:00:15. > :00:23.This is BBC World News today. 7 billion and counting, the Very
:00:23. > :00:33.Special babies born on the day the UN marked a population milestone.
:00:33. > :00:33.
:00:33. > :00:40.But how will the planet cope? kind of world has 7 million -- 7
:00:40. > :00:45.billion people born into? The United Nations cultural agency,
:00:45. > :00:51.UNESCO, approves Palestine as a member.
:00:51. > :00:54.Another resignation at St Paul's Cathedral in London. This time the
:00:54. > :01:04.Dean over the continuing anti- capitalist protests.
:01:04. > :01:09.Two Russian oligarchs battle over Chelsea Football Club in the courts.
:01:09. > :01:15.Also coming up: They have come a long way from being seen as
:01:15. > :01:24.computer geek's Tories. But is the art establishment ready
:01:24. > :01:34.to embrace video games as art? And the hidden treasures of Islamic
:01:34. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :01:48.art get a new home at New York's Welcome. Today, 31st October, is
:01:48. > :01:51.the date chosen by the United Nations to mark the arrival of the
:01:52. > :01:56.world's 7 billionth occupant. Exactly who that is is something we
:01:56. > :02:06.will never know for sure, but when the clock struck midnight there
:02:06. > :02:07.
:02:07. > :02:12.were many new arrivals showered with celebration.
:02:12. > :02:18.It is more about symbols than exact sums when it comes to global
:02:18. > :02:22.population. The UN has declared that in each country one of baby
:02:22. > :02:30.born on 31st October becomes the seven billionth person. There are
:02:30. > :02:36.many tiny candidates. The Philippines contribution to the 7th
:02:36. > :02:41.-- to the 7 billion is Danica Mae Camacho. Blissfully unaware of her
:02:41. > :02:45.celebrity status. Born into a crowded public hospital in Manila,
:02:46. > :02:55.she was greeted with a chocolate cake and speeches. Family planning
:02:55. > :03:00.is a controversial issue in this Catholic country. Her mother has
:03:00. > :03:05.decided to public -- critics who birth control.
:03:05. > :03:09.A quarrel is brewing in the far east of Russia were local
:03:09. > :03:15.politicians have dis -- declared another candidate as the first to
:03:15. > :03:22.be borne up on Monday. Russia's regions are competing to show how
:03:22. > :03:27.they are boosting the country's dwindling population.
:03:27. > :03:32.India has the opposite problem. India struggles with it a skewed
:03:32. > :03:36.sex ratio because of the cultural preference for boys. In the Uttar
:03:36. > :03:42.Pradesh officials said they would be appointing seven Dales born on
:03:42. > :03:50.Monday to symbolise the 7 billion. China is also dogged by a shortage
:03:50. > :03:54.of goals. But the government deems it so draconian family planning
:03:54. > :04:00.policy has paid dividends, helping to boost its economy. Its problem
:04:00. > :04:05.is now not in Nong -- not enough young Chinese to support its
:04:05. > :04:14.elderly population. There is also the urgent issue of
:04:14. > :04:23.inequality. 20 -- plenty of food but 21 billion people who are
:04:24. > :04:29.hungry. Lavish lifestyles for some and polys -- policy for others.
:04:29. > :04:33.Children die every day from drinking dirty water.
:04:33. > :04:37.So, 7 billion and counting and for many the key question, how to
:04:37. > :04:44.manage the Earth's scarce resources so that babies born now have a
:04:44. > :04:49.bright future? Let us speak to Simon Ross from
:04:49. > :04:55.Population Matters how worried should we be? I think population is
:04:55. > :05:01.really important, I think it does underpin diverse as see, climate
:05:01. > :05:08.change, resource such as food and energy. It is something I think we
:05:08. > :05:15.should be acting to address right now. It is the speed also in which
:05:15. > :05:21.the population has doubled. Backing 80 No 5, it was just 1 billion.
:05:21. > :05:31.Things have come on so fast. What is the model of where it will peak
:05:31. > :05:34.
:05:34. > :05:41.he? The un projection is that it will peak at around 10 billion.
:05:41. > :05:46.That is not certain and it depends on what we do now to spread family
:05:46. > :05:50.planning and encourage people to have a smaller families. And in
:05:50. > :05:55.terms of economic development, what are the fact is there? Presumably
:05:55. > :06:03.for some countries it has fed that growth but in other countries it
:06:03. > :06:07.will not. We are seeing a growing population and growing per capita
:06:07. > :06:12.consumption in countries that are industrialising. That is what makes
:06:12. > :06:19.it scary in terms of resources and the environment. We need to do more
:06:19. > :06:29.than just wait. Does it drop other issues like it GM foods for
:06:29. > :06:30.
:06:30. > :06:35.example? Given the fact that we know that -- what exists in terms
:06:35. > :06:38.of population, is that a strong argument for GM? Growing
:06:38. > :06:44.consumption, growing population pressures us down roads we might
:06:44. > :06:50.not want to go down like a buyer feels, like nuclear, like GM foods,
:06:50. > :06:55.which have negative side-effects that we would rather avoid. With
:06:55. > :07:00.the more that we can do to redress population the less likely we need
:07:00. > :07:05.to take those measures. Astonishing to think that in the Ice Age the
:07:05. > :07:09.human population was nearly extinct, look at where we are now. Do you
:07:09. > :07:13.think human ingenuity will save us and provide a solution to this
:07:13. > :07:18.growing population? I think human ingenuity has done a lot and will
:07:18. > :07:23.do a lot more. The real concern is that we cannot do without water and
:07:23. > :07:27.we find it difficult to do without fossil fuels which will not last
:07:27. > :07:33.for ever. The more we do to industrialised agriculture, the
:07:33. > :07:36.more we despoil the soil and stare up problems for the future. I am
:07:36. > :07:42.pessimistic that there will be another rabbit out of the hat that
:07:42. > :07:52.means this will not be a problem. Let us have a look at some of the
:07:52. > :07:55.
:07:55. > :08:00.avenues now: The interim government in Libya has appointed a new prime
:08:00. > :08:04.minister. Libya's new transitional
:08:04. > :08:11.authorities have asked NATO to keep a presence in the country.
:08:11. > :08:20.The Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, says that Greece will
:08:20. > :08:24.be holding a referendum next week. The German government has tried to
:08:24. > :08:33.deflect responsibility for an accountancy blunder that appeared
:08:33. > :08:38.to increase its debt by 55 billion euros.
:08:38. > :08:42.A Russian maternity home has paid to families compensation of
:08:42. > :08:46.$100,000 each for accidentally switching their daughters at birth
:08:46. > :08:51.12 years ago. Their story has captivated Russia and made
:08:51. > :08:56.headlines when the story came to light as the result of a paternity
:08:56. > :09:01.dispute. The girls do not want to swap parents.
:09:01. > :09:06.Unesco has voted in favour of membership from the Palestinians. A
:09:06. > :09:09.move that boosts the Palestinian bid for recognition of statehood.
:09:09. > :09:15.The vote caused the United States to announce they were cutting off
:09:15. > :09:25.funding, including a payment of $60 million for next month for the
:09:25. > :09:27.
:09:27. > :09:37.organisation. As they went around the table in
:09:37. > :09:47.Paris today, it rapidly became clear who was going to win. The nos
:09:47. > :09:47.
:09:47. > :09:53.vastly outnumbered by the Yes from everyone else.
:09:53. > :09:59.Rudder it -- Russian Federation, yes. Then came the announcement.
:09:59. > :10:04.Ladies and gentlemen, the general conference has voted to adopt the
:10:04. > :10:08.draft resolution and admit Palestine as a member of UNESCO.
:10:09. > :10:14.Followed by jubilation from the Palestinian delegation. After
:10:14. > :10:18.decades of waiting, Palestine has formally been admitted to be a UN
:10:18. > :10:23.body as a state. To back in Ramallah, the Palestinian
:10:23. > :10:28.government was quick to claim victory. We believe that the
:10:28. > :10:35.acceptance of Palestine in UNESCO and the positive and overwhelming
:10:35. > :10:41.voting is an indicator to the growing international support to
:10:41. > :10:50.the Palestinian requirement from the international community to be
:10:50. > :10:55.recognised as a stake in the borders of 1967. A few kilometres
:10:55. > :10:58.away in Jerusalem and the reaction was less enthusiastic. That will
:10:59. > :11:05.not change the situation on the ground in any way and it will only
:11:05. > :11:12.make it much more difficult, and indeed Trickey, to actually renew
:11:13. > :11:19.constructive negotiation. Today's was a small but significant victory
:11:19. > :11:23.in their battle for recognition. The countries that voted yesterday,
:11:23. > :11:29.including France, Russia and China and, have all made a statement that
:11:29. > :11:32.they support the Palestinian bid for UN recognition. Next come the
:11:32. > :11:37.consequences. UNESCO protects hundreds of ancient and beautiful
:11:37. > :11:42.places around the world, including the old city of Jerusalem. Its
:11:42. > :11:45.world is funded in large part by American money, money that
:11:45. > :11:50.Washington is now almost certain to withdraw.
:11:50. > :11:56.It has been called the Battle of the oligarchs. A courtroom showdown
:11:56. > :12:06.between two of the richest men in Britain. One is Roman Abramovich
:12:06. > :12:10.
:12:10. > :12:15.the other is Boris Berezovsky. Roman Abramovich arrived at court
:12:15. > :12:20.clicking remark -- relaxed and confident. He is the third richest
:12:20. > :12:25.person in the UK with an estimated fortune of over �10 billion. He
:12:25. > :12:33.bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003 and has the ear of the Russian
:12:33. > :12:37.Prime Minister. Suing him is 65- year-old Boris Berezovsky. He is
:12:38. > :12:44.worth �500 million and although he was politically powerful in the 90s,
:12:44. > :12:54.he fell out with a Vladimir Teuton and some now lives in England in
:12:54. > :12:55.
:12:55. > :12:58.exile. He is suing for breach of trust and contract. Roman
:12:59. > :13:04.Abramovich denies the allegations and says the two men whenever
:13:04. > :13:14.business partners but that he paid Boris Berezovsky as a sort of power
:13:14. > :13:21.
:13:21. > :13:25.Roman Abramovich's riches means he leads a very lavish life himself.
:13:25. > :13:29.This is a case about two men who got extremely rich after the
:13:29. > :13:33.collapse of the Soviet Union and the power struggles in modern
:13:33. > :13:39.Russia. Neither of the participants in this case is particularly
:13:39. > :13:43.popular among the Russian public. Both represent the kind of Russia
:13:43. > :13:48.many of us would rather not associate with. The secret,
:13:48. > :13:55.security obsessed, obscenely wealthy. Roman Abramovich is
:13:55. > :13:57.usually very private and publicity- shy. But hearing caught between his
:13:57. > :14:03.cross-examinations and the publication of all his witness
:14:03. > :14:09.statements in English and Russian light is being shared up on the man,
:14:09. > :14:14.his money and the manner in which he does his business.
:14:14. > :14:18.At least 12 people have been killed after unusually early snowstorms in
:14:18. > :14:24.the north-east of America. More than 3 million homes have been left
:14:24. > :14:28.without power. The worst storms stretch from Maryland to
:14:28. > :14:33.Massachusetts. So it begins again. The winter
:14:33. > :14:38.weather has come early to America's north-east. New Englanders are
:14:38. > :14:43.digging themselves out and it is only Hallowe'en. Over the weekend
:14:43. > :14:48.more than a third of its dense snow fell at, settling on trees that had
:14:48. > :14:53.not lost their leaves and causing tremendous damage. This is day
:14:53. > :14:58.three with no lights, we have seasoned -- senior citizens that
:14:58. > :15:08.are suffering, children that are suffering. No heat, no food, no
:15:08. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:14.power and it is only October. jet was stuck on the tarmac in
:15:14. > :15:21.Connecticut for hours. The pilot pleaded for help. I have got a
:15:21. > :15:25.diabetic on here with the issues. I have got to get some help. Power
:15:25. > :15:30.lines he is still run above ground so when those branches come down,
:15:30. > :15:34.so do your electricity cables. Nobody wants to pay to put the
:15:34. > :15:38.cables underground. It has become a difficult political sell to say it
:15:38. > :15:42.makes sense to spend more money today to get a good infrastructure
:15:42. > :15:48.for decades into the future that will allow us both to get economic
:15:48. > :15:52.benefits but also health, safety, better living standards. When
:15:52. > :15:56.people talk about America's on reliable infrastructure, this is
:15:56. > :16:06.the have this sort of thing they mean. Many Americans feel that
:16:06. > :16:11.winter weather should not make them A building block computer-game is
:16:11. > :16:18.the first winner to recognise the art of video games. One craft
:16:18. > :16:22.created by Mojang a firm in Sweden, it allows users to construct
:16:22. > :16:27.buildings from blocks in a limitless world. It has won the
:16:27. > :16:32.first ever GameCity prize at the final of the GameCity festival in
:16:32. > :16:39.Nottingham. One of Europe's biggest festivals. It has not been released
:16:39. > :16:42.officially but in winning the award, Minecraft beat off stiff
:16:42. > :16:47.competition from international gaming giants like Microsoft and
:16:47. > :16:53.Nintendo. Judging panels said it was selected on its ability to
:16:53. > :16:59.encourage gamers to become more creative. Let's discuss if video
:16:59. > :17:07.games can be considered an art form. Ekow Eshun joins us. In what you
:17:07. > :17:12.have seen, is this art? I would say that for me video-games, most of
:17:12. > :17:20.video games do not reach the standard of art. My definition of
:17:20. > :17:27.art would be work that sets a ha -- higher bar and ask questions about
:17:27. > :17:32.the human condition, the deepest things that exist within us. Most
:17:32. > :17:40.cold for forms, video-games, a Hollywood movies, books, TV shows
:17:40. > :17:45.do not reach that bar. Many don't but some do but is it within video
:17:45. > :17:50.gaming are to produce works of art? It is within video gaming to
:17:50. > :17:56.produce that. I do not think they have yet and that is to say we are
:17:56. > :18:01.in a middle of a generational shift. In these last 20 years we have had
:18:01. > :18:05.sets of people growing up playing video games, as an integral part of
:18:05. > :18:10.their life experience and their work and their enthusiasm for that
:18:10. > :18:15.has influenced all sorts of things. If you look at movies, they are
:18:15. > :18:20.influenced by video games. The next step is games that themselves reach
:18:20. > :18:25.beyond some of the demarcations of the genre and ask the questions
:18:25. > :18:30.about how we love. Is it something to do with the people designing
:18:31. > :18:35.these games that perhaps they do not have a broad enough artistic
:18:35. > :18:38.base to cross reference some of those things. If you take music or
:18:38. > :18:48.literature where you can see that common thread dating back hundreds
:18:48. > :18:53.of years. They probably take issue with that. It is a new form and so
:18:53. > :18:58.it is finding its way. There are arguments to say that computer
:18:58. > :19:02.games are like Architecture, that you as the character are involved
:19:02. > :19:06.in this immerse it environment, you are the person finding their way
:19:06. > :19:13.round and to some extent you are the one who makes the rules,
:19:13. > :19:18.discovers... Are you excited by it? Absolutely. One of the fascinating
:19:19. > :19:23.things is you can play a game for 50 hours, that is a different
:19:23. > :19:28.experience to watching a film or reading a book. Somewhere along the
:19:28. > :19:33.way we will get to a point where you will discover deep experiences
:19:33. > :19:39.and truth that they come out of those games. Thank you very much
:19:39. > :19:44.for coming in. Let's turn to St Paul's Cathedral
:19:44. > :19:50.because the dean has resigned. The second prominent figure to be
:19:50. > :19:54.brought down around the crisis of the anti-capitalist protest taking
:19:54. > :20:01.place on the doorstep. The protests have prompted the cathedral to
:20:01. > :20:06.close its doors for the first time since the Second World War.
:20:06. > :20:10.Only hours from his magnate -- resignation, Graeme Knowles body
:20:10. > :20:14.language betrayed the pressure he was under. Visibly uncomfortable as
:20:14. > :20:21.he asked protesters to give St Paul's the space to pursue social
:20:21. > :20:25.justice in its own way. I find it quite difficult that you see him --
:20:25. > :20:30.Essien that I do not hold the same views as you because I do not use
:20:30. > :20:34.the same methods of expressing my views as you. Today the news that
:20:34. > :20:39.has shocked the whole church. A statement from the Dean read by a
:20:40. > :20:44.colleague saying he was going with immediate effect. It has become
:20:44. > :20:50.increasingly clear to me that as criticism of the cathedral has
:20:50. > :20:55.mounted in the press, media and in public opinion, my position as Dean
:20:55. > :21:02.of St Paul's was becoming untenable. Protesters said they had not wanted
:21:02. > :21:08.to force the Dean out. In times where there are certain amounts of
:21:08. > :21:13.pressure going around, I think in some cases a good show of honour to
:21:13. > :21:20.resign. Very shocked. Everyone is really shocked. I am saddened he
:21:20. > :21:25.has had to step down. What we want to do is get back to the issues
:21:25. > :21:28.that is what he and the bishop said. On October 15th when protesters
:21:28. > :21:33.were barred by police from the Stock Exchange, the cathedral
:21:33. > :21:38.appeared to offer them Zack trip. A week into the occupation, the
:21:38. > :21:42.cathedral suddenly closed citing health and safety concerned. On
:21:42. > :21:46.27th October, Canon Charles Frazier resigned saying he could not
:21:46. > :21:50.sanction the use of force to a bit the protesters. Today came the most
:21:50. > :21:55.dramatic development of all, the Dean of England's principal
:21:55. > :22:00.Cathedral forced out of office by a public protest. The Bishop of
:22:00. > :22:04.London will take over the Dean's duties. He said the resignation was
:22:04. > :22:10.tragic and saddened and shocked him. He made clear that the cathedral's
:22:10. > :22:15.policy would not change. I am not taking a softer line at all. I
:22:15. > :22:19.think as people were saying to me yesterday, the campsite has to
:22:20. > :22:25.disappear at some point, scaled- down. The cathedral is very prudent
:22:25. > :22:29.and sensible in exploring the legal territory. Graeme Knowles spoke of
:22:29. > :22:33.facing insurmountable issues and there is no sign tonight that the
:22:33. > :22:41.protesters will leave. The Dean's departure might do little to ease
:22:41. > :22:44.St Paul's agony. There is no debate about one of the
:22:44. > :22:48.finest collections of Islamic art in the world which has now been
:22:48. > :22:54.given a new home at me York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Drawn
:22:54. > :22:59.from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia the artifacts
:22:59. > :23:02.devote the rich diversity of his love. The museum is hoping its new
:23:02. > :23:12.galleries will help dispel stereotypes about Muslim culture in
:23:12. > :23:18.
:23:18. > :23:23.We must recognise that we live in a nation where a widespread
:23:23. > :23:29.consciousness about Islamic world really did not exist until 10 years
:23:29. > :23:39.ago. And that awareness came at one of the darkest hours in American
:23:39. > :23:39.
:23:39. > :23:44.A decade after New York was attacked by Muslim extremists, the
:23:44. > :23:50.City's pre-eminent museum has unveiled a new gallery which traced
:23:51. > :23:56.the full course of Islamic civilisation. We have one of the
:23:56. > :24:00.biggest collections of Islamic art in the Western world, some 12,000
:24:00. > :24:08.pieces. Are gonna waste and 1,400 years from the earliest origins of
:24:08. > :24:14.Muslim culture, through the variations across the world. Most
:24:14. > :24:18.of this collection was taken off display in 2003. Some in the Muslim
:24:18. > :24:23.community suspected this was done in retaliation for the attacks of
:24:23. > :24:29.9/11. Not so, says the Metropolitan Museum of Art, old galleries need
:24:29. > :24:35.to be reconfigured and new ones painstakingly built. This is an
:24:35. > :24:39.eight-year process. So many were involved. We had so many
:24:39. > :24:43.Conservatives, architects, engineers, every kind of person you
:24:43. > :24:49.can imagine right down to the people who were marbling pieces of
:24:49. > :24:54.what last week. A team of Moroccan artisans was even brought to New
:24:54. > :24:58.York to create an exquisite courtyard. It shows people that
:24:58. > :25:08.artists of this scale are still alive, still working. Are did not
:25:08. > :25:10.
:25:10. > :25:14.Apart from being a major addition to the map's permanent collection,
:25:14. > :25:19.these new art galleries are part of a concerted effort in cultural
:25:19. > :25:23.diplomacy. It is hoped the artistic riches on display might go some way
:25:24. > :25:32.to improving the relations between the US and the Moslem world over
:25:32. > :25:40.the past 10 years. It is our midst and took a decade and help people
:25:40. > :25:45.with world culture. Showing things in a broader perspective. Sarah
:25:45. > :25:47.Sayeed from the into a centre of New York says the opening of these
:25:47. > :25:52.new galleries is a major breakthrough for Muslims in this
:25:52. > :25:56.city. Having a gallery like this will really help to broaden and
:25:56. > :26:00.deepen people's perceptions of who Muslims are. There is a real
:26:00. > :26:10.opportunity here. It is wonderful that this gallery is opening at
:26:10. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:17.A reminder of Alamein years: countries across the world have
:26:17. > :26:22.been holding events to mark the birth of the seven billionth person
:26:22. > :26:27.on the planet. The UN says all the children born on 31st October could
:26:27. > :26:30.be considered the seven billionth baby. The Philippines was the first
:26:30. > :26:35.country to declare such a baby, Danica May Camacho he was born in
:26:35. > :26:39.the capital Manila. The US is stopping its financial
:26:40. > :26:44.contributions to UNESCO after the Palestinians were admitted to the
:26:44. > :26:49.organisation. The motion to admit the Palestinians was passed by a
:26:49. > :26:59.majority despite strong opposition from the US and Israel. Next the
:26:59. > :27:00.
:27:00. > :27:05.weather. But from me and the rest It has been another very mild day
:27:05. > :27:08.across the country. A bit on the cloudy side. There were some rain
:27:08. > :27:13.in the West. That will clear tonight and for many, tomorrow will
:27:13. > :27:18.be a dry day. Tonight rain all courtesy of this weather front. It
:27:18. > :27:23.will be heavy for a time but it is Clearing eastwards and we have a
:27:23. > :27:27.window of dry weather following. It will stay cloudy tomorrow in the
:27:27. > :27:31.south-east corner. Some showers in the north and west but in between
:27:31. > :27:37.we have sunshine. Four North East England it will be dry and bright
:27:37. > :27:42.with highs or 14 or 15 degrees. A bit overcast in parts of East
:27:42. > :27:47.Anglia and south-east England. But sunny spells tomorrow for the south
:27:47. > :27:52.coast and wards parts of Devon and Cornwall. The breeze coming in from
:27:52. > :27:56.the south with temperatures of 14 and 15 degrees. Across Wales, the
:27:56. > :28:01.cloud thick enough at times for one or two isolated showers but for
:28:01. > :28:07.Northern Ireland, it will be a fine day. A big cooler with temperatures
:28:07. > :28:13.of 12 Celsius. A scattering of showers across western Scotland.