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." >> the u.s. and russia on the verge of a new era of arms control as congress moves closer to ratifying the start nuclear- weapons treaty. after more than nine months of deadlock, iraq prime minister nouri al maliki begins a second term. 600 people are jailed in belarus for protesting against the reelection of the president. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast in the u.k. and around the world. also ahead, the the law analyze and delays across northern europe -- long lines and delays across europe. queen elizabeth's granddaughter zara phillips gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend.

>> russia and the u.s. are on the verge of a new era of arms control. the u.s. senate voted to end debate on the strategic nuclear arms treaty. they will move on to final approval later this week. the treaty is a major foreign policy objectives and attempts to improve relations with russia. earlier i asked our washington correspondent why this is so important to president obama. >> it speaks to a number of things the president really cares about and invested a lot of time in. the first is he has spoken passionately about his desire to work on nonproliferation. he speaks often about his desire for a world free of nuclear

weapons. that is one step down that road he cares about. on the other hand, it has been a part of his administration's foreign policy to try to reset relations with russia. there is a wide perception the relationship with russia has drifted over the years. but washington did not really speak to the new moscow the. so this treaty is a very good start at a building block around which to build a bigger relationship. in this vote he managed to win over several republicans. how did he manage to get them on his side? >> what we saw today was a key procedural vote that tells us the president and democrats seems to have enough votes to get this treaty ratified. so everybody in washington as

breathing a sigh of relief and hope in this treaty -- e managed to persuade a number of republicans across the aisle. this is important because it demonstrates, obama still has the ability to do some bi- partisan work and get things passed. the president is having a rebound at the moment. he is coming back from the midterm elections in november. this is another one for him to notch up. it is important he managed to get republicans on his side. >> you talked of the bounce back for president obama. can he make this last into next year? >> that is the key question everyone is washington. at the beginning of january deeper republicans will take control of the house. will this spirit of bipartisanship in door into next year or will the republicans decide they want to closedown anything left on the agenda for

the next two years? time will only tell. >> after nine months of political deadlock, iraq has a new government. nouri al maliki second term has been voted through parliament the the along with key ministerial appointments. our correspondent reports from baghdad. >> when the moment finally came come back eithe -- when the moment finally came, the the the moment came rather quickly. either they voted on each and everyone individually whethe. >> i would like to congratulate the minister is for receiving their new post. wishing them a success and good luck. i would like to thank members of the former government who were loyal in their work and accomplished their mission in peace.

>> this is only a partial cabinet. a number of key ministries have been left vacant. these include the three eth security ministries. these are especially sensitive eithe. it has taken a long time to get here. elections in march saw th-- iraq has broken the world record for the longest period between holding an election in forming a government brit news of the breakthrough was met with a certain degree of optimism. tempered by long experience with political false. >> i hope the new ministers will serve the iraqi people as a whole, not only their sect or

party. >> the big test will be whether the members of the government who spent the past nine months fighting with each other can start to pull together. >> the south korean army announced it will hold the largest ever live fire drill. it will take place on thursday on the mainland near the border with the north. on monday at the south korean military held live exercises near the disputed seat border with north korea. last month the island of john peon was shelled -- the island was shelled by artillery fire. 600 opposition protesters have been jailed in belarus. families of the protesters took supplies to the jail in the capital, but many claimed the authorities don't tell them where their relatives are.

this report from david stern. >> they are asking questions but not everyone is getting answers. days after police arrested hundreds, these people came to the detention center searching for new is. some have determined their loved ones are inside these walls. they brought food and warm clothes. others are told to look elsewhere. >> nobody knows where he is and what happened to him. there is no information whatsoever. they are sending me from one prison to another. >> authorities say the arrested are guilty of violent protests. demonstrators clashed with police on sunday after presidential elections. so far in the aftermath, more than 600 have been detained.

the country's opposition says the government is trying to crush them. this is the wife of a presidential candidate. on sunday night, police speech and later arrested him at a hospital. -- beat an eitherd and arrested him. >> they realized my husband could not walk so they dragged him out of the hospital. >> the president is unapologetic. he triumphed in the election with 80% of the vote. he said what the opposition was practicing law was not democracy. in the run-up to the elections there was hope belarus might be entering a time of reform. but the post-election landscaped is much different. five of the 10 candidates have been arrested.

and their parties may be outlawed. >> an american report investigating the decision to release the man convicted of the lockerbie bombing concluded he was freed on political reasons. abdelbaset ali al-megrahi was freed from prison in august last year. there was evidence he had only three months to live. the the report describes that prediction as unsupported by science. the man widely believed to have -- the incumbent in ivory coast giving an address on television declaring he is the legitimate president. he called for dialogue between all sides and dismissed fears a civil war. this came after the un accused his supporters of the recruiting a liberian mercenary. after five days of chaos caused by heavy snow, the european

transport commissioner says this was unacceptable and should not happen again. airline said the vast majority of flights have been operating. euro star has cleared its backlog. they promise normal services will resume. >> at frankfurt airport they were having to manufacture the christmas cheer. as the delays mounted, but so did the the anger. at first people were inclined to blame the weather. now they are questioning the way the system is run. >> nothing works here. no one knows where to go. you go to the counter and someone sends you to the next counter. >> as the planes gathered snow on the tarmac, airport authorities blamed the weather. not everyone does. the european commission says it may change the law and force

airports to maintain minimal services during severe weather. >> airports must get serious about planning for this severe weather conditions. we have seen in recent years snow in western europe is not an exceptional circumstance. >> many argue that should be extended to other parts of the system. trains were getting through but with big delays. this is the latest arrival. it was due to get here at 11:33. it arrived over two hours late. let's see if we can chat with a couple of people. how was your journey? >> i wake up at 4:00 to stand in the line. i had to wait for five hours. >> at the other end of the line it was far more chaotic. euro star are telling passengers

not to turn up until one hour before departure. >> this is how far we have got so far. i think we have another hour to go. >> while thousands remain stuck, the situation is said to be improving slowly. temperatures are expected to stay close to freezing for some time. there is more snow forecast. western europe's travel nightmare is not coming to an end. >> in britain bathe second runway at heathrow airport has reopened for the first time since the heavy snowfall. delays are continuing and passengers remain standing -- remain stranded. over 1000 flights scheduled have been canceled in the last five days. < -- there is plenty more still ahead on "bbc world news," including we will take you to

the mexico's southern border where the drug wars are now being fought in the rainforests of guatemala. fees allegedly tried to sell the art they stole reporterthieves -- thethieves tried to sell the art they stole to a scrap yard. several of our pieces were taken the the rigidartworks were taken. >> in the back of this event is millions of dollars worth of art, including pieces by paulo picasso and a colombian artists. stolen-one of the largest ever art robberies. -- stolen in one of the largest ever robberies.

the does try to sell one of the pieces to a scrap yard. -- thieves tried to sell one piece to a scrap yard. they try to sell it for $40. investigators tracked down the art close to where it was stolen. all the pieces appeared to be intact. >> on the initial assessment, all of the art works covered -- recovered are in perfect condition. >> when the highest happened to the artwork had just been brought back from an exposition in germany and were in a workhouse in madrid. it was thought the robbery was an inside job. >> in the beginning we thought they were stolen by various professionals. they opened a warehouse and left in three minutes and escaped with the truck full of art work.

>> given the discovery a few kilometers away and the attempt to offload the sculptor, investigators say it is a more amateur job. >> is "bbc world news." our headline so far, the u.s. and russia are on the verge of a new era of arms control after senators in congress voted to end the debate and move on to the final approval later this week. after more than nine months of political dead like a -- political deadlock, iraq has a new government. a minor earthquake has been felt across large areas of canada in the northwest of england. the u.s. geological survey confirm the earthquake was measured at 3.6 magnitude.

the british geological survey says the epicenter was -- no reports of injuries or damage. the business secretary vince cable is tuesday in his job but lose some responsibilities after he said he was declared war on rupert murdoch. david cameron stripped mr. table any -- or business editor has more. eithevince cable a bit glum abot unguarded remarks he made. which prompted this from the deputy prime minister. >> he said he is embarrassed. he will be a lot more careful with those unguarded moments. >> then became more than embarrassing for the business secretary. >> what i can disclose is

although there was a full transcript put out of the conversation, actually they omitted some fascinating parts of the conversation with these reporters. in the whistle blower passed me the full transcript. >> i have declared war on mr. murdoch. i did not politicize it because it is illegal. [inaudible] >> right. [laughter] >> [inaudible] >> what does this former tv boss makes of it all? >> i have never heard anything quite like it. for a secretary of state to say anything like that. secondly, i don't think undercover reporters have ever

recorded it his or her words before. >> it was back in june when rupert murdoch's corp. offered money for 61% of eithersky b. then mr. cable either ask the media regulators to investigate the deal. eivince had the ultimate say on whether news corp. could own sky. he is supposed to be an impartial judge and would adjudicate whether the deal would happen. in saying he would declare war on news corp., he appears to be taking sides. it is like a judge in a court case announcing he will go to war against the defendant. it is not surprised by the prime minister said these remarks are unacceptable and he will strip him of all future role in media

decisions. this is what news corp. said tonight. news corp. is shocked by reports of these comments. they raise serious questions about fairness and due process. there are also questions 40 ". telegraphed" about why it did not include these kinds and it published a full transcript of his remarks. here is the tory minister who has been given these powers. it is now down to mr. hunt whether this media empire should be allowed to expand. >> it is fast becoming a new front-mexico's drug war. narcotics are flooding across the border at an alarming rate. it is that the u.s. we are

talking about, it is guatemala. in one year the amount of drugs seized has doubled. now see chazz been declared near the border to reclaim some cities -- now seige has been declared we report on the huge task of taking on the cartel. >> it looks like no man's land but the region is bustling with action. this clandestine landing strip is used to fly drugs into the territory. then they move the cargo to the u.s. these are remains of planes that failed. but more often it does get through. the u.s. state department says the amount of illegal drugs seized from what law has doubled in the past few years. -- seized from kuala has doubled.

military forces -- seized from guatemala has doubled. military forces are on the lookout. this a small group is on a mission that seems daunting. to clear this huge rainforest of all the criminal activity that has been taking place. it is now getting much worse due to the mexican drug cartels. the mexican government has pushed the the [unintelligible] and other organizations south. many worry the guatemalan government's recent deployment of soldiers to these areas is simply not enough against criminal organizations that want to make this a drug pipeline from south america. >> when i talked to the president, he admitted there are vast areas where traffickers have more power and local

lawmen. -- have more power than local lawmen. >> they corrupt authorities and the the in very poor areas. they have the community is on their side. there are demonstrations asking for the release of the drug baron. >> there is a reminder of the brutality of more than 30 years of civil war that came to an end in the mid-1990s's. many fear rising crime could mark a return to a destabilized guatemalans. a human-rights activist once the mexican criminals that are branching out here are well- financed and ruthless. >> we are starting to see armies' thwith sophisticated equipment. that is a company that by

spreading terror through the raping of women and children. -- that is accompanied by spreading terror. >> we cannot lead central america alone. if they are left alone with no help, the u.s. and canada this region would be left under total control of organized crime. >> they lack the resources to face this challenge alone. high crime rates already plague the country at. a serious regional effort may be the only route to shore up democracy. >> you wait ages for a british wedding to come along and two, long at once zara phillips. zara phillips is now engaged to

marry her, boyfriend the mike tindall -- to marry her boyfriend, mike tindall. >> she is the queen's granddaughter. they have been together for seven years and have talked about marriage for a while. but it seems the proposal took the bride to be by surprise. it was here last night and mike tindall popped the question. zara phillips said she was shocked by very happy. he said he was delighted she said yes. the official engagement pictures taken in their garden this afternoon are typically on stuffing the the. -- typical unstuffy. she has grown up with more freedom than her cousins william and harry. the queen and duke of edinburgh have already met mike tindall

and said they were delighted with the news. smiles at this pulp where the couple regular they spends time socializing -- smiles at this pub. >> they conduct themselves as a friendly locals. >> any wedding receptions here? no >>. >> either no wedding date has been set, but it definitely will not be april 29. she will not want to clash with her cousin. >> before we go, a reminder of our headlines. the senate voted to end debate on the strategic nuclear arms treaty with russia. they move on to final approval later this week. the treaty would cut nuclear weapons. the south korean army will hold its largest ever live fire drill near the border with the north on thursday in a show of force

in the wake of the island attack last month. >> 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 angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.