:00:00. > :00:08.This is BBC World News Today, with me, Philippa Thomas. They're off
:00:09. > :00:13.again - a fresh round of talks about Iran's nuclear programme has started
:00:14. > :00:15.in Geneva. But back in Tehran, stern words from Iran's Supreme Leade,
:00:16. > :00:16.in Geneva. But back in Tehran, stern words from Iran's Supreme Leade the
:00:17. > :00:28.Ayatollah warns that his country will not step back from its "right"
:00:29. > :00:31.to enrich uranium. Under fire from Al-Shabab - we have a special report
:00:32. > :00:40.from the front line in Somalia, targeting the militants behind the
:00:41. > :00:47.attack on a Kenyan shopping mall. I roadside bomb has just gone off.
:00:48. > :00:51.Also coming up: Britain's Prime Minister rules out an amnesty in
:00:52. > :00:53.Northern Ireland - we talk to a leading Irish American who advised
:00:54. > :00:57.President Clinton on the peace process.
:00:58. > :01:00.And Mumbai eight London nil - how India is blazing a trail with the
:01:01. > :01:15.number of female executives running the country's top banks.
:01:16. > :01:22.Hello and welcome. What does Iran intend to do with its
:01:23. > :01:25.nuclear power programme? Its diplomats are meeting in Geneva for
:01:26. > :01:36.more talks with the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany. Iran's
:01:37. > :01:40.Supreme Leader in Tehran is warning that Iran will not step back "one
:01:41. > :01:43.iota" from its nuclear rights. And its Foreign Minister - in a YouTube
:01:44. > :01:46.video - is talking in more conciliatory tones about Iranian
:01:47. > :01:48.dignity and its desire for diversified energy. Our Iran
:01:49. > :01:54.correspondent James Reynolds in Geneva reports now on the latest
:01:55. > :02:00.diplomatic developments. The world's power negotiator has a
:02:01. > :02:06.driver, but she probably knows the roads well enough to take the wheel
:02:07. > :02:10.herself. This is the third time in the last five weeks that she has
:02:11. > :02:25.been here for nuclear talks. She wants to persuade this man, Iran's
:02:26. > :02:30.Foreign Minister, to make negotiations about the nuclear
:02:31. > :02:38.programme. It is not about joining the club or threatening others.
:02:39. > :02:43.Nuclear energy is about a leaked. I jumped towards deciding our own
:02:44. > :02:48.destiny. These talks are essentially an effort to sort out to run's place
:02:49. > :02:53.in the world and in its own region. So the discussions which are taking
:02:54. > :02:59.place here affect the shape of the entire Middle East. And in that
:03:00. > :03:04.region Iran's supreme leader has told a loyal audience that he is
:03:05. > :03:10.watching the talks closely. Any final decision on a nuclear
:03:11. > :03:13.agreement will be made by him. Although we do not intervene in the
:03:14. > :03:19.details of these talks there are certain red lines, there are limits.
:03:20. > :03:24.These limits are to be observed. On a visit to Istanbul, William Hague
:03:25. > :03:30.raised the possibility of an interim agreement. This is an historic
:03:31. > :03:36.opportunity to build agreement on how to curb nuclear proliferation in
:03:37. > :03:41.the Middle East. And potentially to set are lesions whether run on a
:03:42. > :03:46.different path. It is the best chance for a long time to make
:03:47. > :03:51.progress on one of the gravest problems in foreign policy. For a
:03:52. > :03:55.decade, that problem has defeated teams of the goal shooters.
:03:56. > :04:03.Diplomats here have three days to see if they can draft deal for a
:04:04. > :04:08.first step. In the last 30 minutes it has been
:04:09. > :04:15.reported that delegates in Geneva were saying it would be difficult to
:04:16. > :04:18.strike a deal. Michael Mann, spokesman for the EU's Foreign
:04:19. > :04:21.Policy chief Catherine Ashton, is in Geneva. The first session only
:04:22. > :04:24.lasted ten minutes - what do you make of that? You must feel you are
:04:25. > :04:28.getting to know Geneva very well, too. What about this downbeat line
:04:29. > :04:33.from an American official? I do not think it is necessarily downbeat
:04:34. > :04:40.upbeat. These are very complicated negotiations, we have made a lot of
:04:41. > :04:45.progress over the last two meetings. Nobody is pretending this is going
:04:46. > :04:49.to be simple, it is often tying up the fine details that is the
:04:50. > :04:52.difficult bit. We have come with the message that Catherine Ashton was to
:04:53. > :04:57.negotiate hard to find assisting the ball and robust deal. We have made a
:04:58. > :05:02.lot of progress, there are still differences between us, but we will
:05:03. > :05:07.work hard to make sure we move things forward. It is difficult for
:05:08. > :05:12.me to make any predictions, but we want to progress certainly. The
:05:13. > :05:17.opening session lasted ten minutes. They need to have these bilateral
:05:18. > :05:21.discussions. That is right. There was a long lunchtime meeting between
:05:22. > :05:28.Catherine Ashton and Minister -- the Catherine Ashton and Minister - the
:05:29. > :05:35.Foreign Minister of Iran. There was a brief recession, people got
:05:36. > :05:41.excited. There was need for that -- no need for that excitement. They
:05:42. > :05:46.broke into what we call bilateral meetings with the Iranians I with
:05:47. > :05:53.each of the six in turn, and that is what is happening at the time. While
:05:54. > :06:05.you are negotiating, there is this line taken by the reader. -- leader.
:06:06. > :06:09.We are continuing our work here. I do not think anyone should get too
:06:10. > :06:12.worried about what has been said. There is a political process in
:06:13. > :06:19.various capitals. We will continue our work here to keep things going
:06:20. > :06:23.forward. We take note of what is being said, but I think both sides
:06:24. > :06:28.of the negotiations understand each other and we will try and move wings
:06:29. > :06:42.forward. The fact that we are here just ten days after the other talks
:06:43. > :06:47.shows how serious we are. I will have to be invasive here, we cannot
:06:48. > :06:54.go into detail about what is on the table. We are here to see as the
:06:55. > :06:58.assurance, verifiable reassurance from the Iranians said that their
:06:59. > :07:03.nuclear programme is for peaceful means. There is an issue with the
:07:04. > :07:08.level of uranium enrichment going on in Iran. We are seeing from their
:07:09. > :07:13.obligations that they were full on, they are prepared to prove that
:07:14. > :07:20.their programme is purely peaceful and they will stop purifying and
:07:21. > :07:28.enriching uranium to that level That is the key issue. Good to talk
:07:29. > :07:30.to you as always. Thank you. Meanwhile, security is tight in
:07:31. > :07:34.Beirut after Iran's embassy in the Lebanese capital was targeted in a
:07:35. > :07:39.bomb attack on Tuesday, which killed 23 people and injured more than 140.
:07:40. > :07:43.A Sunni Lebanese group fighting with rebels in neighbouring Syria has
:07:44. > :07:46.claimed responsibility. It's likely the attack came in retaliation for
:07:47. > :07:52.Iran's support for Syria's President Assad. It also comes at a time when
:07:53. > :07:55.rebels just over the border in Syria are struggling to reverse recent
:07:56. > :07:58.government gains. In the Qalamoun hills north of Damascus, suicide
:07:59. > :08:04.bombers today targeted government troops and a hospital. Let's talk to
:08:05. > :08:10.our Middle East correspondent Paul Wood, who's in Beirut, about this
:08:11. > :08:16.regional hotspot. Can you tell us more about this
:08:17. > :08:21.hotspot and the significance of the Qalamoun Hills. They are important
:08:22. > :08:29.because if you have the Qalamoun bills, you have the main highway.
:08:30. > :08:35.Ultimately you can threaten Damascus. The battle is all about
:08:36. > :08:40.what is the endgame for Syria, the battle for Damascus. If the rebels
:08:41. > :08:45.have Qalamoun, they can be group and they can mount as they have been
:08:46. > :08:49.doing over the past two years of fences into the suburbs of Damascus.
:08:50. > :08:57.It is difficult for them to do that any longer. This successful
:08:58. > :09:03.defensive from the regime will push the rebels out of these last pockets
:09:04. > :09:07.into Lebanon. Given that the government offensive has been
:09:08. > :09:12.relatively successful so far, there are reports of hundreds of rebel
:09:13. > :09:16.fighters pouring in. You sense that feeling of escalation on both sides?
:09:17. > :09:21.Talking to people we understand that the main Al-Qaeda linked group in
:09:22. > :09:26.Syria has been trying to final fighters down from the North where
:09:27. > :09:32.they do not feel they are doing very much at the moment, into the fight
:09:33. > :09:37.in the Qalamoun bills. That was according to sources ten days ago. I
:09:38. > :09:41.do not know how much they will be able to accomplish. It is important
:09:42. > :09:48.now, not least the cost of rebels lose this area altogether, they will
:09:49. > :09:54.not have any means of getting their casualties out. It does sound as
:09:55. > :10:01.there is potential turning point here. Neither side looks likely to
:10:02. > :10:07.win in the near future. We are in a sense in a state of stalemate? If
:10:08. > :10:13.the government is winning in Qalamoun, it will take a long, long
:10:14. > :10:18.time. These are isolated mountains, there is one road in and one road
:10:19. > :10:21.out. Even if they have taken this town and they hold it as they appear
:10:22. > :10:28.to be doing, the rebels will it back. It is starting to turn into
:10:29. > :10:32.winter, it is difficult for troops and people on both sides and
:10:33. > :10:37.refugees streaming into Lebanon in greater numbers. There is a feeling
:10:38. > :10:43.generally that the momentum is with the government. That does not mean
:10:44. > :10:46.that they can extinguish the fighters on the rebel side. There is
:10:47. > :10:51.some kind of stalemate with the rebels holed up parts of the
:10:52. > :10:56.countryside, the government's authority extends to some highways.
:10:57. > :10:59.Britain and the United States and even countries like Iran are telling
:11:00. > :11:04.all sides in the conflict the only way out is a negotiated solution,
:11:05. > :11:11.one that does not seem to be happening on either side at the
:11:12. > :11:14.moment. Thank you very much. The Somali group Al-Shabab may be
:11:15. > :11:18.the most powerful Islamist force in the world - and put itself back in
:11:19. > :11:21.the spotlight recently when it attacked the Westgate Shopping Mall
:11:22. > :11:24.in Nairobi. It sought to justify that attack as revenge for Kenya
:11:25. > :11:28.sending troops to fight Al Shabaab in Somalia, where the militants have
:11:29. > :11:31.been waging a bloody war for several years. The African Union mission in
:11:32. > :11:35.Somalia has now been reinforced - and we have a special report on the
:11:36. > :11:37.dangers it faces. Our correspondent Mark Doyle travelling with the
:11:38. > :11:47.Ugandan contingent deep into central Somalia.
:11:48. > :11:52.Driving by night through a war zone is not ideal. But the soldiers I was
:11:53. > :11:57.with wanted to press ahead. The relative safety of their next well
:11:58. > :12:04.defended position. We are headed for one of the most dangerous areas of
:12:05. > :12:11.Somalia, 120 kilometres south of the capital. There are Al-Shabab
:12:12. > :12:18.positions on both sides of the vehicle I am travelling in now and
:12:19. > :12:23.we are heading for a Ugandan base. As we arrived, we heard over the
:12:24. > :12:28.sound of night-time insects, an attack on the adjacent base. These
:12:29. > :12:33.African union soldiers are trying to stop Al-Shabab from turning Somalia
:12:34. > :12:39.into an Al-Qaeda style strictly Islamist country. The African forces
:12:40. > :12:45.mainly financed by the United States and is making some progress. But
:12:46. > :12:48.Al-Shabab are fighting back. These are parts of the roadside bomb that
:12:49. > :12:55.was detonated against the tiger that was ahead of us. This is the battery
:12:56. > :13:03.and this is the detonator that was strung out on a wire on the side of
:13:04. > :13:06.the road there. -- the tank. All of these little bits of green, these
:13:07. > :13:10.are the leaves from the trees which have been blasted off by the
:13:11. > :13:17.strength of the explosion. This is the vehicle itself. It was hit from
:13:18. > :13:21.underneath. The blast went up through the store and you can see
:13:22. > :13:27.the fragments and so on the shrapnel which are asked about the windows in
:13:28. > :13:35.the mirrors. -- have blasted. Then another explosion and even closer
:13:36. > :13:43.call. The roadside bomb has gone off binders. The gardeners on the
:13:44. > :13:51.carrier we are in our shooting at the bushes all around. -- the
:13:52. > :14:00.Gunners. Many of the roadside bombs are set off by children. We cannot
:14:01. > :14:07.give this man's name, he is only 15 years old. What did you do? At first
:14:08. > :14:12.he says I was sent into towns to shoot people in the lead. Then I
:14:13. > :14:18.became a commander myself and sent out others to carry out
:14:19. > :14:22.assassinations. Al-Shabab our only interested in religion. They told me
:14:23. > :14:29.I would go to heaven when I died. African Union firepower has got a
:14:30. > :14:30.long way down a deadly road. It has pushed Al-Shabab out of Somalia's
:14:31. > :14:38.pushed Al-Shabab out of Somalia s main towns. But those advances were
:14:39. > :14:42.headed by soldiers from Uganda are threatened and shortages of military
:14:43. > :14:48.equipment. We need more trucks, more helicopters and more manpower. To do
:14:49. > :14:52.what? To make sure we cover up all the areas that are covered by the
:14:53. > :14:55.Al-Shabab. These soldiers are gearing themselves up for more
:14:56. > :15:04.fighting stop but will richer countries support them with the
:15:05. > :15:06.tools they need to finish the job? Now a look at some of the day's
:15:07. > :15:09.other news. One of 30 Greenpeace activists being
:15:10. > :15:13.detained in Russia has been released. Brazilian Ana Paula Maciel
:15:14. > :15:17.is among 20 activists so far granted bail after they were arrested at an
:15:18. > :15:20.offshore oil rig in the Arctic two months ago. The court in the city of
:15:21. > :15:24.St Petersburg ruled that the activists would be released once the
:15:25. > :15:34.bail sum of about ?60,000 each was paid. -- $60,000.
:15:35. > :15:37.The Church of England's ruling body has voted in favour of proposals
:15:38. > :15:40.which could allow the ordination of women bishops. The approval paves
:15:41. > :15:44.the way for a vote next year, which could see the measures become part
:15:45. > :15:47.of church legislation. The issue of women bishops has been discussed
:15:48. > :15:49.within the Church of England for nearly 50 years.
:15:50. > :15:52.The South African double-amputee Olympic runner, Oscar Pistorius has
:15:53. > :15:54.been charged with a further two gun-related offences. Pistorius has
:15:55. > :15:57.already been charged with murder for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva
:15:58. > :16:01.Steenkamp. Mr Pistorius has admitted killing Ms Steenkamp, but denies it
:16:02. > :16:04.was murder. His trial begins in March next year.
:16:05. > :16:12.The British scientist who helped the world to understand the building
:16:13. > :16:16.blocks of DNA has died. Frederick Sanger, the only person from Britain
:16:17. > :16:19.to have won two Nobel Prizes, was 95. Fellow researchers describe him
:16:20. > :16:23.as "one of the greatest scientists of any generation" and "a real hero"
:16:24. > :16:26.of British science. The British Prime Minister David
:16:27. > :16:29.Cameron has ruled out plans for an amnesty on offences during the
:16:30. > :16:32.Northern Ireland Troubles - that is, crimes committed before the Good
:16:33. > :16:35.Friday Agreement in 1998. His comments came after Northern
:16:36. > :16:37.Ireland's Attorney-General said there should no more prosecutions
:16:38. > :16:49.linked to the deaths inflicted during decades of sectarian
:16:50. > :16:55.violence. Chris Buckler reports. Belfast is a place that has
:16:56. > :17:00.benefited from peace. As city opened up after years of tight security.
:17:01. > :17:05.But the decades of violence cannot be forgotten. Bombings and killings
:17:06. > :17:11.were on all too common part of life. There are still murders and solved,
:17:12. > :17:13.killer is not held accountable. But now the Attorney-General for
:17:14. > :17:17.Northern Ireland has suggested that the time may have come to end any
:17:18. > :17:25.prosecutions or investigations related to the worst years of
:17:26. > :17:29.troubles. -- of the Troubles. The time may have come to set online
:17:30. > :17:34.set out the Good Friday Agreement with respect to prosecutions and
:17:35. > :17:37.inquests. Across Northern Ireland, there are
:17:38. > :17:42.families who feel they have never had justice. This proposal would
:17:43. > :17:47.mean anybody involved in killings before 1998 would be immune from
:17:48. > :17:52.prosecution. He did not have a chance to draw a gun pointed --
:17:53. > :17:57.anything, it was in the back and he was left lying in the road to die,
:17:58. > :18:03.with nobody there. That memory comes to be quite often.
:18:04. > :18:06.Florence's son was a police officer, murdered on duty in 1980. She
:18:07. > :18:16.strongly feels you cannot draw a line. I know we have to go on with
:18:17. > :18:20.life, but I think we never got closure, so how can you have closure
:18:21. > :18:25.if you did not get justice? Dealing with that legacy of violence
:18:26. > :18:32.is always a difficult discussion. It has been debated on radio phone in
:18:33. > :18:36.programmes. And the American -- this American diplomat is trying to
:18:37. > :18:40.broker an agreement between politicians about the past.
:18:41. > :18:44.However, the Prime Minister has suggested this could be a step too
:18:45. > :18:48.far. We have no plans to legislate for an amnesty for crimes committed
:18:49. > :18:54.during the Troubles. But there are politicians concerned,
:18:55. > :18:59.as well as victims propose groups. This is a place where the past casts
:19:00. > :19:02.a long shadow. -- victims' groups. Former US Congressman Bruce Morrison
:19:03. > :19:05.was an adviser to President Bill Clinton on Northern Ireland issues
:19:06. > :19:15.during the peace process. He joins us live from Washington.
:19:16. > :19:22.Your thoughts on this idea of an end to prosecutions on these historic
:19:23. > :19:28.crimes. I think your piece that you just ran kind of explains why it is
:19:29. > :19:33.a bad idea. Justice is something we want to prevail in the future of
:19:34. > :19:37.Northern Ireland, and there are many victims who still feel that justice
:19:38. > :19:42.has not been done for their cases and those cases and or on the smack
:19:43. > :19:46.are on both sides of the divide. When the victims feel that it is
:19:47. > :19:52.time to move on, then I think one can move on, but I don't think you
:19:53. > :19:57.can leave them, believed as they are, feeling that closure has been
:19:58. > :20:02.abandoned in their cases. Is there not a danger that by egging into
:20:03. > :20:07.these historic crimes you are unearthing old bitterness is in
:20:08. > :20:11.feelings of betrayal, and yet every year it finds the smack it finds the
:20:12. > :20:21.smack it becomes harder to check out that evidence? -- it becomes harder.
:20:22. > :20:25.In a lot of cases there has been a suggestion there would be
:20:26. > :20:32.prosecutions in the killings from Bloody Sunday, those are on one
:20:33. > :20:35.side, there are Parliament -- paramilitary offences that others
:20:36. > :20:40.are concerned about. The past is still alive, it is not being on
:20:41. > :20:46.earth, it still lives in Northern Ireland. -- it is not being on
:20:47. > :20:49.earth. Northern Ireland has benefited from negotiations between
:20:50. > :20:53.the communities and the politicians, and it is a bottom-up solution that
:20:54. > :20:58.is needed here. A top-down decree that these historical cases are
:20:59. > :21:03.off-limits will not please anyone, and I don't think it will pave the
:21:04. > :21:09.way towards a better future. Northern Ireland's Chief Constable
:21:10. > :21:12.is saying the cost of policing the past has a massive impact on how we
:21:13. > :21:18.deal with the present. He said dealing with what he calls legacy
:21:19. > :21:21.issues put significant pressure on our finances. That suggestion that
:21:22. > :21:26.people of Northern Ireland today could lose out from the money being
:21:27. > :21:32.invested in the Palace -- in investigating the past. I think that
:21:33. > :21:38.is a decision for the political leadership in the province to come
:21:39. > :21:44.together and debate at Stormont. I don't think there are priorities to
:21:45. > :21:49.be set on an efficiency basis as opposed to what brings the greater
:21:50. > :21:56.sense of justice and protection to the people who are living there now.
:21:57. > :22:00.There are still very live issues like flags, parades, as well as the
:22:01. > :22:06.investigation of past crimes. From an American standpoint you feel
:22:07. > :22:11.there is a very difficult death suspect different view of Northern
:22:12. > :22:17.Ireland to a few years ago? -- a different view of Northern Ireland?
:22:18. > :22:24.View among the people generally is that a tremendous amount of progress
:22:25. > :22:29.has been made. -- the view is. But it will take a long time to resolve
:22:30. > :22:34.the many conflicts that exist. It is a positive story, but it has not
:22:35. > :22:43.reached its end, and work will have to be done, and I think that what
:22:44. > :22:47.Richard Hass is trying to do is a very positive contribution, but at
:22:48. > :22:50.the end of the day it comes from the people in Northern Ireland to chart
:22:51. > :22:55.their own future in a way that builds on the peace that has been
:22:56. > :22:59.created. We have to leave it there. Thank you
:23:00. > :23:02.for joining us. London may be the world's largest
:23:03. > :23:06.financial centre, but there aren't ANY women at the helm of any British
:23:07. > :23:09.banks and very few at senior levels in finance in the UK. Yet in India
:23:10. > :23:13.several females are running the country's banks, including the
:23:14. > :23:21.largest. How did they do it? Reeta Chakrabarti reports.
:23:22. > :23:26.Banking has been one of the engines driving the Indian economy. Its
:23:27. > :23:31.growth has seen a startling rise in the success of women, not just on
:23:32. > :23:36.the shop floor but right at the very top. This woman has worked at
:23:37. > :23:41.India's second-largest rank for nearly 30 years, and she now leads
:23:42. > :23:45.it. How is it that women like her have done so well? The banks are
:23:46. > :23:49.making a decision based on merit, and picking and choosing the
:23:50. > :23:54.candidate they think is the most meritorious at that point in time.
:23:55. > :23:57.Without any inhibition in their mind of whether the candidate is male or
:23:58. > :24:07.female. As banking has grown, so has female
:24:08. > :24:13.talent. There are now eight major banks headed by female executives.
:24:14. > :24:17.They include this woman, who says Indian woman have an advantage as
:24:18. > :24:24.there is always domestic help and the extended family. Family support
:24:25. > :24:27.is a huge distinction for us, so my mother or my mother-in-law or even
:24:28. > :24:32.my father father-in-law would come by and help me if I was stuck in a
:24:33. > :24:38.situation. -- father or father-in-law. Competition to get
:24:39. > :24:42.into this management college is unbelievably fierce, with around
:24:43. > :24:49.1000 applications per place. Girls are determined to succeed. I wanted
:24:50. > :24:58.to make sure I am working. I want to make a contribution. It is more
:24:59. > :25:04.about the talent you have less about social constraints. India's first
:25:05. > :25:09.female banking boss was in the 1990s, but she says it was an only
:25:10. > :25:13.business then being the only woman at the top. But banking was always
:25:14. > :25:19.seen as a good option for women. These women joined because it was a
:25:20. > :25:24.dream job for them. The family did not object to them, they went to an
:25:25. > :25:28.air-conditioned office, they were very happy, and meeting so many
:25:29. > :25:32.people, dealing with money, it was glamorous.
:25:33. > :25:37.Women have always worked in India, but their rise in the last two
:25:38. > :25:38.decades in banking at least has proved a phenomenal success. All the
:25:39. > :25:43.more remarkable given the many -- more remarkable given the many -
:25:44. > :25:44.and said -- conservative attitudes to women in many other parts of the
:25:45. > :25:50.country. With much of the population still
:25:51. > :25:55.lacking basic education, there's attitudes will not disappear soon.
:25:56. > :25:59.But the educated middle class now equals around 250 million people.
:26:00. > :26:15.With numbers like that, India's corporate revolution might have only
:26:16. > :26:19.just began. A reminder of our main news.
:26:20. > :26:22.Talks between Iran and six world powers have resumed in Geneva to try
:26:23. > :26:25.to reach a deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme. An Iranian
:26:26. > :26:27.official described as constructive preliminary discussions between the
:26:28. > :26:29.foreign minister and the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine
:26:30. > :26:31.Ashton. Earlier the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
:26:32. > :26:34.of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran would not back down from
:26:35. > :26:36.its right to have a nuclear programme.
:26:37. > :26:41.Well, that's all from the programme. Next, the weather. But for now, from
:26:42. > :26:46.me, Philippa Thomas and the rest of the team, goodbye.