15/11/2011 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Kirsty Lang.

The Wall Street protest camp that started a global movement is

cleared. Police evicted the Occupy protesters from Zuccotti Park but

they vow to return. This movement ignited and international movement

and it Shoji there is a hunger and need and desire and timeliness that

it is wanted -- and it shows you. Turkey threatens to turn the lights

off in Syria, warning that there will be no more electricity if the

regime doesn't stop feeding off the blood of its own people. We're

inside Burma to mark one year since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

But how much real change has there been?

Also coming up in the programme: The story of a remarkable recovery.

10 months after being shot in the head, US Congresswoman Gabrielle

Giffords talks for the first time about her ordeal. I feel pretty

And did beloved novelist Jane Austen meet an untimely end? We'll

be talking to the crime writer who Hello and welcome. The original

"Occupy Wall Street" camp in downtown New York has been

dismantled by the police. The tented camp, which was set up in

September to protest against the financial sector and economic

inequality, has inspired similar demonstrations around the world The

Occupy movement has gone global with over 800 camps in 82 countries.

Here in London, civic authorities have relaunched legal action to

evict the camp outside St Paul's Cathedral. An overnight police

operation in New York cleared the protesters out of Zuccotti Park.

From there, we have this report. As Manhattan slept, the police moved

in. Evicting protesters from the epicentre of the occupied wall

Street movement. -- Occupied Hall Street movement. Protesters were

mood because the conditions were dirty and unhygienic. Protesters

have complained against corporate greed and the widening gap between

rich and poor. Last night there were angry confrontations between

the protesters and the police. police pushed a big group of us.

The woman in front of me had a whole lot of people behind her and

could not back off and they started beating her with batons. I went to

help her, and five of us were sprayed with pepper spray. The mood

was tense. The police blocked off the roads leading to the park as

the eviction was under way. From the beginning I said the City had

two principal goals, guaranteeing public health and safety, and

guaranteeing the protesters their First Amendment rights. But when

those two goals Clash, their health and safety of the public and our

first response must be the priority. The protesters are angry about

being evicted, although they have been told they can go back without

any tents, so this is the end of the incumbent, so they are already

planning to move somewhere else in the city. You can take the park,

but you cannot take the spirit that was created in that Park. They

moved to another park near by, regrouping as dawn broke. Then the

crowd marched back towards Zuccotti Park where they had been forced to

leave. There was pepper spray, a sound canon. I was told the

conviction has only emboldened protesters. We cannot be evicted,

because you cannot evict ideas off economic justice and democracy.

They are continuing to take hold throughout the city regardless of

what they do. They are trying to get back in the park they were

evicted from. The police are funnelling them into this

barricaded area and the protesters say they have a constitutional

right to be here. Whatever happens next, the protesters feel that

their power for anti-capitalist mission -- message has been heard.

But their right to free speech is colliding with what the authorities

are prepared to tolerate. Similar disaffection with western market

economies is also being voiced in the new member states of the

European Union. Over 20 years after the fall of communism the sheen of

capitalism is beginning to wear thin, that's according to a survey

by the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction. The

report has found that the economic crisis is hitting ordinary

households in Eastern Europe far harder than in western countries.

To discuss that, I'm joined by the bank's Director of Communications

Jonathan Charles. Why has the crisis hit hard in the East?

think everywhere, not just eastern Europe, but in Western Europe,

democracy is under great pressure. That is hardly surprising given the

depth of the economic crisis but if you look at Central Europe and

countries like Hungary and what has gone on in the Baltic states, in

Latvia, they have seen a big contraction in their economies but

people are disaffected. It is hardly surprising when you see a

contraction of that sort. I was discussing this today with a former

Hungarian Prime Minister and he was making the point that people had

high hopes for the future when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. They

look forward and thought capitalism was the answer was -- the answer to

their prayers, but now they discover it is very painful and

they wonder how much longer they will have to wait before they

become like Western Europe. The case of high expectations.

surveyed 38,000 people, but did anyone suggest an alternative? As

in a man -- presumably they did not want to return to communism. They

want to stick with the democracy that they don't like the way it

works. For many democracy is an abstract concept. It is clear that

what people value in a democracy is when it delivers economic gain, and

if they see a reverse, they start to question the whole idea.

they prepared to trade that off, less liberty for more economic

gain? There was a question that we half asked, would you rather live

in a democracy that is not delivering growth or summer that is

not very democratic but his guaranteeing growth and people

seemed willing to make the trade, so it shows how important

capitalism and economic growth is because at least they put more

store on that than they did on democracy. I know you're all so did

the survey in five Western European countries. What did they say?

were keen to see how what was going on in the region we serve, the

former communist countries, compared to what is going on

Western Europe. One of the country's we looked at was Italy

and there we saw only a 38 % support level for the market

economy. People were clearly questioning what was going on in

the market economy. Hardly surprising looking at there are

pupils. 68 % supported democracy, so only two thirds. There was a low

level of support for the market economy in France and the UK.

was it highest? Not surprisingly, Sweden and Germany, to countries

where growth has been relatively strong despite the economic crisis.

But there are issues. If we look ahead to 2012 we are seeing a

serious few months ahead. Very painful for West and eastern Europe.

There will be a question on how it impacts on democracy because

government will be cutting costs, cutting expenditure to get the

budget deficit in order and where will that leave democracy? That is

something we may look at in another survey in 12 months. Possibly

dangerous times ahead. Jonathan Charles, thank you very much.

In Spain, voters are predicted to punish the ruling Socialist Party

in this week's general election, for failing to pull the country out

of the current economic crisis. The conservative opposition is

promising economic recovery and new jobs, but, under pressure from the

EU to continue with sweeping austerity measures, can the Popular

Party really turn Spain's fortunes around? Sarah Rainsford's report

This was once a Spanish boom town. Today it is a symbol of the

country's crisis. This man took me to see why. This is the wooden door

factory he worked at until Spain's construction craze crash, wiping

There is no opportunities here today, nothing. This place was

totally dependent on doors, and Spain's deep economic crisis is a

major burden for the Socialist government on the campaign trail.

But led by Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Socialists are still asking to

fight the election to use scare tactics to rally support, warning

that the conservative Popular Party plans to decimate the welfare state

The people who are suffering most in this crisis are our traditional

voters, the Socialist electorate. So it is hard to convince them. But

what we are saying is, things are tough now, but they will be much

For proof, they point to Castilla La Mancha. Pharmacists here have

not been paid for dispensing prescription medicines in six

months. The regional government is run by the Popular Party. They

insist it is tending to a sick economy after years of reckless

spending under the Socialists. Above all, the opposition is

framing itself as the party of change. Policy plans are

deliberately vague. We need new policies and a new government. That

is the way to make things change and took start building the

confidence and trust we need. the entire euro-zone the crisis,

voters know whoever wins the election will have to take tough

decisions. There are going to be bigger spending cuts. Both main

parties are promising to create jobs, but in this climate varies

deep scepticism that anyone can deliver on that. -- there is deep

scepticism. Most know the fate of spade -- Spain is now linked to

outside forces, leaders and investors watching closely to see

if a new government can turn the Now a look at some of the day's

other news. The Office of the Italian President

says Mario Monti has succeeded in forming a new government. He is

expected to meet the President and name his cabinet on Wednesday.

Mario Monti, a former European Commissioner, has received the

backing of Italy's main political parties. In Norway, the trial has

begun of three men who're accused of plotting to carry out a bomb

attack on the offices of the Danish newspaper which printed cartoons of

the Prophet Mohammed. The group - all Norwegian residents - are

accused of collecting bomb ingredients in a basement flat.

Prosecutors say the plot was agreed with Al-Qaeda in Pakistan. All

three men have pleaded not guilty. A group of six Somali men accused

of hijacking a French couple's yacht have gone on trial in Paris.

It's the first case of alleged Somali piracy to be heard in the

French courts. Lawyers for several of the men say their clients were

fishermen who were forced to take part.

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has warned Syria's

president Assad that the future of Syria cannot be built on the blood

of the oppressed. Mr Erdogan's latest condemnation of Syria came

amid increasing diplomatic and economic pressure on Damascus over

the suppression of anti-government protests. Turkey has also announced

the cancellation of plans for oil exploration in Syria and has

threatened to cut electricity supplies.

Meanwhile, the violence inside Syria is intensifying. At least 70

people are reported to have been killed in clashes on Monday.

The remains of an armoured personnel carrier of the Syrian

army burns in the southern district This, according to the opposition

is the result of an attack by a former soldiers who are said to

have defected and joined the opposition. It is not possible to

independently verified this. Thus, if true, it would be another sign

of how Syria is descending into civil war. A prospect which alarms

and neighbouring countries, including Turkey. Its prime

minister, a former ally, now one of the most outspoken critics of the

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The future cannot be built on the

blood of oppressed people. Otherwise, history will remember

such leaders as those feeding on blood. President Assad, you on your

way to open a page. Those who are cursed for cruelty and oppression

The violence so far this week has been particularly intense. Today,

the funerals took place here in the southern district, of more than 20

people killed on Monday. 34 members of the security forces were also

killed in clashes here. Apparently we soldiers who had defected.

Battles which are becoming ever The opposition inside Syria is

growing in confidence. As soldiers joined the fight against a

government. And, as key parts of the international community,

including the Arab League, offer She survived being shot in the head

at point blank range, and now with her husband, a former astronaut, at

her side, the American Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords has

been speaking about her ordeal. She said she couldn't remember much of

the attack in which six others were killed. Steve Kingstone has the

From this to this. A recovery that almost defies belief. 10 months

after she was shot in the head at point-blank range, Gabriel Giffords

faces the camera. -- Gabrielle Giffords. How do you feel? Pretty

good. Strong, strong. She is a remarkable survivor, but this is

the moment a congresswoman learned others had died in the shooting.

They died. It is sad. This was her back in January. Being sworn in as

a third term congresswoman. And here she was in Arizona a week

later, meeting constituents outside a supermarket. Moments after this

picture was taken, the gunmen Killing six people and wounding 14.

A bullet passed through the congresswoman's skull. This

intimate footage was filmed by her husband. We see Gabrielle Giffords

of relearning how to walk. And how to talk. Her speech therapy even

includes 1980s pop music. Girls just want to have fun. But there

are said backs as well. However remarkable, the recovery is far

from complete. She was asked by ABC News if she would run for election

next year. She wants to get better. You think, I will go back to

Congress if I get better. millions she is already an

inspiration, wherever the journey leads. Britain has demanded that

Burma released more political prisoners. Some were due to be

released this week but it appears to have been delayed. Andrew

Mitchell has become the first British government minister to

visit Burma in decades and he said that, while reforms being

introduced are grounds for cautious optimism, much more needs to be

done. David Loyn sent this exclusive report.

Burma's military dictators built themselves a 20 lane highway at a

heart of their new capital. Nobody uses it much. Nobody here other

than the for -- the Civil Service - - servants forced to move when the

government moved. But there is changed in the air. Behind the

walls of this absurdly large building, a new parliament is in

session for -- session. We have a democratic system now. We have a

parliament and we can discuss political or economic matters for

the good of the country. It all began with a new President's sworn

in in 2nd March surprised his country with the pace of change.

Nobody yet would call this a democracy but there are signs that

what was just a rubber-stamp for a military dictatorship is turning

itself into a real parliament. Britain is Burma's largest donor.

This visit by the International Development Secretary is a chance

to test reform policies. He met the Speaker, one of the key architects

of reform. Speaking to a foreign journalist for the first time, he

told me there is no turning back. TRANSLATION: The reform process is

genuine and irreversible. But it will take more than better debates

in Parliament and more freedom -- freedom for the media and trade

unions. Sabia Western sanctions will remain well and sang Suji's

party cannot stand in elections, hundreds of political prisoners

remain in prison and ethnic conflicts rage. -- or Aung San Suu

Kyi. It underlines the point that there is plenty of grounds for

optimism. But still a long way to go before the international

community can be able to signal that deep progress has been made.

The workers waiting for a bus in their soul this new capital hope

that things are getting better. -- soul this.

It was a miracle for one family and it could give hope to many more.

Doctors in London have cured a baby boy of a life threatening disease

which was destroying his liver. They used a ground-breaking new

procedure, implanting cells which acted as a temporary Liver to allow

the damaged organ to recover. It could have far reaching

consequences. Meet a medical marvel. It is hard

to imagine now, but six months ago this boy was close to death, a

virus destroying his liver. Now it is working normally. His parents

say that their only child has been given back to them. It was great.

Once he had the treatment, after 48 hours things started slowly to get

better. What saved his life was not a transplant but deep frozen human

liver cells. Scientists at King's College Hospital coated the cells

with a chemical found in algae to put it -- prevent the boy's body

from rejecting them. He was given a single injection of Liver cells.

Their protective coating was porous, allowing toxins to flow in, be

processed, and waste products and vital proteins to flow out. Immune

cells were too big to enter so could not destroy the tissue. After

two weeks, his liver had started to recover. A key benefit over a liver

transplant is that the boy will never need drugs to stop the

rejection of the liver. Only a few months back I saw this

child, who was so sick, on a breathing machine, and we think

that we have given him another chance of life. Seeing him now,

with an nearly normal liver, it is remarkable. Many patients died

before receiving a liver transplant so it is hoped that the treatment

that saved this boy may yet help many others.

She is arguably England's most famous female novelist but almost

200 years after her untimely death at 41 it is being suggested that

Jane Austen may have been poisoned. Crime writer Lindsay Ashford claims

to have uncovered evidence that arsenic may have killed her,

evidence which she has incorporated into her new novel, The Mysterious

Death Of Miss Austen. I am joined by Lindsay Ashford and also Deirdre

Le Faye, who has written extensively on Jane Austen. Lindsay

Ashford, what led you to believe that Jane Austen may have been

poisoned? It started when I went to live in Chawton in Hampshire, where

Jane Austen lived. Most of reading some of her letters in which she

described her symptoms and one particular phrase jumped out. She

describes her face as being black and white and every wrong colour.

As a crime writer I have researched poisons extensively and it occurred

to me that this was very simple -- similar to the Simpsons of arsenic

poisoning. -- symptoms. But the visiting American told me about a

lock of her hair in the Jane Austen Museum. Apparently the people who

bought their hair in the 1940s, who donated it to the museum, haddock -

- had it tested far arsenic and the test was positive. Putting these

two things together, I thought, there must be something in this.

The more I researched arsenic, the more I thought, yes, the symptoms

she described, there is a lot of correlation between arsenic

poisoning and what she described. Do you think she was actually a

murdered or could she have ingested it accidentally? It is unlikely but

not impossible that she was murdered. It of course it is a

scenario I have created for my fictional book. Certainly there are

other possibilities. We know that arsenic was very widespread in the

early 19th century. It occurred in wallpaper, candles, you can buy it

for rat poison. It was also used in medicine. One of the most popular

medicines at the time contained arsenic. It was given for

rheumatism and we know that Jane Austen had rheumatism. Deirdre Le

Faye, do you think this is possible, that Jane Austen could perhaps by

accident have ingested enough arsenic to kill her? No, frankly. I

agree that arsenic was very widely available and widely used and she

may well have taken some in medicine because we don't know what

medicines she took. She was ill for quite a few months and the local

apothecary was supposed to be treating her but he did not keep

any notes about his patients. But certainly arsenic was used. I

believe it was used to because it was almost a cosmetic because in

small doses it makes your hair glossy and a nice pale skin. What

about the point about her skin having these peculiar coloured

blotches? She says that in her letters, and most people to date

have taken it as meaning Addison's disease, which apparently does do

this to you, when the Reinaldo and above the kidneys fails and your

blood does not get cleaned and it is reflected in your face.

Addison's disease apparently gives a brawl last appearance, a healthy

outdoors look, which is quite different from be symptoms Jane

Austen described. All of the medical theories fault on the use

facial symptoms she reported. Lupus, Hodgkin's disease, a form of typhus

have all been suggested but none of them quite cover the symptoms,

especially the skin this coloration. I am sure this discussion will go

on and on. I am afraid this is all we have time for.

A quick reminder of our main stories. The police in New York

have cleared anti-Wall Street demonstrators from a park in the

financial district where they have been camping since September. But

lawyers for the protesters have obtained a temporary court order

allowing them to remain. Turkey's Prime Minister has warned

Syria's President that the future of Syria cannot be built on the

blood of its people. Pressure is building on Dunn at -- Damascus

after the suppression of government -- anti-government protests. For me,

Today the cloud broke in many places, giving a fine and bright

afternoon. It is likely to reform through the night, so getting off

to a grey, overcast start to things. We are still holding on to this

high-pressure across Scandinavia but whether France are trying to

move in off the road Latics. -- weather fronts are trying to move

in off the Atlantic. With some sunshine in Newcastle, highs of 10

degrees, through Lincolnshire, the East Midlands and the south-east

corner, dry, fine and bright. Further west we had some thicker

cloud and we will see some spots of rain across the south-east England.

South Wales, a bitter -- on the grey and damp side. We might see a

bit of a showery rain over Northern Ireland. Across Scotland, still

some bright this towards the north- west. Inverness, the potential for