:00:08. > :00:15.Hello, this is BBC World News. Our top stories: nine years after a
:00:16. > :00:20.massive truck bomb killed Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Kerry Reid, the
:00:21. > :00:28.trial of four Hezbollah suspects is underway in The Hague. This was to
:00:29. > :00:38.send a terrifying message and caused panic among the population of Beirut
:00:39. > :00:43.and Lebanon. State media in Egypt say 90% of those who voted approved
:00:44. > :00:46.the new constitution. The head of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, is
:00:47. > :00:51.to face trial in Germany on bribery charges.
:00:52. > :00:53.And fresh hope for people facing blindness, doctors use gene therapy
:00:54. > :01:17.to improve the sight of patients. Hello, everyone. Who killed Rafik
:01:18. > :01:22.Hariri? Nine years after an explosion killed the Prime Minister
:01:23. > :01:29.in Beirut, shock waves still reverberate around the Middle East.
:01:30. > :01:35.Now an unprecedented tribunal has begun its work at The Hague. There
:01:36. > :01:39.are four prime suspects but none will appear in person. They are all
:01:40. > :01:44.being tried in absentia. They are linked to Hezbollah but the military
:01:45. > :01:49.group denies any involvement. It blames Israel for the attack. The
:01:50. > :01:55.BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut sets out the case to find out who killed
:01:56. > :02:00.Rafik Hariri. The moment that changed history for
:02:01. > :02:04.Lebanon. A massive explosion near the Beirut seafront hit the convoy
:02:05. > :02:12.of Rafik Hariri killing him and others. A powerful business tycoon
:02:13. > :02:15.turned politician. Rafik Hariri presided over Lebanon's
:02:16. > :02:20.reconstruction after the Civil War. But in the months before his death,
:02:21. > :02:30.he was increasingly at odds with Syria. Its troops controlled much of
:02:31. > :02:35.Lebanon since 1976. His supporters instinctively blamed Syria for the
:02:36. > :02:41.killing. It triggered massive demonstrations, demanding the
:02:42. > :02:46.withdrawal of Syrian troops. And withdrawal, they did, and a huge
:02:47. > :02:52.international pressure as well, just months after Rafik Hariri's death.
:02:53. > :02:57.Nearly nine years on, the spot where he died has been marked by this
:02:58. > :03:02.memorial, symbolising the explosion that took his life. But for the
:03:03. > :03:05.Lebanese, his death has not been consigned to history. The
:03:06. > :03:09.circumstances which produced it, the struggle between the supporters and
:03:10. > :03:14.opponents of the regime are still very much with us today. Just a few
:03:15. > :03:20.hundred meters from that spot, and less than three weeks ago, another
:03:21. > :03:24.bomb killed a close associate of Rafik Hariri and his political
:03:25. > :03:29.heirs. It is seen as part of a tit for tat vendetta that have seen
:03:30. > :03:35.attacks on Syria's ally Hezbollah as well as its opponents. His
:03:36. > :03:38.assassination we think fits into a familiar pattern in recent Lebanese
:03:39. > :03:45.history. Political assassinations are the norm. He was positioning
:03:46. > :03:52.himself and trying to make the case for a neutralised Lebanon. And he
:03:53. > :04:01.was killed, like many other Lebanese before him for advancing that cause.
:04:02. > :04:04.All five of the accused at the Hague tribunal are associated with
:04:05. > :04:11.Hezbollah, although they are being tried as individuals. But the
:04:12. > :04:15.militant Shi'ite movement has dismissed the trial as part of a
:04:16. > :04:25.conspiracy by Israel to discredit its enemies. TRANSLATION: The aim is
:04:26. > :04:28.to denigrate and demoralise the resistance and at worst to stir up
:04:29. > :04:36.sectarian strife and even civil war in Lebanon. The tribunal is already
:04:37. > :04:42.cost millions of dollars. It could go on for years. But the supporters
:04:43. > :04:47.believe it is all worthwhile, even if nobody ends up behind bars. At
:04:48. > :04:52.the end of the day, we will not allow them to hijack the judicial
:04:53. > :04:55.process. The trial will start. If there is a conviction, that will
:04:56. > :05:00.live with them for the remainder of their life. This is what the
:05:01. > :05:07.Lebanese public are finally waiting to hear, they want to see the
:05:08. > :05:11.justice process and fold. Rafik Hariri's supporters will see any
:05:12. > :05:15.convictions as a moral and political victory, especially if it involves
:05:16. > :05:20.people linked to Hezbollah. That could aggravate tensions further in
:05:21. > :05:24.a country already deeply shaken by the deadly struggle going on next
:05:25. > :05:31.door in Syria. So what are the prospects for this
:05:32. > :05:35.long tribunal? Our BBC Beirut correspondent Carine Torbey is now
:05:36. > :05:39.in the Hague. You have been watching the proceedings this morning and the
:05:40. > :05:44.judge said hundreds of witnesses will be called. What are the
:05:45. > :05:50.prospects? It seems, as you said, this trial will take a really long
:05:51. > :05:54.time. Today, just to give you an idea, the opening statement of the
:05:55. > :05:59.prosecutor's office is still going on and it is expected to last until
:06:00. > :06:03.tomorrow. We will not be able to hear any opening statement from the
:06:04. > :06:09.defence team until Monday and we're just starting. The prosecutor has
:06:10. > :06:15.given a very lengthy presentation about what happened before Rafik
:06:16. > :06:19.Hariri died, on the day, when the Prime Minister of Lebanon died and
:06:20. > :06:25.the aftermath. This was a very distressing account and some members
:06:26. > :06:32.from the victim's families present in the court were brought to tears.
:06:33. > :06:36.Let me ask you about what will not be challenged, whether it will come
:06:37. > :06:41.up at any point, the fact is the former German judge who investigated
:06:42. > :06:46.this for many years, he specifically pointed the finger, not just at
:06:47. > :06:50.Damascus that specifically at President Assad. He made that clear
:06:51. > :07:00.publicly. Is that being put on trial in this tribunal or not? No. What is
:07:01. > :07:08.being put on trial today are four people. This tribunal cannot try a
:07:09. > :07:13.group or an organisation. What is brought in front of the court today
:07:14. > :07:18.is the case of four individuals accused of carrying out these tax.
:07:19. > :07:24.These four individuals are linked to Hezbollah. They are either members
:07:25. > :07:30.of Hezbollah or pro-Hezbollah but there is no link as far as this
:07:31. > :07:36.court is concerned with Hezbollah as a group for the moment. Syria at the
:07:37. > :07:41.moment is not any more on the menu. It was on the menu when they first
:07:42. > :07:47.started investigating this crime in 2005 and 2006. But then the
:07:48. > :07:51.accusation shifted from Syria towards the Hezbollah linked
:07:52. > :07:56.individuals. Thank you joining me live from The Hague.
:07:57. > :08:00.A suicide bomber in northern Lebanon has killed himself and at least four
:08:01. > :08:06.other people. The car bomb detonated near a local government building in
:08:07. > :08:10.Hermel, that is a predominantly Shia town in the northern Bekaa valley,
:08:11. > :08:19.an area regarded as a stronghold for Hezbollah. The attack is the latest
:08:20. > :08:23.in a series. The trial has begun in Japan of a
:08:24. > :08:28.member of the notorious doomsday cult. He is charged with the
:08:29. > :08:33.abduction and murder of a lawyer. The group was responsible for a
:08:34. > :08:36.poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway two decades ago in which 13
:08:37. > :08:42.people died. A UN panel is questioning a senior Vatican envoy
:08:43. > :08:47.about allegations of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergyman.
:08:48. > :08:52.The committee is expected to ask why the church has failed to hand over
:08:53. > :08:56.suspected offenders to the police. Five people have been injured after
:08:57. > :09:01.Israeli aircraft launched a series of raids on parts of the Gaza Strip.
:09:02. > :09:08.They targeted three parliamentary compounds. It came shortly after
:09:09. > :09:12.rockets were fired towards the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The
:09:13. > :09:15.rockets were intercepted. Now to Egypt where counting is well
:09:16. > :09:18.underway following the referendum on the country's proposed new
:09:19. > :09:23.constitution. The military backed authorities are
:09:24. > :09:28.forecasting an overwhelming vote in favour of their plan. But all eyes
:09:29. > :09:33.will be on the turnout figures. The Muslim Brotherhood call for boycott
:09:34. > :09:37.following the ousting last year of President Mohamed Morsi. We can go
:09:38. > :09:41.to the BBC's James Reynolds who joins me from Cairo. The figures
:09:42. > :09:45.were what the military leadership were looking for but what we know
:09:46. > :09:50.about the level and the completeness of the boycott by those whose port
:09:51. > :09:54.the Muslim Brotherhood. Incomplete figures we have at the moment
:09:55. > :10:01.suggest the turnout may be 50 or 55%. If so, that is exactly what the
:10:02. > :10:05.military backed government wanted. It wanted to make sure that the
:10:06. > :10:10.turnout in this particular constitutional referendum was
:10:11. > :10:14.greater than the number of voters who turned out in the previous
:10:15. > :10:18.referendum under the government of Mohamed Morsi which was about 30%.
:10:19. > :10:25.They wanted to show that they were more popular than the previous
:10:26. > :10:28.government. Does this make even more stark differences between the Muslim
:10:29. > :10:32.Brotherhood and their supporters and the military led government and
:10:33. > :10:39.those who support them? I think it does. I think one thing we have
:10:40. > :10:43.learned in Egypt is there are two rival forces, two rival
:10:44. > :10:47.organisations in Egyptian society, the Armed Forces and the Muslim
:10:48. > :10:52.Brotherhood. This particular vote has shown the triumph of the Armed
:10:53. > :10:58.Forces. If you look at the draft constitution the first article
:10:59. > :11:02.suggests that this constitution is the inevitable continuation of the
:11:03. > :11:07.revolution of 2011. Many people believe the constitution marks an
:11:08. > :11:12.end to that revolution and a return to the kind of security state and
:11:13. > :11:18.the rule of the military strongman that Egypt saw in the 1950s and
:11:19. > :11:22.onwards. Does this guarantee a level of stability for Egypt or will this
:11:23. > :11:26.be a catastrophic political move, the kind the Muslim Brotherhood
:11:27. > :11:32.engaged in in November this did months ago which led to Mohamed
:11:33. > :11:37.Morsi being pushed out. No one wins when you try to make predictions
:11:38. > :11:43.about Egypt. Who knew when Mohamed Morsi was elected that he would be
:11:44. > :11:46.out of power a year later. Thank you for that update on the counting in
:11:47. > :11:51.the referendum on the constitution in Egypt.
:11:52. > :11:53.Now to Australia where play has been suspended on the outside courts of
:11:54. > :11:58.the Australian Open tennis tournament because of rain. Matches
:11:59. > :12:02.were originally abandoned when temperatures soared above 43
:12:03. > :12:10.Celsius. Players complained about being on quarter hours in the
:12:11. > :12:13.hottest time of day. Today has definitely been a day when
:12:14. > :12:18.the weather got the better of the tennis at the Australian open and it
:12:19. > :12:22.has been a frustrating day for fans. Play was briefly allowed to resume
:12:23. > :12:28.when we had some respite from the heat. I should say it is still
:12:29. > :12:34.around 39 degrees, 100 Fahrenheit. Now in the evening we have dark
:12:35. > :12:37.clouds and we have heavy rain. It looks like the only play happening
:12:38. > :12:44.this evening will be on the two courts that have retractable roofs
:12:45. > :12:50.which are now covered. What are people making of this in
:12:51. > :12:54.Melbourne and southern Australia? I was just thankful for those tennis
:12:55. > :12:59.players. I don't know how they keep playing. The game that we watched,
:13:00. > :13:03.the player that just rallied back, obviously really struggling with the
:13:04. > :13:07.heat. He did really well to do that. Good on them that they have stopped
:13:08. > :13:12.it so other players don't have to deal with this. They have been
:13:13. > :13:15.talking for the last few days and I think the players were disappointed
:13:16. > :13:21.that they did not and now they finally have so good for them. It
:13:22. > :13:26.has gone beyond that point. The big crowds are not here. For the
:13:27. > :13:31.players, that is important. That is part of their game as well, what
:13:32. > :13:36.they expect. I'm not surprised at all. It is dangerous in the heat for
:13:37. > :13:42.the players. It is not good that they have to play in 44 degrees.
:13:43. > :13:48.Let's move to Germany where a court has said Formula One boss Bernie
:13:49. > :13:53.Ecclestone will go on trial to face charges of bribery and breach of
:13:54. > :14:00.trust, connected to the alleged payment of a $45 million bribe to a
:14:01. > :14:05.German banker. Ecclestone has insisted he did nothing illegal. We
:14:06. > :14:13.can go to the BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin. Bernie Ecclestone has done
:14:14. > :14:17.everything to avoid this day. That is because he thinks he is innocent
:14:18. > :14:24.and he asserts his innocence. It is a consecrated matter. Seven years
:14:25. > :14:29.ago there is not much dispute that Bernie Ecclestone paid a banker $44
:14:30. > :14:34.million. The background to that is the bank the bank work for owned a
:14:35. > :14:40.stake in Formula One that Mr Ecclestone wanted. And the banker,
:14:41. > :14:44.in a trial last year, was guilty of accepting a bribe, of accept that
:14:45. > :14:49.money. When that trial happened, it prompted the question, OK, if one
:14:50. > :14:53.guy has been found guilty and jailed for eight years for accepting the
:14:54. > :14:59.bribe for the payment, what about the person who made the payment, Mr
:15:00. > :15:03.Ecclestone? He maintained during the trial that the payment was simply
:15:04. > :15:10.because he was being threatened that false allegations of his tax affairs
:15:11. > :15:16.were about to be made public by the banker who is now in jail. The court
:15:17. > :15:21.says that is not completely clear, there is a case to answer. That case
:15:22. > :15:26.will be answered, Robert Lee from the end of April and furthermore, Mr
:15:27. > :15:34.Ecclestone, the biggest figure in motor racing will be required to
:15:35. > :15:42.attend. Required to attend, but will he be forced to attend? Of all the
:15:43. > :15:49.countries which have a close legal type, it will be Britain and
:15:50. > :15:54.Germany. As you know, in the European Union, bound by similar
:15:55. > :15:59.legal systems, it does not seem to me to be any way in which he can
:16:00. > :16:15.avoid being compelled to attend, should the German court seek to
:16:16. > :16:22.compel him. Thank you. Still to come, the mystery of why many birds
:16:23. > :16:39.fly in a V-formation. Researchers say they think they have cracked it.
:16:40. > :16:42.This week, as part of a BBC series, we've been speaking to the young
:16:43. > :16:45.members of armed forces around the world. And today we look at South
:16:46. > :16:48.Korea, where military service is compulsory for all men once they
:16:49. > :16:52.turn 18. We asked one young private, Kim Young Hoon, what it's like to
:16:53. > :17:01.face the ever-present threat of North Korea's huge armed forces.
:17:02. > :17:08.TRANSLATION: I am Private first class Kim Young Hoon of the White
:17:09. > :17:13.horse division and I am 20 years old. I've used to be a university
:17:14. > :17:16.student but in South Korea, military service is compulsory for two years
:17:17. > :17:23.and they decided to put my education on hold and joined the Army for
:17:24. > :17:29.months ago. -- four months. At a basic training, I stationed at a
:17:30. > :17:37.front-line units north of Seoul, along the river dividing the two
:17:38. > :17:40.Koreas. There is a security fence as part of the DeMille tries stone,
:17:41. > :17:49.that stretches from the West Coast, all the way to the east, 150, as
:17:50. > :17:53.long. -- 150 kilometres. My mission is to control and defend the border.
:17:54. > :17:56.We are on Judy throughout the night, and we go to bed in the
:17:57. > :18:04.morning. We wake up in the afternoon. The day starts all over
:18:05. > :18:08.again and we resume keeping a watch on the North. On clear day, we
:18:09. > :18:17.concede North Koreans cross the border. -- we can see. Four months
:18:18. > :18:24.ago, we went through combat training at boot camp. We even did a 100
:18:25. > :18:31.quantum March. It was heart, -- had, but think it helped my comrade and I
:18:32. > :18:34.get close together. -- my comrade Sendai come closer together. We all
:18:35. > :18:37.through psychological training. North and South Korea are the same
:18:38. > :18:43.people but the North is also our enemy. Because we are positioned so
:18:44. > :18:48.close to North Korea, directly in front of us, we are trained to
:18:49. > :18:51.respond instantly, and ready to fight any time if the North were to
:18:52. > :19:11.attack. The letters headlines, four men have
:19:12. > :19:16.gone on trial in absence at the Hague, accused of killing the former
:19:17. > :19:21.Lebanese banister, Rafik Hariri. State media in Egypt says the ballot
:19:22. > :19:29.counting the is not referendum so far shows that 90% of those who
:19:30. > :19:32.voted approved a new constitution. The US military has suspended 34
:19:33. > :19:34.officers in charge of operating nuclear missiles, because they're
:19:35. > :19:37.suspected of cheating in proficiency exams. The Air Force believes a
:19:38. > :19:40.small number of officers were texting the answers to other
:19:41. > :19:43.officers. All this emerged during investigations into allegations of
:19:44. > :19:55.drug use at other bases. Beth McLeod reports from Washington.
:19:56. > :19:59.They are entrusted with some of the world's deadliest weapons, but a
:20:00. > :20:01.cheating scandal means that 34 officers will be allowed nowhere
:20:02. > :20:08.near a nuclear launch site for a while. At this Air Force Base in
:20:09. > :20:11.Montana, an officer is accused of having text of the answers for a
:20:12. > :20:16.monthly proficiency test to colleagues. There was cheating that
:20:17. > :20:21.took place with respect to this particular test. Some officers did
:20:22. > :20:25.it. Others apparently knew about it, and it appears that they did
:20:26. > :20:33.nothing or at least not enough to stop it or report it. This is
:20:34. > :20:39.absolutely unacceptable behaviour. And it is completely contrary to our
:20:40. > :20:43.core values in the force. All members of the nuclear Michel
:20:44. > :20:47.force are no resetting the proficiency test under strict
:20:48. > :20:52.supervision. -- the nuclear missile force. All those alleged to have
:20:53. > :20:56.been involved in the ring have been relieved of their duties for the
:20:57. > :21:00.time being. This is the latest in a series of damaging scandals for the
:21:01. > :21:07.force. This one came to light during an investigation into recreational
:21:08. > :21:13.drug use by some here men. -- Perman. Now, why do birds fly in
:21:14. > :21:18.a V-formation? Researchers think they have solved the mystery. They
:21:19. > :21:21.say it is all about saving energy. A team of scientists from the Royal
:21:22. > :21:32.Veterinary College fitted tiny data loggers to a flock of ibises to find
:21:33. > :21:35.out what happens. If you have ever wondered why birds flock in this
:21:36. > :21:38.beautifully symmetrical shape Tom scientists now have an answer. But
:21:39. > :21:43.tracking these birds in flight was only possible next to a conservation
:21:44. > :21:49.team that is training these critically endangered birds to
:21:50. > :21:53.migrate. These are northern ibises, once widespread they have now been
:21:54. > :21:58.wiped out in Europe by hunting. This team is using a micro light to guide
:21:59. > :22:02.the captive birds along their lost migration route. And by fitting data
:22:03. > :22:05.loggers to the ibises, scientists were able to monitor their speed,
:22:06. > :22:10.heading and every single beat of their wings. This revealed that the
:22:11. > :22:15.birds position themselves are fiddly to gain lift from the bird in front.
:22:16. > :22:20.-- positioned themselves perfectly. As the bird flies forward, the area
:22:21. > :22:24.squeezed around the outer edge of the wings, so that it moves upwards
:22:25. > :22:29.at the wing tips. Flying at the wing tip of the bird in front, the bird
:22:30. > :22:33.can save energy, getting a free white -- freeride on the up wash of
:22:34. > :22:37.a. And surprisingly, the birds timed their wing beats to keep the tips of
:22:38. > :22:44.their own wings on this pregnancy here. -- upward moving a. They are
:22:45. > :22:47.up there in the sky, and they are able to sense where the good air is
:22:48. > :22:51.coming from and how to perfectly positioned themselves. From a
:22:52. > :22:56.sensory point of view, it is incredible. It seems the V-formation
:22:57. > :23:00.is an example of just how much we have to learn from nature's
:23:01. > :23:04.energy-saving tactics. And now we know. There is a new
:23:05. > :23:09.treatment for blindness as well, which offers hope for millions with
:23:10. > :23:12.sight problems around the world. It involves injecting genes into the
:23:13. > :23:21.highs. It boosts dying cells that detect light. Pallab Ghosh explains.
:23:22. > :23:28.When Thomson has a rare genetic condition. He was told he will lose
:23:29. > :23:32.his sight within ten years. He is among those who had a pioneering
:23:33. > :23:38.gene therapy operation which BBC News reported two years ago. It has
:23:39. > :23:41.improved his vision. I looked at the night sky and saw stars for the
:23:42. > :23:48.first time in 15 years. That was quite something, the Gazelle was
:23:49. > :23:52.like looking at the night sky. -- because I'd always liked looking.
:23:53. > :23:57.Cells at the back of when's eyes have been dying. The doctors stopped
:23:58. > :24:00.these from dying by injecting working copies of the faulty gene
:24:01. > :24:03.that was causing it. They believe that some of the cells they thought
:24:04. > :24:08.were dead have been revitalised and so improved his vision. The doctors
:24:09. > :24:13.here have been amazed at how much the vision of their patients has
:24:14. > :24:16.improved. They have shown that gene therapy is safe and effective and
:24:17. > :24:20.they believe that it could potentially be used to treat more
:24:21. > :24:27.common forms of blindness. The patients treated so far have a rare
:24:28. > :24:29.genetic condition. More common forms such as age-related blindness, which
:24:30. > :24:36.affects millions worldwide, involve many genes, and so will be more
:24:37. > :24:41.complex to cure with gene therapy. But the doctor in charge believes
:24:42. > :24:44.that it will be possible. We are developing a new technology that
:24:45. > :24:50.involves gene therapy and that new technology, we have shown in our
:24:51. > :24:53.patients, is safe. The printable of what we're doing will be much more
:24:54. > :24:59.broadly applicable to many other patients in the with other types of
:25:00. > :25:01.genetic blindness. When he was first diagnosed, doctors told Wayne he
:25:02. > :25:11.would not see his daughter grow up. Now following the gene therapy, he
:25:12. > :25:14.hopes to see his grandchildren. A senior Vatican envoy has
:25:15. > :25:19.acknowledged that there can be no excuse for child abuse. The
:25:20. > :25:25.Archbishop was speaking at this public hearing, which is being
:25:26. > :25:31.conducted by the United Nations in Geneva. It is into the Catholic
:25:32. > :25:36.Church's response to child abuse allegations. The hearing is by the
:25:37. > :25:42.UN rights of the Child panel and it is being broadcast live on the intra
:25:43. > :25:51.net. You can see their the scale of the hearing. -- the intra net. The
:25:52. > :25:55.UN is outlining what they want to ask the clergy and the UN committee
:25:56. > :25:58.is expected to ask wide ranging questions, mainly about allegations
:25:59. > :26:03.that the Church enabled the sexual abuse of thousands of children by
:26:04. > :26:06.protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims. It is the first
:26:07. > :26:12.time the holy see has been forced to defend itself in public.
:26:13. > :26:18.A warning in Beijing about the level of air pollution. Children and the
:26:19. > :26:22.elderly should stay indoors. It has reached dangerous levels. A
:26:23. > :26:25.monitoring post at the US Embassy said that pollution briefly rose to
:26:26. > :26:31.26 times the level considered safe by the WHO. Severe smog is likely to
:26:32. > :26:36.continue until Friday. And the menus at this hour, the
:26:37. > :26:41.trial opening at the International Tribunal of four men accused of
:26:42. > :26:45.murdering the former Lebanese Prime Minister in February nine years ago.
:26:46. > :26:48.Rafik Hariri was killed by a massive car bomb in the centre of Beirut.
:26:49. > :26:51.The defendants are linked to Hezbollah, they are being tried in
:26:52. > :26:57.absentia because they have not submitted themselves to this
:26:58. > :26:59.operation, and Hezbollah say they do not know where they are. You have
:27:00. > :27:01.been with me, Nik