Browse content similar to 28/10/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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This is BBC World News Today. An historical agreement at the | :00:14. | :00:16. | |
Commonwealth summit gives women the same succession rights as men, | :00:16. | :00:21. | |
overturning centuries of Royal tradition here in the UK. Symbolism | :00:21. | :00:26. | |
or an agent of real change? Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess | :00:26. | :00:30. | |
of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be | :00:30. | :00:35. | |
our Queen. Heavily indebted Europe goes cap in | :00:35. | :00:39. | |
hand to booming Beijing for help with its bailout fund. | :00:39. | :00:43. | |
Ireland is on course to elect a new president - Michael Higgins. We | :00:43. | :00:47. | |
look at who he is and what difference he might make to the | :00:47. | :00:57. | |
:00:57. | :01:01. | ||
country. Also coming up. Alive at Heathrow | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
airport. We seek the busiest airport through the eyes of his | :01:05. | :01:09. | |
residence author. Lifting the curtain after a | :01:09. | :01:19. | |
:01:19. | :01:20. | ||
facelift, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow reopens. | :01:20. | :01:29. | |
Hello and welcome. It has been talked about for a long time, and | :01:29. | :01:34. | |
for many it is overdue. Leaders at the Commonwealth meeting in Perth, | :01:34. | :01:41. | |
Australia have agreed that a male can overthrow an older female to | :01:41. | :01:47. | |
the heir to the British throne. Or we will be asking a leading women's | :01:47. | :01:52. | |
rights campaigner to see if this will make a difference worldwide. | :01:52. | :01:57. | |
First, Duncan Kennedy is at the summit in Perth. | :01:57. | :02:00. | |
With 2 billion people under its umbrella, the Commonwealth in | :02:00. | :02:05. | |
theory should be one of the world's biggest institutions. But it rarely | :02:05. | :02:09. | |
makes the news. Now though with the announcement of changes to the | :02:09. | :02:13. | |
British monarchy, this meeting could be different. It might not be | :02:13. | :02:19. | |
the only subject under discussion, but it is the one making headlines. | :02:19. | :02:23. | |
For a few moments, the Commonwealth leaders are looked like contestants | :02:23. | :02:33. | |
:02:33. | :02:34. | ||
in a reality show. Some appeared a little uncomfortable - hardly X | :02:34. | :02:41. | |
Factor. All such gatherings have an Olympic style opening ceremony. The | :02:41. | :02:46. | |
political leaders sat with the queen ahead of their detailed | :02:46. | :02:51. | |
discussions on a range of subjects. For the 16 nations are were the | :02:51. | :02:55. | |
Queen is head of state, it was changes to the rules of succession | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
in Britain's Royal Family, and an announcement reversing years of | :02:59. | :03:05. | |
tradition and history. We will end of the male rule so that in future | :03:05. | :03:09. | |
the order of succession should be determined simply by the order of | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
birth. We have agreed to introduce this fall descendants from the | :03:13. | :03:18. | |
Prince of Wales. Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were | :03:18. | :03:24. | |
to have a little girl, that goal would one day be our Queen. | :03:24. | :03:29. | |
The Queen has given her approval to all the changes, her speech focused | :03:29. | :03:36. | |
on friendship and the future. conclude with an Aboriginal proverb | :03:37. | :03:44. | |
which is itself ensuring. We are all visitors to this time, this | :03:44. | :03:53. | |
place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observed, to | :03:53. | :04:03. | |
:04:03. | :04:04. | ||
learn, to grow, to love. And then we return home. Outside, reforms to | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
the British monarchy were of little interest to the 1,500 demonstrated | :04:08. | :04:12. | |
to protested peacefully in nearby streets. They were more concerned | :04:12. | :04:17. | |
with Commonwealth decisions on gay rights, climate change and human | :04:17. | :04:26. | |
rights abuses in Sri Lanka. I am protesting about the Tamil Tiger | :04:26. | :04:31. | |
civilians in Sri Lanka. There have been some calls for Sri Lanka to be | :04:31. | :04:37. | |
shanked -- sanctions over alleged war crimes. But for an organisation | :04:37. | :04:41. | |
that operates through consensus, they limited themselves to | :04:41. | :04:47. | |
political pressure. We have said clearly we believe Sri Lanka needs | :04:47. | :04:51. | |
to its lessons learnt and reconciliation process to address | :04:51. | :04:55. | |
these claims of human rights abuses and in particular needs to deal | :04:55. | :05:00. | |
directly with the work of the un advisory panel. The leaders are | :05:00. | :05:03. | |
already discussing reforms to the Commonwealth itself, which some | :05:03. | :05:09. | |
believe is in danger of becoming a relevance in a world dominated by a | :05:09. | :05:13. | |
G20, European unions and the United Nations. The thinking goes it has | :05:13. | :05:17. | |
been years since the Commonwealth have any real impact on world | :05:17. | :05:22. | |
affairs. You have to go back to the years of its involvement in ending | :05:22. | :05:27. | |
apartheid in South Africa. That might be a little unfair, but it | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
can seem more like a club than a body for decisive action. Changing | :05:31. | :05:41. | |
:05:41. | :05:48. | ||
the rules on loyalty is one thing, but political substance is another. | :05:48. | :05:53. | |
In another sign as China's emergence as a global power, the | :05:53. | :06:00. | |
head of the European bale-out crisis has visited. It has been | :06:00. | :06:05. | |
agreed the EU funds should be expanded to one trillion Euros. | :06:05. | :06:10. | |
China said it is willing to help out but only if the likes of India, | :06:10. | :06:16. | |
Brazil chip in. In its hour of need, it is to China | :06:16. | :06:21. | |
Europe is turning. The debt ridden West looking to the cash rich East. | :06:21. | :06:25. | |
Just 24 hours after Europe's latest attempt to stave off the crisis, | :06:25. | :06:31. | |
the head of the EU bail-out fund is here hoping to persuade China that | :06:31. | :06:39. | |
Europe is an investment worth making. There is a need for | :06:39. | :06:44. | |
investment. It is also my experience talking to the Chinese | :06:44. | :06:50. | |
authorities that they are interested to finding, attractive, | :06:50. | :06:54. | |
solid, safe investment opportunities. China has the | :06:54. | :07:00. | |
world's biggest foreign exchange reserves, 3.22 trillion dollars | :07:00. | :07:04. | |
worth. Another $99 billion were added in the first six months of | :07:04. | :07:09. | |
this year. Today, China were hinting they would won concessions | :07:09. | :07:14. | |
if they alone money to Europe. TRANSLATION: They should be less | :07:14. | :07:19. | |
old prejudice and we should deal with facts and objectives. So we | :07:19. | :07:23. | |
can walk out of the shadows of the past. | :07:23. | :07:27. | |
It is China's mighty export machine selling products across the world | :07:27. | :07:32. | |
that earns the country sums in foreign exchange. And many feel | :07:32. | :07:37. | |
China should attach conditions to its cash, the way Western countries | :07:38. | :07:43. | |
always used to, economic and political. For all the landings | :07:43. | :07:53. | |
:07:53. | :07:56. | ||
that originated from the West, there were conditions. Other | :07:56. | :08:00. | |
demands a might be Europe stops criticising China on human rights, | :08:00. | :08:04. | |
or it lifts the arms embargo, in place since the Tiananmen Square | :08:04. | :08:10. | |
massacre. China feels in a powerful position, Europe needs capital for | :08:10. | :08:18. | |
its Government and return to growth. China has plenty of money. | :08:18. | :08:23. | |
Thousands of residents are fleeing the Thailand capital, Bangkok which | :08:24. | :08:27. | |
is being threatened by severe flooding. The main river has risen | :08:27. | :08:33. | |
to record highs and is expected to burst its banks this weekend. More | :08:33. | :08:38. | |
than 360 people have died in the worst floods in Thailand in decades. | :08:38. | :08:42. | |
This satellite image is showing how Bangkok city centre is now almost | :08:42. | :08:50. | |
completely surrounded by water. The swollen Chao Phraya River, | :08:50. | :08:56. | |
snaking its way through Bangkok. The end of a road bridge already | :08:56. | :09:01. | |
submerged. This is before the peak of the predicted high tides. | :09:01. | :09:06. | |
Unsurprising then, people are trying to leave. Another district | :09:06. | :09:11. | |
of the nation's capital city being abandoned. Not entirely, this man | :09:11. | :09:18. | |
says he plans to stay, at least for now. I will stay here. We have an | :09:19. | :09:24. | |
old man and a big family. Deeper inside this riverside community, | :09:24. | :09:29. | |
another family tries to hang on. But it is getting harder every day, | :09:29. | :09:34. | |
supplies are running low. TRANSLATION: People are hoarding | :09:34. | :09:38. | |
food, there is nothing left. I tried to get food from the market | :09:38. | :09:43. | |
but there was nothing there. The flow of people escaping the | :09:43. | :09:48. | |
water is gaining pace. These people have just been dropped off on the | :09:48. | :09:53. | |
bridge with their belongings. They have had to move. This is a second | :09:53. | :09:57. | |
time we have -- they have been evacuated. They said they came from | :09:57. | :10:01. | |
the province of Nonthaburi. They left their three weeks ago when the | :10:01. | :10:05. | |
water came. Then they moved to the other side of the bridge to stay | :10:05. | :10:09. | |
with relatives. They thought they would be safe. Now they have to | :10:09. | :10:15. | |
move again, taking their belongings with them. In Bangkok's northern | :10:15. | :10:19. | |
suburbs, a second front in the battle to control the deluge. | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
Billions of cubic metres of floodwater are on the move. And | :10:23. | :10:29. | |
inexperience Prime Minister is under huge pressure. This crisis is | :10:29. | :10:34. | |
unprecedented she says, so let's not have any political wrangling. | :10:34. | :10:39. | |
There are more pressing concerns. The tide is rising, the floodwater | :10:39. | :10:49. | |
:10:49. | :10:49. | ||
is advancing. This weekend could prove to be decisive. | :10:49. | :10:53. | |
Let's take a look at some other news. The International Criminal | :10:53. | :10:58. | |
Court in the Hague says it has had indirect contact with Colonel | :10:58. | :11:01. | |
Gaddafi's son, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi about his possible | :11:01. | :11:07. | |
surrender. He is wanted for crimes against humanity. The ICC chief | :11:07. | :11:10. | |
prosecutor said if Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi surrendered he would be | :11:10. | :11:15. | |
given the chance to defend himself in court. NATO's says its | :11:15. | :11:20. | |
operations over Libya will end on Monday from midnight local time. In | :11:20. | :11:24. | |
seven months they have flown more than 26,000 sorties, three-quarters | :11:24. | :11:30. | |
of them by European forces. The NATO general secretary said it | :11:30. | :11:33. | |
would have been impossible without US support. | :11:33. | :11:37. | |
In Syria, activists say at least 37 people were killed on Friday as | :11:37. | :11:40. | |
protesters took to the streets to demand a no-fly zone over the | :11:40. | :11:47. | |
country. More than 3,000 people have died in the unrest since | :11:47. | :11:52. | |
protests broke out in March. New research says a daily dose of | :11:52. | :11:55. | |
aspirin could lower the risk of bowel cancer for people with a | :11:55. | :12:00. | |
family history of the disease. The international study published in | :12:00. | :12:04. | |
the Lancet saw cases of bowel cancer dropped by 60% a month | :12:04. | :12:08. | |
patients who took two aspirins a day for two years. | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
Nasa has launched a new weather satellite aimed at measuring the | :12:12. | :12:17. | |
long-term effects of climate change. The 1.5 billion dollar Polar | :12:17. | :12:22. | |
Satellite will track atmospheric ozone and dust levels, measure sea | :12:22. | :12:28. | |
and land surface temperatures and measure glaciers around the world. | :12:28. | :12:32. | |
Ireland looks set to elect as 70- year-old former arts minister, | :12:32. | :12:36. | |
Michael D Higgins as its next president. Counting is still under | :12:36. | :12:40. | |
way but the run-up has already conceded defeat. The seven | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
candidates ran for the largest ceremonial post. Martin McGuinness, | :12:44. | :12:51. | |
who had generated controversy by running, is expected to come third. | :12:51. | :12:59. | |
Let's cross to the London editor of the Irish Times, Mark Hennessy. In | :12:59. | :13:03. | |
race that was remarkable for the colourful candidates who were | :13:03. | :13:08. | |
standing? The TV presenter, a former Eurovision Song Contest | :13:08. | :13:13. | |
winner, Michael Higgins expected? If this election had taken place | :13:13. | :13:18. | |
last Monday, Shaun Gallagher, who conceded defeat tonight would | :13:18. | :13:24. | |
almost certainly have won. All the opinion polls had put him on 40%. | :13:24. | :13:27. | |
But after a disastrous TV performance with his links with | :13:27. | :13:35. | |
Fianna Fail, was thrown out unceremoniously, emerged he had | :13:35. | :13:39. | |
raised money for Fianna Fail. Nothing illegal in that but he had | :13:39. | :13:44. | |
attempted during this campaign to downplay his links with Fianna Fail. | :13:44. | :13:48. | |
When that story came out at the hands of Martin McGuinness, it | :13:48. | :13:53. | |
effectively decided the campaign. The exit polls tonight indicate one | :13:53. | :13:59. | |
quarter of those who voted today, voted yesterday changed their minds | :13:59. | :14:04. | |
in the last few days of the campaign and it went entirely from | :14:04. | :14:08. | |
Gallacher to Michael D Higgins of Labour. Michael D Higgins, tell us | :14:08. | :14:14. | |
a bit about him. I know he was born in poverty, Limerick, the first of | :14:14. | :14:18. | |
his family to go to universities. Known for his human rights | :14:18. | :14:21. | |
campaigning and that kind of thing. What kind of President will he | :14:21. | :14:27. | |
make? He is a colourful individuals. He was arts minister during the | :14:27. | :14:33. | |
1990s. He brought in some major changes that helped to boot -- | :14:33. | :14:38. | |
boost the Irish film industry. Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart | :14:38. | :14:41. | |
and other blockbuster movies of that period were produced in | :14:42. | :14:46. | |
Ireland last Lee on the strength of the actions he took. He was a great | :14:46. | :14:51. | |
favourite of many people in Hollywood. Steven Spielberg and | :14:51. | :14:56. | |
others have time for him. He is somebody, as you say, had a long | :14:56. | :15:00. | |
connection with the human rights issues. He was involved in the | :15:00. | :15:04. | |
1980s, criticising the American Government for its role in Latin | :15:04. | :15:14. | |
America. During the campaign he played it very cautiously. He was | :15:14. | :15:20. | |
somebody who was seen coming inwards a quarter of the vote and | :15:20. | :15:23. | |
would have been dependent on transfers in the normal course of | :15:23. | :15:27. | |
events if the Gallagher troubles have not erupted. He is somebody | :15:27. | :15:32. | |
who is known by his Christian name, he is one of those rare politicians | :15:32. | :15:35. | |
who has that connection with voters. There have been an issue during the | :15:35. | :15:42. | |
campaign about his health. He had an operation last year. If the | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
problems in the Gallagher campaign have not surfaced he would have had | :15:45. | :15:50. | |
a more difficult task. Does it matter who is President of Ireland? | :15:50. | :15:59. | |
Is he likely to make a difference in any way? The job is important | :15:59. | :16:04. | |
ceremonially, and you have seen with Mary Michael East and Mary | :16:04. | :16:08. | |
Robinson for that person to gain international stature. It would be | :16:08. | :16:13. | |
expected he would be attending to achieve something similar. Not of | :16:13. | :16:18. | |
the same vigour as his two predecessors because of his age and | :16:18. | :16:22. | |
health. But he would be expected to Ghana an international profile. It | :16:22. | :16:26. | |
is one of the reasons Irish voters went for him in the end. People | :16:26. | :16:31. | |
were keen on this issue of honesty, trust and probity and also the | :16:31. | :16:34. | |
ability of the holder of that office to portray a positive image | :16:35. | :16:43. | |
of the country abroad. Mark Hennessy from the Irish Times fans | :16:43. | :16:52. | |
And back to the top story - the historical agreement taken in | :16:52. | :16:55. | |
Australia which means that the males will now have equal rights | :16:55. | :16:59. | |
with males when it comes to succession. That has an impact on | :16:59. | :17:05. | |
the succession in the Royal Family here in the UK. Is this going to | :17:05. | :17:11. | |
have a wider implication, or as a just symbolism? We have a political | :17:11. | :17:14. | |
journalist and campaigner with us who advises the government on | :17:14. | :17:20. | |
gender equality. Lesley, is it just symbolic, or could it be an agent | :17:20. | :17:27. | |
for change? It is symbolic and symbolism is important. Anything | :17:27. | :17:31. | |
that says that men and women should be guided equally has to be good. | :17:31. | :17:35. | |
Personally I would do away with the monarchy. That is another story. | :17:35. | :17:39. | |
Talking of the monarchy, the Queen so is it encourages us to get girls | :17:39. | :17:44. | |
and women to play their full part, their full role. I think most women | :17:44. | :17:48. | |
would love to do that. But many countries, including our own, there | :17:48. | :17:58. | |
:17:58. | :17:58. | ||
are obstacles in the way. It is symbolic and anything that moves | :17:58. | :18:03. | |
another obstacle that stops women being valued less than men - and | :18:03. | :18:06. | |
goodness knows we know how many babies people get rid of because | :18:06. | :18:16. | |
:18:16. | :18:22. | ||
they think they just want a boy - is a small step forward for | :18:22. | :18:27. | |
womankind. Any small step forward is worth it. You have been working | :18:27. | :18:31. | |
for many years fighting against gender discrimination and ensuring | :18:31. | :18:36. | |
women can play a role. Do you know how long it took to get this step? | :18:36. | :18:41. | |
I was looking it up... It was Macmillan, or somebody way back in | :18:41. | :18:49. | |
the 1950s, they first talked about this change. So it has taken how | :18:49. | :18:53. | |
long? It was the Royal Wedding that made people think she might have a | :18:53. | :19:00. | |
child soon, there was the catalyst. I think it was. Four Marks on this | :19:01. | :19:08. | |
one to David Cameron. -- full marks. He seems to have run with it and | :19:08. | :19:13. | |
done it. On this occasion, full marks to the Prime Minister! I do | :19:13. | :19:18. | |
not think I have ever said that about a Prime Minister. And with a | :19:18. | :19:21. | |
smile! A little victories, but I would like to see more important | :19:21. | :19:28. | |
ones. Thank you for talking to us. London's Heathrow Airport is one of | :19:28. | :19:30. | |
the world's busiest hubs. Every year around 75 million passengers | :19:30. | :19:33. | |
pass through Heathrow. Well, early this year one passenger decided to | :19:33. | :19:36. | |
stay a little longer than most. The British writer Tony Parsons stayed | :19:36. | :19:40. | |
for a week and took up post as writer in residence. He came up | :19:40. | :19:42. | |
with a collection called Departures: Seven Stories from | :19:42. | :19:44. | |
Heathrow. In a moment we'll hear about his experiences, first here's | :19:44. | :19:54. | |
:19:54. | :20:06. | ||
Tony Parsons reading from one of The airport never really slept, the | :20:06. | :20:12. | |
pilot thought, it only closed its eyes and waited for the dawn. It | :20:12. | :20:17. | |
was late when he arrived back at Terminal 5, so late that they would | :20:17. | :20:22. | |
be no more flight until the early arrivals from East Asia, they | :20:22. | :20:26. | |
started landing just before dawn. But there were people sleeping at | :20:26. | :20:32. | |
the terminal, suitcases by their side, rucksacks for a pillow. They | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
all looked like they were too late, or too early for their flight. | :20:36. | :20:41. | |
Though the pilot knew that the police always watched for fake | :20:41. | :20:46. | |
travellers, people who preferred sleeping inside the climate | :20:46. | :20:48. | |
controlled Richard Rogers architecture rather than on the | :20:49. | :20:58. | |
streets of the city. That was Tony Parsons and a short time ago he | :20:58. | :21:03. | |
came to give us some more observations from behind the scenes. | :21:03. | :21:07. | |
It was all surprising, I was amazed that when I walked into the air | :21:07. | :21:12. | |
traffic control tower I expected all the controllers to looked like | :21:12. | :21:16. | |
old gentleman, but they are all these kids, these young kids in | :21:16. | :21:23. | |
their twenties in cargo shorts and T-shirts. Your stories draw on the | :21:23. | :21:27. | |
kind of events you saw at Heathrow, immigration officers who had heard | :21:27. | :21:31. | |
all the tales before, the animals people tried to smuggle in and have | :21:31. | :21:37. | |
to be looked after by a staff. Heathrow and a more reception | :21:37. | :21:41. | |
centre is really the true London Zoo, because every creature passes | :21:41. | :21:47. | |
through. Everything you can imagine, and plenty you cannot imagine. I | :21:47. | :21:56. | |
saw white lion cubs, Argentinian polo ponies, things... Ponies?! | :21:56. | :22:00. | |
People bringing them in legitimately to play polo! It was | :22:00. | :22:04. | |
above board. But you get nutcases coming back from Las Vegas have | :22:04. | :22:08. | |
chucked a couple of snakes in the rucksack and think they are docile, | :22:08. | :22:12. | |
they will be able to get them out but snakes do not shot on airport | :22:12. | :22:18. | |
security. That is not a tip for the was, I advise against it. It was | :22:18. | :22:24. | |
remarkable. Everything passes through and because people like | :22:24. | :22:28. | |
organic food without pesticides these days you get all kinds of key | :22:28. | :22:33. | |
Pique -- creepy-crawlies going into crates around the world. A why did | :22:33. | :22:40. | |
you decide to do this? I am a big fan of Alain the Botton, the first | :22:40. | :22:46. | |
Heathrow writer-in-residence a few years ago. -- Alain the Botton. He | :22:46. | :22:49. | |
rode a beautiful book about it, it seemed a bit like a boy's adventure, | :22:49. | :22:56. | |
to stay out all night, roam the airport and hang out with pilots | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
and immigration officers busting drug smugglers. It seemed exciting. | :22:59. | :23:05. | |
And it was. It was in August, the busiest time of the year. | :23:05. | :23:11. | |
million people passed through every year and in that August week 2 | :23:11. | :23:15. | |
million people pass through. Truthfully, if you are there and | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
your flight has been cancelled and you have a crucial meeting to make, | :23:19. | :23:25. | |
you're not going to be one of those irate passengers who thinks are my | :23:25. | :23:29. | |
goodness, we be more understanding? I have been using Heathrow all my | :23:29. | :23:36. | |
life. I did not really fly when I was a child born I became a young | :23:36. | :23:39. | |
journalist, flying around the world, I started using it, it has got much | :23:39. | :23:47. | |
better. And because of the terror threat. All those things you have | :23:47. | :23:54. | |
to do. We have lost a bit of the romance and glamour because of 9/11. | :23:54. | :23:59. | |
We associate airports with taking our shoes and metal objects off. | :23:59. | :24:03. | |
But it is still an incredible experience. To be in another part | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
of the planet after half a day, there is still something majestic | :24:07. | :24:11. | |
about it. I hope my book will do its little bit to remind people of | :24:11. | :24:18. | |
the romance and majesty of flight which is what it is all about. | :24:18. | :24:23. | |
Parsons on air travel seen through he threw up -- Heathrow airport. | :24:23. | :24:26. | |
One of the world's greatest theatres, the Bolshoi in Moscow, | :24:26. | :24:28. | |
re-opens this evening after a six year renovation programme. | :24:28. | :24:31. | |
President Medvedev is amongst those who will attend a glittering gala | :24:31. | :24:33. | |
performance. The event caps a difficult and very expensive | :24:33. | :24:35. | |
reconstruction process which has been tainted by accusations of | :24:35. | :24:45. | |
:24:45. | :24:46. | ||
corruption. Daniel Sandford has For the last few weeks the Bolshoi | :24:46. | :24:51. | |
Theatre, one of the world's greatest, has been in a frenzy of | :24:51. | :24:57. | |
preparation because for six years the historic stage has been dark, | :24:57. | :25:03. | |
but today the curtain is rising again. Between the final rehearsals, | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
one of the principal dancers gave me an emotional tour of the | :25:06. | :25:16. | |
:25:16. | :25:18. | ||
TRANSLATION: We all know we have to keep the history and traditions of | :25:18. | :25:24. | |
this place. So this is a very happy moment for us. I even have tears in | :25:24. | :25:31. | |
my eyes, I am so happy. renovation is immaculate and | :25:31. | :25:36. | |
massively over-budget. Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent, | :25:36. | :25:41. | |
3000 workers have done much of the Labour by hand, including replacing | :25:41. | :25:47. | |
all of the sumptuous gold leaf. As ever in modern Russia, the eye- | :25:47. | :25:53. | |
watering cost of the building work - half a billion or more - has | :25:53. | :25:57. | |
brought allegations of corruption on a breathtaking scale. The | :25:57. | :26:04. | |
ambition was to take it back to the time of the tsars. This colour | :26:04. | :26:12. | |
lithograph shows the building in the year * Alexandra the second was | :26:12. | :26:20. | |
crowned. -- tsar. All the time it kept its reputation as the home of | :26:20. | :26:25. | |
world-class opera and ballet. The first performances are a concert, | :26:25. | :26:29. | |
then opera, the ballet company takes to the stage in the middle of | :26:29. | :26:39. | |
:26:39. | :26:43. | ||
November. But all the tickets for the first demands are sold out. -- | :26:44. | :26:53. | |
:26:54. | :27:01. | ||
the first demands are sold out. -- After all the sunshine today, not | :27:01. | :27:06. | |
as much on offer for the weekend. They will be stronger wind for a | :27:06. | :27:10. | |
start but it is a southerly wind it tomorrow and Sunday, so a mild | :27:10. | :27:14. | |
direction. Temperatures will be above the seasonal average. For | :27:14. | :27:17. | |
some of us there will be Reina thanks to this mode pressure across | :27:17. | :27:23. | |
northern and western part of the UK. The early rain clears away but it | :27:23. | :27:26. | |
is there in Scotland and turns heavier across parts of Wales and | :27:26. | :27:32. | |
western England into the afternoon. For north-east England we have | :27:32. | :27:36. | |
bright spells around even at this stage. For East Anglia and the | :27:36. | :27:46. | |
south-east, after some fog, it will Thickening cloud across a twisting | :27:46. | :27:50. | |
and for the afternoon with patchy rain moving in. Heavier rain across | :27:50. | :27:56. | |
the western side of Wales, some bits towards the east. Coastal | :27:56. | :27:59. | |
girls and very wet in north-west England, especially into the Lake | :27:59. | :28:06. | |
District. The rain has gone for Robben Island. A very wet afternoon | :28:06. | :28:12. | |
in western Scotland, are trying to look towards the east. Through | :28:12. | :28:19. |