27/09/2013 BBC News at Ten

For the first time in over 30 years an American President and the leader

of Iran have direct talks. President Obama and President

Rouhani spoke on the phone about resolving the deadlock over Iran's

nuclear programme. While there will surely be important obstacles to

moving forward, and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can

reach a competence of solution. We'll bring you the latest on what

appears to be a seismic change in relations between the two countries.

Also tonight: An exclusive report about the security breaches,

incompetence and confusion that helped the terrorists in the Kenyan

shopping mall siege. More extreme weather is forecast by

climate scientists who say they're virtually certain humans are the

main cause of global warming. The government confirms it will

bring in a tax break of £1000 for married couples before the next

election. Royal Mail has, in effect, been

privatised, on the day postal workers vote on strike action.

And how do ballet dancers manage to spin without getting dizzy? It's in

their brains. In Sportsday, Brian Cookson, the new

man in charge of the International Cycling Union, promises to clean up

the sport. Good evening.

President Obama and the Iranian president have spoken by phone. It's

the first time American and Iranian leaders have spoken in more than 30

years. It follows a speech made by Hassan Rouhani at the UN in which he

has said he's willing to reach an agreement about his country's

nuclear programme, something which has been a stumbling block to talks

for many years. After the conversation, Mr Obama said he

believed the two countries can reach a solution together. Jeremy Bowen is

at the United Nations in New York. Jeremy, it's hard to overstate how

big a change this looks to be in relations between the two countries.

It certainly does, and not just atmospheric, as well, because they

had some substantive meetings which all sides pronounced themselves

happy with. Just after the talk the official Twitter of resident Rouhani

posted a few of the details of the conversation. -- president Rouhani.

President Obama said goodbye in Persian. They also talked about

potential breakthroughs on the nuclear file. President Obama said,

if we can make progress on this, other issues like Syria will be

positively affected. And Hassan Rouhani said, if there is a

political will, there is a way. It may sound a little bit mundane, but

this is significant, because it comes at the end of a week where

there looked to have been some very significant breakthroughs between

Iran, America and the West. President Obama did not manage a

handshake with Iran's buzzard and Rouhani when both men were at the UN

this week. -- president Rouhani. But relations have been so troubled for

35 years that even a phone call counts as a breakthrough. I spoke on

the phone with president Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We

discussed ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran's nuclear

programme. I reiterated what I said in New York. While there will surely

be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means

guaranteed, I believe we can reach a competence of solution. With UN

weapons inspectors back in Damascus, the other breakthrough President

Obama welcomed was the UN resolution aimed at this arming Syria's arsenal

of chemical weapons. -- disarming. Syria is in ruins, more than 100,000

are dead and around 7 million, almost one third of the population,

have lost their homes. The resolution on chemical weapons is

not about any of that. It addresses the consequences of one horrific

attack that all the big powers can so far agree on. Turkey was

infuriated by the decision not to bomb. Its Foreign Minister in New

York for the General Assembly has called for military action to impose

safe zones for refugees inside Syria. The neighbouring countries

are begging, we are crying for agreement on a humanitarian, refugee

issue. Do you think that diplomatic energy is being poured into the

wrong thing, chemical weapons, when more than 100,000 have been killed

by conventional weapons? Anything, even little, is positive. But is it

enough bestial mark no. Inside Syria, the dominant rebel fighters

are now Islamist. These were fighting earlier this week. They are

not interested in talk of a political settlement between the

not interested in talk of a regime and rebels acceptable to the

West. These Islamist groups, highly motivated and increasingly well

armed, have eclipsed the fighters that Western countries support with

non-lethal aid, to the dismay of the so-called moderate Syrian

opposition. They are very disciplined, well supplied, they

have a lot of cash and arms. While our allies, our friends, have been

very slow in providing the support we need to provide training and arms

supplies to those moderate forces. Before he left New York, Iran's

president told journalists that some of the jihadists groups fighting his

ally, President Assad, where terrorist 's, who, EZ, spread like

bacteria. If there is to be a terrorist 's, who, EZ, spread like

solution in Syria, Iran will have to be part of it. All sides need to

make sure there is enough diplomatic and wit available to deal with that

and the nuclear talks at the same time. -- to deal with that and with

the nuclear talks. This week, Hassan Rouhani referred

to America as the great nation. What should we read into these

developments? Since the Iranians revolution in 1979 they have had a

dysfunctional and at times violent relationship, daggers drawn. There

has been a marked change in the atmospherics this week. But after

that meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council,

plus Germany, in the Iran and members of the Security Council,

nuclear issue, meeting with Iran, and they all emerged satisfied, they

said, with what was being discussed. I think that was perhaps the trigger

for both sides, Iranians and Americans, to think, we could not do

a handshake earlier, because Iran did not want to do it while

President Obama was here, but now is the time for a telephone

conversation, which is clearly of the symbolic importance. The next

stage would be a meeting in Geneva about the nuclear issue, where they

hope that Iran will be putting forward its plan. It is a busy

diplomatic agenda because, of course, there is the Syrian issue as

well, which Iran, as President course, there is the Syrian issue as

Assad's ally, is also deeply embedded in.

A BBC investigation has revealed how the shopping mall siege in Kenya was

helped by security breaches, incompetence and confusion. The BBC

has learnt that the militants rented a shop in the mall in the weeks

before the attack as a place to store their weapons, using fake IDs,

which are easily available. Security sources in Nairobi have revealed a

handover of control between the police and the army during the siege

was fraught with confusion, which gave the terrorists a chance to

regroup. And the head of the country's defence committee has now

demanded security chiefs appear before parliament next week to

answer questions about intelligence failures. This exclusive report from

Karen Allen in Nairobi. Fresh, haunting picked it reveal the

aftermath of the Westgate siege. Many people are still missing. Now,

senior politicians have started the search for the truth, demanding

answers from Kenya's intelligence chiefs. Generally, when an act of

this nature takes place, it is an evidence of a failure at some point

in the security system. The fact that that failure has taken place

leaves questions in the minds of the public as to their safety and

security. Security sources have confirmed to me that the attackers

had extraordinary access to the building in the weeks leading up to

the attack. They rented a shop right inside the complex, probably using

fake ID. They were then able to use the service lifts to be able to

stockpile weapons and ammunition, which enable them to resupply

constantly jawing the course of the siege. Our own investigation reveals

the attackers arrived in two cars. One group swept into the front

entrance, blasting past security guards, spraying bullets into the

main lobby. A second group approached from the side, killing

security staff, who demanded they be searched. Some of them headed to the

basement, others to the rooftop. One team shot their way up to the first

floor, smashing security cameras along the way. We have established

that they set up a base near a ventilation shaft, next to a

supermarket spanning two floors. The largest group of hostages were held

here. More gun men advanced upstairs, two children's cooking

competition was in full swing. Eyewitnesses say this is where at

least 15 people were killed on the spot. Gun men is dormant the

supermarket, shoppers unable to escape. You still do not know how

many survived. -- they stormed the supermarket. This man was trapped

inside for six hours. His experience supports our evidence that the

Islamist extremists had extraordinary capability to repel

security forces. It would not stop. We kept hearing these explosions,

sporadic gunfire. It was coming from different parts of the building.

Where is all this ammunition coming from? How come they have got so

much? Not much is known about the militants, but we established that

they rolled out heavy weapons later in the siege, exploiting the moment

when control and rescue efforts switched from police to the

military. Each attacker seemed well trained. He had a long weapon with

him. He put an Arafat scarf around his neck. And he was holding the gun

and confidently, shooting at whoever he felt like. Rumours identifying

the militants who did this are rife. A spokesman for the extremist group

told me they were not naming names. It seems the agonising wait for

answers could last for weeks. Andrew Harding is in Nairobi. How

much did these security breaches help the terrorists in this attack?

There is agreement that this was a well-planned, sophisticated attack,

but there are some angry questions being asked now about the shopping

mall itself, which was known to be a potential target. People say, how is

it possible it was not that guarded potential target. People say, how is

and how were the weapons allowed to be smuggled in of time? There are

also questions about the operation, the command and control, confusion

between the military and police, although the interior Minister

insisted there was Central command and control. We have also heard more

about the death toll. 61 civilians officially dead, but possibly the

same number buried under the rubble of the building which we now

understand was brought down not by Al-Shabab militants, but by the

Kenyan forces, as they went into the building.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, the two men accused of

killing Fusilier Lee Rigby in May, have pleaded not guilty to his

murder. The soldier died after being attacked outside his barracks in

Woolwich in south-east London. The two also denied trying to murder a

police officer. A UN report warns that the world can expect more

extreme weather like trout, you too stunned flooding as a result of

local warming, and that man is the dominant cause of climate change.

Scientists say evidence to support that has grown and they are 95 per

cent certain. They estimate that sea levels could rise between 26 and 82

centimetres by the end of this century. The report has led to

renewed calls for global action. This report from Stockholm, where

the report was published. The conclusions were dramatic and the

language was clear. The atmosphere and oceans have

warmed, snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen. It

is 95% certain that humans are the dominant cause, scientists say. The

findings were presented today after dominant cause, scientists say. The

thousands of scientific reports were studied, resented with a warning.

Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. The panel's

message will be sent to the world's governments. We know the nature of

the problem and the options for governments. We know the nature of

addressing it. The heat is on, we must act. There is barely room for

doubt. The climate has wandered humans are primarily responsible.

There is one thing puzzling scientists here dashed temperatures

have not increased since 1998. Does that mean climate change has paused?

have not increased since 1998. Does Here is the surface temperature

graph measured yearly, showing a steady rise in the 1950s, but an

apparent pause since 1998. If you measure the temperature by 10-year

periods it is different. Each of the last few decades is warmer than the

one before, so temperature is still rising in the long term. Looking at

the surface temperature over such a short period does not tell us how

the climate system as a whole is changing. Sea levels are continuing

to rise, ice has been melting, so climate change is continuing even

though, for a short period, the surface temperature has not risen.

On current trends, heat waves will be more common as temperature rises

two Celsius by the end of the century. So will be sort of floods

that recently tore through Colorado, and sea levels will rise

as climate change affects even in the UK. The global part is will

bring changes locally, changes in rainfall, temperature and the

weather that everybody will experience. This has implications

for the way that we use and consume energy in the UK and 12 cell --

elsewhere. Supercomputers like these in the Met Office project that the

Gulf Stream might weaken, making Britain cooler. People sceptical

about climate change do not trust the computer models. Are they right?

One fundamental difficulty is we can never truly test the models until we

have a time machine, a way of jumping forward 100 years and

saying, did we get it right? That is always the limitation of climate

science, there is nothing we can do, but we can test the models for the

last hundred years and be testing them all the time. Protesters fear

the ice will keep on melting as politicians struggle to turn down

the fossil fuels heating the climate.

Plenty more on this on the BBC News website.

You can apply for shares in Royal Mail from today, although the

company is already effectively privatised as big investment

institutions have committed to buy shares more than the minimum number

of shares the government wants to sell. The government has valued

Royal Mail at between £2.6 billion and £3.3 billion, meaning shares

will be offered at between £2.60 and £3.30. But if you want them, you

need to buy a minimum of £750 worth. This coincides with the start of a

ballot by postal workers about whether to take strike action.

Millions rely upon Royal Mail, a vast business which has been hit by

an industrial action over the years vast business which has been hit by

but has been turned around. Now you can even have a stake in it.

It has been modernised but it is one of Britain's biggest businesses and

probably the only one that can't access new capital. From today,

people will apply to buy shares, it will have access to capital and the

ability to invest in its own future. Anyone can apply from shares online,

through a stockbroker, or you can get details from any Post Offices.

Even the Government thinks Royal Mail could be a risky investment

than many private aged -- privatisations of the past. It faces

industrial action. Valid papers went out today in a dispute linked to pay

and conditions. Dominic Beck, a union rep in south London, says even

shares for staff will not prevent a vote for strikes. Are we getting

some shares now in order to sell our terms and conditions further down

the line? I don't want to thousand pounds now, or whatever figure it

will be, if I won't have a job in three years. That will not pay my

mortgage. Letter volumes are falling, but its parcels business is

booming. Profit margins are expect to almost double in the coming

years, so there is little wonder that investors had committed to

buying the shares. Under some circumstances it looks cheap. If

Royal Mail is able to cut costs and become more efficient, keep its

market share, then with the internet retail boom and all that entails, it

could really have a licence to print money. Labour says the sell-off will

put services at risk for the sake of a quick buck, but a majority stake

in Royal Mail will be sold within three weeks, that is before any

strikes can happen. The Prime Minister has confirmed

that the Government will bring in a tax break for married couples before

the next election. They say it'll be a £1,000 transferable tax allowance.

Our political correspondent Vicki Young is in Westminster. Vicki, what

more do we know? Many Tory MPs have called for this for many years. They

say a lot of help is offered towards parents and their childcare costs,

but what if one of the couple stays at home to look after the children?

This will be applied to those where neither of the couple is a higher

This will be applied to those where rate taxpayer and it will apply to

gay married couples and those in civil partnerships David Cameron

says marriage is the old would form of commitment under the law and we

says marriage is the old would form want to show support. One campaign

group has reacted tonight, saying the Tories are promoting a fantasy

1950s family. The Lib Dems say if there is money to go around, it

1950s family. The Lib Dems say if should be used for tax cuts for

working families, but under the coalition agreement they will not

block this move. The Church of England is to hold a

stake in more than 300 bank branches being sold off by Royal Bank of

Scotland. The branches will trade under the name Williams and Glyn's.

RBS was forced to sell them by EU rules in return for receiving a

bailout in 2008. The Chancellor, George Osborne, has

announced an expanded role for the Bank of England in regulating Help

to Buy, his flagship scheme for boosting the property market. It's

in response to concerns that it could help create a housing

bubble.The Nationwide Building Society says prices are growing at

their fastest rate in in three years. Here is Simon

Gompertz. Sales are up on the cost of British

homes is accelerating ahead, so the Chancellor has decided to install

some breaks in case the market gets out of control. Rises are already a

problem for families like this one. They can afford a deposit and a

loan, would not big enough to buy where they live in Surrey. We're not

rich, we're not poorer, we are in the middle. Property prices are

ballooning away from us and leaving us behind, we can't afford to move.

Nature and White says that for the first time since before the

financial crisis, prices are rising -- nationwide says. London up 10%

since last year, widening the gap between North and South, but

Manchester is also 10% higher by one measure, and Belfast is up three

percentage, something the lenders welcome. We are seeing a pick up in

activity, after five years with very little activity it is not a bad

thing. To avoid a property bubble we need to turn or vigilance. We want

families -- to help families who want a mortgage. There will be an

extended Help to Buy scheme from January, giving taxpayer guarantees

on mortgages. Critics want sales and prices will go into overdrive and

want the scheme scrapped, so George Osborne has promised to review Help

to Buy every September. He has given the Bank of England power to take a

lead help from higher value houses and to charge the lender a bigger

fee for the guaranteed if the bank decides to hold back the market.

With the cost of British homes already rising, Labour has demanded

a review now. Yet the Chancellor has support. Aside from some isolated

parts of London, there is not much support. Aside from some isolated

evidence of a general house price bubble building again. There is a

risk of it, so it is sensible to have those safeguards in place such,

if the housing market takes off, then the tools are there to rein it

back in again. Sales will get a boost from help to buy in the New

Year, but if there is a boom, the Bank of England will have to take

action. It's been announced that Prince

George, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will be

christened on Wednesday the 23rd of October at the Chapel Royal, St

James's Palace. The prince, who was born in July, will be baptised by

the Archbishop of Canterbury. The ability of ballerinas to

the Archbishop of Canterbury. their balance after repeated

the Archbishop of Canterbury. pirouettes has long impressed

audiences. Now researchers at Imperial College London have found

changes to their brains could explain how they do it, and believe

it could eventually help treat the thousands of people who suffer from

chronic dizziness. Luisa Baldini has been finding out more.

It is, for the Spectator, at least, often the climax of a ballet

performance like Swan Lake, the 32 turns when even a slight loss of

balance or dizziness could ruin the momentum. It was thought that a

ballet dancer's ability was purely down to training, but research

carried out by Imperial College London using the special chair

suggests that a dancer's perception of spinning lasted a shorter time

than a group of athletes. MRI scans showed that the area of the brain

responsible for the sense of dizziness was reduced. In dunces, we

found that this area in blue, this grey matter, is smaller -- in

dancers. This was related to the amount of practice they did. The

more experience they were, the smaller the area. He is able to look

at this object for as long as possible. At Central 's of ballet in

east London, they use this disc to teach pupils how to turn using the

spotting technique. -- at the Central School Of Ballet. If dancers

can become resistant to feeling dizzy, if they can train themselves

not to fall off balance, researchers say they can apply the same

principles for helping patients. One in four Britons is affected by

chronic dizziness at some point in their lives, it can be extremely

debilitating for some. This woman is a principal ballerina and the

artistic director of the English National Ballet. The company already

offers a programme of stance to help sufferers of Parkinson's disease. I

learned through use of practice and training. The same way, you can help

the brain to relearn things, relearn how to balance and to walk in a

straight line. But those with dizziness could find dancing a

therapy in the future. ?? new line That's all from us. Don't forget a

first look at the papers is over on the BBC