:00:23. > :00:26.That's the latest BBC News. Now On the front line in Aleppo. Ian
:00:26. > :00:31.Pannell turned a special report, uncovering new evidence that
:00:31. > :00:35.weapons meant for Saudi Arabia may be in the hands of Syrian rebels.
:00:35. > :00:37.Healing of wounded city. Steven Rosenberg meets the man helping
:00:37. > :00:43.beat Chesham capital rise from the ruins.
:00:43. > :00:53.And once a dream, now a reality. Education for girls in Afghanistan.
:00:53. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :00:57.A special report from Andrew North. Welcome to Reporters. A BBC TV has
:00:57. > :01:01.uncovered -- uncovered evidence that could prove that soon rebels
:01:01. > :01:05.are getting military assistance from the Gulf region. They found
:01:05. > :01:12.crates from an arms manufacturer, addressed to Saudi Arabia, at a
:01:12. > :01:16.base used by rebel fighters. Ian Pannell and Cameron and Danilo --
:01:16. > :01:20.Darren Conway are among few Western journalists to have witnessed the
:01:20. > :01:27.start of the battle in July. They have just arrived to the city and
:01:27. > :01:33.sent this report. Thousands of years of history have
:01:33. > :01:39.marched through the streets. An ancient city that has been fought
:01:39. > :01:43.over many times before. Today, Aleppo was at war again. And the
:01:43. > :01:49.further you age into the old city, so the sound and fury of battle
:01:49. > :01:55.grows. -- edge. Those who stayed behind must cheat death every day.
:01:55. > :02:05.A simple sign reads, do not cross. Sniper to your left. Seven or eight
:02:05. > :02:06.
:02:06. > :02:11.people were killed here last week, he says. Both sides are shooting.
:02:11. > :02:17.The rebels have moved into the heart of the old city. And media
:02:17. > :02:24.activist took us there. A World Heritage site, where the scars of
:02:24. > :02:31.battle run deep and the devastation is mounting. Aleppo is a city under
:02:31. > :02:35.siege. The fighting is now street by street, house by house. The
:02:35. > :02:40.fighters have been calling for outside help for many months. Now,
:02:40. > :02:44.for the first time, a strong indication they are getting it. The
:02:44. > :02:49.Ukrainian weapons firm that made the box and its contents for the
:02:49. > :02:54.Royal Saudi army. What is in it and how it ended up in Aleppo is
:02:54. > :03:00.unclear. But it suggests someone in the Gulf is helping those trying to
:03:00. > :03:10.overthrow President Assad. In truth, both sides now get help from abroad
:03:10. > :03:12.
:03:12. > :03:16.in a war that threatens a fragile The atmosphere here on the
:03:16. > :03:21.frontline is incredibly tense and almost eerily quiet. Every now and
:03:21. > :03:25.again, you can hear the sound of battle going on and the scars of
:03:25. > :03:29.this intense fighting are obvious everywhere. Snipers have been
:03:29. > :03:34.shooting into this position. There is a mirror here that rebels have
:03:34. > :03:37.been using to try to get a sense of what is going on. If you look out
:03:37. > :03:42.onto the street, you can see what the government response has been.
:03:42. > :03:46.Massive firepower to try to crush the rebellion. This remains an
:03:46. > :03:50.uneven battle. The rebels and residents have no answer to a
:03:50. > :03:57.barrage of artillery and bombs that does not discriminate between
:03:57. > :04:02.fighting and civilians. -- fighters. And so they try to move on scene
:04:02. > :04:06.towards loyalist forces. Despite its overwhelming strength,
:04:06. > :04:11.government forces have been made few -- have made few inroads. We
:04:11. > :04:14.were shown one of their checkpoints, just 200 metres away. They may be
:04:14. > :04:19.fighting for the future of Syria but both sides are struggling over
:04:19. > :04:25.small bits of her. The empty streets are testament to the
:04:25. > :04:30.thousands who fled Aleppo. But some say they have nowhere to go. But
:04:31. > :04:36.nowhere is safe. -- that nowhere. This man lost his wife and six
:04:36. > :04:43.children. All of them were killed when a rocket landed on his house.
:04:43. > :04:48.TRANSLATION: To live is to die. Men, animals and buildings. Bashar Al-
:04:48. > :04:53.Assad his farming us. It is death were you go. They say foreign aid
:04:53. > :04:56.is being provided but we saying -- see nothing. Just let us die and
:04:56. > :05:03.get it over with. A Aleppo has become the defining battle in this
:05:03. > :05:09.brutal civil war. Night defied can afford to lose. -- Aleppo. But in
:05:09. > :05:19.truth, neither is willing. What does seem to be happening is the
:05:19. > :05:21.
:05:21. > :05:26.To the United Nations once described the tertian capital as
:05:26. > :05:31.the most of destroyed city on earth. A place reduced to rubble by two
:05:31. > :05:35.walls between Russian roubles and separatists. It's believed more
:05:35. > :05:40.than 150,000 civilians were killed over a decade of conflict. Today,
:05:40. > :05:45.with the help of large subsidies from Moscow, it is rising from the
:05:45. > :05:51.ruins. But as Stephen Rosenbaum discovered, for some, the memories
:05:51. > :05:58.of war refuse to fade. Russia fought two devastating wars
:05:58. > :06:06.in Cheshire here. To many here, this place was hell on earth. --
:06:06. > :06:16.Chechnya. But in this hell, there were heroes. After his local
:06:16. > :06:19.
:06:20. > :06:27.hospital was destroyed, Dr que son by -- Doku Dr Khassan Baiev turned
:06:27. > :06:36.this room into a hospital. I had 4,600 patients. Every day, there
:06:36. > :06:42.was bombing and shelling. This roof was always shaking. Always shaking.
:06:42. > :06:47.His house was shelled twice during the fighting. But he refused to
:06:47. > :06:55.leave. By the start of the second war, the hospital had reopened and
:06:55. > :07:01.the doctor was busier than ever. doesn't matter. Whoever they were,
:07:01. > :07:09.at will come to my operation room, from who were there was most
:07:10. > :07:15.seriously injured. I work without electricity during the bombings. I
:07:15. > :07:23.work without general anaesthetics. In February 2000, the most wanted
:07:23. > :07:29.man in Russia was on his operating table. The rebel leader. The doctor
:07:29. > :07:35.amputated his fault. By now, the doctor feared for his own life. --
:07:35. > :07:43.foot. He received threats from both sides. He fled his home town and
:07:43. > :07:50.escape to America. Today, the doctor it is back in Cheshire here.
:07:50. > :07:57.Now a US citizen, he spends half the year here treating children. --
:07:57. > :08:03.Chechnya. It's a difficult situation because many doctors
:08:03. > :08:09.escaped. That is why we need help. He doesn't like being called a hero.
:08:09. > :08:17.But there is no word -- better word for a man who spent years risking
:08:17. > :08:20.his life to save others. More than 3 million girls now go to
:08:20. > :08:24.school or get some education in Afghanistan and that is a dramatic
:08:24. > :08:29.rise from the Taliban era, when they were not allowed to go to
:08:29. > :08:36.school. But girls and women still face many restrictions in
:08:36. > :08:42.Afghanistan's male-dominated society. This report from Kabul.
:08:42. > :08:47.And cold seen in a change in Afghanistan. -- and bold scene. It
:08:47. > :08:52.is the time of the potato harvest. Children are working in the fields,
:08:52. > :08:57.as they have done for centuries. Families still depend on their
:08:57. > :09:03.labour. But while this ten-year-old helps out with the farming, she
:09:03. > :09:09.also goes to school, making the long walk there every day.
:09:09. > :09:17.TRANSLATION: I am in the second class. We didn't have school before.
:09:17. > :09:22.I am really happy I am going to school now. Today it's a lesson in
:09:22. > :09:27.Dari, the local language. Barely one-fifth of Afghan women can read
:09:27. > :09:32.or write but that is still a big improvement from one decade ago.
:09:32. > :09:36.New schools in remote areas are helping. There is a big turnout for
:09:36. > :09:40.the launch of this government school. More than 3 million Afghan
:09:40. > :09:48.girls are now getting some education. That still leaves 2
:09:48. > :09:55.million who have never been to class. But attitudes are changing.
:09:55. > :10:03.I bring the women of Afghanistan with -- so they can feel they are
:10:03. > :10:09.owners of this nation. They are owners of the future. The owners of
:10:09. > :10:13.all that is happening. Is it -- it's a new era for these girls. Now
:10:13. > :10:18.they are learning to play cricket. They would have had to stay home if
:10:18. > :10:25.the Taliban were still in power. Safe inside the walls, they are
:10:26. > :10:29.like children anywhere. Curious about me and keen to talk. But
:10:29. > :10:36.outside, they still face many restrictions and uncertainty about
:10:36. > :10:39.their future after NATO forces pull out. This is just one example of
:10:39. > :10:45.the progress there has been in getting girls to school over the
:10:45. > :10:49.past ten years. But this is Kabul and the less Secure areas still
:10:49. > :10:54.seen many girls who are not getting any kind of education and are under
:10:54. > :10:57.pressure to get married while they are still of school age. It is
:10:57. > :11:07.still tough being a girl in Afghanistan. But they are making a
:11:07. > :11:09.
:11:09. > :11:15.In a few weeks' time United States voters will cast their ballots,
:11:15. > :11:21.many suffering from deep recession. We visited the western state of
:11:21. > :11:26.Nevada where many have struggled to keep their homes. It is morning
:11:26. > :11:32.after the big spend in Las Vegas. Know where have they partied harder
:11:32. > :11:40.and nowhere has the clean-up been more painful. They did not just
:11:40. > :11:50.gamble with chips. They twist the future. Terry Grayson bought this
:11:50. > :11:56.house for $825,000 in 2005. I spent beyond my means. It was a fun time.
:11:56. > :12:03.But the fund did not last - three years later at the value of her
:12:03. > :12:10.home fell by half. She lost her home and her life savings. There
:12:10. > :12:16.was a gorgeous view. It was lush and green, beautiful. 90% of houses
:12:16. > :12:21.of the market in Las Vegas are in a similar position - sales with the
:12:21. > :12:27.owner bought the home for much more than it is worth today. The boom
:12:27. > :12:31.times are over. What happened in Las Vegas is the story of America.
:12:31. > :12:38.The most pressing issue facing the next President is the housing
:12:38. > :12:44.crisis. Until that is done, the economy will not recover.
:12:44. > :12:51.Campaigning in the area, Mitt Romney has promised help. We must
:12:51. > :12:59.reignite the housing economy so that her values go up again.
:12:59. > :13:05.President Barack Obama it insists he has already helped. What
:13:05. > :13:11.remained out is what has already happened to houses next to this big
:13:11. > :13:15.farm. -- by turning out. At the height of the boom, the pigs were
:13:15. > :13:21.acceptable neighbours, but not after the crash. Owners know the
:13:21. > :13:28.value will not come back for. have to pull the fey you up. Let
:13:28. > :13:33.people buy homes. Only in Las Vegas would a foreclosure Moira be famous.
:13:33. > :13:42.He is in the frontline of the council in -- housing process. He
:13:42. > :13:48.believes more credit is needed. Home owners need financing.
:13:48. > :13:51.Investors but not buying houses, unless they are foreign investors.
:13:51. > :13:59.People from other countries are coming in and buying up these
:13:59. > :14:07.houses? Who is coming? A lot of Asian countries. Canadian money. A
:14:07. > :14:12.lot of Australians. The same crash that has made bargains for foreign
:14:12. > :14:16.investors has increased the lines of welfare officers in Nevada have
:14:16. > :14:25.forced some unemployment is up. The people do not believe politicians
:14:25. > :14:33.can help. They want somebody to go over -- after the banks. They feel
:14:33. > :14:39.helpless. Business has returned to Los Vegas. The tourists and
:14:39. > :14:46.gamblers are back -- it is a fantasy land - the golden shimmer a
:14:46. > :14:50.fragile facade for a floundering economy. In Cuba, the buying and
:14:50. > :14:55.selling off houses was braided speculation and banned after the
:14:55. > :15:01.revolution. The only way to move was to swap houses. That severely
:15:01. > :15:11.restricted mobility. But the ban was lifted last year. It was a
:15:11. > :15:13.
:15:13. > :15:19.popular shift. Sales have been rising. But so have prices. It
:15:19. > :15:27.looks pretty retro, but in the Cuban terms this is ground-breaking.
:15:27. > :15:31.Fidel Castro banned commercials as brainwashing and banned property
:15:31. > :15:37.sales. Yet, this is state television advertising private
:15:37. > :15:42.houses for Sale. The director tells me they get countless letters from
:15:42. > :15:49.people who want their ads read out on air. The freedom to sell is a
:15:49. > :15:55.big change here. All over Cuba, people seize the opportunity.
:15:55. > :15:59.Eduardo it showed me around his two-bedroom flat in a suburb of
:15:59. > :16:08.Havana. He is selling up to emigrate enjoyed his wife in
:16:08. > :16:15.America. In the old days, the state would have claimed everything.
:16:15. > :16:23.TRANSLATION: You had to leave them everything - car, house. Now we can
:16:23. > :16:30.sell it. The television advertisement slots are limited: --,
:16:30. > :16:35.so our internet ads. People must improvise. This is the Cuban
:16:35. > :16:42.equivalent of an estate agent. People put up posters advertising
:16:42. > :16:49.the property forced on officially, houses have only been swapped. But
:16:49. > :16:56.now that is changing. It has shifted from swaps to sales. House
:16:56. > :17:01.exchanges are slow and restrictive, meaning many illicit deals are done
:17:01. > :17:06.for cash. Now you can buy and sell in the open. This man is looking to
:17:06. > :17:11.downsize - something banned under the swap system. Many are doing the
:17:11. > :17:19.same to raise badly needed money. The property market in Cuba is
:17:19. > :17:25.certainly attractive. It is not open to foreign buyers, so. Locals
:17:25. > :17:30.can only owned one home, to stop speculation. Most places need a lot
:17:30. > :17:37.of work, just like the cars here. The issue for people like this is
:17:37. > :17:42.the price. He sold his house but cannot find a new place he can
:17:42. > :17:48.afford. It is partly the fee charged by middlemen. Partly that
:17:48. > :17:56.cash is coming from rich Cuban relatives abroad. TRANSLATION: It
:17:56. > :18:00.is complicated. You have 3,000 to spend but it is nothing. It is
:18:00. > :18:07.5,000 or 10,000. The prices are sipping inflated. Ordinary Cubans
:18:07. > :18:11.don't have that money is. So the new property market it has its
:18:11. > :18:18.problems. But at least it is legal, giving Cubans more freedom to make
:18:18. > :18:24.choices and decisions for their families. The Northern Lights are
:18:24. > :18:30.triggered by violent storms warned the Sun. But the particles creating
:18:30. > :18:37.a piece displays can cause trouble. Navigation systems can lose
:18:37. > :18:41.accuracy during the worst solar storms. From the Arctic islands it
:18:41. > :18:46.here is how science editor. A remote valley in the High Arctic
:18:46. > :18:50.least to one of the loneliest research stations in the world.
:18:51. > :18:56.Instruments perched on a mountain side. It is a steep climb to reach
:18:57. > :19:04.it, but this is the best location to investigate the power of the Sun
:19:04. > :19:09.forced on a giant flair Arabs from its surface - a solar storm. A
:19:09. > :19:15.mesmerising sight. Signed just stay -- this weather can disrupt modern
:19:15. > :19:21.life by disruption navigation systems forced on the scientist
:19:21. > :19:27.must come - may carry a gun because of polar bears. She needs to be hit
:19:27. > :19:34.to measure how solar activity can affect satellite navigation.
:19:34. > :19:38.take satellite navigation for granted. We need to research how
:19:38. > :19:44.these navigation systems are affected by solar storms and these
:19:45. > :19:49.huge amount of energy coming into the earth, affecting the Sea Eagles.
:19:49. > :19:55.When that solar energy strikes, you get the northern lights, the famous
:19:56. > :20:01.well of particles in the upper atmosphere. This can seriously
:20:01. > :20:07.distort B GPS system. Signed to son discovering the true extent of that
:20:07. > :20:13.effect. Severe conditions can lead to a huge loss in actuary. How much
:20:13. > :20:21.of a distortion could you get during a solar flare? If you have a
:20:21. > :20:30.very large Silo storm UK and lose tens of metres of accuracy. --
:20:30. > :20:36.Solar Storm you can get up to tens of metres. In the Arctic, accurate
:20:36. > :20:43.Sandip -- satellite navigation is essential - especially for rescue
:20:43. > :20:47.searchers. It can be a matter of life and dirt. The more we rely on
:20:47. > :20:52.things involving satellite technology, the more important
:20:52. > :20:58.research like this becomes forced on trying to understand space
:20:58. > :21:03.weather and a way of forecasting its most damaging aspects. There is