ivory coast is not a banana republic.n change things. >> the men who donated the fuel was alassana quattara, recognized internationally as the winner of the presidential vote. news the figurehead of the economically deprived in north of the country, where he has many supporters the road to the well-off south with its cocoa plantations have been blocked off for days. drivers have to wait. only bass' with alassana quattara supporters are allowed through two thousand seven meeting at the demarcation line that has divided the north from the south. it was drawn eight years ago, after the civil war. the motorbikes position themselves at the head of the convoy. they do not know how far they will get in their visit -- a mission to support alassana quattara. protected by some 800 u.n. peacekeepers, he is camped out in is a luxury hotel. it has been converted into a stronghold surrounded by barbed wire. alassana quattara garnered 54% of the vote and the presidential election three weeks ago. that is according to the independent ele

mark doyle, bbc news, ivory coast. >> a peacekeeper in the ivory coast was wounded in one neighborhood. the convoy was transported 22 peacekeepers. in a statement, the u.n. says it strongly condemns the attack and reiterates its desire to continue. in central nigeria, at least 80 people and killed in a series of bombings and subsequent reprisals. the bombing began on christmas eve in an area where there has been hostility in recent years. a group said it carried out the attacks. we are following the events. we were told what is known about this group. >> the group is an islamic group that has been operating in the north of nigeria. they are opposed to western culture, and they were involved last year in deadly clashes with nigerian security forces, and this led to the deaths of 700 people. they have been attacking police and local politicians, the local government, so this is something new, and most of the people around the country are quite terrified of them. it is not quite clear who is behind them, and nigerian intelligence has not been able to say what they have found out about thi

. >> at least 20 people are killed in clashes in ivory coast as the crisis over the disputed presidential elections deepen. creating a safety net. the leaders agreed to a permanent crisis fund to help eurozone countries in financial trouble. welcome to "bbc world news." president obama says american troops are making gains in afghanistan, but they are fragile. the man who take on mexico's drug cartels. the death toll from the violence passes 30,000. the founder of wikileaks, julian assange, has been freed from prison in london hours after prosecutors lost a second attempt to keep him in custody. he still faces a legal process which could last months. sweden wants to make sure he answers to allegations of sexual assault. his lawyers heard reports that the u.s. government is seeking to indict him as a co- conspirator in the disclosure of classified information. i should warn you there is flash photography in the report from the very beginning. >> he has won this battle, but not yet the war. sweden still wants an expedited. it remains likely that the swedes will in the and get their way. eve

warns of civil war on the ivory coast. and attacks in rome. two bomb attacks. tension on the korean peninsula. the north threatens secret war against the south. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- getting back on their feet. help japanese robots are helping brain-injured patients wall. and bringing christmas cheer to millions. we'll hear from three different santas as they prepare for the big day. hello. at least 170 killings, mass arrests, reports of mass graves. the u.n. secretary general on voice stopped at gunpoint when he tried to investigate. the situation in the ivory coast is living up to the worst fears of observers. as the situation escalates, the president is still unwilling to sit down, and the man internationally acclaimed as the new president remains in a hotel. we have this. >> in port districts of the country's commercial capital, a stronghold for the man widely believed to have when the disputed election. people try to get on with thei

ivory coast is not a banana republic.change things. >> the men who donated the fuel was alassana quattara, recognized internationally as the winner of the presidential vote. news the figurehead of the economically deprived in north of the country, where he has many supporters the road to the well-off south with its cocoa plantations have been blocked off for days. drivers have to wait. only bass's with alassana quattara supporters are allowed through two thousand seven meeting at the demarcation line that has divided the north from the south. it was drawn eight years ago, after the civil war. the motorbikes position themselves at the head of the convoy. they do not know how far they will get in their visit -- a mission to support alassana quattara. protected by some 800 u.n. peacekeepers, he is camped out in is a luxury hotel. it has been converted into a stronghold surrounded by barbed wire. alassana quattara garnered 54% of the vote and the presidential election three weeks ago. that is according to the independent elec

west african heads of state to issue an ultimatum to the ivory coast. russia launches an investigation and clashes between angry passengers. welcome to bbc news broadcast to our viewers in america and around the globe. tens of thousands of passengers remain stranded in northeastern america. and water rationing in northern ireland. hello, and a warm welcome. england has retained the ashes in australia for the first time in 24 years. the victory means that they have a 2-1 lead in the five match to take the ashes back to england. on the fourth day, still to hundred and 46 behind england. they lost an early wicket with some resistance that soon passed the partnership. finally, the victory prompted ecstatic scenes from fans at the cricket ground. the british prime minister has sent his congratulations. it was a very special and to the year and a very late christmas present. our sports news correspondent saw the victory had told me that depending on how they get the ashes back, england will enjoy the moment. >> i am standing among the army. halfway across the

calls alassane ouattara president of ivory coast. an italian anarchist group clinchers possibility parcels that exploded at the swiss and chilean embassies in rome. get off the road. beijing makes a bid to stop the gridlock. welcome to "bbc news," broadcast on pbs in america, and around the globe. home for the holidays. u.s. officials tried to reassure the public that it is safe to travel despite the political gap earlier in the week. disagreements over who should pay for the church of the nativity threaten to undermine christmas spirit in bethlehem. the united nations general assembly has recognized alassane ouattara as the winner of ivory coast's disputed presidential election. the vote took place last month, but the incumbent, laurent gbagbo is to, refusing to stand down. the central african bank has now blocked his access to ivory coast funds, and the u.s. secretary of state has repeated her call to mr. gbagbp to step down. >> the violence in ivory coast is stirring serious international concern. it has spread since the week afte

challenges an incumbent in the ivory coast to step down. coming up later, international criticized president election. some protesters were beaten by police. how iran has a determination to keep their nuclear program in tact. winter weather has left tens of thousands of travelers stranded across europe. airports in london, paris, frankfurt, are badly affected. there are delays and cancellations that may be beyond christmas day. we will have the latest from one airport where some passengers are preparing for their fourth day stranded at the airport. we have the latest on the situation in europe. >> and going nowhere fast. for many passengers at brussels airport, monday brought cancellations and frustrations. they could clear the runway, but did not have enough liquid needed to de-ice the plane. clearing the backlog of stranded travelers even if they are able to get back up on their feet on tuesday will still take time. in berlin, the trams are still running. the pavement was glacial. as of this aviation hub in frankfurt, two-thirds of flight

the military closes the borders of ivory coast. confusion continues over the presidential election.t least 40 people are killed in northern israel as a forest fire burned out of control. welcome to "bbc world news" broadcast on pbs and around the globe. coming up later, world cup glory. russia and qatar celebrate after winning at the opportunity to host the world cup in 2018 and 2022. weather causes travel issues across most of the country. the latest official american documents released by wikileaks contain harsh criticism of the british military efforts in afghanistan. the diplomatic cables say that u.s. and afghan officials believe that british officers were not up to the task of securing helmand province on their own appeared >> today, u.s. forces are fighting and dying in helmand. according to confidential cables are revealed by wikileaks, the u.s. and the afghan government in 2008 were critical of the u.k.'s performance. one cable has haunted karzai telling a u.s. senator -- hamid karzai to take the british away and put in u.s. forces instead. they believed that there were not

here in the ivory coast. they come here only to separate and make problems between the ivorian army and the u.n. military. we want them to leave so that we can resolve our own problems. >> woodruff: anticipating trouble, the u.s., france and germany have now ordered their diplomatic personnel to leave ivory coast. and, they've urged thousands of foreigners living there to evacuate. for more on the situation in ivory coast, we turn to william fitzgerald, deputy assistant secretary of state for african affairs. very much for being here. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: just a quick correction, not all diplomatic personnel have been ordered to leave, but some have. >> that's correct. the u.s. embassy we've drawn down a bit but we still have an embassy up and running for sure. >> woodruff: what is the very latest you're hearing about the situation on the ground? >> to be perfectly honest with you the latest i'm hearing is that there's a lot of traffic moving around, the restaurant and stores are open, but for sur

ivory coast is locked in an election standoff in which 200 have been killed. we of this. >> in the un-protected enclave, military action has been called for to drive laurent gbagbo from power. >> violence has resurfaced in our city. serious violations of human rights have been reported. during the curfew, people were abducted and executed by elements of the republican guard. i have asked the international criminal court to send a mission to our country in the next few days. >> but that would be a risky strategy. their other main weapon is to make it impossible for the current president to govern by turning off the economic taps. the key decision was thursday, by finance ministers from the african economic military union. they transferred state accounts to mr. ouattara. now it will be extremely difficult to pay civil servant salaries, including government soldiers. laurent gbagbo still has the public backing of the army, but the moment he cannot pay their salaries, he will be weakened. december is the busiest month for cocoa exports which will provide the incum

and west african leaders backed off a threat to oust the president of ivory coast by force. he refused to step down after losing last month's election. and to hari sreenivasan for what's on the "newshour" online. hari? >> sreenivasan: patti smith reads more from her memoir on "art beat." ray responds to comments about his reporting from cuba. plus, you can watch our two-part look at women's boxing-- a sport making its olympic debut in 2012. all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. ray? >> suarez: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, we'll look at next month's independence vote in southern sudan. i'm ray suarez. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. a program note before we go, especially for our viewers in los angeles and the surrounding area. as you may know, pbs programs are moving to a different station in los angeles next week. starting monday, the "newshour" will have a new home on channel 50-- that's koce tv. same time-- 6:00 pm pacific. you can learn more about the changes at pbs.socal.org. we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening. t

ivory coast's new u.n.assador says political unrest has put the country on the brink of genocide. danish and swedish police have arrested five men on charges of plotting to attack the offices of the newspaper which published cartoons of muhammad. >> critics say -- the emergency response in the new york blizzard was inadequate. >> we take our emergency life-saving responsibilities very seriously, and i'm extremely dissatisfied with the way our emergency response systems pompltd and as i announced yesterday, we're going to take a look at everything we did to see if it could be done better, starting with the communications and dispatching system. we do know that on monday we received 4 -- 49,478 calls to 911. that is the sixth largest volume in 911 history, and it seems these calls overwhelmed the system >>> northeastern australia's worst flooding in decades is continuing to cause chaos across the region. the authorities are warning that flooded communities can continue to be under water for more than a week,

ivory coast has been locked in an election standoff. john james reports. >> holdup in a protected enclave at a hotel, it seems military action will have to drive laurent gbagbo from power. that could be a risky strategy. the other weapon is to make the president's task impossible to govern. the key decision was taken on thursday by finance ministers. they transferred control of ivory coast's state accounts to mr. ouattara. now it will be extremely difficult to pay civil servant salaries, including government soldiers. laurent gbagbo still has the public backing of the army. if he cannot pay their salaries, he will be severely weakened. december is the biggest month for cocoa imports. the main harvest is coming to an end. the economy in general has come to an almost complete halt over the past few weeks. many foreign businesses like france telecom have spent -- have said expatriate staff overseas. the people worst hit by the slowdown will not be the politicians. however, when it becomes apparent lashkar-e-taiba -- laurent gbagbo'administ

peacekeeper in ivory coast was wounded oduring an attack on a convoy. it was transporting 22 peacekeepers. the u.n. said it condemns the attack and reiterates its determination to pursue its work in pursuit of the service of the people. this comes as leaders met the incumbent president, persuading him to step down, trying to persuade him. the recognize the opposition as the rightful winner but the recent presidential elections -- rifle winner of the recent elections. >> it has been described by african leaders as the last chance for peaceful negotiated solution. much of this confident place politics by democratic rules and three presidents have come to riposte to tell -- ivory coast to tell laurent gbagbo to go. this country could descend back into war. all the main observancers said e lost and no longer the legal president. this man, opposition leader alassane ouattara is the letter. leaders have been clear and told laurent gbagbo he has to leave or there will be a military intervention. most countries do not have the military equipment to mont any kin

in the ivory coast, they are trying to persuade the incumbent president to step down peacefully. and in rome, they have defused the device. heavy snow and high winds are continuing to cause widespread disruption across a large area of the northeastern united states. 50 centimeters of snow has fallen on central park in new york. the city's three major airports were shut on sunday night and have reopened, but they face major backlogs. the states of maryland, north carolina, maryland -- virginia, maine, and another have a state of emergency. >> keep an eye on the clock. so much snow falls so fast that the clock has to be repeatedly doug free. this time-lapse video from the state of new jersey shows it was not just the amount of snow, but it was the speed with which it fell that nearly shut down the northeast seaboard. the result? the travel misery that thousands suffered across europe before christmas hit to the u. s, with the new york's three airports scrapping more than 1000 flights, and only one place for travelers to hunker down. tourists have had their short to breaks extended

the ivory coast has endured a civil war before. this was meant to be the crowning achievement of the peace deal to unify the country again. what is happening on the ground where areas of opposition have strong support her? >> people are scared between security forces and they say that sometimes, they have used live rounds. they have issued a barricade to protect themselves and rahway into their houses whenever security forces come in. >> they do little more than protect the hotel where the president has made his headquarters. inside, the alternative government hopes to one day being able to control the country. there is a far bigger and increasingly valid context. >> we will keep you posted on what happens, of course. in response to the swiss that chilean embassies, two people were injured. this from our correspondent. >> outside the swiss embassy, it was a deceptively quiet. a 53-year-old man had opened the parcel. the remains using both of his hands. no one else was injured. then came the second attack. someone working in the roo

. >>> west african regional leaders have worned incumbent ivory coast president laurent gbagbo to standown or expect to face legitimate force. our report from the main estimate >> after days of standoff, he is trying to up the pressure on laurent gbagbo. he spoke from the lagoon site where he remains holed up. the man endorsed as the new president of ivory coast has accused his opponent, laurent gbagbo of violence. he said he called on the international criminal court to send investigators to the country. the address came at the same time as an emergency meeting by the west african body during which neighboring countries warned mr. gbagbo he -- they would use force if he doesn't leave power himself. >> by his intrance igence, mr. gbagbo risks exposing our country to new violence. i would like to ask him a last time to accept the choice of the people by leaving power immediately. >> gbagbo has repeated that the country's sovereignty wasn't negotiable. one of his cabinet members said from his reaction the preliminary stalemate remains. >> here's a roundup of other stories from around the

something should be done. >> ivory coast's incumbent president, refuses to give up power, and is also busy with his seat. the man he has named as his minister of employment. >he has his own warning. military action would be suicide. the standoff between the return to power shows no sign of being resolved, and the tension on the street continues, and un peacekeepers are continually the target of harassment by supporters. the u.n. is considering strengthening the force, while neighboring countries have not ruled out military intervention. >> the french model who campaigned against anorexia has died at the age of 28. isabel controversially posed nude for an advertising campaign while suffering from the disease. she asks that -- her family asked that her death be kept private. >> it was this controversial italian poster campaign that brought her to world attention. under the headline "no anorexia" her emaciated body was shown -- supposed to show the damage. she was believed to way under 30 kilograms at the time. she is reported to have died in november after returning to france from a job

in the ivory coast. our bbc reporter has more from oba zsa zsa on -- from one area. >> they certainly do not want the former colonial power to meddle. this is the man in charge of the security forces. the leader of the young patriots. it is the youth movement that was used as a force in recent years be and he is under u.n. sanctions, as he was accused of inciting mob violence. >> my country as an independent entity. a sovereign country. we do not need to receive orders. we do not need france to put our country under pressure. >> one man was believed to have won last month's election, but his victory was overturned by the council. both men have been elected, leading to clashes. the ivory coast is the largest cocoa producer. many are muslims and came to work in the vital cocoa industry. northerners felt marginalized, and in 2002, rebels were prevented from taking power. there has been tension between the north and south ever since. there have been people coming to their personal houses and asking them to l

and one leader says they are going back to the ivory coast. the international community's steps of the pressure. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. coming up later for you -- crackdown on corruption. and it summed up the spirit of an nation. 70 years on how firefighters saved london when the nazis bombs. -- when the nazis bombed. the danish authorities say they have managed to stop an imminent terrorist attack in the capital of copenhagen. ed this was to be carried out against newspaper that outraged muslims by printing cartoons of the prophet mohammed. they planned to shoot as many people as possible. we have this report. >> this is one of the two places in the danish capital where the authorities swooped up suspects in up what they describe as terrifying, probably the most serious terror attempt in denmark to date. >> we've been following them very closely. today, we believe the situation is under control. we found it was necessary to intervene in order to prevent a terrorist attac

on the line from the ivory coast, john james.n, the story is moving very quickly, almost by the hour. what is the latest? >> an hour or so ago, things have calmed down a little bit. there are still checkpoints on the main entry points. just around the hotels. you can get to what he called the military checkpoints. you have the u.n. peacekeepers and at the front of the hotel, you have various u.n. peacekeeping, tanks, armored vehicles, and as you say, rebels from the north of ivory coast in there as well. a lot of weapons on both sides. there is a standoff. the area is very quiet indeed. not busy as it normally is in the evening. >> there is a cabinet meeting scheduled for later this week. in reality, pocono go-ahead? >> the cabinet -- each side has taken an oath of office. yes, the prime minister said on friday his cabinet will hold a meeting in the state offices. that is not possible at the moment. the government of the opposition is limited to the hotel. it is difficult to know. that would involve a major change on the ground.

on the ivory coast, regional leaders failed to persuade gbagbo to step down. what is being called the worst flood in 50 years hits queensland, australia. investigators in denmark say five terrorism suspects arrested wednesday appeared to have ties to international terrorist groups, and may have been planning a major assault like the 2008 terror attacks in india. the men arrested in denmark and sweden on suspicion of plotting an attack on the danish newspaper that published controversial caricatures of the profit mohammad five years ago. >> police arrested four of the men at apartments in the suburbs of copenhagen. denmark's intelligence service believes the suspects were planning an imminent attack on the "jyllands-posten" newspaper. the editor says he was not convinced by the threat. >> of course i am concerned. right now it is unpleasant. i am worried about the company and the employees. but it will soon get back to normal. >> in 2005, "jyllands-posten "published cartoons of the prohpet. under islam, images of mohammad are banned. since then, one of the cart

laurent gbagbo still holds most of the power in ivory coast. the situation has been going on for weeks now. almost the entire international community, and crucially most african countries, recognize the president and the government are working in an air-conditioned tent in a hotel. the united nations says it will continue to supply and protect itself and guard the government in waiting of alassane ouattara. but so far, the international pressure on laurent gbagbo has failed to convince him to leave power. this test case for african democracy is still in the balance. mark doyle, bbc news. >> a court in an glut has sentenced a congolese man to 15 years -- in angola has sentenced a congolese man to 15 years. the government opened fire in a northern province, killing two people. attack was claimed by separatist rebels. four chinese nationals and a south african are due to stand trial in south africa for the seizure of the exotic shellfish. ed this trade result in millions of dollars every year. it has been linked to chinese triads and international

says it does not accept the ivory coast elections. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs in america and around the globe. coming up later, just 12 years ago, how will hosting the world cup affect the tiny state of qatar. an iraqi athletes of fighting to make it to the 2012 games. -- and iraqi athletes the fighting to make it to the 2012 games. >>> hello. hillary clinton told the bbc that she spent much of the past week reassuring world leaders about the way the united states conducts its diplomacy. answering questions in bahrain about the wikileaks controversy, she said she had expects -- expressed her regrets to anyone offended by the leaked information. she also regretted suggestions that washington does not value the sacrifices made by british troops in afghanistan. >> the storm has swirled up all week. the secret cables making headlines around the world have been deeply embarrassing for the u.s. and a full implication of this unprecedented leak are not yet known. the latest to be published criticized british troops in helm

and the ivory coast is on the brink of civil war. that is the gloomy assessment from the united nations. the world has been almost unanimous in pressing the president to give up his seat and go with last month's election, but with support from the army, he is refusing to oblige. now, what has happened today and what it means for the region as a whole. >> united nations peacekeeping mandate has been extended for another six months. united nations says things are getting more and more dangerous. they protect the hotel sheltering the opposition government while at the same time, they have a role in protecting the civilian population. the president told the board to leave immediately, something they refused to do. in the eyes of supporters, that means they are now rebels. >> what we see so far is a tragedy booked to strangle and to provoke the mission. it appears to be hitting violence against unicef personnel. they're being pushed out of their homes. >> the president for the past 10 years gave his first television address since the elec

the international community has accepted these results and declared war on the ivory coast. prexy has the support of the constitutional council. >> he has the support of the constitutional council. international reports [unintelligible] the un said 50 people have been killed so far. the crisis has been bad for business. in the second largest economy. this is a fragile region. they depend on what happens here. this is a region that is trying to recover from some of the worst civil wars. they are looking to leave behind decades of military rule. the money invested in disarming liberia -- the un say that mercenary's make up part of gbagbo's army. force seems to be the only way to dislodge mr. gbagbo,. >> more to come. on the streets of baghdad, find out what the new political reality might look like. 160 people described as members of the tamil tiger have appeared in court. they were arrested after the country's victory over the tigers in 2009. a police spokesman denied any one was brought to court. >> 300,000 fled and there were allegations that some were taken away from -- by

the nigerian government has offered to help end the crisis in ivory coast. the former president is refusing to step down. the u.s. has just banned dozens of his allies from traveling there. the un has approved similar restrictions. census results have repealed the population growth is below is since the great depression in the u.s. the population is about 308.7 million this year. that is up 9.7% but the slowest growth since the 1930's. what has been described as the most important immediate takeover was already causing upset in britain. the government minister in charge has been saying he declared war on report murdoch. -- rupert murdoch. our business editor reports that this took the the awhile to emerge. >> here is what they did not publish this morning. >> [unintelligible] [laughter] [unintelligible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> it matters that he talks about having declared war on mr. murdoch because he has the say on whether the new corporation will be allowed to buy 61% of the broadcasting it doesn't already own. it is the most important takeover in the

steps up the pressure on the ivory coast's disputed president. >> confident falls slightly but remains high according to the latest survey. snow and ice grounded flights across much of europe this tuesday. the transport commissioner says he is considering minimum quality requirements at during the severe winter weather. for now, international hubs are trying to clear a backlog of passengers but they have said that passengers might not be going anywhere until after christmas. >> frankfurt is bursting at the scenes. tens of thousands of travelers have been looking forward to their christmas holidays but they don't know if they will be able to leave. information is paltry. >> no one knows what is going on. you go to one town -- counter and is sent due to the next one. >> they were surprised by fresh snowfall early tuesday which forced them to stop all takeoffs and landings. they could not cope with the snow. entertainer's fanned out to help lighten the mood. >> they have to stand in line for hours and if you see an angel or santa claus, it makes them happy. this is a bright spot in a day

in ivory coast, they have urged the international community to use force to oust the incumbent. the designated prime minister says inrnatnal sanctions have had no effect. he has refused to step down since the vote last month. international observers and the united nations say he lost. >> there is tension in the streets of abidjan. they're out in force, but they could be a target because even support of the opposition. -- because of that you and the support of the opposition. >> i am concerned for the mission. it will put our peacekeepers in a critical situation in the coming few days. >> supporters of the opposition leader are on edge. they say gunmen have been roaming the neighborhood that night, kidnapping and killing activists. this was the defiant leaders response. >> i call on you to become, the united nations and french will leave our country. i am ready to talk with the opposition even to the rebels that still support him. >> the un is sending an extra 500 peacekeepers to the ivory coast. >> let's talk about a very naughty german bank. >> deutsche bank has agreed to pay n

bbc news, ivory coast. >> now the iranian foreign minister, manouchehr mottaki, has been sacked.tatement from mahmoud ahmadinejad thank him for his service but gave no reason for his dismissal. manouchehr mottaki is currently on an official visit to senegal. he has been replaced by the head of the atomic energy committee. >> manouchehr mottaki has been fired. news of which may come as quite a surprise to him. he is currently on an official trip to africa and he now heads home without a job. manouchehr mottaki was iran's foreign minister for the last five years. last week he was in greece for talks, but he did not go to geneva for a recent round of the nuclear talks. for that reason, his dismissal may not change the approach of iran. >> week emphasized that the talks, which started in geneva, will continue and the different political configurations in iran will not lead to disruptions in the talks. >> here is the man who fired the prime minister -- the foreign minister. president ahmadinejad wants to show he is a new command of the iran's conservative establishment. getting rid of