:00:00. > :00:13.This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi. White-out in
:00:14. > :00:16.north-eastern America. A state of emergency is declared in New York
:00:17. > :00:21.and New Jersey, as temperatures plunge below minus 30 degrees
:00:22. > :00:26.Celsius. They've fled the violence in South Sudan, now they await word
:00:27. > :00:31.of a ceasefire deal. Direct talks between the feuding factions is set
:00:32. > :00:38.to start on Saturday in Ethiopia. Also coming up: A monumental drugs
:00:39. > :00:40.raid in China. Dozens of villagers are arrested, accused of producing
:00:41. > :00:47.one third of China's entire supply of crystal meth. And the new film on
:00:48. > :00:49.slavery in America's South. Could artist-come movie director Steve
:00:50. > :01:09.McQueen become the first person ever to win a Turner Prize and an Oscar?
:01:10. > :01:15.Hello and welcome. A giant winter storm is causing chaos in
:01:16. > :01:21.north-eastern areas of the United States. More than half a metre of
:01:22. > :01:24.snow has fallen in many parts, but what's biting is the cold.
:01:25. > :01:30.Temperatures have plummeted to minus 25 degrees Celsius. At least nine
:01:31. > :01:39.deaths have been blamed on the storms so far. Flights have been
:01:40. > :01:42.cancelled A state of emergency is in force in New York and New Jersey,
:01:43. > :01:49.with authorities urging residents to stay in their homes. . If you do not
:01:50. > :01:53.need to travel today, please stay home. I say again, if you do not
:01:54. > :02:00.need to travel today, please stay home. If you do have to travel, take
:02:01. > :02:05.mass transit. Yes, there will be some delays, but it will be safe and
:02:06. > :02:20.it will help us to get the city 100% back in full running order. Just
:02:21. > :02:24.before we came on air I spoke to Marci Gonzalez from ABC News. She is
:02:25. > :02:32.in the coastal town of Cohasset just outside Boston, Massachusetts. Well,
:02:33. > :02:37.we had quite a bit of snowfall. There is frozen water here, this is
:02:38. > :02:42.a vast improvement to what we saw earlier. This morning it was
:02:43. > :02:46.completely frozen. But at high tide the water rose up and spilled into
:02:47. > :02:56.some of the neighbourhoods. Creating more of a mess for people to clean
:02:57. > :03:00.up. Tell me, what is the weather forecast? Well now the concern is
:03:01. > :03:05.that the temperatures are dropping even more. So that is the concern.
:03:06. > :03:09.There is not more snow in the forecast tonight, but people are
:03:10. > :03:14.being advised to stay indoors, because it is so cold. What is the
:03:15. > :03:18.state of preparedness that you have there, are the authorities taking
:03:19. > :03:24.this into their stride, they must have a well practiced drill one
:03:25. > :03:29.would imagine? Yes, this region is very used to snow storms and
:03:30. > :03:34.blizzards. People know thousand prepare. But what was different was
:03:35. > :03:39.we experienced such low temperatures, combined with so much
:03:40. > :03:48.snow. So that is why people were advised to stay indoors and off the
:03:49. > :03:51.roads until they were cleared. Thank you. The winter storm hitting the
:03:52. > :03:55.north-west was caused by extreme temperatures. There's cold air
:03:56. > :03:59.pushing in from the north, and this is clashing with warmer temperatures
:04:00. > :04:04.in the south. The extreme weather pattern has also spawned a powerful
:04:05. > :04:09.jet stream which spans the Atlantic. That's pushed a secondary storm into
:04:10. > :04:12.the UK. High tides and strong winds have brought flooding to Wales,
:04:13. > :04:17.Scotland and western England and more flooding is expected at high
:04:18. > :04:21.tide in the coming hours. Emergency services have urged the public to
:04:22. > :04:34.stay away from coastal areas. Jon Kay has the latest. Cornwall's early
:04:35. > :04:42.morning wake up call. This was New Quay at high tide. The morning's
:04:43. > :04:49.high tide came and went quickly. But it certainly left its mark. Around
:04:50. > :04:58.south-west England, coastal communities were flooded like here
:04:59. > :05:01.in Looe. It was a similar story in Perrin Port. Three days ago they
:05:02. > :05:08.were celebrating the new year in this pub, now they wish 2014 had
:05:09. > :05:15.stayed away. The dangers of the tide are all too evident. This young
:05:16. > :05:24.family were drenched by a sudden wave. In Wales, Aberystwyth has been
:05:25. > :05:30.battered by the Irish Sea. And this coastal road partially collapsed.
:05:31. > :05:36.Here more than four people had to be rescued from a flooded farm. Parts
:05:37. > :05:43.of Scotland have also taken a pasting. This was North Ayrshire and
:05:44. > :05:48.County Down at midday, was no time to take a snapshot. In Cornwall,
:05:49. > :05:56.with another tidal surging approaching, the people here came on
:05:57. > :06:00.to the beach. 100 volunteers filling bags with sand. This morning it was
:06:01. > :06:03.lashing up well over the wall and went into the car park. There is a
:06:04. > :06:07.sense of anticipation of what is going to happen. We are doing all we
:06:08. > :06:14.can. It could be anyone of us and any help we will give. How many bags
:06:15. > :06:18.have you done? I have done about ten. But together, they did
:06:19. > :06:28.hundreds. Tonight they will find out if that is enough. To other news now
:06:29. > :06:31.and direct talks aimed at ending weeks of violence in South Sudan are
:06:32. > :06:37.due to begin in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday.
:06:38. > :06:40.Delegations from the warring parties have been holding preliminary talks
:06:41. > :06:42.with East African mediators but on the ground the violence is still
:06:43. > :06:46.terrorising communities from rival groups leading to tens of thousands
:06:47. > :06:51.being displaced as they flee quite literally for their lives. South
:06:52. > :06:54.Sudan's government says its soldiers are trying to recapture the key
:06:55. > :06:59.cities of Bor and Bentiu. While rebel forces say they are advancing
:07:00. > :07:08.on the capital, Juba. Alistair Leithead is in South Sudan. Those
:07:09. > :07:12.who ran from violence now must wait for help. Across the Nile, they fled
:07:13. > :07:18.the fighting, cramming into these boats. They have no food, clean
:07:19. > :07:26.water, or shelter. But at least now they're safe. They're almost all
:07:27. > :07:29.from the Dinka tribe. Fearing ethnic violence they had suffered once
:07:30. > :07:35.before in Bor, the town now controlled by rebel forces, and then
:07:36. > :07:42.Nuer, tribal militia. The human effects of a tribal row that sparked
:07:43. > :07:47.tribal violence. Some aid has reached the camp. Food and some oil
:07:48. > :07:54.for 30,000 people from the Red Cross. A drop in the ocean, but
:07:55. > :07:59.much, much more is on the way. We are giving the people what they
:08:00. > :08:02.need, when they are displaced. For them it was spontaneous. Some of
:08:03. > :08:06.them are displaced several times, so in the process they have lost their
:08:07. > :08:11.food, so they come here and you come at look at them, you can see their
:08:12. > :08:17.needs are huge. Well over 200,000 people have been displaced by the
:08:18. > :08:23.fighting. Thousands sought refuge in UN compounds. This one in the
:08:24. > :08:26.capital Juba. Those trapped in towns held by the rebels are scared of
:08:27. > :08:30.what will happen when the army tries to retake them. Many believe more
:08:31. > :08:34.fighting is imminent. It's hard to know the full extent of crisis.
:08:35. > :08:38.There are still great unknowns. There are parts of country in unity
:08:39. > :08:44.and in the upper Nile state, where there has been considerable fighting
:08:45. > :08:48.in the past couple of weeks. And increasingly we are trying to move
:08:49. > :08:52.around by air and we will try also by road to reach as many people and
:08:53. > :08:55.as many sites as possible to get a clearer picture of what is
:08:56. > :08:59.happening. That's led the US Embassy here to evacuate more staff, because
:09:00. > :09:02.of deteriorating security. Delegates have finally started to arrive for
:09:03. > :09:05.peace talks in Ethiopia, but those representing the former vice-
:09:06. > :09:08.president, who is accused of starting the crisis by trying to
:09:09. > :09:12.snatch power, have a list of seven things to agree on and a ceasefire
:09:13. > :09:16.is last on the list. Without any progress to bring peace back to
:09:17. > :09:19.South Sudan, it seems likely for now that these people won't be able to
:09:20. > :09:25.return to their homes across the river in Bor. They still have no
:09:26. > :09:38.clean water, they have little food, it is a major humanitarian crisis.
:09:39. > :09:49.The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza is in Addis Ababa following developments
:09:50. > :09:55.and he joins us now. Yes, good news is that news coming is the talks,
:09:56. > :10:03.the face to face talks, will start tomorrow morning after what they
:10:04. > :10:09.have called the prepare trimeetings between the two parties. Those talks
:10:10. > :10:15.are expected to start afresh on Saturday. That is tomorrow. Today,
:10:16. > :10:20.due to the sensitivity of the talks, the press were asked to stay out of
:10:21. > :10:25.the talks and it was only the delegates who were meeting
:10:26. > :10:31.separately with the two mediators who were appointed by the African
:10:32. > :10:40.Union. We have heard they have not had contact, but just having initial
:10:41. > :10:49.meetings with the mediators, preparing for the talks that will
:10:50. > :10:52.start on Saturday. Thank you. In China police in the southern
:10:53. > :10:55.province of Guangdong say they've smashed a massive drugs ring
:10:56. > :10:58.conducted at dawn by 3,000 armed policemen with sniffer dogs. They've
:10:59. > :11:02.arrested almost 200 people and confiscated nearly three tonnes of
:11:03. > :11:06.crystal meth. Officials say that more than a third of China's entire
:11:07. > :11:10.supply of crystal meth comes from this one village and that 20% of all
:11:11. > :11:17.of its residents were involved in its production. From Hong Kong,
:11:18. > :11:24.Juliana Liu reports. 3,000 heavily armed police officers swept into
:11:25. > :11:27.this province in Guangdong at dawn. Their mission was to eliminate what
:11:28. > :11:33.they call the region's number one drug village. And that is what the
:11:34. > :11:35.village has become known for. Methamphetamine, a highly addictive
:11:36. > :11:42.stimulant, commonly called crystal meth. It is easy and cheap to create
:11:43. > :11:45.with the right tools. Police say more than one third of China's total
:11:46. > :11:49.crystal meth supply comes from this one village. Known as ice in China,
:11:50. > :11:56.this drug has become an incredibly lucrative source of income for
:11:57. > :12:01.villagers officials say. TRANSLATION: 20% of the households
:12:02. > :12:04.in the village were directly involved or had a stake in drug
:12:05. > :12:07.production. Drug production was run by families, brothers, sisters,
:12:08. > :12:10.relatives and friends and had been industrialised in the village. Worse
:12:11. > :12:18.still, they were under the protection of local officials, local
:12:19. > :12:21.and village cadres and local police. Officers involved in the raid were
:12:22. > :12:25.recruited from outside the village and the area. Local media said it
:12:26. > :12:28.was to avoid the possibility of tipping off villagers. The raid was
:12:29. > :12:35.part of Operation Thunder, an antidrug crackdown launched in July.
:12:36. > :12:38.In addition to crystal meth, officers also seized 260 kilograms
:12:39. > :12:44.of ketamine powder and raw materials for making drugs. Officials are now
:12:45. > :12:51.hailing what they call one of China's biggest drug busts. But with
:12:52. > :12:59.drug use on the rise, they say much more work is ahead. Steve Tsang is
:13:00. > :13:06.Director of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University
:13:07. > :13:10.in Central England. So presumably the extent of this operation would
:13:11. > :13:14.suggest this kind of drug activity in the village was known to the
:13:15. > :13:19.authorities beforehand. Why is it only now that the action has been
:13:20. > :13:28.taken? I think this has something to do with the fact that China's new
:13:29. > :13:32.leader has made a clear attempt to deal with this. We have a situation
:13:33. > :13:37.where the local party chief was very much behind this particular
:13:38. > :13:42.organised criminal activity. Therefore, he has to be taken down.
:13:43. > :13:47.How much is a crackdown on the use of drugs and how much is it a
:13:48. > :13:52.crackdown on institutional corruption? I think it is both. Both
:13:53. > :13:58.problems are serious in China in terms of the drug problem that is a
:13:59. > :14:05.social problem like anywhere else. In terms of the problems of
:14:06. > :14:17.corruption, it is also a matter of discipline of the party. The -- the
:14:18. > :14:20.leader wants to do this in a disciplined way and deal with
:14:21. > :14:31.corruption. The line isn't great, but I want to ask you one question.
:14:32. > :14:36.How extensive is the use of drugs, crystal meth in particular and how
:14:37. > :14:42.important is it to the global market of the drug. Drugs are now a serious
:14:43. > :14:47.problem in the cities and in the coastal provinces. In terms of
:14:48. > :14:54.China's link to the outside world in the drug trade, the drug trade in
:14:55. > :15:02.China is handled by organised crime gangs. And China's organised crime
:15:03. > :15:11.gangs have an international reach and in that sense it is part of the
:15:12. > :15:23.international network for drugs. Thank you. Today is Michael
:15:24. > :15:28.Schumacher's 45th birthday but he has sadly not able to celebrate it.
:15:29. > :15:35.Friends and family have gathered outside the hospital. He is being
:15:36. > :15:41.treated there after a skiing accident on Sunday. He has been any
:15:42. > :15:48.medical lab and juiced, -- medically induced coma and is described as
:15:49. > :15:52.being any critical condition. It was billed as a silent and
:15:53. > :15:56.dignified show of support for Michael Schumacher and Ferrari fans
:15:57. > :16:04.travelled from all over Europe to mark his 45th birthday.
:16:05. > :16:13.He stands at the top of the team's list of greats. The greater sin
:16:14. > :16:25.poured out. We hope that he come back with us.
:16:26. > :16:32.Excuse me. Michael Schumacher is not just if
:16:33. > :16:37.Formula 1 driver. He is an excellent person.
:16:38. > :16:40.For now, Michael Schumacher remains in a medically injured, following
:16:41. > :16:44.the skiing accident which has left him fighting for his life. The rally
:16:45. > :16:48.fans hold Michael Schumacher in the highest of regards following the
:16:49. > :16:54.five world titles he delivered for him. To them, he is less of a former
:16:55. > :16:58.driver and more of a part of their family.
:16:59. > :17:01.Now but they would be complete without presents and members of the
:17:02. > :17:12.four rally fan club left gifts at the hospital door. -- the Friday
:17:13. > :17:18.family. After falling in Meribel - up the
:17:19. > :17:21.French Alps, Michael Schumacher is still under hour buy hour
:17:22. > :17:25.neurological assessment. Those enjoying a winter break on the
:17:26. > :17:32.slopes says the accident has given everyone a reminder on the
:17:33. > :17:38.importance of safety. We went in the morning after words
:17:39. > :17:43.and they have completely sold out of helmets. We have been checking our
:17:44. > :17:47.sizes. They are completely cleared out of stock.
:17:48. > :17:54.Michael Schumacher may have been a divisive figure on the track,
:17:55. > :18:00.winning as many enemies as friends at his win at all costs attitude.
:18:01. > :18:08.But the world of Formula 1 is united behind has never before.
:18:09. > :18:12.Let's take a look at some of the other news stories. Two protesters
:18:13. > :18:20.have been killed in Egypt between classes between the security forces
:18:21. > :18:23.and the middle brotherhood. One was in south-west of Cairo and other
:18:24. > :18:30.near this is Canal. Fighting is continuing between Iraqi
:18:31. > :18:36.forces and militants for control of two cities in the province of Anbar.
:18:37. > :18:41.The number of refugees fleeing from Iraq has increased significantly.
:18:42. > :18:53.The Italian Navy has rescued more than 1000 migrants of the coastal
:18:54. > :18:58.Lampedusa. A boat was told to Sicily. The rescued migrants were
:18:59. > :19:05.mainly from Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia and Iraq.
:19:06. > :19:09.The number of overweight and obese adults in developing countries has
:19:10. > :19:12.reached almost 1 billion. Researchers based in the UK say that
:19:13. > :19:18.governments around the world are being too timid in their approach to
:19:19. > :19:23.dealing with bad diets and that taxes on fatty foods and drinks
:19:24. > :19:30.should be considered. The overseas development Institute,
:19:31. > :19:31.a think tank, says that in 1881 in five people were overweight or
:19:32. > :19:54.obese. Perhaps most alarming is that in
:19:55. > :20:07.countries like Mexico and Egypt, the numbers have almost quadrupled.
:20:08. > :20:11.Eating to excess. Chances are many of us overdid it over the festive
:20:12. > :20:17.period but there are fresh concerns about our globally expanding
:20:18. > :20:21.waistlines. Researchers say it is politically alarming in the
:20:22. > :20:24.developing world where people are choosing to spend their increasingly
:20:25. > :20:31.disposable income on fatty and sugary foods. The future did report
:20:32. > :20:51.analysed existing data on global obesity rates.
:20:52. > :20:59.In developing countries like Egypt and Mexico, numbers almost
:21:00. > :21:04.quadrupled from 250 million to 904 million.
:21:05. > :21:07.The explosion of overweight and obese people in the developing world
:21:08. > :21:13.is largely down to the emerging economies. Those that have gone
:21:14. > :21:18.through a transition from low income to middle income economies in the
:21:19. > :21:25.last generation. That has produced a large class of middle-class people
:21:26. > :21:32.who have more disposable income and increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
:21:33. > :21:38.These fatty foods are causing the problem. This class of colour has
:21:39. > :21:45.more than 13 these bins of sugar. Get rid of this regularly and your
:21:46. > :21:51.risk of heart disease, strokes, certain types of cancer and diabetes
:21:52. > :21:58.increases. It is putting a strain on health services around the world.
:21:59. > :22:13.Denmark has banned trans fats which are used to extend the life of foods
:22:14. > :22:19.but have no nutritional value. TRANSLATION: I've never worried
:22:20. > :22:23.about my weight because I have always enjoyed eating porridge like
:22:24. > :22:30.this. I never enjoyed fatty foods, I like vegetables and fruit.
:22:31. > :22:34.TRANSLATION: Koreans prefer fruit and vegetables and tend to eat less
:22:35. > :22:42.in general. We are quite weight conscious.
:22:43. > :22:46.Much of the food and extend a street isn't keen on taxes on fatty foods
:22:47. > :22:53.and thinks the only thing that will get lighter are people 's wallets.
:22:54. > :22:56.The United Nations Refugee Agency says that more than 900,000 people
:22:57. > :23:01.have now been displaced by fighting in the Central African Republic,
:23:02. > :23:05.almost one fifth of the population. They also say that refugees are
:23:06. > :23:10.spilling over borders into the Democratic Republic of Congo and
:23:11. > :23:17.Chad and that they are struggling to help people. That figure includes
:23:18. > :23:22.almost half of the entire population of the capital city. There has been
:23:23. > :23:28.no letup in violence despite the presence of French troops. The
:23:29. > :23:33.agency says that the violence has reached a precious new low with at
:23:34. > :23:38.least 16 new children being killed in December.
:23:39. > :23:43.The new film 12 Years A Slave is being tapped for success in this
:23:44. > :23:51.year 's awards season. It is based on the true story of Solomon North
:23:52. > :23:57.up, the black musician who was kidnapped and sold into slavery --
:23:58. > :24:07.Solomon Northup. We met the director. America, 1841.
:24:08. > :24:16.I was born a free man, left with my family in New York to the day I was
:24:17. > :24:19.deceived, kidnapped. You are nothing but a Georgia run
:24:20. > :24:24.away. Bill-mac has been widely plays
:24:25. > :24:31.buyers and sentimental and intends portrayal of the pitiless brutality
:24:32. > :24:38.of the slave trade. I felt in the more physically
:24:39. > :24:46.uncomfortable scenes that I had a moored deeper connection to Solomon
:24:47. > :24:51.and what he went through. Certainly on the plantations you
:24:52. > :24:54.have a real sense that you're dancing with ghosts and everything
:24:55. > :25:00.is still very much alive and present right in the soil.
:25:01. > :25:02.This is an American story told by a British director who feels that
:25:03. > :25:12.Hollywood has overlooked the subject.
:25:13. > :25:18.Slavery lasted 400 years. There is more movies made about Spartacus
:25:19. > :25:22.than about slavery. I wanted to address that subject.
:25:23. > :25:28.And yet, oddly in the last 24 amongst, seen lots of movies
:25:29. > :25:32.tackling this. Why suddenly is there this engagement with the subject
:25:33. > :25:36.which has been had broadly ignored? Nobody can underestimate the
:25:37. > :25:47.influence of President Barack Obama. I think people possibly felt
:25:48. > :25:50.that they had the authority or the possibility of making that kind of
:25:51. > :25:57.story and of course the financiers thought, yes, we could make money
:25:58. > :26:04.out of this. Brad Pitt said it took an Englishman
:26:05. > :26:08.to tell the story. I am an Englishman for sure but I am
:26:09. > :26:14.part of that narrative, I'm part of that diaspora. My parents came from
:26:15. > :26:17.the West Indies and the only difference between me and an
:26:18. > :26:23.African-American is that their boat went right and my boat went left.
:26:24. > :26:28.The movie is tipped to do well in the Oscar season. The director Steve
:26:29. > :26:31.McQueen could become the first person ever to win the Turner Prize
:26:32. > :26:39.and an Oscar. Let's remind you of our main story,
:26:40. > :26:42.a huge winter storm which has had the West Coast of the United States.
:26:43. > :26:49.If team centimetres of snow has fallen and 4000 flights have been
:26:50. > :26:52.cancelled. That is all from us. More on the
:26:53. > :26:53.weather coming next. Goodbye.