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>> and now, "pbc world news." >> the eu appears closer to a new round of the sanctions over its nuclear proposal. foreign ministers are discussing a ban on oil pumps. >> the pressure of sanctions is to make sure that iran takes seriously our request to come to the table. >> hello, and welcome to gmt. the international criminal court confirms that it will try four kenyan officials accused of orchestrating election violence four years ago. saudi arabia pulls out of the mission in syria.

we will ask how damaging this is for the arab league. it is midday in london, early morning in washington, 1:00 in the afternoon in brussels. european union appears close to imposing new sanctions in iran. the eu's foreign policy chief says that the aim is to get iran around the table. but it could easily lead to more confrontation. the president of the u.s., british warships -- the presence of the u.s. and british warships on at the borders. >> the temperature rises once more in this long standoff over the country's nuclear ambitions. its nuclear activities have attracted several rounds of sanctions. the new ones are different. >> the sanctions are getting heavier and heavier. the international community hopes that they are going to get more effective as well.

it would seem that this time it is possible that it really will begin to squeeze tehran. >> the sacking of britain blasted diplomatic compounds in tehran in november on the sensitivities involved. will this added to pressure around tehran or rally support around the government? there are risks and concerns, and at least the cost to their own struggling economies, especially of oil prices rocket. the timetable for implementing sanctions reflects that. iran,'s president, meanwhile, sharing that he still has some friends, like president chavez of venezuela. tehran will be looking for ways to circumvent sanctions.

it is the saber rattling at sea that is causing most alarm, and the specter that it could retaliate by blocking the strategic strait of hormuz. that would hurt iran, too, and be sure to provoke an american response. the current tensions could lead to this population. >> there is always the danger that out there on the front lines at sea, perhaps at an ambitious iranian revolutionary guard commander will decide to take pot shots and an american ship. if that happens, anything can happen. >> iran's leaders and the west are trying to decipher the intentions of this man. china's premier has been touring iran's arab neighbors. china and other energy-hungry economies may hold the key to how effective the new sanctions will be.

saudi arabia's vast oilfields could also be crucial. riyadh has angered tehran by promising to make up any shortfalls to stabilize the market. >> the bbc is not allowed to report fully from iran, so our correspondent is in dubai, which has heavy trading links with iran. >> about 1/3 of the people who live in this country were originally from iran, and they maintain links with their homeland. you see a lot of boats loaded up with tv's, cars, refrigerators, washing machines, and twice a week in late make a towards iran itself. in that open water, iran exports its oil. the exports of oil is iran's

most valuable asset. it helps to keep iran and eight money and power. that is why the eu decided to target its exports. iran itself has suggested that sanctions will not work. it has also made a threat. it has threatened to closed down the stretch of hormuz, in that direction, the narrow channel for which 20% of the world's oil is traded. the united states and other countries said that any attempts to close down and the strait is unacceptable. >> let's look at the other stories making headlines around world. syria has rejected the latest arab league plan to end the 10- month crisis, saying that the call is a clear violation of syrian sovereignty. the monitoring organization says

there has been less of violence since its teams arrived in the country. >> the fact finding events that have happened since march of last year -- we have nothing to do with this. this is not our mission. our mission is to speed up implementation of the elements. if even the political side of what is going on on the ground, we have no prerogatives on this. we restrict ourselves to the five elements of the report and report to the arab league accordingly so they can decide what steps to take afterwards. >> those are the thoughts of the arab league to's monitoring mission. i want to turn into the monitors and the fact that saudi arabia has withdrawn its monitors. this in some sense is good for

damascus. what we're seeing, presumably, is a damaging split in the arab league. >> the fact that the saudis have pulled out is really quite a blow, because up until now, although everybody knows that there are different viewpoints within the 20 or so arabs states taking part, they were coming up with unified decisions and going ahead with unified plans, albeit of a lowest common denominator major garre-- natur. but with the saudis pulling out, they're showing is splitting of ranks. other arab states -- the rese -- they regard the mission on the ground as perhaps not perfect but the only game in town at the moment. there is really no other alternative. the league knows that the u.s.

security council is divided itself, with the russians and chinese basically protecting syria and regards criticism or condemnation of syria as a kind of red line. it does undermine the whole thrust of the thing. from syria's point of view, it diminishes the credibility and show of unity the arab side, always. -- the arabs had come up with. >> presumably they'd know full well that their move will be damaging. >> don't forget, they also pulled their ambassadors out of the mass is quite early on -- pulled their ambassadors out of the damascus quite early on. saudis and qatar feel outrage, and they also feel vulnerable because they see the country sliding into disintegration i

could have impact on the whole region, with so many fault lines converging in syria. the repercussions would be felt all over the place, among tribes in saudi arabia, here in lebanon, and so on. they don't believe the syrian government is sincere in complying with the arab peace plan. >> the egyptian parliament is meeting for the first time since hosni mubarak was to pose a year ago. the country's free elections produced parliament dominated by islamist parties. is the president to decide which party forms the government. the strike in pakistan has signaled a resumption of the american air campaign. it was seemingly paused after a

november attack that killed 24 pakistani soldiers. turkey has threatened a new measures against france. the french senate passed a bill criminalizing the denial of the armenian genocide. the law will make it a crime to deny the 1915 killing of armenians by ottoman forces amounted to genocide. international criminal court judges have ordered four prominent canyons to stand trial over the deadly election on rest four years ago. among the suspects were the deputy prime minister and former education minister, both planning to run for the presidency this year. let's get reaction from nairobi. you better remind us quickly if you can what we were seeing four years ago in nairobi and

elsewhere. >> some people would say that the country was at a tipping point and it was pushed right to the edge of civil war. look as if the tit-for-tat violence -- it looked as if the tit-for-tat violence was spiraling out of control. a peace deal was put in place, and when the deal was signed, and that justice seem to be done. even in local tribunal in canada, or if that was not going to happen, -- a local tribune in kenya, or if that was not going to happen, over to the icc. >> what was the reaction in nairobi? >> many kenyans expected some or all of these trials to go ahead. there will be appeals, we're pretty sure, from all of the four set to stand trial. that could take many bonds.

for many kenyans, they are starting to worry about the next election in december or march or early next year. we have this extraordinary situation where the son of kenya's first president, working as the finance minister and deputy prime minister, wants to become president, and analysts say that he has a chance. the signs he has been putting and is that whatever goes on at the icc, i will continue my presidential ambitions. you have an extraordinary situation with two men who want to be president now said to stand trial for crimes against humanity. many kenyans say that it is just not something that can possibly happen. they will have to rethink and step aside and maybe try and prove their innocence in the hague and then fight another battle. for many kenyans, this is seen as a land of impunity, with a

violent elections in the past but no justice. this is perhaps a turning point, a start to turn the corner away from the country's impunity, and they hope that the icc trials will he ensure that future elections are more peaceful. >> still to come, a host of surprises at the effort will to -- as the african out world cup gets underway. here in britain, the organization that represents plastic surgeons has called for all advertisements for cosmetic medical procedures to be banned. the move by the british association of plastic surgeons it comes up after it concerns over substandard breast implants. it like to see an end to tactics such as seasonal discounts. it says that crass and of the

marketing has put lives in danger. >> they have been, additions to win breast implants. such marketing techniques should be dan, says the british association of aesthetic plastic surgeons for trivializing a plastic surgery and endangering patients'. the association wants registering of all implants, injection of the fillings such as botox to be reclassified as medicines, along with annual checks on clinics carrying out operations. >> we're not allowed to advertise prescription medicine, we are not allowed to advertise it taking a gall bladder out. why should you be able to advertise plastic surgery? >> this is now close to french

company made it substandard silicone implants, which were used in operations on 40,000 kurdish wome -- 40,000 british women. the government has begun a review of cosmetic surgery safety standards. it is looking at an insurance scheme. and looking to the travel industry to provide financial back up for things gone wrong. >> this is "gmt." the headlines -- the u.s. is close to a new round of sanctions against iran for its nuclear program. the international criminal court will try four canyon officials accused of orchestrating election violence four years ago.

time for a quick run through of business. the makers of blackberry -- the bosses have been given the old heave ho. >> the canadian firm -- the two chaps' we're talking about have resigned. let's remind ourselves, blackberry was once king of the area of smartphones, but in the last three years in has been under assault by the likes of apple and other smartphone makers. it is the worst outage in the company's. -- in the past in the company's history. investors are really demanding a change. some say that the problem lies in the fact that there were two people in charge. can blackberry turn itself

around? >> they certainly have the technology. they have had a command of the business sector of the market. their problem is that that that of the market is under assault from apple in particular. they have brilliant technology on board. the founders in particular had a lot in that area. the question is do they have the speed to turn on a dime and move in a different direction? >> that is all in the hands of a guy, an ex-siemens employees. he has been with r.i.m. for a few years. >> look at greece, the rest still on hold. > -- rescue is still on hold. >> there are talks between

athens and private debt holders. they never reached agreement. the organizations representing the private debt holders say that we have put the maximum offer on the table and it is up to the eu and the imf. you mentioned at the interest rates. investors want athens to pay more than 4%, but germany wants only 3%. at the end of the day, it is not greece's money that will pay the investors. it is imf money and very likely and german money. the one under 30 billion-euro rescue package -- 130 billion- year-old mr. package depends on athens making the agreement. listen to this. >> the hedge funds and even mainstream banks are holding insurance against default.

they are secretly hoping that things will fall apart, there will be a disorderly default, and they can collect the insurance claim on the of all, basically. -- on the default, basically did european union officials and the imf are trying to cover that situation. >> if they don't reach an agreement, everybody says that greece is likely to default on 18.5 billion. >> see you back here again. >> probably tomorrow. >> emergency crews have resumcud some passengers from the italy cruise ship nine days after it crashed off italy's coast. the number of debt has risen to 13 after divers found another body. we get the latest on the

questions of those passengers. >> we have a number of questions on unregistered passengers. a hunk and family -- hungarian family had rung the authorities saying their daughter had rung them on the ship, saying she was on board. according to the authority, she is not on the passenger list. this raises the question of unregister passengers. the search and rescue team has been continuing. before i came on air, a number of controlled explosions were heard. divers are trying to get into areas of the ship, every difficult to reach because of the debris. they are looking at an area near the fourth deck -- on the fourth

deck near the restaurant area to see if they can discover anyone in theire. >> what will happen to colonel gaddafi's sion saif al-islam? libyan authorities have submitted a confidential response to the icc's questions, no decision has been made yet. >> his captor was described as the final act in the libyan drama. colonel gaddafi's most prominent son and presumed successor was taken in november without a fight. he spoke little as his captors took him to their where he has been kept incommunicado ever since. the court is seeking answers to a number of key questions.

they want to check his mental and physical health and ask him if he wants to nominate legal representatives. most importantly, the icc wants to know if libyan authorities intended to hand him over to the hague for trial. unofficially, the question has already been answered. leaders make it clear that they want saif al- islam to stand trial at home. so far he has not had any charges or had access to a lawyer. while he remains in the custody of the fighters and captured him, there have been efforts to convince the world that his trial be a fair one. it is the people in this building that should be able to answer the icc's questions. but the justice ministry is about as influential as the dilapidated building suggests. as with so much else in that country, it is the militias, the man with the guns, the control the fate of the saif al-islam.

>> gabon will pay thei -- play their opening match at the african cup of nations today. won over the weekend. is it money well spent? in an equatorial guinea, a large percentage of the population lives in poverty. >> fans celebrate an historic victory for the national football tim. -- team. a win at the first-ever game at the african cup of nations tournament. the atmosphere is more relaxed, as locals settle down to watch the next round. this is the only sports bar. the people who come here are proud of what their country has achieved on and off the pitch. >> we can be a better country

than what we are, and we can prove a lot of things and continue working hard to be one day a better country. >> the government has used the cover of nations to build new hotels like this, filled with people for the opening match of the tournament. this sports complex includes a state of the arts boards center and a swimming pool. for some people, that is not enough. they think the money should have been spent on more important projects. many people living here lack even the basics. areas with no running water or libel of electricity are common -- or reliable electricity are common. convergence for social democracy has one seat in the country's parliament. he thinks the cup of nations is

important but there are more urgent priorities. >> we think the money could be better used in education, sanitation, and electrification of the whole country, and the distribution of clean drinking water. >> there are some obvious advantages from the oil-field construction boom, which has been under way over the past decade. the african cup of nations may be a catalyst for further improvements. not everyone is convinced the money will be spent wisely. >> before we go, a reminder of our top story. diplomats say european union foreign ministers have approved some of the toughest sanctions yet against iran, including a ban on imports of iranian crude oil and a freezing of assets linked to the central bank. stay with us. there is more to come.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> at you in bank, our relationship managers worked hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your objectives. we offer expertise entellus solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you?

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