08/03/2012 World News Today


08/03/2012

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This is BBC World News Today with me, Tim Willcox. Having retaken

:00:11.:00:14.

Homs, reports from Syria say the army is now focusing on rebels in

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the northwestern city of Idlib. The fear, that Idlib could be a new

:00:18.:00:21.

Baba Amr, where the UN's humanitarian chief talks of

:00:21.:00:28.

devastation. That part of Homs is completely destroyed and I'm

:00:28.:00:31.

concerned to know what has happened to the people who lived in that

:00:31.:00:37.

part of the city. A Special Forces rescue mission in Nigeria ends in

:00:38.:00:47.
:00:48.:00:48.

failure, with 2 hostages, an Italian and a Briton, killed.

:00:48.:00:51.

Heading our way. The largest solar storm in five years comes with

:00:51.:00:53.

warnings about threats to power supplies and navigation systems.

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Also coming up in the programme: living with the painful memories.

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As the first anniversary of the Japanese tsunami approaches, the

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families still trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved

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ones. And wowing the crowds after 60 years on the throne. The Queen's

:01:08.:01:17.
:01:18.:01:22.

Jubilee tour gets underway in Hello and welcome. Reports from

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Syria say government tanks and troop carriers are moving on the

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city and province of Idlib - home to many Free Syrian Army fighters

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and close to the border with Turkey. There've reportedly been government

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warnings to civilians to leave their lands and their homes.

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Meanwhile the UN's humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, has been

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speaking about the devastation she saw during a short visit to the

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Syrian city of Homs and in particular the district of Baba Amr.

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In Cairo the UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan,

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says the conflict can only be resolved by a political settlement.

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The diplomatic pressure coincided with news of the defection of

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Syria's Deputy Oil Minister to the rebels. Jim Muir reports from

:02:03.:02:13.
:02:13.:02:20.

neighbouring Lebanon. The Valerie Amos said she was devastated by the

:02:20.:02:30.
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destruction she sobbed on her visit to Zawiya. -- Baba Amr. That part

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of Homs is completely destroyed by and I am concerned to know what has

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happened to dead people to live in that part of the city. The scale of

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the destruction impressed upon her. Much of the superficial damage has

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been cleared away but the underlying devastation cannot be

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disguised. In addition to the hundreds who died here under

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bombardment it is said that many more died during summary executions

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carried out last week. This man is the highest Government member so

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far to defect. He issued a four minute denunciation on YouTube.

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do not want to end mightier serving the crimes of this regime. I join

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the cause of justice knowing they will burn my house, terrorise my

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family and tell lies about me. The blood of the martyrs will not

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forgive those who continue as accomplices of the regime on the

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grounds that they are just employees of being orders. It is

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good news for the opposition. Its fighters have kept up harrying

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opposition forces. -- Government forces. The Government continues to

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use its heavy weapons against towns and villages. It is looking

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increasingly like civil war. That is what the special peace envoy

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wants to halt. Stopping off in Cairo he urged the opposition as

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well as the Syrian Government to co-operate for a balanced solution.

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His approach she believes is the only practical way. We have to be

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coldly realistic when we put proposals on the table to

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understand it can be carried through and will have the right

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results otherwise we raise false hopes and cause more problems.

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he cannot make a break through it is doubtful that anybody else can.

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Well, as reports from inside Syria say that army reinforcements have

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been sent to the northwestern province of Idlib, activists say

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they fear an assault similar to the one that devastated the Baba Amr

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neighbourhood of Homs. Nour lddin is a resident of Idlib, and we can

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speak to him via a webcam. What is happening around that City this

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evening? The village where gunmen were born, where a young man was

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killed they went to his house and other houses in the village. There

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:06:21.:06:33.

was another one in the countryside. He died. That led to many people in

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their houses and at the market demonstrating. There is a very long

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delay on this site, just one last question if I may, have you seen a

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build up of army tanks and troop carriers and have there been

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warnings to people to media before the army moved end? -- move end? --

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:07:21.:07:21.

move in? I am sorry, there were technical problems with that

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interview. The BBC's Lina Sinjab is in the Syrian capital Damascus.

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Strong words from the UN. His best having any impact at all on the

:07:38.:07:48.
:07:48.:07:56.

Zairean as authorities? Yes indeed. -- Syrian as authorities. Baroness

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Amos said she was waiting to hear what the Syrian as authorities have

:08:01.:08:11.
:08:11.:08:13.

to say before she takes any further action. The situation is ongoing

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despite the international condemnation. What about the

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defection of the Deputy Oil Minister, has there been any

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official recognition of that? has not been any statement yet from

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the Government about this defection. Anything which happened in the past

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was attributed to the Ministry of whom the Government considered

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traitors. There has not been any reaction from the Government about

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that so far. Thank you very much for joining us. A British and an

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Italian construction engineer have been killed in Nigeria during a

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failed attempt backed by special forces to rescue them. In a

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statement, just over an hour ago, David Cameron said Nigerian and

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British forces launched the rescue attempt after information that

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delights of the men were under increasing threat. We have a video

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of the men being held in captivity, it was uploaded to YouTube. David

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Cameron says early indications are that the men were murdered by their

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captors before they could be freed. It was only today that David

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Cameron authorised the rescue operation to go ahead. We are still

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waiting for many of the details to be confirmed. David Cameron gave

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this statement at Downing Street a short while ago. A British citizen

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was taken hostage in Nigeria by terrorists in May 2011. He was held

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left a colleague who was Italian. Since then we have been working

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with the Nigerian authorities to try to find them both and secured

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their release. The terrorists holding deep two hostages made very

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clear threats to take their lives including in a video which was

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posted on the internet. After months of not knowing where they

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were being held we received information about their location

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and a window of opportunity arose to secure their release. We were

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all sorts under the impression that their lives were in danger and

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their deaths were imminent. Today I authorised arrest you attempt to go

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ahead with our support but it is with great regret I have to say

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that both men have lost their lives. We are still awaiting confirmation

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of the details but the early indications are that both men were

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murdered by their captors before they could be rescued. Our security

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correspondent has been giving us a few more details about the

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operation and what we think went wrong. These two men were first

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kidnapped last here in the north- west of the country from a

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residential compound. There was a video a few months later and then

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today David Cameron made it clear there had been further concern

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about the threat to them and intelligence had come in a

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revealing their possible location. On that basis he said he had given

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the authorisation for an operation to go-ahead which we understand was

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Nigerian with operational support also from the UK. That in turn

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tragically has led to the death of the men tragically at the hands of

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their captors. Let's have a look at some of the other news now. The

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Greek Government says it is on its weight to a bond swap deal with

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investors which could help avoid their huge debts. More than 75 % of

:12:14.:12:20.

private creditors are said to have signed up. The three widows of

:12:20.:12:24.

Osama Bin Laden have been charged with illegally entering and living

:12:24.:12:34.
:12:34.:12:36.

in Pakistan. Lisa French President says he will abandon politics if he

:12:36.:12:43.

loses the forthcoming presidential election. Nicolas Sarkozy has been

:12:43.:12:47.

criticised for competing with the National Front for right wing bolts

:12:47.:12:54.

after seeing there were too many foreigners in France. -- right-wing

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votes. Scientists say charged solar particles are heading towards us at

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more than 16 kilometres per second. The solar storms do not directly

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harm people but can disrupt satellites and air travel. More

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from Our Science Correspondent now. A storm on the surface of our son.

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The most intense in five years. It was triggered by gigantic solar

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flares earlier this week. The continued activity could soon have

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an effect on Earth. US Government agencies are monitoring the

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situation closely. We are at least able to tell you that yes, this is

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coming towards us, be aware, keep watching, do not get hysterical.

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solar tsunami is coming our way! But hysterical they got. But how

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worried should we be? The sun is throwing out sheets of charged

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particles. It often does this but the difference is that this time

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these sheets maybe on a collision course with the Earth. We will be

:14:20.:14:30.
:14:30.:14:31.

protected by the Earth's magnetic field but there could be disruption

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to the planet's satellites which could affect computer and

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telecommunications systems. We are moving towards as solar maximum so

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we may expect these things to increase. We are already co-

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operating with the Americans on this. Our Prime Minister and Barack

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Obama signed an agreement last year. So far there are no signs of

:15:02.:15:12.

Let's talk to Ingo Mueller-Wodarg from Imperial College London. A

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solar tsunami, we heard. I think the worst is over, it has not hit

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us to Baddeley. It has fizzled by. The main problem is that the

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electromagnetic storm is a bubble of gas, high energy gas, hitting us

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in space. But we are well protected by our geomagnetic field and our

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atmosphere. It seems that the bubble did not hit us directly but

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hit us on the side. Probably the worst is over. These particles are

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moving at 4 million miles an hour. Will we be seeing more of these and

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how great is the potential threat? On ground the threat is minimal.

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These events have happened as long as life existed on Earth and before

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that. We are well protected by our magnetic field. However, what used

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to not be a big problem and is increasingly a problem because we

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rely on technology in space is that these events disrupt the magnetic

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fields in space and they can hit the communication between

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satellites which, in turn, affects signals which much of our lives

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depend on. And defence systems as well. Of course, and power grids.

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Events like this will continue to happen and they will get stronger

:16:51.:16:58.

now, with the solar cycle... Why is the sun sends -- sending off be

:16:58.:17:08.
:17:08.:17:09.

used massive storms? -- the be used massive. This summer is a ball of

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gas and the magnetic field rearranges itself. -- the sun is a

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bald gas. It throws off these big bubbles of gas, coronal mass

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ejection has, and it throws them into space and they are either hid

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us or they don't. -- coronal mass ejections. The event is completely

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normal and has not changed over hundreds of thousands of years.

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nothing to be worried about. have to be careful nowadays. The

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problem nowadays is that we rely on technology that is in space. We

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have to be absolutely careful. Sadly, the funding into this area

:17:58.:18:07.

has gone down dramatically. Ingo Mueller-Wodarg, thank you very much.

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This Sunday's Japan will be remembering victims of the

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earthquake and tsunami that hit the east coast a year ago. 16,000

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people were killed when towns and city in Iwate and Miyagi

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prefectures were devastated. Damian Grammaticas has been to Japan's

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East Coast to speak to one family caught up in the disaster.

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Shadows on the landscape are all that is left of this place. Avoid

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full of memories. For Tatsuya Suzuki it is the memory of the

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smile his wife gave him, right here in the two-storey house, as he left

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for work. I wish I could go back in time, he says, go back to that date.

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If only I could have saved him. He is burdened by guilt that he

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survived and Izumi did not. As the a tsunami swept into the area, he

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had managed to get their two children to safe place is. Seconds

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later Izumi was carried away by the wave. Today, Hikaru and her little

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brother Hibiki are laughing again. Sometimes they cry out in their

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sleep. I see the sadness and a struggle to know what to say. My

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heart aches. The tsunami killed 1,000 of the

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7,000 people here. One year on the, the government is burning what

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little remains of the area. They aim to build this town again, but

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higher. For hundreds of miles along the coast it is the same story,

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dozens of communities starting a new. The first priority is the

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unfinished task of accounting for everybody. More than 3,000 are

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still missing. At this school, 70 children were swept away. Four have

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not been found. Yasukichi Takayama's mother disappeared.

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Nothing moves on, he says. I have been following police teams like

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this all year. Hikaru and Hibiki used to be so

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inseparable from their mother. Hikaru is doing well at his new

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school but their father feels trapped by the past.

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TRANSLATION: Even though a year has gone by, nothing has really changed.

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Time has stopped for me. I am still grieving. His children never one to

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live here again but one day, he says, he will move back. This place

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still feels like home. In the immediate aftermath of the

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tsunami there were big fears that the radiation threat posed by the

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Fukushima nuclear plant but one year on those fears have largely

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diminished. Some experts believe that the radiation did not pose a

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long-term risk. One of those experts is Professor Richard

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Garfield from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. He

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joins us now from New York. I was there at the time and there was

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real fear that people even in Tokyo about what was happening. Were

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those fears are exaggerated completely? Not at all. We did not

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know how much radiation there would have been and if it had been like

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Chernobyl there would have been an enormous help effect. It did not

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turn out that way. These were much better designed, the radiation was

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contained for the most part and the radiation that did escape was not

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that harmful and did not reach population centres. It is

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interesting because, because of lack of knowledge in that sense of

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not really knowing what might happen, that drove, not hysteria,

:22:10.:22:15.

but real mental anxiety. Is that one of the longer-lasting effects

:22:15.:22:21.

of this disaster? Fear, confusion, lack of understanding of how much

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radiation there is. Any place there is a radiation escape, this is a

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man made situation and it is something people don't control

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themselves. One always has a perception of greater risk when

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those events are external and unnatural and imposed on one. At

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the Japanese government compounded by not giving good information.

:22:47.:22:50.

you think people will die as a result of what happened a year ago,

:22:50.:22:54.

but not because of radiation but maybe because of mental health

:22:54.:22:57.

problems and stress and other things impacting on the daily

:22:57.:23:04.

lives? It appears that it is other health affects the and radiation

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which will have a long-term impact. A third of a million people were

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displaced and some have health problems but can't be dealt with as

:23:13.:23:17.

effectively when they don't know the physicians who are taking care

:23:17.:23:22.

of them. There are so many people who have lost family members and to

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have long-term mental and social impacts or stop the father in the

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story said, my heart aches. Thank you very much, Professor Richard

:23:31.:23:35.

Garfield. A visit to one of Britain's most

:23:35.:23:39.

ethnically diverse cities, Leicester, has marked the beginning

:23:39.:23:44.

of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour. There were enthusiastic crowds as

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she travelled with the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of

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Cambridge. This report contains flash photography.

:23:51.:23:56.

10 years ago the Golden Jubilee got off to a comparatively slow start.

:23:56.:24:02.

That was not the story today. The people of Leicester, a culturally

:24:02.:24:05.

diverse city in the heart of England, came out in their

:24:05.:24:09.

thousands to launch the Queen's died in Jubilee and to welcome her

:24:09.:24:19.

guest companion, the Duchess of Cambridge. -- diamond jubilee. It

:24:19.:24:22.

is the cultural diversity of Leicester which made it the place

:24:22.:24:26.

to start the tour. Few places better show the changes that have

:24:26.:24:30.

taken place over her rain. But Leicester could -- at Leicester

:24:30.:24:40.

Cathedral she attended a special service between various faith

:24:40.:24:44.

groups. Prayers were said for the six British soldiers killed in

:24:44.:24:48.

Afghanistan. We pray for those who died in

:24:48.:24:58.

Afghanistan yesterday from the Yorkshire and the Duke of -- and

:24:58.:25:04.

its the Duke of Lancaster's regiments. Outside the cathedral,

:25:05.:25:09.

the Queen and the Duchess said despite stood side by side to

:25:09.:25:13.

receive bouquets of flowers. The fact that the Queen invited the

:25:13.:25:17.

Duchess to join her is a public endorsement of her importance to

:25:17.:25:21.

the royal family. At times they worked as a team, the Queen taking

:25:21.:25:28.

one side of the crowd, the Duchess other -- the other. They went to a

:25:28.:25:30.

fashion show at De Montfort University. Their relationship

:25:30.:25:35.

seems to be an easy one, the younger one leaning across to chat.

:25:35.:25:39.

Them, in the city centre, the Queen hoping perhaps that the newcomer

:25:39.:25:43.

will absorb a few lessons. Bob there was something more to the

:25:43.:25:48.

Duchess's presence. It is a subtle signal that the Queen recognises

:25:48.:25:52.

the importance of bringing on somebody who will be so central to

:25:52.:25:57.

the monarchy of the future. At there was no doubt, though, who is

:25:57.:26:03.

still this court -- the star of the show. Not everybody is a monarch --

:26:03.:26:09.

monarchist but this monarch's popular as ever. She is the queen

:26:09.:26:12.

of our country and I am proud. Coming to Leicester was just

:26:12.:26:17.

fantastic. We could not have asked for much more. It was an awesome

:26:17.:26:22.

moment to celebrate it with her. The Palace's view - it was a

:26:22.:26:30.

welcome beyond their expectations. A reminder of our top news. Reports

:26:30.:26:33.

from serious say that government track -- tanks and troop carriers

:26:33.:26:41.

are moving on the province of Idlib, home to many Free Syrian Army

:26:41.:26:44.

fighters. There have been reports that they have been government

:26:44.:26:47.

warnings to civilians to leave their lands and their homes. That

:26:48.:26:57.
:26:58.:27:02.

is all from me. Next, but whether. Hello. After a very active first

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half of the week it is all change. The emphasis is on for dry weather.

:27:08.:27:13.

More cloud than today tomorrow but temperatures quite high. The breeze

:27:13.:27:18.

and things are settling down, this area of high pressure. -- the

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reason things. Plenty of dry weather to come. This week were the

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front of pushing across Scotland is an exception, outbreaks of rain

:27:31.:27:41.
:27:41.:27:41.

tomorrow. -- week weather front. Breezy, but 12, 13, possibly 14

:27:41.:27:50.

degrees. A strip of cloud across southern England, maybe a spot of

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rain. We will continue with thicker cloud into Wales, light rain or

:27:56.:27:59.

drizzle in the hills, also affecting parts of north-west

:27:59.:28:05.

England, and maybe brushing the north of Northern Ireland. The

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further south east you are, brighter skies into Belfast, for

:28:10.:28:16.

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