11/11/2011 BBC News at Ten

After a turbulent week financial markets rise amid signs of progress

in the countries that pushed the eurozone to the brink. Italy votes

for a key package of cuts designed to avoid an EU bail-out. In Greece,

days of political wrangling end with a new Prime Minister sworn in.

He says his priority is to stay in the euro.

As the Chancellor warns of the impact on Britain, we will be

exploring how the crisis is already affecting us here.

Also tonight: The death toll from Syria's crackdown on protesters is

escalating with the Arab League under pressure to suspend its

membership. It's London!

Another sporting event is coming to the UK. The Olympic Stadium will

host the World Athletics Championships in 2017.

It is not just for London, there is a decade, an extraordinary decade

of British sport now. As millions pause to remember the

fallen, how a record number of poppies have been sold this year.

I will be here with the sport on the BBC News Channel with goals

from tonight's first legs in the Euro play-offs including Ireland's

Good evening. There's been some relief on the financial markets

today after the two countries that took the eurozone close to breaking

point moved towards getting their economies back on track. In Italy,

the Senate approved austerity measures while Greece swore in a

new Prime Minister. With evidence mounting on how Europe's troubles

are affecting British growth and jobs, the Chancellor is warning

that the economy here remains in danger. Our first report is from

Matthew Price. From Rome today, a glimmer of hope.

Italy's Senate passed a series of emergency economic measures. When

the Lower House does the same, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

has said he will resign, making way, it is assumed, for this man, Mario

Monti, a former European Commissioner who will head a

technocrat government. Mario Monti will be tasked with balancing

Italy's budget by 2014. Italian VAT will go up to 21%. Public sector

salaries will be frozen for three years. There will be a crackdown on

tax evasion. Europe's leaders welcomed the news. I'm very hopeful

that Italy will sort out this situation quite soon. The recent

news we have been receiving from Italy goes in that direction. I

cannot respond for Italy. Europe's other problem capital,

Athens, there were more anti- austerity protests on the streets

today. "I'm expecting further barbaric measures against the

people" this woman said. Here, too, a new government is being imposed

on the country. Another technocrat, Lucas Papademos, was sworn in today.

His job? To force through more painful austerity measures demanded

by Brussels. Here at the European Commission, there's a real sense

that Greece and Italy are doing part of what is needed to contain

the debt crisis. One problematic Prime Minister has gone, another is

on the way out. But is it democratic? Brussels gets what it

wants, do the voters? For now, though, it is money to bail out

Europe that matters most. Many say the European Central Bank should do

more to support countries under threat. In Berlin, they don't agree.

Germany's worried about the consequences of the ECB printing

more money. Today its economics Minister said a bail-out would

remove the pressure on debt-ridden countries to reform. He also had

some advice for Britain. TRANSLATION: I find it a bit odd

that the British don't have the euro and yet they are constantly

giving us advice as to what we should do. They don't want to help

in any way. A sign of tension, perhaps, though

the Chancellor, George Osborne, was today concentrating on what all

this means back home. It's a very, very difficult and dangerous

situation in the eurozone. Britain is impacted by what is happening,

there is no doubt that growth in Britain, jobs in Britain have been

hit by what's going on. Back in Italy, Silvio Berlusconi this

evening headed off for what might be his last official engagement as

Prime Minister. The markets stabilised when he announced he

would resign. Today's news also calmed them. But they know the euro

is still in a critical condition. As you heard, the Government

believes that the eurozone crisis is hurting us here. Hugh Pym has

been looking at the evidence of the affect it's having on British lives

and businesses. One bit of the British economy is

especially vulnerable to a eurozone sloedown - exports. Nearly half the

UK's foreign trades are with continental Europe -- slowdown.

Some businesses are concerned, like this one in Telford. It makes

components for a range of industries. They are doing well,

but just in the last month, they have seen European orders tailing

off. We are starting to see, what we would term, a softening. The

interesting thing is yes, 25% of our business is in Europe, mainly

Germany, France, Spain. We are also seeing a similar thing happening in

other areas in the world that we service. The eurozone's financial

turmoil is having an impact on pensions here. That's because

pension funds invest in Government bonds. Italian borrowing costs have

soared, now just below 7%. So money's moved to the UK. The

British Government's borrowing cost has fallen to just over 2%, that is

the interest rate payable to investors. That's good in many ways

for the UK. But there is an unfortunate impact on many workers

who are about to retire. Their annual pension income is closely

linked to those interest rates paid by the Government. Here's how the

eurozone crisis has hit pension returns. Some workers retire having

built up a stand-alone pension pot. Let's say that is a sum of �50,000.

In November 2008, that would have guaranteed a pension of just over

�3,200 per year. Anyone retiring this month would only be offered

�2,600 for their annual pension. It's never been more difficult for

people reaching retirement. Their assets haven't been growing and the

price they are having to pay to turn those assets into an income

has never been higher. It is a double whammy. The eurozone's

financial stresses and strains are affecting mortgages. Some borrowing

rates have been pushed up. Banks are reluctant to lend to one

another because of fears about the future. Their cost of borrowing has

risen and that's been passed on to some people with tracker mortgages.

Typically rates have gone up by 0.1% and 0.4%. As the cost of

wholesale funds keeps rising, we will see more lenders putting up

those rates. The mood may be calmer today, but just how the Italian and

Greek crisis will affect the UK in the longer term remains highly

uncertain. Reports from Syria say 26 people

have been killed today adding to an escalating death toll from eight

months of anti-government protests. November is likely to be the

bloodiest month since the uprising against President Assad began in

March. An Arab League meeting tomorrow will discuss the lack of

progress towards any kind of dialogue. The organisation is under

intense pressure from human rights campaigners to suspend Syria's

membership. Promises, promises. A week after

pledging it would respect human rights, these were the forces of

the Syrian state in action near Damascus. Here a man who appears

mortally wounded is dragged away by soldiers. Across Syria the bloody

cost of protest escalates. Here a wounded man clutches the foot of

his comrade. Off camera a voice says "these are your reforms,

Bashar". The UN says 3,500 people have died already. Yet the

demonstrators act as if they have marched beyond the point of fear.

The state is strengthening its defences. Here troops mind the

northern border with Lebanon. All of this, say human rights groups,

mean Arab states must isolate the regime. We are looking at masses of

civilians who are being either killed, detained, tortured. And

disappear. We would like to see this stop as soon as possible. We

think the only possible way to do that is to put real concerted

pressure on the part of the international community with the

assistance of regional organisations such as the Arab

League. The Arab League used to be seen as a talking shop for Middle

Eastern regimes. It bristled with the rhetoric of Arab unity but

achieved little. The events of the Arab Spring changed that. A new

dynamic has emerged driven by the demands of the street. The League

was instrumental in bringing about the no-fly zone there. And it's

pressed the Syrian regime to stop the bloodshed. Without it must be

said any sign of success. A regime fighting for its life knows

concessions would be seen as fatal weaknesses. The beginning of the

end of its power. Syria lies at the heart of the world's most volatile

region. The regime knows this makes military intervention hugely risky

and therefore highly unlikely. This doesn't address the heart of

President Assad's crisis. The determination of many of his people

to be rid of him. From within his own security forces, defections

like these have emboldened the opposition. Whatever the world

decides, it is the powerful forces within Syria itself that will

define the endgame. London is to host the 2017 World

Athletics Championships meaning that the Olympic Stadium will have

an athletics legacy after the Games next summer. The announcement came

today in Monaco where London defeated a rival bid from the

Qatari capital, Doha. Having twice pulled out of bids to

stage the World Athletics Championships, it was third time

lucky for London today. It's London. After months of campaigning, there

was jubilation, but also a great sense of relief among the winning

bid team. The world's third largest sporting event coming to London for

nine days. We have the Olympic Games in 2012. We now have the

World Athletics Championships in 2017. Despite Qatar's vast wealth,

London beat Doha with its promise to deliver big money TV and

commercial deals in one of the world's most iconic cities. The bid

also vowed to put on a Championships centred around the

athletes. Back home at his training camp in Loughborough, Dai Greene

was waiting anxiously for news from Monaco. As an athlete, it is

fantastic that we have won the bid. It is a great feeling to be

competing in front of your home fans and I get that opportunity

next year at the Olympics, but to get it again in six years' time, it

would be fantastic. Failure to land the 2018 World Cup might have taken

the shine off it but the next few years still promise a golden era

for British sport. First, the most prestigious of all, the London 2012

Olympics. Scotland will hope to keep the momentum going when

Glasgow hosts the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In 2015, England will be

hoping to make up for its dismal showing in New Zealand when it

stages the Rugby World Cup. Now, following today's vote, London will

again be at the centre of the sporting spotlight when it stages

the World Athletics Championships. Landing the 2017 event was crucial

to the future of this place, London's �500 million Olympic

Stadium. West Ham were supposed to be moving in after 2012, but a

legal challenge from Tottenham forced a dramatic U-turn. Ministers

scrapped the deal with West Ham last month to boost the 2017 bid

and reassure world athletics chiefs that track and field remain central

to this stadium's legacy plans after 2012. Failure to secure the

World Athletics Championships would have been deeply embarrassing for

the Government and raise serious questions about what happens next.

We took quite a risk when we took the stadium back into public

ownership. Part of the reason for doing that was to end the legal

uncertainty but to bring certainty to a World Athletics Championships

bid. Today's result won't end the debate over the future of the

stadium. But it will go some way to delivering on the legacy promises

London made when it won the Still to come, the former England

rugby captain Mike Tindall is fined and kicked out of the national

squad for his off the pitch behaviour.

Millions of people stopped what they were doing this morning to

take part in commemorations for Remembrance Day, the two minutes'

silence came on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

This year was the 93rd Amnesty -- anniversary of the armistice that

The sound of the bugle, echoing across the parade ground of Camp

Bastion in Afghanistan. The Defence Secretary, paying his tribute to

the fallen of this campaign. A reminder that today's act of

remembrance spans conflict stretching back to over nine

decades. Painstakingly restored by the Imperial War Museum for this

anniversary, the stark images from the First World War battles on the

Somme, which claimed more than 57,000 lives on the first day alone.

The four-year conflict, which ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of

the 11th month in 1918. The hour when, on a cloudy morning in 2011,

a silence spread outwards from the The record number of poppies sold

this year, around 46 million, suggest a growing level of public

engagement with this act of remembrance. Two short minutes in

cities, towns and villages, when new generations had time to

consider their links with the past. I feel like all the soldiers that

had died were alive, so I could thank them. It is not just the

thought of the people who actually saved, it is affecting the families

as well. Two minutes when families and friends could reflect on their

own most recent losses. The worst bit was stood in front of so many

crosses with photographs on, with people, lads that have been killed,

and I know their family's very well. They were not just photographs of

lads, they were loved ones of the families I have come to know and

love myself. As traffic flowed again in Whitehall, police

surrounded supporters of the English Defence League, who had

gathered near the Cenotaph. There were more than one had and 70

arrests. Above all, this was a day when communities stepped away from

the concerns of a hectic look modern life to stand in silence. --

170 arrests. To lay their poppies and crosses at a time when past and

present are intertwined. At the same time, it has emerged

that the army has drawn up plans to make wounded soldiers redundant. A

leaked memo also discloses a sharp rise in the number of army

redundancies being planned. Our correspondent is at the Ministry of

Defence. What details do you have? As part of the government's defence

cuts, the original Army estimate was that they would have to make

around 7,000 troops redundant over the next few years. This leaked

internal confidential army document, obtained by The Daily Telegraph,

published in tomorrow's paper, suggests that figure will be more

like 16,500 troops being made redundant over the next few years.

The army faces a real problem as it shrinks. What does it do with those

hundreds of troops to have been injured in the wars in Afghanistan

and Iraq? That's a real issue for the army. They weren't included,

those injured troops, in the first round of redundancies. This leaked

document says they will not be exempt in the second tranche of

redundancies that will be announced next year. Understandably, the

Ministry of Defence, the army, is distancing themselves from this

report. It says it was written by a junior officer but it was

distributed to senior commanders in Afghanistan. They are looking at

this and what it means at the moment. Essentially what they are

saying is that they have made no final decisions on the number of

troops being made redundant. As for those injured troops, they say they

will not be forced to leave, until they have recovered and until it is

the right decision for them and the army to leave. That said, this memo,

coming on the day when the nation remembers the sacrifice of those

who served, and are still serving on the front line, this is very

Vladimir Putin has defended his decision to stand in next year's

Russian presidential election, saying he is campaigning to keep

his country stroll and not for personal gain. He is the

overwhelming favourite to return to the position that he first held 12

years ago, but critics say his political influence is increasingly

a destructive force. Bridget Bradda me a Putin. For 12 years,

the face of Russia. Now he has made it clear he wants to come back as

president next year. -- Vladimir Putin. He could be around until

2024. If he can stay in power for so long unchallenged, what has

happened to Russian democracy? Tonight, there was a chance to quiz

him face to face, meeting with foreign analysts of Russia over

dinner, he denied he was driven by personal ambition, or a desire to

stifle reform. He just needed longer to fulfil his plans, to

raise living standards and make the country stronger. It doesn't mean

that the political system should stagnate, he told us, but of course,

we are thinking of ways for the people to have more influence on

those in power. Vladimir Putin may not have it all his own way. Yes,

here in Russia, he is still the most popular politician, but this

place has changed a lot since he came to power. People live better

but they are also more dissatisfied and some of those who once praised

him for restoring order now say he could be leading the country in a

dangerous direction. For all the appearance of prosperity, there is

a growing gap between rich and poor. Stability has become stagnation,

and could lead to a social explosion. Even Putin's former

prime minister says it could be on the cards. You really think they

could be the equivalent of the Arab Spring here in Russia? Absolutely.

Everything that Putin is doing encourages this mood. It would not

mature soon, but it's definitely. The question is, what would it take

to get Russians, often seen as apathetic, onto the streets. We

found this more Piggott, hardly the stirrings of revolution, but

Russia's top political blogger said the internet has given brush up a

powerful new talk -- this small picket. The talks about

optimisation and apathy, it is true, but everything can change in a very

short time. Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency is not in doubt.

What is much more uncertain is whether his strongman style is

EMI, the home of artists including The Beatles, Pink Floyd and

Coldplay, is being sold to Universal Music for over �1 billion.

The sale of the British record label comes at a troubled time for

the company. It has been struggling since being taken over by a private

It has been the home of artists whose music has been the soundtrack

of the last 50 years. # EMI! It has also been a byword

for corporate upheaval in an industry struggling to come to

terms with the digital era. Now, the British label will have its

third new owner in four years. In 2007, an investor bought the

business in a deal which soon went wrong. EMI rapidly fell out with

artists like Robbie Williams and piled up huge losses. His timing of

buying EMI was rather unfortunate to say the least. His company,

Terra Firma, paid something like �4 billion for it. In hindsight, that

was way over the odds. Now, universal, owned by the French firm

Vivendi, is taking over the British firm. Four labels, universal, Sony,

Warner and EMI have dominated the music market. Now there will be

just three with universal having the biggest share of an industry

that is in trouble. For the whole music industry, it has been a

decade of decline. In 2000, worldwide sales of recorded music

hit �17 billion. By 2007, it had fallen to �12 billion. Last year,

With artists like Lady Gaga or, at Universal is just part of a French

media empire. The -- if the merger is allowed to go ahead, EMI may

have a more settled future. Universal is by far the world's

largest and most successful and well financed record label. They

bring to EMI this scale that they need to be able to start punching

their weight began. -- again. Rolling Stones left EMI for

Universal. Mick Jagger welcomed a merger which he said put people

with music in their blood back in charge.

The England rugby captain, Mike Tindall, has been kicked out of the

national squad and fined �25,000 by the Rugby Football Union. He is

married to the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, and

was caught on camera with a woman at a bar during England's ill-fated

For more than a decade, Mike Tindall has been a figurehead of

the England team. Many of his 75 caps came as captain. The small

matter of marrying the Queen's granddaughter this year sent his

profile into another dimension. So it was that images of him in a New

Zealand bar in the middle of the World Cup attracted huge attention.

The severity of his punishment has surprised many in the sport. The

RFU said today, Mike Tindall's The message is very clear. If you

represent your country, quite rightly, you have to behave

yourself, otherwise, we will deal with you very severely and we don't

care who you are, and what service you have done to the country. You

are going to cop it. At Twickenham, the RFU's decisions are made. Right

now it is not clear who is in charge, with resignations and

inquiries, it is turmoil at the top. Clearly, players must also protect

the image of the game. You need guys to go out there and explore

and enjoy things. Where you place the line is up to the guy is in

charge and what they see is right and wrong. It is also up to the

players to make their decision. For me, going to the 2003 World Cup and

what happened afterwards put me on constant alert, and that still goes