:00:10. > :00:16.This is BBC World News Today with me, Zeinab Badawi. Renewed pressure
:00:16. > :00:20.on President Asaad of Syria. Britain, France and Germany back
:00:20. > :00:23.Washington's call for him to step down. For the sake of the Syrian
:00:23. > :00:30.people, the time has come for him to step aside and leave this
:00:30. > :00:34.transition to the Syrians themselves. Coordinated attacks on
:00:34. > :00:40.Israel's border with Egypt kill seven. Israel retaliates with
:00:40. > :00:43.deadly air-strikes on the Gaza Strip. Fear of a return to
:00:43. > :00:46.recession grips the financial markets once more, with sharp falls
:00:46. > :00:50.in Europe and the United States. Thousands of Catholic pilgrims
:00:50. > :00:57.welcome Pope Benedict to Madrid for World Youth Day, but the event also
:00:57. > :01:00.attracts protesters. And 20 years since the Moscow coup that ushered
:01:00. > :01:10.in the collapse of the Soviet Union, how much have the daily lives of
:01:10. > :01:20.
:01:20. > :01:23.Welcome to the programme. World leaders united today in their
:01:23. > :01:27.condemnation of President Bashar Al Asaad of Syria and called on him to
:01:27. > :01:31.step down. President Obama accused him of allowing a vicious onslaught
:01:31. > :01:37.of his people. The UN believes that nearly 3,000 people have been
:01:37. > :01:40.killed in Syria in five months of protests. Also today, the UN Human
:01:40. > :01:43.Rights Commission gave a body of evidence of alleged repression by
:01:43. > :01:53.the Syrian authorities which it says could amount to crimes against
:01:53. > :01:55.
:01:55. > :01:57.humanity. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon. Five full
:01:58. > :02:00.months of bloodshed and the Americans have held back for
:02:00. > :02:08.calling for the President to go but they do not know what would come
:02:08. > :02:13.next but now at their patience has cracked and the call has come.
:02:13. > :02:19.people of Syria to serve the Government that respects their
:02:19. > :02:23.dignity, protects their rights and lives up to their aspirations.
:02:23. > :02:29.President Assad is standing in their way. For the sake of the
:02:29. > :02:35.Syrian people, the time has come for him to step aside and leave
:02:35. > :02:39.this transition to the Syrian people. Addressing his party
:02:39. > :02:42.faithful shortly before the announcement from Washington,
:02:42. > :02:46.President Assad said the country would stand firm, however much
:02:46. > :02:51.outside pressure would mount. Now the Americans are really trying to
:02:51. > :02:55.turn the screws. The steps at present a plan announced this
:02:55. > :03:02.morning will further tighten the circle of isolation around the
:03:02. > :03:05.regime. -- that President Obama. It immediately freezes all assets of
:03:05. > :03:09.the government that are subject to American jurisdiction and prohibits
:03:09. > :03:15.American citizens from engaging in any transactions with the
:03:15. > :03:22.government of Syria or investing in that country. These actions strike
:03:22. > :03:26.at the heart of the regime. American steps came as the UN
:03:26. > :03:31.Security Council was preparing to hear a damning human rights report
:03:31. > :03:34.on the Syrian regime's oppressive practices. The report includes
:03:34. > :03:38.evidence that suggests crimes against humanity have been
:03:38. > :03:44.committed in Syria. It recommends that the situation should be
:03:44. > :03:47.referred to the International Criminal Court. All this came,
:03:47. > :03:51.ironically, hours after President Assad said that all military and
:03:52. > :03:57.police action against civilians had ended. Tanks and troops have been
:03:57. > :04:02.pulled out of three trouble spots, including the port city of Latakia.
:04:02. > :04:05.But the regime has plenty of other instruments for ensuring control.
:04:05. > :04:12.The regime comforts itself by encouraging popular demonstrations
:04:12. > :04:17.are support like this one. But the call from Washington for President
:04:17. > :04:20.Assad to go will give fresh heart to protesters. The new sanctions
:04:20. > :04:29.could generate enough pressure to start producing cracks within the
:04:29. > :04:32.regime. But how long that might take is anybody's guess. Joining me
:04:32. > :04:40.from the UN headquarters in New York is Farhan Haq, deputy
:04:40. > :04:42.spokesperson for the UN Secretary General. President Assad apparently
:04:42. > :04:50.tells Bank Ki-Moon that all operations against civilians have
:04:50. > :04:57.been stopped, has Bank Ki-Moon been able to verify that? We have not
:04:57. > :05:00.and the Secretary-General has once again called for all violence and
:05:00. > :05:05.military operations and police operations to be halted and that
:05:05. > :05:09.the same time, what he is calling for is an independent investigation
:05:09. > :05:16.into the killings and violence and we have been trying to get a team
:05:16. > :05:21.for many months from Our Human Rights Office into Syria and we are
:05:21. > :05:25.urging the authorities to allow the team entry and the High
:05:25. > :05:29.Commissioner for Sherman writes for the year when it is going to be
:05:29. > :05:34.briefing the Security Council in the coming hours about a very
:05:34. > :05:38.serious, sombre report prepared by the team even without having gone
:05:38. > :05:41.into Syria. It is based on interviews they could get and on
:05:41. > :05:45.that basis, they are worried and concerned that crimes against
:05:45. > :05:49.humanity might have been committed in recent months. Talk us through
:05:49. > :05:53.the steps, we know they have talked about systematic attacks and abuses
:05:53. > :06:00.of civilians and they have this body of evidence. What happens
:06:00. > :06:09.then? When you say that this should be referred to the ICC? Could
:06:09. > :06:14.President Assad be referred to the ICC? The recommendation in the
:06:14. > :06:17.Human Rights Office report is for the Human Rights Council to urge
:06:17. > :06:22.the Security Council to consider a range of steps including referring
:06:22. > :06:25.the case of Syria to the International Criminal Court and
:06:25. > :06:30.the human rights High Commissioner will be presenting the report in
:06:30. > :06:35.the next few hours and then the Security Council membership can
:06:35. > :06:39.then evaluate whether they want to take up this recommendation. What
:06:39. > :06:44.is your guess? We know that Britain, France and the United States have
:06:44. > :06:49.called on the President to step down, what about Russia and China?
:06:49. > :06:55.Are they elected to create some kind of paralysis? -- are they
:06:55. > :07:00.likely? I do not speak for other countries? There have been
:07:00. > :07:04.divergent opinions on the Security Council, in fact the last action
:07:04. > :07:09.the Security Council took two weeks ago was a presidential statement
:07:09. > :07:14.concerning Syria which took many weeks of negotiation to craft. It
:07:14. > :07:18.is possible it will take some time and the secretary general
:07:18. > :07:21.understands that this might take some time but he does hope that the
:07:22. > :07:31.Security Council can continue to speak with one voice on Syria and
:07:32. > :07:32.
:07:32. > :07:34.can push for an end to violence. Thank you. Rebels in Libya say
:07:34. > :07:39.Colonel Gaddafi is becoming increasingly isolated after forces
:07:39. > :07:44.took full control of two key towns in the capital. The rebels said
:07:44. > :07:51.they have captured captured Garyan, 80 kilometres to the south, Zawiya,
:07:51. > :07:54.50 kilometres to the west, and an oil refinery just outside of Zawiya.
:07:54. > :08:01.The advancing rebels are insisting they'll enter Tripoli by the end of
:08:01. > :08:06.the month. You will get more on this. Matthew Price is there. This
:08:06. > :08:14.is a blow to Colonel Gaddafi, it would seem. What response have we
:08:15. > :08:20.had from the Libyan government? about the same time that the BBC
:08:20. > :08:24.correspondent Rupert Wingfield- Hayes was being driven past the oil
:08:24. > :08:30.refinery and seeing that it was in rebel hands, I was at a press
:08:30. > :08:33.conference in Tripoli being held by the Libyan Prime Minister and he
:08:33. > :08:38.said that the oil refinery is firmly in government hands. I
:08:38. > :08:45.didn't know if that information was out of date or if he was giving us
:08:45. > :08:48.misinformation but it is clear that there is an increasing disconnect
:08:48. > :08:54.between what some of the things that the Libyan government says to
:08:54. > :08:57.us as journalists and some of the facts on the ground as reported by
:08:57. > :09:03.correspondence and reporters not just from the BBC but other
:09:03. > :09:06.organisations to be trust. So why are, the reporting from there is
:09:06. > :09:10.that there are still fighting going on and it sounds like skirmishes
:09:10. > :09:16.from the reports I have read but at the same time it is clear that at
:09:16. > :09:20.the moment, the rebels also have pretty much control of Zawiya and
:09:20. > :09:26.the control the coastal road all the way from triply all the way to
:09:26. > :09:31.Tunisia. -- Tripoli. The Prime Minister insisted that road was in
:09:31. > :09:35.full government control and that clearly is demonstrably not true. I
:09:36. > :09:40.suppose the answer to the question, how is the Government dealing with
:09:40. > :09:43.this, is that it might be in a sense of denial about some of the
:09:43. > :09:46.advances and there is a sense of confusion and one of the things I
:09:46. > :09:52.have picked up on from some government officials in the last
:09:52. > :09:59.couple of days is a sense of nervousness, and that has not been
:09:59. > :10:08.there before. Thank you very much. Matthew on the balance of power
:10:08. > :10:11.tipping away from Colonel Gaddafi. Now some of the other developments.
:10:11. > :10:14.Police in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, have blamed gang rivalry
:10:14. > :10:17.for the killing of at least 39 people since Wednesday. Many of the
:10:17. > :10:20.victims were shot in the head and appear to have been tortured. The
:10:20. > :10:22.violence escalated after gunmen shot dead a leader in the ruling
:10:22. > :10:25.Pakistan Peoples Party, Waja Karim Dad. The Indian anti-corruption
:10:25. > :10:28.campaigner Anna Hazare says he won't leave prison until Friday,
:10:28. > :10:31.despite reaching a deal with the authorities. He will start a 15-day
:10:31. > :10:39.hunger strike that has now been agreed by the authorities. His
:10:39. > :10:42.arrest sparked protests across the country. Here, police in Birmingham
:10:42. > :10:46.say about 20,000 people have turned out for the funerals of three men
:10:46. > :10:50.who were killed during disturbances in the city last week. Haroon Jahan
:10:50. > :11:00.and brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir were hit by a car in the
:11:00. > :11:04.
:11:04. > :11:08.Winson Green area of the city. The when's says the situation in East
:11:08. > :11:13.Africa is becoming desperate with more than 1000 Somalis pouring into
:11:13. > :11:15.Kenya every day. To escape the famine and violence. The UN
:11:15. > :11:19.recognises that more than 12 million people are in urgent need
:11:19. > :11:29.of aid as the famine has spread to the southern parts of the country,
:11:29. > :11:37.seen in the Red Ed area on the map. -- read earlier. They keep coming.
:11:37. > :11:43.Walking for miles, many of their loved ones dying on the way. This
:11:43. > :11:51.huge camp in northern Kenya is their only hope for survival. So
:11:51. > :11:55.crowded, an extension is now being opened. A mother tells her she
:11:55. > :12:03.walked for more than 100 miles. Her two youngest children did not make
:12:03. > :12:06.it. Five of them survived. Britain has pledged more than �100 million
:12:06. > :12:11.and has announced a massive vaccination programme against
:12:11. > :12:19.disease. But the warning is that unless other governments to more to
:12:19. > :12:22.help, up to 400,000 children could die. The decisions we take today,
:12:22. > :12:27.the extent to which the international community can stop
:12:27. > :12:31.that, will become clear in the months ahead. How many of those
:12:31. > :12:37.400,000 will die? We had the power to stop that. The decisions we make
:12:37. > :12:43.will determine the results. There are also new fears that the longer
:12:43. > :12:53.the crisis continues, the more risk of ethnic and tribal rivalries
:12:53. > :12:53.
:12:53. > :13:00.breaking out in the camps. There will be issues of resources like
:13:00. > :13:05.water and basic amenities, so reports of internal fighting and
:13:05. > :13:09.altercations are there. Britain wants a long-term solution. Within
:13:09. > :13:13.its EoN programme, projects are there to hand out seeds for crops
:13:13. > :13:23.that can survive the current climate. And to keep cattle alive
:13:23. > :13:25.
:13:25. > :13:29.so that when the famine ends, these people have some hope. I have been
:13:29. > :13:33.talking to John O'Shea from the Irish relief agency, and he told me
:13:33. > :13:38.that it's very difficult to assess the situation inside Somalia.
:13:38. > :13:42.Everybody connected with this is guessing because we're not there,
:13:42. > :13:49.nobody is inside the provinces in southern Somalia controlled by the
:13:49. > :13:53.terrorists. Everybody is pursuing the situation is ABC. The most
:13:53. > :13:58.educated guesswork suggests that there are 4 million people in this
:13:58. > :14:03.area with no access to food. There is a drought as well. There are no
:14:03. > :14:08.white people, no international aid, nobody getting in with meaningful
:14:08. > :14:14.amounts of food to keep these people live. Starving people can
:14:14. > :14:19.only last for so long. And the photographs and images we see on
:14:19. > :14:22.screens are from the refugee camps of Kenya and Ethiopia, were very
:14:22. > :14:28.brave people have managed to get out of their own country and have
:14:28. > :14:31.reached the relative safety of the refugee camps. However, there is no
:14:31. > :14:36.focus on the 4 million lives hanging by a very slender thread in
:14:36. > :14:40.the southern provinces. The British Government and the chief Cabinet
:14:40. > :14:43.ministers have said we are on the cusp of a disaster and we have the
:14:43. > :14:51.power to prevent that. Who should be doing more? And what should they
:14:51. > :14:55.do? It's a very interesting word, the power, I spoke to Andrew
:14:55. > :15:00.Mitchell, and I regret to say that I failed on this attempt to
:15:00. > :15:05.convince him that the British Government has to exert pressure on
:15:05. > :15:09.the supreme body in this area, the Security Council of the UN, they
:15:09. > :15:13.are or, in my way of thinking, the only body on the globe are supposed
:15:13. > :15:17.to be responsible for vulnerable populations. There are no more
:15:17. > :15:21.vulnerable at the moment than those 4 million people. For some reason,
:15:21. > :15:27.unknown to anybody, the Security Council has not even discussed the
:15:27. > :15:31.tragedy of Sonali. What should they do? Discuss and do what? If they
:15:31. > :15:35.discussed this they must come to the conclusion that they must send
:15:35. > :15:40.in the international peacekeepers who will provide a safe corridor
:15:40. > :15:45.through which the aid committees can then give out aid. But the
:15:45. > :15:51.worst affected people are in those areas controlled by the militants.
:15:51. > :15:56.And it will be very perilous? we allow tourists to set the agenda
:15:56. > :16:02.now. Is the era of Neville Chamberlain back with us? Are we
:16:02. > :16:06.afraid to face back these people? The Kenyans say the refugee camp
:16:06. > :16:10.expected to receive tens of thousands of refugees, at least the
:16:10. > :16:14.International Committee can get to them? They can, if the people
:16:14. > :16:19.inside Somalia can reach the border. We're asking people to walk for 30
:16:19. > :16:23.days without food and water. We're asking the impossible. Many
:16:23. > :16:29.thousands have died already, according to the UN themselves,
:16:29. > :16:33.29,000 people children under the age of five have died. This is high
:16:33. > :16:37.noon for the Security Council. Get off the pot. This is make a
:16:37. > :16:41.decision, do we care sufficiently about the lives of 4 million people
:16:41. > :16:51.or is what is going on in Syria and Libya of such importance that we
:16:51. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :16:56.have to set aside the needs of 4 That was John O'Shea, earlier today,
:16:56. > :17:00.about the famine in East Africa. The border between Israel and Egypt
:17:00. > :17:04.has long been calm. Now there has been a rare co-ordinated strike
:17:04. > :17:08.inside southern Israel by militants. Seven people have been killed in a
:17:08. > :17:14.series of attacks in southern Israel close to the Egyptian border.
:17:14. > :17:18.Gunmen attacked a passenger bus. A military patrol and a private car
:17:18. > :17:21.on desert roads leading to the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Several of the
:17:21. > :17:25.attackers were later killed in a gun battle with Israeli troops.
:17:25. > :17:30.Israel has retaliated with air strikes on the Gaza Strip, where
:17:30. > :17:34.six Palestinians are thought to have died. Let's talk more about
:17:35. > :17:38.this, joining us from Jerusalem is Gil Hoffman, Chief political
:17:38. > :17:42.correspondent and analyst at the newspaper, the Jerusalem Post. Gil
:17:42. > :17:48.Hoffman, tell us how this has been viewed in Israel, because as we
:17:48. > :17:54.said it has been a very calm border. It is very demoralising and quite
:17:54. > :17:57.scary. For 30 years Israel had to worry about the border to the south,
:17:57. > :18:01.where we have problems. To the north, with Hezbollah, we have
:18:01. > :18:06.problems with Gaza but we have had problems with Iraq and Iran in the
:18:06. > :18:10.east but in the south, Egypt, it has been so quiet and calm, 30
:18:10. > :18:15.years of a cold peace and now the Israeli army has to be ready on
:18:15. > :18:18.that border as well. It is quite a large border. It is going to be a
:18:18. > :18:22.significant challenge and coming at a time when we have had a very
:18:22. > :18:26.quiet summer in Israel, it was really a big shock -- a big shock
:18:26. > :18:30.to the system. The Egyptian authorities that have given the
:18:30. > :18:36.Americans assurances they will monitor that border and ensure that
:18:36. > :18:39.there are no security breaches. By you assured by that? Well, the
:18:39. > :18:41.Israeli government and Netanyahu himself just give a press
:18:41. > :18:45.conference, said they are not holding Egyptians responsible, they
:18:45. > :18:51.are holding Hamas responsible. Hamas is in charge of everything
:18:51. > :18:54.that comes out of Gaza. Apparently the terrorists came out of Gaza and
:18:54. > :18:58.when the Prime Minister says they are going to be held responsible,
:18:58. > :19:03.that means there will be retaliation that could be quite
:19:03. > :19:08.significant. Do you suppose we're going to see us rail shift some of
:19:08. > :19:12.its security concerns from the North to the south and does it have
:19:12. > :19:19.the budget, the resources, to do that, because they have been cuts
:19:19. > :19:21.in government spending in Israel? Indeed, there have been cut in
:19:21. > :19:26.spending and yet the defence minister has been very clear that
:19:26. > :19:29.for the moment Mubarak -- from the moment Mubarak fell, Israel has to
:19:29. > :19:34.take into account there could be threats from the south. There have
:19:34. > :19:39.been warnings recently that is why there were additional forces ready
:19:39. > :19:44.there when the attack happened. Now this is going to change the has
:19:44. > :19:51.really Psyche, the Israeli spending, it changes everything. Now we know
:19:51. > :19:55.one of the results, the Arab Spring, there can be another another border
:19:55. > :19:59.where they could be problems. It is developing into a scary summer
:19:59. > :20:02.after the Arab Spring. Gil Hoffman, thank you.
:20:02. > :20:06.The financial markets have been rattled by the economic outlook.
:20:07. > :20:10.There was another day of steep falls on global markets because
:20:10. > :20:15.investors via another downturn in the world economy. The Dow Jones
:20:15. > :20:20.index in New York plunged more than 4% at one stage and there were
:20:20. > :20:22.similar falls in London, Paris and Frankfurt. Let's go to the New York
:20:22. > :20:27.Stock Exchange and our correspondent, Michelle Fleury.
:20:27. > :20:30.Just put these falls we have seen today and a new York -- and I know
:20:30. > :20:35.New York is a couple of hours before it closes, put it into
:20:35. > :20:39.context for it. I was talking to a trader earlier. He said the word in
:20:39. > :20:43.all of this is confident, or lack of it. For whatever reason
:20:43. > :20:47.confidence has led the flora -- has left the floor office trading floor
:20:47. > :20:52.and those around the world. The big concern was that growth will be
:20:52. > :20:57.slower in Europe, in the United States, and there is data out today
:20:57. > :21:00.hear that added fuel to those concerns. We saw weak housing data,
:21:00. > :21:05.a manufacturing report that indicated that confidence in that
:21:05. > :21:11.sector also seems to be dissipating and we are seeing as a result of
:21:11. > :21:14.that all sorts of share prices falling, the price of oil down
:21:14. > :21:17.almost $5 and when people are worried they start pulling their
:21:17. > :21:22.money out of what they perceive to be riskier assets and putting it
:21:22. > :21:26.into safer assets and that has been reflected with the price of gold up
:21:26. > :21:28.around $30 on the day. Another record for the price of gold.
:21:28. > :21:32.Michelle Fleury in New York, thank you.
:21:32. > :21:36.It is a sign of the times that a four-day visit to Catholic Spain by
:21:36. > :21:39.the Pope has been marked by protests. Some people are angry at
:21:39. > :21:43.the cost of the visit during a period of extreme belt-tightening
:21:43. > :21:48.in Spain as a result of austerity measures. Sarah Rainsford has this
:21:48. > :21:55.report from Madrid. As Pope Benedict's plane touched
:21:55. > :21:59.down in Madrid, a crowd was waiting to welcome him. Spain's royal
:21:59. > :22:03.family was there as well. This is a state visit as well as a pastoral
:22:03. > :22:10.one. But above all it is about connecting with young Catholics,
:22:10. > :22:13.insuring the Church has a future. TRANSLATION: I have come here to
:22:13. > :22:16.make thousands of young people from all over the world, Catholics
:22:16. > :22:20.committed to Christ, searching for the truth that will give real
:22:20. > :22:26.meaning to their existence. By come as the successor of Peter, to
:22:26. > :22:31.confirm the more in the face. people lining the Pope's route have
:22:31. > :22:34.come from more than 190 countries to be here. The fact the Pope chose
:22:34. > :22:38.Madrid to host this mass rally reflects his concern at the
:22:38. > :22:46.declining influence of the church here and Spain's rapid
:22:46. > :22:50.secularisation. This crowd say Spain is not secure enough. Their
:22:50. > :22:53.protest against the use of public funds for a papal visit defend --
:22:53. > :22:57.descended into fighting with police on Wednesday night. Fuelling their
:22:57. > :23:04.anger is the fact this lavish four- day event has been staged in the
:23:04. > :23:08.midst of the deepest economic crisis in decades. Today, it is
:23:08. > :23:14.backed a party mood, complete with party nuns. The only clouds on the
:23:14. > :23:17.streets are the pilgrims. -- crowds. It is blisteringly hot but these
:23:17. > :23:20.young Catholics have been on the streets under the sun for hours
:23:20. > :23:24.already. They have come to Madrid from all over the world and are
:23:24. > :23:30.anxious to get the best possible place for their first glimpse of
:23:30. > :23:34.Pope Benedict. Now the Pope has joined the pilgrims, this welcome
:23:34. > :23:42.ceremony is the first in a busy schedule of events. The climaxes a
:23:42. > :23:47.mass on Sunday, when more than one million people are expected.
:23:47. > :23:50.20 years ago this week the course of history was changed. Hardline
:23:50. > :23:54.Communists in Moscow launched a coup against the Soviet leader,
:23:54. > :23:59.Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup failed and within a few months to Soviet
:23:59. > :24:02.Union had collapsed. Our Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg
:24:02. > :24:06.reports on how Russia has changed since the demise of the Soviet
:24:06. > :24:09.empire. When I moved to Moscow 20 years ago
:24:09. > :24:15.this is the street where I lived and worked for stoppages called
:24:15. > :24:20.Novoslobodskaya Ulitsa. Back then it August 1991, the Soviet Union
:24:20. > :24:23.was tearing at the scenes, the economy was in ruins and here and
:24:23. > :24:30.all over Moscow, supermarket shelves were empty of people had to
:24:31. > :24:35.queue for hours just to buy bread, oranges or milk. Today,
:24:35. > :24:40.Novoslobodskaya Ulitsa looks very different. There are coffee shop --
:24:40. > :24:43.shops, sushi restaurants, shopping centres, it is unrecognisable. I am
:24:43. > :24:49.going to find out what people think about the immense changes which
:24:50. > :24:56.have taken place on the street and in their country. At the local
:24:56. > :25:01.health spa for hounds, Dynishka the Yorkie is enjoying a bobble massage.
:25:01. > :25:07.20 years ago Russians were struggling to survive. Today,
:25:07. > :25:13.customers here are spending $120 on canine coiffures. The designer
:25:13. > :25:19.dorgi dresses from Italy are pricier. -- Dr ICES. Now the salon
:25:19. > :25:25.plans to open a branch in London. TRANSLATION: Most of our clients
:25:25. > :25:29.are businessmen, their wives are businessmen, and politicians. More
:25:29. > :25:33.people can afford to bring their pets, so the economy is on the up
:25:33. > :25:36.the stock at the technological university where I used to teach,
:25:37. > :25:41.they are less upbeat. All the students I talked to say they plan
:25:41. > :25:46.to leave Russia. More than one million Russians have done just
:25:46. > :25:51.that in the last three years, seeing better prospects of broad.
:25:51. > :25:54.TRANSLATION: Moscow has become such an expensive city. I think if I go
:25:54. > :26:03.abroad and get a job financially I will be better off. Life will be
:26:03. > :26:07.more interesting away from Russia. One man who stay -- who is staying
:26:07. > :26:12.is Nikolai Swana Deeo. He has been cutting keys for 30 years. As his
:26:12. > :26:16.friend and electricity bills have increased, his income has plummeted.
:26:16. > :26:21.What he earns in a week is barely enough to feed his family. He
:26:21. > :26:27.relies on produce from his vegetable patch to survive.
:26:27. > :26:30.TRANSLATION: When the coup happened in 1991, I collected food and money
:26:30. > :26:36.and took it to the Democrats who were defending the Russian
:26:36. > :26:42.parliament. I regret that now. They should not have destroyed the whole
:26:42. > :26:49.Soviet system. Beauty parlours for Peps and broken dreams. It is like
:26:49. > :26:54.two different pressures on one street. -- Russias.
:26:54. > :26:58.How times have changed in Russia. Let's remind you of the main news
:26:58. > :27:02.story today. The United States, Britain, France and Germany have
:27:02. > :27:05.demanded that President Basharat last -- President Bashar al-Assad
:27:05. > :27:08.of Syria leave office following the violent suppression of street
:27:08. > :27:13.protests against his leadership. It is the first explicit call for --
:27:13. > :27:17.on the West and its allies for him to step down. Mr Obama has frozen
:27:17. > :27:20.all Syrian government assets in the United States and Bob -- and banned
:27:20. > :27:29.oil imports from Syria. That is it from the programme. Next, the
:27:30. > :27:33.weather. From me, Zeinab Badawi, Hello. We have had some very wet
:27:33. > :27:36.weather around today, affecting southern and south-eastern counties
:27:36. > :27:40.of England with localised flooding and heavy showers in the north-east
:27:40. > :27:45.through the night. Tomorrow, very different. More sunshine around and
:27:45. > :27:48.it stays dry. There is below that brought the rain today but through
:27:48. > :27:52.tomorrow, high pressure will build across the UK and that means it is
:27:52. > :27:55.set to be drier and brighter. Mist and fog in the South first thing. A
:27:55. > :27:59.lot of the showers clearing from the north-east. The next weather
:27:59. > :28:03.front will push in from the West introducing cloud and Pacha into
:28:03. > :28:06.Northern Ireland but elsewhere the weather is set fair for Friday and
:28:06. > :28:10.-- for Friday afternoon. The northern England and Midlands,
:28:10. > :28:14.sunny spells. For the southern counties of England, a very
:28:14. > :28:19.different looking day tomorrow. Drier, brighter, more sunshine.
:28:19. > :28:23.Feeling warmer. Highs in the late 20s. The weather is set fair across
:28:23. > :28:28.south-west England. Sunshine continues in the afternoon. After a
:28:28. > :28:30.sunny start in Wales, a little more cloud in the afternoon. It is the
:28:30. > :28:33.Northern Ireland where it will be a bright start but through the
:28:33. > :28:37.afternoon it turns increasingly cloudy with outbreaks of like brain
:28:37. > :28:42.forced -- like rain. Pacha in the Western Islands and for the far
:28:42. > :28:46.west of Scotland. Further East, brighter skies, 19 or 20 Celsius.