03/08/2011 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today. In a cage, on a stretcher, Egypt's

former president goes before a Cairo court, accused of corruption

and ordering the killing of protesters. These accusations, I

deny them. I have not committed any such crimes.

The Syrian crackdown goes on, as the UN draws closer to a common

position on Damascus. Solvent and solid. Silvio

Berlusconi delivers an upbeat assessment of Italy's economy, but

government borrowing rates reach record highs.

Britain's hacking scandal spreads. Heather Mills claims a Mirror group

executive told her that messages from Sir Paul McCartney were

intercepted. Not quite the very model of a

modern major festival, but how the fans mark 100 years since the death

Hello and welcome. It has been an unprecedented day for Egypt. The

man who ruled the country for 29 years, Hosni Mubarak, has appeared

in a Cairo court to face charges of corruption and of ordering the

killing of Egyptians. Nearly 850 people died during the uprising

that eventually forced him from power six months ago. Mr Mubarak

heard the charges from an iron cage in the courtroom where he lay on a

hospital stretcher bed, apparently too frail to stand. From Cairo, Jon

Leyne reports on the first major trial of the Arab Spring.

From early-morning they gather outside the courthouse at the

police academy. Protesters and relatives of those killed in the

revolution demand justice and revenge. Clashes are quickly

breaking out and there is anger towards the police and the

opposition do not trust the military either. Even as order was

restored, people here did not believe the military would put on

trial their former commander and president. As they hearing began,

they filed into the caged dock. The two sons. The former interior

minister. Finally, Hosni Mubarak himself. He was brought in on a

stretcher, clearly conscious and fully aware of what was going on.

The judge refused the plea for the 83 year olds to be allowed out of

the hearing on grounds of ill health. The prosecutor read out the

charges. Hosni Mubarak did nothing to prevent attacks on demonstrators,

he said. TRANSLATION: The intention was to

kill the biggest number of protesters. For the first time in

30 years, the former leader was asked to answer for his actions.

TRANSLATION: These accusations, I deny them all. Then, an unpleasant

surprise for the current military leader Field Marshall Tantawi.

Lawyers called for him to testify. So, this is Hosni Mubarak. He was

once powerful, now on a stretcher, in a court room, facing charges

that could lead to the death penalty. The accusation is that the

former President responded to these protests by ordering his men to

open fire. More than 800 protesters were killed. Proving his command

responsibility will be a challenge. This is a moment Egyptians never

believed they would see, their former president, members of his

family and his officials in the dock, in what used to be the police

academy in his name. Certainly, the protesters outside the court were

exhilarated by the spectacle. I saw him, I felt it was the first

step to justice. It is not like they are happy because of what is

happening to him, they are happy that justice came to this country.

The question is, with -- will this heel or reopened Egypt's wounds?

I am joined by an Egyptian journalist who joins me from New

York. How significant is this today in the grand scheme of things for

those who demonstrated for change? It is absolutely significant.

Listening to his voice saying he denies charges gives me goose bumps.

This is something we lost so many lives in Egypt for. This is

something Egypt has been struggling for. Human rights activist, unions,

feminists, everybody who came together to march against his

tyranny, they never thought they would see this day. This is a boost

for everybody in the region. He is a weak man. Does it matter if he is

not present during the trial? question whether he is weak. We get

the weekly update from his solicitor, making it seem like he

was in a coma every two days, when during his years in power, it was a

crime to discuss his health. He comes into court with his hair

freshly dyed. If he wanted public sympathy, he would have gone

further to look frail. It is important for him to hear the

charges and for all tyrants across the region to see him being held

accountable. His lawyers are saying that they would like to speak to

Field Marshall Tantawi. This is a country, Egypt is on a tightrope in

many respects, would it be a good or bad thing for Field Marshall

Tantawi to come to trial? It would be a fantastic thing. I am aware

that we have replaced Hosni Mubarak with a Supreme Council of people

like him. Let us take out their dour -- dirty laundry and air it.

This trial was not a gift from the Supreme Military Council. It is the

people of Egypt who forced the army and military council that runs the

country to put him on trial. He is one of theirs and they are his

friends. They should all be held accountable. That said, it is the

military who are in control. military is in control. I just came

back from Egypt where I spent time in the square with the City in

before it was broken up. -- sit in. This trial is a result of people

pressure. This pressure will continue to remind the military

that when we enter trials, where one civilian leadership and fair

elections. I am confident people pressure will liberate Egypt from

the regime. It is an unique moment for Egypt. It is significant for

other nationalities in the Middle East. In what way? We cannot forget

the suffering of sisters and brothers are in Syria, where they

are continued to be massacred brutally. Revolutionary is watching

this should be thinking, one of these days there President will be

held accountable and face what Hosni Mubarak faces. All of them,

Colonel Gaddafi, the rulers of Saudi Arabia, they must be watching

Hosni Mubarak brought to his knees, in aid cage. They know that the

people of their country can hold people accountable.

Members of the UN Security Council agreed on the wording of a

statement that will condemn the violence in Syria. Reports from

Hama say there are tanks after days of violence that have left 140

people dead. As roadblocks smoulder on the

streets of Hama, the shelling begins again. These pictures are

uploaded to the internet by activists and show the fear of

residence as security forces continued their deadly crackdown.

Residents of the central town have told the BBC that many are fleeing

to villages. Today, about 5am, all communication, land lines, internet,

they had been dropped completely. They started firing and bombs and

tanks in all directions of the city. The government attempts to cut

communications are impossible to verify -- make it impossible to

verify what is going on inside Syria. There are protests in other

places. The unrest is blamed on armed gangs and saboteurs attacking

the troops. But, at the UN Security Council, bet is unease about the

actions of Syria's forces. required balance has not been

achieved in the course of discussions. And in the current

shape and form of the text, it may not play a constructive and

positive role. The confrontations between the President's forces and

protesters calling for freedom and democracy started in March. Still,

survival seems to be the concern of the regime. Any UN Security Council

action is unlikely to have impact on the streets of Syria.

Cocaine with a street rally at of up to $500 million has been found

inside a luxury yacht on the south coast of England. The drugs were

stashed in a secret compartment in a boat headed from the Caribbean to

the Netherlands. Officials say they were so well concealed it took six

days to find them. Six men had been arrested.

The Louise, a luxury yacht with the trappings of a wealthy lifestyle.

The Louise hadn't even -- hidden extra, the largest amount of

cocaine ever seized in the UK. This is what it looks like. 1.2 tonnes.

It was an international law enforcement operation involving

seven countries. This is a global threat and it requires a global

response with trusted Partner ships and for people to rely on the

information and intelligence they are given. It was from Venezuela

that the drugs consignments set sail. It was shipped to the British

Virgin Islands and packed inside Louise, a 65 ft cruiser. This is

where the British and French authorities were tipped off. They

tracked the Louise across the Atlantic. With her cargo she was

transported on a container ship. The next stop was Southampton. She

was going to the Netherlands but the UK became her journey's end

when law enforcement agencies began their search. It was under the

diving platform they eventually located what they had been looking

for. Cocaine and the street value was �300 million. How do you hide

such a large stash of drugs? The smugglers were clever. It took

teams working 12 hours a day six days to find all the cocaine. Often,

smugglers used a false fuel tank to hide the drugs. The Louise had a

false tank, but it was empty. The smugglers hoped to put the

searchers off the scent. But they kept looking for a cocaine, which

was 90% pure. It would have found its way into Europe and around

Europe and back to the UK in large store. We think this would amount

to in terms of street availability something in the region of seven or

eight tons of cut cocaine. This is huge. This will damage. With the

Louise impounded, the owner, his sons and two other men are under

arrest in the Netherlands. Also seized from the Gan were guns and

over 1 million euros in cash. -- gang. Australian police have

freed a young woman after ten hours in which they tried to deal with a

suspected bomb reportedly strapped to her body. Few details have

emerged about the incident in a wealthy Sydney suburb. They said

they were examining the device and the girl was back with her parents.

They said there had been interaction between the girl and

the person who planted the device. NATO is sending hundreds of

additional troops to Kosovo amid tensions over two crossings on its

northern border with Serbia. Hundreds of ethnic Serbs who refuse

to accept the declaration of independence have maintained road

blockades in the area. A rather extreme way of cracking

down on illegal parking. This is the Mayor of Vilnius in a tank

running over a Mercedes. The leader had enough of driver's parking

where they should not, so he and a public relations team took matters

into their own hands. He is an avid cyclist and hopes that by showing

the world how seriously he takes traffic offences there will be less

of them and drivers like that in The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio

Berlusconi, has told the Lower House of Parliament that the

country's economy has a solid foundation and its banks have good

reserves of cattle. He was speaking in Rome following market

speculation that the eurozone debt crisis might spread to Italy and

Spain. Earlier today, the Italian Finance

Minister Giulio Tremonti held an emergency meeting at the eurozone -

- with the routes on German Jean Claude Juncker in Luxembourg, but

details of the talks have not been released. The President of the

European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has also commented, saying

the speculation do not reflect these true state of the Italian and

Spanish economies. In fact, a little while ago, the chair of the

European Commission felt that our market was under pressure and our

banks have also overcome on their own financial crisis. They have

been able to deal with losses on credit which were given a -- gave

rise to the recession. In the last few months they have been able to

get access to capital and sufficient funds to overcome the

stress test. Joy and in me from Rome is David

Lane who is the Italy business and finance correspondent for the

Economist. Do you buy a solve your

Berlusconi's keep Cameron carry on approach? I think it was a

disappointing performance in Parliament. I do not think he put

forward any major ideas that will bring the big change to what is

happening in the Italian economy or in public sector finances. We will

wait to see what the markets tomorrow say. Even the European

Commission President suggesting that Italy and Spain are getting a

raw deal out of the markets. would expect him to say that.

is a fair point. We are looking at a country where the Government has

introduced in austerity plan. Mr Berlusconi says that is an

indication we are moving in the right direction. The banks are

solvent and the economy is sound. The markets have said they do not

believe that story. They believe there should be more austerity and

that not enough is being done to encourage growth. I think that is

one of the major problems with the Italian economy. It has a low

growth rate about 1% and that is not enough to convince the markets,

especially where one is seeing yield of around 6% on Italian bonds.

It is over 6% now. I was going to ask you about that. At what point

do you think the Italians volunteer the Greek trap and have to start

saying, we do need a bail-out? not think they have got to that

point yet. In August, they have cancelled the auction of medium and

long-term bonds. They have decided to do that because taxes are

collected mainly in July and June. They have had such - tax-efficient

revenues and so they have said they will cancel the auction in August.

I must say that I spoke to a senior banker and they say they believe

the Treasury should should have gone through with the auction. It

might be seen as a sign of weakness. Her they might get some idea

tomorrow when the Spanish Government bonds are up for auction.

Spain in not take a similar position in terms of the cost now

of borrowing. Are we looking at some sort of eurozone Armageddon

again? It looks like it. When one looks at the their debt they Italy

had when it joined the eurozone, around 110% of GDP, it is now 120%.

That is twice what was laid out by the treaty. Perhaps Italy should

not have joined the euro. A tiny, - - finally, he is known as a man of

charisma. Could he still be the right man to bring Italy round?

remember that we wrote about Berlusconi more than 10 years ago

that he was unfit to lead Italy. I think that everything that he has

done over the last three years in Government since the firm this

Government in 2080 and what he did between 2001 and 2006, shows away

were fit to write what we did. Here in Britain, more phone hacking

allegations have emerged, this time about the prep -- Mirror Group of

newspapers. Heather Mills has made claims to the BBC that a senior

Mirror Group editorial figure admitted hacking highly sensitive

voice mails left for her by Sir Paul McCartney before they were

married. Heather Mills is a former model,

best known for her four year marriage to Sir Paul McCartney. She

was the subject of tabloid stories for years. Tonight she alleges that

the senior journalist at Mirror Group Newspapers admitted hacking

his voice mail left for her in 2001 by Sir Paul McCartney. She said he

quoted parts of the message, following an argument she had with

her then boyfriend. We had had an argument. If you do anything with

the story because they were private conversations about the issues we

were having as a couple, I said, what would you do? He said, OK. I

did hear it on you're voice messages. I will not run it.

parent company, Trinity Mirror, tonight said in response to the

allegation that its position was clear. That all its journalists

work within the criminal law and the Press Complaints framework. It

was not the then editor Piers Morgan. However, the message in

question appears to be one which Mr Morgan later admitted listening to

any 2006 article in the Daily Mail in which she wrote, at one stage I

was played the message poll have left for heather on her mobile

phone. It was heartbreaking. The couple had had if fight. He sounded

lonely, miserable and desperate and even sang We Can Work It Out into

the answer phone. If her recollection is correct, the

message he listen to had been hacked. And they fell Mirror Group

journalist had tried to use it to get the story. Piers Morgan who now

works for CNN has consistently denied phone hacking or authorising

it. This man worked for the company as a business journalist. He was

later convicted of conspiring inflated share prices. He says the

practice was widespread at the time Heather Mills claims the event took

place. It was an accepted technique for stories. The BBC has also

learned that many people also believe they were hacked by the

Mirror Group. If you like a bit of Gilbert and

Sullivan, you may want to head for Derbyshire in the North of England.

A festival is taking place to mark 100 years since the death of WS

Gilbert. Fans from around the world are taking part and it is just more

than about of that musical blend. It is 150 productions.

We are in Buxton for a celebration of Gilbert and Sullivan. It is

magic. If you like singers and good music and a good laugh. I cannot

think of anywhere else to go. everywhere you go, it is final

rehearsal time. That was HMS Pinafore. This is another HMS

Pinafore. Meanwhile, next door... They are rehearsing his the Mikado.

And here we are backstage for the Yeomen of the Guard. And it is for

the festival director, Ian Smith, a record breaker. How many

productions altogether? The in total in this festival we will have

50 full-scale productions. operas, 2000 costumes and an

audience with high standards. quite nerve-racking. There are

people sitting with scores on their laps, turning the pages as you sing

the song. Which is rather off- putting! I have been here for 18

years. Beautiful theatre. Let me show you the orchestra pit. The

fascinating piece of the Buxton Opera house. On this tour, a

glimpse of the effort and the passion in this the centenary year

of -- of the death of the composer WS Gilbert. It is a wonderful

introduction. And also to English society. And of English Umar. --

English humour. So 50 casts, some young, some not so young. All

nations, are all far operas deeply Victorian and very, very English.

Andy reminder now of her main news: The deposed Egyptian President and

his two sons have pleaded not guilty during their first court

appearance in Cairo on charges of corruption and ordering the killing

of hundreds of demonstrators. That is it from the programme. The

Hello, that was the last of the hot and humid days. Rain will push away

that humidity, bringing the temperature down. Some of the rain

will be on the heavy side. With that rain for tomorrow, heaviest

across southern areas, as much as 25 mm in places. That rain clearing

away from Western Areas with some sunshine following. The rain

pushing further east as we go through the day. This is the

picture for four o'clock in the afternoon. You can see the bright

colours indicating the intense downpours. The rain clearing away

from London at this stage. Behind the rain, brighter skies follow. In

some sunshine, some decent temperatures for the afternoon.

Getting to the low twenties in some places. There will be a fresher

feel to the weather. Still a violent end to the day. -- still a

fine end to the day. 20 degrees and Belfast. The main pushers on to

Northern Scotland where it will be quite heavy. It will hang around as