24/02/2012 BBC World News

An immediate ceasefire in Syria and access for emergency aid - the

demands of 70 countries gathering in Tunis. Protests breakout for a

4th day against the burning of the Koran. Lloyd's announces a lost

more than $5 billion last year. Also coming up... After three

decades a court in Australia is set to make a judgment on whether a

dingo was to blame for a baby's death. This Brazilian rescue Polly

cop -- helicopter that broke apart on landing. An international

conference on Syria is expected to call for an immediate ceasefire to

allow urgent access to Homs and other areas under attack. The

Friends of Syria group brings together foreign ministers and

senior officials from about 70 Arab and Western countries for a meeting

in Tunisia. Syrian opposition leaders are also attending.

Meanwhile, the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has been

appointed special envoy to Syria. Latest reports from opposition

activists in Homs say continued shelling has today killed another

five people. Mounting dismay at the plight of civilians caught in the

spiralling violence in Syria, now in Tunisia, the outside world today

will be searching for a way to help them. We hope to see new pledges of

emergency assistance for Syrians court in Al-Asad's stranglehold and

international corporation and pressure on Damascus to convince it

to allow humanitarian aid to those who need it most. All ready,

Syria's main opposition group has called for Freeserve pastures, one

to bring in aid from Jordan to Derek, one from Lebanon into Homs

and the third from Turkey into it lid. Over 70 countries will be

represented in Tunis, opposition leaders hope the sheer size of the

conference will pile on the pressure. I ideally you would like

to see this conference declaring in Syria in humanitarian crisis, this

would force international powers to act immediately and forcefully in

order to stop the atrocities committed. But the problem is no

aid can reach Homs unless President Assad agrees to a truce and there

is no sign yet he will. The one country might have listened to,

Russia, has refused to come to the conference. There will be a

impressive array of countries to show support for there Syrian

opposition but when it comes to immediate humanitarian aid for

those people inside Homs, that will So what might be achieved at the

conference. I'd put that question to be Professor of International

Relations in the Middle-East from LSE. We should not expect any major

breakthrough decisions. The major goal of the meeting is to increase

the pressure on the government and find ways to help the opposition.

In the words of Mr Hague, the idea is to find the Western powers, Arab

League, of Turkey to increase pressure on the government to hope

they will buckle under the pressure. I do not think President Assad will

answer the demands by the Western powers. And Russia and China are

not taking part so they maintain their position. Think of Libya, a

similar grouping took place, both Russia and China were part of the

grouping, the fat this meeting taking place in Tunis tells us a

great deal about the failure international -- the failure of

international diplomacy. This meeting is taking place outside of

the United Nations. Both Russia and China are not part of it which

tells you a great deal about the limits of the options the Western

powers and Syria's friends have and that is why I do not think we

should expect a major critical breakthrough decisions. I am not

trying to say the meeting is that important. The international

community has options in the sense that they are trying to strangle

the Syrian economy, in the sense of arming the opposition but so far

the Western powers in the international community have not

made a decision to go to militarised the uprising because if

they do this would plunge Syria into civil war. Hundreds of

protesters have gathered in Afghanistan. Five different groups

of protesters are heading towards Protesters have taken to the

streets after Friday prayers and not just here in the capital where

we have demonstrations in several districts, but also in a number of

parts of the country in the north, west and east. So far not much

happening in the south. In the capital five different locations

are involved. The authorities are concerned about two of those

demonstrations which were heading towards sensitive locations. We

know the Afghan National Army has fired in the air to deter one group

of protesters and they ran a road which leads to the Afghan Ministry

of Defence but also to NATO headquarters and the US Embassy.

Today we are seeing that the authorities seem to be acting early

to block protests getting close to any of those installations.

Although the demonstrations are taking place we are not so far

received reports of violence on the scale we have seen a recent days.

There is one report of a protester being wounded in the capital by

police firing in the air but so far that is the any report of Casualty

-- reported casualty. Does President Karzai think there is

anything more that can be done to bring this protest to an end?

government is stressing that the appropriate response is to wait for

the government inquiry that is taking place, a joint inquiry being

carried out by Afghan representatives and NATO

representatives. President Kasai has welcomed the apology he

received from Barack Obama and said it was an appropriate apology. We

have had a call from a group of Afghan lawmakers and some religious

leaders who are part of the probe into the events. They issued a call

for restraint, they asked demonstrators not to depart any

further protests and stay off the streets. -- take part in any. But

many are using the anger afghans feel to incite violence. We had

appeals by the Taliban are asking people to get out onto the streets

to target NATO bases, convoys, forces. The Taliban said they

should be captured, beaten and killed. Undoubtedly, authorities

are concerned about the Taliban as well as incitement coming from

other areas in some religious leaders and parliamentarians.

looks like you will be a fierce weekend of campaigning between

Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. A ballot will be held on Monday. Mr

Rudd quit the government on Monday. He says the party will lose the

next election unless he is put back in the top job. I believe that to

do the best for Australia and Labour things had to change. It is

no secret that our government has a lot of work to do if it is to

regain the confidence of the Australian people. Julia has lost

the trust of the Australian people and starting on Monday I want to

start restoring that trust. response Julia Gillard told a news

conference the choice of leader should be based on strength of

character. The choice the nation faces in my -- the nation and my

parliamentary colleagues based on Monday is the choice as to who has

got the character, temperament, strength to deliver on behalf of

the Australian people. This is not celebrity Big Brother, it is about

working out who can lead the nation, who has the ability to get things

done? Austrian doctors T2 -- treating the Dutch prince says he

suffered brain damage after being buried by an avalanche last week

and may not regain consciousness. He was buried under snow for about

15 minutes before being rescued while on his skiing holiday. MRI

scans have shown his brain suffered massive damage in the avalanche. He

is 43, he will be moved at a later date to a private clinic for

further treatment. Now the business news...

Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 group of

nations will gather in Mexico later. The question will be funding for

Europe. Eurozone officials are asking countries with big exchange

reserves to lend billions of Bob dollars to a financial stability

fund. -- billions of dollars. Eurozone leaders have been on a

long running charm offensive with China to persuade it to bolster

their bail-out fund. In Mexico they will press their suit again, but

they face a tough diplomatic challenge. China is angry at how

European states have treated it since the last time it helped to

avert a financial disaster. China, Russia, Brazil, India all

contributed to the IMF after 2008 and were promised a return more

power and influence in the IMF. That deal has not been delivered on.

The Europeans in particular have been slow to give up their seats to

let that happen. Eurozone countries are building up a firewall to

prevent the debt crisis in Greece spreading to countries like Italy

and Spain. The fighting fund to counter any run on the markets

against their government bombs. The current fund contains 410 billion

euros. In July there will be a permanent fire well, the European

stability mechanism which will have 500 billion euros in it. Chinese

leaders have told the Europeans to build the wall higher. To an extent

it is a storming tactic, it is saying to Europe help yourself

first, then we will come and support you. The idea that China, a

so-called red light, could come riding to Europe's rescue is

helping to calm fears on international financial markets,

staving off the run on euros government bonds and even if China

is writing cheques right now, the idea will eventually stepping is

also helping reassure the markets. And that buys eurozone governments

more time. Yearly profits for Volkswagen

doubled in 2011 after a delivered a record number of vehicles. They

made net profits of 15.8 billion euros, around $21 billion, compared

with the 7.2 billion euros it earned in 2010. It delivered more

than a 0.2 million vehicles to its global customers, an increase of

almost 15% on the 2010 figures. I am joined by our BBC business

reporter and a car industry analyst. How do they do it and why are they

doing so well? For starters they need to boost volume, they have

done that by introducing classics like the Golf convertible or the

new Beetle, all with cutting-edge models from Aldi that I eating into

and catching up with BMW. On the other hand, there is the profit

thing. They are benefiting from economies of scale, they are

sharing parts across all the different brands they have within

the group and this is cutting costs. We are talking big economies like

China, really turned on by their brand. Absolutely. Although Europe

is one of the markets grabbing a lot of headlines because of all the

difficulties. China and the rest of Asia where growth is so strong,

that is the battleground up against the competition. Given they are

sitting on a pretty big cash pile, does that now mean buying Porsche

is a certainty? There are no certainties but the likelihood of

Porsche being part of the group in some way at some stage remains high.

It is not really about cash, it is about the complications due to the

way this long saga has been handled over the years. They have also said

they want to out strip and outpace General Motors as the world's

biggest car manufacturer. Is that a pipe dream, or sustainable? By some

measures they already are. They are worth about twice as much in terms

of market capitalisation, they are the second most valuable carmaker

after Toyota or. In terms of volume they arguably almost greater --

also greater than General Motors because the figures include over a

million cars sold in China by a joint venture and according to some

analysts those figures should not be counted. They did not got state

The British bank, Lloyds, which is partly state-owned, has announced

that it made a huge loss last year. The bank's net loss of more than $4

billion dwarfed its loss in 2010 of just over $500 million. The result

was partly because it had to pay billions of dollars in compensation

to people who were mis-sold insurance. The bank says it has

reduced bonus awards to its employees by 30% to less than $600

Time now to take a look at the financial markets. Some hope that

America holds the key. We are expecting some data coming through.

Consumer confidence numbers coming through from Michigan. Also about

how sales. If they are positive they will pick up on the data which

came out yesterday. It sends out the message that, even though

Europe is still wrestling with the crisis of the eurozone debt

situation, perhaps some hope is coming through from the United

States. We have had some pretty positive numbers heading in the

A 4th inquest has begun into the death of a baby girl who

disappeared from a tent in the Australian outback more than 30

years ago. The girl's mother, Lindy Chamberlain, insisted she had been

taken by a wild dog - a dingo - while they were camping. She was

convicted of the baby's murder in 1982 but freed four years later

when the baby's jacket was found near a dingo's lair. Duncan Kennedy

reports. 31 years after her daughter disappeared, Lindy

Chamberlain was back in a courtroom, but this time to present new

evidence to a coroner. The girl was three years old when she vanished.

They were camping in the outback. The body was never found. In 1982,

Lindy Chamberlain was jailed for the murder. It was only when the

jacket turned up in a dingoes Den four years later that Mrs

Chamberlain was released. Rumours persisted over her involvement. She

and her former husband asked for a new hearing to present their own

findings, cataloguing dozens of dingo attacks on humans, dating

back to the 1980s. By calling for another inquest, they are looking

for one more thing in this long- running case. For a coroner to

record formally and finally that it was the dingo they killed their

daughter. After the hearing she spoke of her hopes in the case.

gives me hope this time that Australians will finally be warned

and realise that dingoes are a dangerous animal. I also hope that

this will give a final finding, which closes the inquest into my

daughter's death, which so far has been standing open and unfinished.

The coroner's ruling is expected next week. They believe that

dingoes will be officially blamed and end three decades of rumour,

speculation and heartache of what became Australia's most divisive

Still to come: What you do with a bridge you cannot use any more? We

Thousands of residents of Syria have fled the country into

neighbouring countries, like Jordan. We have this report. No wonder some

of these children looked a bit bemused. The girls and boys and a

front three rows are all from Syria. A few weeks ago they were cowering

in their homes under fire from the guns of their own government. In

the safety of Jordan, some have been given places in local schools.

The latest shaky images from Syria show up anti-government protests in

several towns. Despite the obvious dangers. Many are being killed and

there is a humanitarian crisis. This civil servant fled with his

family when he was ordered to shoot protesters in Homs. It has been

deeply traumatic, especially for the children.

TRANSLATION: Psychologically it has affected them really badly. They

would not leave my side because they were so scared. They were

afraid of any noise, asking me if it was a sniper or of a man.

Thousands of Syrian refugees have crossed these borders into the

safety of Jordan. We have learnt that Syrian officials on the other

side have been physically preventing people from leaving.

Those wanting to escape the fighting were having to do so

illegally, often through minefields. The town of Daraa, where there has

been heavy fighting, is visible from the Jordanian side. One

suggestion is to open an -- a humanitarian corridor. With more

than 70,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, they raise a heavy burden

on the UN refugee agency and the Jordanian government. -- there is

at a heavy burden. They are scared of coming to authorities. They are

scared of coming here. Preparations for a more permanent refugee camp

are already been made, as the fighting continues and more Syrians

The headlines: The friends of Syria group of 70 countries will call for

an immediate ceasefire and access for aid as they gather later in

Tunis. Protests have broken out across Afghanistan for a 4th day

against the burning of prams on a US base. There are reports from

southern Somalia of an air strike killing several Al-Shabab relatives

-- militants. It is not clear who carried out the raid. Our

correspondent, based in Kenya, gave me more details. It certainly seems

to be a fairly comprehensive airstrike in this area, south of

the capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabab have cordoned off the area where

the attack happened so it is difficult to get accurate

information. We are hearing at least two cars were destroyed and

four militants were killed. There are suggestions that three of the

four of foreign fighters who had gone to work for Al-Shabab in what

they see as a jihadist war. Who would have carried out the attack?

It is difficult to know. The Kenyans have been in Somalia,

fighting Al-Shabab in recent months. The Kenyans are saying it is not

them. The Americans rarely talk about any of their activities when

it comes to air strikes and trains. Interestingly, 24 hours ago,

Hillary Clinton, speaking in London, said airstrikes would not be a good

idea and added there was no reason to believe anyone, including the

United States, was considering them. We know airstrikes have gone on in

the last few months. No one seems prepared to own up and say, yes, it

is us, possibly out of fear of a backlash should there be civilian

casualties. Much of the recent focus in the euros and has been on

Greece. But given the size of its economy and its problems, it is in

Italy that the future of the single currency might be decided. Both

Venice and the Italian economy are in the same boat. Can you save the

conjuror that putting a city like this in peril. Restoration is a

constant battle. Sharp cuts are taking their toll.

TRANSLATION: It is hard to tape -- say whether it is fair or not. The

central government is putting itself first and asking us for more

sacrifices. We have less money to maintain everything. Here is one of

ah thing that is not being cut, no huge scheme to build multiple

barriers. -- one thing. In a time of austerity, the Government has

released another 600 million euros for this project. It is part of a

multi- billion Euros investment in infrastructure. The Government is

hoping to boost economic growth in this way. It has created jobs. The

economic impact is pretty limited. We do need this kind of investment

but it is a long-term strategy. We will not see the effects next year

or in a couple of years. It would take a long time. In Italy it takes

a long time to get authorisation. In fairness, as across the country,

other battles are being fought. Closed professions are up in arms

about liberalisation. Pharmacists are among those rejecting the

bitter medicine of competition. This is a revolution because we

lose business because of this In a city, in a country where

tradition is so important, making huge changes too deeply rooted,

restrictive employment practices, is a massive change. A big

adjustment for Italian society. The Government says it is do or die. In

other words, you cut in efficiency and more competition means more

opportunity. Not that -- not for these protesters outside Venice

Station that have been laid off by the train company. Mario Monti has

to play his part, says Salvatore. Italy is facing a real emergency.

We want our jobs back. challenge for Venice, Italy and

Mario Monti, how do you fix what is broker without destroying what you

already have? -- broken. This is a helicopter in northern Brazil. The

pilot was OK but I do not think the helicopter will be going up again.