:00:14. > :00:19.This is BBC World News Today with me Zeinab Badawi. The Arab League's
:00:19. > :00:25.ultimatum for Syria to accept an observer mission expires and still
:00:25. > :00:31.no response from Damascus. This as evidence grows of more soldiers
:00:31. > :00:38.defecting to the opposition. The BBC goes inside Homs with the free
:00:38. > :00:42.Syrian army. After months of protest has been shot down in the
:00:42. > :00:48.streets that myth of armed insurgency has become reality.
:00:48. > :00:52.100,000 stuck out in Cairo's Tahrir Square not satisfied by the
:00:52. > :00:55.concessions by the military. They want the Army out of politics now.
:00:55. > :00:59.Thousands of candidates in elections in the Democratic
:00:59. > :01:05.Republic of Congo, what hope for a peaceful outcome in one of the
:01:05. > :01:10.world's most war-torn countries. Also coming up: An incredible story
:01:10. > :01:15.of injury and recovery. How this Dutch Paralympic champion paralysed
:01:15. > :01:20.for years is now training to make her mark in the future at the
:01:20. > :01:25.Olympics. And the search for life in space.
:01:25. > :01:35.NASA is launching its biggest ever mission to Mars in a Rover called
:01:35. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:41.Curiosity. Hello and welcome. The silence from
:01:41. > :01:46.the Government in Syria has been deafening. It has failed to respond
:01:46. > :01:50.to an Arab League ultimatum to allow an observer mission into the
:01:50. > :01:56.country or face sanctions. Now the Arab League says it will meet on
:01:56. > :02:00.Saturday to decide what Next Steps it should take. Inside Syria itself
:02:00. > :02:06.activists say more people have been killed by security forces as the
:02:06. > :02:10.protests have continued. The BBC's security correspondent Frank
:02:10. > :02:15.Gardner has this analysis. I undeterred by tanks, torture and
:02:15. > :02:21.over 3000 deaths Syrian protesters are still taking to the streets,
:02:21. > :02:26.risking their lives to call for an end to the rule of President Bush
:02:26. > :02:31.are are as said. Often surrounded by acolytes he is facing the most
:02:31. > :02:40.serious challenge to his role. Much of the population fears the chaos
:02:40. > :02:44.that could follow his departure. There will be many Syrians who want
:02:44. > :02:47.to join the opposition. There have been attacks on military
:02:47. > :02:53.installations prompting fears of a civil war, a nightmare for the Arab
:02:53. > :02:57.League. Its members have already suspended Syria, its chair stands
:02:57. > :03:01.emptied. They have been meeting to discuss whether to introduce harsh
:03:01. > :03:06.new sanctions unless Syria pulls its troops out of cities and allows
:03:06. > :03:11.in monitors. Syria's neighbour Turkey says time is running out for
:03:11. > :03:16.the Bashar al-Assad regime. Meanwhile, the protests continue.
:03:16. > :03:24.The sniping, the arrests, the intimidation, torture and bloodshed
:03:24. > :03:27.show no signs of stopping. We are staying with Syria. The BBC
:03:27. > :03:32.has obtained first-hand evidence that the struggle for democracy in
:03:32. > :03:37.the country is becoming an armed insurgency. The opposition for us,
:03:37. > :03:41.the free Syrian army, is made up of soldiers who have defected. Our
:03:41. > :03:45.correspondent and a cameraman are the first journalists who have
:03:45. > :03:50.spent time with the free Syrian army in and around Homs, the scene
:03:50. > :03:56.of the worst violence in the current uprising in Syria.
:03:56. > :04:02.Syria's border with Lebanon. These men are taking in guns are to
:04:02. > :04:09.support a growing insurgency. De area is the mind and fall of Syrian
:04:09. > :04:15.patrols. Hours earlier, as smuggler was captured here. Each man carries
:04:15. > :04:25.two or three Kalashnikovs for the fighters inside. Our guides are not
:04:25. > :04:26.
:04:26. > :04:30.paid smugglers, but supporters of the revolution. The regime has had
:04:30. > :04:40.as under siege for 40 years, he says, we have been starving for 40
:04:40. > :04:46.
:04:46. > :04:56.years. Into Homs. The Syrian army is all around. They will probably
:04:56. > :05:10.
:05:10. > :05:18.shoot if they spot us. This is a suburb. The people are hemmed in by
:05:18. > :05:25.the security forces. The fear is suffocating. But the firepower is
:05:25. > :05:30.no longer all on one side. These are the men of the free Syria army.
:05:30. > :05:36.They do not exactly hold this area, but just hope to slow up the
:05:36. > :05:40.security forces. Almost from the beginning it was Syrian Government
:05:40. > :05:45.propaganda that armed groups, or armed gangs, were supporting the
:05:45. > :05:53.opposition. Now, after months of protest has been shot down in the
:05:53. > :06:00.streets, that myth of an armed insurgency has become a reality. --
:06:00. > :06:07.protesters. More join every day. A gun battle signals another
:06:07. > :06:17.defection. Soldiers are running into the suburb, fired on by their
:06:17. > :06:21.
:06:21. > :06:27.former comrades. Five made it out, his 6th did not. We heard him
:06:27. > :06:34.screaming, he says, we could not go back. There were too many troops
:06:34. > :06:41.chasing us. Another explains that they fled after being ordered to
:06:41. > :06:49.shoot unarmed protesters. We are all one people, one blood. You
:06:49. > :06:57.cannot just kill them. The rebels believe they can win if there is
:06:57. > :07:04.help from outside. They want a no- fly zone over Syria. That special
:07:04. > :07:09.report is by Paul Wood with the freak Syrian army inside the city
:07:09. > :07:15.of Homs. Now to the unrest in Egypt and in Cairo 100,000 people are
:07:15. > :07:19.still believed to be out in Tahrir Square. The man chosen to be
:07:19. > :07:24.Egypt's new Prime Minister has said on state TV he wants to be given a
:07:24. > :07:28.chance to serve the people. 78 year-old Kamal al-Gazouri says he
:07:28. > :07:33.plans to form an all inclusive Cabinet, but his words have done
:07:33. > :07:36.little to sway the protesters. They are demanding the head of the
:07:36. > :07:41.ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, must step
:07:41. > :07:49.aside before the elections on Monday. Lyse Doucet is in Tahrir
:07:49. > :07:57.Square and joins us live. It looks like it is all happening behind you.
:07:58. > :08:02.Give us an update. You can see Tahrir Square tonight is both a big
:08:02. > :08:07.party as well as a political rally. This sounds you here tonight are
:08:07. > :08:13.not of the tear gas canisters, but off firecrackers going off in the
:08:13. > :08:19.air. There has been a whole display here tonight. You may not see them,
:08:19. > :08:24.but you can hear the sound of the firecrackers going off. There is a
:08:24. > :08:27.huge mass of people down there in that corner with a flag waving.
:08:27. > :08:32.Earlier this week that was a place of great tension weather were
:08:32. > :08:38.running battles between the police and protesters. But the truce is
:08:38. > :08:42.holding. We do not hear the wailing of the ambulance sirens, but we
:08:42. > :08:52.still hear all of the chanting and new banners are still going up.
:08:52. > :08:56.
:08:56. > :09:00.This one says, we will never leave the rights of the martyrs. They are
:09:00. > :09:06.calling on Egyptians to come back to the square and send a very loud
:09:06. > :09:10.message. Look at all the discussions going on. People
:09:10. > :09:15.assemble in groups, it is a bit of a carnival atmosphere. Every kind
:09:15. > :09:19.of popular Egyptian street food is on sale. There is food in those
:09:19. > :09:24.metal pots, next to the popcorn that is being sold. You can get
:09:24. > :09:29.grilled corn on the cob. These are the enterprising vendors who know
:09:29. > :09:34.they can turn a profit share. They even started selling gas masks in
:09:34. > :09:38.the square when there was tear gas throughout the week. Tonight they
:09:38. > :09:45.are mostly selling candy and toffee apples as they try to send a
:09:45. > :09:51.message to the military leader that they are here to stay. Lyse Doucet,
:09:51. > :09:56.a party atmosphere in Cairo's Tahrir Square. We have talked about
:09:56. > :09:59.Syria and Egypt, and now to Yemen where tensions are high and tens of
:09:59. > :10:03.thousands of people have been protesting also on the streets
:10:03. > :10:08.after Friday prayers. They are angry about the power transfer
:10:08. > :10:12.deals signed earlier this week by President Ali Abdullah Saleh,
:10:12. > :10:16.because the deal would give him and his family immunity from
:10:16. > :10:21.prosecution. Hundreds of the Mini's have been killed since the protests
:10:21. > :10:25.started in January. The impact of the Arab Spring in Morocco may not
:10:25. > :10:29.be as dramatic and violent as it has been elsewhere in the Arab
:10:29. > :10:34.world, but the elections in Morocco have been brought forward as a
:10:34. > :10:37.result of the upheaval. The elections are the first under a new
:10:37. > :10:44.constitution which gives greater powers to the prime minister and
:10:44. > :10:48.parliament. But some reformers say the changes do not go far enough.
:10:48. > :10:53.Voters casting their ballots in what should be an historic election
:10:53. > :10:59.for Morocco. This time they are voting for a Government expected to
:10:59. > :11:04.have power to bring about real change. This is the man who could
:11:04. > :11:13.play a key role in the new Government, the leader of the
:11:13. > :11:18.Islamist party. He said he hoped the turnout would be more than 50%.
:11:18. > :11:24.There are concerns it could be very low. But in any case, he said,
:11:24. > :11:31.democracy would be the winner. These first stirrings of trouble in
:11:31. > :11:36.February in Morocco prompted the political reform. Thousands poured
:11:36. > :11:43.onto the streets demanding equality, justice and an end to the monopoly
:11:43. > :11:47.of power held by the ruling elite. In March, King Mohammed VI address
:11:47. > :11:52.the nation. He promised comprehensive changes to the
:11:53. > :11:58.constitution. It included losing his power to appoint the Prime
:11:58. > :12:04.Minister, insuring the independence of the judiciary is reinforced, and
:12:04. > :12:09.granting increased rights for women. Those who wrote these changes into
:12:09. > :12:19.the new constitution say the King does want a parliamentary democracy.
:12:19. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:26.He is aware of the effect that traditional legitimacy knees to be
:12:26. > :12:33.strengthened and that is why he has been anticipating the demands of
:12:33. > :12:37.the people and has satisfied them in advance. But not everyone is
:12:37. > :12:45.convinced the king is sincere about handing over so much power. Instead
:12:45. > :12:49.they fear he will retain much of his control over the country.
:12:49. > :12:54.So clearly it has been a significant week across the Arab
:12:54. > :12:58.world and to help as tight up the threads here with me in the studio
:12:58. > :13:02.is the Middle East analyst at Chatham House, Nadim Shehadi.
:13:02. > :13:08.Clearly, the ripples of the Arab Spring have gone all over the place.
:13:08. > :13:13.We have just seen the situation in Morocco. But the big fear is the
:13:13. > :13:16.instability we see in key countries like Syria. They have got this Arab
:13:16. > :13:22.League ultimatum and the silence has been deafening from Damascus.
:13:22. > :13:25.What do you think Damascus are considering? They are probably
:13:25. > :13:33.confused what trick to play with the Arab League because the leaders
:13:33. > :13:37.of the Arab League are probably leaders of the same type as Bashar
:13:37. > :13:44.al-Assad, so they know the same tricks as he does. It could be very
:13:44. > :13:50.difficult for him to gain more time. He has been buying a lot of time.
:13:51. > :13:54.Yes, but it has not been working with the Arab League so far. What
:13:55. > :13:59.do you think the Arab League will do? They said they will be meeting
:13:59. > :14:04.in Cairo on Saturday and they have talked about sanctions. Financial
:14:04. > :14:12.sanctions, what kind of things could they do? The most important
:14:12. > :14:18.thing they would do is deprived the President of his legitimacy.
:14:18. > :14:25.Ultimately he can always cling to power when the West attacks him
:14:25. > :14:32.because he says this is imperialism and I am resisting. But when his
:14:32. > :14:36.fellow Arab leaders also take away his legitimacy... It is humiliating.
:14:36. > :14:40.But can the Arab League do anything in terms of sanctions without
:14:40. > :14:44.support on the international community? The international
:14:44. > :14:49.community have been waiting for the Arab League. When the Arab League
:14:49. > :14:56.makes decisive steps a lot more will follow. A lot of his power
:14:56. > :15:03.also comes from the indecision from the international community. This
:15:03. > :15:09.will help make it clearer position. You had a report on the free Syrian
:15:09. > :15:15.army and people were talking about an armed insurgency, I want to ask
:15:15. > :15:25.you about Egypt. It is very clear the position in Syria calls itself
:15:25. > :15:26.
:15:26. > :15:32.non-violent and peaceful. Any talk of violence in Syria plays into the
:15:32. > :15:39.hands of the regime that is saying if it falls, there will be civil
:15:39. > :15:49.war. This is what frightening many in the West. Overall I think one
:15:49. > :15:59.has to put faith in the opposition Looking at Egypt and Yemen.
:15:59. > :15:59.
:15:59. > :16:04.Concessions in Egypt, from the military, also he is standing down,
:16:04. > :16:08.till still 9 protests go on? the regimes will try to re-gain
:16:08. > :16:13.their power and cling to as much power as they can. This is
:16:13. > :16:19.happening in Egypt. It's not flying with the protesters. That is why
:16:19. > :16:26.they are continuing the protests. In the case of Egypt, I think the
:16:26. > :16:31.majority of the population are not on the same wavelength as those in
:16:31. > :16:37.Tahrir Square. That make it is more difficult. Nadim Shehadi thank you
:16:37. > :16:40.very much for joining us. Now the day's or other news. Italy has had
:16:40. > :16:46.to pay record high rates to investors to borrow money in the
:16:46. > :16:52.latest auction of government bonds. Bonds due to be repaid in two
:16:52. > :16:56.years' time hit more than 7.8% compared with 4.6% in the last sale
:16:56. > :16:59.a month ago. The UN enjoy for North Korea has appealled for more
:16:59. > :17:03.humanitarian aid to be delivered to the country. South Korea has been
:17:03. > :17:10.sending medical supplies to the North over the past few weeks, but
:17:10. > :17:13.it has not sent food, saying it risks being diverted to feed the
:17:13. > :17:18.Army. The Australian government plans to establish the world's
:17:18. > :17:23.largest marine reserve in the Coral Sea. The protected area north-east
:17:24. > :17:26.of the Great Barrier Reef will cover an area of nearly one million
:17:26. > :17:30.square kilometres. The Democratic Republic of Congo holds elections
:17:30. > :17:34.on Monday in what could be a turning point for the people there
:17:34. > :17:38.who have suffered decades of war and suffering that has seen
:17:38. > :17:44.millions dead. 19,000 candidates are in the running. Elections in
:17:44. > :17:54.the DRC have in the past been marred by violence. Andrew Harding
:17:54. > :17:54.
:17:54. > :18:01.has been Togo ma gsh has been to Goma, which is still living with
:18:01. > :18:06.the legacy of Congo's long wars. It's election time in one of
:18:06. > :18:13.Africa's most chaotic countries. No-one here is expecting a smooth
:18:13. > :18:20.ride. On the throne here, one of 11 presidential hopefuls. Loyalties
:18:20. > :18:25.are dangerously ferocious. So is the desire for change. They are the
:18:25. > :18:29.ones with the power, they don't care about the population. We don't
:18:30. > :18:37.have road. No road. N-your country I think you have road. There is no
:18:37. > :18:43.jobs, no water, no electricity. much peace either. This is Goma, a
:18:43. > :18:49.poor town, the bicycles are wooden. The peacekeepers can't be
:18:49. > :18:53.everywhere. Rival armed groups battle for power and Congo's
:18:53. > :19:00.mineral wealth. Joseph Kabila has the usual advantages and may sneak
:19:00. > :19:03.another victory. It could be close and tense. The elections could be a
:19:03. > :19:07.step forward for a country that squandered its potential for
:19:07. > :19:14.decades. There is a real danger they could trigger more instability
:19:14. > :19:20.in a region that is still plagued by violence and impunity. My fear
:19:20. > :19:30.is that all this might lead to serious violence. Maybe to breaking
:19:30. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:38.up this country. Who knows. Out of sight the clearest proof of Congo's
:19:38. > :19:42.enduring lawlessnesss. New victims of sexual violence that plights the
:19:42. > :19:52.countryside. 15-year-old Mary says she was raped this week by two
:19:52. > :19:52.
:19:52. > :19:58.unknown men. "then they beat me", she says. She does not expect
:19:58. > :20:03.justice. The hope for progress remains strong here. He's one of
:20:03. > :20:07.19,000 candidates, running for a seat in Parliament at these
:20:08. > :20:15.elections. I think this is a step forward. Let's not think of
:20:15. > :20:24.miracles, but I think this is a step forward to what's strong
:20:24. > :20:31.institutions and peaceful country. Miracles are not on the cards.
:20:31. > :20:41.Congo's economy is growing, its fate matters to Africa. It is the
:20:41. > :20:41.
:20:42. > :20:46.wounded giant at the centre of the continent. Elections there in the
:20:46. > :20:49.DRC. For an extraordinary story of injury and then recovery. A
:20:49. > :20:55.paralympic silver medallist, in handcycling, is hoping to compete
:20:55. > :20:59.in the Olympics, after regaining the use of her legs. Van der Vorst
:20:59. > :21:04.Vorst had been paralysed from the waist down for 13 years. Then she
:21:04. > :21:14.was out training and she was hit by another cyclist, soon after the
:21:14. > :21:15.
:21:15. > :21:21.feeling gradually began to return to her legs. Meet Van der Vorst
:21:21. > :21:26.Vorst as she once was. Paralympian, paralysed in both her legs. Now,
:21:26. > :21:30.meet her today. From the age of 13, her left leg was paralysed after
:21:31. > :21:37.surgery ri on her foot went wrong. Three years ago she also lost the
:21:37. > :21:43.use of her right leg in a car crash. Last year she had another terrible
:21:43. > :21:48.training accident that put her back in hospital for a long time. During
:21:48. > :21:52.the months of physiotherapy and training, she began to get feeting
:21:52. > :21:57.in her legs and then the use of both them. Doctors can't explain.
:21:57. > :22:00.It I just did it. I just walk. I did it over and over again until I
:22:00. > :22:05.fall down on the ground. I could not believe it. I think many people
:22:05. > :22:09.can't believe it. Yeah. Can you explain it? No. I've no idea how it
:22:09. > :22:15.happened. I really don't know. couldn't use your legs for three
:22:15. > :22:19.years of your life, both legs, 13 years of your life for one leg?
:22:19. > :22:24.Yeah. Now you are cycling again? Yeah. I don't know why but I do.
:22:24. > :22:31.Her living room is full of the trophies and medalsals from a long
:22:31. > :22:38.career as a disabled athlete. Three World Championships and eight
:22:38. > :22:43.nationalists and a silver medallists at the Beijing
:22:43. > :22:47.paralympics. I'm happy to do it all again, now with my legs. Also,
:22:47. > :22:51.besides the sport, life is easier walking. It feels like a big
:22:51. > :22:58.challenge. I really want to push hard and train train and see where
:22:58. > :23:06.I can get. So, she has lived one Olympic dream. She hopes to power
:23:06. > :23:12.her way to another. Rio2016. I wouldn't bet against it. Amazing
:23:12. > :23:15.story. Wonderful. It's been called the most ambitious mission to Mars
:23:15. > :23:20.ever. On Saturday the American Space Agency, NASA, will launch a
:23:21. > :23:26.vehicle, the size of a car, on a nine-month voyage to the Red Planet.
:23:26. > :23:31.When it arrives, the vehicle called, the Curiosity rover cure, will
:23:31. > :23:35.begin the most extensive search yet for signs of whether life has ever
:23:35. > :23:41.been possible on the Red Planet. To talk about NASA's latest mission to
:23:41. > :23:43.Mars, I'm joined from our studio in Cambridge by Paul Murdin from the
:23:43. > :23:51.Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University. Are you excited by
:23:51. > :23:56.this? Yes. It's the laboratory on wheels. It will make the most
:23:56. > :24:03.comprehensive survey of Martian rocks ever. It's a nuclear powered
:24:03. > :24:08.Rover. What is the significance of that? Rovers up until now have been
:24:08. > :24:12.powered by solar PV Panathinaikosels. They get dusty
:24:12. > :24:17.and less efficient. This will last for a very long time. Well over two
:24:17. > :24:25.years and possibly as long as ten. And, what do you suppose it hopes
:24:25. > :24:32.to discover? How will it actually operate? Well there will be lots of
:24:32. > :24:40.investigations of different sorts of the rocks that the controllers
:24:40. > :24:45.in California find for the Rover to look at. The idea is that the
:24:45. > :24:50.compositions of these rocks will be discovered and the processes that
:24:50. > :24:56.formed them. It's not only looking for minerals, but how they are made,
:24:57. > :25:00.for example, at the bottom of lakes or even bye-bye logical activity,
:25:00. > :25:05.bacteria or early sea creature which might have existed on Mars
:25:05. > :25:10.several billion years ago. It costs a fantastic amount of money this
:25:10. > :25:15.Rover, didn't it? Do you think, in some way, it's going to redeem NASA,
:25:15. > :25:22.which of course had suffered a few shocks of its reputation in the
:25:22. > :25:26.recent past? A lot of money. $2 billion, give or take a bob or two.
:25:26. > :25:31.I hope that a lot of effort has gone into it to make it work.
:25:31. > :25:37.Having said that, Mars is a long way away. The journey is a
:25:37. > :25:45.difficult one. One has to grit ones teeth and get on with it and hope
:25:45. > :25:49.it goes. What would constitution a success and what would constitute a
:25:49. > :25:53.failure? The worse failure is they drop it and that it doesn't make it
:25:53. > :25:59.to the surface of Mars. The success will be discovering what the
:25:59. > :26:04.surface of Mars is made of and the outstanding success will be finding
:26:04. > :26:11.that there has been biological activity on Mars in the past and
:26:11. > :26:14.maybe even somewhere in some place under the ground there is still
:26:14. > :26:19.biological activity. There is life on Mars. You hope this will bring
:26:19. > :26:23.us the answer to whether there is life on Mars? Yes. I hope in the
:26:23. > :26:29.end we will retrieve some sort of Martian life and learn about life
:26:29. > :26:35.from that life. So that we can get better understand our own kind of
:26:35. > :26:38.biology. Paul Murdin from the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge
:26:38. > :26:41.University thank you for. That Arab League deadline for Syria to accept
:26:42. > :26:46.an observer mission or face sanctions Floyd Hasselbaink passed
:26:46. > :26:50.with no response from Damascus. That is all from World News Today
:26:50. > :27:00.with me Zeinab Badawi. From me, and the team, enjoy your weekend and
:27:00. > :27:03.
:27:03. > :27:07.We had windy weather around today. We stick with this windy theme
:27:07. > :27:12.throughout the course of the weekend. Tomorrow, strong wind
:27:12. > :27:17.across northern areas with heavy rain. This weather front will push
:27:17. > :27:23.in towards northern areas as we head through Saturday, further
:27:23. > :27:30.south with high winds, high pressure leads to a chilly start.
:27:30. > :27:40.Further north the strongest winds will develop, sometimes into Gus
:27:40. > :27:42.
:27:42. > :27:47.force. There is an amber warning from the weather centre. Guss of 70
:27:47. > :27:54.to 80mph. Further south a sunnier afternoon. The gusty winds from the
:27:54. > :27:59.south-westerly direction, Gusing up to 30mph-40mph taking the edge off.
:27:59. > :28:08.Wales it will turn increasingly cloudy. North-western areas will
:28:08. > :28:12.see patchy rain arriving. Guss of 50mph-60mph. Wet and windy for