25/04/2013 BBC News at Ten

Britain and America of using chemical weapons. The Assad regime

say the Americans has probably used sarin gas against opposition

fighters. The US intelligence community assesses with some degree

of varying confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical

weapons on a small scale in Syria. Specifically in chemical agent

sarin. Syrian forces are also accused by Britain, which says it

has limited but persuasive information of chemical weapons use.

In the past America has warned that the use of chemical weapons would be

a red line for possible intervention. We'll have the latest.

Also tonight: The British economy avoids a triple-dip recession but

manufacturing and construction are still shrinking. 1 million teenagers

in England at risk of theseles are being urged to come forward for the

MMR vaccine. And an intriguing glimpse of the short-list for this

Godolphin empire's leading trainers is banned for 8 years ago for giving

Good evening. Downing Street says the Government has limited but

persuasive information that chemical weapons, including sarin gas, have

been used in Syria. The claim has been echoed by the White House,

which says US intelligence believes with varying degrees of confidence

that Syrian forces have used chemical weapons on a small scale.

This is the sort of scene that might just force America to take action, a

Syrian doctor posted these pictures on YouTube saying it is evidence of

the use of chemical weapons on rebels in Aleppo. Britain says there

is limited but persuasive evidence that chemical weapons have been

used. Now America is moving in that direction too. The US Defence

Secretary spoke to reporters in Abu Dhabi. We still have some

uncertainties about what was used, what kind of chemical was used,

where it was used, who Juliesed it. -- Who used it. As I said in my

statement, our intelligence people have a reasonable amount of

confidence that some amount of chemical weapons was used. The White

House has sent a letters to Senator Before taking action they need

credible and corroborative facts to some degree of certainty. The

consequences for President Assad would be serious. This was one of

the last times he was seen in public, back in January. Long before

then President Obama said he would be held responsible to chemical

weapons were used. We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also

to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing

a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilised.

That would change my calculus. President Obama was speaking today

at the opening of the George Bush library. He is keen to avoid what he

would regard as his predecessor's rush to war in Iraq. The President

of the United States said that if the Bashar al-Assad used chemical

weapons it would be a game changer, that it would cross a red line. I

think it is pretty obvious that red line has been crossed. All along

President Obama has been extremely reluctant to take action in Syria.

He regards it as difficult, complex and probably not in America's best

interests, but he is now inch in that direction, with the sort of

deliberate caution that can reassure some people but unfurious opponents

and allies. -- infuriates opponents and allies. Jeremy, you've just

returned from Syria. I left Damascus yesterday. The Syrians throughout

when I've spoken to them in previous visits said they wouldn't use

chemical weapons. They even deny having them sometimes. That doesn't

mean they wouldn't use them if they felt they had to. I think as well of

course as Mark was saying that shadow of Iraq and weapons of mass

destruction hangs very heavy from the western perspective over all of

this. But looking at the right across what's happening, I get the

feeling that after a stalemate lasting about 18 months in this war,

things are starting to change. I can't say in which direction rebels

or the regime, but things are changing. It feels more fluid when

you are there. There seems to be more movement now as well in terms

of on the battlefield. There's been a big offensive south of Damascus by

the regime's Army. They've captured a strategic area to the east of the

capital. And today apparently, eating into the rebels' supply

routes. And these chemical weapons accusations flow into all of that,

because western countries are inexorably getting more involved,

the British and Americans pushing for a relaxation of the European

Unions arms embargo. In Lebanon and Iraq there has been serious violence

today, exacerbated by what's going on in Syria. If you look at it, I

reckon that this summing summer is really going to be critical. I think

things are moving now, and moving fast. We don't know in which

direction but I don't think stalemate is a word that will be

used about this year. Jeremy, thank you.

The economy grew in the first quarter of the year, avoiding a

so-called triple-dip recession, but the manufacturing and construction

sectors are still suffering. The economy is smaller than it was

before the financial crisis struck five years ago. The Prime Minister

says the latest figure shows it is healing, as Stephanie Flanders

reports. After an awful winter, signs of

growth. And not just in the garden. Our GDP national output is the sum

total of everything produced in the UK. Today we found out it had grown

by 0. 3% in the first three months of the year, just enough to reverse

a fall in the previous quarter A year we've still only grown by 0.

6%. These figures are an encouraging sign that the economy is healing and

despite a tough economic situation we are making progress. But of

course we've still got difficult decisions to take. There aren't easy

answers. The growth came almost entirely from the services part of

the economy, which includes hotels, transport and retailers like this

garden centre in Chelmsford. They were hit by last month's cold

weather but it doesn't seem to have done much damage overall. A Spend is

down, foot-fall is up. We are having to drive the business hardary. When

you are met with a downturn you have to scrutinise the business. The

positive sign in front of the GDP number is a relief to the

Chancellor, much bigger than nearly anyone expected. But most economists

struggle to see a lot of forward momentum behind this recovery, and

we are still very dependent on spending by households. Once again

falling activity in the construction sector held back growth. Output

there fell by 2. 5%. Manufacturing was also down, by 0. 3%. Both parts

of the economy are now smaller than when the Chancellor took office.

These are lacklustre figures. The economy's barely grown in the last

three years ago. It is flatlining, the slowest recovery for 100 years.

Families are paying the price. Businesses aren't confident to

invest. We can't carry on like this. We need the Chancellor to admit it

is not working and change course. There were Schmorl smiles for the

Chancellor at this company in London, but one of the key global

investors who used to back Mr Osborne's plans recently joined the

list of people who think it was a mistake. I asked him doesn't that

mean the big arrangements for austerity is crumbling? The recovery

is underpinned by very low interest rates. If we lost those low interest

rates a difficult decision would be turned into a disastrous situation.

In the UK we've got the highest deficit in Europe but low interest

rates, so our economic policy, our economic plan, commands credibility

around the world, but it is also flexible. It is good news. Hopes for

modest growth this year have survived the winter, but little sign

yet that the economy's about to race ahead.

1 million schoolchildren in England who haven't had their MMR

vaccinations are being encouraged to come forward to try to avert a

full-scale measles epidemic. An outbreak like the one in Swansea

could happen anywhere. The MMR health scare of a decade ago

cast a long shadow. Babies who weren't brought for the jab back

then or missed out on the booster dose are now at secondary school.

Like these pupils in Middlesbrough, among 1 million at risk from a

highly contagious virus that's circulating widely. Measles even for

very healthy children can be really unpleasant. Around one in five

children are being admit to the hospital with measles. In a very

small number it can be really serious, serious complications like

MMR vaccination in Teesside by age two a is now over 91% but a decade

ago fell as low as 77%. So where else is at risk? Manchester is

already seeing cases. Its MMR uptake fell as low as 74% a decade ago. It

is 89% now but still short of the 95% needed to ensure everybody is

protected. Experts are worried about Suffolk. MMR rates fell as low as

71%. Now it is 93%. But London is the highest risk area. A decade ago

in Lambeth just 54% had received the jab. In Sutton and Merton 73%. At

79% Sutton and Merton has the lowest MMR rate in the country.

Six-year-old Henry Davidson has leukaemia. Chemotherapy treatment

has suppressed his immune system, making him highly vulnerable to

infections like measles. So much so that he can't go to school at

present. He is a lively young boy, and the chemotherapy isn't holding

him back. Its the fact that people who haven't been vaccinate ready

going to be in his school. That puts him at significant risk of catching

measles. Measles could kill him or leave him blind or deaf. Scotland's

MMR uptake didn't suffer the same dip as England and Wales, but health

officials say they'll be tracing any children who missed out on the jab.

The new inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool football fans in the

Hillsborough disaster will be held early next year. Families of the

victims attended a preen quest hearing today. Last December judges

quashed the original verdict of accidentally death. The location of

the new hear also be confirmed next week. Downing Street says that the

cost of Margaret Thatcher's funeral was �3.6 million. �1.1 million was

spent on additional policing and security. The Thatcher family made

an undisclosed contribution to the costs.

In Boston, the investigating authorities say the bombing suspect

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told them that he and his brother also intended to

attack New York. He said that they intended to set off their six

remaining bombs in Times Square. The brothers parents, who live in

Dagestan, insist that their children are innocent.

They left the caucuses for a new life in America. Tamerlan Tsarnaev

and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, the two suspects in the Boston

bombing. Today, back in Dagestan, their parents were full of regret

for having moved the family to the United States. I thought America

would protect us, our kids, it was going to be safe. But, for any

reason, it happened. My kids, America took my kids away from me.

Only America. The Boston explosions killed three people and injured more

than 260. Police in New York now say Times Square was to have been the

next target. Dzhokhar was arrested and Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in

a shootout by police. But their parents maintain their sons are

innocent. Do you now accept it was your children that carried out the

attacks in Boston? No, I don't and I won't. Never. But US investigators

have no such doubts. They spent two days in Dagestan in the building

behind me, questioning the parents and trying to find out if it was a

trip back to the volatile North caucuses last year by Tamerlan

Tsarnaev that played a role in radicalising the brothers. Earlier,

on Russian television, President Putin described the brothers as

criminals and called for greater cooperation with the West in the

fight against terrorism. Tonight, Anzor Tsarnaev is preparing to fly

to America to bury his son. Despite all of the evidence against their

children, he and his wife are insisting there are no terrorist is

The newspaper industry has proposed its own system of press regulation,

which it claims will deliver tough sanctions while protecting freedom

of speech. It has rejected out of hand the cross-party scheme produced

in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry, involving an independent regulator,

backed by a royal charter. Victims of press intrusion say that the

proposed regulator will be no better than a poodle.

When the politicians agreed a cross-party deal on press

regulation, they said their plans meant press victims like the Dowlers

and the McCann family would be detected. Today, the papers rejected

those plans and published their own. In the wake of the Leveson Inquiry,

press and politicians both want a royal charter, in effect a letter

from the Queen, to set up a new system. But there are differences.

The main difference is simply that our royal charter does not give

politicians a role in regulating the press. Their royal charter does.

That means under the press's royal charter there would not need to be

votes in parliament to change the system in future. Instead,

regulators and trade bodies would have to agree. Their charter talks

about papers printing remedies when they make mistakes, and not

apologies. The politicians were not persuaded. I will look at what they

have to say, but there is an all-party agreement around the

charter that was published. I'm always happy to look at other

proposals. The newspapers have put forward their own proposals today. I

think we should implement the plans passed by Parliament. But the papers

do not have to listen to the political leaders. If they choose to

ignore the cross-party plan, they could end up paying extra damages in

court. But some may think that is a risk worth taking. And it infuriates

those that have campaigned against them. The problem is that a small

number of editors are used to having the power to be unaccountable.

what they like and not have to answer for it. And they do not want

that power taken away from them. means a debate about how to limit

the power and what to learn from the Leveson witnesses has been

dramatically reopened with the press on one side and MPs on the other.

Now, unemployment in Spain has risen to another record high, prompting

more angry demonstrations in the heart of Madrid. The eurozone's

fourth-largest economy has been in and out of recession for five years.

More than a quarter of the workforce, 27%, 6 million people,

are out of work. Over half of the country's youth are unemployed.

Gavin Hewitt reports on the latest evidence of Spain was 's economic

crisis. In Madrid, protesters clashed with the police after the

announcement that unemployment had reached another record level. For

those under 25, the jobless rate has reached a staggering 57%. The

protesters, who marched to Parliament, shouted we are not

afraid. Many of them are sceptical of the government claim that jobs

and growth will return next year. In the southern Spanish city of Jerez,

unemployment is over 40%. Lorenzo used to drive trucks. But he has

been without work for two years. His wife, Yolanda, is also unemployed.

They and their son face eviction. TRANSLATION: Future? There is no

future in Spain. Three generations are being destroyed, mine, my

parents because they are supporting us, and, the worst part, what will

happen to my son. The doors open at the local unemployment office. There

is a slender comfort that the rise in unemployment seems to be slowing.

But Spain will remain in deep recession for all of this year. In

the region of Jerez, more than 13,000 people have turned to

charities for help. Each day, volunteers go to a foodbank and pick

up emergency supplies to be handed out in the community. TRANSLATION:

In the past year, the number of people asking for help has almost

doubled. We are expecting those figures to increase because the

situation has become far worse. the language schools across Spain,

there is a huge increase in those learning German, widely seen as the

best hope of finding work. This city has just over 200,000 inhabitants,

but has debts of nearly 1 billion euros. It has been cutting public

spending. There are signs the policy may be changing. There are many that

say that putting austerity first has reached its limits. This is the big

change. Europe fears unemployment and recession more than debt and it

is using font targets for cutting deficits, which countries like Spain

could no longer meet. In Bangladesh, rescuers have found

40 people alive in the rubble of a building in Dhaka, two days after it

collapsed. More than 200 people have been found dead and hundreds are

still missing. The building had housed several clothing factories.

A day after the disaster, they are still finding survivors. Heavy

lifting gear, being brought in to help. Then, they pull a woman from

the rubble. She is alive, they shout. But many more people are

still trapped inside. Rescuers find this man crying for help, but unable

to move. TRANSLATION: Save us, brother, I beg you, brother. I want

to live. It's so painful. I have two little children. Then, another

desperate voice. TRANSLATION: It would have been better to die than

injure such pain! But we want to live. Please save us. Relatives have

been scouring lists saw the dead. A nearby school has been turned into a

makeshift morgue. Many still have no idea what happened to loved ones.

For some, it is the news that they most dread. TRANSLATION: My sister

died in there. We work in the factory together. I am only alive

because I was not there yesterday. This is just the latest in a string

of disasters for Bangladesh's huge clothing industry. It also means

questions for the UK and other retailers that buy from the

factories. Now, Bangladesh has declared a national day of

mourning. Anger is growing. The garment workers are taking to the

streets. For too long, they say, the human cost of making cheap clothes

has been ignored. The trainer behind a major doping

scandal in the world of horseracing has been banned from the sport for

eight years. Mahmood Al Zarooni administered anabolic steroids to 15

horses at the leading Godolphin Stadium in Newmarket. All of the

trainers involved have been suspended for six months. The

shortlist for the Turner prize for contemporary art has been unveiled.

The four nominees include portraits of imaginary people and the first

so-called live in counter entry. The winner, who will receive �20,000,

will be announced in December. The nominees for the 2013 Turner Prize

are... Tino C goal, whose work consists of

abstract performances and brief encounters. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

paints portraits of fictional characters, normally young and

black. David Shrigley, nominated for his witty written statements and

humorous drawings. Laure Prouvost makes surreal, subtly subversive

short films. This list is more varied and unexpected than usual. It

goes from painting to somebody that is known as a cartoonist. In between

there are amazingly intimate encounters that Laure Prouvost and,

in another way, Tino Sehgal make for their audiences. Tino

Sehgalinclusion is likely to provoked debate because of his art,

would you cannot buy or sell, or even see, in some cases. He would

engage visitors in conversation here in the gallery about their personal

lives. He is already an art world favourite. Who is going to win?

public favourite is David Shrigley, I think. He is easy to enjoy. My

personal favourite is Tino Sehgal. Performance art was on the list for

the first time last year. It's back, it's very fashionable and

interesting. It is time it was recognised in a more formal way.

Previously shortlisted artists have made the annual award famous. That,

it is hoped, will help it make a big splash when it travels abroad from

Ingram for the first time, to Londonderry. I think the impact will

be disproportionately huge, almost. It is on the periphery of the UK and

Europe, a small place. People respond in a different way when

something like the Turner prize comes to a city like that. Everybody