:00:00. > :00:10.This is BBC World News Today. I'm Tim Willcox.
:00:11. > :00:13.A major blow for Iraq's security forces as militants linked to
:00:14. > :00:17.al-Qaeda take control of parts of two major cities. Iraqi special
:00:18. > :00:19.forces are battling militants in Fallujah and Ramadi who've seized
:00:20. > :00:29.police stations, freed prisoners and set up checkpoints.
:00:30. > :00:35.The first of the helicopters to take us home! Rescued at last after a
:00:36. > :00:38.Christmas on ice. 52 people are airlifted from their ship, which has
:00:39. > :00:40.been stuck in the Antarctic for a week.
:00:41. > :00:43.Also coming up: Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson speaks out about the
:00:44. > :00:45.fraud trial of her assistants, in which she was accused of regularly
:00:46. > :00:55.using cocaine. To have not only your private life
:00:56. > :00:58.but distortions of it put on display is mortifying.
:00:59. > :01:02.And forget about the Great Wall. China now boasts an engineering feat
:01:03. > :01:14.fit for the 21st century. We go for a ride.
:01:15. > :01:20.Hello and welcome. Iraqi special forces have launched a major
:01:21. > :01:23.operation to try and reclaim two cities which have come under the
:01:24. > :01:28.control of militants linked to al-Qaeda. The Islamic State of Iraq
:01:29. > :01:31.and the Levant - SIL - have reportedly captured several police
:01:32. > :01:34.stations in Fallujah and Ramadi, both in Anbar province, taken
:01:35. > :01:40.weapons, freed prisoners and set up checkpoints. It comes as the United
:01:41. > :01:43.Nations claimed 2013 was the deadliest year in Iraq since 2008,
:01:44. > :01:51.with more than 7,800 civilians and 1,000 members of the security forces
:01:52. > :02:00.killed in violence there. Rafid Jaboori reports.
:02:01. > :02:05.It is the first time since the withdrawal of the US forces that the
:02:06. > :02:13.Iraqi government has lost control of two major cities. Significant parts
:02:14. > :02:17.of Ramadi and Fallujah in Anbar province have fallen to the militant
:02:18. > :02:21.fighters of Al-Qaeda, but the government is fighting to reading
:02:22. > :02:29.them. Tension has been high since last week in the heartland of
:02:30. > :02:36.Iraq's Sunni majority -- minority. On Monday, protest camp in Ramadi
:02:37. > :02:41.was dismantled. The Sonys have been protesting against the Shia
:02:42. > :02:43.government for months. But the government has now secured
:02:44. > :02:50.significant backing from Sunni tribal leaders. Last year was the
:02:51. > :02:56.most violent year in Iraq since 2008, with thousands killed and
:02:57. > :03:00.injured, mainly in attacks on Shia areas and security forces by
:03:01. > :03:05.Al-Qaeda. With the support of tribal leaders, the government might be
:03:06. > :03:09.able to regain control of Anbar, but the long-running problems in the
:03:10. > :03:13.Sunni areas will need more comprehensive political deals.
:03:14. > :03:19.In another sign of instability in the country, a suicide bomber has
:03:20. > :03:28.killed at least 12 people and injured more than 75 at a market 70
:03:29. > :03:30.kilometres north-east of Baghdad. Brad Blakeman is Professor of
:03:31. > :03:33.Politics and International Affairs at Georgetown University in
:03:34. > :03:39.Washington. He was also a member of President George W Bush's senior
:03:40. > :03:45.staff from 2001 to 2004. Thank you for joining us on the programme.
:03:46. > :03:49.America has sent 75 missiles and is talking about sending some Eagle
:03:50. > :03:56.surveillance drones as well. Should it be doing more, given what is
:03:57. > :04:00.happening in Iraq? Well, President Obama has made it clear that he is
:04:01. > :04:05.not going to do more, and it is up to the international community now
:04:06. > :04:10.to step up. We will help the best we can, but it is up to the Iraqis now
:04:11. > :04:13.to stand up for themselves, and if they can't do it after all the
:04:14. > :04:21.opportunity that the United States and Britain and other countries have
:04:22. > :04:29.given to them, then they need to meet their own fate. So specifically
:04:30. > :04:34.with the United States, do you agree with President Obama's stance? The
:04:35. > :04:41.missiles and drones are some things, but what about more help in terms of
:04:42. > :04:47.surveillance and into full -- infiltration. We should make sure
:04:48. > :04:50.that the allies do not get a foothold in Iraq that they seem to
:04:51. > :05:00.be getting in some of these areas in Fallujah and Ramadi. So it is in our
:05:01. > :05:03.allies' interest to make sure that this doesn't happen and help them to
:05:04. > :05:07.be self-sufficient enough to get the job done so that our allies will not
:05:08. > :05:12.have to go in and augment that with troops or other support. What about
:05:13. > :05:20.the sectarian split? Do think international pressure should be put
:05:21. > :05:24.on them to make the Sunnis more represented within Iraq? There are
:05:25. > :05:33.internal and external factors, a lack of representation in Iraq, and
:05:34. > :05:37.externally, the war in Syria. And that is where the UN could be of
:05:38. > :05:42.great value, to bring reconciliation to factions that have broken off. It
:05:43. > :05:48.is incumbent on the UN under its charter to do that, which they are
:05:49. > :05:52.charged to do, which is to go in and bring the parties together, and get
:05:53. > :05:56.the current government to acknowledge that things must change
:05:57. > :05:59.in Iraq, there must be not only an acknowledgement, but policies must
:06:00. > :06:04.change in order for them to bring stability and peace within their own
:06:05. > :06:08.borders. What about the role of Iran and Saudi Arabia here as well. What
:06:09. > :06:15.sort of international leveraged can be put on them, especially given the
:06:16. > :06:19.apparent rapprochement between the United States and Iran? There is no
:06:20. > :06:22.question about it that outside forces are instigating a lot of the
:06:23. > :06:29.violence within Iraq, and that has got to stop. We have to secure as
:06:30. > :06:32.best we can and help them with their borders, and bring pressure up on
:06:33. > :06:36.outside nations who are causing a lot of the mischief within Iraq, and
:06:37. > :06:43.unfortunately, we have taken our foot off the sanctions, which are
:06:44. > :06:52.starting to be of great significance in Iran. And I think our president
:06:53. > :06:55.has been making a great misstep in taking his foot off some of the
:06:56. > :06:59.sanctions, because it is not in the interests of the region, and it may
:07:00. > :07:06.not even be in our interests that it was done. This has led to the deaths
:07:07. > :07:13.of more than 8000 civilians. I wonder if there is any moral
:07:14. > :07:18.necessity for America to take part in this, and how optimistic are you
:07:19. > :07:24.that this will ever be resolved? We have had the threat of civil war so
:07:25. > :07:27.many times before. Well, let's take a look in America's history. When we
:07:28. > :07:33.declared independence, it took was 11 years to get our act ever, and
:07:34. > :07:41.within 100 years of our independence, we had a civil war,
:07:42. > :07:49.600,000 Americans dead, brother against brother. You cannot will
:07:50. > :07:52.civility, it has to be earned. But only if it is going to mean
:07:53. > :07:57.something and it will be the lubricant well thought out, and just
:07:58. > :08:01.to do something to say that we did something is not enough. We have to
:08:02. > :08:03.have results if we are going to do anything. Thank you very much indeed
:08:04. > :08:09.for joining us on the programme. Sectarian violence has also flared
:08:10. > :08:12.up again in Lebanon. Tensions heightened between Sunnis and Shias
:08:13. > :08:16.because of the war in neighbouring Syria. In the last few hours, at
:08:17. > :08:19.least six people have been killed in a car bomb attack in a southern
:08:20. > :08:23.suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of the Shia militant group Hezbollah.
:08:24. > :08:26.It comes just days after a Sunni and a critic of Hezbollah was killed by
:08:27. > :08:31.a car bomb. Our correspondent Corine Torbey is at the scene and we'll get
:08:32. > :08:33.the latest from her in just a few minutes.
:08:34. > :08:38.Now to the crisis in South Sudan, where fierce fighting continues even
:08:39. > :08:42.as efforts to end the violence get under way. Delegations from the
:08:43. > :08:45.warring factions led by President Salva Kiir and his former deputy
:08:46. > :08:50.Riek Machar are meeting for peace talks in the Ethiopian capital,
:08:51. > :08:53.Addis Ababa. Aid agencies say many civilians inside South Sudan are in
:08:54. > :08:57.desperate need of help and shelter. They estimate up to 75,000 people
:08:58. > :09:00.have gathered on the banks of the Nile looking for help, after
:09:01. > :09:08.crossing by boat from the town of Bor. Our correspondent Alastair
:09:09. > :09:12.Leithead is at the camp. We don't know exactly how many
:09:13. > :09:15.people have made the trip across the Nile river that is just behind me
:09:16. > :09:19.here, but it is more than 75,000 people. That is like a sports
:09:20. > :09:23.stadium full of people suddenly arriving here, and this is where
:09:24. > :09:26.they are ending up. They are coming here and just sitting under the
:09:27. > :09:31.trees. This is the only shelter they have got. And this goes all the way
:09:32. > :09:36.down this bank of the Nile, all the way in for a couple of miles into
:09:37. > :09:39.that area, huge numbers of people. And they have nothing. They grabbed
:09:40. > :09:44.what they could, came here without much food. And the water isn't
:09:45. > :09:48.clean. These guys here with these buckets on their head, that is water
:09:49. > :09:54.collected from the Nile, dirty, bad water. On this side, we have a
:09:55. > :09:59.clinic that has been set up by Medecins Sans Frontieres, two small
:10:00. > :10:01.clinics with a handful of staff, and they have been trying to deal with
:10:02. > :10:06.increasing numbers of people coming in with really bad diarrhoea, among
:10:07. > :10:08.the many children, and we have heard of babies who have died of diarrhoea
:10:09. > :10:14.because there are no facilities here. In the background here, you
:10:15. > :10:20.can make out the first signs of aid coming in. This is truck loads of
:10:21. > :10:23.food, the committee internationally of the Red Cross have come in and
:10:24. > :10:27.brought food and supplies, and they are trying to do this in an
:10:28. > :10:30.organised way. You can see the queues of people waiting, organised
:10:31. > :10:33.by which area they are from to try to make sure that this is given out
:10:34. > :10:38.fairly to those people who need it most, but more needs to come. It is
:10:39. > :10:42.a five-hour drive of a bad roads to reach this area, and the UN is
:10:43. > :10:46.already aware of the situation. It is a humanitarian crisis. The
:10:47. > :10:51.fighting is continuing across the river. There are people over there
:10:52. > :10:55.who can no longer come over on boats because it is too dangerous for
:10:56. > :10:58.them. Even to get here where there is nothing is better than being in a
:10:59. > :11:01.town held by the anti-government forces, and there is a serious risk
:11:02. > :11:04.of more intense fighting breaking out in the days ahead.
:11:05. > :11:09.He's been in a coma and vegetative state since 2006, but doctors in
:11:10. > :11:13.Israel say the condition of former Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon has
:11:14. > :11:16.worsened in the past 48 hours. Doctors say his organs are failing
:11:17. > :11:26.and his life is in danger. From Jerusalem, Kevin Connolly reports.
:11:27. > :11:30.At the medical centre near Tel Aviv, Israel waits anxiously for a medical
:11:31. > :11:34.bulletin on the health of the former Prime Minister, who has been in a
:11:35. > :11:42.coma for eight years. When the news comes, it is not good.
:11:43. > :11:48.TRANSLATION: Mr Ariel Sharon shows some signs of deterioration in the
:11:49. > :11:51.following two days, with some critical miss function, malfunction
:11:52. > :12:02.of some of his organs, including his kidneys. He is under treatment, but
:12:03. > :12:06.we feel that the situation is critical, and some danger is
:12:07. > :12:10.expected for his life. Ariel Sharon's life may be slipping
:12:11. > :12:15.away now, but in his heyday, they called him the bulldozer. The
:12:16. > :12:17.forceful soldier and politician saw himself as an uncompromising
:12:18. > :12:25.defender of his country's interests, in war and in peace. We remember his
:12:26. > :12:30.contributions, sacrifices he made to ensure the survival and the
:12:31. > :12:32.well-being of Israel, and I have many personal thoughts about my
:12:33. > :12:42.meetings with him, on many different occasions. Always robust and strong
:12:43. > :12:46.and clear about his position. His name may be for ever associated
:12:47. > :12:49.with the massacre inside Palestinian refugee camps, carried out by
:12:50. > :12:54.Christian militia in Lebanon during Israel's invasion of 1982, but Ariel
:12:55. > :12:59.Sharon's life story was bound up with a history of his country from
:13:00. > :13:03.the moment of its birth. He fought in the war of independence in 1948.
:13:04. > :13:09.Israel's enemies hated Ariel Sharon, but people will remember him
:13:10. > :13:12.as someone whose career dated back to the very foundation of their
:13:13. > :13:19.state. Now they wait with concern as his fate again hangs in the balance.
:13:20. > :13:23.Much attention is also focused on the hospital in France, where former
:13:24. > :13:26.seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is still
:13:27. > :13:32.being treated for head injuries following a skiing accident on
:13:33. > :13:37.Sunday. He's been in a critical condition after falling and hitting
:13:38. > :13:41.his head on a rock. He received a visit on Thursday from the head of
:13:42. > :13:44.the FIA, Jean Todt, who was also his boss during his time at Ferrari.
:13:45. > :13:49.It's Schumacher's 45th birthday on Friday.
:13:50. > :13:54.Let's get more now from Lebanon, where a bomb has exploded in a
:13:55. > :14:00.southern suburb of Beirut, killing at least six people. It was very
:14:01. > :14:04.close to the Central office of Hezbollah. We can go to the scene
:14:05. > :14:09.now and speak to the BBC's Corine Torbey. This is likely to stoke
:14:10. > :14:15.sectarian tensions there even more, isn't it? Yes, a lot of tension,
:14:16. > :14:21.especially as this is not the first attack in this area, but also within
:14:22. > :14:26.Lebanon an last Friday, a former finance minister was also
:14:27. > :14:28.assassinated, and the security situation is believed to be
:14:29. > :14:36.deteriorating by the day in this country. In terms of the group
:14:37. > :14:41.behind it, this is seen as tit-for-tat, is it? As the sectarian
:14:42. > :14:47.nature of the Civil War in serious bills over the border? Well, there
:14:48. > :14:51.is a wide belief that what is happening in Lebanon is very much
:14:52. > :14:55.linked to the situation in Syria. What happened today, many people
:14:56. > :15:01.think that it is a deterioration for Hezbollah's role in Syria, and its
:15:02. > :15:09.involvement in some of the troops in the Shia party alongside government
:15:10. > :15:14.forces in Syria. Lebanon has also its own problems, and it is a very
:15:15. > :15:19.congregated situation, and it is very hard to understand what is
:15:20. > :15:23.happening. -- a complicated situation. People are trying to make
:15:24. > :15:32.sense of all of this violence that is taking hold of the country. Not
:15:33. > :15:38.helped by the fact that Lebanon has been paralysed politically. This is
:15:39. > :15:43.a very divided country, not only along political lines, but on
:15:44. > :15:48.sectarian lines. Lebanon has been without Government for around nine
:15:49. > :15:55.months. Political parties are unable to come together. There are real
:15:56. > :16:01.fears that amid all of this in security, and made all of this
:16:02. > :16:18.division, the situation might go further and further. Thank you.
:16:19. > :16:23.Let's bring you some breaking news. About the killing of a Briton and a
:16:24. > :16:27.New Zealander, both gunshot wounds, in western Libya, that is according
:16:28. > :16:35.to a security source on writers news agency. The body was found on the
:16:36. > :16:40.coastal area. It is about 100 kilometres west of Tripoli. At ACAS
:16:41. > :16:51.Park complex. -- at ACAS complex. Police in South Africa have begun a
:16:52. > :16:55.murder investigation into the death of a leading role and an opposition
:16:56. > :17:00.figure Patrick Karegeya whose body was found in a hotel room. They said
:17:01. > :17:05.that he may have been strangled. The former intelligence chief Fred
:17:06. > :17:08.Rwanda after he was accused of plotting against his former ally
:17:09. > :17:14.President Paul Kagame -- President Paul Kagame.
:17:15. > :17:19.In the upmarket district, Patrick Karegeya came to this hotel on
:17:20. > :17:24.Wednesday to meet a man from Rwanda whom he said to have trusted.
:17:25. > :17:30.Yesterday, he was found dead in one of the hotel rooms. The police have
:17:31. > :17:37.launched a murder inquiry. When the police were called, police were
:17:38. > :17:44.given the possibility that he might have been strangled and a bloody
:17:45. > :17:49.Tower was found on the scene. Patrick Karegeya fought against Paul
:17:50. > :17:57.Kagame with the random picture that front. After the 1994 genocide, he
:17:58. > :18:05.was Rwanda's external intelligence chief. He fell out with...
:18:06. > :18:12.In 2007, he went into axe out in South Africa, where he was granted
:18:13. > :18:19.political asylum. Together with a former army chief he formed a new
:18:20. > :18:30.opposition party, The Rwanda And National Congress. Undoubtedly an
:18:31. > :18:38.assassination. Patrick Karegeya did not have any problems with people in
:18:39. > :18:53.South Africa. He didn't have any differences within the organisation.
:18:54. > :18:56.We also know... This week's Kelling has thrown the spotlight on the
:18:57. > :19:03.Rwanda and axe Isles who had in the past been warned of attacks on them.
:19:04. > :19:08.The government continues to deny trying to kill its political
:19:09. > :19:12.opponents. All 52 passengers on board a Russian
:19:13. > :19:16.ship that has been stuck in the Antarctic have finally been rescued.
:19:17. > :19:20.The research vessel became trapped in the ice on Christmas eve during a
:19:21. > :19:29.fierce storm. Ice breakers made attempts to reach the strip ship,
:19:30. > :19:38.but were awarded. Helicopters were used to carry passengers to a rescue
:19:39. > :19:42.ship. Look at that. What a handsome craft
:19:43. > :19:47.that is. It was the site that everyone had
:19:48. > :19:50.been waiting for, the first rescue helicopter descending onto the same
:19:51. > :19:54.eyes that had kept me and all on board the ship, the Akademik
:19:55. > :19:59.Shokalskiy, stranded for over a week.
:20:00. > :20:02.Previous attempts to bring about the rescue of the scientists and
:20:03. > :20:09.tourists on board had been aborted due to poor weather. Finally, the
:20:10. > :20:15.skies were clear. The first of their helicopters to take us home
:20:16. > :20:21.passengers were taken to an Australian icebreaker. The rescue
:20:22. > :20:27.operation lasted several hours. I was one of those who made this
:20:28. > :20:32.journey. You were watching the last group of people that you have been
:20:33. > :20:38.ferried from the Russian vessel through about a 15 minute wait
:20:39. > :20:44.knuckle ride helicopter ride to just outside the Australian icebreaker.
:20:45. > :20:49.Scientists on board the Akademik Shokalskiy had been recreating the
:20:50. > :20:54.journey of Douglas Mawson and his 1911 voyage to Antarctica. On
:20:55. > :21:01.Christmas Eve, thick flows of ice judge and by strong winds had left
:21:02. > :21:06.the vessel unable to move further. Singing auld lang syne, expedition
:21:07. > :21:16.members celebrated New Year by working towards their own rescue.
:21:17. > :21:21.We're getting the team to stamp down on this snow and ice so the Chinese
:21:22. > :21:26.helicopter can reach us. Finally, the rescue could go ahead.
:21:27. > :21:31.The Aurora Australis is now breaking through the ice. The eventual
:21:32. > :21:36.destination, the Australian state of Tasmania.
:21:37. > :21:41.For the crew of the Akademik Shokalskiy, the weight remains. They
:21:42. > :21:43.will have to hold out until the ice surrounding the ship breaks out.
:21:44. > :21:56.That could be many more weeks. Pakistan's former president has been
:21:57. > :22:04.taken to hospital with heart problems. He was due to appear in
:22:05. > :22:07.court with treason charges when he reportedly fell ill. A spokesman
:22:08. > :22:12.said he is conscious and is being examined by military doctors.
:22:13. > :22:17.Japan's Coast Guard has rescued a Chinese man who tried to reach a
:22:18. > :22:22.bunch of disputed islands by hot air Berlin. The islands are known by
:22:23. > :22:32.Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China and are administered by Tokyo.
:22:33. > :22:36.Nigella Lawson has said it was mortifying to have details of her
:22:37. > :22:40.personal life and drug-taking revealed in court. Speaking in her
:22:41. > :22:43.first interview since her assistants were cleared of
:22:44. > :22:47.defrauding her and her former husband Charles Saatchi of hundreds
:22:48. > :22:51.of thousands of dollars, she told a US TV station that her only desire
:22:52. > :22:58.in the court case was to protect her children.
:22:59. > :23:02.We know you have had quite a year. The reason Nigella Lawson was on
:23:03. > :23:06.this show was to talk about her cookery programme. One topic could
:23:07. > :23:11.not be avoided. Her recent experience on the witness stand at
:23:12. > :23:19.the trial of her two assistants To have not only your private life, but
:23:20. > :23:23.distortions of it, is mortifying. There are people going through an
:23:24. > :23:30.awful lot worse and to dwell on it or on any of it would be self-pity
:23:31. > :23:34.and I don't like to do that. In that court appearance, she had been
:23:35. > :23:38.accused of being a regular user of cocaine. She denies this. The
:23:39. > :23:42.intense interest in her life had begun before the trial. These photos
:23:43. > :23:48.of her and her now former husband Charles Saatchi appeared. Over the
:23:49. > :23:53.months, her private life has become very public. That appearance in
:23:54. > :23:57.court was bruising. She said, her reputation had been maliciously
:23:58. > :24:00.vilified. Today, she reappeared more
:24:01. > :24:05.reflective than angry, but still wounded by the experience. You are
:24:06. > :24:11.Mack were only desire really was to protect my children. I can always do
:24:12. > :24:17.that, but that is what I wanted to do. -- could not. Since then, I have
:24:18. > :24:24.details of chocolate and had a good Christmas and iron into the New
:24:25. > :24:30.Year. Time to move on. -- I am. Our feelings about the way she had been
:24:31. > :24:34.treated in court were clear. -- her feelings.
:24:35. > :24:37.The city of Shanghai claims to have set a new milestone, two new Metro
:24:38. > :24:42.lines which opened this week will take its total length to more than
:24:43. > :24:46.500 kilometres. The city has been laying new track at a pace faster
:24:47. > :24:52.than anywhere else in history. But it is not the only Chinese city in
:24:53. > :24:57.the grip of a tabloid frenzy. -- tunnelling.
:24:58. > :25:02.It is hard to believe that the Shanghai Metro system is barely 20
:25:03. > :25:07.years old. The pace of expansion has been
:25:08. > :25:13.breathtaking. It is now the world's longest subway
:25:14. > :25:20.network. With the opening of lines 12 and 16 this week, the first to
:25:21. > :25:29.stretch over 500 kilometres. TRANSLATION: I used to take the bus.
:25:30. > :25:35.That took ages. This is great. It saves me 30 minutes on my normal
:25:36. > :25:42.journey. I am really happy. As of this week, Shanghai has 567
:25:43. > :25:47.kilometres of operational track, leaving London languishing with 400
:25:48. > :25:52.and New York even further behind with just 330: Matters. In the game
:25:53. > :26:00.of my Metro is bigger than yours, China looks likely to remain the
:26:01. > :26:06.champion. The Beijing Metro is now the world's second longest. 16
:26:07. > :26:10.cities already have subway systems and at least 18 more have begun
:26:11. > :26:15.construction. If nothing else, it is a sign that there is little letup in
:26:16. > :26:21.big government spending, despite the talk of having to rebalance the
:26:22. > :26:25.economy. This week, Shanghai announced a ban on passengers eating
:26:26. > :26:30.on board, but the appetite for growth is undiminished. In the next
:26:31. > :26:32.few years, another 230 kilometres will be added, more than the total
:26:33. > :26:43.length of the Paris Metro. It goes on and on. But is it from
:26:44. > :26:56.us. The weather is coming up. Goodbye.
:26:57. > :27:02.After a brief lull, things are going downhill again very quickly with
:27:03. > :27:06.more wind and rain over the next few days and we can expect more of the
:27:07. > :27:09.same with an ongoing likelihood of flooding. This is the situation
:27:10. > :27:10.right now. This set