:00:11. > :00:14.This is BBC World News. Our top stories:
:00:14. > :00:17.Thousands of people are gathered in Tunisia's capital for the funeral
:00:17. > :00:18.of the country's murdered opposition leader - more unrest is
:00:19. > :00:24.expected. A proposal to cut overall EU
:00:24. > :00:27.spending is on the table in Brussels. After all-night talks,
:00:27. > :00:30.leaders are still negotiating. French-led forces fighting in Mali
:00:30. > :00:36.move into Gao searching for Islamist extremists who may be
:00:36. > :00:39.hiding among the local population. And we'll be outside the Bolshoi
:00:39. > :00:49.Ballet in Moscow for the latest intrigue in the increasingly bitter
:00:49. > :01:04.
:01:04. > :01:07.Hello, everybody. Two years after the Arab Spring
:01:07. > :01:10.swept Tunisia and removed its President, the country is braced
:01:10. > :01:14.for yet another day of unrest. This is the scene in the capital,
:01:14. > :01:16.Tunis, right now. Thousands are gathering for the
:01:16. > :01:26.funeral of Chokri Belaid, the opposition leader, assassinated on
:01:26. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:45.Wednesday. Some have been calling for the leader of the ruling
:01:45. > :01:50.
:01:50. > :01:54.Islamist party, the Ennahda Party, a criminal. BBC Arabic's Reda El
:01:54. > :02:02.Mawy is in Tunis. He says this could be a pivotal moment for the
:02:02. > :02:10.country. This country is not accustomed to such events. Last
:02:10. > :02:16.time an assassination was recorded, it was under the French occupation.
:02:16. > :02:26.The Ennahda Party came to power in October 2011. They have announced a
:02:26. > :02:30.
:02:30. > :02:34.major reshuffle in the government. They want a technocrat government.
:02:34. > :02:38.Neither party was not consulted in this decision. They announced the
:02:38. > :02:45.refusal of this proposal. Other political parties in the opposition
:02:45. > :02:49.have welcomed this move, but many think that this is a manoeuvre from
:02:49. > :02:54.another party to defuse the tension and contain the anger in Tunisian
:02:54. > :02:59.streets. On the other part, the major trade union in the country
:02:59. > :03:04.have called for a general strike and this is very significant in the
:03:05. > :03:12.history of Tunisia. Last time such a large strike was called for was
:03:12. > :03:17.in 1978 and the union of workers syndicates in Tunisia has proved in
:03:17. > :03:23.the past to be very efficient in organising large protest movements
:03:23. > :03:29.and also to mobilise huge numbers of workers and this strike is also
:03:29. > :03:36.a benchmark in Tunisian history which is showing the extent of the
:03:36. > :03:41.crisis in the country. That is the view in Tunis. I then asked whether
:03:41. > :03:49.the potential for unrest and real anger could still be restrained.
:03:49. > :03:59.This is a tipping point for Tunisia. This is the first incident of its
:03:59. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:20.kind, the first political assassination. What has been the
:04:20. > :04:24.extent of the unrest so far? trade union in Tunisia, which is
:04:24. > :04:30.very powerful, has called for the general strike. The general strike
:04:30. > :04:37.has already taken effect today. There are reports that judges, some
:04:37. > :04:42.schools, teachers, civil servants, are taking part in this strike
:04:42. > :04:47.besides, of course, tens of thousands of demonstrators who are
:04:47. > :04:52.paying their last respects to the slain, or to Chokri Belaid. Does it
:04:52. > :04:58.look as if large numbers have been involved? Or is it those who are
:04:58. > :05:03.clearly deeply concerned, but in a minority? No, it is a common anger
:05:03. > :05:13.on the streets of Tunisia, not only in the capital, Tunis, but also in
:05:13. > :05:18.
:05:18. > :05:23.many districts and in many towns. Even in the birthplace of the
:05:23. > :05:33.Tunisian uprising, it started ten days ago. It is a commonsense of
:05:33. > :05:40.
:05:40. > :05:45.anger across Tunisia as a matter- of-fact. The latest from Tunis.
:05:45. > :05:49.Gunmen reportedly targeted a health centre in Kano. Reports are
:05:50. > :05:58.conflict. Some witnesses say four people were shot dead in Kano and
:05:58. > :06:04.another eight killed in Hotoro. Let's go live to Lagos and to Will
:06:04. > :06:11.Ross. Is it clear what's been happening around Kano? It is clear
:06:11. > :06:14.there were two separate attacks by two groups of gunmen. They used
:06:14. > :06:18.motorised tricycles to get to these health centres and to escape from
:06:18. > :06:22.them. They opened fire in the health centres. Some eyewitnesses
:06:22. > :06:26.are telling us that in the city of Kano four people were killed, two
:06:26. > :06:30.men and two women. On the outskirts, eight women were killed. The police
:06:30. > :06:34.are saying nine people were killed, all of them women. So the figures
:06:34. > :06:38.are conflicting. What is clear is that this is an attack on two
:06:38. > :06:43.health centres as this effort to eradicate polio once again gets
:06:43. > :06:46.under way in Nigeria. There are ominous similarities to what has
:06:46. > :06:56.been happening in Pakistan with several similar incidents and
:06:56. > :07:05.
:07:05. > :07:11.several people killed in a similar event like this. Buachaill this
:07:11. > :07:16.group involved? I ought to add a controversial cleric spoke out
:07:16. > :07:20.against this campaign and he has a fairly large following. He said
:07:20. > :07:25.that the vaccination being used in this programme, some of the
:07:25. > :07:30.medicine is contaminated and that is why there are new cases of polio
:07:30. > :07:34.coming up. Also, across the north of Nigeria, this group have been
:07:34. > :07:38.active, especially in the city of Kano. To be honest, in recent times,
:07:38. > :07:42.there is also a lot of other groups popping up, a lot of guns in the
:07:42. > :07:47.north, so it is difficult to know who is behind the attacks. On the
:07:47. > :07:52.issue of polio, it is a huge problem in Nigeria. 121 cases
:07:52. > :07:58.reported last year. A significant increase on the year before. This
:07:58. > :08:04.will be a huge blow to the very large effort that is now under way
:08:05. > :08:14.to eradicate polio. Organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates
:08:15. > :08:15.
:08:15. > :08:21.Foundation, they have pumped money in to try and get rid of polio.
:08:21. > :08:27.Will Ross. A suicide bomber has blown himself
:08:27. > :08:34.up at a military checkpoint in the Malian town of Gao. No deaths have
:08:34. > :08:40.been reported except that of the bomber himself. French troops have
:08:40. > :08:48.been moving through Gao searching for extremists who they think are
:08:48. > :08:53.hiding amongst the local population. The French are certainly sending in
:08:54. > :09:00.more reinforcements here. This is - Gao is used as a base for the
:09:00. > :09:06.operations that are taking place further up north and around the
:09:06. > :09:10.mountains where the Islamist militants are believed to have fled
:09:10. > :09:16.during the previous operations. What is happening in Gao is that
:09:16. > :09:23.the Malian army and the Nigerian army are deployed in the town and
:09:23. > :09:29.they are sweeping for potential IEDs all around town. The plan that
:09:29. > :09:35.the French are pursuing right now - they go into towns, they secure
:09:35. > :09:39.them and they hand over the place to their Malian counterparts and
:09:39. > :09:45.the African forces. The deployment of these African forces is very
:09:45. > :09:50.slow at present. It will take time before these major towns can be
:09:50. > :09:54.fully handed over. The French have started to withdraw from Timbuktu,
:09:54. > :09:58.but obviously they have quite a large presence there at the moment,
:09:58. > :10:02.given that the African forces haven't yet arrived. There is a
:10:02. > :10:06.small presence of the Malian army there, but it is not enough to
:10:06. > :10:10.secure the area. Our correspondent in Gao. After a
:10:10. > :10:15.night of fraught negotiations and no sleep almost, European Union
:10:15. > :10:23.leaders are close to a deal on a budget to pay for the European
:10:23. > :10:30.Union until 2020. The figure they are discussing is 960 billion euros,
:10:30. > :10:38.that works out at 275 euros every year for each taxpayer in the EU. A
:10:38. > :10:45.big chunk of that will go to farmers and fishermen. Let's go to
:10:45. > :10:51.the BBC's Iain Watson in Brussels. Those are the figures. But there
:10:51. > :10:54.are reductions in some parts of this budget for the future?
:10:54. > :11:00.Absolutely right. After a night of negotiations, the leaders went off
:11:00. > :11:05.to freshen up. They were meant to have come back, but there has been
:11:05. > :11:09.a further delay. There are winners and losers when you look at the
:11:09. > :11:13.headings of the expenditure that is being agreed. So many of the newer
:11:13. > :11:17.countries wanted funds to help improve infrastructure, transport,
:11:17. > :11:21.broadband, that will take quite a big hit if what was discussed
:11:21. > :11:25.overnight is finally signed off and some of them are uncomfortable with
:11:25. > :11:29.it. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has called for big
:11:29. > :11:35.cuts in the Brussels bureaucracy. He is getting a lot less there than
:11:35. > :11:39.he wished. There is likely to be a snag over what happens if there is
:11:39. > :11:46.an underspend in the EU budget. Does the money come back to nation
:11:46. > :11:51.states, as some would like? Or does it stay in a wider EU pot? The deal
:11:51. > :11:55.isn't done. But it would mean a real-terms cut. It comes at too
:11:55. > :11:59.high a price for the European Parliament. It is not enough for
:11:59. > :12:03.the 27 leaders to sign this off, the European Parliament has to
:12:03. > :12:13.agree it. The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz,
:12:13. > :12:18.has told us it is totally unacceptable and a con trick. It is
:12:18. > :12:23.possible this deal will be vetoed. Quickly, there is a number of 3%
:12:23. > :12:29.going around suggesting that that is going to be a reduction. Is that
:12:29. > :12:35.right or not? Well, the trouble is you can calculate what you call a
:12:35. > :12:41.reduction in very many different ways. Broadly speaking, yes. What
:12:41. > :12:45.the British Government was asking for was a budget based on 2011
:12:45. > :12:52.figures. Now we are talking about a comparison with the previous seven
:12:52. > :12:58.years. Yes, by any objective measure, there will pwh a real-
:12:58. > :13:05.terms cut. -- will be a real-terms cut. Some are saying it is too high
:13:05. > :13:08.a price to pay. Thank you for trying to unpick what is not fully
:13:08. > :13:18.clear at this moment. Iain Watson there. There will still
:13:18. > :13:21.
:13:21. > :13:25.be more negotiations later. Stay with us. Still to come: Very
:13:25. > :13:35.excited Nigerian football fans preparing for their team playing in
:13:35. > :13:39.
:13:40. > :13:42.the African Cup of Nations Final on How do you fancy a trip into space?
:13:42. > :13:45.Last year, Russia's Space Agency ran a competition inviting
:13:45. > :13:47.applications from all comers. Earlier this week, the successful
:13:47. > :13:53.candidates gathered at Russia's specialist training centre for
:13:53. > :13:57.cosmonauts, just outside Moscow. Things are not going according to
:13:57. > :14:06.plan. Instead of landing in an open field, this Russian spacecraft has
:14:06. > :14:09.This is not real, of course. For years, this sort of survival
:14:09. > :14:12.exercise has been part of a routine training for Russian cosmonauts.
:14:12. > :14:16.What is unusual is that these people here have been selected in
:14:16. > :14:19.an open competition which was announced a year ago by the Russian
:14:19. > :14:26.Space Agency. For years, candidates for Russian space flights had been
:14:26. > :14:31.selected either from the air force or Russian space industry. But this
:14:31. > :14:34.pool of candidates has been shrinking since the nineties. A
:14:34. > :14:41.year ago, the Russian Space Agency opened up the competition, anyone
:14:41. > :14:43.could file an application to possibly become a cosmonaut. In the
:14:43. > :14:48.end, eight people have been selected, most with technical
:14:48. > :14:54.backgrounds or medical knowledge. For at least six years, all of them
:14:54. > :15:01.will train to become cosmonauts. From operating spacecraft, to
:15:01. > :15:04.survival, to medical skills. Later, scientific experiments on the space
:15:04. > :15:09.station. Why do those people want to become cosmonauts?
:15:09. > :15:13.TRANSLATION: This profession to be a cosmonaut is very interesting.
:15:13. > :15:17.From the beginning to the end, when you first learn, to the aim of
:15:17. > :15:27.going into space. I used to do many things which were relevant. So far,
:15:27. > :15:36.I can't say it is too hard. Now, the candidates are looking for
:15:36. > :15:40.a suitable place here to build a teepee. They will spend 48 hours
:15:40. > :15:43.here in the snow, in the middle of the woods. They are still in the
:15:43. > :15:53.early stages of training, they started last October. It will take
:15:53. > :15:53.
:15:53. > :15:56.at least six years to become cosmonauts. We do not know if they
:15:56. > :16:00.will fly into space, but clearly, this way of selecting new
:16:00. > :16:06.candidates is something very new for the Russian Space Agency.
:16:06. > :16:10.This is BBC World News. The latest headlines.
:16:11. > :16:15.Gardens have gathered for the funeral of of June roles of
:16:15. > :16:19.murdered opposition leader. A general strike has been called for.
:16:19. > :16:25.A proposal to cut overall EU spending is on the table in
:16:25. > :16:28.Brussels. Leaders are still negotiating.
:16:28. > :16:31.Now, for mudslinging, mayhem and intrigue, in the latest backstage
:16:31. > :16:34.drama at Russia's Bolshoi Ballet. Three weeks ago, the company's
:16:34. > :16:36.artistic director was seriously injured in an acid attack. Now, a
:16:37. > :16:39.principal dancer has accused the management of conducting a witch
:16:39. > :16:48.hunt to discredit him. Steve Rosenberg has been following events
:16:48. > :16:57.in Moscow. At the Bolshoi this week, they've
:16:57. > :17:05.put on Giselle. It's a story of jealousy, treachery, revenge. But
:17:05. > :17:08.that's nothing compared to the dramas backstage. Nikolai
:17:08. > :17:11.Tsiskaridze is a principal dancer, and currently one of the Bolshoi's
:17:11. > :17:19.biggest stars. He has clashed before with his bosses. Now, he
:17:19. > :17:23.says, the Bolshoi management wants him out.
:17:23. > :17:27.TRANSLATION: It's like being back in the days of Joseph Stalin. They
:17:27. > :17:30.are organising meetings against me, they are trying to force staff to
:17:30. > :17:37.sign a letter to condemn me. They tried that last week. But the
:17:37. > :17:40.ballet teachers have tried refused to sign it.
:17:40. > :17:49.Three weeks ago, the troop's artistic director Sergei Filin was
:17:49. > :17:52.attacked with sulphuric acid. The head of the Bolshoi has accused
:17:52. > :17:54.Nikolai Tsiskaridze of creating an atmosphere of mud-slinging and
:17:55. > :17:58.mayhem which he believes led to the incident. Nikolai Tsiskaridze
:17:58. > :18:04.denies it, and even questions what happened.
:18:04. > :18:10.TRANSLATION: God forbid if it was acid. You wouldn't be able to show
:18:11. > :18:14.yourself for months. I don't know what the substance was, but it is
:18:14. > :18:17.clear it isn't what it was claimed. If you look at the specially
:18:17. > :18:25.commissioned TV shows hinting at my involvement, it looks like a
:18:25. > :18:30.campaign against me. This isn't me. But they won't get away with it.
:18:30. > :18:34.I am speechless. I really don't care what Nikolai thinks about it,
:18:34. > :18:38.I just hope Sergei will be healed as quick as possible, and his
:18:38. > :18:41.eyesight and face, and he will join us, and the Bolshoi will continue
:18:41. > :18:45.to work. Nikolai Tsiskaridze not only dances at the Bolshoi, he
:18:45. > :18:52.teaches there too. But he claims that Sergei Filin had tried to take
:18:52. > :18:57.away his students. TRANSLATION: In December, Sergei
:18:57. > :19:01.asked to see my pupil, Angelina Vorontsova. He told her, if you
:19:01. > :19:05.leave Nikolai, I will give you the part in Swan Lake. Now, all
:19:05. > :19:12.ballerinas dream of dancing Swan Lake. But she refused, and I am
:19:12. > :19:20.grateful for her loyalty. Did you talk to Sergei about this, did you
:19:20. > :19:24.try to convince him? Yes, we met in the lift. I told him, I know what
:19:24. > :19:34.he did. He replied, I didn't do anything of the kind. Come on, I
:19:34. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:37.said, in the Bolshoi, walls have ears, everybody knows everything.
:19:37. > :19:41.Rumour is saying this girl Angelina Vorontsova came to see Sergei
:19:41. > :19:46.asking for the big parts in the big ballets. And Sergei said he does
:19:46. > :19:56.not think she is ready. And if she wants to dance this part, it will
:19:56. > :19:58.
:19:58. > :20:02.be very wise for her to work with Police in Zambia say more than 50
:20:02. > :20:05.people have been killed in a head- on collision between a bus and a
:20:05. > :20:09.lorry. The crash happened at high speed, about 100 kilometres north
:20:09. > :20:15.of the capital Lusaka. It's said to be one of the worst traffic
:20:15. > :20:20.accidents in the country's history. Russell Trott reports.
:20:20. > :20:28.The bus crashed head-on into a small truck, during early morning
:20:28. > :20:32.rush hour. A car was also involved. Local reports speak of dazed
:20:32. > :20:38.survivors, many unconscious, pulled from the wreckage and taken to a
:20:38. > :20:42.hospital. Around 70 people were on board the postal service vehicle
:20:42. > :20:45.travelling along the two lane highway which connects the capital
:20:45. > :20:48.to neighbouring Tanzania. The accident is one of the worst in
:20:48. > :20:55.Zambia in recent years. Official figures show more than 1,000 people
:20:55. > :21:05.are killed on the country's roads every year. As emergency workers
:21:05. > :21:07.recovered the victims' bodies, an investigation is now under way.
:21:07. > :21:10.The referee who controversially sent off Burkina Faso's winger
:21:10. > :21:18.Jonathan Pitroipa, in the Africa Cup of Nationals semi-final on
:21:18. > :21:22.Wednesday, has said he made a wrong decision. With just two days to go
:21:22. > :21:25.to the big match, Focus on Africa's Peter Okwoche has made no secret of
:21:25. > :21:28.his support for Nigeria. And he's been catching up with some fellow
:21:28. > :21:31.fans in Johannesburg, as they gear up for the big day.
:21:31. > :21:34.Football fever it is still very high in Africa, and people are
:21:34. > :21:38.placing bets on the weekend final. Most of the bets are on Nigeria,
:21:38. > :21:48.here I am, in Johannesburg which is heavily populated by Nigerian
:21:48. > :21:53.immigrants. There are Nigerian restaurants, supermarkets. I must
:21:53. > :22:00.confess, I am a Nigerian who had no faith in this team coming into the
:22:00. > :22:05.competition. We had a very young squad with untested players. But
:22:06. > :22:12.they are in the finals. I want to find out how many of them work as
:22:12. > :22:18.sceptical as I was. Emmanuel, I want to start with you. How did you
:22:18. > :22:28.feel about the squad when it was named? Actually, I was not happy
:22:28. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:38.when I heard the players coming in. Because, when I saw the match his
:22:38. > :22:48.progression and I saw their determination. I thought they
:22:48. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:56.should include those other players who have played in England and
:22:56. > :23:03.Spain. What about you, did you have any faith in this team? Yes, I did
:23:03. > :23:13.have faith in the Nigerian team. The manager is doing a great job
:23:13. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:17.grooming future stars. We have to start this as a preparation.
:23:17. > :23:27.think it is right to put locally- based players into a competition by
:23:27. > :23:30.
:23:30. > :23:39.this. We have to look to the future. Brazil 2014. Who will win on the
:23:39. > :23:49.final? Of course, Nigeria. I have that confidence they will bring the
:23:49. > :23:57.
:23:57. > :24:07.cup home. I love your confidence. Let us saying their songs. # Winner,
:24:07. > :24:10.
:24:10. > :24:13.winner! Now, just when you thought it was
:24:13. > :24:16.safe to go into the water. A Brazilian coastal resort which has
:24:16. > :24:19.suffered a series of deadly shark attacks, has resorted to paying
:24:19. > :24:23.fishermen to keep swimmers and surfers safe. 20 people have been
:24:23. > :24:28.killed in the past two decades in shark attacks off the coast of
:24:28. > :24:31.Recife. Now, they're paying fishermen a fee for each shark they
:24:31. > :24:36.catch. Beth Mcleod has more. These waters might look inviting,
:24:36. > :24:39.but only the brave dare take a dip, as this has become one of the most
:24:39. > :24:47.dangerous places in the world to swim. There have been 56 shark
:24:47. > :24:50.attacks in the last 20 years. Of those, 21 have been fatal. Some
:24:50. > :24:56.victims have been fortunate, but suffered serious injuries. Local
:24:56. > :25:04.scientists believe environmental a large port near the city, have
:25:04. > :25:07.disrupted the hunting habits of the sharks. A group of concerned
:25:07. > :25:10.residents, called Propesca, have come up with the controversial
:25:10. > :25:13.scheme. TRANSLATION: We talked to the
:25:13. > :25:17.fishermen about what they can do to save human lives, using humane
:25:17. > :25:22.techniques to kill the sharks. We give them the hooks, and we collect
:25:22. > :25:28.the nets. The group gives the fishermen $130 and a food basket
:25:28. > :25:32.for each catch. As this news report showed, local fishermen have
:25:32. > :25:34.responded enthusiastically. But environmentalists have criticised
:25:34. > :25:39.it, and it has divided opinion among locals.
:25:39. > :25:44.TRANSLATION: I am totally in favour of it, because when we come here,
:25:44. > :25:48.we are afraid of going in the water. And I think this will put me at
:25:48. > :25:54.ease and let me enjoy the beach. am against it, because we are the
:25:54. > :25:57.ones invading their space, and not the other way around. The local
:25:57. > :26:00.government has announced plans to install shark nets in October. But,
:26:00. > :26:10.for many residents who feel the lure of the water, but who worry
:26:10. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:17.about the dangers lurking, that is too long to wait.
:26:17. > :26:22.Let us go and live to the centre of Tunis. Tens of thousands of
:26:22. > :26:32.mourners, gathered in the streets at this mosque, for the funeral of
:26:32. > :26:33.
:26:33. > :26:38.the assassinated opposition leader Chokri Belaid. This shows the level
:26:38. > :26:47.of anger, after he was shot dead, outside his home, as he was leaving
:26:47. > :26:50.for work. The Prime Minister there has described what happened to him