29/08/2012

:00:09. > :00:12.A flood defence levee overflows south-east of New Orleans as

:00:12. > :00:18.Hurricane Isaac continues to unload high winds and heavy rainfall on

:00:18. > :00:28.southern Louisiana. President Assad dismisses suggestions for a buffer

:00:28. > :00:32.

:00:32. > :00:37.zone on Syrian territory for refugees from the conflict. We are

:00:37. > :00:40.engaged in a regional and global battle. We are progressing. Talks

:00:40. > :00:49.have started between South African unions and mine owner Lonmin aimed

:00:49. > :00:55.at ending the bitter dispute, in Welcome to BBC World News. Also in

:00:55. > :01:05.this programme: The budget airline Ryanair is making a third attempt

:01:05. > :01:09.

:01:09. > :01:19.at taking over the Irish flag The Paralympic torch visits a Hindu

:01:19. > :01:26.

:01:26. > :01:31.temple ahead of the opening Hurricane Isaac has made landfall

:01:31. > :01:35.in southern Louisiana. It is lashing coastal areas with winds of

:01:35. > :01:38.up to 130 kilometres an hour and has sent floodwaters surging. New

:01:38. > :01:44.Orleans is braced for Isaac, exactly seven years after Hurricane

:01:44. > :01:48.Katrina. President Obama has warned residents in the hurricane's path

:01:48. > :01:58.not to tempt fate and to heed evacuation warnings. The BBC's

:01:58. > :02:06.Alistair Leithead is in New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac pushes in.

:02:06. > :02:11.Harris Caine eyes sick hit land as night fell. -- Hurricane Isaac. It

:02:11. > :02:17.is entering the stage of the storm where there is nothing anyone can

:02:17. > :02:19.do but hoped their shelter holds and wish the storm quickly on its

:02:19. > :02:25.way. Seven years after Hurricane Katrina, a New Orleans was

:02:25. > :02:34.confident it was ready for Isaac. The city is to kill. We have assets

:02:34. > :02:36.and personnel been placed to secure off the city. -- secure. We are

:02:37. > :02:42.going to begin to prepare for search and rescue missions should

:02:43. > :02:47.be pickled upon to do so. We have law enforcement officials from

:02:47. > :02:53.federal state and local levels who are at the disposal of the city of

:02:53. > :02:58.New Orleans. Many people decided to stay, hunkering down in shelters,

:02:58. > :03:04.knowing the storm was far weaker than Hurricane Katrina. They hoped

:03:04. > :03:10.the City would cope. They say it is category one. I am not as worried

:03:10. > :03:14.as I was with Hurricane Katrina. We are still worried a little bit.

:03:14. > :03:21.Just before the hurricane hit, police and emergency services were

:03:21. > :03:26.at making sure people were getting to safety. They were on standby

:03:26. > :03:34.with the risk of flooding. The Gulf Coast is being battered. The storm

:03:34. > :03:36.surge hit the shoreline. It is a dangerous time. This is the view

:03:36. > :03:42.from the International Space Station, clearly showing the extent

:03:42. > :03:51.of the storm, as it moved its way through the Gulf of Mexico, slowly

:03:51. > :03:56.pushing its way on to land. We have very high winds, a lot of driving

:03:56. > :04:05.rain and debris being thrown onto the streets. People are trying to

:04:05. > :04:12.get into shelter. It will be a long night for many, waiting and hoping

:04:12. > :04:14.their storm defences hold back the high winds and flood waters. In a

:04:14. > :04:18.rare interview with Syrian television, President Bashar Assad

:04:18. > :04:23.of Syria has vowed that his forces will win what he describes as a

:04:23. > :04:31.global war against his country. His comments come a day after a car

:04:31. > :04:36.bomb exploded at a funeral in a Damascus suburb killing 27 people.

:04:36. > :04:41.TRANSLATION: We are engaged in a regional and global battle so we

:04:41. > :04:47.need time to win it. We are progressing. The situation under

:04:47. > :04:50.ground is better but we have not yet won. It would take more time.

:04:50. > :04:55.To be go back because of the ignorance of some Turkish officials

:04:55. > :05:05.or focus on our relationship with the Turkish people? They stood by

:05:05. > :05:07.us in a crisis and when not swayed by media propaganda and financial

:05:07. > :05:14.backing. Al-Assad determined to take full control over Syria. But

:05:14. > :05:16.his grip over the country is not complete. Let's have a look at the

:05:16. > :05:19.situation on the ground according to research carried out by the

:05:19. > :05:22.Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War. The

:05:22. > :05:25.city of Aleppo is predominantly in rebel hands. There are government

:05:25. > :05:31.forces still in Idlib and Homs although the situation is changing

:05:31. > :05:34.all the time. Deraa in the south, where the uprising began, is still

:05:34. > :05:39.under state control although rebels control much of the nearby

:05:39. > :05:43.countryside. The study shows how rebel forces mostly control areas

:05:43. > :05:51.to the north and east of Aleppo, much of the border with Turkey and

:05:51. > :05:57.south of Idlib. The city of Homs is currently divided between

:05:57. > :06:00.government and rebel control. Meanwhile, Syria's coastal

:06:00. > :06:04.provinces along with Suwayda in the south are firmly under government

:06:04. > :06:13.control. The BBC's Barbara Plett has been following developments

:06:13. > :06:19.from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon. I believe the last time he appeared

:06:19. > :06:24.on television was when he went to prayers for the Muslim holiday for

:06:25. > :06:29.the end of Ramadan. Not so long ago. He has not been sighted very much

:06:29. > :06:34.since mid- July, when there was a bombing attack in Damascus, killing

:06:35. > :06:40.members of his middle circle. This is probably his main statement

:06:40. > :06:45.since then. He says the regime is progressing in its battle against

:06:45. > :06:50.armed elements. He said it will take more time to end the conflict.

:06:50. > :06:57.It is not a national struggle, it is a global and regional one. He

:06:57. > :07:02.says Syria is being targeted by hostile powers who want to weaken

:07:02. > :07:07.its resistance to Israel and the rest of the region. He says the

:07:07. > :07:12.Government has made mistakes. He acknowledges that. The bond between

:07:12. > :07:16.the Government and people are still strong. He insists he has the

:07:16. > :07:21.majority of support from the population. He dismisses recent

:07:21. > :07:26.high-level defections. He says it was a self- purging of weak

:07:26. > :07:31.elements in the regime. He dismisses the idea of a Western

:07:31. > :07:35.imposed buffer zone in Syria, which has been discussed recently. He

:07:35. > :07:44.says it is impractical, even for those countries who are talking

:07:44. > :07:47.about it. Let's go to South Africa. Managers, unions and workers at the

:07:47. > :07:51.Lonmin mines have started talks this morning with South African

:07:51. > :07:54.government mediators. The unrest at the mine is over a dispute about

:07:55. > :07:57.pay and conditions and led to 34 miners being shot dead by police in

:07:57. > :08:05.clashes earlier this month. Joining me from Johannesburg is the BBC's

:08:05. > :08:10.Karen Allen. Who are involved in the talks? The workers at the mines

:08:10. > :08:18.are not represented by one union, are they? There are three unions

:08:18. > :08:23.that are represented here. There is a dissident union, the National

:08:23. > :08:26.Union of Mineworkers and Solidarity. They are meeting with executives

:08:26. > :08:32.from Lonmin and also representatives of the South

:08:32. > :08:37.African government. A senior minister in the presidency is here

:08:37. > :08:41.and also representatives of the Church. They have been trying to

:08:41. > :08:46.bring the different sides together. We're not expecting any kind of

:08:46. > :08:51.breakthrough in the next few days. It is about creating a framework

:08:51. > :08:56.for future negotiations in a bid to try to get workers back to work as

:08:56. > :09:05.the negotiations continue. The mine is 40 kilometres away from here. It

:09:05. > :09:08.is currently suspended. There have been reports of intimidation. 1

:09:08. > :09:14.miner on the phone said all was quiet there today. Her while the

:09:14. > :09:20.dispute continues, production is well down. This area produces vast

:09:20. > :09:26.amounts of the world's supply of platinum. About 80% of the world's

:09:26. > :09:30.platinum is in South Africa. Lonmin, a company which is trading on the

:09:30. > :09:35.Stock Exchange both in London and in South Africa, is very concerned

:09:35. > :09:40.about the effect it will have. The price of platinum is going up. They

:09:40. > :09:45.want to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible. There are

:09:45. > :09:50.wider concerns about headlines for the South African government. They

:09:50. > :09:55.had two inquiries trying to probe by 34 workers were shot dead by

:09:55. > :09:59.police. The newspaper headlines said the police have not received a

:09:59. > :10:04.riot training since the end of apartheid. Not just about the nuts

:10:04. > :10:08.and bolts of the industrial dispute but wider ramifications about the

:10:08. > :10:12.behaviour of the police and the exposure of the rifts within South

:10:12. > :10:18.African society, which is ranked the most unequal in the world. Why

:10:18. > :10:26.is it that 18 years on from the end of white minority rule that there

:10:26. > :10:36.is still such a gap between rich and poor? Thank you very much

:10:36. > :10:36.

:10:36. > :10:45.indeed. That is an issue that will be followed here in the business.

:10:45. > :10:50.Today it is the aviation industry primarily. Let's start with Ryanair.

:10:50. > :10:55.And Aer Lingus. Third time lucky. Michael O'Leary, the boss of

:10:55. > :11:01.Ryanair, I do not think he has heard of never say never. He still

:11:01. > :11:06.wants to take over Aer Lingus. He wants the full bag. A quite

:11:06. > :11:11.interesting twist on the story. Because Ryanair and Aer Lingus are

:11:11. > :11:17.the dominant carriers in and out of Dublin, he has asked roughly six

:11:17. > :11:22.other airlines to start increasing the competition in and out of

:11:22. > :11:29.Dublin. European competition - us the European Commission has

:11:29. > :11:34.dismissed this in the past because it would see it as a monopoly. --

:11:34. > :11:42.the European Commission. We also have Lufthansa. Cabin crew and

:11:42. > :11:48.their union have taught with management. These talks have broken

:11:48. > :11:54.down. A strike could go ahead as soon as tomorrow, Thursday. That

:11:54. > :12:00.would have a big knock-on consequence. Cabin crew want the 5%

:12:00. > :12:07.increase. The airline has said, we're only going to a few around

:12:07. > :12:13.3.5%. Let's get more on both these stories. -- going to offer you.

:12:13. > :12:16.Great to have you with us. Let's start with Lufthansa. It does look

:12:16. > :12:21.imminent the strike will go ahead, possibly tomorrow. We have seen

:12:21. > :12:27.this before with his big national legacy carriers was that they are

:12:28. > :12:34.standing adamant against any union offers. -- legacy carriers. They

:12:34. > :12:39.have to compete with budget carriers and big Gulf state

:12:39. > :12:47.carriers. They're in a difficult position. They have no alternative

:12:47. > :12:54.but to restructure. You see this as this -- a theme across the whole

:12:54. > :13:03.industry. There fronts is result in some very intense negotiations. --

:13:03. > :13:07.Air France is involved. Lufthansa does have one advantage. It has a

:13:07. > :13:11.lot of airline partnerships, not only in Europe but around the world.

:13:11. > :13:17.They said that is how they would try to redirect passengers if the

:13:17. > :13:21.strikes went ahead. If the strikes go ahead, it would cause huge chaos

:13:22. > :13:26.for the carrier and cost possibly millions of dollars or Euros every

:13:27. > :13:32.day. No airline can afford that. getting around the financial damage

:13:32. > :13:37.that would be caused. Lufthansa is a powerful organisation. With a bit

:13:37. > :13:42.of contingency planning, it is possible for companies to ride out

:13:42. > :13:46.this sort of trouble, providing they have plenty of cash on hand. A

:13:46. > :13:53.couple of years ago British Airways had exactly this problem. The cabin

:13:53. > :13:58.crew went on strike. The airline did not go down on its knees. The

:13:58. > :14:04.airline could handle it. Lufthansa has a �1 billion of cash in the

:14:04. > :14:10.bank and that will last it for ages. Third time lucky. A very

:14:10. > :14:20.interesting move with Ryanair in a hole Aer Lingus Dore. Let's start

:14:20. > :14:20.

:14:20. > :14:27.with the fact it is Ryanair asking. -- in the halt Aer Lingus story. Is

:14:27. > :14:32.it a smart move by Ryanair? could be. They are keen to get this

:14:32. > :14:39.deal done at the third time of asking. We're led to believe from

:14:39. > :14:46.reports that the actions of other airlines they have approached have

:14:46. > :14:56.-- has been lukewarm. It is a tall order. If it were attractive, they

:14:56. > :14:56.

:14:56. > :15:00.would already be doing it. If they could persuade British Airways to

:15:00. > :15:06.take on the route that Aer Lingus already serves, it might go some

:15:06. > :15:10.way to assuaging the competition concerns. I do not think that

:15:10. > :15:15.British Airways will have much interest in doing that. It gets all

:15:15. > :15:23.it needs from that relationship. Very briefly, will they be third

:15:23. > :15:27.time lucky? What will they say? Today we will see the EU take the

:15:27. > :15:34.investigation into phase two. They would take another few months to

:15:34. > :15:44.investigate it in great detail. They did that in 2006/ 2007. They

:15:44. > :15:47.

:15:47. > :15:53.decided the obstacles were too The G7 countries have called on oil

:15:53. > :15:57.o producers top increase production. With growth weakening in key

:15:58. > :16:02.economies and tensions over it, G7 finance ministers hinted they were

:16:02. > :16:06.ready to push for the release of strategic oil resefrbgs to prevent

:16:06. > :16:09.a tightening of the prices in the market. Also air China, it has

:16:09. > :16:14.become the latest major Chinese company to report a steep drop in

:16:14. > :16:18.the first half profit, in fact those profits plunged 77%, because

:16:18. > :16:23.of the slowing economy. Heightened competition, and needless to say

:16:23. > :16:29.the rising jet fuel costs. The carrier joins a number of other

:16:29. > :16:33.companies have seen a slump in their profits. That is it. With the

:16:33. > :16:40.business news. We will keep our eye tons rave Asian stories and in

:16:40. > :16:47.particular Lufthansa. Thank you very much. We have a lot more to

:16:47. > :16:56.come. The first time ever, music is broadcast from another planet, by

:16:57. > :17:00.the Mars Rover Curiosity. To India now and the stream court has up

:17:00. > :17:05.held the death sentence for the only surviving gunman involved on

:17:05. > :17:08.the attacks on Mumbai in 2008. The gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab

:17:08. > :17:12.had appealed against the sentence, 166 people were killed in the

:17:12. > :17:20.attacks that shocked the nation, and soured relations between India

:17:21. > :17:24.and Pakistan. The BBC's Andrew North is in Dell his He said he had

:17:25. > :17:31.not been given a fair trial. He was saying while he admitted

:17:31. > :17:36.involvement in the Mumbai attacks of 2008, he said he was not guilty

:17:36. > :17:40.of the most serious charge against him, which was waging war against

:17:40. > :17:44.India. But the two Supreme Court judges, in their ruling today, said

:17:44. > :17:51.that that was the most important offence, and he was guilty. They

:17:51. > :17:57.said of that, and therefore they had no choice but to up hold the

:17:57. > :18:02.death penalty against him. He has one last option, to try and avoid

:18:02. > :18:07.the death stens and that is to appeal for a pard frn the Indian

:18:07. > :18:13.President. -- sentence. Certainly with the feeling, the anger that

:18:13. > :18:18.the still grips the country, over the Mumbai attack, the worst

:18:18. > :18:21.attacks on Indian soil, for a very long time, by an outside group, I

:18:22. > :18:25.think there is going to be a lot of pressure for the Government to

:18:25. > :18:29.carry out the death sentence quickly. Now the other major stores.

:18:29. > :18:33.The former Prime Minister of the Ukraine Yulia Tymsoshenko has lost

:18:33. > :18:37.her appeal in Ukraine's high court against her conviction for abuse of

:18:37. > :18:41.office. She was sentenced last year to seven years in prison, over a

:18:41. > :18:46.gas deal she signed with Russia while in power. Her lawyers have

:18:46. > :18:50.taken her case to the European Court of human rights in Strasbourg,

:18:50. > :18:55.saying the case was politically motivated. Two Kenyan policemen

:18:55. > :19:02.have died of their injury from a grenade attack on Tuesday in

:19:02. > :19:04.Mombasa. Three policemen have died following the killing of a radical

:19:04. > :19:07.Islamic cleric. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa says he is

:19:07. > :19:12.withdrawn from a seminar on leadership, in protest at the

:19:12. > :19:19.presence of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He said

:19:19. > :19:29.Mr Blair support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was normally

:19:29. > :19:38.

:19:38. > :19:42.indefensible. Mr Blair's office The top stories this morning.

:19:42. > :19:48.Floodwaters overflow a sliv south- east of New Orleans as Hurricane

:19:48. > :19:53.Isaac continues to pound southern Louisiana. President Assad dimisses

:19:53. > :19:59.as unrealistic soufgs a buffer zone on Syrian territory for refugees

:19:59. > :20:04.from the conflict. Here in London thousands of people have turned out

:20:04. > :20:07.to welcome the Paralympic flame, the flame is en route currently to

:20:07. > :20:13.Olympic Stadium n the east of London, for the opening ceremony of

:20:13. > :20:19.the Games which happens later today. These are some pictures as the

:20:19. > :20:22.torch passes through London. This being at the Shree Swaminarayan

:20:22. > :20:26.Hindu temple in Neasden, north-west London. That was just a little

:20:26. > :20:32.while ago. Team China of course is expected to top the medals table,

:20:32. > :20:35.as they did in Beijing. Here is our correspondent in Beijing: He

:20:35. > :20:45.reports that Paralympic success is actually helping to change

:20:45. > :20:47.

:20:47. > :20:50.attitudes towards disability in China. This man is used to dealing

:20:50. > :20:56.with on strabg -- obstacles in life. He was born blind that. Doesn't

:20:56. > :21:01.stop him getting round Beijing. When he first started making this

:21:01. > :21:10.journey, he sometimes took the wrong bus. But now he knows the

:21:10. > :21:13.route. This morning, he is attending a weekly Film Club for

:21:13. > :21:18.blind people. A guess speaker narrate what is is happening on

:21:18. > :21:26.screen so the audience can follow the film. He says it is one example

:21:26. > :21:28.of how his life has improved in cent years. -- recent.

:21:28. > :21:33.TRANSLATION: nvingsfrpblgts the past people would talk about you as

:21:33. > :21:37.you walked in the street. Sometimes kids would chase after you. That

:21:37. > :21:43.almost never happens now. People treat you normly, and many are

:21:43. > :21:48.willing to help. The Beijing Paralympics four years ago played a

:21:48. > :21:52.huge part in changing attitudes in China. The long no longer were

:21:52. > :21:56.those with disability seen as charity cases who you should feel

:21:56. > :22:02.sorry for, instead they were seen as winners, who should be

:22:02. > :22:07.celebrated. Dist despite the progress, many disabled people are

:22:07. > :22:11.overlooked. They are forced to fend for themselves. Campaigners say

:22:11. > :22:15.that China still has a lot of work to do. I think one of the biggest

:22:15. > :22:20.challenges is just the fact that there is such an uneven development

:22:20. > :22:25.in China, so the people, dis -- disabilities are getting support.

:22:25. > :22:28.Because many are in the rural parts of China, then, this means that

:22:28. > :22:36.it's a much slower pace than in other parts where development is

:22:36. > :22:44.happening faster. He says China has come a long way in terms of

:22:44. > :22:49.recognising disabilities. But the journey is far from over. I am sure

:22:49. > :22:54.you know that NASA's Curiosity rover is a bit of clever kit, and

:22:54. > :22:59.now it has done something that has never been done before. It

:22:59. > :23:09.broadcast music from the red pleasant and beamed it back to

:23:09. > :23:14.

:23:14. > :23:19.earth. Scientists at NASA are more used to launching space missions

:23:19. > :23:23.than songs, but this is the you're yosty rover, beaming a song from

:23:23. > :23:28.space. For more than 700 million miles away, it's the first time a

:23:28. > :23:33.song has ever been broadcast from another planet. Its writer is the

:23:34. > :23:38.US musician Will.i.am. I don't want do a song that was done on a

:23:38. > :23:43.computer. I wanted to show human collaboration and have an orchestra

:23:43. > :23:46.there, and something that will be timeless, where it is, you know,

:23:46. > :23:50.and translated in different cultures, not like have a hip-hop

:23:50. > :23:54.beat or dance beat. The Mars Rover doesn't have any speakers onboard,

:23:55. > :24:01.so the song wouldn't have been heard on the planet. But there is a

:24:01. > :24:06.more serious side to the mission. Curiosity's 17 camerass are

:24:06. > :24:11.returning detailed colour pictures of the surface of Mars and NASA say

:24:11. > :24:16.the rover has sent more data than all the other rovers combined. If

:24:16. > :24:20.all goes to plan, Curiosity will continue sending its findings for

:24:20. > :24:28.another year and ten months helping us better understand some of the

:24:28. > :24:33.mistroifs Red Planet. -- mysteries of. Elvis Presley was worshipped by

:24:33. > :24:37.millions round the world but away from the stage, the king of rock

:24:37. > :24:47.'n' roll was rather religious, now his personal Bible is being

:24:47. > :24:48.

:24:48. > :24:58.auctioned. This is the king's King James. Prest priest Bible, is on

:24:58. > :25:03.

:25:03. > :25:07.sale -- Elvis Presley's Bible is on Yes, while Elvis was a rocking and

:25:07. > :25:14.a rolling and a shaking, he was also a reading and writing and

:25:14. > :25:19.underlining in this Bible, which goes under the hammer next week.

:25:19. > :25:24.came to us by a big Elvis clebg nor the the UK. What makes it special

:25:24. > :25:28.is the an taition, there have been Bibles that have come up for sale

:25:28. > :25:32.which he owned or gave to people. This one he owned for 20 years when

:25:32. > :25:38.he was given it at Christmas. his name is embossed on the cover

:25:38. > :25:42.it is what is inside that is revealing. Given to him by his aunt

:25:42. > :25:49.and uncle after he moved into grace land he made notes throughout and

:25:49. > :25:57.marked particular packages. picked out some op of Job, maybe he

:25:57. > :26:02.identified with him. What has he underlined. Behold I come out cry

:26:02. > :26:08.out of wrong. I cry allowed but there is no judgment. Maybe he was

:26:08. > :26:17.having a bad day that day!. He has taken the crown from my head, the

:26:17. > :26:22.king. Very impressive. He goes for block capitals while he is writing.

:26:22. > :26:27.Yes, all the way through and his hand writing is not the best.

:26:27. > :26:31.has spelled guide wrong! He is missing an E. And while he appears

:26:31. > :26:36.to have dedicated the majority of his reading to the New Testament,

:26:36. > :26:40.right at the back he has added a saying of his own. To judge a man

:26:40. > :26:45.by his weakest Lynn ork deed is like judging the power of the ocean

:26:45. > :26:48.by one wave. And this is not a Bible verse, this is Elvis's

:26:48. > :26:52.thoughts. That is perhaps his thoughts when he has been reading