>> this is "bbc world 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 and

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? >> and now bbc world news. >> a car bomb has hit a petrol station in the syrian capital, leaving nine people dead. we're taking you into gaza city where fatah supporters are holding their first major rally since 2007. pakistani teenager shot of the taliban leaves the hospital where she has been treated. welcome to "bbc world news. i'm david eades. also, coming up, concern over president hugo chavez's health. he has a severe lung infection

in three weeks after cancer surgery. and a present in afghanistan, a dramatic transformation of one of afghanistan's most notorious and jails. prison in afghanistan. hello. thanks for joining us. another scene of devastation in syria. a car bomb exploded at a petrol station in the capital damascus, killing at least nine people and wounding many more. state media said the bomb targeted cars that were lined up to get patrol and they say the attack was carried out by what they call terrorists. opposition activists are preferring to blame the government. the blast took place in a northern district of the capital. jon donnison has this report. >> this is all that was left of the petrol station after what is

thought to have been a car bomb attack. it is likely drivers would have been lining up for fuel, which is in desperately short supply. the neighborhood is said to have strong government support for members of president assad's sect. state television blamed rebel fighters, calling them terrorists. but the opposition will likely say the fact that state media was on the scene so quickly to broadcast pictures suggest the government might have handled the last to try to discredit the rebels. it came days after a government air strike on another petrol station in damascus which left dozens of civilians dead. the new year has seen no stopping of the violence. these pictures posted on the internet which we cannot verify are thought to show rebel tanks earlier this week trying to take

control of a government air base in the north. the united nations says more than 60,000 people and died in the syrian conflict, which is now almost two years old. there's no political solution in sight. jon donnison, bbc news, beirut. >> i want to take you to gaza city. we have extraordinary scenes. the yellow represents the fatah movement. that sort of picture has not been seen in gaza since 2007, which is when hamas took over control of the area. the first rally since that time. the movement was founded in 1965 by the late leader yasser arafat. was an anniversary of what the first operation of israel claimed by an plo's armed wing. we are in jerusalem monitoring these pictures on what is quite

a day four fatah. >> it is a big day for the palestinian movement across the board. for the last six years there's been a schism between the two main palestinian factions. hamas, which controls gauze up, and fatah, which controls the west bank. -- hamas, which controls gaza. and things had gotten really bad. there's been a realization in recent months between the two back some sort of palestinian reconciliation or unity is needed if there is to be an advancement of palestinian statehood. mahmoud abbas is chairman of the plo. he said recently that 2013 would be the year in which palestine would achieve full

statehood. whether that is wishful thinking, to get there, reconciliation between the two factions is needed. that's why we are seeing hundreds of thousands of fatah supporters being allowed to exercise their voices and to protest and to celebrate the anniversary on the streets of gaza. >> thanks very much. venezuelan government says president hugo chavez is in a severe -- battling a severe lung infection in three weeks after his cancer operation in cuba. plenty of speculation about his health, following sunday's announcement of further complications. the opposition have been demanding the government provide confirmation on his condition. now this report from cuba. >> it's now more than three weeks since hugo chavez putin alabama for his fourth operation for cancer. this normally a ever present president has not been seen or

heard from ever since. opposition politicians have been accusing the venezuelan government of concealing the truth of his condition. this was the response. another short update and a few details. >> after the delicate surgery of this past december 11, he has faced complications as a result of a severe lung infection which has caused a breathing in sufficiency that requires him to comply strictly with medical treatment. >> as he battles for his health, and its allies are trying to carry on business as usual, but the two senior politicians during a coffee plant were both here in havana this week. they say they can deliver a message of support from its people. it's far more likely they were discussing what to do next week when the president should be sworn back into office.

"we will see him back with us sooner rather than later," the vice president announced. but he said nothing about the inauguration. hugo chavez has plenty of critics and home and abroad. the flamboyant socialist won the election by a significant margin. the government has been stressing that the socialist revolution is strong and denies stocks that threats are emerging from the ranks. with no sign of recovery notes for hugo chavez, venezuela is headed into uncertain territory. his opponents say if he's not fit by january 10, there must be a special election. the government argues the inauguration can and should be postponed. the constitutional battle is looming. bbc news, havana. >> francisco toro runs a

venezuela chronicle. thanks for joining us via skype. we are hearing different views on the hugo chavez's real condition. >> there's a huge amount of uncertainty driven by the fact that we have had almost nothing in a way of offical information that we can trust about his condition. we don't know what kind of cancer and there has never been a medical report. we don't know if there's been metastasis or the prognosis. so it's difficult to say. >> does that mean most people tend to think his life is passing away? >> they seem to be. but he is in cuba and the cuban state is extremely secretive. there's a huge amount of uncertainty about it. whether he has days or weeks or

months to live, it's difficult to tell. we think that it's rather a class a band and not more. less tha than not more. >> did you think things will be clear cut? >> the constitution is clear that he should be inaugurated on january 10, but it does not say what should happen if he does not get inaugurated on that date. this is a critical moment with no time for splits. i expect they will find a way to paper over the cracks and deliver an election within a 30 days of the president being declared. declared so it should happen soon. >> thank you very much indeed. the pakistani schoolgirl who

survived a gun attack by the taliban has been discharged from the hospital where she has been treated in the uk, queen elizabeth hospital. malala yousafzai, 15, was shot in the head because if she had been campaigning for girls' education. she will continue her rehabilitation and families temporary home in england before she has to undergo major reconstructive surgery in a few weeks' time. our correspondent is outside the hospital in birmingham. a great moment for her and her family. but there's a long road ahead for her. >> the next couple months, more surgery. she was well enough to walk out of hospital and they did today. we saw pictures of her smiling alongside some of the nursing staff. this is less than a three months after she was shot in the head at close range by a taliban gunman. a remarkable recovery.

really good news. i have been looking at various social media sites filled with people sharing her joy and the joy of the staff at the hospital treating her. she has become such a well-known person across the world. there's a great deal of support for her. this is also the center for the royal college of medicine, which means the troops wounded in action from great britain tend to come here to be treated and recuperated, so there's a great deal of expertise here. we should not forget the pakistani dr. who saved her life after she was shot on october 9 and kept her alive and a daughter in such a statement that she was able to be transferred to be treated in england. >> in terms of what she still has to go through, no lot of that will take place at that hospital, do we have a clear idea? >> the next thing they are talking about is cranial reconstruction, which will be

very invasive and she will spend a lot of time in the hospital for that. it makes sense for her to be allowed out now to spend time with her family here away from potential threats. even though she survived a murder attempt, there was still potential security risk if she had stayed in pakistan. there will be a great deal of optimism about her potential long-term recovery even though she will have to come back for intensive surgery in the next few months here. >> good to talk to you. thank you very much. iran has agreed to resume international talks on its nuclear program. the country has been hit by sanctions imposed by western countries worried that iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. iran insists it is for peaceful purposes. the talks between iran and six world powers broke off with no tangible results more than six months ago. hundreds of garment workers in

the bangladeshi capital dhaka have staged a hunger strike against continuing poor pay and the safety standards. protests' follows a fire at a factory last november in which at least 112 people were killed. many of the victims were trapped by the flames because the building they were in eight stories high did not have emergency exit. demonstrators have been calling for better compensation for the families of the victims and for more action to be taken against the factory owners. thanks for watching bbc world news with me david eades. we have much more still to bring you, including the ghost gum trees that campus symbolize indigenous australian art have been burned to the ground. we will explain. there's been violence on the streets of the chilly capital after a group of indigenous people attacked the bank's and classed with police. chilean capital.

hundreds of people involved, turning violent. >> this is what can happen when tempers flare on the streets of santiago. protesters attacking spanish ank. the indigenous people are about 5% of the country's population. they have clashed sporadically with the police and authorities several years, trying to reclaim land they say was stolen from them by spanish invaders five centuries ago. police responded to the stone- throwing and molotov cocktails with tear gas. around a dozen people including some journalists were arrested in thursday's clashes. the march, which preceded the violence, was held to commemorate the deaths of young indigenous student in 2008 who was shot in the back by a police officer in the south of the country. the officer who killed the 22-

year-old was sentenced to three years in jail but that has indimmed the -- has not dimmed the anger of the community. they argue that they are stigmatized as being lazy. they have campaigned for some degree of self-determination for their communities. increasingly, they are taking direct action, occupying and sometimes burning farmlands and forests to highlight their demands. bbc news. >> of japan posting a prime minister abe has sent a special envoy to south korea in an effort to repair relations between the countries which has been damaged by territorial disputes and arguments over japan pose a colonial past. the envoy is the former finance minister. he he says mr. abe believes better elections are required for stability. this is bbc world news.

i am david eades. these are the headlines. nine people have been killed in a car bomb attack. in a damascus capetrol station. fatah infirst rally of hama gaza since 2007. now, business news. >> in a half-hour we will get figures on the number of jobs created in the united states over the last month. it probably will be 155,000. if it's more, that would be good news. keep employment snow levels steady, almost. they need a lot more, because of the increasing population. they need much more in order to grow the number of people deployed. on the other hand, the news

seems to be pretty good. we have had fairly good economic figures coming out of the u.s. over the last month. it seems to suggest it is growing slowly and that jobs are being created slowly. the whole worry about the fiscal cliff did not actually knock confidence, the idea that taxes were going to go up and spending would increase did not -- and that spending would decrease did not affect employers much. if we can get a on the status quo, that is what everybody wants. >> and older casualty of the banking crisis now. >> not so much a crisis, but the next effect. you've gone through a budget crisis and that has required countries to look around to try to close all the loopholes for

taxes. that is what america has been doing, looking for where people have been evading taxes. they have seized upon the swiss banks. we knew about a year ago in this one would close down. just the fact it had been indicted men did would be losing customers, losing vital private clients. i think it's creating a sea change in switzerland, where people are beginning to realize they will not able to do business in the way they have been doing for the last 250 years. >> thanks a lot for that. reports coming out of china say that seven children have been killed in a fire at a private orphanage in the central province of henan where a woman said to be a former sweet's trader shelter to the children. the prison system in helmand province in southwest

afghanistan used to be violent and uncontrollable, but reforms have turned one of the main aktar gah into aare g model. david loyn reports. >> he should have plenty of time to finish the laboratory than he's doing. he's in jail for 16 years for drug dealing. there are murderers and kidnappers in the class, too. punishment fits the crime in the outdoor workshop where the bikes being rebuilt were worn out by a team destroying fields of opium poppies. the foreman is a former taliban fighters. >> when i was in the taliban,

there was fighting, but it was all for nothing. >> it is visiting day and families are carefully searched as they entered the jail. prisoners can share a few minutes of human warmth through the gold bars of their cells. -- cold bars. until a full your years ago this was a wild and dangerous place where prisoners often attack the staff members. that has changed and the reforms are changing the lives of those who end up in what is still plays a punishment. >> through the process we have thein, it's about tackling issues so that when they are released we will divert them away from criminal activity. >> afghanistan has a reputation for brutality in treating its prisoners, so this is a surprising place and it has a

counter-taliban strategy. it encourages former prisoners not to go back to the insurgency. a small group of women prisoners live with their children, secluded from the male side of the jail. about half of the women in prison in afghanistan are there for what is called running away, arrested after fleeing from violence or abusive husbands. one of them says she was married as a child to a violent man who mistreated her. another was forced to go through a wedding even after her future husband had shot her brother. she ran away when he was violent to her. life for many women in many parts of afghanistan remains precarious, with some of them safer behind prison walls. david loyn, bbc news, helmand province, afghanistan. >> a trio of singing sisters from california been named? as the bbc's sound of 2013.

they beat off competition from 14 other attacks. the-- act. rising stars within the music industry. a dell was a previous winner. rapper 50 cents was another. -- adele was a previous winner. this is the 10th year the awards had taken place. some of the biggest selling artists in the world have been nominated and actually missed out on the top prize over the years. has the bbc got it right this time? >> i had been aware of this group for a long time, but they were not in my top three. i had chosen laura and two other groups.

haim is using pop music and r&b. whether they will sell 25 million copies like adele has, i'm not sure. >> you have a say in deciding your favorite artists. but is it the fact the bbc names a lesser-known artists that gives them a platform? so many of the people they pick out turn out to be huge sellers. >> it does not do them any harm normally. they have chosen some great winners in the past, whether it is adele or 50 cent, who was the first winner. one year there was an artist who beat lady gaga and

mumford & sons all in the same year. and where she now? >> the pain of being put on the pedestal and not making it. what are your top three special? >> laura is my favorite artists who i saw live last year. she is so different. she has touches of nina simone and erica baidu. she is the most amazing talent. alisa will be used this year. >> the industry moves fast. it needs something different all the time. >> the cream always rises to the top. i know they will do well. haim will do well also.

>> thank you very much, paul. in australia, in alice springs there's been a tragedy. >> albert namatjira captured the. mysticism of the central australian desert. pivotal to his work was the ghost gum tree. it's quite dark clothes in the moonlight. its whit bark glows. the trees are regarded as living spirits in indigenous culture. they were burned. >> it is the two trees that brought this man to prominence and the northern territory and central australia to prominence and put us on the world map. cracks are distortions have said that if the trees were deliberately set on fire, it would be an appalling and tragic act of cultural vandalism. albert and madeira's stunning

watercolors brought the harsh beauty of the central desert to the world and helped make it a symbol of australian identity. the renowned artist died in 1959. -- albert namatjira. >> we have all the main stories on our website, bbc.com. thanks for watching. >> make sense of international news at 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 understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and