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>> africa's newest nation, south sudan, puts troops on maximum alert. the presents of sudan and south sudan meet over the region's oil. >> welcome to gmt. also in the program -- could the communist cuba soon be fuelled by petrodollars'? working.conomy is not almost one in four without a job as madrid post the worst unemployment numbers in the west. >> it is lunchtime in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, d.c.,

and 3:00 p.m. in juba, south sudan. at issue, oil, in who gets what in the region's most important resource. south sudan has put troops on maximum alert and begun shutting down its profitable oil production facilities in response to clinch the supplies are being stolen by the north. south sudan gained independence from north sudan last year, but the two states have not been able to agree on how to divide the oil wealth. the main oil producing regions are near the border, with about three-quarters of the oil fields in south sudan. south sudan relies on its northern neighbor to transport the oil to the coast. sudan once about $36 per barrel. south sudan says it will not pay more than $1 per barrel, in line with international norms. with all that in mind, let's go

to our correspondent joining me. james, there are talks at the presidential level. any signs that the two sides are approaching a deal? >> no signs at all really. i'm told they are still locked in talks some three or four hours after that began. that possibly give some indication of the seriousness of the issue. up until the stocks, every sign has been going in the opposite direction. first, sudan deciding it would confiscate some of south sudan's oil. saddam responded by announcing a shutdown of production, which has already started to happen, -- sudan responded by announcing a shutdown of production, which are restarted to happen. this summit is being held with the canyon and ethiopian -- the

kenyan and ethiopian presidents, >> how real is the possibility of conflict over this, james. the south has said they're putting troops on maximum alert. wheezing skirmishes near the border area. how real is this threat? >> by some reckonings, they are almost at work already. both side has accused the other of supporting rebel groups on their territory. there have been clashes along the border, as you say. what possible is an escalation of that. another prospect is simply that this standoff over oil and oil resources continues for several months until the economy or one of the other -- one or the other is able to take it no more. they could go to the lower

levels. a return to what is a possibility, but an outside possibility of the moment. >> we will leave it there. thank you for joining us. >> reports from iraq say at least 24 people have been killed by a bomb explosion in baghdad. the attack appears to have targeted a shi'ite funeral procession in the east of the iraqi capital. in the iraqi official has said the blast was caused by a bomber driving a car laden with explosives. iraq has been hit by a wave of sectarian violence since forces completed their withdrawal from the country late last year. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. a senior russian diplomat has said that the draft u.n. security resolution on syria put forth by western and arab diplomats is unacceptable. the un security council will meet in a few hours to talk

about the security crisis. it's reported the new resolution supports the arab league's call for president bashar al-assad to beat shutdown. the operator of costa concordia is offering passengers almost $15,000 each to compensate them for lost baggage and psychological trauma. the company will also reimburse the cost of the cruise, travel, and of the other medical expenses. severe flooding and landslides in fiji have killed six people and left others homeless. the coastal regions on the west of the main island have been the worst hit. could the quest for oil be about to transform cuba's economy? a rig will begin drilling 100 kilometers of the coast of florida. american conservatives are

already worried the discovery of oil will give a huge boost to the island struggling economy. for cubans, the prospect of black gold offers an unprecedented opportunity. are havana correspondent has more. >> out at sea, there could be something far more valuable than fish to extract. cuba is now exploring for oil. if they find oil, it means we will not have to import it, he said, and that should improve all our lives. this rig could make those oil dreams a reality. all the way from china to bypass the trade embargo against communist cuba. it will be the first to use it. it's about 50 kilometers offshore. studies so far suggest there are

at least 5 billion barrels of oil to discover. it is not until cuba begins drilling that it will find out for sure. this is where the islands gets a third of its oil from today. venezuela supplies but rest. finding oil offshore would break that dependence. >> if we discover oil in enough quantities, it will change the cuban economy. cuba will become an exporter of oil. >> the money is needed here. signs of the pre revolutionary wealth have long faded. those scraping by are optimistic about the oil. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we need it. for a start, we need to sort out old havana, which is falling down. for now, it's a waiting game. it will take up to 60 days to drill the first well and get some idea of what kind of wealth

this country could be sitting on. bbc news, of an of. >> the afghan president is in paris meeting his french counterpart, sarkozy. france suspended its training program for the afghan military last week after four of its troops were killed by a rogue afghan soldier. our correspondent joins me now from paris. just how bad do you think the relationship currently is between france and afghanistan >>. ? >> on a personal level, karzai and sarkozy have a good relationship. they worked on the recovery of kidnapped journalists in afghanistan. i think we will get a little bit of diplomatic theatre. we will hear more stern words

from president sarkozy. from karzai, for the appetite of the french public. 83% of people in this country will the troops home by the end of the year. re.re are currently 3600 thei unp, the ruling party, wants to the french troops there until 2014. the socialists, who are leading in the polls at the moment, would like to bring them all back by the end of the year. the president is under a lot of pressure. >> what is actually going to happen in the short run for the study 600 troops? all operations were suspended. what will they do in the short run? >> the defense minister was out there last week i am told.

he has already reported to the president. i am told what they are asking for is greater assurances on the selection procedure for new troops who are going to be trained. they also want offices that they have -- also want officers that have already been trained to be alongside them as a go-between with these troops. of course, there's already been an investigation. president karzai said these men --e been had by a total baalibn all sorts of different reports on why it happened. sarkozy's point of view, he will say this cannot happen. i think both sides will want assurances today. just to finish, i think hamid

karzai is here specifically to sign deals on counterinsurgency and intelligence. that is what they are specifically looking forward from the french side. >> we will see if they get that. thank you for joining us on gmt. greece is within touching distance of a deal with private banks to write down its debt. that's the word coming from the european commissioner responsible for military affairs, speaking at the world economic forum in davos. he said an agreement that could avoid a debt default could be concluded, if not today, that over the weekend. >> we are just about to close a deal on a private sector involvement between the greek government and the private creditor community. if not today, maybe over the weekend. in any case, preferably still in january rather than in february. we're very close. we have to have a sustainable

solution for greece, even if greece is a special and unique case, and private sector involvement in that sense will not be applied to any other country of the eurozone. >> the eu commissioner, ollie rehn there. there will be more from davos in a few minutes. a countdown, six months until the opening ceremony in london. >> reports from australia say a group of soldiers who staged a failed mutiny in new guinea on thursday are demanding a full pardon. the prime minister peter o'neil has sayssaid the attack was a desperate act. >> a mutiny or simply protest? it's not clear what it was, but it appears to be over.

reports say some of the soldiers involved have been arrested, but others are holding out, demanding a pardon before they give back their weapons. there's no sign of the colonel who led this action. for the man who says he is the legitimate prime minister, this limited military operation has damaged the country's reputation. >> new guinea deserves better than that. somali has to realize that this country [inaudible] respected country that respects him. >> there has been no comment from him. no one knows whether he was behind the military commissione. all he ever sent before was that he was moved from office unlawfully by mr. o'neill.

>> the government says calm has been restored. australia, like all of png's neighbors, wanted to be a peaceful place. the world wants to exploit, but only if it is safe to do so. >> until the issue of the two prime ministers has been finally settled, it's unstable politics will prolong its uncertain future. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." the headlines -- the presidents oof sudan and south sudan are meeting to try to diffuse rising tensions over oil. q. but is said to be drilling for oil, a -- cuba is said to be

drilling for oil. we are going to keep talking economies now. time for the business news and with aaron. stunning figures coming out of spain on unemployment. >> we've already known the unemployment problem is the big problem. spain's is just getting worse. the number of people out of work has now passed 5 million. 5.3 million to be exact. the unemployment rate rose to almost 23%, twice the average for the rest of the eu and certainly the highest unemployment rate in the industrialized world. break the numbers down. it's even worse for spanish youth. more than half of 16 to 24-year- olds do not have a job. the spanish government has a huge problem. listen to the dilemma facing the government. >> spain's government is convinced it needs to balance its books and reassure the markets, and therefore, it can

continue to borrow money at sensible rates. people here say they do not need cuts, but they need the government to invest some kind of money to inject some sort of growth into the economy. spain is hurting. with less people spending money, it's hard to see how this problem in the short term will be resolved. >> with more unemployed, that means the spanish government are only now more in unemployment benefits at a time they are receiving less in tax revenues. many are predicting spain will slip into recession. >> europe is still full of acrossc worries, but gio the atlantic and there may be positive signs in the united states. >> for the last three months of last year, we will find out the gdp numbers. we are expecting an annualized rate of 3%. overall, in 2011, it should grow by 1.7%.

consumers are spending. they are buying more cars. companies are buying more machinery. unemployment has dropped to 8.5 %, the lowest in three years. the troubled housing market is showing an improvement. it's all good news. going forward, it does not look that rosy. of course, the u.s. is watching europe very closely. let's listen to what u.s. treasury secretary, timothy geithner, had to say that davos. >> the biggest thing that will determine how fast we grow is these two fundamental factors. one, what happens in the world, meeting in europe and the gulf, because of oil. frankly, just to be direct, whether republicans in congress decide they want to legislate things that are good for growth in the short term. >> just to highlight the problems that the leaders at davos are grappling with, in the past, problems have always been regionalized.

now, we are a globalized economy and everybody will feel the crunch. that is the worry. >> thank you very much. >> we're going to stick with the davos theme. the world's current economic model is -- the extraordinary view of u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon said political and business leaders need to embrace economic innovation in order to save the planet. there's no shortage in davos of people pitching their ideas for reform. one is ellen macarthur, who joins us now from the swiss resort. we've heard a great deal about the way in which capitalism has to fundamentally change. in brief, what's your view of where capitalism needs to go? >> i'm in davos for the breeding

on a report that comes o monday. the finite resources we have, which we've seen increasing in price over the last few years. the idea is to shift from a linear system, where you take something from the ground and make something out of it. we are trying to drive efficiency through. you design for this assembly. the ultimately, your report billionere's a $630 opportunity for europe alone. it has been a fantastic project. we've been working with mackenzie on the numbers on this. bringing it here to davos is an important time for us. >> i find it fascinating, the concept of a circular economy. it seems to me modern capitalism is built on an entirely different concept. that is, you produce products,

whether it be tvs or mobile phones. manufacturing is one thing to be replaced within five or 10 years, if not sooner, because that's part of their business model. you will have to change the entire world capitalistic outlook, are you not? >> business leaders over the last two years, you begin to realize exactly the things we hear on this program. we're very aware of resources are getting more expensive. there are some real challenges to growth. when you hear them talk about this, and they are looking for different solutions, i think the circular economy comes at a very important time. they can see the total business model shift. you are talking about a car being made again. you are employing people through the manufacturing process. it brings a lot of opportunities. at the same time, performance. you are looking at a different

way the economy can function. it gives the business leaders in place to get ahead. >> are you finding a receptive audience among south the ceo -- davos? the ceo's in >> we had a full house this morning. there was a lot of attention paid. the idea is coherent. among its businesses and young people, but also the numbers work. in today's economic climate, that's very important. >> thank you very much for joining us from davos. the super rich, some of whom are at davos, have been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism. "have your say" you'll get your own chance to speak to them on whether their incomes can be justified and

about their contribution to society as a whole. the ckenyan businessman -- are both worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they will be our guests. you can post. your questions. >> in the buildup to the olympic games in london, we have been meeting athletes from around the world chase in their olympic dreams. today, we report on a woman boxer from india. india has only ever succeeded in one called metal -- won a gold medal. has already won 5 world championships.

>> this is my medals room. >> by anyone's standards, mary kom is a winner. she is now focused on the london olympics. she hopes that it will raise her own profile in for her brother forgotten estate on the indian map. >> i have to do for my country. i have to fulfill my dreams. >> violent insurgency has halted much development across manipuri. >> in manipuri, there just are not any foreign visitors. until recently, a tourist -- were recently, a tourtourists

banned from the state. in the countryside where she grew up, peasants in the fields and rivers. mary is convinced this daily struggle makes manipuri athletes so determined. families andlayers' backgrounds are very poor. we have to do more hard work. we have to do more hard work to get the money, to get a better life. >> olympic success for mary kom would mean a massive win for manipur and mary is not afraid to take up the challenge. >> i always remember the story of david and goliath. david is a small boy.

goliath is a big man. i am also small. manipur is very small. if i do very hard work, then i will win. >> she may be coming to london alone, but the state will be behind her. bbc news, manipur. >> i suspect a lot more people around the world will be cheering her on. for more on her story, two and bbc this weekend. that's pretty much all we have time for on this edition of gmt please do stay with us on "bbc world news." there's plenty more to come. for me and all the gmt team, goodbye.

>> make sense of international news. bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu newman's own foundation and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions in capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.