09/09/2013 BBC World News

Our top stories: US Secretary of State John Kerry lobbied hard for

air strikes on Syria, saying it is the only way to kick-start

diplomacy. The end to the conflict in Syria requires a political

solution. There is no military solution. We have no illusions about

that. Syria and Russia's foreign ministers urge America to avoid

military action and to work for peace talks instead. Philippine

government forces in a stand-off with rebels after clashes in a

southern port city let chilly left seven people dead. And an Italian

Parliamentary Committee decides if former premier Silvio Berlusconi

will be stripped of his Senate seat after tax fraud conviction.

Hello. The US government is intensifying efforts to win

international and domestic backing for strikes against Syria. The US

secretary of state has met William Hague in London. John Kerry said the

use of chemical weapons was a catastrophe of global proportions

that demanded action. Syria and Iran have admitted that there was a

chemical attack. They just tried to blame it on people that have no

scientific capacity to do this, and where there is no evidence that they

have any of the weaponry to be able to do it. Most importantly, just as

a matter of logic, tell me how they would do it from the centre of the

regime controlled area and put it into their own people? It defies

logic. It defies common sense here. So, the evidence is powerful. The

question for all of us is, what are we going to do about it? Turn our

backs? Have a moment of silence? Where a dictator can, with impunity,

threaten the rest of the world that he is going to palliate for his own

criminal activity because he is being held accountable? We live in a

criminal activity because he is dangerous world as it is, folks. And

that kind of threat is nothing different than the threat that we

face every single day. If we do not stand up to it, we will face more

and they will think they can stand up to it, we will face more

intimidate anybody. I don't believe that we should shine from this

moment. The risk of not acting is greater than the risk of acting.

Everybody needs to stop and think about that hard. William Hague said

Britain may not be able to offer military support, after the motion

was defeated by Parliament. But it is working on other pressing issues

related to Syria. Our objectives and efforts, between the UK and the US,

remain closely aligned in four areas in particular. First, working to

create the conditions for a Geneva 2 process. Secondly, addressing the

desperate humanitarian situation. Third, supporting the moderate

Syrian opposition and saving lives on the ground. Fourth, mustering a

strong international response to the use of chemical weapons. Our

government supports the objective of ensuring there can be no impunity

for the first use of chemical warfare in the 21st century. As an

international community, we must deter further attacks and hold those

responsible for them accountable. In Moscow, Syria's Foreign Minister

that one Mac, that his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Russia is

Syria's main ally. -- Walid Moallem. He warned of an outbreak of

terrorism and a bigger wave of refugees if there were military

strikes against the Assad government. Both foreign ministers

urge to United states to focus on efforts to convene a peace

conference instead. TRANSLATION: We in Syria leave that a political

solution remains the only solution to our crisis. -- believe. If

aggression takes place, we will have a different position. I asked the

BBC's Daniel Sandford how significant the message from both

foreign ministers was. We did not get much of a shift this morning. It

was interesting to see the Syrian and Russian Foreign Minister sitting

down at this trim at the moment in Syria's history and

down at this trim at the moment in saying much, other than restating

their positions. Perhaps the strongest thing that they said was

that they are doing their best to bring about a peaceful solution,

that the United Nations Secretary General is doing his best to do

that, and they are calling on the Americans to be working on peace

rather than preparing for war. Beyond that, they were talking about

the fact that they denied again the chemical weapons attacks were their

responsibility. In fact, they said there had been some earlier chemical

weapons attacks this year. They were very keen that the United Nations

inspectors returned to Syria to investigate the attacks, which they

claim had been effectively ignored investigate the attacks, which they

by the world. There were very insistent that Syria is ready to go

and sit down at peace talks for the so-called Geneva 2 talks. They say

the reason why the talks have not got off the ground is because the

French, British and Americans have been dissuading the Syrian

French, British and Americans have opposition from going to those

talks. That is the allegation. What is your assessment of the strength

and self-confidence in the Russian position now, particularly after

resident Putin was chairing all of those meetings, multilateral or

bilateral, in Saint last Friday and Thursday? -- St Petersburg. They

feel comfortable in terms of their PR strategy. They can say, happily,

we do think that the world is listening. We are pleased with the

decision the British Parliament made. We hope that President Obama

will listen to his own people, who are opposed to military strikes.

That works very well for them. They say they are glad that people around

the world agree with them that military strikes are not the right

option. I think Russia feels comfortable on that. I think the

discomfort comes from the fact that they are seen to be allies with

President Assad's government. And the allegation, of course, from the

Americans is that President Assad's government has been using weapons

against women and children, many of whom subsequently died. That is

obviously still uncomfortable for Russia. As far as the diplomatic

game is concerned, I think it is going very well for them. Meanwhile,

the International Committee of the Red Cross says its work inside Syria

is being impaired by restricted access. The head of the ICRC in

Syria, Magne Barth, spoke to Jeremy Bowen in Damascus. We are able to

do, with Syria, a lot. Particularly huge water programmes, helping 20

million people get water. But, unfortunately, we are not able to do

enough as we should because we lack access, also in places where there

is great suffering. There is no doubt about that. Where would you

like to get to? Some of the places that are most difficult are the

places which are really hot. Fighting is going on, or close to

fighting, where people are displaced. There are many wounded

and people are suffering. Around Damascus, different communities

and people are suffering. Around where we are not getting into. Some

of these places are very tough to get into. Are their civilians there

as well as fighters? There are definitely civilians. It is

difficult to say the numbers, except the because we do not have access.

You cannot measure this. But certainly there are civilians, for a

privacy of reasons. But there are also fighters. Our point is that

civilians have a right to aid. But anybody wounded, whether he is a

soldier, a fighter on the other side, a woman or a child, they have

a genuine right to medical aid. So, both civilians and the wounded have

a right to aid and we would like to bring that. But we are not always

allowed to do it. Who is stopping you? That is a different constraint.

Sometimes it is security constraints. We had a kidnapping a

couple of months back. But then there are sometimes come in this

case, in the east of Damascus, we are not getting the permission the

way that we wanted from the authorities to go in. You are

talking about the government? I am talking about the government, but I

want to make a couple of points. The government also has security

concerns. Sometimes the fighting is so that we cannot go in. And I

respect that. But there are other times, when we have to find space in

a lull in the fighting. If we look on the 21st of August, where both

parties agree there was a chemical attack in Ghouta, there was only the

question of inspectors going in. There was no question of aid. We

were ready to support them, but there was no space. So there are

opportunities. Are you saying that the Syrian government is blocking

access? I am not here to the Syrian government is blocking

characterise anything in particular. I am saying that we are pleading for

access, we have asked to have it, and I am not going to come in public

or private, characterise what the government do. But I am pleading on

them to open up. And the opposition, which controls parts around Western

Aleppo. I hope that things open up. The people that have the guns need

to give space for those that have human aid to do it.

The Philippines, and a group of about 100 Muslim rebels has launched

an attack on the Philippine city of samba languor. Fighters from the

morrow and the liberation front entered the city by boat. They

clashed with naval security forces. -- Moro National Liberation Front.

There are reports that hostages have been taken. Not for the first time,

the residents of Zamboanga woke to the sound of gunfire and the sight

of troops rushing through their streets. The fighting moved into the

city's neighbourhoods, forcing families to free to safety. The

exchanges of fire claimed several victims. TRANSLATION: This man said

that the men took away the family and has he works in. Since signing a

landmark cease-fire agreement, the Philippines government has been

making progress in negotiations with the largest insurgent group, the

MNLF. They are already talking about sharing resources and forms of

autonomy. But there are many other armed groups operating in the

Philippines. The fighters that ended Zamboanga from a rival group that

made peace with the government 17 years ago, but is once again

fighting for complete independence. Our mission is to establish our own

place. But the conclusion of that, we want to establish our own

Zamboanga government. We want independence. Piece in this

chaotic, lawless region has always been an elusive goal. It certainly

chaotic, lawless region has always felt very distant in Zamboanga

today. Italy, where the former Prime

Minister Silvio Berlusconi is battling to avoid being expelled

from Parliament. That is after he was found guilty of tax fraud. The

process could lead to him being stripped of his Senate seat. The

move is proving controversial, especially amongst Jalisco only

supporters. -- Silvio Berlusconi supporters. Let's find out what is

going to happen. What is the process here? We are seeing the start of a

process where the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could be

expelled from office. This colossal figure could be stripped of his

Senate seat, as you say. Through this afternoon, we are expecting a

Senate committee to begin reviewing the law, as it applies, particularly

in his case. The committee could well come in the weeks ahead,

referred this matter to a vote of the full about house, where he is

badly outnumbered. You would expect the vote to go against him. You

might also expect him to fight this all the way, to throw everything he

has into an effort to avoid this expulsion. There is more than just

pride at stake. If he was expelled from Parliament, he would inevitably

become a slightly more marginalised figure, less directly influential.

As I say, everything will go into this fight to stop that happening.

Does he have available any legal or procedural ways of somehow saving

his skin here? He tends to have something up his sleeve. He is often

at his best when the odds seem stacked most highly against him. He

does have a few cards to play. Remember, his party is a major

pillar in the current Italian coalition government. He may be

tempted, as some of his more hawkish followers have suggested, to pull

the plug on that government, bring it crashing down and go for

elections. That could easily backfire. Voters may well blame him

for wanting the country into political chaos at a time when it is

beginning to look like it may start emerging from its economic crisis.

At the moment, at least, he seems to be going that route of trying to

delay the expulsion process. He is appealing to the European Court of

Human Rights and elsewhere, trying to contest the validity of this

law, as it applies in his case. He argues the crime was committed

before the law on expulsion was brought into effect. He says this

law cannot be applied to him retroactively. Still to come: How

Asia's economic giant China sees new business opportunities investing in

Greece is depressed economy. And we analyse speculation that North

Korea's leader is a new father after basketball star describes him as a

good dad. Now to the car workshop whose management is challenging

traditional stereotypes. Women in Senegal have proudly named their own

workshop Women Auto, they want only female mechanics but have had to

hire male colleagues. When she opened her own garage a few years

ago, this woman surprised many in the country. The rise of female

mechanics made it to the news bulletin on national television. Our

final aim is to have female mechanics only but given the last of

sophisticated equipment we still need the physical strength of our

male colleagues to help us. Today with eight female mechanics, as

staff is still dominated by men, but here it is the women who decide who

does what. I have always been attracted to cars. I love driving

and I wanted to show my friends I could be a mechanic. I hope more

women join because there is no problem working with men. What do

women join because there is no the men make of being supervised by

women here, in what is often thought to be a man's world? I think these

girls and women doing this like to be challenged, and they show that

thinking of this is a man's job is not ideal. Women are running the

show here and doing it for themselves.

The Mexican president, Enrique Pena Nieto, has proposed a levy on soft

drinks to help tackle the country's serious obesity problem. Mr Pena

Nieto described it as a health tax for Mexico, which has the second

highest rate of obesity in the world. The measure is part of a

series of social and fiscal reforms. Among the proposals are the

country's first carbon tax and plans to introduce unemployment benefits

and a national pension scheme. The plan needs to be approved by both

houses of the Congress and by a majority of Mexico's states.

houses of the Congress and by a You are with BBC world News. The

headlines: US Secretary of State John Kerry lobbies hard for air

strikes on Syria. In a visit to London, he said it was the only way

to kick-start diplomacy. Russia's Foreign Minister has warned US

military strike could lead to the spread of terrorism.

Norwegians are going to the polls to spread of terrorism.

elect a new parliament. The country's anti-immigration

centre-right opposition is predicted to win. It promises tax cuts,

privatisation and smaller government. It's the first election

since Anders Behring Breivik's attacks on Norway's Labour

government and youth movement two years ago. Catharina Moh reports.

Casting his vote, the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg

remains positive he can win the election, but critics accused him of

squandering Norway's oil revenues. We have shown we are able to take

responsibility for the country. We have the lowest unemployment in

Europe. We have a strong economy and we have been able to improve the

quality of health care and education. The Conservatives damned

good chance of winning, promising to cut taxes. This is her third attempt

and she has steered her party closer to the centre. The four leader is

seen here during the election campaign could clinch a majority

according to the national newspaper. The anti-immigration progress party

would enter government in a coalition for the first time in this

scenario. One of its members included Anders Behring Breivik,

responsible for shooting spree in 2011. In this case, there may be a

minority government. Monday is the official election day and 3.64

million people are eligible to vote. Already more than 800,000 Norwegians

have cast their votes in advance. There is still a chance for Jens

Stoltenberg to remain Prime Minister. Today the Norwegian people

decide on how much change they want. China's growth is slowing. But it

remains the strong eastern economy that everyone is trying to court -

not least, troubled Eurozone members. Greece has suffered most

from the financial crisis. The economy has shrunk by a quarter. But

Chinese investment in Greece and the exchange between the two countries

is growing. Is China coming to Greece's rescue? From Athens, the

BBC's Mark Lowen. At this southern Greek port, the Chinese are in the

driving seat. China's date shipping company paid 500 million euros for

this terminal, building new equipment. It gives China a key

access point to Europe. This is a business chance. China is interested

in a business opportunity here? Yes, sure. Until now we are successful

here. Greece's rushed to privatise has attracted the Chinese. China has

arrived as Greece is on its knees, desperate for foreign investment.

European companies are still wary of this country so it has left the

field clear to the emerging economies of the east. They can now

get a foothold on very favourable terms. But it works both ways, this

drinks factory has tripled its exports by sales to China. Other

businesses are following but they are still dwarfed by Chinese exports

here. With the market reduction, Greek companies have a great chance

to make a big effort to enter new markets, and China should be one of

the first choices. Our company has done this and I believe other

companies can do this as well. Greeks see opportunities in China

that they lack a year. Eight years ago Chinese was a niche offering at

this school, now it is the second most popular. We hear about Chinese

investments in Greece all the time, and I think that is why so many

young people learn Chinese. We hope we can get a job and use the Chinese

we learn. The Greeks will probably find work here in two years but with

the Chinese language this is a really important assets because in

that way we will have their way out of the country and probably work

abroad. Beneath the Acropolis, another growing exchange. Chinese

tourists rose last year by 25%. Today these two ancient nations are

at opposite ends of the economic spectrum and the sick man of Europe

is turning to the Asian tiger in its hour of need.

Does the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un have a baby daughter?

According to US basketball star Dennis Rodman he does. The American

sportsman met Kim Jong-Un last week on his second visit to the north.

Kim's wife Ri Sol had appeared to be pregnant in pictures issued last

year by North Korea's state news agency. But there has been no

official confirmation of a birth. Dennis Rodman seems to be the only

one who says he has held the baby. He says it is a baby daughter and he

spent a long time chatting with Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol, and

playing with their infant. He confirmed the rumours. You mentioned

the pictures of Ri Sol when she was pregnant and the press went crazy

speculating, and now it seems we have the first eyewitness statement.

Should we assume that having a baby daughter is a state secret? There

has been so much speculation about daughter is a state secret? There

the status of Kim Jong-un's family. There is speculation they have a

baby already, but whether that is true he has certainly taken a

different approach from his father and grandfather in terms of showing

his family to the public. It is rare for a North Korean wife to be

photographed and videoed on the state news agency as Ri Sol

has-been. He has shown himself to be more willing to be a public first

family if you like so it may well be that we will see more of this kind

of thing. It should also be said that here there is speculation about

whether a baby daughter would have any kind of impact on a future

succession. There have been three generations of the Kim family now,

all of them men, will adore to qualify? Thieves have escaped with

more than a million euros worth of jewellery after crashing their car

through the front of a shop in central Paris. It's the latest heist

in France. It follows a spate of high-profile robberies in the

southern resort of Cannes. Police say the men drove a large