30/09/2012 Reporters

has died at the age of 65. Those are the main stories on BBC News.

Haunting stories emerge from Syria. Fergal Keane has reported

allegations of widespread sexual violence. Turning Johannesburg's

Mean streets into clean streets - Andrew Harding reports on the

growing middle-class. And we took to JK rolling about her newest

novel. Politicians gave their view on the situation inside Syria this

week at the United Nations. According to secretary-general Ban

Ki-Moon there are more signs on the ground of clashes virtually every

day. Getting the full story is proving to be an increasing

challenge. We had this report from inside Syria. The ruins of war. The

government says it wants journalists to show the true

picture. They make it hard to do that. Some of it cannot be hidden.

This destruction sits along a main highway. Syrian forces pounded the

area last month after armed opposition moved in. When we see

new tax, we cannot get close. There are plumes of smoke rising every

day from Damascus now. -- when we see new attacks. We see signs on

the ground but we are not being allowed by the government to go

inside these areas to see for ourselves. We were stopped by

soldiers outside a mosque. We get off to a good start. How is the

situation here? One man says, "It is fine." The soldier is not so

sure. They say we cannot go any further but we can talk to people

write here. Watch the man in the striped shirt. He is a soldier from

the checkpoint. He has put down his gun and raced ahead of us. By the

time I greet the shopkeeper, he has filled a bag of bananas. He is

posing as a customer. There is no chance this shopkeeper can speak

freely. You cannot silence everybody. The Moscow announces

funerals today after violence the day before. Away from the camera, a

young boy speaks out. The helicopters came yesterday and

opened fire, he said." we are We ask repeatedly to see these

areas for ourselves, we were told now. Why does Syria not want the

world to see what is happening? TRANSLATION: We do not have a

problem for you to see it will our own eyes but our main priority is

to protect you. -- with your own eyes. We caught this on camera.

Bombs and bullets are not the only weapons in the Syrian conflict. The

BBC has heard first-hand evidence of rape being used to humiliate and

degrade victims. Fergal Keane travelled to the release and spoke

to some of the victims. His special Report contains graphic accounts of

the attacks taking place. It is just one of the many roads along

which they flee. These are among the two had and 50,000 refugees

have Syria's war, bringing with them handfuls of belongings and

stories of crimes that haunt the survivors. This woman from Homs

said she was arrested at a checkpoint and later repeatedly

raped along with three other women. TRANSLATION: A daily rate took

place in front of the other girls. That was the time they would remove

the blindfolds so the girls could see what was happening and they

would not know when their turn would come, whether tomorrow, after

one hour. They did not know. It was done in rotation. The witness says

the rapes happened in a building in Damascus later bombed by rebels.

She alleges an interrogator use rats and mice in his violent sexual

assaults on her and other women. TRANSLATION: She was screaming.

Afterwards, we saw blood on the floor. He told her, "Is this good

enough for you?" They were mocking her. It was obvious she was in

agony. We could see her. After that, she no longer moved. The witness

says that after two months in the nightmare world of the tension, she

was held to escape and flee Syria. The group Un Writes Watch says

sexual violence is used to humiliate and degrade but neither

they nor the un have made accusations of rape against the

rebel side. -- nor the UN. Sexual violence is taking place across

Syria, being directed at women and men. They hit you and say,"Confess,

confess." These young men were arrested in Damascus after taking

place in protests against the regime. They raped me, one by one.

I started to say, "Please do not do this!" nobody listened to me.

(CRIES) car they -- They said, "You wanted freedom? This is freedom."

They were just laughing. I was alone. We followed this a -- this

accusation of abuse across to Istanbul. This man says there was

rate in other centres but he always protected prisoners. Let me quote

to you a former detainee at your facility." They were raping me.

TRANSLATION: That is not true from the time that I was there. That is

absolutely untrue. If it were true, let him confront me because I am

responsible and can be confronted before any authority with a

National Audit -- whether national or international. The international

community gives aid to refugees but it is simply so divided over Syria

to order a war crimes investigation. We asked the Syrian government to

respond to the allegations but received no answer. It recently

dismissed UN reports of torture, including sexual violence, as

neither accurate nor objective. In the absence of other witnesses and

with UN investigators refused access to Syria, it is impossible

to corroborate the rape allegations. Some survivors are determined to

speak out. Nobody visits you. Nobody Here's your voice. It seemed

this was our destiny, to be tortured for days and then dive. In

this society, there is a huge degree of shame when speaking about

a subject like this. Why have you decided to speak to me?

TRANSLATION: I am still afraid for the girls who remain inside. Every

few days, they would bring a new girl. I have now been out for six

or seven months. How many girls have they brought in during this

time? That, as the war escalates, is the most haunting of questions.

Central Johannesburg has, for years, been a notoriously dangerous place.

Big business chased away by gangsters to hijack old buildings

and turn them into cheap hostels for South Africa's growing

underclass but today that is changing. A notoriously mean St --

the notoriously mean streets of Johannesburg. Big business abandon

this part of the city years ago, chased away by criminals. It has

become a seething maze of squalor and danger. These are office blocks

hijacked by gangsters and turned into a wretched dormitories for

South Africa's poor. Do you feel safe here? Sometimes I do not but I

do not have any option. You have no choice? For years, big chunks of

Johannesburg have essentially been controlled by gangsters. The police

are reluctant to even come here but things are changing fast now and it

is not so much because of better policing but because big business

is starting to see the potential for places like this. And so, all

over the city, the builders are returning, gutting and renovating,

transforming chaos into decent, low rent accommodation for today's

African phenomenon, the booming middle classes. This place was a

tough area. Look at it today, it is totally vibrant. What is this a

sign of? This is a sign of, firstly, a return to normality. The new

normal includes hi-tech security for tenants like this man, a handy

man married with three children. Your life is going in the right

direction? Yes. I am happy with the direction of my life. I can say I

am progressing. This is still a rough and ready city. Iron bars on

the nursery where his youngest son has spent the day. There are not

enough schools here and as prices rise the poorest residents are

being forced out. Still, the dangers and squalor is receding and

an African city is coming back to The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

have dramatically increased the number of troops suffering from

post-traumatic stress disorder. The MoD has run a campaign to raise

awareness and reduce sq Dietmar on post-traumatic stress. -- Steve --

stigma. We visit a facility in Washington state. A human hamster

ball and an armed that guinea pig. Virtual-rea Virtual-reatrial

by the US military to help treat veterans and stress. Sitting at the

wheel of a hummed the car when a roadside bomb goes off. Bombs are a

frequent cause of trauma. Reliving events as realistically as possible

is one way of getting over a dramatic event. The true reality

provides a form of treatment that may be appealing for some soldiers

who may not have come in. It helps activate their trauma in a way that

facilitate a better outcome. It is more computer-game fence-sitting on

a couch with a psychiatrist, but the research suggests it is more

effective. It gives you a sense of being behind the wheel. There is a

smell that is generated to make you feel like you are in Iraq. When a

bomb goes off, you feel it in the wheel and in your body. Brief in

using your diaphragm. Technology is helping in all sorts of way.

Smartphone apps to help patientss between sessions. He was a bomb

disposal expert in Afghanistan, after years of medication, he is

trying something new. It is a pocket therapist. These

applications are for if you are at home, you can put in a set of

headphones, nobody has to know. Mobile devices to record brainwaves,

heart rate and skin temperature. look at my device and understand

I'm having an attack. A doctor might be able to say, this is

something we have to look out. is new technology making the

treatment for post-traumatic stress more accessible and more convenient

for more people. Brazil is a country and in to

become a world leader, it recently overtook the UK to become the sixth

largest economy and global leaders flocking here are a sign of the

nation's growing strength. When it comes to education, Brazil is only

ranked 53rd. We look at the challenges that Brazil has to

address so it can cease its moment. In downtown Sao Paulo they are

throwing up buildings at a dizzying pace. It takes more than muscle to

lift a country. All this prosperity was built on exporting Brazil's

natural resources. If the country wants to do more than supply

commodities to China, it needs human resources as well. You will

not find many skilled workers on the streets. In the poor

neighbourhoods of Sao Paulo, not far from the glitzy business

district you find Brazil's challenge. If this country wants to

develop from an emerging economy to an emerged economy, it has to do a

much better job educating its population. It is time for school

in this poor Sao Paulo neighbourhood. This is the second

session of the day. Brazil has than a good job getting more children

into the education system, now there are not enough schools. Like

many here, this one runs three shifts. Its progress, a lot of the

children here come from families who did not have any education.

This boy says his mother only studied until 4th grade. Maybe his

father made it as far as faith. This girl is determined to go to

college. She says studying is the passport for the future. That

ambition gives this one and a challenge. Arrange training was

minimal, she stepped into her first classroom with no practical

experience and it was terrifying. - - hair -- her own. With minimal

resources this school is trying hard, if it cannot get the

resources, Brazil companies will look elsewhere. They will look for

people like this Portuguese engineer working here as a head

hunter. Brazil has a huge demand for technical professionals to help

the growth of the country. The problem in Brazil is not to

construct the buildings, it is when you have to construct more complex

constructions. Highways, some of the ports. Even a World Cup stadium.

Sao Paulo is building a showcase for the future. It needs educated

resilience to make that future a success. -- Brazilians. She is one

of the world's most famous children's writers, but JK Rowling

has for now left the magic of Harry Potter behind her to write a novel

for adults, it is called The Casual Vacancy. It has created a stir with

its language which is definitely not suitable for children. She

tells us what inspired her to write for an older audience. JK Rowling

is one of the most famous living writer's in the world, certainly

one of the richest. She sold 450 million copies of her Harry Potter

books worldwide. She is now opening a new chapter in her literary life.

Why the change? I did not sit down to write this novel. I have nothing

to prove. I do not mean that in an arrogant way. Harry Potter truly

liberated me. It liberated me in the sense that there is an the one

reason to right now, for me. It is set in a small English town, a

rough council estate becomes a divisive issue in a community full

of hate. Expletives abound. Did you have any of those experiences that

you project onto your characters? would not want to go there too much.

I will say that I have had my issues... I have had mental health

issues, I have been depressed. In my teenage years I had issues with

anxiety. My five-year-old's daughter's school was no longer a

place of complete security from a journalists. Do you think the

Leveson inquiry will change anything? Having been on the

receiving end of some dubious and illegal behaviour, I do not know, I

hope and pray it does change things. It is toxic. As a writer, you have

created a portfolio of characters which connect with millions, maybe

billions of people. Surely, you cannot leave them be? It was murder

saying goodbye. Now, if I had a fabulous idea that came out of that