:00:10. > :00:19.Could a business degree boost your job prospects? Look no further and
:00:20. > :00:24.don't worry about studying. JTSDZ we are starting with high-level
:00:25. > :00:32.macro-economics. It cost our friend Pete of Battersea Dogs Home just ?50
:00:33. > :00:36.to enrol with an MBA with a virtual guarantee for an MBA at the end of
:00:37. > :00:39.it. A former Prime Minister wades into
:00:40. > :00:43.the energy row and calls for a windfall tax. I think it would be
:00:44. > :00:49.entirely reasonable for the Chancellor then to recoup that money
:00:50. > :00:53.back from the energy company in a one-off impost. The Prime Minister
:00:54. > :00:59.definitely doesn't like it. Why would Facebook want to be used to
:01:00. > :01:02.show pictures of people being beheaded?
:01:03. > :01:05.And in Kabul, we're on the touch-line reporting a good news
:01:06. > :01:09.story. In a country still suffering from
:01:10. > :01:13.the chaos and injustice of war they are celebrating a game where you
:01:14. > :01:25.play by the rules. Where the referee's word is final. As anyone
:01:26. > :01:28.who has slogged their way to get there and then slogged their way
:01:29. > :01:34.through years of study there, a university degree can be a hard won
:01:35. > :01:37.thing, and expensive nowadays too. But supposing that you could pay
:01:38. > :01:42.some money and get a degree without having to do any work at all. A
:01:43. > :01:47.Newsnight investigation has found one on-line university, offering a
:01:48. > :01:49.high-level degree, in exchange for nothing other than thousands of
:01:50. > :01:54.pounds. Crickets say that unless something is done to crack down, the
:01:55. > :02:09.good name of British education could be dragged through the mud.
:02:10. > :02:20.Lectures and libraries, books and examples, taily life for most
:02:21. > :02:26.students. Higher education is meant to be something you can trust,
:02:27. > :02:31.standard recognised around the world. Too often though things may
:02:32. > :02:40.not be quite what they seem. There is place where it's possible to get
:02:41. > :02:44.hold of top degrees and diplomas, no checks, regulations or standards.
:02:45. > :02:48.Away from the real world on the Internet, it can seem that more or
:02:49. > :02:53.less anything goes. Dodgy degrees are nothing new. Black markets in
:02:54. > :02:56.fake bits of parchment go back to 14th century Europe. But the
:02:57. > :03:03.Internet has transformed the business of dubious qualifications
:03:04. > :03:09.into a billion dollar industry. It is now thought 200,000 degrees are
:03:10. > :03:14.dished out each year by unrecognised virtual universities, based entirely
:03:15. > :03:16.on-line. Carolyn Campbell runs the international section of the quality
:03:17. > :03:23.assurance agency which checks standards in British universities.
:03:24. > :03:29.Nowadays we see that these diploma and Boeing news providers are able
:03:30. > :03:33.to adopt the apparatus of regular universities. They can see what goes
:03:34. > :03:36.on in these institutions and they replicate it. They are very
:03:37. > :03:44.difficult to track. They are very difficult to find, actually, because
:03:45. > :03:50.they are operating on the Internet. So, armed with just a laptop, we
:03:51. > :03:53.started to look into this lucrative business. To hand out a British
:03:54. > :03:58.degree you have to be recognised by parliament. But there is a loophole,
:03:59. > :04:03.it is perfectly legal to give the impression a university is run here
:04:04. > :04:09.but in reality incorporate it on an obscure island with no regulation.
:04:10. > :04:12.It is thought there are now around 350 unaccredited universities, just
:04:13. > :04:20.like that, linked to the UK. Triple the number of officially recognised
:04:21. > :04:25.institutions. Take the American University of London, founded by
:04:26. > :04:46.this man, Professor Michael It describes itself as one of the
:04:47. > :04:56.leading distance universities in the world, with more than 100 thousand
:04:57. > :05:00.students since it was founded. This is an investigative journalist
:05:01. > :05:08.specialising in internet verge, we worked with him to take a closer
:05:09. > :05:12.look at the university. It might be called the American University of
:05:13. > :05:18.London, you can see it is incorporated in St Kitts and Nevis,
:05:19. > :05:22.an island where a lot of these institutions are based. That is a
:05:23. > :05:26.few thousand miles away from where it is suggested it is based here in
:05:27. > :05:29.London. Here is the location of the Post Office box, there is nothing
:05:30. > :05:33.there, they don't seem to have a physical location in London at all.
:05:34. > :05:36.What about the people actually running the university, what do we
:05:37. > :05:44.know about them? On the website there is a video of them both. There
:05:45. > :05:51.is Professor Michael Nimier, and Sonya Grime, a registrar. From
:05:52. > :05:55.public records we know they are living in beckons field in the UK.
:05:56. > :06:06.The phone number that the university lists is a by-election cons field --
:06:07. > :06:12.Beconsfield area and the tuition fees go in to bank in the local
:06:13. > :06:17.area. While it is based in St Kitts, it appears the company is operated
:06:18. > :06:20.out of the UK. On its web side the American University of London says
:06:21. > :06:24.it does not award British qualifications, it has claimed to be
:06:25. > :06:27.recognised by three different American institutions. All these
:06:28. > :06:31.themselves are unofficial and unrecognised. It used to say it was
:06:32. > :06:34.accredited in Norway, but the people there said that never happened. It
:06:35. > :06:39.is though listed as bogus by the agency that values degrees for the
:06:40. > :06:44.Italian Government. It has been blacklisted in five US states,
:06:45. > :06:50.including Texas, where it is illegal to use any of its qualifications to
:06:51. > :06:54.get a job. Looking on-line the university does boast an impressive
:06:55. > :06:57.faculty list, with some well-qualified superviser, but when
:06:58. > :07:01.we contacted five western academics on that list, all said that he had
:07:02. > :07:07.never worked there and never agreed for their names to be used. The
:07:08. > :07:14.American academic George Golin has spent much of his year researching
:07:15. > :07:17.the murky world of unaccredited education. If you look closely they
:07:18. > :07:20.American University of London, it doesn't hold up and doesn't have
:07:21. > :07:25.legal authority for degrees, they are not degrees just pieces of
:07:26. > :07:29.paper. They are charging a lot for a product that does not stand up to
:07:30. > :07:34.scrutiny. I am GAESing they are not able to -- I'm guessing they are not
:07:35. > :07:39.able to sell many degrees into countries where English is the first
:07:40. > :07:42.language. The university says most graduates study at independent
:07:43. > :07:46.colleges overseas. Those affiliated are independent with their own
:07:47. > :07:51.staff, subject to their own local laws. The American University of
:07:52. > :07:55.London, simply takes a fee to set the curriculum, and issues
:07:56. > :07:58.graduation certificates in its own name. Given the web of colleges
:07:59. > :08:02.involved, it is hard to know how much work these students have done
:08:03. > :08:09.and what the quality of teaching is like. We wanted to see how easy it
:08:10. > :08:16.might be to get a degree direct from the university itself. What we are
:08:17. > :08:20.looking at here is the holey GRAL of macro-economics by Richard Coup. We
:08:21. > :08:23.found one crack student and got to work training him up. Notice in
:08:24. > :08:27.chapter seven there is a whole section here about Japanese interest
:08:28. > :08:32.rates from 1990 right the way through to 2007. If you could pay
:08:33. > :08:37.attention for a second. Meet Pete from Battersea, we drew up a
:08:38. > :08:41.one-page CV for Pete in the name of an invented 36-year-old management
:08:42. > :08:50.consultant. With 15 years work experience and a 2. . . : 1 degree.
:08:51. > :08:54.Standard background for the masters in business he was applying for. In
:08:55. > :09:13.just four days the decision came Just two weeks, he wouldn't be
:09:14. > :09:33.expected to submit any more work? We applied for a masters degree,
:09:34. > :09:37.based only on life skills and work experience. It was awarded straight
:09:38. > :09:44.away. We were told no studying or extra work was needed whatsoever. So
:09:45. > :09:51.long as we paid the ?4,500 fee. I wouldn't want you to think that I'm
:09:52. > :09:59.cynical but this CV in itself is weak. And so at the moment just
:10:00. > :10:04.having a first glance of this warning bells are going off in my
:10:05. > :10:15.ear. We showed our written application to Jan Banford at London
:10:16. > :10:19.Metropolitan University that runs accredited courses. I don't know how
:10:20. > :10:23.true this is, I can't believe you get an offer. Would this be enough
:10:24. > :10:30.for a legitimate university to award an MBA? It is nonsense. Absolutely,
:10:31. > :10:34.I find it incredible any organisation awarding an MBA on what
:10:35. > :10:37.essentially amounts to an application form there, but the
:10:38. > :10:43.evidence is one piece of paper. None of this would matter, of course, if
:10:44. > :10:47.the American University of London had no students. But on professional
:10:48. > :10:51.networking sites there are hundreds of senior executives, all graduates
:10:52. > :10:56.of the university. We found the chief executive of a multinational
:10:57. > :11:00.drugs company and an expert in terrorist rehabilitation to who
:11:01. > :11:03.served in Iraq. Others with senior qualifications include a
:11:04. > :11:09.psychologist from Birmingham who gives expert testimony in court
:11:10. > :11:13.cases. Dr Robert Oakes was awarded his PhD, five months after first
:11:14. > :11:17.submitting workment he told us he had spent 18 months on his own
:11:18. > :11:21.background research. He was already a registered forensic psychologist,
:11:22. > :11:26.based on a previous degree. He said he believed the American University
:11:27. > :11:31.of London was properly accredited, but has now taken the accreditation
:11:32. > :11:37.off his CV. We found a senior executive in the nuclear power
:11:38. > :11:43.industry. Dr Rita Bowser was in charge of selling nuclear reactors
:11:44. > :11:47.in the UK. He was awarded her DBA after what she describes significant
:11:48. > :11:50.amounts of course work. Her employer says she's well qualified for her
:11:51. > :11:55.job, with 30 years experience and two previous degrees, including a
:11:56. > :11:58.masters from Georgia Tech, a respected university. All of those
:11:59. > :12:03.individuals have told us they did submit work to get their degree. But
:12:04. > :12:08.the point is, because the American University of London is not checked
:12:09. > :12:11.or accredited by any recognised body we can't know what the standard was
:12:12. > :12:17.like or how much work they did. What we do know is that as in our case
:12:18. > :12:22.the bar can be as low ascending off one fictitious made-up CV and
:12:23. > :12:25.getting a degree back two weeks later. Why is it these private
:12:26. > :12:30.institutions don't have the same checks and balances that
:12:31. > :12:33.universities have? I think it is a huge concern.
:12:34. > :12:38.It undermines the very essence of the education process that people
:12:39. > :12:45.can gain a diploma, or offer one without any of the processes that
:12:46. > :12:50.are required by universities. All right Already there is pressure
:12:51. > :12:55.on our university system, this week the Government said places will have
:12:56. > :12:59.to rise by a quarter to meet demand. On-line learning is meant to fill
:13:00. > :13:03.some of that gap. But with few standards and little regulation, we
:13:04. > :13:10.might have some way to go until we can really trust education on the
:13:11. > :13:41.Worldwide Web. In statement the American University of London
:13:42. > :13:47.The man who you saw in that piece and worked on the investigation is
:13:48. > :13:51.here now. How widespread is this problem? There is thousands of
:13:52. > :13:56.people at that university alone, CEOs, very senior executives, and
:13:57. > :14:00.thousands of others at the other 300 institutions in the UK. It is a
:14:01. > :14:05.multibillion dollar problem, it doesn't seem to be going away. It
:14:06. > :14:09.has been brought to the governments attention, what are they doing about
:14:10. > :14:12.it? The Department of Business, innovation and skills were told
:14:13. > :14:17.about it. They said Companies House needs to investigate. They said it
:14:18. > :14:20.is not their problem. They are not based here, they are based overseas,
:14:21. > :14:24.OK Trading Standards were looking into it. Trading Standards said the
:14:25. > :14:29.same thing, it is based in St Kitts and Nevis it is not our problem. We
:14:30. > :14:33.sent a whole dossier of material and said they are based, the people are
:14:34. > :14:39.based in the UK, there should be something that can be done about it.
:14:40. > :14:43.Most importantly, the very well qualified dog what has become of
:14:44. > :14:47.him? I'm hearing the dog is still at Battersea, but very well qualified
:14:48. > :14:52.for the position's about to fill. I imagine we will be besieged, or
:14:53. > :14:56.Battersea will be besieged by anxious would-be owners of a very
:14:57. > :15:01.well-qualified pet. Thank you very much. Coming up:
:15:02. > :15:07.Newsnight thought that you would be suffering from withdrawal symptoms
:15:08. > :15:14.from the Great British Bake Off, for your enjoyment, the Newsnight Orange
:15:15. > :15:20.SKA Lemon Cake, the most important ingredient, a little glass of wine.
:15:21. > :15:23.The row over energy prices drew in another senior politician today, the
:15:24. > :15:26.former Prime Minister, John Major, a man who doesn't normally say much
:15:27. > :15:30.about anything wondered about bringing in a windfall tax on the
:15:31. > :15:35.energy companies which have hiked their prices. David Cameron's glove
:15:36. > :15:39.puppet called it an interesting contribution, which is another way
:15:40. > :15:45.of saying, thanks for nothing! The Government has no plans for a
:15:46. > :15:49.windfall tax and meanwhile knows how popular is Ed Miliband's campaign
:15:50. > :15:56.that he will freeze energy prices should he get elected. A man who had
:15:57. > :16:00.power and one who wants it, together at Margaret Thatcher's funeral. And
:16:01. > :16:05.again today Sir John Major appeared close to Ed Miliband on energy
:16:06. > :16:09.prices. There are a number of ideas I think the suggestion made by Mr
:16:10. > :16:13.Miliband shows his head is in the right place. I don't think it is a
:16:14. > :16:17.workable proposition. I do think without some action if we have a
:16:18. > :16:21.hard winter, which is quite likely, there are many people this winter
:16:22. > :16:24.who will have to choose between keeping warm and eating. I don't
:16:25. > :16:26.think that is acceptable. I think there is a very real chance this
:16:27. > :16:30.winter that the Government will be forced by events to provide more
:16:31. > :16:34.assistance to people facing real difficulties. If that proves to be
:16:35. > :16:37.the case, then I think it would be entirely reasonable for the
:16:38. > :16:42.Chancellor then to recoup that money back from the energy companies in a
:16:43. > :16:47.one-off impost, given the SKAFL their profits and the unjustified
:16:48. > :16:52.nature of the very high increases they have imposed. For Sir John to
:16:53. > :16:58.clamber back on his soapbox things must be bad, in 1997, then Prime
:16:59. > :17:04.Minister, he opposed Labour's plan for a windfall tax on privatised
:17:05. > :17:07.utilities. Labour's windfall tax would drain the profits of
:17:08. > :17:19.privatised companies in order to pay for their own spending plans. Those
:17:20. > :17:23.Sir John -- though Sir John quibbles with Ed Miliband's method, the
:17:24. > :17:27.backbenchers want action too? I welcome the idea of a windfall tax,
:17:28. > :17:32.I have been proposing that for some time, not just energy companies, but
:17:33. > :17:36.all utility companies, looking at water bills and other companies as
:17:37. > :17:40.well. The way it would work is the company would eithering fined by the
:17:41. > :17:44.regulators if they are under performing and charging excessive
:17:45. > :17:48.amounts to the public, which many of them are for the moment. The
:17:49. > :17:52.regulator or the Government would take it and give it back to the
:17:53. > :17:56.consumer in the form of lower prices. Thatcher taxed oil in the
:17:57. > :18:02.1980s and George Osborne imposed emergency levels on the banks --
:18:03. > :18:09.levies on the banks. Windfalls are not Anwar nat MA to the Tories.
:18:10. > :18:14.Is Sir John kite flying for the Government, on this occasion as he
:18:15. > :18:18.has done on so many previous ones. It is quite difficult to call, but
:18:19. > :18:22.it appears probably not. The reason is this, this week was supposed to
:18:23. > :18:27.be the week when the Government changed the story from Ed Miliband's
:18:28. > :18:31.energy price freeze to George Osborne's thaw in the British
:18:32. > :18:34.economy. With Sir John's intervention it becomes a bit more
:18:35. > :18:39.difficult for the Conservatives. Today many at the top of the Tory
:18:40. > :18:44.Party might be hoping that the grey man of British politics had been a
:18:45. > :18:48.little bit more DPRA. Today Downing Street's reaction was cool. Sir
:18:49. > :18:54.John's intervention was "interesting "they said, except this are no plans
:18:55. > :18:57.for it. As Lib Demes fought Tory plans to cut green taxes from energy
:18:58. > :19:06.bills, the Conservatives want more to say on this hot subject. -- the
:19:07. > :19:12.Lib Demes want more to say on the hot DUBT. We have our guests with
:19:13. > :19:17.us, Brooks Newmar, if you did this you might become popular again? Is
:19:18. > :19:22.that a question? Yes it is, a suggestion, a helpful suggestion,
:19:23. > :19:27.follow John Prescott's advice? I'm sure as David Cameron has had his
:19:28. > :19:31.interesting idea, I suspect it will be kicked into touch. The reason for
:19:32. > :19:35.is if you target companies through taxation that price rise will be
:19:36. > :19:39.passed on to the consumer. A much better way of approaching this
:19:40. > :19:42.problem is through the regulator. The big flaw in that argument is
:19:43. > :19:48.that John Major is man who knows how to win elections and David Cameron
:19:49. > :19:53.has never won a general election has he? Well we made huge strides in
:19:54. > :19:57.2010, but I think on the subject which you were discussing here,
:19:58. > :20:00.which is whether to have a tax or have a more robust policy with the
:20:01. > :20:05.regulator to control prices that way, that's a much better approach,
:20:06. > :20:10.I think. So you are ruling out although it is advice for from man
:20:11. > :20:15.with a proven record? I'm just disagreeing with John Major who is
:20:16. > :20:21.now an ordinary citizen, he's no longer Prime Minister. Yes, but he
:20:22. > :20:26.could win elections? I'm giving you my view. Flintoff do you support --
:20:27. > :20:31.Caroline Flint do you support the windfall tax? I don't, because I
:20:32. > :20:36.think the freeze is better and is good for everyone who is a bill
:20:37. > :20:39.payer. You would oppose the Government taking the advice? We
:20:40. > :20:43.support a freeze ander urging David Cameron to do that. That is after
:20:44. > :20:47.the next election? But the reason is because a freeze is simple to
:20:48. > :20:51.implement but benefits every bill pay e and behind what we need to
:20:52. > :20:55.address what John Major said today about excessive profits and
:20:56. > :21:00.unacceptable IP creases is the fact we haven't got -- increases and the
:21:01. > :21:03.fact we haven't a strong regulator and Labour is answering those
:21:04. > :21:07.questions as well which the Government isn't. Tony Blair wasn't
:21:08. > :21:11.afraid of a windfall tax was he? If you remember the windfall tax on the
:21:12. > :21:15.utilities there, we felt strongly and believed, and were right to do
:21:16. > :21:18.so that it was undervalued when it was sold into private hands.
:21:19. > :21:23.Therefore we were recouping a sale that went ahead that was undervalued
:21:24. > :21:27.and bringing some money back to the taxpayer to pay for young unemployed
:21:28. > :21:32.people. Today it is different, we are tackling the problem of
:21:33. > :21:35.overcharging and the customer paying the price. The similarity, of
:21:36. > :21:40.course, is he too was a man who knew how to win elections. Yes, he was.
:21:41. > :21:43.He was very good at it. But the truth is as well is that we need a
:21:44. > :21:46.different prescription for the problem we have today. That problem
:21:47. > :21:50.is about a market that is not competitive enough and a regulator
:21:51. > :21:53.that hasn't got any teeth. If the Government does take up John Major's
:21:54. > :21:58.advice, just to be clear about this, and brings in a windfall tax, you
:21:59. > :22:01.will vote against it? We will be pursuing our policy of a freeze. We
:22:02. > :22:05.are urging the Government to do that. That is not an answer. At the
:22:06. > :22:08.moment what we have heard today is that the Government think it is
:22:09. > :22:11."interesting "what Sir John Major said and they will not sign up to
:22:12. > :22:15.it. The truth is they have no policies to address the fact that we
:22:16. > :22:18.haven't got enough competition and the regulator doesn't work. We are
:22:19. > :22:21.sticking with our package, it is clear, simple and about addressing
:22:22. > :22:26.fundamental problems of why this market is not working as well as it
:22:27. > :22:30.should. If they were to decide on the windfall tax, you might vote for
:22:31. > :22:35.it, clearly. Let's see what they come up with, they are all over the
:22:36. > :22:38.shop because they cannot make up their minds, they know they have a
:22:39. > :22:41.problem. And John Major has added fuel on the flames today about the
:22:42. > :22:44.problems they are facial. We have a clear plan. -- facing. We have a
:22:45. > :22:49.clear plan. Why doesn't the Government accept that to tackle
:22:50. > :22:52.regulation and competition our proposals around separating
:22:53. > :22:58.generation and retail, having a pool and new regulator are the answer.
:22:59. > :23:03.Can I answer her on that? I think I know what she is going to
:23:04. > :23:06.say. They are even asking you for answers because they haven't any
:23:07. > :23:10.answers to the problem. She is getting very interesting there. Why
:23:11. > :23:13.is it your party seems uniquely to be the only one that doesn't
:23:14. > :23:17.recognise there is something gone seriously wrong with the way this
:23:18. > :23:20.alleged market works? There are two answers to, that the Government has
:23:21. > :23:23.approached it and the Prime Minister has made it very clear that we will
:23:24. > :23:30.simplify the number of tiers there are to ensure. Tiers, what tiers? To
:23:31. > :23:32.ensure the consumer better understands the price points people
:23:33. > :23:37.can purchase their energy. Number one, there is a simplification
:23:38. > :23:41.process? Of tarrifs. Of tarrifs, which ensures that people can try
:23:42. > :23:50.and get the lowest price available. The second thing is, unlike king can
:23:51. > :23:55.NUT -- King Canute, which Ed Miliband thinks he is, we can't take
:23:56. > :23:59.on market forces and prices. We can't go back to the 1970s with
:24:00. > :24:05.price controls. What we can do is agree on one thing which is that the
:24:06. > :24:09.regulate to. So no change. So the regulator needs more teeth, you and
:24:10. > :24:14.I will agree on that, nothing else. Nobody agrees -- everyone agrees
:24:15. > :24:22.with simplifying the tarrifs, it is not enough. We have four years of
:24:23. > :24:26.data from Ofgem. You #130R the Government -- you support the
:24:27. > :24:31.Government's plan to simplify tarrifs? Of course, but it is not UN
:24:32. > :24:35.wholesale prices have dropped, that hasn't been passeden to the
:24:36. > :24:39.consumer, and the chief executive of Ovo, a small supplier, said over
:24:40. > :24:42.this week since 2011 wholesale prices haven't increased, what is
:24:43. > :24:46.going on. All you is surmise out of this, that somewhere within the
:24:47. > :24:50.self-supply that these companies operate, and they generate and sell
:24:51. > :24:53.to themselves, they are overhyping the wholesale cost and we are paying
:24:54. > :24:56.the price and your Prime Minister isn't dealing with that. The best
:24:57. > :25:02.way to deal with it is through the regulator, not increasing tax,
:25:03. > :25:07.because they are passed on to the Consumer with higher prices. Even
:25:08. > :25:10.the presence of no fewer than 11 foreign ministers all wanting much
:25:11. > :25:15.the same thing couldn't produce a clear result when the Syrian Civil
:25:16. > :25:18.War was discussed in London today. William Hague made the unsurprising
:25:19. > :25:28.observation that finding way of ending a war which has already gone
:25:29. > :25:34.on for over two years will be "formidably D ifficult". We have
:25:35. > :25:42.this report and it contains flash YOEFy. -- photography.
:25:43. > :25:45.The friend of Syria convened in London, neighbours and opposition
:25:46. > :25:49.supporters such as the UK, US and France. Now that there is date in
:25:50. > :25:55.the diary for a peace conference in Geneva, it is time to focus minds.
:25:56. > :26:01.But even the host didn't sound too optimistic. I don't want to minimise
:26:02. > :26:07.in any way the difficulties and the enormous challenges in making a
:26:08. > :26:10.success of Geneva II as it has become known. Never the less we
:26:11. > :26:15.believe it is very important to begin that process. It is a process
:26:16. > :26:19.rather than an event. It isn't a meeting that takes place for one or
:26:20. > :26:24.two days and everybody has reached agreement. It is a, it is the
:26:25. > :26:32.beginning of a process. That is very important to try. And how to get
:26:33. > :26:37.meaningful dialogue? Saudi Arabia mocks the process and backs a rebel
:26:38. > :26:42.umbrella group that won't even be at Geneva. Russia, for its part, will
:26:43. > :26:47.talk about transition in Syria but doesn't accept that President Assad
:26:48. > :26:52.has to accept down. He has just hinted that he might run for
:26:53. > :26:56.President next year. The Syrian opposition coalition, the
:26:57. > :26:59.westerners' main hope in this, who haven't confirmed they will be at
:27:00. > :27:11.the Geneva table were asked today how they could possibly attend under
:27:12. > :27:16.these circumstances? TRANSLATION: They are going to Geneva II with the
:27:17. > :27:19.understanding of Geneva I, which states specifically that Al-Assad
:27:20. > :27:27.will not be part of the solution, that Al-Assad will leave and
:27:28. > :27:30.Al-Assad will not be there. His opposition group will decide the
:27:31. > :27:36.week after next whether to go to Geneva. There the moderates, many of
:27:37. > :27:42.the most effective militant brigades won't go near the table, which begs
:27:43. > :27:47.the question, why should the Assad Government go to Geneva if the
:27:48. > :27:51.participants can't even deliver a deal. Mark has put on his best suit
:27:52. > :27:57.and joined us now. If the prospect is so bad, why are they even
:27:58. > :28:02.thinking about it? Well, it is a very legitimate question, they would
:28:03. > :28:05.say that they think it can work, the conference can be convened, but they
:28:06. > :28:10.have been trying to get this together throughout the summer, the
:28:11. > :28:15.idea was first mooted several months ago, the deadline slipped from May
:28:16. > :28:19.to June, they seem to think that by fixing date in the diary they might
:28:20. > :28:24.force people to come to their senses and come to it. My honest view is I
:28:25. > :28:28.think it is simply because the diplomats in the UK, in France, in
:28:29. > :28:33.the US feel there has to be some hope. That if they admit this is
:28:34. > :28:37.impossible it will simply become a self-fulfilling prophesy and they
:28:38. > :28:41.should try to do it. Some fascinating remarks tonight though
:28:42. > :28:46.about whether or not President Assad can survive. Now, of course, both
:28:47. > :28:50.John Kerry in London today and William Hague were saying this
:28:51. > :28:54.process we are asking people to sign up to involves a transition from the
:28:55. > :28:59.Assad Government to a successor democratic Government. Bob Gate, the
:29:00. > :29:03.former US Defence Secretary, we are hearing tonight an academic meeting
:29:04. > :29:07.said by agreeing to the chemical weapons deal with Assad, the US and
:29:08. > :29:10.others may be prolonging his survival. If he isn't there to
:29:11. > :29:17.deliver the deal then how on earth is this going to work? That may be
:29:18. > :29:21.one reason why Mr Assad is feeling more emboldened, and just been the
:29:22. > :29:55.past 24 hours suggested he may run for President again next summer.
:29:56. > :30:03.It doesn't the billionares in California, one jot, we report
:30:04. > :30:07.Today's news-based quiz question, please say which of the following
:30:08. > :30:13.you find most offensive, someone rolling a joint, someone's naked
:30:14. > :30:18.breasts not engaged in the act of breast-feeding, someone taking the
:30:19. > :30:25.air as nature intended, or a video of someone being decapitated. For
:30:26. > :30:29.many the answer is so obvious to render the question absurd. Which is
:30:30. > :30:38.why the decision of Facebook to allow again the posting of videos
:30:39. > :30:45.depicting beheadings is bizarre says the Prime Minister. He said today:
:30:46. > :30:49.The Home Office Minister, James Brokenshire says Facebook needs a
:30:50. > :30:54.re-think. I think many parents across the country will be deeply
:30:55. > :31:00.disturbed and shocked by this sudden decision of Facebook to allow these
:31:01. > :31:03.grossly offensive videos back on to their website. They clearly
:31:04. > :31:07.recognised there was a serious problem when they decided that this
:31:08. > :31:11.material needed to be taken down earlier this year. It is strange
:31:12. > :31:17.that they have now sought to put this back on without any clarity as
:31:18. > :31:20.to the protections afforded to children and giving parents that
:31:21. > :31:24.assurance that these issues will be dealt with properly. The Prime
:31:25. > :31:29.Minister copped a bit of ridicule for his TWEET about Facebook posting
:31:30. > :31:33.videos when of course Facebook is platform, it is the users who post
:31:34. > :31:39.videos. But even so, the question is why allow such appalling content
:31:40. > :32:02.back on to the site? In a statement the company said: back
:32:03. > :32:09.The company is determined to preserve Facebook's capacity to
:32:10. > :32:13.harness international outrage, to be a medium for social change. To
:32:14. > :32:21.spread news of human rights violations right around the world.
:32:22. > :32:26.As an example of this social action, here is the 2012 campaign to
:32:27. > :32:34.publicise the war crimes of the Ugandan guerrilla leader, Joesph
:32:35. > :32:39.Kony. Anticensorship campaigners say context is everything. It is a huge
:32:40. > :32:45.platform Facebook, and it is used for a lot of different purposes,
:32:46. > :32:50.from sharing pictures of family to as Facebook say discussing news
:32:51. > :32:53.events and politics. I think they want platform as open as possible
:32:54. > :33:01.and allows people to use it in a variety of ways. These videos are no
:33:02. > :33:04.doubt HOR rend -- horrendous, but if people want to talk about the
:33:05. > :33:08.brutality of war and terror, they should be allowed to view these
:33:09. > :33:12.things. This afternoon as a result of the pressure they have been
:33:13. > :33:17.under, Facebook began posting warnings alongside the videos.
:33:18. > :33:20.Children are inquisitive, the likelihood is they will open the
:33:21. > :33:24.sites and have a look. What I would like to see really is more
:33:25. > :33:27.discussion with Facebook, which we are having about whether it is
:33:28. > :33:30.feasible to perhaps have different settings for different ages on
:33:31. > :33:34.Facebook. That is something I'm sure they will be looking at. However, I
:33:35. > :33:39.think we do need to be ware of course all this information say
:33:40. > :33:44.veilable elsewhere on the inter-- is available elsewhere on the Internet.
:33:45. > :33:47.It is not just a Facebook issue. They do have a responsibility to
:33:48. > :33:51.young users and we need to be mindful that significant harm could
:33:52. > :33:58.come to them if they see this content. With over a billion user,
:33:59. > :34:02.Facebook could never please everyone, what is offensive? What
:34:03. > :34:07.should be allowed? Indeed how much responsibility the company has
:34:08. > :34:11.itself on what its users choose to post, these are all questions they
:34:12. > :34:17.and we are still grappling with. With us now is the cofounder of the
:34:18. > :34:23.website Lively, where you can see a very large number of videos of that
:34:24. > :34:30.kind if you wish to. Also with us is Colin Freeman the Sunday Telegraph's
:34:31. > :34:38.chief correspondent who spent five weeks being held hostage in Somalia
:34:39. > :34:43.in 2008. Are there any kinds of violence you won't allow on your
:34:44. > :34:47.site? We don't allow multiples, there is not that a lot of that type
:34:48. > :34:53.of media on the site. There are some but there are certain things we
:34:54. > :34:57.can't and can't show. Why do you allow them? It falls within a
:34:58. > :35:01.certain sense of freedom. There is always extreme with any kind of
:35:02. > :35:07.freedom. Some adults wish to see it, for whatever reason. It is also
:35:08. > :35:12.always purrant as people claim, it is a general human condition we look
:35:13. > :35:17.at the extreme, the horrific, some people choose to, if they wish to
:35:18. > :35:22.they can view them, if they don't then... What is your perspective
:35:23. > :35:26.after your experience? I luckily I didn't end up in a beheading video,
:35:27. > :35:31.the people who took me weren't that kind of people. Many people have
:35:32. > :35:37.done. Their relatives, unlike them are still alive, and the prospect of
:35:38. > :35:43.these videos being PUNTed around, you know, is not pleasant for them
:35:44. > :35:48.to say the least. I spoke to someone earlier this evening before I came
:35:49. > :35:53.on, one of whose relatives died in a video leaked on to the Internet. Say
:35:54. > :35:58.leaked but put on deliberately, he says it is horrific the idea these
:35:59. > :36:02.things are around. He has to worry about his young kids and other young
:36:03. > :36:06.relatives in his extended family finding these things on the
:36:07. > :36:10.Internet. What do you think when you hear that sort of testimony? Of
:36:11. > :36:16.course it is absolutely horrific, for any family, who could deny that,
:36:17. > :36:20.it would be ridiculous to. We see things on the news every day where
:36:21. > :36:24.people die in a less immediate and graphic manager, we are shown the
:36:25. > :36:28.planes smashing into the buildings all the time, families hurt all the
:36:29. > :36:33.time by that. You don't see beheadings on the television, it is
:36:34. > :36:38.regulated? There is a limit, death as long as it is less personal and
:36:39. > :36:42.graphic. That is understandable. I'm an advocate for responsible titling
:36:43. > :36:45.and information, trying to ensure people know what they are going to
:36:46. > :36:49.see. When it comes to when you say children viewing it and things of
:36:50. > :36:52.that nature, there needs to be some education for the parents there as
:36:53. > :37:04.well. Facebook is a medium that is in virtually every home now, isn't
:37:05. > :37:13.it. Ubiquitous as television? I don't promote graphic media on
:37:14. > :37:18.Facebook that is for such a range of people. What is your reading of the
:37:19. > :37:23.Facebook position? I would agree in a sense it is not the appropriate
:37:24. > :37:32.forum, it normalises this kind of thing, to some extent. And it says
:37:33. > :37:36.this is normal to see this kind of thing. More generally, if you have
:37:37. > :37:41.the sort of stuff out there, there is, you know, the impact that it has
:37:42. > :37:44.on someone who has lost a loved one, they are trying to make a
:37:45. > :37:49.psychological recovery from a horrific ordeal and this stuff is
:37:50. > :37:55.out there potentially reminding them all the time of what happened. You
:37:56. > :38:28.know, particular effect from -- Kat that
:38:29. > :38:34.particular effect from -- cathartic effect of seeing that happen? One of
:38:35. > :38:39.the things from the Arab springs was a video shot of a man beaten to
:38:40. > :38:45.death in custody, his face was shaped into a kind of garage GOIL
:38:46. > :38:50.death mask, his family shot the video and put it on-line. The
:38:51. > :38:55.context is everything to some exTEPT. When you are putting a --
:38:56. > :38:58.extent. When you are putting a hostage video the person who
:38:59. > :39:03.intended that video to go out is the terrorist, you are doing their
:39:04. > :39:06.bidding by deseminating it, that is what they want. It causes terror
:39:07. > :39:10.among the people who have seen it and terror amongst others. What do
:39:11. > :39:15.you make of that? The actual effect of those videos? Not that so much,
:39:16. > :39:22.the man who has been beheaded clearly has no desire to see the
:39:23. > :39:29.video posts anywhere? But the horrible irony, in no way humourous
:39:30. > :39:32.is the releasing of these videos, we only see these in truth when they
:39:33. > :39:36.are killing westerners. It was the lease of the videos and the reaction
:39:37. > :39:40.to them, which is why they stopped pretty much from that region in the
:39:41. > :39:44.world. It was totally counter-productive to them, it is
:39:45. > :39:47.not a good thing that people were beheaded, but it was a
:39:48. > :39:50.counter-productive act on their part. It worked against what they
:39:51. > :39:56.wanted to achieve. There is some truth in that but it didn't stop
:39:57. > :39:59.them happening. One or two Al-Qaeda groups may have said that didn't
:40:00. > :40:06.work, but it hasn't stopped that kind of thing going on. It is not
:40:07. > :40:10.anything like it was in 2005-2007. Now the sports news, there is a
:40:11. > :40:14.spring in the step of football fans in Afghanistan. The country has just
:40:15. > :40:20.won its first international trophy by beating India 2-0 in the South
:40:21. > :40:34.Asian Championship Cup Final. It is still ranked 139th in the world. But
:40:35. > :40:45.the final -- in the final all the country was praying for a win.
:40:46. > :40:50.Lis Ducet has been charmed by the Premier League there to join a
:40:51. > :40:54.country torn apart by war. Days like this are rare for a
:40:55. > :41:02.generation that has only known war, division and destruction.
:41:03. > :41:15.Sport is now building a new spirit. Making the people proud to be
:41:16. > :41:20.Afghans. The war hasn't gone away, and NATO helicopters land at a
:41:21. > :41:28.nearby base. But Afghan forces protect these grounds. Kabul in
:41:29. > :41:31.yellow take on the northern team in this brand new stadium. They are the
:41:32. > :41:40.best of eight clubs that cut across the ethnic lines, that still divide
:41:41. > :41:48.this society. Number four dreamed of being a footballer from the first
:41:49. > :41:53.day he set foot in Kabul's old Ghazi stadium, made infamous where the
:41:54. > :42:00.Taliban carried out harsh Islamic punishments. At home with his
:42:01. > :42:07.family, 26-year-old Mustaba remembers those years as the worst
:42:08. > :42:11.in his career. TRAN Before one match -- TRANSLATION: Before the match the
:42:12. > :42:16.Taliban brought in one person and shot him four times, another one's
:42:17. > :42:20.hands were amputated. After that no-one was interested in seeing
:42:21. > :42:25.football in the stadium. Now the nation is watching. From the
:42:26. > :42:32.President to 12-year-old Sammi, who says he wants to be a footballer
:42:33. > :42:39.just like his brother. Live coverage on TV brings football into Afghan
:42:40. > :42:44.homes, unthinkable years ago. The Premier League was even created
:42:45. > :42:52.through a reality TV show and on the popular network. In messages played
:42:53. > :42:58.at half time, footballers use their new fame to urge kids to stay off
:42:59. > :43:02.drugs, and stay in school. They are heros for a lot of Afghans around
:43:03. > :43:07.the country. If the players are going back to their villages, to the
:43:08. > :43:16.district and province, everybody knows them. They are, they can play
:43:17. > :43:22.goodwill ambassadors for a lot of issues. But at the same time they
:43:23. > :43:26.are role models for millions of kids and young Afghans.
:43:27. > :43:32.But they still have to play well and strictly by the rules. In this world
:43:33. > :43:53.misbehaviour is punished immediately. And the Kabul team gets
:43:54. > :43:56.instant justice. In a country still suffering from the chaos and
:43:57. > :44:00.injustice of war, they are celebrating a game where you play by
:44:01. > :44:06.the rules, where the referee's word is final. And they are hoping that
:44:07. > :44:13.some day fair play will define Afghanistan too. Activists like
:44:14. > :44:18.Ahmed usually spend their time worrying about human rights abuses.
:44:19. > :44:36.A day out with the boys, even brings him a bit of cheer. When he meets
:44:37. > :44:39.fellow activists at their usual hangout, football is now part of the
:44:40. > :44:44.political debate, especially the national side's recent triumph over
:44:45. > :44:49.India. Which made them regional champions. There were 11 men who
:44:50. > :44:56.TLIEL brought pride to -- who actually brought pride to 32 million
:44:57. > :45:00.people, and none were holding a gun. You are seeing a new narrative.
:45:01. > :45:03.Leaders in this election realise that. There is still some space
:45:04. > :45:09.between the dominant political actors and the new wave since 2001.
:45:10. > :45:12.Now that is going to play out in the elections remains to be seen, the
:45:13. > :45:17.hope that we are striving towards is to get them to play at least by some
:45:18. > :45:20.rules. Is sport so powerful that it could change a much harder
:45:21. > :45:29.potentially violent political culture? If we play together, if we
:45:30. > :45:32.have a common goal and if we don't think about it as a short-term
:45:33. > :45:36.benefit and think about the bigger vision and goal, we can repeat the
:45:37. > :45:42.success we had in sport on the political field as well. In sport
:45:43. > :45:49.there is only one winner. The Kabul team triumphs, 3-1 in extra time.
:45:50. > :45:54.For Mushtaba there is another victory. TRANSLATION: My happiness
:45:55. > :45:59.has doubled, I have always dreamed of being the best player, we won the
:46:00. > :46:05.game and I'm the Man of the Match. Well done! And that's how it feels
:46:06. > :46:09.when you are a winner in Afghanistan, it is great day for the
:46:10. > :46:12.Kabul team, but just look how the crowds have been acting today. This
:46:13. > :46:22.is game where it is win-win for a country which has had all too little
:46:23. > :46:27.of this kind of celebration. A feel-good moment is precious,
:46:28. > :46:31.changing decades of violent division much harder. But this rare presence
:46:32. > :46:39.of hope creates a powerful sense of what could be possible.
:46:40. > :46:43.That's it, you may perhaps have noticed that it was the final of the
:46:44. > :46:47.Great British Bake Off earlier tonight, so below stairs in her
:46:48. > :46:52.Glasgow Stately Home Kirsty is making a very easy orange and lemon
:46:53. > :46:58.cake from a recipe invented by someone else, she's giving it her
:46:59. > :47:02.own twist with the help of nutmeg and almonds and other things she has
:47:03. > :47:07.found in the butler's pantry, including a bottle of wine. We have
:47:08. > :47:27.tweeted the recipe. Welcome to the Newsnight morning and lemon cake. It
:47:28. > :47:35.is an incredibly simple recipe. I'm going to put the zest of a lime in.
:47:36. > :47:53.I feel Mary Berry is at my shoulder! Plenty of greated nutmeg. There is
:47:54. > :48:03.the cake. That goes into a medium oven for an hour. That is ready.
:48:04. > :48:11.Let's see if it is ready. I think it is. Paul Hollywood eat your heart
:48:12. > :48:26.out! Good evening, Wednesday is set to
:48:27. > :48:28.get off to a