:00:05. > :00:15.isolated scuffles involving police. Now on BBC News it is time for
:00:15. > :00:27.
:00:27. > :00:32.Welcome to Reporters. From here in the world's news room we send out
:00:32. > :00:36.correspondence to bring you the best stories from across the globe.
:00:36. > :00:40.In this week's programme, we joined African troops on the front line in
:00:40. > :00:45.Mali, hoping to keep the Islamists at bay as French troops start to
:00:45. > :00:49.leave. Sexual violence in Somalia's hands.
:00:49. > :00:55.Most attacks are carried out by former militia members.
:00:55. > :01:03.And we meet the women wrestlers of Senegal, showing their skills in a
:01:03. > :01:09.support that is as big as football. We start in Mali, where a process
:01:09. > :01:12.of transition is underway. The first batch of French troops have
:01:13. > :01:18.left after the military campaign against Islamist insurgents.
:01:18. > :01:21.African and Mali forces are taking over. France deployed 4,000 troops
:01:21. > :01:28.to the country in January amid fears that is a must fighters were
:01:28. > :01:32.about to advance on the capital. -- is almost. 3,000 French troops will
:01:32. > :01:38.leave this year. But Paris is keeping a permanent force of 1,000
:01:38. > :01:42.troops in the country to fight terrorism.
:01:42. > :01:48.Alone and exposed. The Somali soldiers want to show that they are
:01:48. > :01:52.in control in the streets of Timbuktu. But they advance
:01:52. > :01:57.anxiously, knowing that they are the targets for suicide bombers.
:01:57. > :02:04.They have little firepower, no protection and lack the training to
:02:04. > :02:10.face will a club and determined insurgents. Mali troops find them
:02:10. > :02:15.overwhelmed when clashes break out. We want the French to stay here,
:02:15. > :02:21.this commanding officer tells me. We do not have the means to defend
:02:21. > :02:25.the city and face the fight at present. But for the French, this
:02:25. > :02:34.fight is out there in the desert. They quickly intervened in Mali to
:02:34. > :02:40.fight Al-Qaeda and its allies. Paris believes its military task is
:02:40. > :02:44.newly accomplished. The French say they are ready to pack and go. They
:02:44. > :02:48.want to lead Timbuktu to the African forces. But at the search
:02:48. > :02:55.for residual fighters continues. Only the French have the means to
:02:55. > :02:59.counter. The people of this tiny desert village are all Tuaregs or
:02:59. > :03:08.other ethnic minorities. They say that is the Mr militants never come
:03:08. > :03:15.here. But it is the only outpost in an ocean of sand. So between the
:03:15. > :03:20.fear of reprisal and allegations, it is difficult. Back in Timbuktu,
:03:20. > :03:25.fear has returned. When we came here just over two months ago, we
:03:25. > :03:30.found people celebrating after a traumatic occupation. Falling
:03:30. > :03:36.suicide attacks and raids on the city, people are now afraid to talk
:03:36. > :03:42.on camera. Everybody will be running. Everybody will leave the
:03:43. > :03:48.place. Until recently, the regional African force was nowhere to be
:03:48. > :03:54.seen in northern Mali. Most of the trips like this logistics and
:03:54. > :03:58.funding. TRANSLATION: We are worried because we do not believe
:03:58. > :04:04.that these forces, even if they come, will be able to do what the
:04:05. > :04:08.French have done so far. The French deployed in Mali arguing that
:04:09. > :04:13.militants operating here had become a threat to not only the region,
:04:13. > :04:19.but also to European countries. After a rapid campaign, they are
:04:19. > :04:23.now pushing for a UN peacekeeping mission to take over. Thousands of
:04:23. > :04:29.African forces are waiting for the mandate. But there is little faith
:04:29. > :04:33.in these troops and their capacity. The prospect of a French withdrawal
:04:33. > :04:39.means for the people of these region that uncertain times lie
:04:39. > :04:44.ahead. The BBC has learned that Somalia's
:04:44. > :04:47.police and army are set to receive direct funding from the UK as part
:04:47. > :04:52.of international efforts to help the country recover from decades of
:04:52. > :04:59.war. The plans were discussed at a global summit on Somalia held
:04:59. > :05:02.recently in London. But the funding is going to the same Somali
:05:02. > :05:08.security forces who are being blamed for carrying out hundreds of
:05:08. > :05:13.sex attacks against civilians. The fresh sea breeze really does
:05:13. > :05:18.feel like a wind of change here. But as life returns to nobody
:05:18. > :05:22.should, people are still facing huge challenges. -- Mogadishu.
:05:22. > :05:29.Years of fighting and famine have left over a million people
:05:29. > :05:33.displaced. Women in particular are vulnerable in these camps. They
:05:33. > :05:37.recorded 1,700 rapes last year alone. Many of them carried out by
:05:37. > :05:46.members of the security forces. ever deeper cent of the sexual
:05:46. > :05:54.violence taking place is actually done by men in uniform. We spoke to
:05:54. > :05:58.one recent victim. She asked to remain anonymous. TRANSLATION: Key
:05:58. > :06:02.came to my tent in the middle of the night. He had a gun and he
:06:02. > :06:08.threatened to shoot me if I resisted. He raped me in front of
:06:08. > :06:14.my son and nobody came to help. Many women are reluctant to speak
:06:14. > :06:19.out. Apart from the stigma attached to rape, there is also fear. Some
:06:19. > :06:23.have been threatened, others have even been arrested. Mogadishu is
:06:23. > :06:28.becoming more liveable, there is no doubt about that. Not so long ago,
:06:28. > :06:33.a place like this at this time of the evening would have been
:06:33. > :06:37.emptying out in preparation for a long, scary night ahead. But the
:06:37. > :06:42.transition from two decades of war is proving to be a bit difficult
:06:42. > :06:49.one. It is leaving some of Somalia's backers with some rather
:06:49. > :06:54.unpalatable choices. Somalia's fledgling national security forces
:06:54. > :06:58.consist mostly of a patchwork of militia. Groups of untrained young
:06:58. > :07:07.men seduced by the power of carrying a gun and his discipline
:07:07. > :07:11.and loyalty is questionable. Some powers are already training and
:07:11. > :07:16.financing security forces as part of wider efforts to combat piracy
:07:16. > :07:22.and Al-Qaeda in the Horn of Africa. Now Britain wants to join them.
:07:22. > :07:29.We're clearly shocked by the prevalence of sexual assault. It
:07:29. > :07:33.seems to mean inconsistent that we would not want to hope this
:07:34. > :07:39.government with the real challenges of the security sector. This is
:07:39. > :07:44.still a fragile peace. Without support for a strong security force,
:07:44. > :07:48.Somalia could collapse back into anarchy. But balancing security
:07:48. > :07:52.with human rights is proving difficult.
:07:53. > :07:58.Ten years ago, American tanks entered the Iraqi capital and
:07:58. > :08:02.pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein. It was a defining moment
:08:02. > :08:11.for the country as the symbol of an era was dramatically removed. But
:08:11. > :08:15.has anything replaced it? We were in Baghdad ten years ago and
:08:15. > :08:19.returned to find out what has changed.
:08:19. > :08:24.It was one of the most striking images of the war. Watched by
:08:24. > :08:33.millions all over the world. Scenes of joy as people danced on the
:08:33. > :08:37.toppled statue of the former leader. Hitting it with their shoes. I have
:08:37. > :08:45.come to see an old friend of mine who was in the square that day. He
:08:45. > :08:50.owns a house and one on the corner. It is very hard for me to describe
:08:50. > :08:56.it. TRANSLATION: I was happy to see a dictator being toppled. But it
:08:56. > :09:00.was being done by foreigners. many people, he had posters of
:09:00. > :09:06.Saddam Hussein on the walls of his shop. A few weeks after the statue
:09:06. > :09:10.was toppled, he took them down. But he hopes that one day the statues
:09:10. > :09:18.and posters will be replaced by images from Iraqi history,
:09:18. > :09:21.including those of Saddam Hussein. TRANSLATION: I want statues of all
:09:21. > :09:25.the rulers who ruled Iraq throughout its modern history to
:09:25. > :09:30.stand in the Square, including Saddam Hussein. I want them to form
:09:30. > :09:35.a museum for Iraq's history. Every one of those rulers had supporters
:09:35. > :09:41.and opponents. People can come to the statues to condemn or hail the
:09:41. > :09:47.memories of those men. Today there is just an empty space where the
:09:47. > :09:54.statue used to stand. But ten years on, many are looking for symbols to
:09:54. > :10:00.express a national Iraqi identity. Something that supersedes the
:10:00. > :10:06.religious ones. But it is taking a long time. Parliament is still to
:10:06. > :10:11.decide on a new national anthem. The current one played here by the
:10:11. > :10:16.Iraqi National some of the orchestra was chosen in 2004. --
:10:16. > :10:21.Symphony. They still have not chosen a national flag. Because of
:10:21. > :10:25.the complications of the political process, we still do not have the
:10:25. > :10:32.final identity for the Iraqi state. That is what we do not have a final
:10:32. > :10:36.decision for making a new anthem. It is still in a process. We are
:10:36. > :10:41.still in a transitional process. many ordinary Iraqis are proud of
:10:41. > :10:45.the Iraqi identity. They point to the fact that Iraq has survived as
:10:45. > :10:49.a country despite waves of sectarian violence after the war.
:10:49. > :10:58.But just as they needed to remove the old symbols to make a break
:10:59. > :11:03.with the past, now they need new ones for the future.
:11:03. > :11:08.Egypt's bakers have been protesting against plans changes to the
:11:08. > :11:11.government controlled bread subsidy scheme. They are threatening to
:11:11. > :11:16.stop subsidising bread because they say they would suffer financial
:11:16. > :11:21.losses. Millions of Egyptians rely on this cheap bread had the Daily
:11:21. > :11:29.surprise. But in a time of economic hardship, the government says it
:11:30. > :11:37.could save $1.6 billion per year by reforming the scheme.
:11:37. > :11:41.Fought over five decades, Egyptians have relied upon a system of bread
:11:41. > :11:46.subsidies for the staple food. But this system is about to change. The
:11:46. > :11:50.government is going to lift the direct subsidies on bread and flour.
:11:50. > :11:55.Instead it will produce bread from the bakers at a market price and
:11:55. > :12:01.sell it to the people at the same price. They believe this will
:12:01. > :12:03.produce more and higher quality bread. But many bakers say the
:12:04. > :12:13.government underestimated their production costs under the new
:12:14. > :12:14.
:12:14. > :12:22.scheme. TRANSLATION: Producing bread for a 100 kilograms back of
:12:22. > :12:28.flower would be �10 of profit on each bank. -- $10 of profit. But
:12:28. > :12:32.there will be increases to staffing costs. Anger at the scheme has
:12:32. > :12:37.caused protests. The government believe it will prevent the sale of
:12:37. > :12:43.subsidised flour on the black market. This will prevent subsidies
:12:43. > :12:48.going to the wrong people. It will be sold to citizens. The government
:12:48. > :12:58.will pay the difference directly. It will ensure that the citizens
:12:58. > :13:05.receive it. the word for bread in Arabic comes from the word life.
:13:05. > :13:10.Many rely on this. But many complained shortages. There is no
:13:10. > :13:14.problem with the bread itself. But it uses all of the flower they get.
:13:14. > :13:21.Sometimes you have to come to the bakery three or four times a day
:13:21. > :13:26.before you get any bread. That is not acceptable. But the picture may
:13:26. > :13:32.not be so bleak. Some bakeries have started using the new scheme.
:13:32. > :13:37.TRANSLATION: In the contract, it will be revised every three months.
:13:37. > :13:42.What else will the bakers need? The government will increase the price
:13:42. > :13:45.if necessary. But since the food symbolised by bread was one of the
:13:45. > :13:55.main demands of the Egyptian Revolution, the government could
:13:55. > :14:07.
:14:08. > :14:17.The online world is providing China's propaganda chief with an
:14:18. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:26.In the battle for the hearts and minds of its citizens, the Chinese
:14:26. > :14:31.government has opened up a new offensive. This might look like
:14:31. > :14:36.just another shoot them up video game, but it is in fact China's
:14:36. > :14:43.latest propaganda it all off. It has been downloaded more than one
:14:43. > :14:52.million times. The game was originally meant as a training aid
:14:52. > :14:56.for Chinese soldiers. Ranks of them had been so shown on state TV. The
:14:56. > :15:01.potential enemy appears to bear more than a passing resemblance to
:15:01. > :15:09.the US or its allies, raising questions about how -- what real-
:15:09. > :15:13.life scenarios they are training for. Making the game public will,
:15:13. > :15:21.according to the developers, help instil patriotic values and perhaps
:15:21. > :15:28.a drum up new recruits. Most of the young boys, from the bottom of
:15:28. > :15:33.their hearts, want to be a soldier. They like to fight. China's
:15:33. > :15:39.internet cafes used to be frowned on by the Communist our priorities.
:15:39. > :15:44.Online games were described as electronic horror when. And imports
:15:44. > :15:49.of home game consoles are still officially banned. -- electronic
:15:49. > :15:52.howl when. This is another sign that the Chinese government is not
:15:52. > :16:02.just censoring the internet, banning search terms and the
:16:02. > :16:06.
:16:06. > :16:12.leading players, but that it is The seemingly rehabilitated gaming
:16:12. > :16:16.industry is simply the latest weapon for China.
:16:16. > :16:21.China is not defer to make a video game for military training. There
:16:21. > :16:25.are similarities with one made by the US Army's ten years ago. But
:16:25. > :16:30.influencing the thoughts of the wider public is a more ambitious
:16:30. > :16:35.fight. And in the virtual world, it is a fight that is going to
:16:36. > :16:39.intensify. He hails from a town more famous
:16:39. > :16:44.for rugby league players and dancers. But a 20-year-old from
:16:44. > :16:50.Northern England has graduated from the world famous Bolshoi Ballet
:16:50. > :17:00.Academy in Moscow. He studied dancing at four, wanting to copy
:17:00. > :17:00.
:17:00. > :17:05.his big sister. He is being tipped Taking centre-stage in Russia's
:17:05. > :17:12.most famous a ballet school this afternoon, and dancing the most
:17:12. > :17:19.Russian of dancers. The boy from Cheshire is lipping out his own
:17:19. > :17:23.Billy Elliott story. -- the living out. Today, he was cheered up
:17:23. > :17:33.through his final exam. A performance that left his dad in
:17:33. > :17:34.
:17:34. > :17:40.tears. I wanted to be a classical dancer. Whether that is inside or
:17:40. > :17:47.outside of Russia will make no difference to me. As long as I get
:17:47. > :17:52.to dance, and get to performed. took up ballet aged four to copy
:17:52. > :17:56.his sister. His talent was obvious from very early on. Although his
:17:56. > :18:04.dad's big passion was a rugby boss De he was very clear on what he
:18:04. > :18:12.wanted to do. -- his passion was rugby. He was very clear on what he
:18:12. > :18:18.wanted to do. He was very sporty. Last week, we went behind the
:18:18. > :18:25.scenes to seek his final rehearsals. Only the second British boy to
:18:25. > :18:31.Bredgar rate from the academy, he dances for ten hours a day. -- to
:18:31. > :18:35.graduate. All his lessons are in Russian. His teacher was a former
:18:35. > :18:45.star of the Bolshoi ballet. TRANSLATION: He is ready to dance
:18:45. > :18:46.
:18:46. > :18:50.in the ensemble of any theatre. has already outgrown the
:18:51. > :18:57.comparisons with Billy Elliott bluster of he has just finished
:18:57. > :19:00.d'etat first ballet course in the world. -- the toughest.
:19:00. > :19:04.In the West African country of Senegal, traditional wrestling is
:19:04. > :19:11.as big as football. However, women rarely get a chance to enter the
:19:11. > :19:15.arena. In a small village, the rice fields festival is one of the rare
:19:15. > :19:25.occasions that you can watch ladies try to bring each other to the
:19:25. > :19:25.
:19:25. > :19:33.It is a kind of fight grown-ups usually would not allow on the
:19:33. > :19:37.playground. Then again, this is no ordinary playground. Here at the
:19:37. > :19:47.rice fields festival, it is one of the few times of the year that you
:19:47. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:58.see traditional female wrestling. really like wrestling. Not only a
:19:58. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:07.man can do it. A female can do it. It is the culture. It is very good.
:20:07. > :20:10.Wrestling is not only for men. Girls can do it, too.
:20:10. > :20:19.Wrestling and the traditional dances that go along with it are
:20:19. > :20:23.deeply rooted in the local culture. It is also linked with a growing
:20:24. > :20:27.rice, a cornerstone in the culture of the people. This field was burnt
:20:27. > :20:31.in preparation for serving at the start of the rainy season. It is
:20:31. > :20:35.usually the women who will harvest the rice, and there will be more
:20:35. > :20:39.celebrations with wrestling then. But passionate as she is for the
:20:39. > :20:43.sport, she will be wrestling many times before that. At 19, she
:20:43. > :20:51.joined the national team last year and is now trained for the next
:20:51. > :20:54.African championship. TRANSLATION: At school, I used to see the other
:20:54. > :21:02.pupils wrestle. Not girls, of course, the boys. But during the
:21:02. > :21:08.break, I would put my bag down and wrestle too. She and her friends
:21:08. > :21:17.have to face prejudices about women in wrestling. Also a lack of
:21:17. > :21:21.funding. TRANSLATION: There are too few sponsors for the girls. We hope
:21:21. > :21:27.that in the future, sponsors will invest in the girls for wrestling.
:21:27. > :21:32.Why not a team of wrestlers? In the meantime, during the final of the
:21:32. > :21:35.tournament, the girls get to show their special skills. For now, when
:21:35. > :21:38.investors in Senegal are still a long way from matching the
:21:38. > :21:46.popularity of their male counterparts. -- women are