>> "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."

>> meeting face-to-face. west african leaders are forcing laurent gbagbo to step down. rescues in australia. welcome to "bbc news". later, elton john and his partner have become parents to a baby boy born to a surrogate mother. the u.n. peacekeeper in ivory

coast was wounded oduring an attack on a convoy. it was transporting 22 peacekeepers. the u.n. said it condemns the attack and reiterates its determination to pursue its work in pursuit of the service of the people. this comes as leaders met the incumbent president, persuading him to step down, trying to persuade him. the recognize the opposition as the rightful winner but the recent presidential elections -- rifle winner of the recent elections. >> it has been described by african leaders as the last chance for peaceful negotiated solution. much of this confident place politics by democratic rules and three presidents have come to riposte to tell -- ivory coast to tell laurent gbagbo to go.

this country could descend back into war. all the main observancers said e lost and no longer the legal president. this man, opposition leader alassane ouattara is the letter. leaders have been clear and told laurent gbagbo he has to leave or there will be a military intervention. most countries do not have the military equipment to mont any kind of attack. this could be a long drawn-out affair. >> the world is watching to see how africa deals with this crisis. the envoys of the democratic nations to come to the ivory coast said they are determined and able to sort this out. >> an election was conducted and

that is why -- the permission to [unintelligible] >> the talks aren't. africa has said there will be a democratic outcome. that may take more than just talk. >> marder joins us live. let's talk of the use of force. what is the feeling there? how likely is this? >> if it happens, it will take a while to organize. [inaudible] it could take awhile. also, those countries will be doing everything they can to avoid the outcome.

the could get him to stand down. there were a series of attacks. and it indicates that he remains -- [inaudible] >> thanks. two german journalists arrested after covering a highly publicized case of a woman sentenced to death for stunning have been allowed to meet their families. the meeting took place. they have been held since early october, up being arrested while interviewing the sun and lawyer of the woman. officials in pakistan say 15 people have been killed in three

separate missile attacks. the american unmanned aircraft targeted compounds in north waziristan close to the afghan border. the area is regarded as a stronghold. the to the taliban and al qaeda. the mexican government has sent soldiers to patrol the streets of the town by the border following the attack on a police officer. he was abductethe authorities il nigeria say 80 have been killed. the violence began on christmas eve. a radical islamist group said it carried out the christmas eve attacks. our correspondent is following events and told us what is known

about this group. >> the group is an islamist group that has been operating in the north of nigeria. they are opposed to western culture and involved in deadly clashes last year. these led to the death of over 700 people. they have been attacking police posts and local politicians and local government. this is something new. most of the people around the country are terrified. it is not clear who was behind them. even nigerian at -- intelligence has not been able to see what they have found. the situation remains tense. security has been beefed up in police and military forces have been brought in. the rescue operation is underway in not -- northeastern austria to reach people affected by major flooding. the storm inundated farms and homes and caused millions of dollars worth of damage.

areas have been evacuated. >> this is cha what the cyclone has left behind. after 27 -- centimeters' spels n fell. the swollen creek have split the town into. with more than 100 homes underwater. in chinchilla, the creek raised levels -- reached levels not seen in years. up to the rooftops in some properties. >> pretty extreme. a lot of mud and cleaning up. >> a lot of mess in a lot of money. the rain has caused at least

$400 million worth of damage to crops that were recovering from months of drought. australia's prime minister has praised the volunteers who are again offering their help. >> when australians have to battle floods, these community volunteers are doing the brunt of that work and our best wishes are with them today. >> there will be more rain over the coming days and on the entire east coast. many inland communities are also on flood watch. >> pressure reacted with anger to international condemnation of the trial of an oil tycoon. the climate amounts to selected

justice. >> it was back in court as the judge resumed reading his verdict. it is clear that the man who was once the richest and his business partner have been convicted for a second time. the decision provoked international criticism, not least from the american secretary of state. he said the prosecution rate to raise questions about the law being overshadowed by political considerations. in reply, the russian foreign ministry said in connection with statements that have been made in washington and a number of eu capitals, and attempts to exercise pressure on the court are an acceptable. planes that -- we expect everyone will in their own business. mikhail khodorkovsky is serving

for tax evasion. his supporters claim that charges were brought in his criticisms were to blame. a few protesters were back at the court for the second day of the reading of the verdict. people were not allowed to pass by. they put the barriers for a reason. what happened here yesterday reminded me of the way the not to police acted. they took people, some of them disabled. the riot police was real facism. >> the concern about the verdict was far from universal inside russia. mikhail khodorkovsky will learn how many years he will have to spend in prison.

>> sir elton john and his partner have become the parents of a baby boy, born to a surrogate mother. the name has bee>> sir elton jos partners celebrati. they have been a couple since the early 1990's. now they are parents thanks to a surrogate baby boy born on christmas day. ♪ it is not the first time they have attempted to raise a family . in 2009, they attempted to become parents to a ukrainian boy. >> i would love to adopt him.

i do not know how we do that. he has stolen my heart and he has stolen david's heart. it will be wonderful if we could have a home. i changed my mind today. >> their offer was rejected by the ukraine government. it does not recognizable partnerships and said the couple was too old. now they say they have become parents to zachary jackson john born in california three days ago. in a joint statement, they said they were overwhelmed with happiness and joy, describing the birth as a special moment. adding that he is healthy and doing well and they were proud and happy parents. not everyone is pleased to see such a high-profile same-sex couples starting to raise the surrogate child. >> this is a designer excessively. money can buy anything. he has entered into this particular arrangement. a baby needs a mother and

father. it seems an act of pure selfishness to deprive a baby of a mother. >> they have said they will not identify the surrogate mother and when they return here, it is likely they will work hard to protect the privacy of their child. for now, they're celebrating what to them is the ideal christmas present. >> you are watching "bbc news". the call of the well. for hunting -- boar hunting returns to eastern france. it could say this next story is the sweet smell of success. a lil and cheese has become world champion. it is called cornish blue. it is the first british winner

for a decade. it triumphed over 2000 other cheeses. >> the winner of this year's awards. not in france or italy or switzerland but right here in the heart of cornwall. >> i was stunned. i stood there, i could not move. the chap i was with said it is you. i cannot believe it. >> what makes cornish blue even more remarkable is it was the result of an accident. when the farm started to sell its milk, they turned it into cheese. the company is an international champion. >> we developed this and we think if we get one the ladies like,w we might be a winner.

>> it will make the company a lot of money. commercial value will be felt far beyond the farm gate. >> it will raise the profile of not just cornwall buand that mas us attractive as a destination. at the same time, [unintelligible] >> cornish blue is being exported. other british producers are hoping to get a taste of the same success. >> this is "bbc news". these are the top stories. three west african leaders have met the president of ivory coast, laurent gbagbo, to step down or face the possibility of removal by force. 80 people have been killed in

nigeria. a bomb on christmas eve was followed by a violent reprisals. russia's president has ordered prosecutors to investigate the management of international airports after fights broke out. passengers were stranded. they were seen trying to beat up staff to one airport and passengers at the other stormed past the control. a modern transport held. dozens of people desperate to get away for the new year holidays, swarming the airport. chaos started with -- when ice brought down power lines. the lead to been repaired but the backlog has not gone away. were it police have been deployed but airline staff seem to have disappeared.

>> people are really desperate. there are fights. there is no patrol. there is no air to breathe. >> water supplies broke down and passengers told local radio that restaurants are demanding $16 for bottled water. the transport ministry is putting the blame on the airport management. saying it should have canceled flights and told passengers to stay away. at the second airport, problems are the results of a shortage of de-icing spray. >> we have been waiting here since early morning. not a single plane has left. they're always postpone. they're treating us. they say that the airline flies on tv. it is alive. >> passengers mounted an impromptu demonstration that security controls. there were reports that some attacked airport staff and an inquiry has been launched.

in the meantime, the transport ministry is encouraging the stranded to abandon their flight plans and take the train. the journey from moscow to st. petersburg takes three times as long fight train but at least gets there. >> scuffles have broken out in tunis between police and protesters angry at high unemployment levels. many unemployed graduates rallied outside the officers of offices of the union. rights havriders will be firmly, they said. they caused considerable damage to crops and were responsible for road accidents. the numbers of wild boar have shot up and the reason is believed to be milder weather.

>> near the banks of the river, the local hunt gets morning instruction. there are probably around 200 wild boar working in the woods. their numbers have dramatically increased. farmers want something done. the beaters holler their way through the trees. and then -- [gunshot] it is a rare success. this is a big 100 kilos mail. -- male. >> they kill 3000 every year.

in france, millions. it is reckoned there are as many wild boar in france as there were before. one reason is milder weather. more and will survive the cold and there is more feet and the mothers are far more productive. >> when their one-year-old, they can have babies. they used to be from when they were two years old. there are more babies and earlier. >> in eastern france, another factor is the planting of maize which increases frequently. they love maize and they can wreak devastation. hunters are needed to keep the

numbers down. they're not enough hunters. young people are not picking up the way they used to. the one solution has been this training facility. following the video images of wild boar, you can take that feel of handling a real gun and the experience of shooting at a moving target. the idea is to encourage new hunters and improve their skills. some say the population has gone out of control. they're spreading into suburban areas like foxes. there is only one remedy. the only way anyone has ever devised to keep the numbers down is to shoot them. >> the festival of black arts is billed as the biggest celebration of black identity and is happening in cynical. dozens of music performances from local and international artists are some of the

highlights. it is costing $18 million. some argue the money could be better spent elsewhere. our africa correspondent reports. >> the world's biggest celebration of black identity. a month-long festival to celebrate african history. from slavery to independence, this is the age of the african renaissance, according to the senegalese president. the concerts' attract fans in the thousands and artists are helping to celebrate. >> africa has been called the country. it is a continent, for grubbs sake. people continue to hold their cliche.

we have given to the world more cultural identity than any other continent. >> >the appeal is widespread. international artists have brought a political message. >> the way i look at it is, whenever a great thing is about to happen sometimes, it comes out of the worst things. i do not think the country will stay like that. it will rise. >> music is a big chunk of the festival. there are other events in town. dozens of exhibitions, performances, and theater. for one month, this is the cultural capital. despite the diverse program of

events, some say the purpose of this festival, created by the first senegalese president in '96, is no longer relevant. -- 1996 is no longer relevant. >> instead of spending millions on these festivities, we could have used the money to get the population gas, rice, and their basic needs. we, the people, ultimately suffer. >> the spectacle is costing set a goal and its guest country's $80 million. the organizers insist that effort has yet to be given adequate cultural recognition. judging by the croats, there are many who feel this was money were spent. -- judging by the crowd, there are many who feel this was money well spent. >> they need one point against

birmingham. city are the leaders. after beating new castle 2-nil. westham miss the chance to move out of the box. they took the lead against ever 10 only to hold back -- to be held back. the former liverpool defender has died in hospital in bay. he suffered serious head injuries in a motorbike accident. he was the first israeli to play in england. signing for liverpool in 1979. you can find the story along with all our top stories on our website. it can see what we're working on via our facebook page and you can track us on twitter.

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>> 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? ♪ >> 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.