:00:10. > :00:14.Mass protests across India against fuel prices and a move to allow
:00:14. > :00:17.retail giants like Walmart into the country.
:00:17. > :00:21.Syrian activists claim rebels have shot down a military helicopter in
:00:21. > :00:25.the town of Douma, not far from the capital, Damascus.
:00:25. > :00:35.Spain goes to the bond markets in a further test of confidence - as it
:00:35. > :00:35.
:00:35. > :00:37.resists calls to seek a financial rescue. Welcome to BBC World News.
:00:37. > :00:41.Also in the programme: It's back to work for South
:00:41. > :00:45.Africa's miners as they accept a big pay rise at the mine where 44
:00:45. > :00:48.people died in a protest over wages. Born on a battlefield - a British
:00:48. > :00:58.soldier who didn't even know she was pregnant has a baby on the
:00:58. > :01:10.
:01:10. > :01:14.Afghanistan front line. Hello. A day of strikes and protests have
:01:14. > :01:18.been taking place in India as the government seeks new ways to
:01:18. > :01:24.stimulate the economy. The key point of contention is the decision
:01:24. > :01:28.to allow global giants like Tesco and Wal-Mart to enter the country's
:01:28. > :01:32.retail sector. Sharp rises in diesel prices have led to strikes
:01:32. > :01:37.by truck drivers and a key ally of the coalition government is
:01:37. > :01:44.refusing to support the Prime Minister.
:01:45. > :01:49.Venting their fury, against the supermarket giants.
:01:49. > :01:52.These protestors want to keep them out of India. It's a political back
:01:52. > :02:02.lash against the government's plan to bring in more investment and to
:02:02. > :02:04.
:02:04. > :02:07.boost the economy. It is also giving the opposition a
:02:07. > :02:12.platform. Political parties from the left and the right are united
:02:12. > :02:16.in protest. This is one of several protests taking place across India
:02:16. > :02:19.today. This one is being addressed by the President of The main
:02:19. > :02:22.opposition party. He is joined there by a number of smaller
:02:22. > :02:26.political parties. Politicians, trade unions, businesses, they are
:02:26. > :02:30.all taking to the streets to oppose the recent economic reforms
:02:30. > :02:36.announced by the government. They are also building political
:02:36. > :02:41.pressure on the Prime Minister. Across India, shops and businesses
:02:41. > :02:45.shut down as part of a strike call. Otherwise, bustling markets,
:02:45. > :02:49.completely deserted. The police were out as well to keep
:02:49. > :02:53.things in check, but they had little to worry about. Disbite all
:02:53. > :03:01.of this, the opposition plans to keep the pressure on.
:03:01. > :03:07.The people continue to suffer because of their malgovernance. We
:03:07. > :03:13.are not to be blamed. As a prince yipal in position, if they were
:03:13. > :03:17.entrusted by the people to govern, the people have been trusting them
:03:17. > :03:22.the duty to ensure that the government is done.
:03:22. > :03:29.The Prime Minister, has spear- headed the reforms, but one of the
:03:29. > :03:33.biggest partners in the coalition government has pulled out, he know
:03:33. > :03:38.-- now face as serious challenge. Despite the protest calls not that
:03:38. > :03:44.many came out on to the streets. A sign, perhaps, that not everyone in
:03:44. > :03:49.India is unhappy it is the one thing that the government will bank
:03:49. > :03:52.on to see it through this crisis. Now to Syria. There are reports
:03:52. > :03:56.saying that a military helicopter has come down in the town of Duma.
:03:56. > :04:00.That is close to the capital, Damascus. The government has been
:04:00. > :04:05.using helicopters more and more with other aircraft against the
:04:05. > :04:08.rebel forces. Activists in the area say that the aircraft was shot down
:04:08. > :04:11.by rebels. Diplomats and financial experts
:04:11. > :04:15.from more than 50 countries are meeting in the Netherlands. They
:04:15. > :04:20.are looking at ways of putting economic pressure on the Syrian
:04:20. > :04:25.regime. I spoke to Abdo Husameddin, a former Syrian Oil Minister. He
:04:25. > :04:29.defected from the regime back in March. He explained that Bashar al-
:04:29. > :04:39.Assad's extended family may have huge amounts of financial resources,
:04:39. > :04:40.
:04:40. > :04:44.assets, hidden abroad. Bashar al-Assad himself is
:04:44. > :04:52.supported by his cousin. They are talking about probably the fact
:04:52. > :05:01.that more than $so billion is kept by them. There are other faces,
:05:01. > :05:06.they are hidden beside the regime itself. -- $10 billion. All of this
:05:06. > :05:12.money is not directly under the names of the Bashar al-Assad regime,
:05:12. > :05:21.but which other names. They are family members. There are
:05:21. > :05:26.are trying to make transactions for the family money.
:05:26. > :05:30.Right, you defected in March, it was a big step for you to take. Do
:05:30. > :05:36.you believe that there are colleagues of yours also ready to
:05:36. > :05:41.follow? Are you in touch with any of them? Yes. I am still in touch
:05:41. > :05:51.with some of them inside, of course outside the country too, a lot of
:05:51. > :05:57.people. Now it is more difficult to defect.
:05:57. > :06:05.The regime has made new steps, there are many guards with each
:06:05. > :06:09.official now. They are there to protect them, but
:06:09. > :06:13.they also account for their place and to know exactly what they are
:06:13. > :06:23.doing. So I believe at the moment it is very difficult for these
:06:23. > :06:28.people to defect. Now, we are picking up on the business. Jamie
:06:28. > :06:33.is here with a lot to get through. It is all gloomy! You didn't have
:06:33. > :06:37.to say that, but it may depend on how Spain gets on with the bond
:06:37. > :06:42.auction? It was a success today, but still people believe that they
:06:42. > :06:48.are going to need more money. Let's talk about the gloomy stuff.
:06:48. > :06:53.It has deepened amongst European business. This is according to a
:06:53. > :06:57.company called Markit. Its index for the eurozone includes
:06:57. > :07:02.manufacturing services, showed the weakest readings since June, 2009.
:07:02. > :07:06.France saw a sharp downturn in business activity. Chris Williamson
:07:06. > :07:11.is the chief economist, I asked him about German's performance.
:07:11. > :07:14.It was a good result compared to what we have seen. More signs of
:07:14. > :07:18.stabilisation and growth returning, but a big contrast to the previous
:07:18. > :07:23.months where we saw Germany sliding into the depths that the rest of
:07:23. > :07:29.the eurozone is in. But this is a bad picture
:07:29. > :07:33.everywhere? Pretty much. We don't break out for all of the countries
:07:33. > :07:40.at this stage. This is a preliminary estimate, but we break
:07:40. > :07:44.out for France. There was a strong downturn there, the fastest rate of
:07:44. > :07:48.contraction since early 2009. France is joining the other
:07:48. > :07:51.countries in the worrying state of contraction at the moment. Germany
:07:51. > :07:59.is riding through it more resiliently.
:07:59. > :08:02.Now, Spain has successfully auctioned 4.8 billion Euros worth
:08:02. > :08:07.of debt. More than we would have thought.
:08:07. > :08:12.They have borrowed at 57..%. So it has been a success. Spain is being
:08:12. > :08:17.helped by the European Central Bank. It promised to buy Spanish debt if
:08:17. > :08:21.it needs to keep borrowing costs low. There are question marks,
:08:21. > :08:26.though, over Spain's general finances. Many believe it will have
:08:26. > :08:29.to ask for a built soon. Nick Parsons, the Head of Research at UK
:08:29. > :08:31.& Europe at National Australia Bank in London, I asked him if and when
:08:31. > :08:36.Spain is likely to ask for that famous bail out.
:08:36. > :08:39.Probably for the next five or six weeks, teleare good reasons to
:08:39. > :08:46.believe that the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, will not be asking
:08:46. > :08:49.for a formal bail out package. That is interesting, the virtues
:08:49. > :08:54.catch-22 situation. What will change it? You say you give them up
:08:54. > :09:00.to six weeks of grace. What happens to change the situation? We point
:09:00. > :09:03.to two things. The first is the Echo Fin meeting on the 18th and
:09:03. > :09:08.the 19th of October. The European finances ministers will be putting
:09:08. > :09:13.pressure on Spain to do the necessary thing. To finally succumb
:09:13. > :09:17.to the conditions that the ECB is demanding. To put a formal bail out
:09:17. > :09:23.request in. So there will be a lot of pressure from the fellow
:09:23. > :09:28.Europeans. Then on the 21st October of there are regional elections in
:09:28. > :09:33.gal itcha. That is Mariano Rajoy's Homebase. We don't think he would
:09:33. > :09:36.want the perceived iingnom any of requesting a bail out prior to
:09:36. > :09:40.those elections, but with that out of the way, we are thinking that
:09:40. > :09:44.the middle or the second half of the fourth quarter, that is when
:09:45. > :09:48.Spain will step up and will, I think, agree to the conditionallity
:09:48. > :09:52.that is necessary for the ECB's rescue package.
:09:52. > :09:58.Nick Parsons there. There could be a round of job cuts
:09:58. > :10:05.at bank of America it is reported that the bank plans to cut 16,000
:10:05. > :10:09.posts. Part of an efficiency drive by Brian Moynihan who took over in
:10:09. > :10:18.2010. 200 branchs are to be closed, adding to 170 closures that took
:10:18. > :10:26.place in 2011. A panel of US judges to hear how investor lawsuits
:10:26. > :10:30.against Facebook can proceed. Dozens of prosecutions have been
:10:30. > :10:34.made after accusations that the company selectively disclosed
:10:34. > :10:39.negative information about its prospects. The stock has fallen as
:10:39. > :10:43.much as 50% since. Japan's experts fell 578% since
:10:43. > :10:49.August. This is according to data just released. They have been
:10:49. > :10:59.pushed down for a third month by the eurozone's debt crisis
:10:59. > :11:00.
:11:00. > :11:05.The markets: The European markets are all down. There are worries
:11:05. > :11:15.about the economic figures. They are not official economic figures.
:11:15. > :11:18.
:11:18. > :11:27.It is a survey, a Purchasing Manager's Index Survey. It is the
:11:27. > :11:32.effect of its promise to buy bonds in the markets of dispress --
:11:32. > :11:36.distressed markets, but even with that, with the bond sales, the
:11:36. > :11:42.grass roots level feel that the grass roots level feel that the
:11:42. > :11:46.economy is not performing. Jamie, thank you very much. More to
:11:46. > :11:53.come, including convict cuisine. We tell you how the inmates are
:11:53. > :11:56.offering fine dining to paying customers.
:11:56. > :12:04.The Burmese opposition leader, Aung Sang Suu Kyi has finally received
:12:04. > :12:10.in person, the US Congressional Gold Medal. She described it as one
:12:10. > :12:17.of the most moving days of her life. She also met President Obama. He is
:12:18. > :12:21.said that she was happy with the lifting of sanctions.
:12:21. > :12:25.Aung Sang Suu Kyi and President Obama, two Nobel Peace Prize
:12:25. > :12:30.winners at ease with each other in the Oval Office it is a measure of
:12:30. > :12:35.Aung Sang Suu Kyi's power, that she was received in a room normally
:12:35. > :12:40.reserved for visiting heads of state.
:12:40. > :12:43.Congress did not hold back either when it came to welcoming her.
:12:43. > :12:49.Several of the dignitaries sounded almost amazed that she was really
:12:49. > :12:54.there. We are joined not only by a
:12:54. > :12:59.fearless champion of human rights and democracy... But a member of
:12:59. > :13:02.Parliament. It's almost too delicious to
:13:02. > :13:08.believe, my friend. I might have hoped, but I'm not
:13:08. > :13:11.sure that I expected that one day I would have the honour of welcoming
:13:11. > :13:15.my personal hero, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, to the Congress of the United
:13:15. > :13:22.States. Aung Sang Suu Kyi was given the
:13:22. > :13:26.Gold Medal in one of Congress's most ornate rooms. On its walls,
:13:27. > :13:30.large paintings show the key stages of America's struggle for freedom
:13:30. > :13:35.and democracy. In her speech, Aung Sang Suu Kyi said that the struggle
:13:35. > :13:38.was not over in Burma. She thanked the Congress for its steadfast
:13:38. > :13:43.support. From the depths of my heart, I
:13:43. > :13:49.thank you, the people of America, and you, the representatives for
:13:49. > :13:56.keeping us in your hearts and minds during the dark years when freedom
:13:56. > :13:59.and justice seemed beyond our reach. Aung Sang Suu Kyi has urged the US
:13:59. > :14:02.administration to ease its sanctions against Burma, saying it
:14:03. > :14:12.is time for the Burmese people to take control.
:14:13. > :14:14.
:14:14. > :14:17.It is not clear whether the politicians here are ready to do so.
:14:17. > :14:22.Now residents of a shanty town in the Philippines have failed to stop
:14:22. > :14:30.the demolition of their homes. It was a sad way for them to lose
:14:30. > :14:34.their community. They threw rocks This is BBC World News, I'm. The
:14:34. > :14:37.headlines: Millions of Indians are being affected by an opposition-led
:14:37. > :14:43.strike against the prime minister's plans to raise fuel prices, and
:14:43. > :14:46.open up the economy. Syrian state television says a
:14:46. > :14:56.helicopter has crashed in the town of Douma, near the capital,
:14:56. > :14:57.
:14:57. > :15:00.Damascus. Rebels claim they shot it Thousands of miners at South
:15:00. > :15:04.Africa's Marikana platinum complex have returned to work. The mine was
:15:04. > :15:07.the scene of violent protests in which 44 people died. The striking
:15:07. > :15:09.miners reached a wage agreement with the mine owner, Lonmin,
:15:09. > :15:18.earlier this week, though industrial action is continuing at
:15:18. > :15:20.mines elsewhere, with workers demanding similar pay rises.
:15:20. > :15:30.Speaking from Johannesburg, the BBC's Andrew Harding described the
:15:30. > :15:37.miners' mood. For they all seemed quite keen now to get back to work,
:15:37. > :15:42.after six weeks without pay. They have been offered up to 22%
:15:42. > :15:47.increases, with a bonus for returning to work today. That
:15:47. > :15:51.agreement appears to be standing. People flew into the minds complex
:15:51. > :15:56.today but it will be a few days before proper mining resumes after
:15:56. > :16:03.such a long stoppage. The real concern now shifts from Marikana,
:16:03. > :16:08.two other mines, with concerns there may be copycat illegal
:16:08. > :16:13.strikes. We are seeing signs of that in one gold mine and one
:16:13. > :16:21.platinum mine in the area. It will be difficult for other vines to do
:16:21. > :16:26.something which is other than matching this action? People are
:16:26. > :16:32.feeling there will be big pressure now on wages, on companies to meet
:16:32. > :16:36.that 22% pay rise. Whether that happens will be interesting to see.
:16:36. > :16:42.The real difficulty at the moment is the question of what happens to
:16:42. > :16:49.collective bargaining and unions which were sidelined during the
:16:49. > :16:54.Marikana negotiations. Will workers at other mines now turned their
:16:54. > :16:59.backs on their unions and go it alone? If so, we could see more
:16:59. > :17:09.unrest. If the unions managed to regain their credibility, things
:17:09. > :17:10.
:17:10. > :17:13.should stabilise. More now on the strikes taking
:17:13. > :17:16.place across India. Alpesh Patel is a financial commentator, and CEO of
:17:16. > :17:22.Praefinium Partners. He joins me now from our central London studio.
:17:22. > :17:28.This notion of foreign direct investment, particularly those
:17:28. > :17:33.terrifying words like Wal-Mart and Tesco, which bother a huge sector
:17:33. > :17:38.of people in India. Do you think, in spite of these protests, this is
:17:39. > :17:46.the inevitable unfolding? I don't think those words terrify people in
:17:46. > :17:50.India at all. Words like Coca Cola, McDonald's, Pepsi, are very much
:17:50. > :17:55.welcomed. They have been there since liberalisation in the early
:17:55. > :18:00.90s. So smaller shop owners and businesses say it is the last thing
:18:00. > :18:08.they need, Giants taking over. doubt there are that many shop
:18:08. > :18:13.owners say that because India with its 1.2 million people -- bn people,
:18:13. > :18:18.live in small towns and villages, whereas these big corporations want
:18:18. > :18:27.to go into big suburban areas to compete with the mid-size retell
:18:27. > :18:31.outlets, of which there are relatively few. These areas are
:18:31. > :18:36.comfortably middle-class. The workers going around with their
:18:36. > :18:40.trollies, door-to-door delivering fresh produce, will not be out of
:18:40. > :18:50.work at all, because it would be inefficient for big companies to do
:18:50. > :18:52.
:18:52. > :19:01.that. This is political opportunism by the opposition. It has been
:19:01. > :19:07.going on a long time. The LEAs have been allegations of corruption,
:19:07. > :19:12.increasing food inflation -- what has been a long -- what has been
:19:12. > :19:17.around a long time has been these allegations. Hikes in fuel duty,
:19:17. > :19:21.because of subsidies being taken away. That is what is hurting the
:19:21. > :19:27.people and mass population, which is why you have these protests. The
:19:28. > :19:33.trigger point, the Tesco point, is because you can galvanise people
:19:33. > :19:40.around a lightning rod issue. The protests are for something far
:19:40. > :19:43.wider and more deep-rooted within Indian society, high food costs,
:19:43. > :19:48.corruption across the board, that is what they are protesting about.
:19:48. > :19:53.Do you think this time around, this will get through Parliament? The
:19:53. > :19:59.government will push it through? do not think they have the majority
:19:59. > :20:03.for it, they're technically a minority government. In the spirit
:20:03. > :20:09.of political opportunism, there will be a vote of no confidence and
:20:09. > :20:13.it will be difficult to see how the government will be able to kick
:20:13. > :20:18.this without bribing small parties together in coalition. I do not
:20:18. > :20:22.think they can pass this but they will be able to say, we tried,
:20:22. > :20:27.because, at the moment, the biggest criticism of the government other
:20:27. > :20:32.than corruption is they are not passing any legislation. They can
:20:32. > :20:42.say they are trying to be bold and take the initiative. But they have
:20:42. > :20:44.
:20:44. > :20:48.been halted. A British soldier who didn't
:20:48. > :20:51.realise she was pregnant has given birth to a baby boy at Camp Bastion
:20:51. > :20:55.field hospital in Helmand Province - the base that was attacked last
:20:55. > :20:57.weekend. The MOD says both mother and child are doing well. She is
:20:57. > :20:59.serving with the 12th Mechanised Brigade, who are currently
:20:59. > :21:01.returning from Afghanistan. The BBC's Defence Correspondent,
:21:01. > :21:07.Caroline Wyatt, has more. The soldier has been serving in
:21:07. > :21:10.Afghanistan since March. Two days ago, she complained of
:21:10. > :21:13.severe stomach pains, and was astonished when medics said she was
:21:13. > :21:16.about to give birth. Her son was delivered safely at Camp Bastion
:21:16. > :21:19.Field Hospital, prematurely, in the 34th week of pregnancy. The gunner
:21:19. > :21:22.had conceived her baby before being sent to Afghanistan. A specialist
:21:22. > :21:26.paediatric team from John Radcliffe Hospital will travel to Camp
:21:26. > :21:36.Bastion to help provide care for the soldier and her baby on the RAF
:21:36. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:43.It adds it is not military policy to allow women to deploy on
:21:43. > :21:47.operations if they are pregnant and, in this case, they were not aware
:21:47. > :21:50.of her pregnancy. It's thought this is the first time a British soldier
:21:50. > :21:54.has given birth on the front line, although up to 200 servicewomen
:21:54. > :21:57.have been sent home since 2003 from Iraq and Afghanistan, when it was
:21:57. > :22:00.discovered they were pregnant. Military rules ban pregnant
:22:00. > :22:03.servicewomen from frontline duties, although last year another female
:22:03. > :22:08.soldier gave birth two weeks after returning from a six-month tour of
:22:08. > :22:11.duty. This unusual case may well fuel further debate over whether
:22:11. > :22:20.more medical checks are needed for the Armed Forces deploying women to
:22:20. > :22:23.the front lines. A pre-inquest review is being held
:22:23. > :22:27.into the death of Alexander Litvenenko, the former Russian spy
:22:27. > :22:30.who died in London in November 2006. He was killed after being given a
:22:30. > :22:39.radioactive cup of tea at a hotel. Our security correspondent Gordon
:22:39. > :22:41.Corera reports. Alexander Litvinenko, a former
:22:41. > :22:48.Russian security officer, and fierce critic of the Kremlin, who
:22:48. > :22:52.met a slow painful death in a London hospital. At first, his
:22:52. > :22:54.illness was a mystery, before tests showed it to be the result of
:22:54. > :23:00.radiation poisoning, with the rare substance polonium. Police began
:23:00. > :23:04.following the trail of polonium across London. They found traces at
:23:04. > :23:11.a sushi bar in Piccadilly he had eaten at. At offices in Mayfair he
:23:11. > :23:14.had visited. Crucially, at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair.
:23:14. > :23:16.Alexander Litvninenko drank tea at this hotel with some Russian
:23:16. > :23:20.visitors, the moment police believe the radioactive poison was
:23:20. > :23:23.administered. The trail led the Crown Prosecution Service to say it
:23:24. > :23:30.had enough evidence to charge this man, Andrei Lugovoi, now a Russian
:23:30. > :23:32.MP, who has denied any role, and who remains in Russia. With no
:23:32. > :23:38.suspect to go to trial, Litvinenko's widow has pushed for
:23:38. > :23:43.an inquest in the hope this will find answers. I would like to know
:23:43. > :23:48.who killed him, and why? Six years ago. I hope I will know this
:23:48. > :23:52.finally, after this long six years. Today's hearing is designed to set
:23:52. > :23:59.the guidelines for the full inquest. The central question is how far it
:23:59. > :24:02.will go in investigating this most unusual and controversial death.
:24:03. > :24:06.If you thought prison food was just porridge and watery soup, think
:24:06. > :24:15.again. A restaurant inside a prison has opened in Wales. It's run by
:24:15. > :24:20.the inmates, but open to the public. Hywel Griffith has been for a taste.
:24:20. > :24:24.Meet the chefs serving a long stretch. At the Clink, they offer
:24:24. > :24:33.everything from fresh crab ravioli, to goat's cheese tarts. Hardly a
:24:33. > :24:37.diet of porridge. They will learn the skills of fine dining to help
:24:37. > :24:41.prisoners like Kenyon Reid prepare for life on the outside. The first
:24:41. > :24:46.time I've had a proper job, so it is a good experience at the end of
:24:46. > :24:49.the day. How is it different from the life you had before you came to
:24:49. > :24:53.prison? It is that different. Before then, I had an easy life.
:24:53. > :24:56.Here, you have to work for it. project started life at High Down
:24:56. > :25:00.Prison in Surrey, but this will be the first prison restaurant fully
:25:00. > :25:02.open to the public, walking off the street. Inmates are paid �12 a week,
:25:02. > :25:10.leading to accusations of exploitation. A charge strenuously
:25:10. > :25:16.denied. Would you rather be banged up 24 hours a day, feeling sorry
:25:16. > :25:25.for yourself? Or in the community, working, training, learning? I know
:25:25. > :25:29.what I'd rather do. The food at the restaurant is a
:25:29. > :25:34.world away from what the inmates eat themselves. It gives them a
:25:34. > :25:37.taste of a normal working life. All the prisoners who work in the Clink
:25:37. > :25:41.are category D, the lowest risk. Most within months of finishing
:25:41. > :25:44.their sentence. The Ministry of Justice insist they are not being
:25:44. > :25:49.given an easy time, or unfair advantage when it comes for
:25:50. > :25:53.competing for work on the outside. Prisoners are here to be punished,
:25:53. > :25:58.they are in custody to be punished. We are not in the business of
:25:58. > :26:02.running a luxurious regime in British prisons. But this isn't
:26:02. > :26:05.just about punishment, but about public protection, rehabilitation.
:26:05. > :26:09.If it's to survive the fickle food business where restaurants open and
:26:09. > :26:13.close in a matter of months, the Clink will need to be more than a
:26:13. > :26:17.novelty. One guest who knows all about building a catering empire is
:26:17. > :26:23.impressed. Everything, including the dessert,
:26:23. > :26:27.it is fantastically made. I would say it is more laudable to find
:26:27. > :26:33.food like this in a situation like this, than pay a lot of money for
:26:33. > :26:36.something you know is commercial. The Ministry of Justice already
:26:36. > :26:46.plans to open two Clinks a year across the UK. Fine dining behind
:26:46. > :26:49.
:26:49. > :26:53.bars could be on the way to a town near you.