>> 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 deprothe objectives. -- to 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 malaysian opposition

leader, anwar ibrahim, is acquitted at a trial in kuala lumpur. >> i thank fwod -- god for this. i am finally vindicated. the last two years were hard. >> a general strike is underway in nigeria over the removal of government fuel subsidies that led to soaring pump prices. new year, same problem. nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel meet to discuss efforts to kick start the eurozone rescue plan. welcome to "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy. also in this program -- sentenced to death by iran for spying. the u.s. resident is found guilty of being a c.i.a. operative. months after the fall of gaddafi, a report of african migrants languishing in jail after being caught up in the civil war.

>> ma labor's opposition leader, anwar ibrahim, has been acquitted of a charge of sod after a court ruled the d.n.a. evidence in the case is unreliable. he's been accused of having sex with a former male aide, but he always said the charge was politically motivated. the verdict was cheered by thousands of his supporters outside the court in kuala lumpur. he said justice has prevailed, and he's vowed to topple the prime minister in elections in march. >> it's been an emotional journey for this opposition leader. this is the second time he is facing a sodomy charge. although it is still seen as a sex crime in this country, very few are ever prosecuted. mr. anwar insists he is the victim of a political conspiracy ever since he was sacked from the government in 1998. his supporters brace for the worst outcome, armed with banners calling for mr. anwar's

freedom. awe i thank god. i am finally vindicated. the last two years were hard. >> these trials have dominated the country's political landscape for nearly 14 years. during this time, mr. anwar has come out as a strong reformist. the government has denied all involvement. they say the verdict shows that ma labor's -- that malaysia's judicial system is independent. mr. anwar has been coming to this courthouse for nearly two years. analysts sight opposition leader has been distracted from his own party. but he's never given up his ambition to be prime minister, and so, with this acquittal, it clears the path for him to contest in the next general election, which is expected to be called soon. he's still widely seen as the

only person capable of challenging the governing party, which has held power for more than 50 years. >> thousands of nigerians are out on strike today in the latest show of the wide spread opposition to the government's decision last week to end fuel subsidies. since then, petro prices have doubled. this is a huge challenge to a government already struggling on another front, and that's how to deal with terrorist attacks, after which more than 80 people have died. we're following the events in legos. >> this park is named after a niger jan human rights activist, and this is part of the first nationwide strike since 2003. so far it started peacefully. there's police patrolling the empty streets here, normally congested, but we had reports that overnight in the capital, the police dispersed around hoe

protesters using tear gas there. overall, we're hearing that banks, shops, and businesses are shut. the unions is claiming the airport is also closed down as they protest the very unpopular fuel subsidy, which was the removal of a fuel subsidy, which was instigated this time last week. >> all this, of course, facing a government, while also content with this islamist, christian split. one christian leader even suggested the country was on the brink of civil war. is that an exaggerated fear? >> well, the president followed those comments, and by saying the same thing himself last night, yesterday at a remembrance day service for the armed forces, he said not only is the country facing a situation more complicated than the civil war in the 1960's, he also said that supporters and members of the terrorist group are in his own government, military police, and security services. it is possible that the ongoing pressure from that dispute in

the north could actually force his hand and force him to settle with the protesters here sooner than he needed to. >> unfolding situation in nigeria. arab league foreign ministers have completed their calls for government to armed groups to end the violence meetly. the league also announced that its mission to syria would continue, and it's calling for more monitors to be allowed. the u.n. estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed since march last year when the unrest began. yemen's cabinet has approved a draft law granting immunity from prosecution to president ali abdullah saleh and anyone who worked for him during his 33-year rule. the president has agreed to stand down next month on condition that he and his family aren't prosecuted over the killing of anti-government protesters. south korea's president has arrived in beijing for his first face-to-face talks with the chinese government since the leadership change in north korea. china, which is the north's most important ally, has said

peace and stability on the korean peninsula is in everyone's interest. will the euro survive 2012? nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel are having their first meeting of the year in berlin shortly. they do, of course, represent two of the eurozone groups, but given the financial power of their respective economies, their opinions seem to carry more weight than all the others combined. well, our correspondent in berlin, steve evans, outlined what the two leaders are hoping might emerge from this meeting. >> steps towards nailing down the details of that fiscal compound that they talked about in the summit last month. they want to get that thing done by the end of this month, to know exactly what it is, to show the markets what it is and how it will work, so they want to make progress on that. but also, they're worried about growth or the lack of it and rising unemployment throughout the eurozone. president sarcose see worried about rising unemployment in france, and he faces election

in april. so they want to come out and say that they are certainly aware of the problem and that they're going to do something about it. i suppose the critics outside might say, if you're talking about austerity on the one hand , by enshrining a balanced budget and constitutions, but also talking about measures to promote growth, that the two don't sit easily with each other. >> steve evans there in berlin. for more on that, has there been any market reaction on this? >> no, not a great deal. how many meetings have we had? we knew that by the end of last year, the markets had given up in the sense of hearing anyone unified coming from the eurozone leaders. but, you know, the issue the markets will say, or at least focus on, is what sarkozy and merkel are working on and the rest of the leaders are never let this happen again. these are plans looking forward. we've still got all the issues on the plate right now. i mean, just alone, the amount

of money that these sovereign nations have to raise just to keep themselves afloat is enormous. italy, as an example, 450 billion euros. we know about the yield, the interest rates that investors are forcing these governments to pay to take on their debt have been -- well, they've been up and down like yo-yos. they're a bit moderate at the moment, but greece, italy, spain, portugal, they're still relatively high. >> and unicredit? >> this is a very sticky situation. unicredit, one of europe's biggest banks, last week it went and announced it's doing a rights issue. basically it said we're going to sell shares to our current investors. you're going to buy them if you want them, and of course, we'll offer a good rate, but we need to raise money. they wanted to raise about 9.5 billion euros. the reason is because europe has basically dictated that they have to put more capital aside. they've had more money in the banks to cater for bad loans, the set.

well, that share issue wasn't picked up as well as thought, and it bodes a real problem, or doesn't bode well, i should say, for the banks in general around europe that have to raise money. i'll explain and talk more on the "world business report" in a minute and a half, in about 20 minutes' time. awe thanks. iranian news outlets are reporting a u.s. citizen has been sentenced to death in tehran for spying. they say amir mirzaei hekmati, found guilty of membership of the central intelligence agency and trying to implicate iran in terrorism. the united states had demanded his release. the bbc's iran correspondent based here in london says a former u.s. marine was found guilty on two charges related to spying. >> he's been found guilty of being a c.i.a. spy and also of trying to accuse iran in involvement with terrorism. we understand that he has 20 days in which to appeal against the sentence. >> is it actually likely that iran would carry this out?

because that would massively inflame tensions. >> it's very difficult to tell or predict what the iranian judicial system will do. clearly espionage is seen by iran as an incredibly serious crime. the fact he's a dual citizen plays into the problems, but nevertheless, the court has given its verdict. >> has the commented at all? >> it hasn't as far as i can tell, and it hasn't in recent weeks, ever since there was a televised so-called confession broadcast by this man in december. the united states, of course, in public doesn't tend to talk about anything to do with espionage one way or another. >> any information as to how he was originally caught? >> we only get the information from iran. some of the pictures we're seeing that have come from iran, they say that this gentleman, mr. hekmati, had been involved with u.s. forces in afghanistan and had then been sent to iran. >> james reynolds, our iran correspondent.

two protesters given the death penalty in bahrain have had their sentences overturned. the pair were convicted of murdering two policemen during a wave of anti-government demonstrations in the capital a year ago. their lawyer says the sentence of death has now been overturned, and the case will go to the supreme court for appeal. we're going to go back now to our top story, news that inwith a -- inwar ibrahim, has won in his court case where sodomy charges were leveled against him. i'm joined by mr. inwar ibrahim from kuala lumpur. thanks very much for joining us. just give me your reaction to the verdict of the court. how surprised were you? >> well, it took everyone by surprise knowing the judicial system in the country, but we were extremely pleased with the decision, and we have to move on with the reform agenda for

reform, for democracy in malaysia. >> do you believe the prosecuting authorities might appeal this? is this the end of the court case or not? >> well, possibly they will do that. but the decision by the dodge is quite clear. it's a rejection of any -- both looking at the effects and the law. so i think it's very difficult case for them to pursue, although now there are demands by some of the ruling party demanding for a review or appeal. >> do you believe this was totally politically motivated? why do you think they have repeatedly brought these charges against you? >> it's politically expedient

for them to do so, because they are dueling dealing with the rule, but knowing what we did was to go around the country, talking about judicial reform, talking about media, and also giving them evidence to the contrary. destroying the prosecution case . and not wanting them to deflect the call for reform. that's endemic corruption. >> this is obviously a very personally difficult matter, i would imagine. this obviously affects your private life and these charges have been going on for many years. how have you managed to cope with this? >> well, i'm fortunate that i

have a solid family with me, and i always trust the wisdom of the masters. they cannot be fooled, and people think they can have controlled media to try to confuse or inform the public, and i think fortunately we're able to proceed with this, and it's important this year -- today, for example, not word on the network in malaysia. this proves a point that the media is completely controlled, so there's no sense in talking about reform here by the government or any vibrant democratic activists. >> the prime minister's administration has said this does prove that the government is separate from the court process. >> yes, this is quite in many

ways a landmark. but then the judicial system is still there. it remains to be seen what next , if at all, they actually mean that there is a readiness to undertake some reform measures. then my next question would be, why is not one minute of air time given to our case or our statement? no time at all. a complete blackout of our remarks or our statement in the media. >> how much do you think you've been personally damaged in this whole case? i know you still want to go ahead and try to stand for elections. >> the leaders from hitler to stalin, no one mattered, so we need to explain to the people. now i am completely vindicated,

because the decision is not only a technical decision. it's purely based on sex and the law, and have no basis to proceed in the first place. the charge has come up from day one. the fact i was asked to defend myself without any basis or evidence to settlement the case is condemned internationally. >> many thanks indeed for joining us here on "bbc world news." we do appreciate it, thank you. you're watching "bbc world news." still to come -- >> we are at war! >> i promise you i'll i'll look after him if i can. >> a glittering royal premiere here in london for the steven spielberg film, "warhorse." we hear from the oscar-winning

filmmaker. the renowned weekly television program of venezuelan president, hugo chavez, has returned to the country's airwaves after a hiatus of more than seven months. the last broadcast was in june last year, shortly before the president was diagnosed with cancer. his return is crucial ahead of the country's polls in october. >> back in front of the doctors, back to his old self, president hugo chavez on sunday was in the spotlight for over five hours as he revived his weekly show. he sounded a particularly belligerent note over a case currently brought to arbitration by u.s. oil company exxonmobil to force venezuela to pay compensation for nationalizing one of its projects in the country. >> the yankee government will see that we are not going to bow before imperialism. we're not going to bow. understand that.

>> it's a far cry from the president chavez who, last june, looking frail and scared, announced to the nation that he'd been diagnosed with and treated for cancer. his usually frequent public appearances were cut to a minimum as he shuttled back and forth between venezuela and cuba, where he received several rounds of chemotherapy. his absence was keenly felt at home, where his weekly editions of "presidente" covered eight hours, covering everything from politics to plastic surgery, it was the perfect showcase for his charisma and easy way with the public. whatever the current state of his health, the president can't afford to stay out of the limelight. 2012 is election year in venezuela, and mr. chavez will face his toughest test yet against the united opposition who have agreed to field a single candidate against him.

>> this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy. the headlines -- the malaysian opposition leader, anwar ibrahim, is acquitted of sodomy in a trial in kuala lumpur. and schools are closed in new year gentleman as a strike is underway. nearly 2,000 african migrants have been repatriated from libya following the end of the conflict there. the transitional authority is chartering two flights a week to return migrants. but with many people from sub saharan africa branded ads mercenaries, thousands have been detained in jail. here's karen allen. >> the roll call of libyan migrants, africans from neighboring states, men and

women who feel they're no longer welcome in a new libya, preparing to fly home. >> i would like to come back. i don't know. >> what i see here is just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of economic migrants who cleaned homes, served in restaurants, and did the jobs liborians didn't want to do. many were branded as mercenaries. it was just a few months back when the rebels swept into tripoli and africans were rounded up on to trucks, made to chant anti-gaddafi slogans by the fighters and detained. many are still being held. this man, snatched from his family by 14 armed men, said he'd just been released after the intervention of a libyan friend. he are mains in the country, but is afraid to show his face. >> i can tell you that i couldn't even hardly brush my teeth.

there was no water to bathe. there was nothing. >> did they ever say why they were holding you? >> they never tell us anything. if we ask, what are we committed? no crime. they said sometimes you are loyalist to gaddafi. >> yes. >> his 16-year-old daughter recounted in graphic detail that as her father was being taken out of the home, she was raped at knifepoint by six of the men. >> what they really did to me and my father, i don't want them to get away with this. >> human rights groups say this is not an isolated case. they want allegations of abuse and detention of african migrants dealt with urgently by the new transitional authority and not for foreigners simply to be flown home in silence. >> the regime is from africa,

not well documented. >> but not every african was a mercenary. >> absolutely. but we had to take care. >> the libyans have been freed from jail. no one knows exactly how many african migrants are still behind bars. the legal system remains in disarray. the authorities are assisting those who are free and want to fly home, but many find themselves in legal limbo. karen allen, bbc news, tripoli. >> australia has urged japanese authorities to hand over three australian anti-whaling activists who are being held on a japanese ship. the men illegally boarded a whaling vessel off the coast of western australia on sunday. they're subject to japanese laws because they were detained on the high seas, as duncan kennedy reports. >> using the cover of darkness, the three anti-whaling activists put their dingy

alongside of a japanese ship. they kept the element of surprise, but they were able to scramble on board without being seen. the pictures appear to show barbed or razor wire strung out along the railing to try to deter this kind of action. the three men succeeded anyway, and only later were they detained by the japanese crew. the three men, all from australia. they haven't seen seen since, although the japanese authorities say they're being interviewed on board the vessel. the operation was aimed at stopping the japanese from following this ship belonging to the campaigners. steve irwin has been in the ocean to try to halt the whaling. the japanese ship now seems to be following the steve irwin back down to the southern ocean with the australians on board, prompting the australian government to intervene. >> our officials have already been in close contact with the japanese government to make our

views well known, and we are now determined to do all we can to ensure the safety and well-being of these three australians and hopefully their prompt return to australia. >> two years ago, this new zealand man boarded the same japanese vessel and was taken back to japan, where he was held in prison for five months before being deported. the highly dangerous tactic of jumping on to the japanese whaling fleet is a favorite of many activists. they hope it will disrupt the whale catching, which they say is banned by international law. but the japanese ships who claim they're catching whales for scientific reasons fight back. >> duncan kennedy reporting there. the hollywood director, steven spielberg, gave his new film "warhorse" its premiere here in london last night. joining him was the british royal couple, the duke and dutch duchess of cambridge. the film is based on a stage

play based on a horse. steven spielberg found himself sitting next to the royals, and he told the bbc how the duchess reacted to the screening. >> i was sitting next to her. all i know is at one point my wife was sitting to my right, right in front of my face, she passes a kleenex to the duchess of cambridge, and i just saw it going across my face, and i saw it arrive and stop. but i didn't want to intrude on her experience, so i never glanced over. >> so the royal eyes were dabbed. >> well, according to my peripheral vision, certainly the duchess. >> needed a bit more than dabbing, honestly. >> well, the play did that to me. when i came out of the play, i came out a soaking, wet wreck. >> steven spielberg talking about the premiere last night. a quick look at these pictures from texas, where a prudential life insurance building was blown up flat to the ground. this is "bbc world news."

>> 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. 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? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.