23/01/2012 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi. Hitting oil-rich

Iran where it hurts most: in its state budget: The European Union

imposes some of their toughest sanctions yet, banning all imports

of Iran's crude oil and freezing the central bank's assets. It is

absolute right to give this in revealing, and refusal to come to

meaningful negotiations. Four leading Kenyans are to stand

trial at the International Criminal Court over the 2007 election

violence: will it heal the wounds or inflame passions?

The UK government announces plans to curb the pay of top executives,

how justified is this boardroom backlash?

Also coming up in the programme: We talk to the author of a new book on

Michelle Obama: The First Lady hits out against it, saying it's trying

to tap into an image of her as an angry black lady.

And the people's account of the people's revolution in Tunisia. A

new film gives their account from Hello and welcome. The European

Union has imposed its most wide- ranging sanctions yet on Iran as a

way of trying to get it back to the negotiating table. The last talks

about Iran's nuclear ambitions broke down a year ago. Over the

weekend Britain, France and the US sailed warships through the Strait

of Hormuz, which Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close, if

its oil exports are disrupted. The Strait is the world's most

important oil chokepoint, with a daily oil flow of almost 17 million

barrels in 2011. That's more than 20% of the total amount of oil

traded worldwide. Our Tehran correspondent, James Reynolds, is

monitoring developments from Dubai. The Gulf is the closest Iran has to

a cash point. The European Union has now decided to stop paying into

the account. It will no longer buy it will from the Persian states.

Soak Iran loses 20 per cent of the oil market. This is why. The West

fit Iran is trying to build weapons. Iran continues to defy the un and

bringing Iranian up to 20 per cent, for which there is no explanation.

It is very important to bring in the legitimate measures against the

Iranians. Exporting oil helps to keep the country's government alive

and in power. The un have decided to go after Iran where it hurts. To

make its point it carried out firings in the Gulf. In response

the world's most powerful military have sent an aircraft carrier. The

US and Iran have clashed here before. America wants to keep the

price of world the same. If any limitation is put on the

availability of it, the price of will will go up. It is that simple.

In Amman, so smugglers are active. Losing a source like this may be

much harder to bear. Joining me from London is Mehrdad

Emadi, who is a senior economic consultant and an external advisor

to the European Union. This is a bit of a blow to the Iranian

authorities, how far do you think this will be felt? Within a short

period we shall see about its ability to fulfil the trade

contracts. In that context it will be a significant decline with

industrialisation and the conduct of day to day economic life in the

country. However, these are only sanctions, they are not global.

Surely they would have a greater effect if countries like Japan

would follow suit or China? They may not and made just buy up the

European share of oil. That is always a possibility, but we should

know in the last couple of days, all of the largest will refineries

in Japan have announced it will stop purchasing new will

consignments from Iran. They are worries about the possible follow

up from the sanctions, both from the US and European Union. I add to

that that Turkey also announced it is seeking a replacement for the

oil suppliers, just in case the sanctions will be biting. Most of

Iran's oil goes to Asia, and if Asia buys the Orwell that the

others do not once, perhaps at a discounted price, it is not so bad

for Iran. Except for Japan, neither of the main three, pay for their

oil purchases in hard currency. In that sense, week are forced, Iran

is forced to accept India and Chinese commodities in return. They

significantly reduce the ability of the Iranian government to finance

other purchases. In that sense it will be very effective. With high

up well prices, how far could that cushion the blow for the Iranian

economy? Even if the price goes up, the United Arab Emirates will

profit the most, and Saudi Arabia. Iran is not really going to benefit

from higher up oil prices, not, at least, immediately. Thank you for

talking us through the economic aspects. Now a look at some of the

days other new: Syria has rejected the latest Arab League plan for

ending violence in the country. It's dismissed the League's call

for a national unity government as flagrant interference adding that

it's a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty. The head of the

League's monitoring mission defended its record, saying there

has been less violence since his teams arrived in Syria.

In Nigeria, eight bombs have been found in cars by the side of the

road in Kano. Police say there could be hundreds of bombs. It

comes three days after attacks by the militant Islamist group, Boko

Haram, in the same area. Muslim and Christian leaders in Kano have

called for a day of prayers following the attacks which left

more than 150 dead. Rescuers have recovered two more

bodies from the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the

Italian island of Giglio. It brings the official death toll to 15.

Authorities have said experts can now begin pumping fuel from the

capsized vessel, as they've determined that the ship will not

fall to a lower seabed, as previously feared.

French senators are about to vote on a bill that will make it illegal

to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a

century ago was genocide. Last month, France's Lower House voted

to make such denials a crime, prompting Turkey to suspended

military, economic and political ties.

Chinese communities around the world are welcoming in the Year of

the Dragon. It's the most important day of the lunar year, the first

day of the Chinese zodiac calendar. The Year of the Dragon is

especially important and babies born in this year are considered to

be especially lucky. The Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki,

is appealing for calm, after the ICC, the International Criminal

court, decided to charge four senior Kenyan figures over the

election violence in 2007. They include two presidential candidates,

who are charged with crimes against humanity, for allegedly

orchestrating the violence in which around a thousand died and many

more were injured. Will Ross sent this report from the Kenyan capital,

Nairobi. At the International Criminal Court a decision which has

major political repercussions for Kenya. The judges ruled that four

of the six suspects are to stand trial. For this. Four years ago

Kenya was shaken as communities set on each other following a dispute

at the elections. Well over a 1000 people were killed and many others

displaced. Are monks those now due to stand trial for crimes against

humanity are two prominence politicians with presidential

ambitions. This former minister and this man, the country's Deputy

Prime Minister. They both see nothing wrong with buying for the

presidency and standing trial at the same time. There is nothing

within the ICC rules which bars me from the political agenda in Kenya.

There has never been any justice at home from the atrocity which forced

those to flee for their lives, but the politicians tend to entrench

themselves in ambitions of power. There are calls for an end to this

impunity, and for those who picked up this -- these weapons to be

brought to book. It does not suit makes sense for them to be brought

to trial, then you see your neighbour, who are addicted you

from your land going about their business as if they owned the

country. Many Kenyans are hoping the icy sea trials will help in

some way to ensure that future elections are more peaceful. The

upcoming election is already controversial. We know two of the

men who want to be President are about to stand trial for crimes

against humanity. For countries like Kenya that have

undergone such internal conflict, there are lessons elsewhere on the

continent. South Africa for instance set up a truth and

reconciliation commission after the end of apartheid. Here with me in

the studio is the South African academic and writer Moletsi Mbeki,

brother of the former president Thabo Mbeki. When it comes to the

situation we have in Kenya, you generally have to strike a balance

between justice and reconciliation. Yes, I think the decision of the

ICC is important. The future atrocities which happen in Africa,

not just in Kenya, we saw this in Libya. In the Democratic Republic

of Congo, in Zimbabwe during the last elections. It is very

important for the world to send a message to African leaders that the

lives of their citizens are valuable. That the electric

decisions must be respected. This is a key message. Why must say they

denied the charges, but some Kenyans do want to see justice done.

To see these men standing trial, if they are found guilty. But there

are those saying, "this could create a constitutional crisis."

where we could this go? This could inflame passions. His it is a

possibility, but for those who are expected of bring in the violence

are allowed to get away with it because we fear more violence would

happen, then there will never be justice or peace in countries like

Kenya. When we have a great deal of ethnic identification, like this.

It is the process by which you do it, in your country, South Africa,

you put an emphasis on truth and reconciliation. Rwanda went down

its own home-grown justice system after the genocide there. I know

the ICC option was not available for all of these countries, but

what is better? Home-grown just as all the international arena, like

the ICC? For many independent countries, independent for 50 years

some of them, the rule of law must be established within the countries

so that we don't keep getting this recurrence of these atrocities

after elections. I think the ICC process is the correct process for

most African countries. Okay, thank The issue of excessive boardroom

pay has been a very live political debate here. Well, now the

government has set out plans to curb executive pay. It wants more

transparency and greater power for shareholders to veto large salaries

and bonuses. In a new series here on BBC World News we're looking at

how the global rich have become even wealthier over the last few

decades. And we're asking whether the super-rich are a force for good

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 89 seconds

About have done over view there. Joining me now is Amit Midha, an

Indian-born businessman who owns a heath care business in the UK.

Looking at executive pay, I imagine most people would think it is fine

to award people who are outstanding but not to reward mediocre

performances. Part of me has to agree with you. The there is an

issue here which is that people take a simplistic view of executive

pay. There has to be a distinction between people who can genuinely

demonstrate that they have achieved that there creating wealth for a

company and those that have not. In the UK, executives are paid far

more, whose pay has increased far more quickly than others and there

is an issue. There is also a distinction between what we saw on

that graphic, of people like Bill Gates and so on. I difference

between those who create wealth and make useful things like Steve Jobs,

and then those boardroom executives who maybe do not make something and

it is a bit mysterious how they make their money. There is a small

problem here that the chief executives get of the publicity.

They're the ones who are the public face of the company. Usually, as

Chief Executive is somebody whose job is to manage the talents with

than the company. People who are perhaps one level down, there are

often less recognised but play an important role. That is recognised

in the pay structure. There is an issue with pay. Is it an issue that

you think about yourself personally? You are a successful

businessman here and are you aware of the gap, the inequality gap, and

people saying that capitalism has thrown it up. Are you conscious of

that in your daily work life? something that does come up but

there is an issue here when it comes to globalisation. My view is

that with global pressures, what you have to recognise is that

people who are based locally in the market, they are competing for jobs

with people all over the world. The flipside of globalisation is that

you get a levelling out of wealth across the whole world. It started

off at the bottom end unfortunately we're jobs in manual work are hard

to get. It is leaking through the system now. What we're seeing it is

that the first couple of stages but it will level itself out. Thank you.

Events of the Arab Spring have inspired filmmakers around the

Middle East to chronicle the extraordinary twists and turns of

the region in the past year. The Tunisian filmmaker Elyes Baccar

started shooting his film Rouge Parole, or Red Parole, days after

the Tunisian President Ben Ali stepped down. He toured the country

to get an account from the Tunisian people about the revolution.

Shaimaa Khalil spoke to the It has been over a year since

President Ben Ali spoke to his people promising reforms. He said,

I understand you. A few days later she fled the country. It was an

event that would change Tunisia up and the Middle-East forever.

President Ben Ali and normal President? What is going to happen?

What is happening now? I had to film in order to realise what is

Short two days after President Ben Ali step down, it captures the

nation and a mixture of euphoria and disbelief. Crowd marvelling at

banned books which have appeared in bookshops for the first time.

Others making their way to what remained of one of President Ben

Ali's homes. It is about a people finding their own voice for the

first time. Even if that meant arguing with each other. For 25

years, we get that image to the world that Tunisia, 90 per cent of

them, agree on the same points. It was completely wrong. That is what

I want to show to the world, that everyone has their own opinion

about religion, politics, culture, about everything. At the beginning

of the Tunisian revolution, keeping up with everyday events was

challenging to everyone, not least to this film maker who was not only

tried to chronicle these events but also to make sense of what was

happening around him. Rouge Parole is a journey through Tunisian

cities and it areas that he felt had played an important part in the

revolution. Most of the news television focused on the capital

and less on other regions. I want to tell the real story about what

was going on. Who were the main actors of that movement. Tunisia is

the first country to have free and democratic elections after the Arab

Spring. The majority in parliament went to the Islamist party. Despite

disagreements over what the party stands for, many say it is

important to except results and embrace the democracy that the

revolution brought to Tunisia. A new book about the US First Lady

Michelle Obama is causing a stir in Washington. The New York Times

reporter Jodi Kantor paints a picture of Michelle Obama as a

strong force behind the scenes in the White House. It claims Michelle

Obama meddled in political affairs causing a strain in relations with

Barack Obama's closest political advisors. The Obamas shows the

struggles faced by the President and his wife adjusting to life in

Washington. But the White House has hit back strongly denying the

allegations against Michelle Obama. The author herself, Jodi Kantor,

denies that her book portrays Michelle Obama as an angry black

woman. I'm joined now here in the studio by the book's author, Jodi

Kantor. When Michelle Obama said this is tapping into an image

painted by some of me as an angry black woman, and it just is not so,

did you perhaps going for that stereotype a bit? Even the way you

describe the bit, I think the word, Medellin, his various -- judgmental.

-- meddling. This is not the cliche of the First Lady it diving in and

meddling in health care plans, she is someone that what it has been to

live up to that ideals that were promoted as part of pop Obama's

campaign. I have been covering this for five years and wanted explore

the question of what she take -- get when you take two ambitious and

intelligent people and put them in the White House. It would be quite

disorienting with two little girls and it would take a little time for

her to adjust and find her feet. She even thought of delaying moving

to the White House initially saw the girls could finish off their

school year. On the one hand, perhaps she did not know much about

how the presidency work but you could also say she had a bitter

about say there was them. That was in the early days and now she may

be has more up conferred with her role and is campaigning about

better diets for young people and is seen as an asset. Most reviewers

have seen this as not an unflattering portrait of the First

Lady because it is the story of her time turning around and the White

House. She had a rocky debut but has been a success. Is it a

sympathetic portrayal despite what the book reviews are saying? Will

you like Michelle Obama more or less after you read this bit?

don't want to do a flattering or unflattering portrait but many

reviewers say they have a new-found respect for Michelle Obama after

seeing the behind the scenes betrayal. Why she's so annoyed?

has not read a bit. She may have read bits. The White House say they

were returning more or -- the offending water some of the tabloid

coverage. What was the most surprising feature you discovered?

I think the most surprising thing the White House advisers told me

was really how difficult life in the White House's. I think the

world has glamorised images of their Force One and steak dinners

but if you look at the details of their home life, it is quite

different. How far she it a conduit by which her husband expresses his

ambitions and dreams. She will be ubiquitous on the campaign to Elf -

- campaign trail in 2012 in part because she is more popular than

him just now. Thank you. A reminder of our main news: The EU

has approved tough sanctions against Iran in an attempt to stop

Tehran's alleged nuclear weapons programme. The measures include a

ban on imports of Iranian crude oil. Iran insists it's not trying to

build nuclear weapons and has threatened to block the Strait of

Hormuz, a key oil route. Two presidential candidates are

among four Kenyans to stand trial at the International Criminal Court

for crimes against humanity during the post-election violence of 2007.

Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto deny the charges. Over a thousand

people died in clashes between supporters of the rival candidates.

Well, that's all from the programme. Next the weather. But for now from

me, Zeinab Badawi, and the rest of Particularly in the east. We have a

band of rain to contend with which will come in up with this weather

front moving off the Atlantic. Rain across the Atlantic over parts of

Northern Ireland but there will be called they are coming into

Scotland and parts of England. Some sleet and snow mixed in with that

particularly of a higher ground but things fizzle out by the afternoon

with Sting staying cloudy. Patchy rain and particularly cold with

temperatures struggling at around four Celsius. Some patchy rain

across East Anglia and the south- east. A lot of cloud but it should

remain dry in the afternoon. Temperatures in the West that

around 10 Celsius so here it is much milder. Abbey's dry spell for

Wales and then the way up -- of rain will return for the afternoon.

Northern Ireland, a little bit more rain in the afternoon which will

come and go with temperatures in Belfast of 11 Celsius. After a

rather windy start today, temperatures in Scotland or recover