13/04/2012 BBC News at Ten


13/04/2012

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A historic visit - David Cameron becomes the first British prime

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minister to go to Burma for more than half a century. He met the

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pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Gyan called for sanctions

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against Burma to be eased in recognition of political reform.

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think there are prospects for change in Burma, and it is right

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for the rest of the world to respond to those changes. In the

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capital, Mr Cameron called on the country's president to demonstrate

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that Burma's moves to democracy are irreversible. We will assess

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whether the Burmese authorities can deliver a permanent change. Also

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tonight: a possible deal to avert a strike by tanker drivers - new

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developments tonight. A North Korea's rocket launch ends

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in failure as it crashes into the Yellow Sea. Despite international

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humiliation, a mass rally goes ahead to unveil colossal statues of

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the country's founders. The failure is embarrassing. The question is,

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what effect will it have on the regime of the young Kim Jong Un?

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We prices soaring at the end of the month, the Royal Mail's rationing

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supplies to stop people stockpiling the cheaper stamps.

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And picking out a penguin from space - scientists use satellites

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to track them, with surprising results.

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In Sportsday on the BBC News Channel, the Bahrain Grand Prix is

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on. Formula One bosses say they have been reassured about safety

:01:32.:01:42.
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Good evening. David Cameron has said he backs a suspension of most

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of the sanctions against Burma in recognition of the country's

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gradual move towards democracy. The Prime Minister made the comments on

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a historic visit to the country during which he held talks with the

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Burma's President and with the pro- democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Mr Cameron said there was every prospect of change in Burma, and he

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invited Ms Suu Kyi to visit Britain in June. She has not left Burma for

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more than two decades. This report contains flash photography.

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This was the moment a British Prime Minister has set foot in Burma for

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the first time in more than 60 years, the moment he met the woman

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whose confinement in his house for 14 years captured the world's

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attention. But today she was free to receive her guest. No longer a

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political prisoner and instead, after historic elections, a new

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member of parliament. Their aim was to persuade Mr Cameron that her

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country's move to reform his genuine, he is to lend Britain's

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support to that change. He said EU sanctions against Burma should not

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be lifted, but suspended. Of course we must respond with caution, with

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care. We must always be sceptical and questioning, because we want to

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know those changes are irreversible. But as we have discussed, I think

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it is right to suspend the sanctions that there are against

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Burma, to suspend them, not to lift them, and not to include the arms

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embargo. This suspension would have taken place because of the steps

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taken by the president and other reformers. And it will also make it

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clear to those who are against reform that, should they try to

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obstruct the way of the reformers, sanctions could come back. David

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Cameron has never met Aung San Suu Kyi before, but the smiles and body

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language showed that he was inspired by what she said. You are

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sitting in a garden where you were barely allowed to walk or stand.

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Which used to be a jungle anyway. And only three years ago, you were

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threatened with prison. This visit is another example of David

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Cameron's willingness to play a bold stroke on the international

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stage. But for all the symbolic significance of his meeting today

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with Aung San Suu Kyi, the real impact will only be known if reform

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continues and sanctions are lifted. And that depends on how the

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military-backed government responds. So the Prime Minister travelled

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along the often empty 20 lane roads that lead to the imposing palace of

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Burma's President Thein Sein. He went to meet a man once at the

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heart of the dictatorship, and now, he hopes, part of the country's

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move to democracy. It was perhaps telling that along the way, he was

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greeted by the traditional water festivities that they believe wash

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away people's sins. The smiles were gone and the meeting more formal,

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but the Prime Minister welcomed Thein Sein's decision to allow new

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elections and urged him to go further in releasing political

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prisoners. He left that meeting convinced that the former general

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was at least sincere. This is a country where a third of its

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citizens live in poverty and have waited so many decades for change.

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Leaving Burma today, David Cameron believes that change is so deep-

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seated that he is inviting Aung San Suu Kyi to London this summer. She

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has never felt confident enough to take the risk of leaving her

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country before. Today, she said she just might.

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The fuel tanker drivers' union Unite and six distribution

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companies have reached a possible deal tonight to avert a strike. The

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threat of industrial action by drivers and government advice to

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motorists to stock up on fuel led to panic buying at petrol stations

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last month. Our transport correspondent is at the

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conciliation service ACAS, where the deal was reached. But neither

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side is giving much away? Yes, a deal is on the table, but all sides

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are staying tight-lipped. They have a lot to discuss. Everything from

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pay and pensions to safety and training. What happens next? The

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unions now have to put this deal to their members. Delegates will meet

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next week at a conference. I am told they are coming from all over

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the country and it will not be a straightforward yes or no vote.

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They will discuss the proposals and decide if they like elements of it

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all want clarification. The deadline will be next Friday. The

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union has until then to basically say yes, we like the proposals, or

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"we are going on strike". It is not a done deal yet.

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The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned North

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Korea's latest attempt to launch a rocket into space in defiance of UN

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resolutions. The launch, which ended in failure, is widely seen as

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an attempt to develop a missile capable of carrying nuclear

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warheads. It came as thousands of North Koreans parade in the capital

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Pyongyang in a show of support for their ruling family.

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His swagger is that of a man bred for power. Kim Jong Un is 29 years

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old. Today anointed Supreme Leader. The third generation of the Kim

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dynasty. A statue of his father next to his grandfather was

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unveiled this afternoon. Both ruled before him. North Koreans are

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taught to revere them like gods. But the young Kim's elevation was

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meant to be accompanied by news that North Korea had successfully

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put a satellite into space, an achievement which would help such a

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young man reinforce his right to the mantle of power. But there was

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no mention here of the rocket blowing up a minute into flight,

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just a brief statement earlier in the day that things had not gone to

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plan. North Korea's leadership placed huge importance on the

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satellite launch. Its failure is embarrassing. The question is, what

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effect will it have on the regime of the young Kim Jong Un? Twinning

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by hand, gangs of workers line the boulevards at Pyongyang. The rocket

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was meant to be a way of showing North Koreans that the socialist

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state the Kims have created is technology -- technologically

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advanced. America said it was a disguised to test an

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intercontinental missile. The young Kim's father also tested nuclear

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bombs. She is one of the last North Korea's to have seen Kim Jong Il

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life. He visited this enterprise two days before his death last

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December. Her tears are genuine. We came here before the rocket

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exploded. She told us, we are grateful to Kim Jong Il for making

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our nation a powerful and strong country. Strength and self-reliance.

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They are virtues that are taught to all North Koreans. But now this

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country's neighbours fear that its young leader, who has suffered a

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blow to his prestige, may be tempted to respond with a new show

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of power, perhaps by testing a nuclear bomb. This is already a

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deeply isolated place, under sanctions. The developing -- it is

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developing both missile technology and nuclear weapons. But today,

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there was only reverence for the Kim dynasty. North Koreans are

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oblivious or unconcerned that Kim Jong Un's rocket was a failure and

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that America, Britain and others may now seek, at the UN, to isolate

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this country even further. We can talk to our correspondent in

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Pyongyang now. What now for the North Korean regime? There are

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thought to be two reasons why North Korea spends millions of dollars on

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rockets and nuclear bombs when it is impoverished. The first is as a

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deterrent against what it sees as threats from America. The second,

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as a bargaining chip to seek concessions from America,

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particularly their food aid, because this country cannot feed

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all its own people. Today America has said it will not go ahead with

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planned food aid here because of the missile launch today. So how

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will North Korea's 29-year-old leader respond? Within the logic of

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North Korea, it may now up the ante, conducting an underground test.

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That is what North Korea's neighbours are worried about, Kim

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Jong Un try to restore some lost prestige and also trying to seek

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new concessions from America. But the results of a nuclear test would

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be more tensions in this region and probably more isolation for North

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Korea and for Kim Jong Un. Police are encouraging victims of

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domestic violence to have the confidence to come forward and

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reported use after a man carried out a horrific attack on his

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girlfriend that left her blind. Shane Jenkin set upon Tina Nash at

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her home in Hayle in Cornwall last year. Today he pleaded guilty to

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grievous bodily harm and will be sentenced next month. Some may find

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this report distressing. Tina Nash was a happy, bubbly and

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confident young mum who loved dancing and being with her friends.

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But that life was shattered when she was blinded at her home in a

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brutal attack. The man responsible was not an intruder, but her

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boyfriend, Shane Jenkin. After the attack, he kept her imprisoned for

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nearly 12 hours. If I had seen someone in that much pain, looking

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like that, the first thing I would do is get help, and he didn't. So I

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can't forgive him. He said I was like his best mate, so I don't

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understand why he would hurt someone he was supposed to care

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about. It was here at the Royal Cornwall Hospital that surgeons

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battled unsuccessfully to save Tina Nash's site. She had also been

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severely beaten. She had a turbulent relationship with Shane

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Jenkin. There had been violence in the past, but she had taken him

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back, believing she could change him. Detectives described her

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ordeal as a premeditated, sustained and vicious attack. They urged

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other victims of domestic violence to come forward. There are lots of

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people out there who we do not know about who will not report it to us.

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But unfortunately, as we have seen today, this could be the end result.

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We want to help. Police have praised Tina for her bravery in the

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year since her ordeal, but she admits that her courage sometimes

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wavers. It makes me feel like I have been buried alive. I feel like

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a ghost. You know, I can hear everyone around me and I can't even

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see my hand in front of my face. When I hear my kids, I can't...

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Sorry... I can't see their faces. Shane Jenkin will be sentenced next

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month. Meanwhile, Tina is concentrating on her children and

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One of the world's biggest cigarette manufacturers has

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criticised Andrew Lansley for saying that the industry should

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have no business in the UK. The firm said the remark was very

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unhelpful. It has also dismissed as preposterous a plan to remove

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branding from cigarettes. The government will begin a

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consultation on the idea next week. The Royal Mail is rationing the

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number of stamps it issues, ahead of a sharp increase in prices at

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the end of the month. It says the move is intended to protect its

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revenue. From the end of the month, first class stamps will increase

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from 46 pence to 60p, while second class stamps will rise from 36 to

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50p. Unsurprisingly many customers are not happy and they have been

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stockpiling stamps. Whether it is first class or second

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class, many of us it seems are stocking up before they go up in

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price. Superdrug says supplies are running low and it cannot get any

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more stamps before the end of the month. Tesco, Sainsbury's and

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Morrisons told us today they had seen a significant increase in

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demand. It is small businesses like this one that are most affected by

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the price rises. Richard isn't by specialist in central Scotland and

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relied on Royal Mail. -- is an eye specialist. We have to receive the

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money or past the costs on to the cost of your spectacles. He doesn't

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want to do that so today, Richard went to stock up. Can I have

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3.002nd class stamps, police? lightly. It is too big and order.

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But he does get a few hundred. Royal Mail says it can meet the

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demand but it has capped suppliers to retailers. They cannot buy more

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than 20% of their annual allocation. Royal Mail says it does not want

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retailers profiteering, bulk-buying now and selling later for more, and

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it also wants to protect its revenue. Royal Mail are under great

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pressure, losing money, volumes in post are declining rapidly because

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of e-mail and text messages, so something has to be done. Some

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consumers are trying to beat the price rises. At this village post

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office in Surrey, they have been busier than at Christmas. It has

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been amazing. People have been buying hundreds at a time. We are

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left with very few stamps. This country has plenty of stamps but

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stockpiling shows how keen people are right now to save every penny

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they can. Coming up on tonight's programme:

:16:34.:16:44.
:16:44.:16:44.

The fancy frocks, hats and horses of Ladies' Day at Aintree.

:16:44.:16:47.

Formula One bosses say the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead despite

:16:47.:16:52.

calls from pro-democracy protesters in the country it to be cancelled.

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Last year's event was called off after a crack-down by the Bahraini

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authorities and widespread violence. Our security correspondent Frank

:16:58.:17:06.

Gardner reports. A Friday funeral turned violent

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today for a man shot dead two weeks ago during one of our rain's anti-

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government protests. -- Bahrain's. Hardly the best backdrop for

:17:18.:17:24.

Formula One. The police say they will insure the team's safety and

:17:24.:17:28.

the decision to go ahead rests with Formula One bosses. We heard

:17:28.:17:32.

something from the FDA this morning. What has been discussed about

:17:32.:17:40.

Bahrain? Nothing. We are going there? Yes, of course. The row over

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Bahrain's Grand Prix goes beyond sport. It is worth �25 million to

:17:45.:17:50.

Formula One and it takes place on a circuit which cost �92 million to

:17:50.:17:55.

build. The Royal Family there owns 50% of the team McLaren so there is

:17:55.:18:00.

a lot at stake if it were to be cancelled. The question is, now it

:18:00.:18:05.

is going ahead, will it aggravate or defuse the highly charged

:18:05.:18:08.

atmosphere in the troubled villages in Bahrain? The fundamental

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conflict is between those who support the Sunni ruling elite and

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those who oppose them. Sectarian divisions are growing. This CCTV

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video shows a Sunni gang are looting eight Shia owned

:18:23.:18:28.

supermarket. The police appeared to be warning them of the cameras.

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Bahrain tonight said an investigation has been launched.

:18:32.:18:38.

Bahrain's civil unrest is not going away. As protests continue, Amnesty

:18:38.:18:43.

International says the human rights crisis is not over. The opposition

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thinks the government will exploit the Grand Prix to delay reform.

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They might use it not to move ahead because they feel they have more

:18:51.:18:54.

space now because they have communicated to the international

:18:54.:19:00.

community, everything is normal in Bahrain. Unfortunately this is the

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mentality of a dictatorship. police there are coming

:19:04.:19:08.

increasingly under attack. EXPLOSION. On the night this was

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filmed this week, a pipe bomb sent seven police officers to hospital

:19:12.:19:17.

and many want to see the government take a tougher line with protesters.

:19:17.:19:21.

The last Grand Prix in Bahrain was two years ago. The track may be

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full again once more but it will not get rid of deep and 10

:19:29.:19:35.

divisions. Activists in Syria say several

:19:35.:19:38.

protesters have been shot dead by government forces a day after a

:19:38.:19:42.

ceasefire came into force. Today's protests were seen as a major test

:19:42.:19:45.

of the ceasefire as part of a peace plan negotiated by the

:19:45.:19:47.

international envoy Kofi Annan. Discussions are continuing at the

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UN to try to agree on the deployment of observers to the

:19:50.:19:53.

country. An international team of scientists

:19:53.:19:56.

has been using high resolution satellite images from space to

:19:56.:20:02.

count penguins. They have found that there are twice as many

:20:02.:20:05.

emperor penguins in Antarctica than previously thought. It's the first

:20:05.:20:11.

time that an entire species has been tracked from space.

:20:11.:20:16.

The long march of the emperor penguin. Every winter, Faye Turney

:20:16.:20:21.

100 miles from the ocean inland to their breeding ground -- they

:20:21.:20:24.

journey. It is that time that conservationists used to monitor

:20:24.:20:30.

their numbers. But it is hard to count them. They look the same and

:20:30.:20:35.

inconveniently for researchers, they move around. Against the

:20:35.:20:40.

Antarctic stock white landscape, it is easy to take a picture of all of

:20:40.:20:44.

them from space. The dark areas are colonies of hundreds of penguins.

:20:45.:20:49.

These satellite images have shown that there are nearly 600,000

:20:49.:20:55.

emperor penguins here, twice as many as previous estimates. It is

:20:55.:20:58.

almost impossible to count them on the ground because of the remote

:20:58.:21:02.

and harsh environment but with a satellite, weekend take every

:21:02.:21:08.

single colony with a snapshot of time -- we can take. It is only

:21:08.:21:12.

recently that cameras have become powerful enough on satellite to

:21:12.:21:16.

track individual animals. On the top left-hand corner, you can see

:21:16.:21:22.

the sea, with five floating. On the bottom right, is the land, looking

:21:22.:21:27.

desolate and pristine. But if we zoom in, you can see these are

:21:27.:21:32.

penguin droppings, stretching out for miles. That alerts scientists

:21:32.:21:37.

to the fact that nearby, there must be a colony. If we zoom in further,

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we can see them, in black. Using statistical techniques, computer

:21:43.:21:47.

programs can calculate where the individuals are and count them.

:21:47.:21:51.

Conservationists believe that this type of satellite tracking could

:21:52.:21:57.

enable them to study how many species across the world are doing.

:21:57.:22:00.

Satellite technology is increasingly being used in a number

:22:00.:22:04.

of different aspects of biology. Refining those techniques will be

:22:04.:22:09.

crucial to our understanding of how what life is changing in reaction

:22:09.:22:14.

to human intervention. Although the results suggest there are more

:22:14.:22:17.

emperor penguins than previously thought, many other species are

:22:17.:22:22.

endangered and satellite techniques could enable researchers to track

:22:22.:22:26.

their numbers with greater accuracy than ever before.

:22:26.:22:29.

The Chinese economy, the world's second-largest, has expanded at its

:22:29.:22:33.

slowest pace in almost three years. Annual economic growth was 8.1% for

:22:33.:22:36.

the first quarter of the year, lower than most analysts had

:22:36.:22:39.

predicted. It has raised more questions about the ability of the

:22:39.:22:47.

Chinese leadership to keep the economy on track. Hugh Pym reports.

:22:47.:22:51.

China's retailers are having to try harder to shift their goods, the

:22:51.:22:54.

pace of economic growth has slowed and that is partly because of

:22:55.:22:57.

deliberate attempts by the government to rein back the boom

:22:57.:23:04.

before it got out of control. Consumer demand is not as big as

:23:04.:23:08.

last year. First the government suspended all the subsidies for

:23:08.:23:13.

home appliances. Second, the policies to control property prices.

:23:13.:23:18.

This affects the market alight. So is the party over for the

:23:18.:23:23.

Chinese economy? Most experts say no, but the atmosphere is more

:23:23.:23:29.

muted. China is trying to shift away from being an economy that has

:23:29.:23:32.

this enormous export base drive to one that is more dependent on

:23:32.:23:37.

itself, and they are trying to do it at a time when they want to

:23:37.:23:41.

bring inflation under control, so it is not surprising the economy

:23:41.:23:46.

has been slowing. If China has a growth problem, many other

:23:46.:23:50.

economies would happily swap it for theirs. Last year the UK saw growth

:23:50.:24:00.
:24:00.:24:00.

But China had more than 90% growth. Even with the pace of expansion

:24:00.:24:04.

easing off, China is still one of the bright spots for the global

:24:04.:24:10.

economy -- 9% growth. UK exports have really benefited from China's

:24:10.:24:16.

growth in the last few years. Trade with the eurozone may have been

:24:16.:24:19.

difficult but surge in demand from China has really kept things

:24:19.:24:22.

ticking over. Jobs have been created largely on the back of

:24:22.:24:27.

those exports and there is more expansion on the way. China is a

:24:28.:24:32.

huge prospect, opportunity for us. We are expecting the growth of

:24:32.:24:39.

certainly up to 20% of our business, and that will be no growth and jobs.

:24:39.:24:43.

So British companies will hope the Chinese authorities can keep the

:24:43.:24:47.

economy on course, as they prepare for a big change in leadership

:24:47.:24:57.
:24:57.:24:58.

later this year. It has been a day of stylish hats

:24:58.:25:01.

and fancy frocks. Ladies' Day at Aintree has, as always, attracted

:25:01.:25:04.

thousands of women, as well as a few men, and comes as the

:25:04.:25:06.

excitement builds for tomorrow's Grand National.

:25:06.:25:09.

On Ladies' Day, the dress code is uniquely Aintree. Months of

:25:09.:25:15.

planning go into Friday's display. The serious side is often not seen.

:25:15.:25:19.

We filmed animal welfare campaigners inspecting the Grand

:25:19.:25:21.

National course with the British Horseracing Authority. Things have

:25:21.:25:26.

changed, to an extent. Older, better horses will run and in

:25:26.:25:31.

places, the ground where they land has been levelled, but most of the

:25:31.:25:36.

fences are just as big. One has to ask the simple question: Is it

:25:36.:25:41.

reasonable? Have the animal been properly prepared? Does the Jockey

:25:41.:25:46.

have the ability? Let's hope everything goes the way it should.

:25:46.:25:53.

40 horses charging at over 30 mph, trying to leap fences 5 ft tall. It

:25:53.:25:58.

is risky, it is supposed to be, the ultimate challenge. For horses and

:25:58.:26:06.

for jockeys. It is where Ruby Walsh excelled, twice National winner in

:26:06.:26:11.

the last few years. This time he has been joined by his sister.

:26:11.:26:15.

Katie Walsh is riding Sea Bass and has a genuine hope of winning

:26:15.:26:20.

herself. She was always tagging along behind but there was five

:26:20.:26:25.

years between us. It would be great for the race to have a woman

:26:25.:26:30.

winner? It would be absolutely fantastic but I don't know if that

:26:30.:26:40.
:26:40.:26:40.

will be the case. If it happens... It would be unbelievable. Better

:26:40.:26:45.

story, me winning three... If you didn't catch him! One thing that

:26:45.:26:49.

will make the ground softer and the Grand National safe bet is the rain

:26:49.:26:54.

and address groat can always be adapted -- and the dress code can

:26:54.:26:58.

always be adapted. After several years as a couple,

:26:58.:27:01.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are said to be engaged according to

:27:01.:27:05.

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