04/08/2011 BBC News at Ten


04/08/2011

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We are asking what the day's developments mean for us.

:00:42.:00:49.

Also: Dozens of civilians killed as Syrian tanks turn the city of Hama

:00:49.:00:56.

into a war zone. Famine in Somalia. We have pictures of the un folding

:00:56.:00:59.

disaster in Islamist-controlled areas.

:00:59.:01:03.

And the smartphone revolution, how more and more of us are becoming

:01:03.:01:13.
:01:13.:01:38.

Good evening. The FTSE took a battering losing

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�50 billion in value as traders across the world reacted to fears

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of contagion in the eurozone and fears over the US economy. In a

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stark warning the EU commissioned President expressed concern over

:01:51.:01:56.

the risk of the debt crisis spreading to Italy and Spain. The

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eurozone's third and fourth bickest economies. The route on the

:01:59.:02:04.

European markets continued on the US. The Dow Jones closing more than

:02:04.:02:10.

4% down. The biggest one-day drop in almost three years. Here is our

:02:10.:02:16.

Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders. Two weeks ago today at

:02:16.:02:21.

their umteenth merge summit, the eurozone leaders said that they had

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finally taken tough decisions, that the future of the eurozone was safe,

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but someone forgot to tell the financial markets.

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This is an ABC News special report. The closing bell is ringing now at

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the New York Stock Exchange where the stocks have plunged... Today,

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tens of billions of pounds were wiped off British and American

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stock prices as fears of the Euro fed into worries in America about

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the strength of their recovery. US stock prices are back to where they

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were at the end of last year. A couple of weeks ago, the markets

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anticipated that the ECB and the rest of the European players had

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found a solution to the problem, but digging into the detail lying

:03:07.:03:11.

behind the statement it is clear there is not a lot of money on the

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table. No political will to sort out the problems.

:03:16.:03:21.

Once again it is Italy and Spain paying a price for the investors'

:03:21.:03:27.

doubts. A year ago, the Spanish Government paying 4 .4% from the

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borrowing markets. Much less than Greece, but a few weeks ago it had

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gone up to 6 .3% and it is back close to that level. Italy is

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paying nearly as much. The higher the interest rate that they pay,

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the more difficult it is for the countries to get on top of their

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debts. That is the fear that is concentrating on the minds in

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Brussels, but they are running out of ways to respond. The European

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President sent a stern letter to Euro gfts talking of a growing

:03:57.:04:01.

market scepticism of their capacity to deal with the crisis which he

:04:01.:04:06.

said had extended well beyond the periphery of the eurozone. Saying

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that they should push ahead with what was agreed and ordered a

:04:11.:04:16.

reassessment of what could be done. The European Central Bank did take

:04:16.:04:19.

action, announcing it would step in to support the governments under

:04:19.:04:24.

pressure by buying their bonds. But the bank's President also had

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stern words for the national politicians.

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The key for everything is government ahead of the curve in

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both of the fiscal policies and the structure of reforms. The structure

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of the reforms are of the essence. I know that they are here and there

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difficult, they might be politically difficult in our

:04:49.:04:53.

democracies, but they are paying off.

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The UK did get ahead of the curve in kurting its deficit, the

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opposition would say too far ahead, but our banks and fragile recovery

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could be thrown off course by a crisis across the Channel and a

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stumbling US recovery. Today's fall, the biggest drop in the main US

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stock index than a year ago, the details have changed but the mood

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in the market is familiar. Well, as we have been hearing the

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markets across the globe have shown dramatic losses. In the last hour

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the Dow Jones was down 4 .3%. Earlier, Germany's DAX index was

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down 3 .4% points. Here, the FTSE 100 in London also closed 3 .4%

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down. Well, our Business Editor Robert

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Peston is with me now. Robert, what is your take on what has been

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happening? It's been a dramatic day. It is a truly global phenomena. The

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Brazilian markets fell more than the German and the US and the UK

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markets. The recovery in the rich West, especially in America has

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been running out of steam. We have seen the amounts that Italy, the

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Italian government, the Spanish governments have to pay to borrow

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to such levels. What happened that really shocked the investors was

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the omission by Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, the EU commission

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President that the solution, that the eurozone thought it had in

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place is both too complex and incomplete. That really rattled the

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investors and those who lent to banks.

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I bet there are many people out there saying that we are facing

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another credit crunch? It is a fear. There is a link between the

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confidence in the credit-worthiness of governments and confidence in

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their banks. So, as the fears have accumulated that Spain and Italy

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could not repay debts, so it is harder for their banks to borrow.

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The fear is that the great money men in America in particular who

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lend to European banks will not discriminate that a whole range of

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banks, including our own, will find difficult to borrow. That is why

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Lloyds' shares fell 10%. Barclays shares falling 8%. All of this is

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built on the fear that we are approaching another credit crunch,

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when the banks cannot borrow, they cannot lend. You are tipped back

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into recession. That is why senior members of the Government and

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bankers are saying that the eurozone has to get a grip of this

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and soon or we coiled be facing the conditions that we saw in 2008 once

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again. Robert Peston, thank you very much.

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The latest reports from Syria say that as many as 45 civilians have

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been killed as the government launched a tank-led assault on the

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city of Hama. Human Rights Act visits have sent

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pictures of the latest stage of the crackdown. Most of them are too

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shocking to show. These in the report are also disturbing.

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Syrian military vehicles heading towards Hama today. All of this

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video is hard to verify, but a troubling picture is emerging.

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Yesterday it seems that tanks and troops swept into the city centre,

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part of what seems to be a concerted effort to crush the

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uprising in Hama. One resident who has since fled the city told us

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what he witnessed. TRANSLATION: They were using anti-

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aircraft to shoot the buildings, the cars and the people as well.

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They were trying to find anyone and kill, you know.

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The generators are not working anymore.

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So the hospital is shut down. You know it is completely shut down.

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There is no electricity, food. People are terrified. It is like a

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battle scene. Exactly like a battle scene. Like villages in Iraq, that

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the US army have invaded, that is what it looks like.

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Evidence from these pictures of what activists say are injured

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civilians being targeted. And what we are now about to show

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may be distressing, possible evidence of horrific casualties.

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The blanket covers what is too awful to show, most of this man's

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head was blown off by a tank, we are told.

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The picture in Hama is sketchy, but it seems after weeks of encircling

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the city tanks and troops began to move in on Sunday. Activists

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reported that residential areas were targeted along with a hospital.

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We have seen many pictures too upsetting to show. A second man

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with his head blown off, a young girl allegedly crushed by a tank. A

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small boy with gunshot wounds visible on his body and this

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distressing story of a woman who lost her husband in the first

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massacre. Now she has also lost her son in this attack.

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But latest pictures suggest that the rebellion in Hama is far from

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over. This was apparently last night in the city. Crowds openly

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defiant. It is not own here that President Bashar al-Assad faces

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opposition it is hard to know where the crisis is going to end.

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Human rights groups and lawyers say that they will boycott the

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independent inquiry into what the British security services knew

:10:40.:10:45.

about the alleged torture and mistreatment of terror suspects.

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They fear it could become a whitewash. David Cameron announced

:10:49.:10:53.

the inquiry, saying it was important to clear up questions of

:10:53.:10:56.

wrongdoing and restore Britain's moral standing.

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We have this report. How much did British intelligence

:11:00.:11:04.

know about the alleged mistreatment of those detained abroad in the

:11:04.:11:08.

fight against terrorism? Last year the Prime Minister made clear that

:11:08.:11:12.

he wanted to draw a line under the ongoing controversy.

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The longer that the questions are unanswered, the bigger the stain on

:11:18.:11:21.

our reputation... He went on to announce an inquiry, but human

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rights groups and lawyers for those detained have said that they will

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not participate. One former detainee picked up in Pakistan and

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held in Guantanamo Bay, explains why.

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There is information that we think is vital for us to see as former

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prisoners that will be kept in secret, we will not be able to see

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it. In a sense, it is just a repeat of history because our detention in

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Guantanamo Bay was justified through the use of secret tribunals.

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Supporters of the inquiry into the intelligence service claim it will

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be as open as it is possible to be, given the nature of that material.

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This will be a more open inquiry than any before has ever been, but

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there is still a limit. There will be items of material which are so

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sensitive it would be against this country's interest to publish them.

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A series of court cases was making life difficult here at MI5 and for

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other intelligence agencies. The Government hoped it could limit the

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damage by agreeing a deal in which the former detainees would end

:12:29.:12:33.

their legal action in return for compensation, believed to amount to

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millions of pounds as well as an agreement to hold an independent

:12:36.:12:43.

inquiry. A key issue for the inquiry is what

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guidance was given to intelligence officers interrogating detainees

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held by other countries? There is no allegations of torture by

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Britons. Intelligence chiefs denied come police ity in mistreatment of

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other nations. Although a police investigation is joing ongoing. A

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spokesperson for the inquiry today said that it would move forward

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with or without those representing the detainees, the question will be

:13:11.:13:19.

A court in France ruled the new head of the International Monetary

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Fund, Christine Lagarde should be investigated over accusations sha

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she abused her her position when she was the French Finance Minister.

:13:29.:13:33.

Christine Lagarde denies a payment in favour of a business tycoon in

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2008. More than 11 11 million people have

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been affected by the worst drought in the Horn of Africa. In Mogadishu

:13:47.:13:57.
:13:57.:13:57.

there are battles between the alsha bad and African Union peacekeepers.

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Andrew Harding reports. There are distressing images in this report.

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The first glimpse into the hidden heart of Somalia's famine.

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Outsiders are not welcome here, we asked a local cameraman to film for

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us in territory controlled by the militant Islamist group, alsha bad.

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Families have gathered in huge numbers hoping to find food. Some,

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are being helped, a frail old man is examined by a local medic. A

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mother brings her starving child to this mobile clinic. Staffed by

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local students. But is this just propaganda? The

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militants claims there is no famine here and now it wants to show the

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outside world it has things under control. Why else would the sign be

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in English? In public the militant leaders are maintaining their tough

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anti-western stance. Trance god is testing us with this

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drought because of our sense. We pray for relief. We ask Muslims to

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assist us so that we don't have to depend on help.

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Some foreign food supplies are being allowed in. Somalia is a land

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of chaos and sometimes pragmatism. Here in Mogadishu, humanitarian and

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military officials insist that the militants are blocking desperately

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needed outside aid and putting tens, if not hundreds of thousands at

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risk. African Union soldiers are still

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fighting the militants in the ruins of Mogadishu. This is a dangerous

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place. But should western aid agencies not be doing a lot more to

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help the civilian population here? They are not doing enough because

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the famine came not by surprise, we expected this. We expect this

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problem. We should have prepared early and we should be good to go.

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Instead, this woman has buried the fourth of her five children. The

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city has been declared an official famine zone. Many local

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organisations battling to reach the hungry say they are not getting

:16:22.:16:32.
:16:32.:16:34.

Coming up: Are you addicted to your

:16:35.:16:38.

smartphone? We tap into some of the more surprising facts about modern

:16:38.:16:48.
:16:48.:16:49.

Barack Obama turned 50 today, but as we've been hearing, if he was

:16:49.:16:52.

hoping for a birthday gift from the US economy, he'll be sorely

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disappointed. The Federal debt crisis may be dealt with, at least

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for the moment, but a whole series of economic figures suggest that

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America's recovery is stalling. Tomorrow's unemployment figures are

:17:03.:17:06.

unlikely to lift the gloomy mood as our North America Editor, Mark

:17:06.:17:16.
:17:16.:17:26.

# Happy birthday # Many worry when they hit the big 50.

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His birthday speech accepted there was a lot of work to do on the

:17:29.:17:32.

economy. It doesn't matter how tough a week

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I have in Washington because I know you've got me, you've got my back

:17:38.:17:48.
:17:48.:17:48.

when I come to Chicago, I know we... Opponents jumped on the President

:17:49.:17:53.

for kaumg last month's bad figures a bump in the road. I'm an American,

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not a bump in the road. You are only as old as you the feel, but

:18:00.:18:05.

the greying of the witness bears witness to the pressures in the job.

:18:05.:18:09.

Many of the president's plans to share America's cake more evenly

:18:09.:18:12.

depend on growth, but there is nothing to celebrate in the latest

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round of statistics, there were more job cuts in July than in the

:18:17.:18:21.

previous 16 months. The latest manufacturing figures show the

:18:21.:18:24.

sector hardly grew at all and consumer confidence is low,

:18:24.:18:28.

spending dropped in June for the first time in nearly two years.

:18:28.:18:34.

Unemployment figures out tomorrow are expected to be more bad news.

:18:34.:18:38.

After a terrible two years, this building company based in Maryland

:18:38.:18:42.

has won some new business, but the the boss isn't hiring as many

:18:42.:18:47.

people he would like, the legacy of the recession makes him pessimistic.

:18:47.:18:52.

It made borrowing money so much more difficult right now that there

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is such a state of unknown and that state of unknown is what's keeping

:18:59.:19:03.

people from moving forward with projects.

:19:03.:19:06.

Frederick is a relaxed sort of place with a prosperous feel, but

:19:07.:19:11.

even here there is gloom. In high streets up and down America, it is

:19:11.:19:15.

felt for a while as though the economy is bumping along the bottom.

:19:15.:19:18.

Now a few economists say the figures point to another recession.

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They are in a minority, but could things be getting worse? In the

:19:22.:19:29.

shops, there are new worries. Sales are deaf are definitely

:19:29.:19:35.

douchblet my husband is un-- down. My husband is unemployed right now.

:19:35.:19:40.

I'm the only income my family is. We are barely scraping. We can pay

:19:40.:19:42.

our rent and bills, but that's about it.

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It is down right now. I thought it was coming back. In the summer we

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had a couple of good months and then this political problem in

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Washington and the higher gas prices wiped it out. A waxy Obama

:19:57.:20:02.

enjoys his party, but as the Dow plunges, the real President has

:20:02.:20:07.

little room for manoeuvre or room to celebrate.

:20:07.:20:14.

The judge leading the inquiry into the phone hacking inquiry said he

:20:14.:20:18.

will examine wider press ethics. He will look at how newspapers use

:20:18.:20:21.

private investigators. The BBC has learned that a controversial firm

:20:21.:20:27.

of private detectives, Southern Investigations, was employed by the

:20:27.:20:31.

Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror on over 200 occasions from 1997 to

:20:31.:20:37.

1999. Here is Robert Peston again. The Mirror, no surprise that it

:20:37.:20:41.

published endless stories on the likes of George Michael, Kirsty

:20:41.:20:49.

Young, Peter Mandelson and Will Carling, the Mirror employed a firm

:20:49.:20:54.

of detectives to get get these stories and others. A former Mirror

:20:55.:20:59.

journalist convicted in 2005 for insider trading trains.

:20:59.:21:03.

There are a few journalists competing for the the same stories,

:21:03.:21:06.

if you are competing against The Sun or the News of the World for

:21:06.:21:11.

the same stories or even other newspapers in your group like the

:21:11.:21:15.

Sunday People, you have got to do everything you can to get the story

:21:15.:21:20.

and if the opposition are using those methods, like the News of the

:21:20.:21:24.

World was, then you know, you have to use those same techniques

:21:25.:21:27.

otherwise you won't get the stories and you will lose sales.

:21:27.:21:33.

A BBC investigation discovered that are between October 1997 and

:21:33.:21:37.

September 1999, Southern Investigations was employed on 230

:21:37.:21:42.

occasions by the Daily and Sunday Mirror and billed �67,000 for its

:21:42.:21:47.

services. Many media organisations, including the BBC, have employed

:21:47.:21:52.

private detectives, but on average Southern was doing two pieces of

:21:52.:21:57.

work each week for the Mirror. This is some of what the Mirror bought

:21:57.:22:02.

from Southern Investigations. An invoice dated October 1998 is for

:22:02.:22:12.
:22:12.:22:13.

following the former news anchor, Kirsty Young. It says, "To our

:22:13.:22:20.

motorcycle operative." The bill was for �262. Hiring a private

:22:20.:22:25.

detective isn't illegal. The Mirror paid for financial information on

:22:25.:22:29.

Peter Mandelson, the size of his mortgage, at Britannia Building

:22:29.:22:34.

Society, the monthly payments and the amount outstanding and how much

:22:34.:22:40.

he had in his current and savings accounts at at Coutts.

:22:40.:22:43.

Many journalists would say there was a powerful public interest in

:22:43.:22:47.

obtaining information about Lord Mandelson's personal finances given

:22:47.:22:51.

that he received a secret loan from a fellow member of the Government

:22:51.:22:55.

which supposedly created a financial tie between the two that

:22:56.:23:00.

should have been disclosed. I want British journalism to return

:23:00.:23:05.

to its vocation, to bring the the truth to light, but with courage,

:23:05.:23:10.

honesty and decency. The Mirror Group told the BBC it

:23:10.:23:14.

last used Southern Investigations in 1999 and its journalists worked

:23:14.:23:18.

within the criminal law and the PCC code of conduct.

:23:18.:23:22.

Another invoice was for a mobile phone number and PIN. This could

:23:22.:23:26.

have been used to hack into the voicemail of a mobile phone, but

:23:26.:23:31.

there is no evidence it was used that way. The Prime Minister asked

:23:32.:23:37.

Lord Justice Leveson to exam the ethics of the press following

:23:37.:23:43.

behaviour at the the News of the World. Lord Justice he have letter

:23:43.:23:50.

son will look at how detectives The Scottish Government denied that

:23:50.:23:56.

exams are getting easier as pupils in Scotland achieved record pass

:23:56.:24:00.

rates. Almost 130,000 pupils got their results today, but an

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investigation has begun after thousands received theirs yesterday

:24:04.:24:08.

by mistake. Is the smartphone threatening to

:24:08.:24:12.

take over our lives? The latest survey from Ofcom, the media

:24:12.:24:16.

regulator, found a third of adults and a majority of teenagers

:24:16.:24:19.

describe themselves as highly addicted. They use them at meal

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times, in the bathroom and take them to bed!

:24:23.:24:33.
:24:33.:24:37.

Meet the Ramsdens, a a smartphone family. Olly never stops texting

:24:37.:24:41.

whilst mum Natasha likes to stay online. This technology has changed

:24:41.:24:44.

the way they live. They are just really addictive. I

:24:44.:24:48.

can sit there playing games which I've never done before. I can sit

:24:48.:24:50.

there looking at Google and Facebook, things you would have to

:24:50.:24:55.

go to a computer for, but now it is by my hand so it is easy to pick up

:24:55.:24:59.

and use. And where this 14-year-old goes,

:24:59.:25:05.

his smartphone goes too, even in here! But Olly isn't alone. Nearly

:25:05.:25:10.

half of all 12 to 15-year-olds who have a smartphone use it in the

:25:10.:25:15.

bathroom. So do more than a fifth of adults. Olly, how much do you

:25:16.:25:21.

use your smartphone in in there? when the shower is warming up. When

:25:21.:25:27.

I'm brurk my teeth m maybe when I'm on the toilet.

:25:27.:25:33.

You're kidding me! And these devices aren't easy to

:25:33.:25:38.

put down. Today's survey showed that 23% of adults with smartphones

:25:38.:25:44.

use them at meal times, but at what cost to our manners? This pocket-

:25:44.:25:48.

sized computer appears to be changing the rules.

:25:48.:25:53.

Technology is starting to drive the way we behave in social situations

:25:53.:25:59.

it seems. The question is how good a thing is it? More than a third of

:25:59.:26:03.

adults think they are highly addicted to their smartphones

:26:03.:26:07.

according to the study and the figure is higher for teenagers.

:26:08.:26:12.

Young people are heavy users of social network sites and media such

:26:12.:26:17.

as text messages. There is no evidence as such that it is

:26:17.:26:23.

detracting from their off-line life, but there is no evidence that it is

:26:23.:26:27.

enhancing it. That maybe, but the smartphone is

:26:27.:26:36.

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