11/12/2015 World News Today


11/12/2015

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

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Has Russia changed its policy over Syria?

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President Putin says Russian forces are providing air support

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and weapons to a major Syrian opposition group fighting President

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TRANSLATION: Lee at -- activities assist in uniting the efforts of

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government troops and the Free Syrian Army.

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A guesthouse close to the Spanish Embassy comes under attack.

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Some of the gunmen are still on the loose.

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Also coming up: Do you really need all the heavy equipment

:00:41.:00:44.

Are we on the verge of a momentous climate deal? The deadline is

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looming and France says there has never been a better time.

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all the heavy equipment to make a film?

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We look at how movie-making is going mobile.

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There's confusion in world capitals today about whether Russia

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President Vladimir Putin has told Russia's top defence military

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supports Syria's opposition Free Syrian Army

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providing it with arms and ammunition.

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At face value his statement appears to be first time Moscow has said

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Let's hear some of what Mr Putin had to say.

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TRANSLATION: The activities of our aviation group assist in United the

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efforts of government troops and Free Syrian Army. Currently several

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of its units numbering over 5000 troops as well as regular forces are

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engaged in offensive actions against terrorists in several provinces.

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Besides support from the air as Wallace for the Syrian army, we

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assist them with weapons, ammunition, and provide additional

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support. The BBC's Richard Galpin

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joins us from Moscow. It is interesting. We have been

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speaking to Mr Putin's spokesman, and he says, yes, it is correct

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about the Russian air force is providing air cover to some units of

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the Free Syrian Army, these 5000 men he was talking about there, saying

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they are fighting together alongside the Syrian army, therefore they are

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getting help from the Russian air force. But he has flatly denied that

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Mr Putin said the Russians were also supplying arms and ammunition to the

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Free Syrian Army. He says this is completely wrong interpretation of

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what Mr Putin said. One of my colleagues here persistently asked

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him, this is what he is saying in Russian, and he is saying, no, you

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misunderstand, this is not what Mr Putin said, he was only talking

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about providing arms and ammunition to the Syrian army.

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Maria Lipman joins us from Moscow - she's a political analyst

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What do you understand Mr Putin said? If you read his words, I think

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there is no ambiguity. He mentioned both the Syrian government forces

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and the Free Syrian Army, which is in opposition to President Assad,

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and he said the Russian aviation group provides assistance to both,

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and helps them unite the effort. Now, what will you -- Europe author

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found out is also posted by Russian news agencies, and that is that the

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representative said this is not about assistance to both, the

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Russian aviation group assists government forces and actually

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provides air cover for all forces fighting terrorism. This is a very

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general statement which is different from what President Putin said, and

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his press man also added, don't hold onto closely to the phrasing, maybe

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suggesting it was a slip of the tongue, maybe suggesting Putin

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didn't mean what he said. In any case we have here a very clear

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variant is on what President Putin said and the way his press man

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interpreted his words. So what do you think he meant to say by doing

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this, if it wasn't a slip of the tongue? Is it trying to narrow the

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differences with the West, what is your reading? I really don't know

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what to say. I think we need the sources on the other end to be able

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to say whether there is indeed be assistance, that would be the best

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clarification. We cannot read in more than what he said. Since the

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operation is a military one and the Russian system in general is not

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transparent to say the least, this especially applies to military

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operations, there is no way to find out more than what Putin's press man

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said unless we have information from someone on the ground, the Syrian

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forces. It is interesting, earlier he said Russian aid had helped

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repair a tank factory in Homs, which would appear to be helping President

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Assad in the fight against the terrorist groups which President

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Putin said he was originally joining this conflict to try to smash. Well,

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this is indeed... If this were the case, if Russia indeed were helping,

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as President Putin said, with air cover, weapons and supplies, the

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forces in opposition to President Assad, and at the same time helping

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President Assad himself, this would really be bizarre, and this would be

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a change of policy. But I would really be careful not to interpret

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it further. I think what we have is a contradiction now between Putin's

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words and his press man's words, and I think we should wait for further

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clarification. Thank you very much. The Afghan Taliban claim

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they carried out a car bomb attack in an affluent embassy

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district of Kabul. A Taliban spokesman said the blast -

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during rush hour - was a suicide attack, and that heavy

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fighting was continuing. The Afghan police said at least

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seven insurgents fired guns As you can see the embassy is close

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to ISAF's headquarters in Kabul, Some reports suggested

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the Spanish Embassy itself had come under attack, but this

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has now been denied by Spain's Prime

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Minister Mariano Rajoy. Bilal Sawary is a freelance

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journalist in Kabul, What is the latest, are the gunmen

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on fighters still at large? I just spoke to the deputy chairman who

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said the priority for the Afghan special forces is to evacuate some

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of the homes where families and civilians live, and he said Afghan

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special forces were moving, and the priority was to kill the attackers

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but at the same time protect lives. The electricity to the area has been

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cut off. Afghan elite forces are there, these are the forces that

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know how to fight these attacks, and Afghan snipers from those units are

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now saying they have killed at least two of the attackers. The problem is

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that it is the area, the homes around those areas, that are making

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it really difficult. The Afghan forces cannot move quickly because

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of them. As we speak we can still hear gunfire from time to time, so

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that means the attackers are armed and they are still there. This is a

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heavily fortified area, understandably. How is it that the

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Caliban can penetrate somewhere like this? -- the Taliban. This is not

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far from the homes of senior Afghan officials, so questions will be

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asked by ordinary Afghans, why is it that there are these security and

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intelligence failures and these sort of attacks could take place. We

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understand that the Spanish Embassy had concerns about an attacks like

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this a week ago. It is nothing uncommon these days in Kabul to get

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the security warnings. The US embassy has several times publicly

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warned of attacks like this. But the challenge for the Afghan government

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now is to justify a peace process with the Taliban... -- with the

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Taliban, and I think the question will be asked, what are they doing

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to help the peace process, do they talk to the group is launching these

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vicious attacks? Only the day before yesterday in Kandahar, there was a

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very deadly attack in which Afghan officers and families were killed,

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including children. This will put the national unity government under

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tremendous pressure. Bilal Sawary, thank you very much. Let's catch up

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with some other stories. A lake in California

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is being searched by police investigating last week's

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shootings in San Bernardino, Divers from the FBI have begun

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searching waters just over 3 kilometers from the site

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of the killings. It's thought the two suspects

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visited the area on the day Michel Platini has failed

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to get his temporary ban from all football

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related activity lifted. The Frenchmen lodged an appeal

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against the 90 day ban with the court of

:10:23.:10:24.

arbitration for Sport. But it upheld the ban although it's

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asked FIFA to conclude an investigation into corruption

:10:28.:10:30.

allegations quickly. An update now on those three jumbo

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jets that authorities in Malaysia claimed had been abandoned

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for more than a year An air freight company,

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Swift Air Cargo, says it's the owner and it bought the

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Boeing 747s in June. The airport had taken out newspaper

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adverts threatening to sell them. The firm says it was stunned to see

:10:57.:10:59.

the notices because it had been talking to the airport

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about recovering the planes . Negotiators at the international

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climate change conference in Paris are confident of reaching a deal

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to combat global warming. The meeting has been

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extended until tomorrow, when France says it will

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present a draft agreement. Let's get the latest

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from our Science Editor David Let's take stock of what has been

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agreed here and what hasn't, because it's quite difficult to pick your

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way through this. What will governments have settled on is a

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target to try to limit global warming to two degrees or possibly

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1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. Some see that as enormously

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significant, providing a goal for the world to work towards in coming

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decades. But what haven't they agreed? Currently there are no

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targets for reducing greenhouse gases that are blamed for global

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warming. Some countryside unless you have detailed plans and

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programmes with deadlines for how you will reduce those gases, you

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will never head off the worst effects of climate change. Other

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countries don't want to be hemmed in by those restrictions. Then there is

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the difficult question of who should pay to help the poorest countries

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cope with the impact of global warming. The poorest countries are

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said to be most vulnerable to those impacts, whether through rising

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temperatures or increased rain. Developed countries like Britain

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have tended to say, we will pay the cost of that, but they are also

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looking at rigid countries like Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Qatar to

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step up the plate, and that has yet to be settled. The talks will go

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right through the night in France. France's far-right party

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the Front National is battling for control of several

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of the country's regions, ahead of the second round of

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Regional Elections on Sunday. The FN is leading in six out

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of France's 13 regions after the first round of voting last

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week, but polls are now suggesting that the centre-right opposition

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is gaining ground ahead One of the most fiercely contested

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seats is in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie,

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where FN leader Marine Le Pen won Our Paris Correspondent

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Lucy Williamson reports. Habits in France's northern villages

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don't easily change. At the fish market here they still shuck the

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scallops by hand, fresh from the sea that morning. But below the surface

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there are fast flowing changes taking place here. France's far

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right Front National one almost 50% of the vote here last weekend. It

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used to be the Socialist party that won elections here. It is because of

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the lack of jobs, Philippe tells me, but I think it is very dangerous.

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The fishing boat is no longer drop their catch here. The river is now

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too silted up. A bit like the economy here, says this local man.

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He is considering voting for the FN on Sunday for the first time because

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things haven't changed enough. The Front National has managed to lance

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the boil. It is difficult to move the French. I think it is a

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situation we are in now. Last weekend Marine Le Pen drew 41% of

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votes across the region. In Calais, half went to her. As well as jobs,

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she says what voters want is an end to immigration and policies that put

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French people first. This region used to be a socialist stronghold.

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Its work is rooted in the industry is of northern France. Now many

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workers say they feel economically insecure and politically physical,

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and into that sea has walked Marine Le Pen with their invitation to

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those she calls France's forgotten ones. In Calais's Christmas markets

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this week plenty say she has got it right. Why not the FN? We want to be

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French, and we want France to become France. But a tactical withdrawal by

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the Socialist candidate here has led to a boost in support for the FN's

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main rival. He to a boost in support for the FN's

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gets votes by pointing to problems, like Calais's migrants. Something he

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already has a solution for. TRANSLATION: I will push the border

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back to Dover if you don't tackle the issue of migrant work in the UK.

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The border is in Dover, not Calais, and we are doing your job for you.

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The vote on Sunday is expected to be close, and hanging over it, a second

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question: Who will win the bigger prize on offer 18 months from now

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and the President of France? Saudi Arabia is marking a political

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milestone this weekend with a round of municipal elections

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which for the first time will see women voting and hundreds of women

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standing as candidates. more than more than 900 of them,

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along with some 6,000 men vying for seats on almost

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300 local councils. But how big a breakthrough

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for gender equality The view from the top in Riyadh, a

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sprawling city under tight control. If change comes here, it is that a

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gradual pace. But women, who faced many restrictions, are now getting a

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glimpse of democracy. TV adverts are reaching out to

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Saudis, calling on them to cast their ballots for local councils.

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For the first time, women can vote and be candidates. Salman has been

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running voter education classes with the Saudi nonprofit organisation.

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She was the first woman in Riyadh to put her name down to vote. The

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voting centre was a public school, and we went in and the ladies

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waiting for us to register were excited to see us coming, we were

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the first to walk in, so just going through the process, writing the

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paper, filling out the information, was just a wonderful feeling. I knew

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this was a day in history. The election may make history, but any

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woman going to vote will not be able to drive herself there. When this

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woman took the wheel here in the past, she was jailed for 73 days.

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The young activist was disqualified from running in the election. She

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challenged that and is back in the race, but, she says, there is a hard

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road ahead for Saudi women. How long do you think it will take

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for women here to achieve legal -- equal rights, can be achieved? Equal

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rights? The entire package? Oh, my God, it will take for ever! I went

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be alive to witness it, but to win step-by-step, like this one, and

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hopefully the drive and one, it will take a lot of time, and they have to

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come step-by-step. Some hearsay there is less to be election than

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meets the eye, including one of the leading campaigners for women's

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writes. They did not register my name as a voter at or a candidate

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because I am boycotting the election -- I did not register. I have my

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reasons. I am at human rights activist, and I think before women

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go to elect, they should be a full citizens. Do you think this election

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is just window dressing. Kind of. And the windowdressing may not

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distract from concerns about Saudi justice. While some here are

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counting down to the election, others may be counting down to their

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execution. The human rights group and Amnesty International says more

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than 150 people have been put to death here this year, the highest

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recorded figure in two decades. And there are fears that another 50

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prisoners could be executed soon. Saudi Arabia says its judiciary is

:19:34.:19:37.

independent and it rejects any interference in its internal

:19:38.:19:42.

affairs. But the new monarch, King Salaman, knows his kingdom is under

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increasing scrutiny. The American space agency NASA

:19:45.:19:53.

says three astronauts from the International Space Station

:19:54.:19:55.

have returned safely to Earth. Russia and Japan, landed

:19:56.:19:58.

in their Soyuz capsule in the snowy steppes

:19:59.:20:01.

of Kazakhstan. Three new crew members will join

:20:02.:20:03.

the station next Tuesday. Well, those three new

:20:04.:20:08.

astronauts will blast off from Baikonur Cosmodrome

:20:09.:20:10.

and rendezvous with the ISS more The launch site in Kazakhstan has

:20:11.:20:12.

been in use for more than 50 years, allowing crews plenty of time

:20:13.:20:19.

to develop a few kooky rituals and customs before heading

:20:20.:20:24.

into space, as Sarah This is Yuri Gagarin,

:20:25.:20:26.

the first-ever man in space. Because his flight in 1961

:20:27.:20:33.

was so successful, crews ever since have copied many of the things

:20:34.:20:37.

he did in the hope it Before the crew go up

:20:38.:20:40.

in a real one of these, a Soyuz space capsule,

:20:41.:20:45.

there is a whole series of rituals they have to go through

:20:46.:20:47.

and Tim Peake is no exception. The first of them has

:20:48.:20:52.

already been done. The crew have planted

:20:53.:20:54.

a tree here in Baikonur. Yuri Gagarin did it first,

:20:55.:20:58.

and there is now a whole alley of trees as a living memory

:20:59.:21:01.

to all of those who have been up There is another way

:21:02.:21:04.

that the astronauts leave their mark, as Tim Peake himself

:21:05.:21:07.

told me before he came down here. On our final morning,

:21:08.:21:10.

once we have prepared for our space flight,

:21:11.:21:12.

we will be in our flight costumes We were each allocated a door

:21:13.:21:15.

in the Cosmodrome cosmonaut hotel, so we will each sign a door

:21:16.:21:22.

to the cosmonaut hotel We have not long to

:21:23.:21:25.

go until launch day. The astornauts are in quarantine

:21:26.:21:28.

to make sure they stay healthy for the flight, but

:21:29.:21:32.

the traditions go on. On their last nervous night

:21:33.:21:36.

here on earth before liftoff, they will sit down to

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a classic of Soviet cinema. On launch day itself,

:21:39.:21:40.

it's on with the spacesuit and they emerge to

:21:41.:21:43.

a Soviet rock song. Before they climb into the space

:21:44.:21:47.

craft, it is time for one Gagarin requested a pee stop

:21:48.:21:50.

on the way to his first flight, so from that moment onwards

:21:51.:21:57.

all the astronauts stop, we get off the bus,

:21:58.:22:00.

we undo our suits, we have a pee # I'm a shooting star leaping

:22:01.:22:03.

through the sky. # Like a tiger, defying the laws

:22:04.:22:10.

of gravity...# was preparing for launch,

:22:11.:22:12.

he asked for music to be pumped into his headphones

:22:13.:22:16.

to calm his nerves ahead He got Russian love

:22:17.:22:18.

songs played to him. Tim Peake has been able

:22:19.:22:22.

to choose his own music and he has selected three tracks to be played

:22:23.:22:25.

as he prepares to make # I want to make a supersonic

:22:26.:22:28.

man out of you.# We all get a little

:22:29.:22:40.

carried away sometimes, but for Ukraine's Prime Minister it

:22:41.:22:42.

happened quite literally, was defending his embattled

:22:43.:22:44.

government's record when a supporter of President Poroshenko

:22:45.:22:51.

presented him sarcastically with a bunch of roses,

:22:52.:22:55.

then picked him up and pulled him The incident exposed deep divisions

:22:56.:22:57.

in Kiev's pre-western Ukraine's Western backers have

:22:58.:23:02.

warned that time is running out for it to make good on its promises

:23:03.:23:11.

to root out endemic It's becoming clear that

:23:12.:23:14.

all the heavy equipment we usually see on a film set might soon be

:23:15.:23:23.

a thing of the past. We managed to catch up with a group

:23:24.:23:26.

of young Kenyans who have filmed a movie about life in

:23:27.:23:29.

the slums on a mobile phone. The film features actors

:23:30.:23:33.

who are little known in Kenya, the script is in slang called

:23:34.:23:36.

sheng and the soundtrack I was born and raised in the slums.

:23:37.:24:18.

They have also shared the same thing in the ghetto. She is the young

:24:19.:24:24.

teenager who lives in the ghetto and she gets pregnant. They are talking

:24:25.:24:35.

a lot about empowering and how to mould yourself at an earlier age. If

:24:36.:24:40.

I had seen the movie earlier I would have changed my life, maybe not got

:24:41.:24:41.

pregnant at a young age. RAPPING it's a phone, the simplest

:24:42.:25:02.

thing everyone has, it has a camera, just shoot what you have, building,

:25:03.:25:07.

whatever, it has an impact on someonelife.

:25:08.:25:12.

It doesn't have too inspired 10 million people as long as it

:25:13.:25:14.

inspires one You're watching world News today. An

:25:15.:25:35.

update on the attack in the embassy district of the Afghan capital

:25:36.:25:39.

Kabul. The Spanish Minister Mariano Rajoy says a Spanish policeman has

:25:40.:25:44.

died in that attack, an attack on a guesthouse near the Madrid embassy.

:25:45.:25:50.

It is thought some attackers may still be hiding in the area. We will

:25:51.:25:51.

bring you all the updates on that. That's it from me for the time

:25:52.:25:58.

being. Coming up next, the weather. But from me, Tim Willcox, goodbye.

:25:59.:26:01.

Hello. Some potentially disruptive weather through Saturday because of

:26:02.:26:14.

the next weather system pushing in on the -- of the

:26:15.:26:15.

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