:00:04. > :00:14.has died at the age of 65. Those are the main stories on BBC News.
:00:14. > :00:26.
:00:26. > :00:32.Haunting stories emerge from Syria. Fergal Keane has reported
:00:32. > :00:40.allegations of widespread sexual violence. Turning Johannesburg's
:00:40. > :00:49.Mean streets into clean streets - Andrew Harding reports on the
:00:49. > :00:56.growing middle-class. And we took to JK rolling about her newest
:00:56. > :01:00.novel. Politicians gave their view on the situation inside Syria this
:01:00. > :01:10.week at the United Nations. According to secretary-general Ban
:01:10. > :01:11.
:01:11. > :01:15.Ki-Moon there are more signs on the ground of clashes virtually every
:01:15. > :01:21.day. Getting the full story is proving to be an increasing
:01:21. > :01:24.challenge. We had this report from inside Syria. The ruins of war. The
:01:24. > :01:30.government says it wants journalists to show the true
:01:30. > :01:35.picture. They make it hard to do that. Some of it cannot be hidden.
:01:35. > :01:41.This destruction sits along a main highway. Syrian forces pounded the
:01:41. > :01:47.area last month after armed opposition moved in. When we see
:01:47. > :01:56.new tax, we cannot get close. There are plumes of smoke rising every
:01:56. > :02:00.day from Damascus now. -- when we see new attacks. We see signs on
:02:00. > :02:07.the ground but we are not being allowed by the government to go
:02:07. > :02:17.inside these areas to see for ourselves. We were stopped by
:02:17. > :02:18.
:02:18. > :02:23.soldiers outside a mosque. We get off to a good start. How is the
:02:23. > :02:26.situation here? One man says, "It is fine." The soldier is not so
:02:27. > :02:33.sure. They say we cannot go any further but we can talk to people
:02:33. > :02:39.write here. Watch the man in the striped shirt. He is a soldier from
:02:39. > :02:45.the checkpoint. He has put down his gun and raced ahead of us. By the
:02:45. > :02:53.time I greet the shopkeeper, he has filled a bag of bananas. He is
:02:54. > :03:03.posing as a customer. There is no chance this shopkeeper can speak
:03:03. > :03:08.freely. You cannot silence everybody. The Moscow announces
:03:08. > :03:14.funerals today after violence the day before. Away from the camera, a
:03:14. > :03:24.young boy speaks out. The helicopters came yesterday and
:03:24. > :03:40.
:03:40. > :03:44.opened fire, he said." we are We ask repeatedly to see these
:03:44. > :03:51.areas for ourselves, we were told now. Why does Syria not want the
:03:52. > :03:56.world to see what is happening? TRANSLATION: We do not have a
:03:56. > :04:06.problem for you to see it will our own eyes but our main priority is
:04:06. > :04:10.
:04:10. > :04:20.to protect you. -- with your own eyes. We caught this on camera.
:04:20. > :04:20.
:04:20. > :04:25.Bombs and bullets are not the only weapons in the Syrian conflict. The
:04:25. > :04:30.BBC has heard first-hand evidence of rape being used to humiliate and
:04:30. > :04:35.degrade victims. Fergal Keane travelled to the release and spoke
:04:35. > :04:44.to some of the victims. His special Report contains graphic accounts of
:04:44. > :04:47.the attacks taking place. It is just one of the many roads along
:04:48. > :04:52.which they flee. These are among the two had and 50,000 refugees
:04:52. > :04:58.have Syria's war, bringing with them handfuls of belongings and
:04:58. > :05:01.stories of crimes that haunt the survivors. This woman from Homs
:05:01. > :05:09.said she was arrested at a checkpoint and later repeatedly
:05:09. > :05:13.raped along with three other women. TRANSLATION: A daily rate took
:05:14. > :05:16.place in front of the other girls. That was the time they would remove
:05:16. > :05:21.the blindfolds so the girls could see what was happening and they
:05:21. > :05:27.would not know when their turn would come, whether tomorrow, after
:05:28. > :05:36.one hour. They did not know. It was done in rotation. The witness says
:05:36. > :05:40.the rapes happened in a building in Damascus later bombed by rebels.
:05:40. > :05:48.She alleges an interrogator use rats and mice in his violent sexual
:05:48. > :05:54.assaults on her and other women. TRANSLATION: She was screaming.
:05:54. > :06:00.Afterwards, we saw blood on the floor. He told her, "Is this good
:06:00. > :06:09.enough for you?" They were mocking her. It was obvious she was in
:06:09. > :06:14.agony. We could see her. After that, she no longer moved. The witness
:06:14. > :06:20.says that after two months in the nightmare world of the tension, she
:06:20. > :06:24.was held to escape and flee Syria. The group Un Writes Watch says
:06:24. > :06:28.sexual violence is used to humiliate and degrade but neither
:06:28. > :06:37.they nor the un have made accusations of rape against the
:06:37. > :06:45.rebel side. -- nor the UN. Sexual violence is taking place across
:06:45. > :06:50.Syria, being directed at women and men. They hit you and say,"Confess,
:06:50. > :06:58.confess." These young men were arrested in Damascus after taking
:06:58. > :07:08.place in protests against the regime. They raped me, one by one.
:07:08. > :07:09.
:07:09. > :07:19.I started to say, "Please do not do this!" nobody listened to me.
:07:19. > :07:26.
:07:26. > :07:34.(CRIES) car they -- They said, "You wanted freedom? This is freedom."
:07:34. > :07:43.They were just laughing. I was alone. We followed this a -- this
:07:43. > :07:49.accusation of abuse across to Istanbul. This man says there was
:07:49. > :07:59.rate in other centres but he always protected prisoners. Let me quote
:07:59. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:12.to you a former detainee at your facility." They were raping me.
:08:12. > :08:16.TRANSLATION: That is not true from the time that I was there. That is
:08:16. > :08:20.absolutely untrue. If it were true, let him confront me because I am
:08:20. > :08:27.responsible and can be confronted before any authority with a
:08:27. > :08:31.National Audit -- whether national or international. The international
:08:31. > :08:36.community gives aid to refugees but it is simply so divided over Syria
:08:36. > :08:39.to order a war crimes investigation. We asked the Syrian government to
:08:39. > :08:43.respond to the allegations but received no answer. It recently
:08:43. > :08:49.dismissed UN reports of torture, including sexual violence, as
:08:49. > :08:53.neither accurate nor objective. In the absence of other witnesses and
:08:53. > :08:57.with UN investigators refused access to Syria, it is impossible
:08:57. > :09:07.to corroborate the rape allegations. Some survivors are determined to
:09:07. > :09:08.
:09:08. > :09:14.speak out. Nobody visits you. Nobody Here's your voice. It seemed
:09:14. > :09:20.this was our destiny, to be tortured for days and then dive. In
:09:20. > :09:24.this society, there is a huge degree of shame when speaking about
:09:24. > :09:29.a subject like this. Why have you decided to speak to me?
:09:29. > :09:35.TRANSLATION: I am still afraid for the girls who remain inside. Every
:09:35. > :09:38.few days, they would bring a new girl. I have now been out for six
:09:38. > :09:48.or seven months. How many girls have they brought in during this
:09:48. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:56.time? That, as the war escalates, is the most haunting of questions.
:09:56. > :10:00.Central Johannesburg has, for years, been a notoriously dangerous place.
:10:00. > :10:04.Big business chased away by gangsters to hijack old buildings
:10:04. > :10:12.and turn them into cheap hostels for South Africa's growing
:10:12. > :10:16.underclass but today that is changing. A notoriously mean St --
:10:16. > :10:19.the notoriously mean streets of Johannesburg. Big business abandon
:10:19. > :10:25.this part of the city years ago, chased away by criminals. It has
:10:25. > :10:30.become a seething maze of squalor and danger. These are office blocks
:10:31. > :10:40.hijacked by gangsters and turned into a wretched dormitories for
:10:41. > :10:47.
:10:47. > :10:54.South Africa's poor. Do you feel safe here? Sometimes I do not but I
:10:54. > :10:58.do not have any option. You have no choice? For years, big chunks of
:10:58. > :11:02.Johannesburg have essentially been controlled by gangsters. The police
:11:02. > :11:06.are reluctant to even come here but things are changing fast now and it
:11:06. > :11:13.is not so much because of better policing but because big business
:11:13. > :11:18.is starting to see the potential for places like this. And so, all
:11:18. > :11:23.over the city, the builders are returning, gutting and renovating,
:11:23. > :11:31.transforming chaos into decent, low rent accommodation for today's
:11:31. > :11:36.African phenomenon, the booming middle classes. This place was a
:11:36. > :11:43.tough area. Look at it today, it is totally vibrant. What is this a
:11:43. > :11:48.sign of? This is a sign of, firstly, a return to normality. The new
:11:48. > :11:52.normal includes hi-tech security for tenants like this man, a handy
:11:52. > :12:02.man married with three children. Your life is going in the right
:12:02. > :12:05.
:12:05. > :12:10.direction? Yes. I am happy with the direction of my life. I can say I
:12:10. > :12:15.am progressing. This is still a rough and ready city. Iron bars on
:12:15. > :12:19.the nursery where his youngest son has spent the day. There are not
:12:19. > :12:26.enough schools here and as prices rise the poorest residents are
:12:26. > :12:35.being forced out. Still, the dangers and squalor is receding and
:12:35. > :12:39.an African city is coming back to The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
:12:39. > :12:45.have dramatically increased the number of troops suffering from
:12:46. > :12:55.post-traumatic stress disorder. The MoD has run a campaign to raise
:12:56. > :12:58.
:12:58. > :13:07.awareness and reduce sq Dietmar on post-traumatic stress. -- Steve --
:13:07. > :13:11.stigma. We visit a facility in Washington state. A human hamster
:13:11. > :13:21.ball and an armed that guinea pig. Virtual-rea Virtual-reatrial
:13:21. > :13:22.
:13:22. > :13:30.by the US military to help treat veterans and stress. Sitting at the
:13:30. > :13:35.wheel of a hummed the car when a roadside bomb goes off. Bombs are a
:13:35. > :13:42.frequent cause of trauma. Reliving events as realistically as possible
:13:42. > :13:48.is one way of getting over a dramatic event. The true reality
:13:48. > :13:56.provides a form of treatment that may be appealing for some soldiers
:13:56. > :14:01.who may not have come in. It helps activate their trauma in a way that
:14:01. > :14:05.facilitate a better outcome. It is more computer-game fence-sitting on
:14:05. > :14:11.a couch with a psychiatrist, but the research suggests it is more
:14:11. > :14:15.effective. It gives you a sense of being behind the wheel. There is a
:14:15. > :14:25.smell that is generated to make you feel like you are in Iraq. When a
:14:25. > :14:31.bomb goes off, you feel it in the wheel and in your body. Brief in
:14:31. > :14:40.using your diaphragm. Technology is helping in all sorts of way.
:14:40. > :14:44.Smartphone apps to help patientss between sessions. He was a bomb
:14:44. > :14:54.disposal expert in Afghanistan, after years of medication, he is
:14:54. > :14:58.trying something new. It is a pocket therapist. These
:14:58. > :15:04.applications are for if you are at home, you can put in a set of
:15:04. > :15:10.headphones, nobody has to know. Mobile devices to record brainwaves,
:15:10. > :15:14.heart rate and skin temperature. look at my device and understand
:15:14. > :15:19.I'm having an attack. A doctor might be able to say, this is
:15:19. > :15:22.something we have to look out. is new technology making the
:15:23. > :15:32.treatment for post-traumatic stress more accessible and more convenient
:15:32. > :15:38.for more people. Brazil is a country and in to
:15:38. > :15:42.become a world leader, it recently overtook the UK to become the sixth
:15:42. > :15:50.largest economy and global leaders flocking here are a sign of the
:15:50. > :15:57.nation's growing strength. When it comes to education, Brazil is only
:15:57. > :16:01.ranked 53rd. We look at the challenges that Brazil has to
:16:01. > :16:07.address so it can cease its moment. In downtown Sao Paulo they are
:16:07. > :16:13.throwing up buildings at a dizzying pace. It takes more than muscle to
:16:13. > :16:17.lift a country. All this prosperity was built on exporting Brazil's
:16:17. > :16:22.natural resources. If the country wants to do more than supply
:16:22. > :16:27.commodities to China, it needs human resources as well. You will
:16:27. > :16:31.not find many skilled workers on the streets. In the poor
:16:31. > :16:36.neighbourhoods of Sao Paulo, not far from the glitzy business
:16:36. > :16:40.district you find Brazil's challenge. If this country wants to
:16:40. > :16:48.develop from an emerging economy to an emerged economy, it has to do a
:16:48. > :16:51.much better job educating its population. It is time for school
:16:51. > :16:55.in this poor Sao Paulo neighbourhood. This is the second
:16:55. > :17:00.session of the day. Brazil has than a good job getting more children
:17:00. > :17:06.into the education system, now there are not enough schools. Like
:17:06. > :17:11.many here, this one runs three shifts. Its progress, a lot of the
:17:11. > :17:17.children here come from families who did not have any education.
:17:17. > :17:22.This boy says his mother only studied until 4th grade. Maybe his
:17:22. > :17:26.father made it as far as faith. This girl is determined to go to
:17:26. > :17:36.college. She says studying is the passport for the future. That
:17:36. > :17:37.
:17:37. > :17:42.ambition gives this one and a challenge. Arrange training was
:17:42. > :17:52.minimal, she stepped into her first classroom with no practical
:17:52. > :17:55.
:17:55. > :18:05.experience and it was terrifying. - - hair -- her own. With minimal
:18:05. > :18:05.
:18:05. > :18:11.resources this school is trying hard, if it cannot get the
:18:11. > :18:13.resources, Brazil companies will look elsewhere. They will look for
:18:14. > :18:20.people like this Portuguese engineer working here as a head
:18:20. > :18:24.hunter. Brazil has a huge demand for technical professionals to help
:18:24. > :18:28.the growth of the country. The problem in Brazil is not to
:18:28. > :18:38.construct the buildings, it is when you have to construct more complex
:18:38. > :18:44.constructions. Highways, some of the ports. Even a World Cup stadium.
:18:44. > :18:54.Sao Paulo is building a showcase for the future. It needs educated
:18:54. > :19:00.
:19:00. > :19:02.resilience to make that future a success. -- Brazilians. She is one
:19:03. > :19:07.of the world's most famous children's writers, but JK Rowling
:19:07. > :19:17.has for now left the magic of Harry Potter behind her to write a novel
:19:17. > :19:20.
:19:20. > :19:23.for adults, it is called The Casual Vacancy. It has created a stir with
:19:23. > :19:26.its language which is definitely not suitable for children. She
:19:26. > :19:30.tells us what inspired her to write for an older audience. JK Rowling
:19:30. > :19:33.is one of the most famous living writer's in the world, certainly
:19:33. > :19:38.one of the richest. She sold 450 million copies of her Harry Potter
:19:38. > :19:44.books worldwide. She is now opening a new chapter in her literary life.
:19:44. > :19:53.Why the change? I did not sit down to write this novel. I have nothing
:19:53. > :19:58.to prove. I do not mean that in an arrogant way. Harry Potter truly
:19:58. > :20:08.liberated me. It liberated me in the sense that there is an the one
:20:08. > :20:17.
:20:17. > :20:20.reason to right now, for me. It is set in a small English town, a
:20:20. > :20:23.rough council estate becomes a divisive issue in a community full
:20:23. > :20:27.of hate. Expletives abound. Did you have any of those experiences that
:20:27. > :20:31.you project onto your characters? would not want to go there too much.
:20:31. > :20:35.I will say that I have had my issues... I have had mental health
:20:35. > :20:45.issues, I have been depressed. In my teenage years I had issues with
:20:45. > :20:45.
:20:45. > :20:55.anxiety. My five-year-old's daughter's school was no longer a
:20:55. > :20:56.
:20:56. > :21:00.place of complete security from a journalists. Do you think the
:21:00. > :21:10.Leveson inquiry will change anything? Having been on the
:21:10. > :21:10.
:21:10. > :21:20.receiving end of some dubious and illegal behaviour, I do not know, I
:21:20. > :21:25.
:21:25. > :21:28.hope and pray it does change things. It is toxic. As a writer, you have
:21:28. > :21:32.created a portfolio of characters which connect with millions, maybe
:21:32. > :21:42.billions of people. Surely, you cannot leave them be? It was murder
:21:42. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:47.saying goodbye. Now, if I had a fabulous idea that came out of that