18/08/2011 BBC News at Ten


18/08/2011

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Also tonight: A frantic scramble for university

:00:50.:00:53.

places ahead of the rise in tuition fees.

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It is a useless system. I should have known that a lot of

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people have planned this year and done something about it.

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Libya's rebels edge closer to the capital, we report from the front

:01:06.:01:10.

line. These guys are in control of the

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street. The rebels in control of the town, that means that Tripoli

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is cut off from the outside world. Global markets slump again, the Dow

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Jones is down and the FTSE reports its biggest fall in throw years.

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Why part of England's most successful club is being sold

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abroad to pay its debts. I'm her with Sports Day. Tottenham

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:01:47.:01:59.

enjoy their night out at Tynecastle. Good evening. For the first time,

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America, France, Germany Britain and the EU have called on Syria's

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President Bashar al-Assad barb to call down.

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America has also announced it is imposing more sanctions on Damascus,

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the news came as the United Nations said that it believed that more

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than 2,000 people have been killed since the violence began five

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months ago. The martyr's blood will not go to

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waste, the crowd chants. This video taken in Homs today, shows one of

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the latest funerals of the civilians killed against this

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regime over the past five months. Finally, the Obama administration

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is calling directly for him to go. The transition into democracy has

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begun. It is time for Assad to get out of the way. It is up to the

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Syrian people to choose their own leaders, in a democratic system,

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based on the rule of law and dedicated to protecting the rights

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of all citizens, regardless of ethnicicity, religion, sector

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gender. For months, Washington resisted

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spelling this out, fearing that President Bashar al-Assad could

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cling on, but now that the rest of the Arab world openly condemns his

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regime, this is the next part of the uprising.

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Today, Europe's leaders coordinated that I new tauing talk with

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Washington. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, telling President

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The United Nations now believes that over 2,000 people have been

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killed in the uprising. It judges that the regime's actions may

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amount to crimes against humanity. That is partly as regime violence

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is used against protest wherever it has spread and it is spreading,

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bringing public rejection close to the centres of power. President

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Obama is now introducing new, stronger sanctions against Syria,

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at the risk of hurting ordinary Syrians. So American investment is

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banned, no more exports or imports of oil and gas, something that

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Europe too will consider, but Washington is not expecting

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immediate ruments. In Syria -- immediate results.

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In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad still has the loyalty of the

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security services. He maid be morally wounded but it will take

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time from a political stand point that he is over.

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So, as Syrians cry out to the world for help, President Assad is under

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new pressure, but so far, the regime has always judged that its

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survival is paramount, whatever the cost.

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Our correspondent Adam Brookes is in Washington for us now. So,

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finally, international pressure, is it going to have any effect? Well,

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Sophie, nobody in Washington is pretending that demanding President

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Bashar al-Assad depart will make it so, but it has been said that the

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Americans believe that President Bashar al-Assad is finished as the

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political balance inside Syria has shifted against him and outside of

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Syria in the international community it has too. So, the

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Americans are hoping they are not acting alone. They are coordinating

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carefully with other countries, expecting Europe a and other

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powerful players like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to bring on more

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sanctions. They are signalling clearly, that

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they expect Europe to put a stop to help. The Americans are saying that

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they see this as a process, possibly a protracted one, but one

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that will not end in military action. This is not Libya, these

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officials were saying, that military action is not on the cards.

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Tens of thousands of students have been scrambling to get a university

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place after a record year of A level passes in England and Wales

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and Wales and Northern Ireland. There is an intense battle as the

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students try to get to university before the increase in the tuition

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fees next year. At one point, there were 400 students per second

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phoning the UCAS system in the hope of finding a place.

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Did you get?! How did they do that! Not delighted by the results, but

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by the fact that they are through to university clearing. It helps

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the people to find places in the universities. The phonelines were

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recording 400 calls a second. I apoll guise to anyone who has had

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added anxiety. This is a tough day. UCAS is 100% dedicated to providing

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the service to apgants and universities and colleges.

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This young man is now in the clearing system. He spent a

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frustrating morning struggling to get advice.

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It is a useless system. They should have known that a lot of people are

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applying this year and done something about it.

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Here at the University of West London they have taken twice as

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many calls as last year, but there are only a quarter of the number of

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places. That picture is the same nationally, with more pupils

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eligible for clearing but with fewer vacancies. Tens of thousands

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could fail to fulfil their dream of going to university. This year,

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there has been a record 673,000 applications, with the numbers of

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clearing standing at 192,000. Defered applications, those wishing

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to take a gap year are down by 37%. Elizabeth at kin is a grade A

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student, but she is scrapping the gap year she wanted because of the

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tuition fees rise. I wanted time to work to make money

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for university, but when I found out about the fees changing we were

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not sure if it was worth having a gap year.

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I am not sure how it works but it doesn't sound like the best

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situation. Rose Dyson in Cardiff has decided

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on an apprentice scheme and training to be a plumber.

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The unifees, the payment, the food, that is another one, the food. I

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don't think that I could afford it all. I need help from my mum and

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parents, they are not around for me. I would rather have my own money.

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This young man was finally accepted into clearing and offered a

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different University of His choice, but there is uncertainty still for

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thousands of others. In Libya, rebel fighters say that

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they have taken control of an oil refinery in an important town of

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Zawiya, but Colonel Gaddafi's regime claim it is is still in

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government hands. The rebels are continuing it their advance in

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Tripoli, saying that they occupy the town of Gharyan, 50 miles south

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of the capital. From Libya's western mountains we

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push towards the coast, not sure what we will find last week this

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road was controlled by Colonel Gaddafi's forces, now we pass bands

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of rebel fighters, flicking the victory sign. As we entire into

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Zawiya, one of Colonel Gaddafi's tanks is abandoned.

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On street coners groups of rebel fighters are in control and

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euphoric. Is it near the end now? Yes. Yes.

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Why? Because we know that. This is Zawiya. These are strong people. It

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is close to Tripoli. He knows. We are on the edge of the city of

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Zawiya, the western edge. Behind me, the ridge there is the highway

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between Tripoli and the Tunisian border. The guys here are in

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control of the streets, the rebels in control of the highway, that

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means that Tripoli is cut off from the outside world. There is smoke

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from a rocket that landed here ten minutes ago. We were told that this

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place is safe, but clearly it is still under attack from Colonel

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Gaddafi's forces. The battle is for control of this

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vital highway. This was Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's last link to the

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outside world. Six weeks ago I drove down here on my way to

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Tripoli, then it was crammed with cars and lorries, ladened with food

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and supplies, but look at it now. On the edge of Zawiya, a group of

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rebels take me to their latest prize, the city's oil refinery.

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They grove Colonel Gaddafi's last troops out of here yesterday. In

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Tripoli there is a desperate shortage of fuel, now it will be

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worse. In Zawiya's city centre this

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afternoon, intense street fighting continued. Colonel Gaddafi knows he

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cannot afford to lose this vital town. The rebels know if they can

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hold on here, they will have Colonel Gaddafi cut off and

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surrounded. The funerals have been held for the

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three men knocked down and killed during last week's riots in

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Birmingham. Haroon Jahan, Abdul Musavir and Shazad Ali were killed

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twiel protecting their property from the looters. 20,000 people

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lined the streets to pay their respects.

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Prince Harry was the latest member of the Royal Family to witness for

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himself the damage caused by last week's riots. He visited Salford

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where he meat merge workers and local people. In London, the police

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have released CCTV pictures of the looting of a shop in Clapham

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junction it shows a picture of a man who is attacked with a fire-

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extinguisher before the looters enter into the shop. The detectives

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are trying to trace the victim or anyone who saw the incident.

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It's been a turbulent day on the markets. The FTSE recording its

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biggest fall since November, 2008, it ended the day down to 4.5 Mersey.

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In America, the Dow Jones fell by more than 3.5%. Robert Peston is

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:13:17.:13:17.

here, is this down to fears of Investors have been shunning

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anything seen as risky. Wherever you went, you saw falls of between

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four and 6% in share prices. But at the same time, the price of

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investments perceived as safes such as gold has gone well over $1,800

:13:36.:13:46.
:13:46.:13:48.

an ounce. We have not seen that level since the 1950s. What does it

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mean when investors do not want to take risks? As you said, they fear

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that the world is heading back to recession and they fear that the

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banking system is fragile again. Investors are not always right, but

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the lesson of history is that it is foolish to ignore what they are

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saying about those risks. Coming up on tonight's programme: 20 years

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since the Moscow coup which nearly toppled him, we hear from Mikhail

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Gorbachev about the end of the Israel says an air strike on the

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Gaza Strip has killed the militants who were behind a series of attacks

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near the southern city of Eilat. Eight Israelis died when gunmen

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opened fire on vehicles, including two buses. The Israeli military

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said its soldiers killed seven of the attackers. It claims they had

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crossed from Egypt, having travelled south from the Gaza Strip.

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:14:50.:14:53.

Hours later, Israel retaliated with an air strike on the town of Rafah.

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This was the most deadly attacking side Israel since 2008. Worryingly

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for the Israelis, the casualties were inflicted by gunmen who seemed

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to have come out of Egypt's Sinai desert, which has been increasingly

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lawless since the revolution. A bus was attacked first by well-armed

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and seemingly well organised gunmen. Other attacks hit a private car and

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a military patrol. It went on for much of the afternoon. Ehud Barak,

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Israel's Defence Minister, said Egypt's hold on the Sinai desert

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was weakening. After the ambulances had passed, the generals with them

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were told more shooting was happening and abruptly ended the

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news conference. As Israeli troops conducted a manhunt along the

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border, the government here said it would retaliate against gunmen it

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said were Palestinians who had travelled through the Sinai desert

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from Gaza. An air strike in Rafah in Gaza killed a small boy and five

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members of an armed group, the Popular Resistance Committee,

:15:57.:16:00.

including its top two commanders. The group denied it carried out the

:16:00.:16:06.

attack, but promised what it called double revenge. Israel's Prime

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Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on TV. He said Israel would react

:16:11.:16:14.

immediately and with force if its citizens were hurt, and said people

:16:14.:16:19.

who gave the orders to kill Israelis were "no longer among the

:16:19.:16:26.

living". The Israelis have had a sharp reminder that their enemies

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can take advantage of the confusion caused by the seismic changes going

:16:30.:16:35.

on in the Arab world. Political tensions were already rising ahead

:16:35.:16:40.

of a Palestinian plan next month to ask the UN for membership and

:16:40.:16:44.

recognition of their independence and borders. But before any of that,

:16:44.:16:49.

there is now a strong chance of more violence in and around Gaza.

:16:49.:16:52.

One of Britain's most successful software companies, Autonomy, could

:16:52.:16:54.

be bought by the American technology firm Hewlett Packard for

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�6 billion. If the deal goes through, HP's takeover is likely to

:16:59.:17:02.

be controversial in the wake of other foreign purchases of British

:17:02.:17:07.

companies such as Kraft's takeover of Cadbury last year. Autonomy's

:17:08.:17:10.

software searches data in e-mails and documents, and is used by

:17:10.:17:16.

companies around the world. Two teenagers have been arrested on

:17:16.:17:19.

suspicion of murdering a 14-year- old boy who died in a pool of blood

:17:19.:17:23.

near a playground. Leroy James was found slumped against a park wall

:17:23.:17:26.

after the incident in Enfield, in north London, yesterday as young

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children played nearby. The former Soviet President,

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Mikhail Gorbachev, has accused Vladimir Putin of castrating

:17:34.:17:37.

Russia's electoral system, and said he should not stand in next year's

:17:37.:17:42.

presidential elections. Mr Gorbachev's comments come on the

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eve of the 20th anniversary of the Moscow coup which led to the

:17:46.:17:49.

collapse of the Soviet Union. Our diplomatic correspondent met up

:17:49.:17:59.
:17:59.:18:02.

with the former President. At a private dinner in Moscow, the

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former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev mulls over what happened

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20 years ago with old colleagues. It all snowballed, he says,

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starting from my opponents' anger at the elections I brought in, and

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that led to the coup against me. A dramatic showdown in the heart of

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Moscow, with the future of the world at stake. I witnessed at

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first hand as BBC Moscow correspondent. It was here exactly

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20 years ago in central Moscow that the two leaders made their move on

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the orders of the vice-president, the KGB chief and others, tanks

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rolled down this central thoroughfare towards the Kremlin,

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past astonished shoppers. The two leaders are said Gorbachev was too

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sick to rule, and they were taking over power. It looked like a

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classic Soviet military crackdown to roll back Gorbachev's

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perestroika reforms and reimpose hardline control over the whole

:19:07.:19:14.

country. Quarter of was on holiday by the Black Sea when he refused to

:19:14.:19:20.

join the coup plotters, he found himself under house arrest.

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TRANSLATION: They surrounded us with the cars down by the seashore

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and everywhere. At the entrance, they parked cars

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so nobody could drive past. They would not let anyone through.

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in Moscow, the Russian peasant Boris Yeltsin declared the coup

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illegal and urged people to protest against it. He also sought help

:19:45.:19:51.

from outside, fearing he would get arrested. We managed to get through

:19:51.:19:56.

to him on the telephone, and he said, I am in the White House, the

:19:56.:20:00.

Russian White House. And the Communists are coming to get me. I

:20:00.:20:04.

have about 20 minutes. Will you tell people what is happening? And

:20:04.:20:11.

I did. In Moscow, crowds flocked to protect Russia's fledgling

:20:11.:20:17.

democracy. The two leaders panicked, and their plot crumbled. But in its

:20:17.:20:21.

aftermath, the Soviet Union soon collapsed and swept Gorbachev from

:20:21.:20:29.

office. Today in Berlin, Gorbachev is greeted as a hero for helping

:20:29.:20:37.

end the Cold War. He visits regularly, a chance for me to catch

:20:37.:20:42.

up with him. The old Communist leaders of the Soviet empire

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emblazoned on the mural on the Berlin Wall. But Gorbachev's

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concern is Russia's current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He likens

:20:53.:20:59.

his rule to the stagnant days of Brezhnev.

:20:59.:21:03.

TRANSLATION: Put-in and his team offer stability, but stability

:21:03.:21:07.

kills development and results in stagnation.

:21:07.:21:10.

The electoral system we had was nothing remarkable, but they have

:21:10.:21:16.

simply castrated it. I apologise for my choice of words, but they

:21:16.:21:21.

really have circumcised it. With less than a year to go before the

:21:21.:21:24.

new Russian elections, Gorbachev says Putin should not stand again

:21:24.:21:30.

as President. He says Russia needs to get back on the path to

:21:30.:21:33.

democracy, and putting is not the leader to do it.

:21:33.:21:36.

Heavy rain has caused flash flooding along the south coast of

:21:36.:21:40.

England today. Portland in Dorset was hardest hit as a month's worth

:21:40.:21:44.

of rain fell in just nine hours. In Bournemouth, there was chaos as

:21:44.:21:46.

roads became submerged under several feet of water and the

:21:46.:21:51.

central pleasure gardens were transformed into a lake. Its speed

:21:51.:21:55.

even caught the emergency services off guard. The waters had such

:21:55.:22:00.

force, they burst a gas pipe and tore up the surface of some roads.

:22:00.:22:03.

Rain also affected the first day's play in the fourth Test between

:22:03.:22:07.

England and India at The Oval. Having won the toss and elected to

:22:07.:22:10.

bat, England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook took the home

:22:10.:22:16.

team to 75 without loss at lunch. After that, the rain started to

:22:16.:22:20.

fall and play was eventually abandoned for the day.

:22:21.:22:25.

It's the most famous football club in the world. But now the owners of

:22:25.:22:28.

Manchester United are having to sell part of the club abroad in

:22:28.:22:31.

order to pay off some of their mounting debts. The Glazer family,

:22:31.:22:34.

who took control six years ago, hope to clear much of their �500

:22:34.:22:39.

million debt by floating on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The deal

:22:39.:22:49.
:22:49.:22:49.

could be completed by the end of the year.

:22:49.:22:53.

Champions on the pitch again last season, Manchester United have

:22:53.:22:58.

three years led the way when it comes to generating cash. Despite

:22:58.:23:02.

all that success, the club's American owners, the Glazer family,

:23:02.:23:06.

remain unpopular with fans after borrowing hundreds of millions of

:23:06.:23:12.

pounds to purchase the team in 2005. Now they have come up with a new

:23:12.:23:18.

plan to start paying off those loans. Manchester United are the

:23:18.:23:23.

richest sports team in the world, with an estimated valuation of just

:23:23.:23:27.

over �1 billion. But United have debts of �500 million, which

:23:27.:23:32.

incurred huge annual interest payments of �45 million. The

:23:32.:23:36.

Glazers believe the club are worth even more money, and hope that by

:23:36.:23:40.

selling off a large stake, they could raise as much as �600 million

:23:40.:23:46.

to reduce debts and make it even harder for their rivals to keep up.

:23:46.:23:50.

It is here in Singapore that United hope to raise that money, by

:23:50.:23:57.

selling around a quarter of the club's shares on the stock market.

:23:57.:24:01.

With 192 million fans based in Asia, they hope to exploit the popularity

:24:01.:24:05.

of their brand. Supporters this evening welcomed the opportunity to

:24:05.:24:13.

invest. It is a way for Singapore United fans to put money where

:24:13.:24:20.

their parties, which is to own part of the club, to know that part of

:24:20.:24:25.

the money goes to purchase the Rooneys of the future. The Glazers

:24:25.:24:30.

have always said Manchester United are not for sale. But their

:24:30.:24:35.

decision to float the club in Singapore will inevitably raise

:24:35.:24:40.

questions over their long-term commitment. Critics are also asking

:24:40.:24:44.

how the Glazers intend to spend all the money raised by the share issue.

:24:44.:24:47.

The fans will be disappointed that the club has not chosen to list

:24:47.:24:52.

here in the UK. They will be sceptical of the Glazers'

:24:52.:24:55.

motivations until they see the details. It was business as usual

:24:55.:25:00.

on the pitch for United's stars last weekend. The question now is,

:25:00.:25:05.

will the owners' latest financial plan help remove the doubts over

:25:05.:25:07.

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