>> "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. >> in custody julian assange, the wick leak -- wikileaks accused of sexual assault which he denies a british man accused of killing his bride in south africa is arrested in the u.k. the u.s. admits defeat in its efforts to convince israel to stop settlement building in occupied palestinian territory. welcome to bbc news broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and around the world. later, tensions remain high on the korean peninsula, the u.s. reassures seoul it's committed to south korea's defense. 30 years after john lennon's tragic death beatle fans look back on his legacy.

the founder of the wikileaks website julian assange nb in custody for a week after -- has been in custody for a week. prosecutors want to talk to him about allegations the sexual monthliestations and rape. his supporters put up a large sum of known get him out on bail but this was refused. staff on his whistle blowing website plan to carry on releasing leaked diplomatic correspondence. frank gardner's report contains some flash photography. >> a media scrum this afternoon as the elusive wikileaks founder was brought to court in west minister. julian assange is accused of sex crimes in sweden which he denies. the judge refused him bail pending extradition. >> i believe mr. assange could have been safely released today. the judge took a different view but it was clear that it was a close call in his mind. and he's of course asked now to see the evidence that is

against him so he can assess the strength of these allegations which we believe to be very -- >> wikileaks -- >> the case is headline news in sweden where two women from stock hoem and a nearby town have brought allegations of rape and sexual molestation against mr. assange during a visit he made to sweden in august. allegations the swedish prosecutor initially dismissed. today, his supporters offered to raise bail. they suspect political motives. >> i'm here because i believe this is about the principle of the universal right of freedom of information and our right to be told the truth. >> the swedish prosecutor is adamant, this case she says is about alleged sex crimes. it has nothing to do with wikileaks. well, maybe not in law. but julian assange is the frontman for an organization that has released thousands of classified files, america says threaten its security.

he has effectively become the u.s. government's underclad public money. visiting afghanistan today, the u.s. defense secretary was told of mr. assange's arrest. >> i hadn't heard that. but that sounds like good news to me. >> washington is clearly desperate to stem the flow of leaked documents. but the wikileaks founder has yet to be charged with breaking any u.s. law. wikileaks is coming under mounting pressure. from pay pal to visa to mastercard, the major finance companies have stopped processing donations to the site. and some internet services are refusing to hoest the website. and tonight, julian assange is spending his first night behind bars. in cust did i -- in cust did i denied a full -- custody deny add full extradition hearing. we haven't heard the last of wikileaks. the flow of leaked classified

cables is set to continue. >> frank gardner. the allegations this week involve claims of sexual misconduct against two female wikileaks volunteers which julian assange denies. one of the accusations is rape. from stockholm, here's the bbc's steven evans. is stockholm julian assange's next destination? it is a cold place, particularly for someone accused of rape and coercing two women into having sex. the women's lawyer told the bbc the accusations were not part of a global conspiracy to hound him. >> only three people know what happened. my two clients and he. and he's well aware that these two women have nothing to do with the wikileaks or the c.i.a. or nothing whatsoever. >> at the offices of the swedish government, the justice minister was simply satisfied at the arrest. >> the european arrest warrant works, and that it doesn't

depend on who the person is that -- what sort of crime a person is discussed to have been done. >> if mr. assange is extradited here to stockholm, does he then get extradited to the united states? where his situation might be much more serious? the swedish prosecutor who wants him back in stockholm says that wouldn't happen. she says that it couldn't happen without the consent of both britain, where he is now, and sweden, if he came here. the authorities here are adamant that there's no conspiracy, that they're not just going after this man to please the american authorities. they say it's simply a matter of alleged crime and the swedish law. steven evans, bbc news, stockholm. >> police in britain have arrest add man who is accused of conspiring to have his wife

killed during their honeymoon in south africa. he was detained following an extradition request from south africa prosecutors. a taxi driver who's been convicted of the murder told the court in cape town that mr. darani arranged the killing. mr. darani denies any involvement. the bbc's nick davis told me how the case unfolded. >> she was actually murdered just over -- close to a a month ago. november 13. just go back in time. what happened while she was going from the area of cape town, she was with her husband and traveling in a taxi when it was carjacked, simply carjacked. he was taken out of the vehicle. so was her husband who has been arrested today. but she was later found dead, shot in the neck. and at a time many were concerned how this had happened and raised questions about security in south africa, but only yesterday in the cape crown court, cape high court that we found allegations came forward that her husband possibly was involved in this. and that's the reason why today

he was arrested by members of the metropolitan police extradition unit. their job to put in place a warrant which was issued by the south african authorities. >> and even though only it happened a month ago someone has appeared in court regarding this. >> that's right. the actual taxi driver. tonga. he was involved in the murder in that he was actually in some ways paid off by mr. darani to actually do this. he was given the task of trying to find people who could get rid of his wife. and of course mr. darani denies that. his family and many other people who support him say that he hasn't been given his chance to answer these allegations by the south african authorities. now he really does have an opportunity. because it looks like extradition proceedings will take place and he will be leaving. >> what happens next? he appears in court fairly soon. >> westminster magistrate court tomorrow morning and he has to decide whether or not he will find out -- whether he will be given bail. if that is the case, he'll then go forward to fast track

extradition which could see him in south africa within 28 days. >> washington is abandoning attempts to convince israel to free settle -- to freeze settlement building as way to revive talks between the palestinians and israel. the talks have been on hold since the freeze expired in september. the latest from washington. >> american officials tell me that after consulting both parties, the israelis and the palestinians, they've come to the conclusion that demanding that israel stop construction in settlements in occupying -- occupied territory is nolt the right basis to try to revive the talks. last round of direct talks between the two sides was in the middle of september. now, american officials also say this doesn't mean that their position about israeli settlements has changed. washington considers those settlements as illegitimate. and it also doesn't mean that the obama administration has

given up on peace in the middle east. in fact, israeli and palestinian negotiators will be coming to washington in the coming week. and the american secretary of state, hillary clinton, will be making a speech about middle east peace on friday. american officials also say that they will be discussing how to move forward with both the israelis and the palestinians. but it is a little bit unclear what plan b really is. >> the top american military commander, admiral meek mullen, is meeting his south -- mike mullen, is meeting his south korean counterpart in seoul to respond to any further north korean attacks. it follows an artillery assault by north korea on the southern island of yong pong which killed two south korean civilians and two marines. our correspondent lisa williamson in the south korea capitol seoul says there appears to be confusion about how to handle the north korean problem. >> that's right. we heard hillary clinton earlier this week in washington

talking to her south korean and japanese counterparts. and coming out with a statement that said they're not ready to restart talks with north korea. the six-party talks with china and russia as well unless north korea shows it's ready to come to the table. and what we see is mike mullen coming here to seoul to have talks with his south korean counterpart about what to do, how to coordinate their defense strategy. in effect, what to do if north korea attacks again. >> china is regarded as being the key neighbor in all of this. and you wonder quite what china is prepared to do. because it doesn't want to destabilize north korea any further. >> china's key worry, many analysts here say, is that north korea will implode. and that as -- if you put too much pressure, either their conflict in the korean peninsula will escalate, and possibly lots of refugees will flood across the border into china. and all sides here say that it really concerned about escalating this conflict. but at the same time, looking

at the talks that are going on here today, south korea is under a lot of pressure at the moment. public opinion here was very critical of the government's response to the last north korean attack. last month. and they really are under pressure to try to come up with a form of words or some kind of action to show that they are responding to people's opinions. they are doing something if you like. we're hearing reports that -- this morning that north korea are firing artillery shells again into the waters around those islands that were attacked last month. not into south korean waters i should say. but certainly is carrying out drills in the area. so that just illustrates how tense things still are here. >> and because of this public pressure, the military in south korea might even consider further fortifying some of the islands on its maritime border. and that would send a very powerful signal of one sort or another to pyongyang. >> that's right. there was some proposals put forward this week to the president in terms of reforming the defense policy here. and one of them said that the

number of marines stationed on those islands should go from 5,000 to 12,000. that's a massive jump. but that's partly for military reasons. i think it's also partly to reassure the civilian residents of those islands that it's ok for them to go back. and one of the things the government is worried about is that if the residents withdraw from those islands as some of them have been doing following last attacks it becomes a problem in its own right. the islands need to be populated to secure the fact that they are south korean. >> lucy williamson in seoul. the parties in haiti say the governing party has made it through to the presidential runoff. he won 22% of the vote and came second to mirlande manigat who received 30%. it will -- it was 30 years ago on john lennon's legacy on the

anniversary of his tragic death. the irish parliament has begun voting through one of the toughest budgets in the country's history. both payments for cuts and many lower paid workers will start paying income tax. earlier e.u. finance ministers adopt add bailout plan to deal with the country's huge deficit. here's mark simpson. >> ireland's celtic tiger years are not only a distant memory, as people start to feel the country's slide from boom to bust. the protests against today's budget were relatively small. there seems to be an acceptance that the cutbacks cannot be stopped. after negotiating a massive bailout from abroad last month, ireland's finance minister said sacrifices would have to be made at home. >> today's budget is our first step in ensuring that we can

get firmly back on our own feet. it is a substantial down payment on the journey back to economic health. there is every reason to be confident about the future of this economy and this country. if only we have confidence and belief and faith in ourselves. i commend this budget to the house. [applause] >> opposition politicians called it an attack. people like michael donahue who works as a courier. he says he will no longer be able to afford to pay his rent. >> i think i will definitely move back in with my parents. and that's a sad situation to be in. and after graduating from college and getting a job and moving out. >> tonight, the protests are continuing outside the irish parliament. but inside, the budget passed its first hurdle. the vote was close. but the cutbacks have not started. and they're likely to continue

for the next four years. as the irish economy slowly tries to recover. mark simpson, bbc news, dublin. >> this is bbc news. these are your headlines. julian assange, the founder of wikileaks s. in custody in london. he's wanted in sweden and claims that he sexually assaulted two women. a british man accused of plotting to kill his bride in south africa has been arrested in the u.k. shiryan darani's family described the claims against him as ludicrous. this region has suspended the membership of the -- said that president bakbul is illegally hanging on to power after losing last week's presidential election. mr. bakbul says he intends to stay in office and has just appointed a new cabinet. and so too has his election challenger. leaving the country with two rival governments.

>> 10 years after he was first elected president loan bakbul is determined it should be business as usual. his title remains unchanged. the state media and army remain firmly under his control. so too his newly appointed cabinet. but outside the corridors of power, this is a bitterly divided country. >> it's true, the situation is difficult. but we do believe a solution will be found in the interests of kode divwaw. >> across town a strange mirror image. another president, another cabinet. alisan watra is widely as -- widely seen as having won last month's election but he meets in a tent in the hotel garden. his power is limited and he relies on the protection of u.n. peacekeepers and lives

behind barbed wire. but he has powerful friends. >> the united states is calling on the president to respect the will and a clear decisive victory by mr. watara. >> it should have been so different. many aborians hoped the election would bring stability to a country which was plunged into civil war just eight years ago. and remains split in two. instead, the political deadlock has brought food shortages and rising prices. mr. watara has been recognized as president-elect by the u.n., u.s., and e.u. as well as a group of west african nations. he has urged his supporters not to resort to violence. but in a country which was once seen as a haven of peace and prosperity in west africa, many people are frustrated by its continuing paralysis and division. a power-sharing deal may yet be worked out. but further ethnic tension

seems inescapable. jackie zard, bbc nules. >> russia and european union have reached a deal which could allow russia to become a world -- a member of the world trade organization next year. the president of the e.u. commission described the agreement as a milestone. russia, the only major trading nation outside the w.t.o., has been negotiating for nearly 20 years to become a member. thousands of protesters have staged demonstrations outside parliament in athens as the head of the international monetary fund, from greece, europe and the euro. civil servants, students and workers marched against austerity plans and budget agreements with the european yuent and the i.m.f. -- une and the mirks f. outside milan's world famous opera house, several people were injured when demonstrators fired flares and smoke bombs at the police. the protest against the italian government's cut for the culture budget marred of the

season. and temperatures have dropped overnight causing further transport problems for motorists. many schools have -- are likely to stay close. hundreds of cars are stranded on major roads across central scotland and the long stretch of the m-8 motorway is shut. icy roads across the u.k. as glen campbell reports from edinburough. >> this is scotland's main motorway tonight. a tractor trying to scrape away the ice that has shut a huge stretch of the m-8's westbound carriageway. this is the start of the m-8 in edinburough. but tonight, it's a no go route. on the motorway, shut for 20 miles westbound from here until north lennoxshire. some truckers are stuck for a second night. >> the ice is just unbelievable

on the road. snow plows cannot cope with, salt, so basically nothing they can do with it. >> we got stuck back there and stuck for a while and cars and people in there, waiting for hours. so we got a few boxes of crisps out and having our crisps to the car drivers. so the supplies. >> fuel supplies are running low at some garages, too, as tankers struggle to make deliveries. this is how snow bound scotland looked from space this lunch time. and this is just some of the chaos caused. the heavy snow and arctic temperatures that hit the central belt were forecast, but the scottish government is facing fierce criticism from political rivals for failing to properly prepare. >> we did not perform to the level we want to. i very much thank people who have been stuck on our roads network for their patience and

tolerance. i'm sore that we've caused these dists by not having -- these difficulties by not having the quality of response we like to have. >> hundreds of drivers spent last night in their cars on the a-80 near glasgow. >> the i-90 blocked and down to peeringt and then -- to perth and then this is as far as i got the rest of the day. >> these people stayed overnight at hamilton college in south lenosshire. >> we were in the museum and the whole experience was good. and we're really tired this morning. >> as hamilton parents were reunited with their children this morning, 900 scottish schools, around a third, stayed closed. in northern ireland, the school run was canceled for pupils at 600 schools. but in scotland that's borne the brunt of the latest weather and the chaotic cause is not

over yet. >> president juan manuel santos of colombia has urged the evacuation of the hillside neighborhood near medellin that was hit on sunday. more than 30 bodies have been recovered from beneath the mud and rock that engulfed part of the town of bajo and more than 80 people are still missing. president santos said further landslides in the area were a real possibility. and promised to rehouse people who had lost their homes. the daughter of peru's former president alberto fujimari will run and said her government would follow the right wing properties of her pare. fujimari has been serving a 25-year sentence for two massacres carried out by an army death squad during his first government. analysts say she might pardon her father if elected. for bans of the beatles wednesday is a day of

remembrance. it's 30 years since john lennon was shot and killed outside his new york home. tom brook was the first british journalist to report from the scene of the murder for bbc radio. he sent us this report. >> john, paul and ringo -- >> john lennon was a member of the beatles in 1964 and beatlemania was at its height. >> ♪ she's happy as can be >> shortly before he died he was in central park commenting on the freedom he enjoyed in a's adoptive city. -- in his adoptive city. >> shake hands, cool when that happens. i'm known enough to keep my ego floating but unknown much to get around. which is nice. >> but his peace was about to be shattered. outside lennon's home at 10 hfment 50 p.m. new york time on december 8, 1980, mark david chapman fired five shots. effectively snuffing out the former beatle's life. he was taken to the nearby

roosevelt hospital. >> i actually held his heart in my hand as the nurses rapidly transfused blood. i tried to massage the heart as we put blood into his body. we knew that there was no way that we could restore circulation. >> back in britain, the news of his death was broken on the bbc's "today program." >> from outside the apartment building where the murder took place. >> a very weird scene because they're playing lennon music. a lot of them are in tears and they're weeping. and they're either stunned or they're hysterical. >> ♪ imagine all the people living life in peace ♪ >> on this 30th anniversary, some of the biggest names in the music industry are paying tribute to lennon. >> i just know i wouldn't be standing without him. and my whole life and -- as an

artist was kind of shaped by him. >> john lennon probably wouldn't like all this retrospective praise. in one of his last major print interviews he said i don't believe in yesterday. i'm only interested in what i'm doing now. and his past didn't interest him, but 30 years after he died both and he his music are still of great interest to many of us. tom brook, bbc news, new york. >> ♪ and the world will live as one ♪ >> the u.s. company spaceex postponed the launch of its first space capsule after experts found a crack in part of the rocket engine that's due to carry the dragon space capsule into orbit. the launch will take place on thursday from cape canaveral in florida and hopes to showcase the capsule's ability to deliver cargo to the international space station for nasa. our main story, the founder of the wikileaks website julian assange has been remanded in

custody after appearing before a court in london to answer a european arrest warrant. this is bbc news. >> 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 has put its global expertise 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 presented by kcet, los angeles.