:00:24. > :00:28.That is the latest BBC News. Now it Syria's brutal crackdown claims
:00:28. > :00:33.dozens more lives six months after the unrest. We have an exclusive
:00:33. > :00:37.report from the town where it began. The Co has of caste division in
:00:37. > :00:43.India. We discover that it is driving low-
:00:44. > :00:48.caste medical students to take their eye lives. And country music.
:00:48. > :00:58.Why for many fans the tune of economic were it is hitting too
:00:58. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:03.close to home. Welcome. During the final days of
:01:03. > :01:07.September human rights campaigners in Syria say that at least 50
:01:07. > :01:11.people have been in killed -- had been killed in protests. The UN
:01:11. > :01:15.estimates that more than 2,700 people have been killed since the
:01:15. > :01:22.crackdown began. Foreign journalists have been restricted
:01:22. > :01:27.from reporting in Syria but our correspondent was granted a rare
:01:27. > :01:35.access to the country. She was taken by the Government under armed
:01:36. > :01:42.escort to Deraa, the town where the protests began in March. Troops now
:01:42. > :01:47.guard the entrance to Deraa, where Syria's uprising began and the
:01:47. > :01:51.violent crackdown to end it. Neither has stopped. It is rare for
:01:51. > :01:56.foreign journalists to come here. We were given permission to visit
:01:56. > :02:03.accompanied by our government minder and a posse of police and
:02:03. > :02:07.intelligence agents. We cannot show you, but they are here. Our first
:02:07. > :02:15.stop was the former studios of Syrian state TV that now lie in
:02:15. > :02:23.ruins. The government says that this was the work of armed gangs.
:02:23. > :02:28.The station directors shows me the bullet holes to prove it. Inside
:02:28. > :02:31.what used to be his office, he told me that terrorists opened fire from
:02:31. > :02:37.a nearby hill. They threw in petrol-bombs which destroyed this
:02:37. > :02:43.room. They wanted us to see these footage of the building on fire in
:02:43. > :02:48.what they say are armed protesters in the valley below. A different
:02:48. > :02:53.story is told in this footage from the BBC's Panorama programme that
:02:53. > :02:59.was provided by activists. They say that it shows an attack on an
:02:59. > :03:04.ambulance by security forces. This is also a battle for the trees.
:03:05. > :03:08.Wherever it lies, a new governor was brought in a few months ago. I
:03:08. > :03:13.asked him whether troops had orders -- had orders to shoot.
:03:13. > :03:17.TRANSLATION: There is no shooting orders at all. Until this very
:03:17. > :03:22.moment, there have been no shooting orders. We have tried to use
:03:22. > :03:28.dialogue. But clearly somebody has been shooting around this square.
:03:28. > :03:34.The bricks are full of bullet holes. This square next to the old mosque
:03:34. > :03:41.has been a focal point of protests in the town where it all began. We
:03:41. > :03:48.asked to come here. It took a lot of convincing to get here but now
:03:48. > :03:53.with a growing number of mind as we are here and all is quite. -- a
:03:53. > :03:59.growing number of minders. But there are protests almost daily
:03:59. > :04:06.somewhere here. These pictures filmed by protesters show clashes
:04:06. > :04:10.at this mosque. These families know what happens here. They did not
:04:10. > :04:20.want to speak. Just being in a Deraa told us a lot more. But it
:04:20. > :04:23.did not tell us everything. In Libya it has been one month
:04:23. > :04:30.since Colonel Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli was overrun by forces
:04:30. > :04:34.opposed to him. But although many of his family have slipped across
:04:34. > :04:39.the borders, Colonel Gaddafi's whereabouts are not known. Across
:04:39. > :04:49.the vast country there are plenty of claims of sightings. The latest
:04:49. > :04:50.
:04:50. > :04:54.is in a western town close to the Algerian border. Deep in the Sahara,
:04:54. > :05:01.Libya's revolutionaries are pushing on, hunting for Colonel Gaddafi and
:05:01. > :05:07.his henchmen. They are chasing rumours fly into the desert. One is
:05:07. > :05:15.that Colonel Gaddafi is near this place. People here say that Colonel
:05:16. > :05:18.Gaddafi's number two was here last week. He is also wanted by the
:05:18. > :05:23.International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. From here
:05:23. > :05:26.there is nothing but stand for three or 400 kilometres up to the
:05:26. > :05:30.border with Algeria and Niger. It is said that Colonel Gaddafi could
:05:30. > :05:36.be out there somewhere protected by a band of mercenaries. Nobody
:05:36. > :05:40.really knows. He simply vanished into the desert. He wrote down
:05:40. > :05:47.there is the one Colonel Gaddafi's family fled along. His number two
:05:48. > :05:51.was in this area a few days ago, confirms this man. He has known
:05:51. > :06:00.Colonel Gaddafi for 15 years and says that the former dictator is
:06:00. > :06:10.probably in the desert where he will fight to the end. He said that
:06:10. > :06:15.he would choose death for victory. Victory is very difficult. Some of
:06:15. > :06:21.the soldiers who fought for the Army have now switched sides. This
:06:21. > :06:26.man says that his commanders fled as the revolutionaries advanced but
:06:26. > :06:29.Colonel Gaddafi cannot survive long without help. Anyone suspected of
:06:29. > :06:34.being a mercenary for Colonel Gaddafi is being seized. These men
:06:34. > :06:43.are all from Nigeria. They insist they are just migrants looking for
:06:43. > :06:50.work. One of the charges against Gaddafi is that they brought in
:06:50. > :06:57.African mercenaries to kill unarmed protesters. The revolutionaries
:06:57. > :07:07.accuse the number two of hiring those mercenaries. I have never
:07:07. > :07:12.dealt with the issue. Never in my life. It is not in my conviction.
:07:12. > :07:16.But now the fighters say they will stop here, can set it could be
:07:16. > :07:24.recaptured from them. Then they will move on seeking out the mirage
:07:24. > :07:28.that is their former dictator. Getting a place at one of India's
:07:29. > :07:32.top universities or colleges is often seen as a passport out of
:07:32. > :07:37.poverty for lower caste students. But when they get there for some
:07:37. > :07:42.young people it is not always a happy environment. In the past four
:07:42. > :07:47.years there have been 18 cases of suicide by a lower caste students,
:07:47. > :07:50.two this year. Their families say harassment based on their vote cast
:07:50. > :07:59.the status was the main reason that drove their children to take their
:08:00. > :08:04.own lives. It has been one years since the
:08:04. > :08:08.death of his woman's 25-year-old son. He was the first in these
:08:08. > :08:13.remote village in central India to have made it to the country's top
:08:13. > :08:18.college for medicine. Caste discrimination is rife in rural
:08:18. > :08:24.India serve and his family it was a dream come true. But that dream
:08:24. > :08:29.turned sour. TRANSLATION: He used to tell us that he was humiliated
:08:29. > :08:33.for belonging to a lower caste by his professors. He sat at the back
:08:33. > :08:42.of the class. He said that he was looked down upon because of who he
:08:42. > :08:45.was. This is one of India's top medical institutions. Like other
:08:45. > :08:53.state run colleges it reserves places for lower caste students,
:08:53. > :08:57.offering them a new start. But this is where he ended his life. Almost
:08:57. > :09:01.one quarter of places have to be reserved for lower caste students
:09:01. > :09:05.so they can get entry with slightly lower mark. But these policies have
:09:05. > :09:13.caused tensions. Lower-caste students say that they are made to
:09:13. > :09:16.feel unworthy of their place. TRANSLATION: The teachers' mindset
:09:16. > :09:20.is that lower caste students do not study hard, so let's fail them.
:09:20. > :09:24.They do not understand that unlike others, everything in our life
:09:24. > :09:27.rests on our selection. But college officials reject this. They say
:09:27. > :09:37.that teachers make sure there is an atmosphere of Help the interaction
:09:37. > :09:38.
:09:38. > :09:48.on campus. Some students suffer from depression. So was the case in
:09:48. > :09:49.
:09:49. > :09:54.this one. We take precautionary steps. We have started anti-stress
:09:54. > :09:58.counselling for the newcomers. Despite these denials, three years
:09:58. > :10:03.before his death, a government inquiry concluded that students
:10:03. > :10:08.faced bias on the base of their -- on the basis of their caste. Other
:10:08. > :10:15.suicides have been reported at other institutions. There is still
:10:15. > :10:19.some way to go it to prevent more students taking their own lives.
:10:19. > :10:23.This has to be a measure of the economic distress in the United
:10:23. > :10:29.States. Country music has long reflected the everyday concerns of
:10:29. > :10:34.working men and women, but while some songs are inspired by cheating
:10:34. > :10:37.Hearts and lost love, these days they are filled with tales of
:10:37. > :10:47.closing factories and honest people doing their best to struggle
:10:47. > :10:51.
:10:51. > :10:58.through. The BBC's Paul Adams has # I used to love this town and this
:10:58. > :11:03.neighbourhood... #. Country-music and Hard Times. A
:11:03. > :11:13.cliche perhaps but not for those living on the frontline off of
:11:13. > :11:14.
:11:14. > :11:18.America's economic woes. Life just keeps getting tougher.
:11:18. > :11:23.For the fans gathering here, it is all part of the draw - a certain
:11:23. > :11:31.see that somewhere among songs celebrating girls, p GUS and
:11:31. > :11:40.drinking, their deepest anxieties will find a voice. -- pick up so.
:11:40. > :11:45.# I am 100% made in America... #. This is a tale of patriotism and
:11:45. > :11:50.productivity made under a low -- under threat in the heartland.
:11:50. > :11:58.That is what I think of when I write. That is what I sing to -
:11:58. > :12:03.that man or woman. They know what is happening. Songs
:12:03. > :12:11.are written about it. For the first time in my life, I
:12:11. > :12:19.feel very vulnerable. I am 53 years old and I feel totally replaceable.
:12:19. > :12:26.TRANSLATION: -- # Everything about me is written on this page... #.
:12:26. > :12:32.This song is about a guy trying to get a job.
:12:32. > :12:39.# Yes, I served in the army... #. It gives me a spiritual lift. It
:12:39. > :12:44.helps me keep it up and get going again.
:12:44. > :12:50.# I could start this job at any time... #.
:12:50. > :12:53.It reminded me of my husband. He could not find a job and he was a
:12:53. > :13:00.hard worker and all he wanted to do was get a job.
:13:00. > :13:04.For this woman hosts the local town's breakfast show on radio. She
:13:04. > :13:14.says the new songs resonate with her listeners. They are voicing
:13:14. > :13:15.
:13:15. > :13:20.what we all feel, what we want to say.
:13:20. > :13:25.Hard living and hard luck, flags and family values, fear and the
:13:25. > :13:34.Bible. It is a winning formula for a community living in uncertain
:13:34. > :13:38.times. # Made in America... #.
:13:38. > :13:44.For 25 years, one man has devoted his life to defusing thousands of
:13:44. > :13:52.bombs and mines in northern Iraq. He has become such a local
:13:52. > :14:01.celebrity that masks, streets and schools have been named after him.
:14:01. > :14:05.-- mosques. They say that mines are silent
:14:05. > :14:10.soldiers that never sleep and never rest. This man has been clearing
:14:10. > :14:18.mines for 25 years in Iraqi villages bordering Kurdistan. But
:14:19. > :14:24.he has lost both of his legs in explosions. In 1988, five people in
:14:24. > :14:27.this town were gassed by Saddam Hussein's regime. This area has one
:14:27. > :14:33.of the densest concentrations of land mines.
:14:33. > :14:39.TRANSLATION: two people were killed here and another paralysed. One of
:14:39. > :14:43.the debt was my 15-year-old brother. 22 years ago, but are lost one leg.
:14:43. > :14:49.Within one year, he had lost the other.
:14:49. > :14:54.If TRANSLATION: In 1989, I lost my right leg to a US made a mine. I
:14:54. > :15:00.lost the other one to an Italian mine in 1993. Now the region is
:15:00. > :15:06.named after me. This Liam was made in Japan. I can
:15:06. > :15:12.hold it like this. I can use it as a dining table and also have tea. I
:15:12. > :15:17.have no problem. Five it was a Japanese NGO that came to his
:15:17. > :15:22.rescue. He was taken to Tokyo for surgery and artificial lakes.
:15:22. > :15:29.TRANSLATION: In Japan, people were friendly. I was given artificial
:15:29. > :15:35.legs. It helps me at home, drive a car, even helped me to get married.
:15:35. > :15:43.Even gave his daughter a Japanese name. I asked her if she worries
:15:43. > :15:50.about her father. TRANSLATION: Whenever she is asked about my
:15:50. > :15:55.safety, she gets emotional. This is not a real minefield. It is
:15:55. > :15:59.the sharp's backyard. Here is a whole collection of mines and
:15:59. > :16:05.explosives. He wants to be reminded every day that in every corner of
:16:05. > :16:10.his land, a silent mine is waiting for its prey. TRANSLATION: As long
:16:10. > :16:15.as I have these hands, I will continue clearing land mines. I
:16:15. > :16:20.will not stop for a moment. Where I have cleared land mines, people are
:16:20. > :16:25.dancing, farmers are pulling their fields. When I dismantle a land
:16:25. > :16:28.mine, I feel like I have saved a young life.
:16:28. > :16:33.Given all the problems in the eurozone at the moment, you might
:16:33. > :16:37.not expect countries to be queuing up to join the EU. But Iceland is
:16:37. > :16:43.doing just that, having launched a bid to join up its economy crashed
:16:43. > :16:51.three years ago. Now, opinion polls suggests that a growing majority of
:16:51. > :16:54.Icelanders are now against EU membership.
:16:54. > :16:59.Icelanders are used to isolation and a stormy weather - literally
:16:59. > :17:05.and economically. Doing the worst times three years ago, many were
:17:05. > :17:09.drawn to the EU as a port in the storm. But times change. Formal
:17:09. > :17:12.negotiations to join the EU come in the middle of the eurozone crisis
:17:12. > :17:17.and the banking collapse that seemed to bring Iceland to its
:17:17. > :17:22.knees appears to be old news on the streets of the capital now.
:17:22. > :17:28.Building work on the showpiece conference centre ground to a halt
:17:28. > :17:33.in 2008. These days, it is open and is booked years in advance.
:17:33. > :17:39.Iceland's economy is growing again. It is easier to turn a small boat
:17:39. > :17:45.around rather than a large ship. We are small, vibrant in our Icelandic
:17:45. > :17:49.economy. We have our own currency and that makes the adoption of
:17:49. > :17:55.recovery quicker. If what the Icelandic krona does not offer is
:17:55. > :17:58.stability. Many of that the euro does. Shaken by its internal crisis
:17:58. > :18:03.but still rock solid on international markets. Only one
:18:03. > :18:08.country in the world does business in the Icelandic krona and that is
:18:08. > :18:11.Iceland. Here, I am on my way to a series of islands to explore why
:18:11. > :18:16.traditionally Icelanders have been hostile to the idea of joining the
:18:16. > :18:22.EU. That reason is the ocean, their rights to it and the fish they
:18:22. > :18:29.catch from it. Iceland's fishing industry has replaced banking as
:18:29. > :18:33.its mainstay. There is support for sustainable fishing here, as
:18:33. > :18:39.opposed to the EU's fishing policies which have ended reserves
:18:39. > :18:43.in Europe. The main concern is that other
:18:43. > :18:48.nations will be able to take from our fishing stocks and that would
:18:48. > :18:52.mean less fishing for Iceland. These workers are not willing to
:18:52. > :18:58.risk the EU putting their jobs on the line but Brussels is apparently
:18:58. > :19:04.keener than ever to tent is Ireland into the club and is offering
:19:04. > :19:07.concessions and exemptions. -- to entice Iceland into the club. But
:19:07. > :19:15.it is Icelanders who will eventually decide in a referendum
:19:15. > :19:19.if familiar, cold isolation will continue to serve them best.
:19:19. > :19:25.Now to a feature of Aboriginal life in Australia, which has been going
:19:25. > :19:31.strong for 60 years. Coming out balls with debit cards. 12 teenage
:19:31. > :19:35.girls took part in a ceremony that has been seen as a symbolic first
:19:35. > :19:40.step into adulthood. Organisers say it gives these girls and experience
:19:40. > :19:44.they would not have had in their own communities.
:19:44. > :19:51.It is a special day at the school near Melbourne. The final practice
:19:51. > :19:56.of their dance steps for a night to remember. At this college, a young
:19:56. > :20:00.Aboriginal women are about to come out as young women. Their families
:20:00. > :20:04.want to make sure that there girls are getting exposure to other
:20:04. > :20:12.experiences that they would not otherwise have in their own
:20:12. > :20:18.community setting. The teenagers are marking 60 years of Aboriginal
:20:18. > :20:22.debutants. Just like any others, they make up -- the make-up, hair
:20:22. > :20:27.and detail means everything. Especially for young women who have
:20:27. > :20:32.been exposed to dysfunctional lives in their communities. Not attending
:20:32. > :20:36.school, running away from home, getting into a bad situation. My
:20:36. > :20:40.mother is proud of me because before I came here, I missed out on
:20:40. > :20:46.heaps of school. The first Aboriginal debutantes came out in
:20:46. > :20:51.the 1940s, shocking many in what was a more racist society. This was
:20:51. > :20:55.how they lived in hearts and in poverty. Debutante balls where as
:20:56. > :21:01.rare as shoes and sanitation. Many families cannot afford the dresses
:21:01. > :21:09.so local people in Melbourne held out for free. The address builds
:21:09. > :21:15.confidence for the gales and also for others previously alien to them.
:21:15. > :21:19.This is integration with a state get in its debt. She has undertaken
:21:19. > :21:24.AFL umpire training and hopes to become an interpreter with the
:21:24. > :21:28.police force. It is a room full of pride. The school has given her the
:21:28. > :21:32.opportunity to look forward to what she wants to do in the future and
:21:33. > :21:37.that was one of the main things that I wanted her to have. Five
:21:37. > :21:41.Aboriginal people make up 2% of Australia's population and have
:21:41. > :21:48.many social problems. The hope here is that these young women will step