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>> three kurdish women, one a leading member of the separatist group pkk have been found dead in paris. police say they were executed. the men charged with a gang rape and murder of a student in delhi were tortured and assaultive in police custody, says a lawyer. a terrible waste. as much as half of the world food and that being thrown away, according to a new study. welcome to bbc world news. also in the program -- a race against time to save whales attack -- trapped in the ice off the coast of canada. and will les miserable" get an oscar?

hello. the bodies of three kurdish women said to include a founding member of the kurdistan workers party have been found in central paris in what police believe was an execution-style killing. the victims are far to be turkish foreign activists shot point blank range. 3 shall casings were found next to the bodies. the fence interior minister has arrived at the site where large numbers of the kurdish communities have gathered. police believe these were politically motivated and a murder investigation has been launched. wieber have the latest on that in a few moments time and get more on the pkk and those internal rifts that have been happening with the group at the moment. the five men accused with the gang rape and murder of a 23- year-old medical student made a

short second appearance in court in delhi today. officials said the case will be transferred to a special fast- track court where it will be heard in private. a lawyer who intends to present at least one of the accused said the men were tortured and coerced into admitting the crime. our correspondent is in delhi, and she said the court session was held in private. but after the hearing which took place monday, in which the media were allowed. there were chaotic scenes in the court room. it was decided by a magistrate that subsequent hearings of the trial would be held behind closed doors and complete private, so the media would not be allowed to attend any hearing. that decision was appealed, but the magistrate upheld his decision. it has attracted some criticism very some people saying given the level of national interest and out rage, the details should be made public. it lasted less than an hour.

it was held behind closed doors. afterward, the lawyers representing the men came out and spoke to the media. did not say a huge amounts from what we already knew, but what we do know the next hearing will be held january 14. then referred to a fast track court. they are still looking at the charges, until we actually know when the trial date will be. >> speaking outside the court, a lawyer who intends to represent at least one of the accused, says the men were coerced into admitting the crime. >> then there would be no problem -- but i believe -- we will not allow any person fix any innocent person. >> let's bring you some breaking news we are getting from

pakistan. a bomb has exploded in the city of quetta. at least 11 people were killed. they say it appeared to be targeting paramilitary soldiers in a crowded area. quetta borders afghanistan, making it http click important area in the fight against the taliban let's return to the killings -- against the taliban. let's return to the killings in paris, a leading member of the pkk found in central paris. police believe it was an execution-style killing. let's speak to our reporter from the bbc persian service who has been covering this for more than a decade. the motive for this, what do you think? >> obviously it is too early actually to predict what was the motive behind this assassination. i think you have to wait for the

french authorities to make the investigation. but from the early morning here, if you look at the turkish media and some political parties from both sides of the aisle -- the kurdish political parties and the turkish -- blaming one another. in fact, today, the deputy chairman of the turkish ruling party said it sounds like an internal feud. between different factions within the pkk. the leader of the bpd, peace and democratic party, the french authorities actually did not hesitate or lose any time to find perpetrators. this happen that a very pivotal moment because last week the turkish government announced that they have been engaging in peace talks with the jailed leader of the pkk.

they say some elements within the organization -- the turkish government says within the pkk, they are not in favor of the peace talks. on the other hand, the kurdish political parties and activist, they say there must have been something within the government, some faction within the government not in favor of the peace talks. >> it comes in the backdrop of a complex, -- political context. these talks started last year. this is a conflict, of course, which killed about 40,000 people or more in the last three decades. >> absolutely. as you see there is a great deal of distrust within both sides of the conflict. that is why, if you just mentioned the 2009 negotiations, it continued in two years and suddenly disconnected. one of the reasons was mr. erdogan for many months the

denied any negotiations between the government and the pkk until the voices of the negotiations were recorded and published in the media. that is why it shows how difficult it is to make peace through negotiations. both sides, there are some that are hawkish on both sides of the aisle. that is the allegation from both sides. the leader of the pkk in september, where they reside, and they blame the government, they say some factions in the government not in favor of negotiations. but if you look at the past, there has been a history of assassination in pkk, too. so it difficult to determine exactly who is behind the assassination. >> kurds represent about 22% or

23% of the population. what is the political feeling among the general people, the population where you are in turkey about the way to resolve this situation? >> definitely -- most of the public from both sides, the kurdish people, they are in favor of negotiations. but they want a dignified and to this war. in the past three decades, thousands of people -- the government claims 30,000 kurdish have been killed. so, a lot of people, they say you cannot end the war simply saying put down the arms. they say, we have been fighting for three decades. we want a dignified resolution. but at the same time, regarding to what happened in paris, there was a demonstration in the largest kurdish city and the leader of the main pro-kurdish political party they have asked

the french authorities, the not waste a moment to find those behind the assassination. they said they will go to participate in the funeral. again, there is a demonstration. it seems to me sakine cansiz, the lady assassinated, she was a prominent figure within the pkk. they say she was conducting silent diplomacy within europe. >> thank you very much. as much as half of the world's food gets thrown away before it even reaches a human mouth. staggering finding from a report from the u.k. institution of engineers. it amounts to about 2 billion tons of food a year. >> the amount of food grown and wasted is staggering, say the authors of today's report. they say the world produces 4 billion tons of food each year but up to 2 billion is thrown away.

the institution also points to the huge amount of water that is devoted to growing these unused crops. here in ghana, families are making use of every grade they've got but in many less developed countries, food is wasted because of poor harvesting, transport, and storage facilities. in some countries, a report says 80% of the rice produced is lost each year although the buyers insist progress is being made. >> we do a lot working with farmers in developing countries, both in the production of food -- like use of water -- but also storage when it comes off the field to ensure more of it gets on the shelves and is not wasted. >> but there is also still a problem with both your countries, oil with supermarkets rejecting perfectly edible fruit of vegetables because they are just the wrong size or don't look like a good look right. retailers say they are complying with do you regulations but this is still waste.

many consumers buy much more than they can eat. although campaigners say britain is an example of a nation trying to do better. >> the great british public have actually reduced the amount they are throwing away by over a million tons. that is the same as filling wembley stadium to the brim. so people of making a difference. they are starting to make small changes in the way they plan and store and the fact they are using more leftovers. >> the report also says -- delivering a positive conclusion. >> if we are currently wasting half of the food we produce and are managing to feed 7 billion people with that situation, then surely if we tighten up on the west of losses we should be able to go substantial way toward meeting the food needs of an extra 2.5 billion or 3 billion people toward the end of the century. >> to stop so much from becoming rubbish, he calls for a change of mindset from government and

consumers worldwide. >> you are watching bbc world news. still to come -- the battle goes on in australia to get bushfires under control before more hot weather blows in. journalists at one of china's top newspapers have ended their protest against censorship. they had gone on strike after a government official replaced the new your editorial calling for guaranteed constitutional rights. it was the first strike in 20 years. >> we are just inside the offices of the southern weekly. as you were sitting, the journalists have gone back to work. the newspaper has come out today. but here down in the street -- against government says ship, but also freedom of expression. we are seeing some people turning up. police have put four men into a

police van. one of the men was in a wheelchair. journalists are back at work and for police, business as usual. they are not letting people protest outside. >> could it be said one side or the other has won the battle of wills? >> it is very difficult to know because the agreement, theent, e not been made public. what the journalists were calling for was the propaganda chief in guangdong province step down. it does not appear to have happened. but according to some reports, the journalists have returned to work after authorities assured them some of the -- on the newspaper will be lifted. i should point out all media and china face censorship. it was not purely about governments and to ship but about the level of government censorship. but there are newspapers out

there, particularly the seven weekly, trying to push back the boundaries of sun ship in china. but that issue of freedom of speech, with people being bundled into police vans, that has not gone away and it will continue to be an issue. >> you are watching bbc world news. our headlines this hour -- protests in paris at the scene where three kurdish women were found shot dead. police described the killings as execution-style. five men charged with gang rape and murder of a student in new delhi made a second appearance in court. the lawyer claimed that each one of them was tortured into pleading guilty. now time for the business news. china trading. >> huge numbers out of china. economists were expecting around 6% increase until

exports. instead, 14.1% -- absolutely huge rise, and through. really surprised everyone. obviously, the optimism is this means china is coming out of its economic difficulty. the hope is it will return to 8% growth rate by the end of this year. whether or not it is realistic is another question. primarily the concern being expressed by economists as somebody has got to be buying the goods in china is exporting them. it surely is not the european union and not north america. >> interest rates kept in chains for the past two years. the ecb, are there any signs of some sort of growth? >> there are some positive implications coming through in the numbers for europe. we have a rather dismal unemployment figures but unemployment numbers are and liking indicator for growth in the economy. we saw a disappointing numbers on youth unemployment in italy

and spain, but we saw positive figures in germany. remember, gentleman wages are actually beginning to rise again. also seeing gentleman unemployment at the lowest level in about 20 years. the ecb is in a difficult spot. europe is still in recession. can it move interest rates? >> thank you very much. venezuelan president hugo chavez missed his own inauguration due to his help. he remains in cuba for more surgery for cancer. it is not yet known when he will be fit enough to head back home. venezuela's supreme court ruled the inauguration can take place at a later date, much to the annoyance of the opposition. let's speak to an author and historian who knows hugo chavez well and has and the view him on many occasions. has a president ever before in venezuela missed his own inauguration? >> it is totally new territory.

>> he is seriously ill. some commentators suggest he is gravely ill and might never return to venezuela. is it legally allowed, according to the constitution? is it acceptable in terms of telehealth? >> yes, the constitution itself says and absolutely nothing about the time in which the president is inaugurated at the elections -- they took place last october. the inauguration was supposed to be today. i would imagine for a month or so after that, everybody would be perfectly happy. he is still president. just not in conditions to be president. >> the election he one by 11 points against -- it originally looked like it would be much tighter race. he did appoint a vice president, nicholas marudo. will he be the effective president until he returns?

>> not absolutely clear. there is another man, the president of the national assembly. there are certain scenarios when the -- where the president of the national assembly could take over. but i think maduro has been anointed as the successor. if chavez was ill -- or could not return, was dying, then chavez would resign and maduro would face elections with a 30 days. >> it could not just be a handover of power. >> he would have to go to the polls. >> is there a script, of the moment -- rift between these two men? are they looking for a different trajectory in terms of the revolution? >> i think basically they get on perfectly well together. you could detect slightly different emphases of the two men. cabello comes from the military,

maduro used to be a trade union leader. different backgrounds. but there is no indication that there is much of a power struggle between them. >> you are a writer who respects chavez and you are a fan of chavis as well. but when you look of the revolution and what he has done in terms of the nationalization of utilities and energy companies, how many more legs to keep on going? when you look at the transference of wealth from the rich to the poor, how long can this be sustained? >> i think it should be able to go on. chavez himself always every year would come up with an amazing development. the last one was to emphasize on housing. housing was always a serious program. he put through a program to build houses for the poor. i think a new president will have a difficulty coming up with these sorts of new ideas.

i think essentially venezuela has been digesting all of these changes. obviously that has been a lot of nationalization, but it is still true that france has a larger public sector van venezuela, which is a statistic we always ignore. >> thank you very much, indeed, for joining us of the program. bush fires are still burning in australia. fire crews are trying to deal with 120 of them in the southeast of the country. they already destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of land and livestock die. meteorologist one extreme high temperature and winds are likely to return. >> from the ground and from the air, emergency crews in southeastern australia are racing to contain bushfires ahead of more hot weather. these outbreaks in southern new south wales are an unpredictable energy. they devoured more than three

and a half thousand square commuters in the most populous state alone. the biggest impact is on farmers, with vast amounts of pastures, crop, and livestock lost. another day of cooler conditions is helping the firefighting efforts. it is run with military precision. heavy machinery helped build defensive lines, while boots on the ground tackle the flames on the front line. air support is critical. the bush fires have been burning for almost a week. further north, parts of queensland have not been scared. a blaze near brisbane has been brought under control, but it has taken a monumental effort for crews to gain the upper hand. the heat wave that brought punishing conditions to the southeastern states earlier this week is forecast to return in the coming days. >> we are looking at temperatures across much of new

south wales in to the lower to mid 40's tomorrow and certainly extending into the high 40's saturday. >> australia can expect above average temperatures for the rest of the summer. compounding the fire danger created by a lack of rain across central and southern regions, since the middle of last year. bbc news, sydney. >> about a dozen killer whales are trapped under a stretch of sea ice in northern quebec. they are using a gap in the ice to get air but experts say they are in danger unless they can find more open water. the whole is -- the hole is shrinking. the nomination for the academy awards are being unveiled in hollywood today ahead of the ceremony next month. "lincoln" is set to do well, as well as "zero dark 30."

we will have a special program. let's speak to our film critic joining us from our central london studio. "lincoln"seems to be unbeatable. >> at the moment -- it is very high and the nomination come. we still think it will do well at the oscars, because steven spielberg, an american president, daniel ray lewis. >> let's look at a clip of it. >> if you fail to pass the amendment. >> muddy footprints all over town. >> interesting that neither spielberg or ang lee have been nominated for best director. let's look at les miserables. this is quite a lavish

production. it's got a huge names. >> there is a lot of money in it. also very spectacular. i loved it. it should do very well. >> we have a clip here. russell crowe. bread ♪ oaf of >> we were starving. >> you will start again -- >> how does it work? seeing it on film with the singing without any orchestral accompaniment -- like an opera on film. how does it work and how does a work with modern audiences? >> very well. it takes people by surprise from the beginning. but it has done so well, i think it really works. hugh jackman is up for an oscar

nod. anne hathaway, of really strong. >> russell crowe -- anne hathaway, i think we have a clip of her as well. ♪ ♪ >> we are running out of time. kathryn bigelow and best foreign film. >> kathryn bigelow for "zero dark 30" above the hunt for osama bin laden. we shall see. >> best foreign film? >> a very tough what to -- hard core. >> sorry to rush you.

thank you very much. we will know. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. zte. and union bank. >> bringing you closer -- zte. >> 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 tailored