:00:12. > :00:18.Thousands of images - said to be of dead prisoners - have been examined
:00:19. > :00:23.by former war crimes prosecutors. They have said it's systematic
:00:24. > :00:26.killing. The allegations come on the eve of peace talks in Geneva aimed
:00:27. > :00:29.at ending the conflict, which began almost three years ago - we'll be
:00:30. > :00:32.asking what chance they have of success. Also this lunchtime...
:00:33. > :00:35.Utter complacency - energy distribution bosses are criticised
:00:36. > :00:39.by MPs over the power cuts during the Christmas storms. A boost for
:00:40. > :00:43.the British economy - the IMF is expected to name the UK as one of
:00:44. > :00:47.the fastest-growing of the world's leading economies. Dog owners are
:00:48. > :00:51.warned about a disease that has killed 16 pets in the UK in the past
:00:52. > :00:53.year. And west Brom's Nicolas Anelka is
:00:54. > :00:55.charged over making anti-Semitic gesture - described as an inverted
:00:56. > :01:02.Nazi salute. Later on BBC London... New plans to
:01:03. > :01:06."urgently improve" care for cancer patients in the capital.
:01:07. > :01:08.And after the floods, how some living along the Thames are still
:01:09. > :01:32.waiting to get home. Good afternoon and welcome to the
:01:33. > :01:34.BBC News at One. The Syrian government has been accused of the
:01:35. > :01:40."systematic killing" of 11,000 detainees since the start of the
:01:41. > :01:42.civil war in 2011. The claim comes from three former war crimes
:01:43. > :01:44.prosecutors who have examined thousands of images of dead
:01:45. > :01:48.prisoners, said to have been smuggled out of Syria by a defector.
:01:49. > :01:51.The Syrian government has denied claims of abuse, but the report
:01:52. > :01:54.comes a day before peace talks are due to begin in Switzerland, from
:01:55. > :01:59.where our diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, sent this report.
:02:00. > :02:00.And a warning - her report does include pictures of bodies some
:02:01. > :02:15.viewers may find upsetting. Grim new evidence from Syria,
:02:16. > :02:19.horrific photos of the apparent torture and execution of 11,000
:02:20. > :02:24.separate victims. Signs of strangulation, emaciated, beaten
:02:25. > :02:30.bodies, and many other images too distressing to show, all provided by
:02:31. > :02:33.a defector who was allegedly once official photographer for the Syrian
:02:34. > :02:40.army. A report commissioned by Kacar, one of the main backers of
:02:41. > :02:44.the Syrian rebels. But the authors are highly respected former UN war
:02:45. > :02:47.crimes prosecutors, who say they are satisfied the evidence would support
:02:48. > :02:51.findings of crimes against you meditate against the Syrian regime,
:02:52. > :02:56.and could also support findings of war crimes. The injuries are
:02:57. > :03:03.repeated time and time and time again. Brutal beatings, which is of
:03:04. > :03:07.starvation. Starvation itself can be used as a means of torture. The
:03:08. > :03:15.pictures of starved bodies were reminiscent of the pictures once saw
:03:16. > :03:19.that came out of Auschwitz after the Second World War. It is the latest
:03:20. > :03:26.dramatic twist to overshadow Syrian peace talks, to be unveiled tomorrow
:03:27. > :03:31.on Lake Geneva. The timing of this new report of alleged mass killings
:03:32. > :03:34.is no doubt deliberate, designed to reinforce the claims of the
:03:35. > :03:38.opponents of President Assad that his regime is criminal, but with who
:03:39. > :03:43.knows what impact for the peace process which is about to be
:03:44. > :03:47.launched here, which has already shown itself to be highly fragile?
:03:48. > :03:51.The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, arriving in Switzerland
:03:52. > :03:54.this morning. But yesterday it looked as though his last-minute
:03:55. > :03:57.invitation to the Iranians might have scuppered the whole process.
:03:58. > :04:00.The Syrian opposition threatened a boycott. He was forced to withdraw
:04:01. > :04:03.the invitation. He was forced to withdraw the invitation just
:04:04. > :04:09.meanwhile, inside Syria, all this diplomacy is having little effect on
:04:10. > :04:14.the fighting. This was one of the latest strikes by Syrian government
:04:15. > :04:18.forces, reported by opposition activists in an eastern region. No
:04:19. > :04:23.one expects these talks to end the conflict, but any progress, however
:04:24. > :04:26.small, on reaching the millions of displaced and desperate Syrians
:04:27. > :04:36.trapped by the fighting would be welcome. Let's speak to our security
:04:37. > :04:38.correspondent, Frank Gardner. So, delegates are gathering in
:04:39. > :04:42.Switzerland already for these talks, but what chance do they have
:04:43. > :04:46.success? I think there is very little immediate prospect of an end
:04:47. > :04:49.to the conflict in Syria. Let's remind ourselves that even though it
:04:50. > :04:55.is out of sight of most people here in Britain, it is still raging, it
:04:56. > :05:00.has killed an estimated 130,000 people plus. We heard today about
:05:01. > :05:04.11,000 people being tortured and killed in Syrian jails. There are
:05:05. > :05:09.atrocities being committed by both sides of medieval barbarity. And
:05:10. > :05:13.that creates such profound imagery that it is very hard to bring the
:05:14. > :05:17.two sides together. This will be the first time that the secular or
:05:18. > :05:19.mainstream opposition are going to sit down in face-to-face talks with
:05:20. > :05:24.representatives of the Syrian government. At their are essentially
:05:25. > :05:28.three sides to this conflict, it is not just one side against another.
:05:29. > :05:31.You have got the Syrian government, the most powerful tribe in this
:05:32. > :05:37.conflict, essentially, backed by Russia and Iran. You have got the
:05:38. > :05:40.secular or mainstream opposition, who are attending these talks, but
:05:41. > :05:43.they have very little power or influence on the battlefield in
:05:44. > :05:48.Syria. And then you have got a really hard-core, Jihadist groups
:05:49. > :05:52.who do not necessarily want the same kind of Syria alternately as
:05:53. > :05:55.everybody else wants. They are fighting to create an Islamic state
:05:56. > :06:02.which extends beyond the borders of Syria. Trying to balance these three
:06:03. > :06:07.is extremely difficult, and I do not see this week's conference sorting
:06:08. > :06:10.that out. The aim of it is to try and get an interim transitional
:06:11. > :06:11.government, which represents all parties. It is unlikely to be
:06:12. > :06:18.achieved this week. A car bomb has gone off in the
:06:19. > :06:21.Lebanese capital, Beirut. At least four people were killed in the
:06:22. > :06:25.blast, which happened in a mainly Shi'ite area of the city. There have
:06:26. > :06:27.been a series of bomb attacks in Beirut, targeting the Hezbollah
:06:28. > :06:30.group, which is fighting with pro-government forces in the Syrian
:06:31. > :06:33.civil war. Power companies have been accused of utter complacency by MPs
:06:34. > :06:36.over the way they handled power cuts during the storms over Christmas.
:06:37. > :06:39.Around three quarters of a million homes and businesses were affected
:06:40. > :06:42.by strong winds and heavy rain as storm after storm battered the UK.
:06:43. > :06:45.This morning, the bosses of the UK's energy distribution companies were
:06:46. > :06:49.questioned by MPs over why it took so long to get properties
:06:50. > :06:59.reconnected. Our industry correspondent, John Moylan, reports.
:07:00. > :07:05.December was one of the stormiest periods in decades. Hundreds of
:07:06. > :07:09.thousands of households were without power over the festive period. So
:07:10. > :07:12.today, the bosses of the companies that own the electricity networks
:07:13. > :07:17.came to be grilled by MPs over why so many homes were hit and why it
:07:18. > :07:23.took so long to restore supplies. But it did not start well. As the
:07:24. > :07:27.trade body, we are now three weeks after this problem, you cannot tell
:07:28. > :07:34.us how many customers were without power for more than 24 hours? I will
:07:35. > :07:38.have it buried in my head, I will tell you that figure as soon it
:07:39. > :07:42.comes into my head. Apologies, I just do not have it on the top of my
:07:43. > :07:45.head. What they did know was that they had been dealing with some of
:07:46. > :07:51.the most severe conditions in years. I have heard it quoted elsewhere
:07:52. > :07:57.that it was the most stormy since 1969. We have certainly not seen
:07:58. > :08:01.damage like this in the south, going back to the 1990s, even back to
:08:02. > :08:08.1987. It was the severity of the storm, the national nature of the
:08:09. > :08:12.storm... So you had a plan in place and you feel that it worked?
:08:13. > :08:18.Absolutely, yes. Customers lost power right across the UK, but most
:08:19. > :08:25.460,000 households had supplies interrupted in the south-east and
:08:26. > :08:28.eastern regions. There were a further 338,000 in central and
:08:29. > :08:34.southern England, and 134,000 households were hit in the
:08:35. > :08:41.south-west of England, south Wales and the Midlands. In the aftermath,
:08:42. > :08:44.firms struggled to find engineers to repair the network. An emergency
:08:45. > :08:47.information number was promised by the Energy Secretary, but there was
:08:48. > :08:53.confusion over when that would happen, and also over levels of
:08:54. > :08:59.compensation. ?27 for a customer who was without power for 48 hours. It
:09:00. > :09:04.is an absolute pittance. In my view, it is a miserly amount, it is an
:09:05. > :09:09.insult to those people who are suffering greatly. There are several
:09:10. > :09:14.reviews under way into the Christmas power cuts. The firms that own these
:09:15. > :09:19.networks are highly profitable, but they have escaped much scrutiny so
:09:20. > :09:23.far. That is about to change. I have two conclude that you are exploiting
:09:24. > :09:26.your privileged position. You have displayed a neglectful customers
:09:27. > :09:27.which I personally find absolutely astonishing. But thank you all for
:09:28. > :09:33.coming in. Britain is expected to be named as
:09:34. > :09:36.one of the fastest-growing of the world's leading economies later
:09:37. > :09:38.today. It is thought the International Monetary Fund will
:09:39. > :09:42.increase its growth forecast for the UK's economy from 1.9% to 2.4%.
:09:43. > :09:51.Let's speak to our business editor, Robert Peston. It is quite a
:09:52. > :09:55.turnaround? Yes, we should be clear that the IMF is slap bang in the
:09:56. > :09:59.middle of forecasting for most economies, including the
:10:00. > :10:05.Government's own forecast, which also says 2.4%. But it is a
:10:06. > :10:10.turnaround in the attitude of the IMF. Only a year ago, they said that
:10:11. > :10:16.the Chancellor was, in its words, playing with fire with his programme
:10:17. > :10:20.of spending cuts, austerity. It was worried that actually, that would
:10:21. > :10:24.continue to dampen growth. Well, not just the IMF, but actually the
:10:25. > :10:29.statistics show right now that the UK is one of the faster growing of
:10:30. > :10:34.the developed economies, and we are probably, as of this particular
:10:35. > :10:37.second, because these things do not last all that long, the
:10:38. > :10:40.fastest-growing of the rich economies. So, the Chancellor will
:10:41. > :10:45.take quite a lot of satisfaction from the IMF having to eat some
:10:46. > :10:51.humble pie here. But the Chancellor himself concedes that there is a
:10:52. > :10:57.long way to go before we can be confident that this recovery is
:10:58. > :11:00.entrenched and sustained. And we can expect Labour to point out that the
:11:01. > :11:03.recovery is not yet feeding through to people's pockets with regards to
:11:04. > :11:08.living standards. Lord Rennard is understood to be
:11:09. > :11:11.taking legal advice on weather to take the Liberal Democrat Party to
:11:12. > :11:14.court. The party's former chief executive is threatening to sue
:11:15. > :11:17.after being suspended from the party for refusing to apologise to several
:11:18. > :11:25.women whom he denies harassing. Our chief political correspondent,
:11:26. > :11:28.Norman Smith, is at Westminster. All very difficult and damaging for
:11:29. > :11:32.Nick Clegg, and no sign of this going away at the moment? And that
:11:33. > :11:35.is the real difficulty. Nick Clegg will want this to be over, to be
:11:36. > :11:39.able to draw a line under it. But I think I can safely say that this is
:11:40. > :11:43.the one thing which is not going to happen. Why? Because Chris Rennard
:11:44. > :11:46.is seriously considering taking his party to court, and we will get a
:11:47. > :11:53.statement on that later today. As we know, the courts rarely do anything
:11:54. > :11:56.quickly, so it opens up the as ability of a long and protracted and
:11:57. > :12:00.potentially bloody court case, on top of which the party is poised to
:12:01. > :12:03.begin a fresh investigation into Lord Rennard, which could go on for
:12:04. > :12:08.about six weeks, finishing, unhelpfully, just before the Lib Dem
:12:09. > :12:12.spring conference. On top of that, one of the women who has complained
:12:13. > :12:17.is not ruled out taking civil action against Lord Rennard. So, if you are
:12:18. > :12:21.a learning member of the judiciary, I would pay attention, because this
:12:22. > :12:24.may well be coming your way. All of the indications are that no one is
:12:25. > :12:28.in any mood to compromise. Those around Nick Clegg say Chris Rennard
:12:29. > :12:31.must apologise or face the consequences. Those around Chris
:12:32. > :12:37.Rennard say they have nothing to apologise for and are ready to see
:12:38. > :12:41.Nick Clegg in court. I would be tempted to describe this as a
:12:42. > :12:47.political car crash, but a political car crash ends in a resounding
:12:48. > :12:48.thump. This has not ended. The Lib Dems are still swerving and skidding
:12:49. > :12:55.all over the place. Dog owners are being warned about a
:12:56. > :12:58.mysterious disease that has killed 13 dogs across the UK in recent
:12:59. > :13:01.months. The illness, thought to be a condition called Alabama rot, causes
:13:02. > :13:05.kidney failure. The highest number of cases has been in the New Forest,
:13:06. > :13:08.where signs have been put up by the Forestry Commission warning owners
:13:09. > :13:09.about the outbreak. Our correspondent Duncan Kennedy is
:13:10. > :13:20.there. Well, it is hard to believe that
:13:21. > :13:23.something as tragic as losing a family pet could take place in an
:13:24. > :13:27.area as beautiful as this. The ground about a dozen or so dogs have
:13:28. > :13:31.now died from this mystery disease, not only here in the New Forest, but
:13:32. > :13:36.also in other parts of the country. And whilst vets have just found out
:13:37. > :13:42.what that disease is, we still do not know what the source of it is.
:13:43. > :13:47.There could hardly be a more tranquil or natural setting -
:13:48. > :13:51.walking the dog in the forest. Thousands do it every week as part
:13:52. > :13:59.of their cycle of fitness and routine. I lost my little boy in 11
:14:00. > :14:04.months ago... John was one of them. But like more than a dozen other
:14:05. > :14:08.owners, his dog was struck by a mysterious disease. Within five
:14:09. > :14:13.days, he was dead. I was heartbroken. He was the most
:14:14. > :14:22.precious thing in the world to me. And I miss him. Like most owners,
:14:23. > :14:31.they miss their dogs, and you have got to love a lot to hurt a lot. And
:14:32. > :14:35.he is irrepressible, for me. -- irreplaceable. Vets now believe they
:14:36. > :14:39.know what the disease is, something called Alabama rot, first seen in
:14:40. > :14:43.the United States 25 years ago. They say it has a devastating effect on
:14:44. > :14:47.dogs who pick it up. We are trying to develop new tests to do some of
:14:48. > :14:50.the testing which they are currently doing in human medicine, to get to
:14:51. > :14:55.the bottom of this. The answer will hopefully come, but it could take
:14:56. > :15:00.many months or years. Reports of the disease surfaced a year ago, when
:15:01. > :15:03.vets noticed a cluster of dogs dying around the New Forest. But they have
:15:04. > :15:07.now recorded cases elsewhere, in Cornwall, Dorset, Surrey,
:15:08. > :15:13.Worcestershire and County Durham. But whilst the vets now think they
:15:14. > :15:16.know what the disease is, this thing called Alabama rot, they have no
:15:17. > :15:20.idea where it is coming from. Some of the owners we have spoken to say
:15:21. > :15:24.they believe it is coming from the water supplies in the ground and in
:15:25. > :15:27.the rivers here. But the Environment Agency say they have tested the
:15:28. > :15:32.water around these parts and they cannot find any contamination. As a
:15:33. > :15:36.precaution, the New Forest authorities today started putting up
:15:37. > :15:40.signs to warn dog owners to be careful. If a dog owner feels that
:15:41. > :15:46.their dog is under the weather, the tequila leak if they have lesions on
:15:47. > :15:52.the muzzle or on the feet are a few days after walking in the forest,
:15:53. > :15:56.they should go to the vet and tell them they have been walking in the
:15:57. > :16:00.forest. Those vets say they cannot yet advise dog owners on where to
:16:01. > :16:05.walk their pets. Everything relies on the tests they are now carrying
:16:06. > :16:09.out. The key thing to remember here is that thousands and thousands of
:16:10. > :16:13.dogs walked in places like the New Forest, and in those other places we
:16:14. > :16:18.saw on the map. The word from vets is that if owners are worried, and
:16:19. > :16:23.they see little lesions, tiny cuts, on the legs or face or feet of the
:16:24. > :16:27.dog Tom then they should go and see the vet. It is most likely nothing,
:16:28. > :16:30.but in these places, they are warning people just at the moment,
:16:31. > :16:33.until they identify where it is coming from, to play safe and go and
:16:34. > :16:42.see the vet, to have peace of mind. The time is 1:16pm. Our top story
:16:43. > :16:44.this lunchtime: The Syrian government is accused of torturing
:16:45. > :16:48.and executing 11,000 people since the beginning of the civil war. And
:16:49. > :16:50.still to come: Why more and more level crossings are closing for
:16:51. > :16:58.good. Later on BBC London: the coroner
:16:59. > :17:03.says there is strong evidence that the Russian state was involved in
:17:04. > :17:06.the murder of a former spy. And giving us a glimpse behind the
:17:07. > :17:13.mask. The new BAFTA exhibition capturing the stars of the screen.
:17:14. > :17:19.Ten people were killed accidentally at level crossings in the UK last
:17:20. > :17:22.year. The number of deaths over recent years has led Network Rail to
:17:23. > :17:27.close around one in ten crossings in an effort to improve safety - that's
:17:28. > :17:30.around 750. And there are plans to close a further 500 over the next
:17:31. > :17:32.five years. But, as Jon Brain reports, the new measures haven't
:17:33. > :17:41.stopped drivers and pedestrians risking their lives.
:17:42. > :17:49.At a rail level crossing in Wales, disaster narrowly averted. It is
:17:50. > :17:54.unjust motorists who take chances. Pedestrians also put their lives and
:17:55. > :17:59.those of others at risk -- it isn't just motorists. This is a view of
:18:00. > :18:02.some cyclists passing meters in front of a train driver. The
:18:03. > :18:07.consequences can be tragic. Seven people were killed in Berkshire when
:18:08. > :18:10.a train ploughed into a car park on the track. But for years campaigners
:18:11. > :18:14.have argued it is not people 's behaviour that is the main problem,
:18:15. > :18:20.it is that level crossings themselves are intrinsically
:18:21. > :18:25.dangerous. Charlotte Thompson and Olivia died in else and in Essex
:18:26. > :18:28.nine years ago. The children walked through an unlocked crossing gate
:18:29. > :18:32.when the train had passed through, unaware that a second train was
:18:33. > :18:37.following close behind. Olivia's mother said the closure of hundreds
:18:38. > :18:40.of crossings confirms today is a start but it's not enough. If you
:18:41. > :18:46.are hit with a glancing blow you might lose an arm or a leg, but if
:18:47. > :18:51.you get hit, you have had it. For me, the most terrible thing was the
:18:52. > :18:56.fact that my daughter died that day and I never got to see her again and
:18:57. > :19:04.hold her because it's such a catastrophic way to be killed. It is
:19:05. > :19:07.just awful. Network Rail who released this advert says it's
:19:08. > :19:14.investing ?100 million to improve safety and will close 500 more level
:19:15. > :19:20.crossings over the next five years. The safest crossing is a closed one,
:19:21. > :19:24.so local authorities, residents, we need your help to close as many of
:19:25. > :19:29.these crossings as we can and make it safe for everybody using the
:19:30. > :19:33.railway. But even when the next phase of the closure programme has
:19:34. > :19:36.been carried out there will still be more than 6000 level crossings on
:19:37. > :19:39.British Railways, critics say it is far too many.
:19:40. > :19:43.The fifth and final alleged victim of the Coronation Street actor, Bill
:19:44. > :19:47.Roache, has been giving evidence at his trial at Preston Crown Court. --
:19:48. > :19:49.Court. She told the court he'd assaulted her after picking her up
:19:50. > :19:52.outside the Granada television studios in his Rolls Royce and
:19:53. > :19:57.offering to take her home. Judith Moritz was in court and joins me
:19:58. > :20:06.now. What else has the cord been hearing? -- the cord been hearing?
:20:07. > :20:10.William Roache arrived at court this morning with his family, and as you
:20:11. > :20:14.say, we have seen from the fifth and final woman to make allegations
:20:15. > :20:21.against the actor. We heard the detail, as you describe, about how
:20:22. > :20:25.in the late 1960s she was picked up outside Granada TV studios by the
:20:26. > :20:29.actor, having been there to collect autographs. He offered her a lift in
:20:30. > :20:32.the Rolls-Royce and it was there he indecently assaulted her, at one
:20:33. > :20:36.point carrying on assaulting her as they pulled up alongside a
:20:37. > :20:40.double-decker bus at some traffic lights. When it was all over he had
:20:41. > :20:47.offered her half a crown and told her to get the bus home. Louise
:20:48. > :20:56.Blackwell QC put it to the defendant -- the woman that it never happened,
:20:57. > :21:00.and the woman, sobbing, said it had happened and I'm so sorry to leave
:21:01. > :21:04.it so late. I know I am telling the truth, and the person you are
:21:05. > :21:07.defending those I am telling the truth. William Roache denies the
:21:08. > :21:12.charges he has faced. The prosecution case continues and the
:21:13. > :21:20.defence will start at the beginning of next week. The man in charge of
:21:21. > :21:23.the world's leading manufacturer of ejector seats has been giving
:21:24. > :21:26.evidence at the inquest into the death of a Red Arrows pilot. Flight
:21:27. > :21:30.Lieutenant Sean Cunningham died when the seat in his Hawk jet fired as he
:21:31. > :21:35.prepared to take off and the parachute didn't deploy in time.
:21:36. > :21:39.Danny Savage reports. They are a world-famous aerobatic team,
:21:40. > :21:42.ambassadors for Britain who are all front line RAF pilots. They trained
:21:43. > :21:49.relentlessly for months to perform stunts like this, but in November
:21:50. > :21:53.2011 and a red arrows pilot died not in the air but when his aircraft was
:21:54. > :21:58.on the ground. Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham was somehow ejected
:21:59. > :22:03.from his Hawker jet and died from multiple injuries when the parachute
:22:04. > :22:07.on his ejector seat failed to work. This is his plane on the day he
:22:08. > :22:12.died. The cockpit canopy is missing from where he was fired up to 300
:22:13. > :22:17.feet in the air. More than two years on, an inquest in nearby Lincoln is
:22:18. > :22:22.trying to get to the bottom of why his ejector seat went off. At the
:22:23. > :22:26.moment the inquest is focusing on a nut and bolt that was part of the
:22:27. > :22:30.seat, and a safety issue the manufacturers knew about but the RAF
:22:31. > :22:36.did not. The inquest has heard that over tightening the bolt could have
:22:37. > :22:40.caused the parachute built into the seat not to deploy properly. The
:22:41. > :22:44.bolt in the jet of Sean Cunningham was found to be bent, and one expert
:22:45. > :22:49.told the inquest that could have been because it was vastly over
:22:50. > :22:54.tightening. Some air forces were told about this potential problem as
:22:55. > :22:59.far back as 1990. But the inquest has heard the RAF were unaware, even
:23:00. > :23:04.though the manufacturers have stated they never compromise on safety. The
:23:05. > :23:08.intricate workings of these fast jets is being poured over in great
:23:09. > :23:17.detail to establish how a brilliant young pilot died and what lessons
:23:18. > :23:20.have been learned. There's been more violence on the streets of the
:23:21. > :23:22.Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Riot police are in a standoff with
:23:23. > :23:24.demonstrators, who've been protesting at the government's
:23:25. > :23:26.strengthening political ties with Russia, and have blockaded streets
:23:27. > :23:34.around government buildings. From Kiev, Daniel Sandford sent this
:23:35. > :23:39.report. Rebuilding the barricades during the morning lull after a
:23:40. > :23:43.second night of violence in the very centre of Kiev, with the numbers of
:23:44. > :23:49.injured mounting on both sides there is no sign of an end to this
:23:50. > :23:54.political crisis. It may seem extraordinary, but this is the hill
:23:55. > :23:57.that leads up to Ukraine's national parliament, and now it is a scene of
:23:58. > :24:00.devastation. You can see the cobblestones on the ground that the
:24:01. > :24:05.protesters have thrown at police. You can see the remains of gas
:24:06. > :24:09.masks, bits of petrol bombs strewn all over the place. It is quite
:24:10. > :24:15.quiet here at the moment but nobody knows when the violence is going to
:24:16. > :24:20.begin again. Last night protesters hurled petrol bombs at police for
:24:21. > :24:23.hours on end. They also used fireworks like rocket launchers to
:24:24. > :24:28.sow confusion in the ranks of the police, although the defensive line
:24:29. > :24:32.held. Officers then arrested the men who had fired on them, blatantly
:24:33. > :24:35.beating them in front of the furious crowd. In the middle of it all,
:24:36. > :24:43.President Yanukovych appeared on national television. When peaceful
:24:44. > :24:47.actions turn into mass unrest, riots, arson and violence, they pose
:24:48. > :24:52.a threat not just to Kiev but the whole of the Ukraine. In fact the
:24:53. > :24:57.serious violence has been restricted to a few hundred protesters in a
:24:58. > :25:01.small slip where -- small square near Parliament but the president's
:25:02. > :25:05.remarks only deepened the sense of crisis. What began as a land --
:25:06. > :25:10.long-running demonstration in favour of Europe -- joining the European
:25:11. > :25:13.Union was inflamed by laws restricting the right to protest and
:25:14. > :25:18.is now an anarchic mess with no obvious solution.
:25:19. > :25:22.The West Bromwich Albion footballer, Nicolas Anelka, has been charged by
:25:23. > :25:33.the FA for allegedly making an inverted Nazi salute during goal
:25:34. > :25:35.celebrations last year. . Anelka has denied the charge, saying the
:25:36. > :25:37.gesture, called a quenelle is "anti-system'' not anti-Semitic. Our
:25:38. > :25:42.sports correspondent, Richard Conway, is at Wembley. It is over
:25:43. > :25:47.three weeks since Nicolas Anelka made the gesture which sparked fury
:25:48. > :25:51.both here in Britain and in his native France. The quenelle was
:25:52. > :25:54.private -- pretty much unheard of here until his actions in the game
:25:55. > :26:01.in December, but after careful consideration today the FA have
:26:02. > :26:06.charged Nicolas Anelka, and the French striker faces a potential
:26:07. > :26:10.lengthy ban from the game. A simple show of support for a friend or a
:26:11. > :26:15.highly inflammatory anti-Semitic action? Having committed --
:26:16. > :26:19.considered the matter per 24 days, the FA say the quenelle gesture,
:26:20. > :26:23.performed after scoring for West Bromwich Albion last month, is an
:26:24. > :26:26.aggravated breach of its rules. Nicolas Anelka denies the gesture is
:26:27. > :26:34.anti-Semitic and has retained the support of his club, playing last
:26:35. > :26:38.night against Everton. I am only the head coach. For me, Nicolas Anelka
:26:39. > :26:49.is a good professional and a good person. For me, I need him in the
:26:50. > :26:52.team. The French striker insists religion played no part in his
:26:53. > :26:59.actions, he was merely supporting a friend. That man, controversial
:27:00. > :27:02.comedian, is currently banned from performing in several French cities
:27:03. > :27:07.due to the alleged anti-Semitic nature of his stage show. He is also
:27:08. > :27:13.the man who popularised the quenelle, with his fans regularly
:27:14. > :27:16.copying the actions, sometimes in front of Holocaust memorials. The FA
:27:17. > :27:21.has been under pressure to act in this case and engaged expert counsel
:27:22. > :27:25.to help them make a decision. After the lengthy and costly racial abuse
:27:26. > :27:27.cases of recent years involving John Terry and Luis Suarez there is a
:27:28. > :27:33.feeling at Wembley that action must be swift, and legally watertight.
:27:34. > :27:36.Nicolas Anelka did make an appearance at the West Brom training
:27:37. > :27:42.ground this morning but soon departed. He must now decide if he
:27:43. > :27:45.is to contest the charge. West Bromwich Albion say Nicolas Anelka
:27:46. > :27:49.is now considering his actions, and the striker has until 6pm on
:27:50. > :27:52.Thursday to notify the FA if he's going to contest the charge.
:27:53. > :27:57.Novak Djokovic, has been knocked out of the Australian Open. The
:27:58. > :28:00.defending champion was defeated by the number eight seed, Stanislas
:28:01. > :28:04.Wawrinka, in a thrilling five-set match. Britain's Andy Murray plays
:28:05. > :28:12.his quarter final against Roger Federer tomorrow morning. Time for a
:28:13. > :28:16.look at the weather. Here's Stav Davaos.
:28:17. > :28:23.We start with a cold and foggy note this morning, and that fog was dense
:28:24. > :28:27.in places especially in central and eastern areas but it is slowly
:28:28. > :28:32.lifting away. It will linger around eastern areas as we had through the
:28:33. > :28:34.course of the afternoon. Western areas seeing a band of rain pushing
:28:35. > :28:37.him, and that will be heavily as they move in central and eastern
:28:38. > :28:40.areas but it is slowly lifting away. It will linger around eastern areas
:28:41. > :28:42.as we had through the course of the afternoon. Western areas seeing a
:28:43. > :28:47.band of rain pushing him, and that will be heavily as they, the middle
:28:48. > :28:55.part of the afternoon, clearance coming in. Central and eastern areas
:28:56. > :29:03.stay dry until after dark, but the rain will be showing its hand across
:29:04. > :29:07.southwestern areas and for Wales. It continues to slowly move eastwards.
:29:08. > :29:10.Behind it, clearance coming in across the country, and with
:29:11. > :29:15.temperatures falling away overnight we could see some mist and fog
:29:16. > :29:18.returning, and perhaps even a risk of icy patches as well. Eastern
:29:19. > :29:24.areas remain wet around the early parts of the day. Through the course
:29:25. > :29:28.of the morning it remains pretty dismal, wet and dull across the
:29:29. > :29:33.eastern counties and in Scotland. It takes a long time to push into the
:29:34. > :29:39.North Sea. Sunshine and showers will develop behind, and some could be
:29:40. > :29:43.gentle in the north-west corner. A little cold across southern areas.
:29:44. > :29:47.On Thursday some more showery rain pushing from the west to the east.
:29:48. > :29:52.It takes a while to clear into the North Sea. But behind that a mixture
:29:53. > :29:55.of sunshine and showers developing, with a wintry nature across the
:29:56. > :29:57.course with a wintry nature across the court West -- north-west corner.
:29:58. > :30:02.Towards the end of the week, a wet and windy finish but there will be
:30:03. > :30:06.some sunshine in the forecast as we had to the weekend. Looking at what
:30:07. > :30:11.is going on in the north-east corner in the US, low pressure is bringing
:30:12. > :30:16.very heavy snow and strong winds to the eastern seaboard. Over the next
:30:17. > :30:19.few days it hurtles across the Atlantic moving into the direction
:30:20. > :30:24.of the UK to bring this, for Friday, a spell of wet and windy weather.
:30:25. > :30:27.There won't be much snow left in it, maybe over the Scottish mountains,
:30:28. > :30:32.but it looks like a wet and windy day. Saturday, a mixture of sunshine
:30:33. > :30:34.and showers before the next area of low pressure moves in for Sunday.
:30:35. > :30:37.So, wet and windy is the scene. Now a reminder of our top story this
:30:38. > :30:47.lunchtime: the Syrian government has been
:30:48. > :30:49.accused of torturing and executing 11,000 people since the beginning of
:30:50. > :30:50.the Civil War. That's all