:00:11. > :00:16.Gross and systematic violations of human rights in Syria - a new UN
:00:16. > :00:21.report says orders come from the highest level.
:00:21. > :00:27.But Damascus reject responsibility for the killing in Homs of two
:00:27. > :00:32.Western journalists who "sneaked into the country at their own risk.
:00:32. > :00:36.At least 10 killed including two American soldiers, as protests
:00:36. > :00:41.continued across Afghanistan over the burning of Korans at a US base.
:00:41. > :00:44.At least 50 people have been killed in Iraq in apparently co-ordinated
:00:44. > :00:49.bomb attacks during the morning rush-hour.
:00:49. > :00:53.Why have come to BBC World News. Also in the next 30 minutes, in the
:00:53. > :00:58.wake of political reform, is Burma about to undergo a boom in
:00:58. > :01:08.business? And lighting up the landscape, as
:01:08. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :01:21.2012 beacons will be lit to mark The United Nations says Syria is on
:01:22. > :01:26.the brink of a civil war and that Bashar al-Assad's government is
:01:26. > :01:31.directly responsible for the murder of civilians. But who is giving the
:01:31. > :01:35.orders, and what are the chances of a meaningful dialogue? The BBC's
:01:36. > :01:42.reporter is in Geneva with more on that report and how the UN gathered
:01:42. > :01:46.the information inside Syria. This UN panel of investigators
:01:46. > :01:50.monitored what is going on inside Syria. There were not allowed in by
:01:50. > :01:54.the Syrian government. They talked to people who had fled the country.
:01:54. > :01:58.They talked by telephone to people who were still there. They used a
:01:58. > :02:03.lot of satellite imagery which pour out evidence they had heard by
:02:03. > :02:10.mouth of violations. In this follow-up to an earlier report,
:02:10. > :02:15.they have further credible and damning evidence of widespread
:02:15. > :02:22.systematic gross human rights violations which seemed to have
:02:22. > :02:24.been ordered by people at the top of Syria's regime. The
:02:24. > :02:29.investigators have sent a list of names of senior Syrian army
:02:29. > :02:35.officers and their alleged crimes to the UN Human Rights Commissioner.
:02:35. > :02:38.The thinking is that this evidence could at some point be used in a
:02:38. > :02:40.trial at the International Criminal Court.
:02:40. > :02:44.Somalia has an opportunity for peace and stability that we cannot
:02:44. > :02:48.afford to miss. So says the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
:02:48. > :02:52.Speaking at the opening of a major conference on the future of the
:02:53. > :02:56.war-torn country in London, he does for more than 50 countries are
:02:56. > :03:05.tackling problems including a refugee crisis, widespread famine
:03:05. > :03:09.and piracy, as well as an armed Islamist group, Al-Shabaab.
:03:09. > :03:12.Leaders arriving for a conference that the British government insists
:03:12. > :03:18.is different in its potential from the many others on Somalia that
:03:18. > :03:22.have gone before. The largest, with the most influence, and not out to
:03:22. > :03:28.fix Somalia, but to back Somalis who are trying to fix their country
:03:28. > :03:33.for themselves. The two decades, Somalia has been torn apart by
:03:33. > :03:38.famine, bloodshed and some of the worst poverty on our planet. As
:03:38. > :03:43.many as 1 million people have died. The terrible scenes that we all saw
:03:43. > :03:47.with the famine last year were heartbreaking. With death and
:03:47. > :03:53.suffering on a scale that no country or people should ever have
:03:53. > :03:58.to suffer in our modern world. to Somalia's shattered capital that
:03:58. > :04:02.bears out so graphically both the enormous challenges left by the
:04:02. > :04:07.last two decades of chaos and the opportunities. For now, at least,
:04:07. > :04:11.Al-Shabaab Islamist militants do appear to be driven out of
:04:11. > :04:14.Mogadishu by the African Union peacekeepers. Just yesterday at the
:04:14. > :04:19.UN, their mandate was extended beyond the capital and numbers are
:04:19. > :04:24.to be boosted by nearly 50% to almost 18,000. This is because,
:04:24. > :04:28.David Cameron said, the problems of Somalia do not just affect Somalis,
:04:28. > :04:32.but the whole world. In a country where there is so little hope,
:04:32. > :04:37.where there is chaos, violence and terrorism, pirates are disrupting
:04:37. > :04:42.vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists. Young minds are being
:04:42. > :04:47.poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that threatens not just
:04:47. > :04:53.Somalia, but the whole world. If the rest of us sit back and look on,
:04:54. > :04:57.we will pay a price. One of the key tasks the conference is setting
:04:57. > :05:01.itself is to back the efforts of Somalia's leaders, with their
:05:01. > :05:05.limited real authority to set up a more representative government. The
:05:05. > :05:09.current leaders are calling for an end to the arms embargo on Somalia
:05:09. > :05:14.and a further strengthening of security.
:05:14. > :05:18.Fife NATO forces have been fired on in Afghanistan. At least nine have
:05:18. > :05:21.been killed. This happened on the day that at least four people died
:05:21. > :05:26.in anti-US protests across the country. Demonstrators are angry
:05:27. > :05:34.about the burning of copies of the Koran at a US base. Andrew North
:05:34. > :05:41.has the latest developments on the anti-US protests in Afghanistan.
:05:41. > :05:46.In the last few minutes, we have heard that in an Eastern Province,
:05:46. > :05:52.a joint US and Afghan base came under attack from protesters who
:05:52. > :05:57.were demonstrating against the American burning of the Koran. In
:05:57. > :06:03.the process of that, we are told by Afghan officials that a man in
:06:03. > :06:09.Afghan army uniform opened fire on NATO troops at this base, and that
:06:09. > :06:15.at least two of them have been killed. We understand that both of
:06:15. > :06:18.these soldiers are Americans. Then there was an exchange of fire
:06:18. > :06:24.following this shooting. And we are told that two other protesters were
:06:24. > :06:30.killed. We are also hearing reports of a French NATO base east of Kabul
:06:30. > :06:35.coming under attack. So there is a sense that this has now been
:06:35. > :06:39.directed much more at the military. This follows a Taliban call for
:06:39. > :06:46.Afghans to retaliate following the Americans' burning of the Koran at
:06:46. > :06:49.their Bagram base. This idea of the assailant being in
:06:49. > :06:53.an Afghan military uniform, given what has gone on in the country,
:06:53. > :06:57.does it mean the person was a member of the Afghan military? We
:06:57. > :07:02.understand you can buy those uniforms on the streets of Kabul.
:07:02. > :07:06.Food that's right. There are still questions to be answered about who
:07:06. > :07:14.this man was. But what we are hearing from Afghan officials
:07:14. > :07:18.suggests that this was an Afghan army soldier in Afghan uniform. But
:07:18. > :07:23.there have been infiltrations by the Taliban. But there have also
:07:23. > :07:29.been other cases in the past few years of Afghan security forces
:07:29. > :07:32.opening fire on Americans or British. But with what is happening
:07:32. > :07:40.now, it will be particularly worrying for the Americans and
:07:40. > :07:43.other NATO forces. Time for the business news now.
:07:43. > :07:47.Germany's second biggest bank, Commerzbank, is blaming the
:07:47. > :07:54.Eurozone debt crisis and losses on its investments increase for its
:07:54. > :08:01.slashed profits for 2011. The bank also announced new plans to beef up
:08:01. > :08:06.its core capital by more than EUR1 billion, about $1.3 billion. Eric
:08:06. > :08:15.Strutz, the chief financial officer for Commerzbank, joins me. How
:08:15. > :08:21.exposed was the back to that Greek debt? We are obviously one of the
:08:21. > :08:27.larger position takers in Greece because of our subsidiary Bank,
:08:27. > :08:34.which was specifically involved in public finance and bonds are around
:08:34. > :08:39.the Eurozone. In the fourth quarter, this cost another impairment on our
:08:40. > :08:46.Greek sovereign bonds of almost 700 billion. It is a big chunk of a
:08:46. > :08:52.loss we had to take. That took away profits from an extremely strong
:08:52. > :08:56.core bank. If that is worrying going forward, because this Greek
:08:56. > :09:06.crisis may not be resolved. So it could weigh on your profits in the
:09:06. > :09:06.
:09:06. > :09:12.future? We have now negotiated an agreement with Greece which will be
:09:12. > :09:16.in place by mid-March. So we do not believe this will be a further
:09:16. > :09:21.burden on Commerzbank. On the other hand, you have put your finger on
:09:21. > :09:26.an important question. What does Europe want? Does it want to make
:09:26. > :09:32.sure it is politically unified? Does it want to have one common
:09:32. > :09:38.market in the future? How well the whole PSI increase impact on the
:09:38. > :09:48.public finances of other countries, not only Portugal, Ireland, Spain
:09:48. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:55.or Italy, but also countries like France, the UK and Germany? The
:09:55. > :10:00.decisions being taken have to be rethought a bit, considering the
:10:00. > :10:06.contribution of the public sector towards Greece. We saw that the
:10:07. > :10:11.European Central Bank expects to make a profit on that negotiation.
:10:11. > :10:15.Even passing the profit on to the national banks does not make a lot
:10:15. > :10:19.of sense. If we want to unify Europe, we need to make sure
:10:19. > :10:27.politics and the private sector are in one boat. Therefore, there will
:10:27. > :10:32.be more to come on the question of how we reunify Europe. You are
:10:32. > :10:36.reiterating a line we have heard from a few people in your position
:10:36. > :10:42.regarding the Greek situation. But in terms of the Bank going forward
:10:42. > :10:52.and reducing its risks, what do you see as the low risk areas for
:10:52. > :10:59.future investment? We are currently expanding our French and German
:10:59. > :11:07.projects. We have just had a press conference. When I joined the bank,
:11:07. > :11:13.we had 4 million customers. Today we have 15 million. Our bank his
:11:13. > :11:19.the market leader on the export side and one of the leaders on the
:11:20. > :11:27.customer's side. We have created an excellent result in the core bank.
:11:27. > :11:37.On the other hand, we do have our non-core areas which we are
:11:37. > :11:39.
:11:39. > :11:45.reducing. We want to reduce our public finances portfolio.
:11:45. > :11:49.Let's stay in Europe. Any optimism around Greece's second bail-out
:11:49. > :11:53.seems to have evaporated. The European Union says it now expects
:11:53. > :11:58.the Eurozone to go into recession this year, despite recent signs of
:11:58. > :12:03.stabilisation in the financial markets. The executive of the
:12:03. > :12:07.European Commission says it expects the Eurozone economy to contract by
:12:07. > :12:12.0.3% and 2012. The commissioner for economic Affairs, Olli Rehn, called
:12:12. > :12:17.it a mild recession, with signs of stabilisation. Last November, the
:12:17. > :12:21.Commission predicted growth of 0.5%, but there is some good news because
:12:21. > :12:23.the closely watched economic institute's business survey
:12:23. > :12:27.indicated that German business confidence rose to a seven-month
:12:27. > :12:31.high level in February as domestic demand helped protect the German
:12:31. > :12:35.economy against the Greek debt crisis. I am joined by our Europe
:12:35. > :12:39.business correspondent, who has been poring over those numbers from
:12:39. > :12:43.the commission. Are they in line with what we can expect, given that
:12:43. > :12:49.we had those 4th quarter figures for the Eurozone issued a few weeks
:12:49. > :12:52.ago? Yes, we knew that Europe could no longer say that it was going to
:12:52. > :12:57.stay out of recession. We have now seen a string of countries joining
:12:57. > :13:01.Greece and Portugal in a recession. The question is how long it will
:13:01. > :13:08.last and how deep it will be. Olli Rehn was relatively bullish about
:13:08. > :13:13.this. He said it would be short if five things happen. There are five
:13:13. > :13:16.big great things that the Greek Government sorted out. Banks have
:13:16. > :13:23.been capitalised. There are structural reforms. These things
:13:23. > :13:28.are difficult. If that happens, we know that Ireland and Portugal are
:13:28. > :13:32.on track. Spain and Italy are only just starting that process. So it
:13:32. > :13:38.is a slightly better picture than it might be. At least we do not
:13:38. > :13:43.have a credit crunch in Europe. But it is still a tale of two Europes,
:13:43. > :13:52.Germany forging ahead because they still have an industrial base. That
:13:52. > :13:57.is the problem for the rest of Europe. In a sense, the it If I OS
:13:57. > :14:02.map blunts the fall-out. It is still there. Germany does sell a
:14:02. > :14:06.huge quantity of goods to the rest of Europe. So if the Eurozone is in
:14:06. > :14:16.trouble, that is bad for Germany. But they are also good at global
:14:16. > :14:25.
:14:25. > :14:30.exports for all-star let's look now We were discussing the possibility
:14:30. > :14:34.of the Eurozone going into a small recession. We are still trying to
:14:34. > :14:38.get through the small print from that Greece deal. Something has
:14:38. > :14:42.been negotiated, but there are still a few hoops to clear. It has
:14:42. > :14:46.to go through to the national parliaments of some of these Euro-
:14:46. > :14:50.sceptic nations who have bought into the currency. I am referring
:14:50. > :14:53.to hardcore players like the Netherlands and Finland. They made
:14:53. > :15:03.some negative comments in the run- up to those deals. So there are
:15:03. > :15:07.quite a few factors for the markets You're watching BBC World News.
:15:07. > :15:16.Still to come: Could Burma be about to see a boom in business,
:15:16. > :15:21.Now to Australia, where an extraordinary leadership battle is
:15:21. > :15:24.shaping up. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a ballot will
:15:24. > :15:27.be held on Monday for the leadership of the governing Labor
:15:28. > :15:35.party. She's trying to fend off a challenge from Kevin Rudd, the man
:15:35. > :15:39.she ousted 19 months ago. Duncan Kennedy reports.
:15:39. > :15:43.And the Prime Minister came out to defend her record and abilities but
:15:43. > :15:48.said, for the sake of the party and the country, speculation about her
:15:48. > :15:53.leadership had to end, with Kevin Rudd, the man whose job she took,
:15:53. > :15:58.the target of her comments. Following his resignation yesterday,
:15:59. > :16:02.I have formed this view we need a leadership ballot, in order to
:16:02. > :16:07.settle this question once and for all. I believe it is in the
:16:07. > :16:10.interests of our party that it be determined at once and for all, but
:16:10. > :16:15.more importantly, I believe it is in the interests of the Australian
:16:15. > :16:18.nation. Speaking from Washington where he resigned, Kevin Rudd did
:16:18. > :16:21.not officially declare his intention to run but made clear
:16:21. > :16:28.only he could now save the government from certain defeat at
:16:28. > :16:32.the next general election. I do not believe, I do not believe that
:16:32. > :16:37.Prime Minister Julia Gillard can lead the Australian Labour Party to
:16:38. > :16:41.success in the next election, that is a deep belief and one I believe
:16:41. > :16:46.which is shared across the Australian community. Speculation
:16:46. > :16:51.has dominated Australian politics, sapping energy and focus. The
:16:51. > :16:55.government has paid a price. Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd do not have
:16:55. > :17:00.many political differences, this is much more personal. Their
:17:00. > :17:06.respective supporters have also been getting personal. The senior
:17:06. > :17:10.ministers have been calling Kevin Rudd incompetent and disloyal,
:17:10. > :17:13.while his aides have called Julia Gillard not fit for office and say
:17:13. > :17:19.she should leave before the next general election.
:17:19. > :17:29.The ballot will be held on Monday. Whilst Julia Gillard is favourite,
:17:29. > :17:34.
:17:34. > :17:37.it may be the size of Kevin Rudd's At least 12 people have been killed
:17:37. > :17:40.by an explosion in the city of Peshawar in north-western Pakistan.
:17:40. > :17:44.The blast, which wounded more than 30 others, targeted a bus stop
:17:44. > :17:48.where people were waiting to begin Of the country. There haven't yet
:17:48. > :17:55.been any claims of responsibility for the attack, which happened near
:17:55. > :17:57.This is BBC World News. The headlines: The UN accuses Syrian
:17:57. > :18:04.forces of gross and systematic human rights abuses under orders
:18:04. > :18:07.from the highest level. At least 10 are killed in Afghanistan,
:18:07. > :18:15.including two American soldiers, in a third day of protests over the
:18:15. > :18:19.There's been a series of bomb attacks in Iraq, leaving more than
:18:19. > :18:22.50 people dead, and many more wounded. The biggest blast took
:18:22. > :18:30.place in a mainly Shi'ite district of the capital Baghdad. There were
:18:30. > :18:36.also reports of attacks in other cities. Nick Childs reports.
:18:36. > :18:40.Once again, smoke hangs over Baghdad, in a familiar tactic, the
:18:40. > :18:46.morning rush hour was bred by a co- ordinated wave of bombings and
:18:46. > :18:50.shootings across the city, and in provinces beyond. As the emergency
:18:50. > :18:55.services rushed to deal with the carnage and chaos, it looked like
:18:55. > :19:02.security forces were the main targets of the attack. As ever,
:19:02. > :19:07.others were caught up in the blasts. TRANSLATION: A car bomb went off,
:19:07. > :19:13.targeting an official. Vehicles and buildings were damaged. Also other
:19:13. > :19:17.people were hurt. It is destruction. An explosion took place 30 minutes
:19:17. > :19:22.ago, followed by another blast. The shattered glass of a window injured
:19:22. > :19:27.knee. And far to the north of Baghdad in
:19:28. > :19:32.Kirkuk, the wreckage of a car. It carried a bomb, one or two aimed at
:19:32. > :19:36.police patrols. Most of the destruction was in the capital.
:19:36. > :19:42.It's not on a scale reached at the height of the insurgency, but that
:19:42. > :19:52.may be little consolation. Against the backdrop of a stand-off between
:19:52. > :19:53.
:19:53. > :19:57.Shia and Sunni leaders. These attacks look like another attempt
:19:57. > :20:02.to sow political and ethnic tensions, the latest in an
:20:02. > :20:04.onslaught since US forces pulled out last year.
:20:04. > :20:08.Reforms in Burma have already prompted western governments to
:20:08. > :20:11.lift some sanctions. And now, the World Bank says it's looking for
:20:11. > :20:13.ways to re-engage. This change in mood is encouraging a wave of
:20:13. > :20:15.interest among local and international businesses. Our
:20:15. > :20:25.correspondent, Rachel Harvey, reports on the growing sense of
:20:25. > :20:26.
:20:26. > :20:30.business optimism. The lunchtime rush in and up market
:20:30. > :20:38.Brandon restaurant. Local cuisine seasoned with old colonial
:20:38. > :20:44.splendour. Monsoon was opened in 2005 by two sisters. In the past,
:20:44. > :20:51.their customers were local experts, the elite and the tourists. Now,
:20:51. > :21:00.that has changed. Lately, we have seen more businessmen, like
:21:00. > :21:06.Japanese and European businessmen, coming in. We want to expand,
:21:06. > :21:10.especially in Mandalay, if we have the opportunity, I want to open a
:21:10. > :21:14.new restaurant. The sisters are not the only ones looking to exploit
:21:14. > :21:20.the opportunities Burma's reforms seem to offer. Local construction
:21:20. > :21:23.firms are rushing to meet growing demand, rents are soaring. A steady
:21:23. > :21:28.stream of foreign business executives are beating a path to
:21:28. > :21:37.Burma. Hotels are fully booked weeks in advance. With demand
:21:37. > :21:42.growing, a well-trained local staff is a precious commodity. We have
:21:42. > :21:46.seen associates being sent over, preparing for the international
:21:46. > :21:52.client health, preparing them for the English language and
:21:52. > :21:56.expectations. It is important to keep people motivated. With all of
:21:56. > :22:01.the competition. There is a buzz about Rangoon these
:22:01. > :22:06.days, a feeling things are about to take off. But his Burma really
:22:06. > :22:12.ready for a business boom? This is still how many people in Burma keep
:22:12. > :22:17.in touch with friends and relatives, coming to an outside stall, to make
:22:17. > :22:25.a call. If we move over here, there are shops selling the latest mobile
:22:25. > :22:30.phone hand sets but the network is very patchy outside major cities.
:22:30. > :22:35.Internet speeds are slow. So the modern technology that modern
:22:35. > :22:41.business needs is still lacking. For some, that is part of Burma's
:22:41. > :22:47.of charm. Tourists, once deterred, are keen to see a country largely
:22:47. > :22:51.untouched by the rapid development that has changed so much of Asia.
:22:51. > :22:55.It is always considered not politically correct to come but
:22:55. > :23:02.things are changing and the feeling is it is good to go, there is a
:23:02. > :23:06.change. We want to come before it becomes spoilt.
:23:06. > :23:14.The trick will be to encourage the wave of investor interest, without
:23:14. > :23:18.swamping Burma's unique character. The former President of the
:23:18. > :23:23.Philippines has pleaded not guilty to charges of electoral fraud as a
:23:23. > :23:27.court in another. Gloria Arroyo, President for nine years, is
:23:27. > :23:35.accused of conspiring to alter a poll results to favour certain
:23:35. > :23:39.candidates in 2007. This was the moment many people in
:23:39. > :23:45.the Philippines had been waiting for, for years, their chance to see
:23:45. > :23:49.Gloria Arroyo in court. In the event, it took 15 minutes, no more.
:23:49. > :23:53.She arrived completely surrounded by bodyguards, went into this
:23:53. > :23:58.building, was told the charges against her out of electoral fraud,
:23:58. > :24:02.and pleaded not guilty. Then she left almost as quickly. She is
:24:02. > :24:08.likely to get to know this building very well in the next few years
:24:08. > :24:13.because trials here take an awfully long time. Her predecessor was also
:24:13. > :24:15.tried as soon as he left office, for corruption, and his tribe took
:24:15. > :24:19.six years. Although there's still a few months
:24:19. > :24:21.to go, many people across the UK are already finalising their plans
:24:22. > :24:25.for the celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. To mark
:24:25. > :24:28.the event, two thousand and twelve beacons will be lit across Britain.
:24:28. > :24:31.Jenny Hill is in the central English region known as the Peak
:24:31. > :24:36.District to see how the preparations are going in the small
:24:36. > :24:44.village of Flash. At 1,500 ft above sea level, this is a village with a
:24:44. > :24:47.view. In fact, Flash is the highest
:24:47. > :24:50.village in England. It's always pretty blowy, the highest point in
:24:50. > :24:54.the village. It is here they will build and light their jubilee
:24:54. > :25:04.bonfire. One of more than 2012 beacons to be lit across the UK.
:25:04. > :25:08.
:25:08. > :25:11.Here are the people who will be lighting it. There are just seven
:25:11. > :25:16.children in the village school here, among them, Leon who told us plans
:25:16. > :25:20.for the jubilee are well under way. There's going to be a big party in
:25:20. > :25:23.the village hall. Then we are going to go and stay up late at night
:25:23. > :25:26.which will be pretty cool. For centuries, beacons have lit up
:25:26. > :25:32.royal anniversaries. These bonfires were set in 1897 for Queen
:25:32. > :25:36.Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth, here lighting a beacon
:25:36. > :25:43.for her Golden Jubilee, will be the only other British monarch to
:25:43. > :25:50.celebrate 60 years on the throne. The procession went on for
:25:50. > :25:54.absolutely ages. Back in Flash, this couple are looking forward to
:25:54. > :26:00.the Queen's Jubilee. Shirley and Howard remember going to relatives
:26:00. > :26:05.to watch TV coverage of her coronation. Because we are very
:26:05. > :26:12.isolated here, we had our own celebration. But it's important to
:26:12. > :26:18.the country, important to the world as well, to show what Britain is.
:26:18. > :26:23.Yes. It is a remarkable reign really, when you look back. Which
:26:23. > :26:30.is why the pupils at Flash School also plan a street party. And they
:26:30. > :26:38.are inviting the Queen. To celebrate one of the UK's biggest
:26:38. > :26:45.events but one of the UK's smallest communities.
:26:45. > :26:54.Sweden's Crown Princess has given birth to her first child. She was