13/12/2012 BBC World News

Syria's most powerful ally, Russia, is saying for the first time that

President Bashar Assad is losing control of his country and the

rebels might win. EU finance ministers agree to set

up a banking union, in a significant step towards resolving

the eurozone debt crisis. The controversial extraction of

shale gas, known as fracking, is given the go-ahead by the UK.

Welcome to BBC World News. Back on the map. Google launches

its latest mapping software for the iPhone, after Apple's attempts at

its own version backfire. Rocking and rolling for the victims

of Superstorm Sandy. A sell-out concert in Madison Square Gardens

The Syrian government may be defeated by opposition forces.

That's according to Russia's deputy foreign minister. Russian news

agencies are reporting that Mikhail Bogdanov says President Bashar al-

Assad's forces are "losing more and more control and territory". I

spoke earlier to our correspondents, Steve Rosenberg in Moscow, and to

Jim Muir in Beirut. They gave me this update. For Russia's basic

position hasn't changed in that Moscow still maintains that the

ousting of President Assad would make the conflict worse.

But this is the first public acknowledgement that things are

moving against President Assad, and he faces the possibility of defeat.

Comments coming from Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian foreign

deputy minister, who says we have to face the facts. The Syrian

government is losing more control over more territory. He said the

victory of a Syrian opposition cannot be excluded. He made it

clear that Moscow's belief, in that case, the conflict would grow worse,

and tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands more people would be

killed. He said that was not acceptable to Moscow.

What is your reading of this from Beirut?

It is obviously very significant this should come from the Russians,

a statement of the very obvious. It can be seen that the regime is

losing ground, but the Russians have steadfastly supported Bashar

al-Assad. This is significant, a very strong straw in the wind, as

it were. The prognosis, after he fell, there would be a huge amount

of turmoil, that is a Russian reading. What the west wants is to

get the Russians on board for what they call decapitation, President

Assad and his top circle should be persuaded to get on an aeroplane

and leave, as in Yemen, and the rest of the regime would negotiate

a peaceful transition with the opposition who have more or less

agreed to that scenario. The Russians are up in a position to

play a positive role by persuading Bashar al-Assad to step down in

that way. But there is no real sign they are willing to do that,

falling in with Western plans. In Moscow, is a major development

being anticipated here? Only yesterday, the Russian foreign

minister expressed his surprise and a degree of irritation that Barack

Obama had recognised the Syrian opposition coalition. He made a

statement about that, and was quite angry. So, the Russians are one

step behind, but preparing for a possible defeat of Bashar al-Assad.

The deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov today it also said that

Moscow was preparing, making contingency plans, for a possible

evacuation. There are many of them, 5,000 Russian citizens registered

in the embassy in Damascus. Many more who are not registered there.

The Russians are trying to locate as many of its citizens as they can,

with a view to a possible future evacuation by sea and by air.

We have had news this morning of the banking union, getting the tax

payer off the hook. The sole reason this has been

developed. In 2000 and it when we had the financial crisis caused by

the banks, they got in trouble. It was the taxpayer who had to bail

out the banks. It didn't leave a lot of money left to the state. So

then they needed a bail out. The idea is, in future, it will not be

the state or taxpayer bailing them out, but support from the European

Central Bank which has been given the sol supervisory role of 200 of

the region's biggest banks worth more than $39 billion. It also

means when a bank does get into trouble, the banks get direct

funding from that European rescue pot. This supervisory role will

monitor all these banks, implement the rules, it can close down a bank

if it doesn't follow the rules. The question I have been asking experts

today, if the tax payer and state is off the hook, who does? Who

provides funding? It has not been answered to some degree, although

the spirit of where this is heading is clear. That is, but taxpayers

will know longer be on the hook to bail out banks, the bikes

themselves should find away to resolve their problems. We are

working on a resolution regime framework which will be agreed this

Friday. But also were then that, there are ways to apply losses, to

bond holders within a bank, shareholders potentially. And to

isolate the banking system and his problem within the banking system.

In the future, we paid a transaction tax, meaning every

single deal by a bad will have a tiny feet attached, collected on a

European-wide basis, to build up a pot, a defensive fund, to be able

to help with a bag if it falls into trouble in future. Also, and your

bike taxes should be something coming in future.

The The other development in Europe today: Greece is due to receive the

latest round of bailout funds needed to keep the economy afloat.

After weeks of tough talks, eurozone finance ministers and the

International Monetary Fund agreed last month to release 44 billion

euros. Athens has been waiting since June for the money that is

needed to help the government pay its debts, and to support the

country's banks. Google has launched a new version

of its Maps application for the iPhone. The growing rivalry between

the search giant and Apple meant the most recent iPhone appeared

with Apple's own mapping software. It's had some well documented

problems, to say the least. This week, Australian police called it

"potentially life threatening" after its bad directions left

drivers stranded in the outback. So, is this defeat for Apple Maps?

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones says that the

accuracy of Google Maps is what users want. This is quite a useful

victory for Gogol, in this ongoing war. The mobile phone industry,

which is where all the internet action is, it is now concentrated

between Apple, and Gogol, the android system. -- Google. If

you're travelling with the Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific over

Christmas, don't be surprised if the staff seem unfriendly.

Employees are threatening to go on a smiling strike, in a protest over

pay, as well as possibly withholding food and alcohol. Cabin

staff voted in favour of industrial action this week, they're demanding

a 5% pay rise instead of the 2% offered by management.

The US Federal Reserve has said it plans to keep interest rates at

close to zero, at least until the US unemployment rate falls below

6.5%. Previously, it had a date- driven target, rather than a data-

driven one. The US central bank also said it will continue to buy

$85 billion a month of government bonds and mortgage-backed

securities, to try to boost the economy. But changes in the way it

does this will mean more money is pumped into the economy.

And we expect to continue our purchases until we see a

substantial improvement in the Labour market in price stability.

The committee will evaluate a range of indicators including

unemployment, pay Royal -- payroll employment. As increases are

precursors to Labour market conditions, we will look at the

pace of economic activity more broadly.

The reason I messed up on that story is because we were chuckling

about this! I put the blame on to you. The Australian police, this

warning. People were using this device and getting stranded in the

outback. One policeman said, one fellow got trapped, he saw a snake,

a goat and a fox, and he wouldn't get out of his car! He must have

been a tourist! And as we heard, it is a difficult

business, making and designing Max -- maps. You have to be accurate.

Can you find your way out of the studio OK?

The British government has approved the resumption of fracking, a

controversial technique which could release stores of shale gas deep

below the Earth's surface. A firm was stopped from using the

controversial method, after it caused two minor earthquakes last

year. Fracking works like this. The drill bores 8,000 feet down, then

turns sideways into the shale. Tiny explosions fracture the rock.

Millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are forced in to make

space for the gas to flow back up the shaft. Joining me from our

Westminster studio in central London is the Green Party Member of

Parliament, Caroline Lucas. Is this good or bad news? I think it is bad

news, it will lock us into prices which are likely to rise in the

future when it comes to our energy bills. If we go down this route, we

will not be able to keep within our climate targets when it comes to

the emission reduction targets. And it will cost us four. What is the

alternative? Energy costs are going up, inflation is going up, wages

are going down. Reports say elderly people are heading towards

Christmas are spending money on fuel, and not on Christmas, because

people are worried about the cost of staying warm? Absolutely, that

is why it is important not to go down the gas brood which has led to

the big increase in our fuel bills. -- gas route. If we look at

renewable energy and efficiency, but will help with fuel bills. As

well as investing, we need to put real investment into energy

efficiency. The government is not doing that properly. They will not

make the impact they need to. You are right to say it is a scandal

that in the 21st century, we have people dying prematurely because

they cannot afford to keep themselves warm. So we have to go

down the route of properly insulating our homes, and renewable

energy. Would you and the committee feel more comfortable with this, if

the reserves of what the scientists think he is down there, it is as

big as they think? It might be on the part -- on a par with those

reserves in Canada and the United States? It may be huge but it will

also be expensive and will bust our planet targets. There are

environmental impacts to be concerned about as well. To forget

about previous concerns. I do not think many people will be delighted

to have a shale gas drill just down the road from them. This is fraught

with complications. It will lead to higher energy bills, and we cannot

stay within our legally binding climate targets. You're watching

BBC World News. Coming up: Can you teach manners to teenage boys?

We're at the school which thinks it Now, to a bone-chilling expedition

being carried out in the Antarctic. A team of British scientists is

there to explore a vast sub-glacial lake buried two miles beneath the

ice. They're looking for signs of life in the waters which have been

cut off from the rest of the world for half a million years.

In the bitter cold of one of the most remotest corners of Antarctica,

this British team is trying something extraordinary. To explore

a hidden world that lies beneath the ice. These are the latest

pictures from the British Antarctic Survey. Everything about this

project is a challenge. All the equipment is sterilised. The

plastic keeps it clean. Because the aim is to search for life under the

I am close to the centre where the ice beneath me is two miles thick.

It is 10 kilometres in length, and the three kilometres wide.

lower this, what is in the lake? The strange body of water isolated

from the outside world for two half-a-million years. The

exploration is about understanding the limits of were life is possible

and it is ambitious. They have fired up a drill which uses hot

water to push through the two miles of ice. When that is done, a camera

will be lowered into the lake to collect samples. When they are

brought back to the surface, we will find out if there is life. To

keep the drill and running, snow is needed ready to be melted and

pumped down towards the lake. The fuel supply is limited. There is

only one chance to get this right and it has now started. This is an

important step. This is what the last three years have been building

up to, burning fuel and melting snow. I did not get much sleep last

night, so we are a bit tense that this morning. What is driving this

effort is basic exploration, to see if there is anything alive under

the eyes in total darkness and under immense pressure. If water

samples to make it back up, they will be checked for microbes,

bacteria, evidence of life in the most extreme conditions. We will

hear what they discover next week. Russia's deputy foreign minister

says Bashar al-Assad is losing control of Syria. Art is that the

first acknowledgement by a Syria's Allied he is facing a likely defeat.

A banking union has been agreed for the eurozone ahead of a summit in

Brussels. Japan has said it Chinese airplane

has entered their airspace over Senkaku. I spoke to our Tokyo

Correspondent and asked him if this was a signed the dispute had

escalated? It is a carefully calibrated escalation of this

dispute by the Chinese side. The plane was a small, twin propeller,

civilian aeroplane belonging to be Chinese Government organisations.

It was not a military aircraft. Provocative but not terribly

provocative. Japan responded quickly and this time with military

aircraft. We understand either six or eight F fifteens were sent up to

intercept his aircraft and audit out of Japanese airspace. What it

shows his china is gradually, gradually asserting its claim, its

control, its territorial claim over this area around these islands

called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. And the rhetoric

from the Chinese Government is strong. They said it is normal for

China to do, and the Japanese should stay out of this airspace

and out of the waters around the islands. They are trying to remind

Japan there is unsettled history between the two countries?

Absolutely. The significance of the day it is important. 13th December

is the 75th anniversary of the start of what China calls the

massacre, after managing by Imperial soldiers during a six-week

period following the 13th December, 1937. Perhaps as many as 200,000

civilians and demobilised soldiers in the Chinese capital. They were

systematically murdered by Japanese troops. This is a very sore point

to this day between China and a pan. China is saying, remember history,

remember what you did in the past, it is not over.

More details are being released about the death of the nurse who

apparently killed herself after being duped by a hoax call at a

London hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge. I spoke to

our Correspondent at Westminster Coroner's Court in London and he

told me about the hearing. What happened was, the coroner in London,

Dr Fiona Wilcox, opened and adjourned the in Peck's -- inquests.

It is routine in the UK when there is a sudden or unexplained death,

for burning quest to be opened. The police officer who was here told

the inquest there were no suspicious circumstances

surrounding the death of Jacintha Saldanha, whose body was found last

Friday at her nurses' quarters in London, by a colleague and also a

member of the security staff. She was found hanged. She also had some

injuries to her wrists. The police officer said three nodes or

discovered, although the contents of those notes or not read out.

Also e-mails of interest and phone calls are being tracked. The

investigation of police are carrying out his continuing. That

is why one reason the inquest was adjourned until March to allow more

time for that to be concluded. It will also involve the police

talking to her colleagues in New South Wales, where the radio

station that carried out of that hoax call is based.

Bruce Springsteen, Alisha Keys, Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones were

among those performing in a concert last night to raise money for the

victims of Superstorm Sandy Sunday. Organisers say it has already

raised $32 million. Kicking off the concert, Bruce

Springsteen in a line-up of legends from the music industry, supporting

the victims of Superstorm Sandy Sandy. Nearly �20 million has

already been raised through ticket sales and sponsorship. The event is

a sell-out. # You Give Love a bad name.

Prices range from �100 to 1,500. The 13,000 tickets were snapped off.

The truth is, it was easy to put it together because the artists or

wanted to come together and create a community of caring. The artists

have been extraordinary. More than 120 people were killed and

thousands were left homeless when Superstorm Sandy Sandeep ripped

through areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in October.

It made an impression around the world and on global music stars

closer to home. I was born and raised in New York. I was here

during everything that happened, to win this nicety and the tries state

area going through something that nobody could control. Donations

will go to the Robin Hood relief fund, which provides money and

materials to those who have been hardest hit. An audience of 2

billion was expected around the world. Organisers hope that their

donations will go some way to helping thousands of people rebuild

their lives. Getting teenage boys to open doors

for you or polish their own shoes is not easy. One school in the

south-west of England is trying to change that by teaching male pupils

the art of a ticket. The girls at the school have complained the boys

in their classes are rude and mercy. Now the boys have started a six-

month course in manners. They don't use correct language at

times. It is quite rude. Things like swearing and spitting. When

they don't shave and wear white socks. They are never quite clean,

are they? The girls have had enough. They have sent the boys from their

class for some extra tuition. Over the next six months, these teenage

boys will be turned into young gentleman. Or, at least that is the

idea! You have got it on your shirt. It is on my tie as well. Get right

up to the top. Lesson No 1 is personal grooming. Mark is learning

how to use an iron. Have you ever done this before? No, I haven't.

Never ironed before. How old are you? 16. 16! My mother does it.

Shirt pressed, his next lesson is learning how to greet PAD. -- A

Lady. You might expect this at a Swiss finishing school but not at a

Cornish comprehensive. To a Ian Atkins and lay it out across your

lap because you are about to start eating. The school says this is

about more than impressing goals, it is about helping the boys

impress employers in the future. think they are doing well.

headmaster said it might be their GCSE year, but these lessons can be

just as valuable. My is important to have the highest qualifications,

but if you cannot get on with people and communicate, if you

cannot get on in all the difference this social environments life

throws at you, you'll find your future limited. The proof of the

pudding will be in the very polite eating. Any of you gens are like a

piece of fudge? At do their GCSEs next summer, there will be an end

of school ball and the girls might be in for a surprise.

This next story is getting a lot of hits on a website, a Parliamentary