opposition to sit around a table with the government. The best
:19:59. > :20:04.solution is to organise a free and fair election inside Syria. No
:20:05. > :20:11.outside party or power can decide for the Syrian people and Syria as a
:20:12. > :20:16.country. So the Islamic Republic of Iran making it clear it is moving in
:20:17. > :20:20.a different direction. He is also here to speak to those in the oil
:20:21. > :20:25.industry. They could start building relations with the economy in Iran
:20:26. > :20:30.once actions are lifted. He did speak to three of the big oil
:20:31. > :20:38.corporations today. Iran is a big oil producer. And the three leaders
:20:39. > :20:41.of those big oil corporations said, it had been an impressive
:20:42. > :20:45.presentation given by both the president and the oil minister. We
:20:46. > :20:50.have Hassan Rouhani speaking here and shortly we will be speaking from
:20:51. > :20:56.the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. You never know who you
:20:57. > :21:00.will bump into, it seems extraordinary they are in the same
:21:01. > :21:06.place at the same time. But sitting at Zurich airport is an Iranian
:21:07. > :21:12.plane, and an Israeli plane sitting alongside each other. Some things
:21:13. > :21:15.extraordinary things do happen. But the message from Iran is
:21:16. > :21:26.constructive engagement with the rest of the world. Thank you very
:21:27. > :21:34.much. In South Sudan, government troops say they have captured all
:21:35. > :21:41.the major towns from rebel control. The president accused his former
:21:42. > :21:43.deputy of trying to stage a coup. Our correspondent Mark Lowen managed
:21:44. > :21:49.to travel to the small settlement and rebel stronghold of Lankien, in
:21:50. > :21:52.the north-east of the country. The rebels are determined to regroup and
:21:53. > :21:58.fight back. Although the government says it has the major towns in this
:21:59. > :22:05.country, there are pockets of control like this one here in
:22:06. > :22:10.Lankien. It is under the control of a rebel movement that is made up
:22:11. > :22:14.from defectors from the National Army but also a local youth militia
:22:15. > :22:20.called the White Army. It was formed to stave off cattle raids, but now
:22:21. > :22:27.it has loftier ambitions. I was out with them yesterday as they came
:22:28. > :22:30.into town. Young and draped in ammunition belts around their necks.
:22:31. > :22:38.They have the spoils of War, one said he had his AK-47, bullets and
:22:39. > :22:42.pick-up trucks from Army soldiers they had killed on the way. They
:22:43. > :22:48.want to overthrow the president. But the likelihood of that happening is
:22:49. > :22:51.slim. They don't have the conventional firepower of the
:22:52. > :22:55.government army and for five weeks they have been on the back foot.
:22:56. > :23:00.Now, they have lost the control of all the major cities in this
:23:01. > :23:05.country. But no sign of wanting to back down from those rebels you have
:23:06. > :23:09.been talking to their in Lankien. Have you spoken to any of them about
:23:10. > :23:14.these accusations from the president to the UN peacekeeping missions in
:23:15. > :23:21.South Sudan, of hiding rebels and guns in some UN camps? Have any of
:23:22. > :23:28.the rebels you have been speaking to mentioned that to you? They deny
:23:29. > :23:31.that entirely. They believe this is a propaganda stunt on behalf of the
:23:32. > :23:38.government. They believe it is a conflict on which there has been
:23:39. > :23:40.wild claims on both sides. It is hard to verify this information on
:23:41. > :23:48.the ground because areas like this have been too dangerous to travel
:23:49. > :23:52.to. We are the first road cast team allowed into rebel territory and we
:23:53. > :23:58.have had rare access to see what life is like here. Also, Medecins
:23:59. > :24:02.Sans Frontieres has set up an emergency clinic. It is the lifeline
:24:03. > :24:08.in this area. It is receiving wounded from all over the country,
:24:09. > :24:12.mainly people with gunshot wounds. Many of the patients have had to
:24:13. > :24:16.walk two or three days to come here. I have been speaking to soldiers who
:24:17. > :24:23.have been injured. One man took six bullets in his leg, one severed his
:24:24. > :24:26.leg off. Also civilians are caught up in this fighting and that is the
:24:27. > :24:34.real tragedy. Up to 10,000 people have been killed in this war and
:24:35. > :24:38.half a million displaced. The humanitarian display shin is
:24:39. > :24:46.catastrophic and there is no sign yet of any peace settlement to come.
:24:47. > :24:50.Some other news now. The Moroccan parliament has voted unanimously to
:24:51. > :24:53.amend part of the penal code which allowed men who rape underage girls
:24:54. > :24:57.to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims. The vote comes nearly
:24:58. > :24:59.two years after a 16-year-old, Amina al-Filali, killed herself after
:25:00. > :25:02.being forced to marry her rapist. Her parents and a judge had
:25:03. > :25:07.permitted the marriage to protect the family honour.
:25:08. > :25:11.The Argentine president has made her first public speech in six weeks,
:25:12. > :25:13.ending a long silence that led to questions about her health following
:25:14. > :25:15.brain surgery. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was welcomed by hundreds of
:25:16. > :25:18.supporters outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. She
:25:19. > :25:26.dismissed speculation about her health and criticised the country's
:25:27. > :25:30.media. Work has begun to repair the famous
:25:31. > :25:33.statue of Christ the Redeemer which stands above the city of Rio de
:25:34. > :25:37.Janeiro. It's been damaged by several recent lightning strikes,
:25:38. > :25:45.two on the right hand and one on the back of the head. Bruno Garcez has
:25:46. > :25:50.more. Standing on the shoulders of giants.
:25:51. > :25:57.This view may be breathtaking but these repairmen have a job to do.
:25:58. > :25:59.They are here to fix the damage caused to the right thumb when it
:26:00. > :26:04.was struck while lightning last week. It's right middle finger and
:26:05. > :26:11.part of its head when it last month. It is thought it is struck by
:26:12. > :26:16.lightning on average between three and five times a year. So workers
:26:17. > :26:20.who had to climb inside the 39 metre statue will place more lightening
:26:21. > :26:24.rod is on the structure to prevent further damage.
:26:25. > :26:28.TRANSLATION: we are going to augment the lightening rods. The crown of
:26:29. > :26:32.the head is a lightning rod that is not reaching all the way to the
:26:33. > :26:35.middle finger where the clouds generally reach when they come from
:26:36. > :26:40.the East and the sea. We will extend the lightening rods into the middle
:26:41. > :26:47.finger. The work has been approved and the structure is very sturdy.
:26:48. > :26:49.Officials said it would take about four months to repair, but the
:26:50. > :26:59.statue will remain open throughout the work.
:27:00. > :27:02.You are watching BBC World News. Good to have you with us.