>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news."

>> more than 170 dead and in the past week. the u.n. warns of civil war on the ivory coast. and attacks in rome. two bomb attacks. tension on the korean peninsula. the north threatens secret war against the south. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- getting back on their feet. help japanese robots are helping brain-injured patients wall. and bringing christmas cheer to millions. we'll hear from three different santas as they prepare for the big day.

hello. at least 170 killings, mass arrests, reports of mass graves. the u.n. secretary general on voice stopped at gunpoint when he tried to investigate. the situation in the ivory coast is living up to the worst fears of observers. as the situation escalates, the president is still unwilling to sit down, and the man internationally acclaimed as the new president remains in a hotel. we have this. >> in port districts of the country's commercial capital, a stronghold for the man widely believed to have when the disputed election. people try to get on with their daily lives, but the neighborhood is not as busy as

usual. the residents live in fear. this mosque was hit by heavy gunfire just before last friday's prayers. people are scared, they say because security forces are right in the neighborhood and they shoot live rounds sun- times. they have orders -- they should live rounds out sometimes. they have borders all around the neighborhood. they feel powerless when armed men drive into their neighborhoods. >> they have the rifles. whenever we see them, the only thing to do, it is to run. >> the international community has been blamed for the violence.

i used leader -- >> faced with the fact that has crushed the dignity of the ivory coast and faced with the disrespect for our laws, faced with the genocide, but we want to respect the dignity the area and have peace and in the ivory coast. >> while the president holds onto his seat, his challenger remains holed up in the hotel. his headquarters is protected by hundreds of u.n. peacekeepers and is only accessible by helicopter. some supporters have nothing much to do but sit and wait.

some soldiers are up and running like they are already in charge. bbc news, ivory coast. >> the embassy in rome is on high alert after security checks in response to parcel bombs that exploded in the swiss and julienne indices. no one has admitted responsibility, but it is suspected anarchists are behind the blasts. >> outside the swiss embassy, it was deceptively quiet. inside, the would have been panic among the staff. a 53-year-old man opened a parcel that exploded. he may lose the use of both of his hands. he worked at the embassy. he is being treated at hospitals. no one else was injured. then a second attack. this time, hidden away behind

the gates of the chilean embassy. someone working in the post room was injured in the hands and face as another parcel exploded. some speculated it was linked to recent bomb scares. not so, says this man. >> i believe these attacks are not related. they are completely different. investigators are falling international leads, but that is not for me to discuss. >> but no one in the public has a solid idea of who is behind this. al-qaeda appears unlikely at this stage. italy's interior minister says it could be linked to anarchists. he pointed to the similarities do as suspected anarchists plots an increase last month. then more than a dozen -- a suspected plot in greece last month.

>> contentious reforms university education in the italian parliament. there have been nationwide demonstrations by students on wednesday, but it passed easily through the senate. it can now be signed into law. on macedonian-led trafficking ring has been destroyed. it is called the frankfurt mafia. it allegedly controlled the hair when market in vienna. arrests were made in germany, vienna, in macedonia. six men accused of hijacking the cargo ship that the arctic sea have been arrested. it was found by the russian navy. what happened is still the subject of speculation, including claims the ship was smuggling weapons. >> de noises are all to ottawa

again on the korean peninsula. the north and south east threatening retaliation if they are attacked. pyongyang has warned it will launch a secret nuclear war -- sacred nuclear war. we have this report from our correspondent. >> south korea still reeling from last month's attack is sending its no. any of blunt message. this is one of the largest military exercises ever held on southern soil, and the president expects a merciless counterattack. but north korea is talking tough, too. the defense minister issued a warning.

it was start even by north korea's bellicose standards. he promised a secret word -- a sacred war at any moment. the attack last month left the south korean government with a difficult choice. not a response, and they may be accused of provoking the north. there is a high possibility that the south korean military exercises close to the border will prompt north korea to act. but so far, despite the threats and rhetoric, south korea's show of strength has passed without response, so now it can claim it has called north korea's bluff. bbc news. >> the wikileaks saba is

threatening to bankrupt one of zimbabwe's weekly newspapers at a time when the market seemed to be opening up. four newspapers have gone under in the last six months. the weekly standard apparently implicated a lady with involvement in a diamond deal. we have this report from our correspondent who recently returned from zimbabwe. >> the new daily runs off the presses. is glastnost african-style. its reporters have been threatened with jail. >> despite political pledges to open up media space, but the editors here know they could be shut down at any time. >> [unintelligible]

>> for a while it seemed restrictions would be relaxed. in recent weeks, more journalists have been arrested. >> it is the problem of general harassment, general intimidation. journalists are run out because they belong to a certain newspaper. that is a big problem. >> the problem, too, stories from wikileaks. there is a demand for multimillion-dollar lawsuits by members of the elite in zimbabwe. zimbabwean have more choice and in what they read, not just the government-owned newspaper. >> what they listened to and what is still dominated by the state. leaders have no plans to license private broadcasters.

rural zimbabwe. it is the political heartland. for many, the state broadcasts are monitored on radio. newspapers rarely make an appearance here. ♪ state radio and television are dominated by one-sighted political propaganda. the government declined to promise greater media freedom in one of the poorest neighborhoods, take a look up there. at it is an achievement. the people of zimbabwe are finding ways to circumvent broadcasting restrictions. with the push for elections next year, the political news here is changing and demands that

media freedom, the basic human rights, are growing louder every day. bbc news, zimbabwe. >> and do stay with us, if you can on "bbc world news." still to come for you -- scientists are trying to find out more about a giant fossil. but first, and still no is going where many might prefer not to. it joins the euro on january 1. it is daniel will be the 17th member, but to whose benefit -- estonia will be the 17th member, but to whose benefit? >> the weather may be frosty, but the outlook for the economy is sunny. businessmen say that the euro should pull in foreign investment, and most estonians welcome mat. >> currency has a deep significance in estonia.

the euro means to many that they have finally been accepted by the west. this family has been hit hard. this unemployed couple has come to a charity to pick up their weekly food parcel, without which there would be unable to feed their four children properly. >> right now, the cost of living in estonia is lower than elsewhere in europe. when we all have the same currency, our prices will rise to level with the rest of the euro zone. >> after years of fiscal prudence, estonia, one of europe's poor states, may have to bailout richer, less disciplined governments. >> now we are practically in the same votes as greek people,

irish people. we have these bad bankers. >> but for many estonians, the euro is up proud sign that after 20 years of independence from the soviet union, they have not only arrived in the west, but they have outperformed it. bbc news. >> the latest headlines for you this hour on "bbc world news." the disputed presidential election in the ivory coast has cost 170 lives in a week according to the united nations. every embassy in rome is running urgent security checks. explosions in two embassies left staff injured. three men were found guilty of plotting an attack on an army base in the in sydney. the court heard that the men, australian citizens, were upset

about the role of australian war in iraq and afghanistan. >> all three men from melbourne are aged between 26 and 34, and there were found guilty of conspiring to carry out this terrorist act. hundreds of telephone calls were transmitted from somali or arabic-based areas. the police secretly recorded these telephone conversations in the six months leading up to the arrest of the men in august of last year. at the court heard how the men sought approval from two somali shiehks. what was prominent during the trial was the group's observation -- opposition to the wars in iraq and afghanistan. they said they would fired their guns until their ammunition ran

out or they would kill themselves. the three men will be sentenced next year. >> a teenage boy faces deportation from britain to pakistan when he turns 18 on christmas day. he was smuggled out of pakistan just before his parents disappeared three years ago. since then, he has settled with foster parents in west wales. here is our correspondent from bbc wales. >> schoolchildren gathered for a big day for the teenager. it is the last throw of the dice as they traveled to the home office to hand in a petition to stop and being deported after he turns 18 on christmas day. he settled in west wales after he was smuggled out of pakistan by his parents, who fear for their lives.

they have not been seen at cents. he believes the trouble they faced could also be waiting for him. >> it would be in danger of my life, you know? to know who i am going to stay with, where i am going to go with pakistan. i am really concerned about my life, really. >> this has captured the imagination not just of this school, but the whole community. thousands have signed the petition. there has been a very active facebook campaign. and this is all in a matter of weeks. back to school. this is the farm house he has been living in for the past three years with his foster parents. he wants to stay here, get his o levels, and due to university. >> we want him to stay. they will be breaking up families heart if they send him back. >> of the u.k. border agency and

the courts have fully considered his case and found he is not in need of protection and must return to pakistan. despite him losing an appeal courts hearing, at his local mp is appealing to the authorities. >> matter what the rules, it is a clear moral case. i hope the minister will make the decision to show discretion and in this case. >> with days ago, time is running out for the efforts to keep him in the u.k. bbc news. >> brain injuries or strokes can leave people unable to block. but now a japanese company may have a new way forward. a pair of robotic trousers to help a patient stand up and take steps. they are already in use in

japan. we have this from osaka. >> ever since her stroke, she has been in a wheelchair. now the sons of robotics offers hope she will be able to walk again. -- the science of robotics. once she is trapped in, the moment she has been waiting for. she can even take steps for the first time. >> i could walk without difficulty, but because of my stroke, i had to start again from scratch. it is very difficult to get on my feet. i am delighted that with the help of mr. robots, i can walk again. >> after a few minutes, mrs. nishi can try the stairs. sensors on her legs are controlling the robotic lands. >> i can live confidently.

>> japan leads the way in this kind of technology because it has the greatest need. already nearly a quarter of the population is over the age of 65, and the challenge is to develop devices to help people live unhappier old age. >> hello. >> a robot died for the blind has already been made by one company -- a robot died for the blind has already been made by one company. -- our robot guide. >> [unintelligible] >> ok, let's go together. >> of vision of the future -- or robots do not just helped people walt. they are companions in life. bbc news, a sop up. >> scientists are trying to

crack the secrets of the fossil of by giant predator on the english coast. our science reporter has the story. >> this was the most fearsome beast ever to swim the ocean. 160 million years ago, it was a colossal biting machine. and today, this is what is left. this is the biggest fossil ever found. but scientists want to find out more >> this is one of the largest ct scanners in the u.k., and it is going to reveal the secrets of the sea monster. >> it is like a machine at a

hospital, but with much higher energy and resolution. >> the scanning we are doing today will reveal absolutely the internal structure, all the details, down to the micron resolution. >> this is the results. these images could lead to a breakthrough. >> think of the biggest, scary as the monster in your imagination. there is. i am hopeful this will be a really interesting specimen. >> the fossil goes on to spain next summer. add the race is on to complete the analysis. bbc news. >> now, depending on where you live, you know him as a father christmas, st. nicholas, chris crandall, and other varieties. he should have a kindly

demeanor, a sackful of presence, and a white beard. we went to three continents to meet him. ♪ >> [speaking russian] >> [speaking foreign language] ♪

>> [speaking foreign language] >> ♪ feliz navidad feliz navidad ♪ >> [speaking spanish] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking russian]

>> [speaking spanish] >> ho and again ho. just briefly, the main story. violence has claimed 170 lives in the ivory coast according to the u.n. be u.s. is seeking is to strengthen its presence in the west african country. the election winner has been stranded in a hotel. you'll get much more on that and all the international news online at bbc.com. we're on twitter and facebook as

well, of course. thank you very much. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank offers unique --

has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall. >> o, that this too, too solid flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center. >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. >> it is closer than any seat in the house, no matter where you call home. >> the top of the world, and i'm there, i'm home. >> pbs -- the great american stage that fits in every living room. your support of pbs brings the arts home. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.