:00:13. > :00:16.Tonight, one of the biggest stories of this year, next year and perhaps
:00:16. > :00:22.of the 21st century, the rise of China.
:00:22. > :00:25.A month ago the country brought in a new set of leaders, amid great
:00:25. > :00:29.secrecy. Tonight China's ambassador is here, for a rare live interview,
:00:29. > :00:33.of the changes we can expect from the new leadership. China's
:00:33. > :00:40.superpower role in the world, and whether we in the west really
:00:40. > :00:43.understand what makes China tick. Also tonight, a call to arms.
:00:43. > :00:47.call on Congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever
:00:47. > :00:51.is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in
:00:51. > :00:54.this nation. The National Rifle Association give
:00:54. > :00:57.their verdict, a week after the mass shooting that killed 20
:00:57. > :01:03.children, and six staff, in a Connecticut school.
:01:03. > :01:07.Hoi was the end of the world for you? Newsnight's Steven Smith
:01:07. > :01:11.hasn't let the moment go to waste. If this really is last orders, the
:01:12. > :01:15.man I want on the skill let, is Antonio Carluccio. What goes well
:01:15. > :01:21.with the end of the world? Some truffles.
:01:21. > :01:31.We hope to hear from those waiting at the Mayan temple at Chichen Itza,
:01:31. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :01:36.assuming doomsday doesn't occur in the next half our or so.
:01:36. > :01:39.Good evening f the last 100 years was rightly described as the
:01:39. > :01:43.American century, the next 100 could well be the Chinese century.
:01:43. > :01:47.What might that mean. This year we witnessed the Changing of the Guard,
:01:47. > :01:50.vet top of the leadership in Beijing. And a new promise to crack
:01:50. > :01:53.down on corruption. But America's attention is being drawn away from
:01:53. > :01:58.Europe to the Pacific, by the military as well as the economic
:01:58. > :02:01.rise of China. How will Beijing use its leadership role? It's rare for
:02:01. > :02:09.the Chinese Government, or its spokes people to give broadcast
:02:09. > :02:13.interviews, to the UK media, but, in a moment, Zhang Xiaojun, China's
:02:13. > :02:18.ambassador in London, will talk us through how China is changing. Here
:02:18. > :02:21.is Paul Mason, on what he has witnessed in changing China over
:02:21. > :02:26.witnessed in changing China over the last year.
:02:27. > :02:29., the charts tell the tale, China's economy is, on the official figure,
:02:30. > :02:34.five-times bigger than it was ten years ago when it joined the World
:02:34. > :02:38.Trade Organisation. Its people are tanningably better off. It is rich,
:02:38. > :02:43.spectacularly rich. But it is not a happy country. They have to manage
:02:43. > :02:47.the strategic shift to consumption, and higher value production. They
:02:47. > :02:57.have got to keep on board a population that is noticably
:02:57. > :02:58.
:02:59. > :03:03.restive. An urban middle-class fed up with pollution and fed up with
:03:03. > :03:06.the sense of privilege of the elite. That is not being offered with much
:03:06. > :03:11.greater freedom. What they will demand, what that middle-class will
:03:11. > :03:14.demand will be very interesting. The outgoing leader himself told
:03:14. > :03:17.the 18th Party Congress, corruption could prove fatal to the party, and
:03:17. > :03:24.even cause the collapse of the party, and the fall of the state.
:03:24. > :03:28.The scale of corruption in China is enormous. Against a leadership that
:03:28. > :03:32.is very much aware of that, and again, this is not a new
:03:32. > :03:37.recognition, they have been aware of it for a long time. They have
:03:37. > :03:42.been heroically trying to stamp out corruption, but it has simply got
:03:42. > :03:46.worse and worse. The new leader, Liu Xianping, has begun his term
:03:46. > :03:52.with a crackdown on corruption. There is talk -- corruption, there
:03:52. > :03:55.is talk, but only so far talk, about some democracy. With social
:03:55. > :04:01.unrest always there at the edges, China's leaders know they have to
:04:01. > :04:05.build a bigger social safety net, a and a more durable legal system,
:04:05. > :04:09.and agress the grievances of 150 million migrant workers. Nowhere
:04:09. > :04:13.demonstrates the biggest challenge for the party, than the Internet.
:04:13. > :04:18.During the 18th Congress it was impossible to search for the very
:04:18. > :04:22.word "18th Congress", searches for party leaders returned few results.
:04:22. > :04:28.Ten years ago as China exploded into the world economy, it didn't
:04:28. > :04:35.seem very relevant that its internet was censureed and
:04:35. > :04:42.repressed. And now, it seems like - - censored and repressed. It seems
:04:42. > :04:46.now cut off. There is an effort to create a Chinese infranet, the
:04:46. > :04:50.firewall and that China is sufficient unto itself, it can't
:04:50. > :04:53.work, China is the biggest beneficiary to globaliseways, China
:04:53. > :04:56.wants global companies, and wants a population that is familiar with
:04:57. > :05:02.the world and at ease in the world, it can't be done that way. It is
:05:02. > :05:12.hard to see in an information age, how this strategic lock-down on of
:05:12. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:16.information can go on. Why bass dor is with me. When we think of a
:05:16. > :05:20.change at the top, we think of old people being swept away and new
:05:20. > :05:24.people coming in, this doesn't look like such a big deal to those
:05:24. > :05:29.outside the country. Has it been a big deal? It is a big deal in terms
:05:29. > :05:36.of China's future development with regard to this 18th Party Congress.
:05:36. > :05:42.I would say that it is significant because it elected new leadership.
:05:42. > :05:45.They will lead the country for the next five years and even beyond.
:05:45. > :05:52.This leadership are young and energetic, they are down to earth,
:05:52. > :05:57.they have a lot of experience in the grassroots, some of them even
:05:57. > :06:04.worked in the countryside in factories. And also, this Congress
:06:04. > :06:11.produced new blueprints for China for the next five years, or even
:06:11. > :06:20.beyond. That is to building China into a well-off society. The target
:06:20. > :06:26.is to double the GDP of 2010 by 2020. So within ten years you will
:06:26. > :06:32.double GDP? In ten years, not only double GDP, but also double the per
:06:32. > :06:35.capita income of the people. What about that specific point that the
:06:35. > :06:40.new leader made about corruption, which he knows really angers
:06:40. > :06:44.ordinary people. You have got to crack down on it, how will you do
:06:44. > :06:50.that and deliver? It will make most people even angrier if you don't
:06:50. > :06:56.within the five or ten years? think corruption is, you know, it
:06:56. > :07:03.is not a problem for China alone. Once you are in the period of
:07:03. > :07:07.social transformation, it is unavoidable that you have all kinds
:07:07. > :07:12.of problems. Just like it was said at the beginning of opening up of
:07:12. > :07:17.China, Liu Xianping said, when we open the window, we let in the
:07:18. > :07:23.fresh air, it is unavoidable that flies, mosquitoes will be in. But
:07:23. > :07:28.the important thing is how the party faces up to it. That they
:07:28. > :07:33.adopt measures to deal with this problem. I think the leadership is
:07:33. > :07:36.resolute and determined. Do you see things like the Internet as being
:07:36. > :07:40.like flies and mosquitoe, do you see it as a bit of irritation. From
:07:40. > :07:45.outside we don't understand what you are worried about when you want
:07:45. > :07:50.to control how people exchange information? I think there is a
:07:50. > :07:53.misconception about the Internet development in China. In fact, the
:07:53. > :07:57.Chinese are very open in terms of the internet, we have the most
:07:57. > :08:01.numbers of internet users in China today. But our correspondent
:08:01. > :08:08.couldn't get on Facebook in China, you can't go on Twitter, it is not
:08:08. > :08:14.quite as you present it? In China every day there are hundreds of
:08:14. > :08:20.thoiss of comments made by the -- thousands of comments made by the
:08:20. > :08:26.bloggers, 66% of Chinese users make comments on-line. It is up to the
:08:26. > :08:31.Government to regulate the users, also, in protection of the safety
:08:31. > :08:36.of the internet, to ensure that healthy content is available, and
:08:36. > :08:39.unhealthy content should be removed. But isn't that really up to
:08:39. > :08:43.ordinary people to decide? I mean, looking at the history of your
:08:43. > :08:46.country, you have had thousands of years of creativity, and we see
:08:47. > :08:49.creativity as based on the free exchange of information. Part of
:08:49. > :08:54.the reasons why people in the west think you are cracking down and
:08:54. > :08:59.being very hard on bloggers, is it is very difficult to do for some
:08:59. > :09:02.people, because you don't like certain ideas? If you are in China,
:09:02. > :09:12.and can get connected on the Internet, I think you can get all
:09:12. > :09:16.kinds of opinions, it is very open. Lots of things can be debated,
:09:16. > :09:20.economics, politics, cultural affairs. You have to have a big
:09:20. > :09:23.picture of the development of the internet back in China. Please stay
:09:23. > :09:27.with us, we want to pursue what you said at the start of our
:09:27. > :09:31.conversation, which is that China's vast economy means it is a supplier
:09:31. > :09:35.of manufactured goods to the world, it is also a customer for raw
:09:35. > :09:39.materials and a big invest to which, among other things, underpins the
:09:39. > :09:43.American economy. Would world role is China really trying to create
:09:43. > :09:46.for itself. In Syria and other countries, it traditionally calls
:09:46. > :09:50.for non-intervention. But China's huge investment in military power
:09:50. > :09:54.means America is reconfiguring its deployments in the Pacific, and
:09:54. > :09:58.Japan is worried about a confrontation over disputed islands.
:09:58. > :10:03.Here is Paul Mason again. They are five uninhabitable islands and
:10:04. > :10:08.three rocks, north of Taiwan. And even their name is disputed, but
:10:08. > :10:14.the dispute over the Sanseverino islands, has sparked tension on the
:10:14. > :10:18.high seas, demonstrations in China and political upheaval in Japan. It
:10:18. > :10:21.is supposed to be shadow boxing, but things can go wrong. Things can
:10:21. > :10:28.get out of control. It is not the policy of the Chinese Government to
:10:28. > :10:34.pick a fight with Japan. But at the operational levels, when the
:10:34. > :10:41.fishery protection vessels from China are sailing into Japanese
:10:41. > :10:49.waters. When Chinese aircraft are flying into the airspace of the
:10:49. > :10:54.Sanseverino islands, and the Chinese respond responds with
:10:54. > :10:59.fighter pilots and ships. There is the called pivot in Asia for the
:10:59. > :11:02.Americans, moving away from confrontation with North Korea, and
:11:02. > :11:10.boosting naval power where China has a growing strategic influence.
:11:10. > :11:14.There is a lot of uncertainty, are we a nation state or a 18th century
:11:14. > :11:20.land empire trying to be a nation state. What are our terms. Mostly
:11:20. > :11:23.they are too concerned about domestic issues, it is d domestic
:11:24. > :11:28.uncertainties, about maintaining growth, and many crises they have,
:11:28. > :11:32.to feel confident to play a major role in the world. It is likely
:11:32. > :11:37.that by 2020 China will become the world's biggest economy. But it is
:11:37. > :11:41.far from a global superpower. Up to now, it is focused on projecting
:11:41. > :11:45.soft power, bilateral trade, technology deals, into the places
:11:45. > :11:48.western power is either weak or has vacated.
:11:48. > :11:52.On meeting Mr Roosevelt, Mr Churchill's first act is to hand
:11:52. > :11:56.him a letter from the king. history, there is only one case
:11:56. > :12:00.study of the emergence of a new superpower. In the 1920s America
:12:00. > :12:06.gained a global reach, naval supremacy, and developed a world
:12:06. > :12:09.strategy. Chinese people are used now to the idea that America is
:12:09. > :12:14.declining and their country rising. But nobody really knows what China
:12:14. > :12:19.wants. Now, we don't know what China will look like when China
:12:19. > :12:23.will have finally risen. The Communist Party is very reticent in
:12:23. > :12:26.terms of articulating a vision of what it would like to see when
:12:26. > :12:30.China has finally risen. The Communist Party at the moment is
:12:30. > :12:33.focused on reassuring the rest of the world that there is nothing to
:12:34. > :12:39.fear. As it does become a global power, the vision China's leaders
:12:39. > :12:42.will offer the world is becoming clear. They see their country as
:12:42. > :12:48.essentially Confucian, paced on order, absolutism, and the absence
:12:48. > :12:53.of knockcy. The problem is, that involves writing off quite a bit of
:12:53. > :12:59.the 20th century in China, and quite a bit of contemporary reality.
:12:59. > :13:03.The China of strikes, youth culture, and dissident writing, does not
:13:03. > :13:09.looks a Confucian as its leaders would like it to. Can you help us
:13:09. > :13:13.with the main points, you may have an ambition of doubling the GDP by
:13:13. > :13:17.2020, as the world's biggest economy, what role does China want
:13:17. > :13:23.out of that? China certainly wants to play a role as a responsible
:13:23. > :13:26.country. We call ourselves the largest developing country with a
:13:26. > :13:30.global responsibility. We want to contribute to peace, and the
:13:30. > :13:32.stability of the world. We need a peaceful environment to develop our
:13:32. > :13:37.own country. Because you couldn't have that economic development
:13:37. > :13:41.without peace? That's right. And also China's peaceful development,
:13:41. > :13:48.in turn, would contribute to peace and prosperity of the world.
:13:48. > :13:52.Secondly, I think China's growth is a big contributer to the world
:13:52. > :13:56.economic growth. How does that square with what seems to be quite
:13:56. > :14:00.small problems that could be quite big problems. For instance, the
:14:00. > :14:03.potential of a conflict with Japan over a bunch of rocks in the sea?
:14:03. > :14:07.We would certainly like good relations with Japan. I know you
:14:08. > :14:11.are talking about the Diaoyu Islands, in fact, these islands
:14:11. > :14:16.belonged to China for centuries, since ancient times. You know
:14:16. > :14:21.that's not quite how the Japanese see it, that is what people are
:14:21. > :14:28.worried about? It was not until 1895, when China lost the first war
:14:28. > :14:36.with Japan, and Japan illegally seized the islands. It was in 1943,
:14:36. > :14:42.when I saw the picture of Churchill, Roosevelt and the meeting in Cairo,
:14:42. > :14:46.they issued the Cairo Declaration, in this Cairo Declaration, it
:14:46. > :14:49.declared in explicit terms that all territories seized by Japan from
:14:49. > :14:53.China, shall return to China without any conditions. Does that
:14:53. > :14:57.mean, briefly on that, does that mean you can resolve this
:14:57. > :15:02.peacefully, do you think? Of course. We want to resolve this peacefully
:15:02. > :15:08.with Japan. We hope that they will return to the consensus reached
:15:08. > :15:13.between the leaders of the two countries in 1975. 1982. One other
:15:13. > :15:16.issue in which China has had a role, which is the question of Syria,
:15:17. > :15:22.that has been controversial. We have President Putin saying we are
:15:22. > :15:25.not concerned of the fate of Assad's regime, is the Chinese
:15:25. > :15:29.Government concerned about Assad's regime? We are concerned about the
:15:29. > :15:35.fate of the Syrian people. It is up to the Syrian people to decide who
:15:35. > :15:40.will be their leaders. The reason why China opposed to some of the
:15:40. > :15:43.resolutions tabled by western countries, is because the
:15:43. > :15:46.resolutions called for regime change. Do you think it would be a
:15:46. > :15:51.bad thing if Assad went? No, I think it is up to the Syrian people.
:15:51. > :15:56.It wouldn't be a bad thing? If the Syrian people believe that is good
:15:56. > :16:00.for them, we will agree with them. It is not up to the Chinese to
:16:00. > :16:04.decide who is their leader and what kind of regime should be in place.
:16:04. > :16:08.It is up to the Syrian people. it not kind of obvious that most of
:16:08. > :16:12.the Syrian people want rid of him, and they would like help from
:16:13. > :16:16.outsiders, that is a problem, there are those who want to help in a
:16:16. > :16:19.certain way? It depends which Syrian people you are speaking to.
:16:19. > :16:25.Syria is in a civil war situation. You have opposition and those
:16:25. > :16:29.behind the Government. So the important thing is to bring the
:16:29. > :16:32.ceasefire, to immediately start the political transition process, I
:16:32. > :16:36.think, that's the most important thing. And stop the violence.
:16:36. > :16:40.of the big things that we in the west will have to get our heads
:16:40. > :16:43.around, was summerised by the British writer, Kipling, he said
:16:44. > :16:50.the east and west will never completely understand each other.
:16:50. > :16:54.Do you think that's true, in a way? I think there is a problem for
:16:54. > :16:58.western countries to understand China. I think, first, there is a
:16:58. > :17:06.strong bias against China, you know, when it comes to China, some people
:17:06. > :17:12.still are haunted by this Cold War mentality. They do not like the
:17:12. > :17:15.Communist Party, when they see China, they have the lens used to
:17:15. > :17:24.look through those issues. That prevents them from having a big
:17:24. > :17:29.picture of China. So, I do hope that we need more sense and
:17:29. > :17:36.sensibility, rather than Pride and Prejudice. To quote another famous
:17:36. > :17:44.English author. In terms of that, so much has changed, you talked
:17:44. > :17:49.about Dung Xiping, even that phrase doesn't sum up where China is going,
:17:49. > :17:55.it sounds like a very uncommunist, Communist Party. I think there is
:17:55. > :18:01.an and misunderstanding about the Chinese Communist Party, I think
:18:01. > :18:04.they still uphold the part of Chinese socialism. We call it a
:18:04. > :18:07.socialism with Chinese characteristics, it combines the
:18:08. > :18:12.Marxist theory with the conditions of China. I think the system suits
:18:12. > :18:17.China. It can deliver, it is successful, so why should we change
:18:17. > :18:21.this system, when it is still effective, and can still deliver
:18:21. > :18:25.benefits to its people, and welcomed by the people. We have
:18:25. > :18:28.been very clear on how we might misunderstand you, do you think you
:18:28. > :18:32.sometimes misunderstand us, which is, in saying that when we talk
:18:32. > :18:36.about the human rights issue, the Internet, and all those kinds of
:18:36. > :18:39.issues, which seem very important to us, it is not to beat China up
:18:39. > :18:44.about it, it is to suggest that you will be a more creative country if
:18:44. > :18:50.you had some of these things? welcome criticism. We welcome it,
:18:50. > :18:55.with a good intention. We don't think China is perfect, just like
:18:55. > :18:59.every country, there is much room to improve. But we are strongly
:18:59. > :19:06.opposed to interference into China's internal affairs, and to
:19:06. > :19:09.use human rights as a tool to change China's political system, to
:19:09. > :19:15.humiliate China, that is something we cannot accept. I just want to
:19:15. > :19:22.mention one thing, you know, how we have a different picture. Like the
:19:22. > :19:28.map mindly, you know, there is a mistake, there is a one important
:19:28. > :19:33.part of China missing, that is Taiwan. It is much bigger than the
:19:33. > :19:37.island. So the way Chinese code the territory is different. Perhaps you
:19:37. > :19:40.can come back and we can talk again about this. Thank you very much,
:19:40. > :19:45.ambassador. After the killing of 20 schoolchildren and six teachers at
:19:45. > :19:48.a school in Connecticut a week ago, America's extremely influential gun
:19:48. > :19:51.lobby remained largely silent until today. The National Rifle
:19:51. > :19:58.Association countered suggestions that the answer to gun crime might
:19:58. > :20:03.be tougher gun law, banning, armour-lights and Kalashnikov
:20:03. > :20:07.Assault Rifle, instead the NRA urged another solution. I call on
:20:07. > :20:17.Congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is
:20:17. > :20:24.
:20:24. > :20:30.necessary to put armed police officers at the. (no sound) I can
:20:30. > :20:34.speak now to a Democratic state representative in Missouri, with
:20:34. > :20:38.Republican state law makers are pushing for a law that would allow
:20:38. > :20:41.teachers to carry weapons in school. Can we begin with what the NRA are
:20:41. > :20:46.saying today, they seem to see the way forward to stop the killings of
:20:46. > :20:52.children in schools to have armed police in schools. That could work,
:20:52. > :20:55.couldn't it? You know it is a very scary proposition to me. I don't
:20:55. > :20:59.think that teachers and administrators who teach in schools,
:20:59. > :21:03.expect to have to learn how to utilise and carry a weapon. So, no,
:21:03. > :21:06.I don't think that's a good proposal that they are putting
:21:06. > :21:09.forward. I think to have security guards in each of our schools is
:21:09. > :21:15.really setting the wrong tone for what goes on in our schools. This
:21:15. > :21:20.was an act of a person who was mentally ill, and we are not going
:21:20. > :21:24.to expect to have security guards at every place in every school, in
:21:24. > :21:27.every restaurant, in every store, around our nation, to make it safer.
:21:27. > :21:31.The proliferation of guns and people with guns is not the
:21:31. > :21:35.solution here. The solution is to limit access to those weapons.
:21:35. > :21:39.Do you not worry, though, then, given your perspective on this,
:21:39. > :21:43.that it might happen any way, because people will be so desperate
:21:43. > :21:47.that they will say, well, look, maybe I don't like too many guns,
:21:47. > :21:51.but frankly, if it has to be a police officer, trained to use a
:21:51. > :21:56.weapon, at my child's school to protect my six-year-old, I will go
:21:56. > :22:00.along with it? I think at some schools we do have security
:22:00. > :22:03.personnel. Because of all kinds of reasons. If a school district
:22:03. > :22:07.chooses to go that direction, I think that's their option. But I
:22:07. > :22:11.think that you are going to find that school administrators,
:22:11. > :22:15.teachers, parents, don't think that their school districts, and their
:22:15. > :22:19.children's schools are the places that we need to have armed security
:22:19. > :22:22.guards. Instead, we need to make our communities safer by creating
:22:22. > :22:25.schools as community hubs, and making sure that neighbours are
:22:25. > :22:28.taking care of neighbours and watching out for each other and
:22:28. > :22:32.their children. I don't think this is the right solution. And I
:22:32. > :22:36.certainly don't think, yes, of course go ahead. Sorry to interrupt,
:22:36. > :22:41.but President Obama clearly thinks along the same lines as you, but we
:22:41. > :22:47.have seen over 30 years those who do find it difficult, if not
:22:47. > :22:52.impossible, do you have any faith that Obama can do it? You know, I'm
:22:52. > :22:55.hopeful. I think the nation is at a point where we are saying, look,
:22:55. > :23:01.this proliferation of guns, this granting of easier access to guns,
:23:01. > :23:05.to more and more people, is not working well for us as a nation. We
:23:05. > :23:08.have so many murders by and through gun use in this nation. We need to
:23:08. > :23:12.stop. We have been moving towards allowing more and more guns,
:23:12. > :23:16.because the NRA has such a strong and powerful lobby. It is time to
:23:16. > :23:20.pull back and say, assault weapons, and guns in the hands of all kinds
:23:20. > :23:25.of people, make them easily accessible, we need to pull back,
:23:25. > :23:28.we need to stop. We need to make sure that the people who do carry
:23:29. > :23:32.guns for security reasons, to protect their homes, or for hunting,
:23:32. > :23:36.that those people have been trained, that they have been registered,
:23:36. > :23:39.they have gone through a process, where we know that they are
:23:39. > :23:41.mentally stable, and that they are using these guns, for those
:23:42. > :23:45.purposes, and that they alone are using the guns.
:23:45. > :23:52.We will leave it there, thank you very much.
:23:52. > :23:57.Now, while the Arabic system of numbers produced algebra, calculus,
:23:57. > :24:02.decimals, and modern mathematics, up to main frame computers, astro
:24:02. > :24:05.fistics and the iPod. The Mayan system, based on the number 20,
:24:05. > :24:08.produced the news, so we are told, that today of the end of the world.
:24:08. > :24:13.It would be understandable if panic had ensued across the globe,
:24:13. > :24:18.considering what could have been, we sent Steve Smith out to
:24:18. > :24:23.investigate the action on the promise that today might be his
:24:23. > :24:28.last day at work! How are you getting on with your advent
:24:28. > :24:32.calendar, the Mayans, a far-sighted people, have one going for 5,000
:24:32. > :24:38.years. Now their ancient book of days has at last come to an end.
:24:38. > :24:43.What those it portend, that is what they are wondering in Guatemala,
:24:43. > :24:50.and around the globe. Is it just the turning of a wheel, one cycle
:24:50. > :25:00.surrounding another. Or is it, as some have predicted, the end times,
:25:00. > :25:01.
:25:01. > :25:09.the rapttuer, the final reckoning for mankind. Can this be right? The
:25:09. > :25:15.world might end today, one last day on the planet. What will I do? I
:25:15. > :25:21.will probably just get on with my work, it is my true legacy. Mind
:25:21. > :25:28.you, this isn't a time to think about one's self, maybe volunteers.
:25:28. > :25:33.What the? Yes, lovely noise. condemned man ate a hearty meal. If
:25:33. > :25:40.this really is last orders, the man I want on the skillet is Antonio
:25:40. > :25:46.Carluccio. What goes well with an apocalypse? Some truffles. For the
:25:46. > :25:56.end of the world? Obviously, what time is it? We have a few minutes.
:25:56. > :25:59.
:25:59. > :26:06.We are all right for a little while. They are translated "ugly but
:26:06. > :26:14.good"! I have heard that a few times. Wonderful. Wonderful
:26:15. > :26:18.Parmesan, fresh. Now you go with this here. These are truffle
:26:18. > :26:22.shavings?. Now we wait for the end of the world. Cheers. Cheers, thank
:26:22. > :26:26.you very much. People came to this corner of the
:26:27. > :26:33.French Pyrenees today, not to hunt truffles, but in hopes of being
:26:33. > :26:39.spared. Some believe this lonely village is cursed with a name no-
:26:39. > :26:44.one dare say out loud, because of an alien connection. That's right,
:26:44. > :26:52.extraterrestrials have reportedly garageed an escape vehicle inside
:26:52. > :26:58.this mountain. This is only an artist's impression
:26:58. > :27:03.of how the spacecraft Mike exit the peak.
:27:03. > :27:10.They all want to go there today to see the thing open up and the
:27:10. > :27:17.spaceship. Wonderful. What do you think about that? Shall I tell you?
:27:17. > :27:22.Yes if it is clean. BEEP! # Don't say no
:27:22. > :27:29.# It's the end of the world Thinkers, musicians and comedians,
:27:29. > :27:32.put on a show in London tonight. Inspired by the excitement over the
:27:32. > :27:35.Mayan calendar. Brian we're so delighted to catch up with you, you
:27:35. > :27:41.are the first credible scientist we have found, who believes in this
:27:41. > :27:46.Mayan prophesy? Well, let's be specific. Have I got it right, or
:27:46. > :27:50.is my research faulty for once? used the Mayan prophesy to sell out
:27:50. > :27:56.this venue. Believe is too strong, it is utter nonsense. It is true,
:27:56. > :27:59.if you look back at all the major religions, there is an apocalyptic
:27:59. > :28:03.component, Revelations in the Bible. There is something about the end of
:28:03. > :28:06.the world prophesis, end times, that seems to be universal. It is
:28:07. > :28:11.present in most religions and cultures. I think it is just, it
:28:11. > :28:17.must be that part of the human condition is to be concerned about
:28:17. > :28:22.these momentous events, and prophesis. Maybe there is a spark
:28:22. > :28:26.in some people's mind, I was going to say a chink of light, but it is
:28:27. > :28:32.darkness. Here we are, getting on for 11.00pm, in the UK, looks like
:28:32. > :28:36.we made it, or have we? In mox co- at the moment the sun hasn't come
:28:36. > :28:43.up -- in Mexico at the moment, the sun hasn't come up yet, maybe it
:28:43. > :28:47.never will. That's all folkss! We have a minute
:28:47. > :28:52.now to go to the Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza in Mexico, and joined
:28:52. > :28:56.by our correspondent, helping to organise a big end of the world
:28:56. > :29:04.party. Are you disappointed that the party might be good but the end
:29:04. > :29:10.of the world clearly isn't happening? N't I think you asked me
:29:10. > :29:15.was I disappointed about the end of the world? I'm actually very, very
:29:15. > :29:20.more excited that I'm here and celebrating with everyone this time,
:29:20. > :29:23.this new beginning, this new era, where we all get to come together
:29:23. > :29:32.as humanity and connect intimately and move forward together. So, I
:29:32. > :29:35.take it you bought a return ticket, then? What's that? I take it that
:29:35. > :29:45.if you didn't think it was going to be the end of the world, you
:29:45. > :29:45.
:29:45. > :29:50.probably bought a return ticket, rather than a single? Yeah, I'm
:29:50. > :29:54.sorry, I'm really just enjoying myself here, really enjoi joying
:29:54. > :29:57.connecting with people. It is very -- injoying connecting with people,
:29:57. > :30:02.it is difficult for me to hear. Thank you very much, I will take
:30:02. > :30:05.that as a no then. That's all for Newsnight at 2012, we will return
:30:05. > :30:08.in the beginning of January, we will leave you with a glimpse of
:30:08. > :30:13.this channel's Christmas schedule. Carols from King's College in
:30:13. > :30:23.Cambridge, can be seen at 6.15 on BBC Two. From all of us here, happy
:30:23. > :30:52.
:30:52. > :31:02.# If I were a wise man # I would do my part
:31:02. > :31:08.
:31:08. > :31:18.# Yet what I can I give him # Give him my heart
:31:18. > :31:29.
:31:29. > :31:32.Good evening, some more severe weather to come through tonight,
:31:32. > :31:36.with flooding rains, potentially, and widespread warnings for heavy
:31:36. > :31:39.rain from the Met Office. There are particular areas we are especially
:31:39. > :31:42.concerned about, south western parts of England. South Wales,
:31:42. > :31:45.Yorkshire and also eastern Scotland. For all of us it will be really
:31:45. > :31:49.very wet, I think there could be flooding in just about any part.
:31:49. > :31:54.The rivers will rise quite rapidly, because the water, the ground,
:31:55. > :32:01.rather, is so waterlogged already. The winds also feature, picking up
:32:01. > :32:05.to strong-to-gale force, they have been buffeting Scotland for a few
:32:05. > :32:13.days, causing widespread disruption to the ferries and up to storm
:32:13. > :32:16.force on Saturday. Snow over the mountain, more snow will melt as
:32:16. > :32:20.the -- milder air arrives. There could be surface flooding just
:32:20. > :32:25.about everywhere. It will be a very wet and windy spell during the day
:32:25. > :32:35.on Saturday. It's not just the UK affected by that wet weather either,
:32:35. > :32:44.