:00:09. > :00:15.This is BBC World News Today with me Zeinab Badawi.
:00:15. > :00:18.Could France be about to lose its triple A credit rating? President
:00:18. > :00:23.Sarkozy holds crisis talks with ministers, as fears mount that the
:00:23. > :00:26.downgrade could place further pressure on the eurozone.
:00:26. > :00:29.Is the Pakistani government on a dangerous collision course with the
:00:30. > :00:36.military? Growing public tension but government ministers play down
:00:36. > :00:42.talk of a political crisis. you're referring to the recent
:00:42. > :00:46.whatever is going on in the country. It will not affect. In democracy we
:00:46. > :00:49.are in transition. So ups and downs will be there.
:00:49. > :00:54.Day five of protests in Nigeria over the scrapping of the fuel
:00:54. > :00:58.subsidy. Now the government makes an offer to the unions. Will it be
:00:58. > :01:02.enough? Also coming up in the programme,
:01:02. > :01:04.the increasing danger posed by space debris. The Russian space
:01:04. > :01:14.craft Phobos-Grunt should come crashing back to earth this weekend
:01:14. > :01:25.
:01:25. > :01:28.Hello and welcome. The value of the euro has fallen
:01:29. > :01:31.with more bad news for the eurozone. France is braced this evening for
:01:31. > :01:38.the possibility that its credit rating may be downgraded by the
:01:38. > :01:42.Standard & Poor's agency. Nicolas Sarkozy is reported to be in crisis
:01:42. > :01:44.talks with his ministers ahead of expected announcement. Fears over
:01:45. > :01:48.the eurozone debt crisis have also been heightened with talks between
:01:48. > :01:53.Greece and the banks it owes money to breaking down. Our chief
:01:53. > :01:57.economics correspondent Hugh Pym reports.
:01:57. > :02:00.2011 was the year to the good for the eurozone and the health of the
:02:00. > :02:05.single currency. Riots increase other government was facing
:02:05. > :02:09.crippling debts and tried to impose spending cuts and tensions over how
:02:09. > :02:13.to safeguard -- safeguard the euro but another blow is looming, the
:02:13. > :02:19.downgrading of France's credit rating. If they are downgraded, it
:02:19. > :02:23.will raise the cost of borrowing at France has to pay to markets. Above
:02:23. > :02:29.Germany and the UK, which have triple-A ratings, and it will be
:02:29. > :02:34.more difficult to rescue crew eurozone, although it may still be
:02:34. > :02:38.possible. Here are the key figures from the French economy which have
:02:38. > :02:44.worried the markets. Government debt is 90% this year. The deficit,
:02:44. > :02:51.new borrowing, 5.5%. The French government is currently having to
:02:51. > :02:56.pay more than 3% to borrow, while at the UK is below 2%. If France's
:02:56. > :03:00.credit rating is downgraded, the impact could be as much political
:03:00. > :03:04.as economic. Some see the triple A rating as a badge of national
:03:04. > :03:08.prestige, and are losing it, critics will argue could be seen as
:03:08. > :03:13.a major blow to President Sarkozy. In a year when he seeking re-
:03:13. > :03:19.election. Fears that France might be downgraded emerge before
:03:19. > :03:24.Christmas as Nicolas Sarkozy's relations with David Cameron cold.
:03:24. > :03:28.They criticised the UK finances. don't want to be given any lessons.
:03:28. > :03:32.The economic situation in Great Britain is very worrying and from
:03:33. > :03:36.an economic standpoint, we would prefer to be French and British.
:03:36. > :03:40.But its front which is firmly under a financial spotlight this evening.
:03:40. > :03:44.-- France. Speculation that one up ratings agency will make an
:03:44. > :03:48.announcement, and with talks with private investors and the Greek
:03:48. > :03:54.government over how to manage the burden having broken down, a
:03:54. > :03:59.familiar cloud is hovering over the eurozone.
:03:59. > :04:06.Let's talk more about this. Matthew price joins us. Does this look like
:04:06. > :04:11.it's going to happen? It's the sense we getting from French
:04:11. > :04:17.government officials. In the last few minutes, the French agency, AFP,
:04:17. > :04:21.is reporting yes, indeed, France is being downgraded by Standard & Poor
:04:21. > :04:26.and it fits with the general assumption, the general words
:04:26. > :04:33.coming out of Standard & Poor, the ratings agency, in the last few
:04:33. > :04:37.months, but they put France on a downgrade and add some point,
:04:37. > :04:41.expected they would do this. Yes, it looks like this is happening.
:04:41. > :04:45.Matthew, it's not just the fact it's been downgraded. It is the
:04:45. > :04:51.extent, the amount by which it has downgraded, which is also important
:04:51. > :04:58.for country. Absolutely. If France get downgraded at the next couple
:04:58. > :05:02.of hours, by one are not, it is manageable. It is difficult
:05:02. > :05:10.politically for President Sarkozy. And economically, it will almost
:05:10. > :05:14.certainly make a change. It will force up the French borrowing rate.
:05:14. > :05:18.It to probably wouldn't be catastrophic. It did get downgraded
:05:18. > :05:24.by two notches, you start to get into more uncertain territory, not
:05:24. > :05:32.just for France, but remember they are one of the key economic backers
:05:32. > :05:36.of the eurozone's current temporary rescue fund, but BFSS, and France
:05:36. > :05:41.is the second biggest backer of that fund. Germany is the biggest.
:05:41. > :05:47.That fund has so far also had a triple A rating. There are those
:05:47. > :05:51.concerned in Brussels tonight that if France gets downgrade it, so too
:05:51. > :05:57.will the euro zones temporary bail- out fund, and therefore that, too,
:05:57. > :06:02.will pile on the pressure. I can say that the wires have confirmed,
:06:02. > :06:10.according to the French finance minister, France indeed has lost
:06:10. > :06:14.its triple-A credit. That is indeed quite a blow to the country. It's
:06:14. > :06:20.not just an economic matter, but huge political tests for President
:06:20. > :06:24.Sarkozy. Ahead of this, but it's going to have shockwaves throughout
:06:24. > :06:31.the eurozone that such a major economy in the eurozone has lost
:06:31. > :06:36.its triple-A rating. Absolutely. The second biggest economy in the
:06:36. > :06:38.eurozone. One of the biggest economies in the world. Also, not
:06:38. > :06:44.just economically important within the eurozone, but vitally
:06:44. > :06:48.politically important as well. President Sarkozy and Angela Merkel
:06:48. > :06:56.had basically been a leading the way in terms of how Europe gets out
:06:56. > :07:04.of this mess. I think, what has been interesting, the French have
:07:04. > :07:08.been trying to bring in austerity measures that they felt they could
:07:08. > :07:11.get past the public in the run-up to the French elections in April
:07:11. > :07:16.and May. Measures they felt could get past the French public which
:07:16. > :07:19.would not be terribly unpopular, which wouldn't necessarily stop
:07:19. > :07:23.President Sarkozy getting re- elected but the same time, would
:07:23. > :07:28.satisfy the market and it clear I have not satisfied one of the
:07:28. > :07:34.ratings agencies. Matthew, thank you very much, with that news that
:07:34. > :07:36.France has lost its triple A credit rating.
:07:36. > :07:39.The political temperature in Pakistan is nearing boiling point.
:07:39. > :07:42.On Monday the ruling party faces a confidence vote. The prime minister
:07:42. > :07:44.Yusuf Raza Gilani told parliament it had to choose between democracy
:07:44. > :07:48.and dictatorship. A series of public disputes has brought
:07:48. > :07:50.relations between the government and the military to an all-time low.
:07:50. > :07:54.The Supreme Court could also get involved, with a deadline looming
:07:54. > :08:04.for the government to re-open political corruption cases. Here's
:08:04. > :08:07.
:08:07. > :08:11.A nation gripped by a political crisis. They have fallen heroes.
:08:11. > :08:16.The funerals today for two Pakistani policemen. Killed by
:08:16. > :08:22.militants. As well as battling that enemy, the government here is
:08:22. > :08:27.locked in conflict with the army and the Supreme Court. At
:08:27. > :08:33.Parliament, another crisis session. But Pakistan's Interior Minister
:08:33. > :08:39.insists the government will serve out its full term until 2013.
:08:39. > :08:44.democracy, we are in a transition. Ups and downs will be there. Yes,
:08:44. > :08:49.we had a bumpy flight but we will land in a nice way. Aren't you
:08:49. > :08:56.having a real crisis now with the army? Open speculation of a coup.
:08:56. > :09:02.would not say crisis, no. A difference of opinion. You can't
:09:02. > :09:07.say there is a distress going on. That we are not on the same page.
:09:07. > :09:10.Why are their statement between you and the army so hostile? I think
:09:10. > :09:14.everybody has a right to explain their position so let's put it in
:09:14. > :09:21.the normal way. Do you think this government will be in position next
:09:21. > :09:25.week? I say, in the 2013. Pakistan's Interior Minister is
:09:25. > :09:29.sending a message that the tension can be diffused and he is adamant
:09:29. > :09:33.the government will survive, but with the army and government
:09:33. > :09:43.engaging in Opal verbal warfare, some here are writing of this
:09:43. > :09:45.
:09:45. > :09:49.administration and are predicting Inside Parliament, an impassioned
:09:49. > :09:53.speech from Prime Minister Gilani. We have made mistakes, he said.
:09:53. > :10:01.That doesn't mean a democracy should survive. If the worst comes
:10:01. > :10:06.to the worst, we will go before the Are the army is on the warpath
:10:06. > :10:10.because of a memo sent to the Americans last May. Asking for help
:10:10. > :10:16.to rein in the generals. Pakistan's president of denies he was behind
:10:16. > :10:22.it. The tanks have not been sent in this time. But experts believe the
:10:22. > :10:26.army will try to get the government out by other means. Pakistan
:10:26. > :10:30.Supreme Court might do the job for it. It could disqualify the Prime
:10:30. > :10:36.Minister over a long-running corruption case. Judges will
:10:36. > :10:38.consider that on Monday. Joining me now from Oxford is
:10:38. > :10:46.Professor Ifitikhar Malik, a leading analyst on Pakistani
:10:46. > :10:50.politics. Collision course clearly between the ruling party and the
:10:50. > :10:54.military. Do you suppose that we are talking about a true
:10:54. > :10:58.confrontation here? I think there is an element of confrontation but
:10:58. > :11:04.I don't think there will be a military coup. The army generals
:11:04. > :11:09.Pope control Pakistan for most of its history, will try to neutralise
:11:09. > :11:12.opposition through their own technical weaknesses which are
:11:12. > :11:19.exposed when Osama bin Laden was murdered. And Iran incident
:11:19. > :11:23.happened, near the Pakistani naval base. And it became a vulnerable to
:11:23. > :11:29.attack from the Libyans. And politicians in the government will
:11:29. > :11:33.try to assert their authority, their control over a military
:11:33. > :11:36.institution, so there have been imbalances within Pakistan, the
:11:36. > :11:41.military has been calling the shots. The military does not want to take
:11:41. > :11:48.the back seat now. Politicians have of course made mistakes, but sadly,
:11:48. > :11:52.in Pakistan history, which is repeated, I think all the three
:11:52. > :11:58.major institutions, judiciary, army and the government, have to cool
:11:58. > :12:05.down the Temmerman, sit back and develop a consensus. We have a vote
:12:05. > :12:09.of confidence next week. The likely it is early elections.
:12:09. > :12:12.possibility is the opposition will come around to support the
:12:12. > :12:17.Government because if this government goes, the People's Party
:12:17. > :12:20.goes, the opposition will also go in the sense that the military will
:12:20. > :12:25.then commander position and then it might be another few years before
:12:25. > :12:30.another political government is established, so politics will be
:12:30. > :12:35.the loser and the judiciary, and the media and civil society will be
:12:35. > :12:41.losers, so let's hope history does not repeat itself. Let the system
:12:41. > :12:44.work, let the system and rectify its own problems. And that the
:12:44. > :12:47.politicians sit together and resolve these issues through the
:12:47. > :12:55.parliament. And I think the judiciary should other politicians
:12:55. > :12:58.resolve this conflict. Thank you very much. The Nigerian government
:12:58. > :13:04.says its maiden of the to the trade unions after five days of strikes
:13:04. > :13:07.over the scrapping of a petrol subsidy. The protests have been
:13:07. > :13:10.suspended for two days to allow more talks with the government.
:13:10. > :13:13.Tens of thousands of Nigerians have come out in protest since Monday
:13:13. > :13:15.after the removal of the fuel subsidy led to petrol prices more
:13:15. > :13:22.than doubling. Mike Wooldridge looks at the challenges facing the
:13:22. > :13:26.government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
:13:26. > :13:29.The immediate crisis is over the price of fuel. Nigerians are
:13:29. > :13:34.protesting against the removal of subsidies that at long kept prices
:13:34. > :13:39.low. The savings intended for badly needed road improvement and other
:13:39. > :13:44.public projects. But prices more than doubled overnight. Leading
:13:44. > :13:50.other costs to soar, as well. For many people, it's the last straw
:13:50. > :13:54.for the fuel subsidy represent a contribution to daily lives in a
:13:54. > :14:00.very difficult economic situation for a lot of Nigerians. Removing
:14:00. > :14:06.the subsidy is something which is seen to simply be quite unfair and
:14:06. > :14:10.it puts pressure on attack situation for Nigerians. But these
:14:10. > :14:16.protests come amid an even more serious crisis once again
:14:17. > :14:24.highlighted the North-South divide. In Africa's most populous nation.
:14:24. > :14:28.This is the leader of a radical Islamist groups, with its roots in
:14:28. > :14:33.the Muslim north. Its actions have led some Christians in the north to
:14:33. > :14:37.flee southwards to where Christians are in the majority. They are
:14:37. > :14:43.attacking and trying to provoke a tension between Muslims and
:14:43. > :14:46.Christians for that they have recently attacked churches, killing
:14:46. > :14:51.Christians for the as falling to Al-Qaeda, I don't think they have
:14:51. > :14:55.got a link. But I think it is very convenient for them and the
:14:56. > :15:00.government to claim that there is a link. A politically orchestrated
:15:00. > :15:04.violence is nothing new but over the last year, and rest has focused
:15:04. > :15:08.on the North Pole. These are the places where the group has carried
:15:08. > :15:14.out attacks and amid growing concerns about retaliation,
:15:14. > :15:20.violence has occurred in the south. Five people were killed in a mosque.
:15:20. > :15:23.New troubles all round for a nation that wants to be recognised for its
:15:24. > :15:33.huge economic potential, not least because of its oil. Nigeria has
:15:34. > :15:36.
:15:36. > :15:40.been pushed to the brink many times I have been joined in the studio by
:15:40. > :15:44.the Nigerian novelist and journalist, Mohammed Umar. These
:15:44. > :15:47.talks going on between the trade unions and the government, do you
:15:47. > :15:52.think we're going to see some kind of compromise emerged, that the
:15:52. > :15:56.government will have to shift a bit? I don't think so. I think this
:15:56. > :15:59.is the mother of all deadlocks. For the first time in history we have a
:15:59. > :16:05.position where the majority of the people are saying they don't like
:16:05. > :16:09.what is happening and the government is digging in. Even if,
:16:09. > :16:14.assuming that the Trade Union Congress and the Nigerian Labour
:16:14. > :16:20.Congress agree to one or two things come with the government, I don't
:16:20. > :16:22.think the mass protest will stop, so it is one thing for the trade
:16:22. > :16:28.union representatives to agree with the government, it is another thing
:16:28. > :16:35.for the people on the ground to stop protesting because if people
:16:35. > :16:40.started protesting before the trade union representatives took over the
:16:40. > :16:45.leadership. And the person taking the flak, very much President
:16:45. > :16:50.Goodluck Jonathan. They have even taken to calling him back look
:16:50. > :16:55.Jennison in Nigeria. Yes, it is rather unfortunate but someone has
:16:55. > :17:00.to take the blame. The level of corruption in Nigeria is
:17:00. > :17:05.unbelievable and it is not the corruption, it is the weird is
:17:05. > :17:12.displayed. There is no shame in the way they display the corruption.
:17:12. > :17:15.For example in the 2012 budget they said they would allocate 6.5
:17:15. > :17:20.million for food, for the President and the Vice President. It is
:17:20. > :17:25.obscene. So this is tapping into that is content. If the instability
:17:25. > :17:29.were to get further out of hand, could the army moving? That is an
:17:29. > :17:34.option, and dangerous scenario because something has to be done.
:17:34. > :17:38.Whatever happens in Nigeria will not remain in Nigeria. It is a big
:17:38. > :17:42.country, it cannot afford to fail. 150 million people, something has
:17:42. > :17:47.to be done to stabilise the situation. Mohammed Umar, thank you
:17:47. > :17:51.for coming to talk to us about the situation in your native Nigeria.
:17:51. > :17:54.Staying in Africa, in South Sudan, dozens of people are still being
:17:54. > :17:58.killed in tribal clashes and thousands are being displayed --
:17:58. > :18:02.displaced in the latest violence more than 50 people, mostly women
:18:02. > :18:08.and children, were killed on Wednesday in continuing tit-for-tat
:18:08. > :18:12.attacks and cattle raids between the Lou Nuer and Murle people in
:18:12. > :18:16.the state of Jonglei. Many people have fled the violence and are in
:18:16. > :18:18.urgent need of humanitarian assistance. We report from
:18:18. > :18:22.neighbouring nine -- neighbouring Nairobi.
:18:22. > :18:27.These are the people caught in the middle of South Sudan's cycle of
:18:27. > :18:30.violence, slowly returning home after fleeing for their lives when
:18:30. > :18:34.the tribe burnt their homes and stole their cattle. The aid
:18:34. > :18:38.agencies are left to pick up the pieces but with an estimated 60,000
:18:39. > :18:44.people living in camps or hiding in the bush, officials admit they are
:18:44. > :18:54.struggling to cope. Today we are operating four helicopters taking
:18:54. > :18:55.
:18:55. > :18:59.food into Gumarok, Tibor, to assist the population. It is not enough.
:18:59. > :19:05.We need more and much bigger helicopters that will be able to do
:19:05. > :19:07.this more efficiently. Ethnic tensions over cattle and territory
:19:07. > :19:14.in the region have existed for decades but the most recent
:19:14. > :19:18.violence started last August when Murle fighters raided Lou Nuer
:19:18. > :19:22.villages, killing 600 people, abducting children and stealing
:19:22. > :19:27.25,000 cattle. The lunar and retaliated in late December and
:19:27. > :19:31.early January with as many as 6,000 men attacking the main Murle town
:19:31. > :19:37.of Tibor. Extra UN peacekeepers and soldiers were rushed to the Urdd --
:19:37. > :19:40.to the area and it was declared a disaster zone. In the latest
:19:40. > :19:44.attacks the Murle struck back, raising -- raiding Lou Nuer
:19:44. > :19:48.villages killing at least 50 people and making off with thousands of
:19:48. > :19:53.cattle. All the violence is happening in a country which is
:19:53. > :19:59.just six months old. There was euphoria in March in South Sudan
:19:59. > :20:04.when it broke away from the north after years of civil war but it was
:20:04. > :20:10.a messy divorce and coursed tension with the North, which still exists,
:20:10. > :20:14.mainly over territory, division of money. The government of South
:20:14. > :20:18.Saddam must work hard to avoid a return to civil war but it must
:20:18. > :20:26.build bridges between the rival ethnic groups to keep this fragile
:20:26. > :20:29.country together -- South Sudan. The Chinese speaking world is
:20:30. > :20:34.gearing up for major political change this year. More than 60
:20:34. > :20:38.years on from the civil war that split China and Taiwan, both are
:20:38. > :20:41.facing leadership changes. In the autumn China will see its Communist
:20:41. > :20:46.Party select a new generation of leaders behind closed doors but
:20:46. > :20:51.just 100 miles offshore, Taiwan holds open and democratic elections
:20:51. > :20:55.this weekend. Many in China are watching closely as Damian
:20:55. > :21:00.Grammaticas reports from the Taiwanese capital, Taipei.
:21:00. > :21:04.Soaring above Taipei, the second tallest building in the world,
:21:04. > :21:09.built to put Taiwan, so long overshadowed by China, on the map.
:21:09. > :21:17.Today, its observatory is full of Chinese tourists. Curious about
:21:17. > :21:21.this island their country claims. Today, what they see is this, and
:21:21. > :21:27.noisy campaign, democracy happening in the Chinese world just 100 miles
:21:27. > :21:30.from China's shores. TRANSLATION: I have seen many banners and flags.
:21:30. > :21:35.It looks really interesting. We don't have anything like this in
:21:35. > :21:40.China. Taiwan has only just begun welcoming Chinese tourists after
:21:40. > :21:45.decades of separation. Two million came last year. This is Asia's
:21:45. > :21:51.biggest store. Christian Dior is building the biggest store in the
:21:51. > :21:54.world here, targeting the visitors and China's new spending power.
:21:54. > :22:00.Taiwan's president says the island has to open to China, to recognise
:22:00. > :22:05.its economic rise. He has made ending decades of its hostility his
:22:05. > :22:12.priority. What is the importance of that, of building closer relations
:22:12. > :22:16.with China? Peace, peace. PCS says, and prosperity. But at what price?
:22:16. > :22:21.The rise of China is leading to some really difficult questions for
:22:21. > :22:25.Taiwan. Does this island have any choice but to hitch its economic
:22:25. > :22:30.future to its giant neighbour? Well that ensure Taiwan's continued
:22:30. > :22:34.prosperity, or will it threatened the island's hard-won freedoms?
:22:34. > :22:40.Taiwan's opposition fears China could dominate Taiwan, threaten its
:22:40. > :22:46.democracy. China is a source of uncertainties for the region and
:22:46. > :22:51.for Taiwan as well. Since the civil war split, the two have taken very
:22:51. > :22:57.different paths. China insists it will take Taiwan by force if
:22:57. > :23:01.necessary. In China the political system remains frozen. President Hu
:23:01. > :23:06.Jintao will this way -- will this year make way for a new Communist
:23:06. > :23:12.leader to be chosen by the party in secret. But can Taiwan influence
:23:12. > :23:15.China? Yes, it can, says this man, who did -- Hutu decades ago was a
:23:15. > :23:23.leader of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
:23:23. > :23:30.I have been hearing this so much from Chinese tourists, who say when
:23:30. > :23:34.will the day come for us so that we can choose? -- our own leaders?
:23:34. > :23:38.Communist Party says China is not ready or suited for democracy.
:23:38. > :23:45.Taiwan hopes its example can prove otherwise. Many here fear the
:23:45. > :23:50.independence they now enjoy could be crushed asked China rises.
:23:50. > :23:54.It was supposed to be heading to Mars to take rock samples from one
:23:54. > :23:58.of the Red Planet's moons but some time this weekend the Russian
:23:58. > :24:02.spacecraft -- spacecraft Phobos- Grunt is expected to come crashing
:24:02. > :24:06.back to earth following a serious malfunction. No one knows when it
:24:06. > :24:11.will return, or more importantly, where it will hit, but its imminent
:24:11. > :24:16.re-entry has highlighted the increasing danger of space debris
:24:16. > :24:21.as undersides correspondent David Shukman reports. -- as a science
:24:21. > :24:26.correspondent reports. A swarm of dots circling the Earth,
:24:26. > :24:29.15,002 are all rockets and other junk. An orbiting rubbish dump
:24:29. > :24:33.created after half-a-century of space flight. Last November a
:24:33. > :24:37.Russian launch added yet another piece of debris. The mission was
:24:37. > :24:41.meant to fly to Mars. We did get off the ground but something went
:24:41. > :24:47.wrong and now the Russians believe their spacecraft will crash back
:24:47. > :24:50.into the Indian Ocean. But no one can be sure. From experience it is
:24:50. > :24:57.difficult, almost impossible at this stage, to predict exactly when
:24:57. > :25:00.and where the object will come in. To be able to say at this stage you
:25:00. > :25:04.have to control the aircraft and we don't believe they have control of
:25:04. > :25:09.it. So what will happen to the spacecraft? It is orbiting every 90
:25:09. > :25:14.minutes between 51 degrees north and 51 degrees south, so it could
:25:14. > :25:18.land anywhere in between, most likely in the ocean. But the zone
:25:18. > :25:22.just includes southern England below the M4 corridor. Most of the
:25:22. > :25:26.spacecraft will burn up as it falls to earth but some components matter
:25:26. > :25:33.more than others. The tanks, filled with fuel for the long journey to
:25:33. > :25:36.Mars, should leak and burn off long before they reach the surface. The
:25:36. > :25:40.moment European spacecraft blew up while falling to earth. This was
:25:40. > :25:44.meant to happen and generally there is very little risk to anyone on
:25:44. > :25:50.the ground. The bigger danger is space junk damaging the satellites
:25:50. > :25:53.that we depend on. Anything, even as small as a cherry, going up
:25:53. > :25:57.17,500 miles an hour, which they are going around in orbit, but can
:25:57. > :26:01.be similar to an explosion of a hand grenade right next to your
:26:01. > :26:08.satellites and even a small pieces caused problems. The Russian
:26:08. > :26:12.spacecraft was designed to land on Bob Ross, and of Mars. -- on Phobos.
:26:12. > :26:18.It would have been a scientific triumph. Instead the world is now
:26:18. > :26:22.waiting for a crash. Let's hope that debris lands in the
:26:22. > :26:27.ocean. Now the main stories, which has
:26:27. > :26:32.been confirmed. While we have been on air. The French Finance Minister
:26:32. > :26:36.has confirmed that his country has lost its triple-A credit rating,
:26:36. > :26:45.the Standard and Poor's agency has cut fans's rating by an entire
:26:45. > :26:48.point to just do Belem. -- France. The finance minister has said there
:26:48. > :26:53.will be no new austerity measures despite the downgrade. Very
:26:54. > :27:01.disappointing news for France, Justin. Next, the weather. From me,
:27:01. > :27:05.Zeinab Badawi, goodbye and enjoy Hello, you got the idea today. Keep
:27:05. > :27:08.the thought in your head. It is the sort of weather we will get through
:27:08. > :27:12.the weekend. A widespread frost tonight but tomorrow the first
:27:12. > :27:16.lifts and we will get spells of bright winter sunshine in most
:27:16. > :27:20.areas. High pressure dominating the scene across the UK, keeping the
:27:20. > :27:25.mild Atlantic air at bay. It will be the case over the weekend and
:27:25. > :27:28.into the early part of next week. The frost clears. There will be fog
:27:28. > :27:31.which will take a little time to clear that it should eventually go.
:27:31. > :27:35.Patchy cloud at times in the west of the UK but across northern
:27:35. > :27:39.England and the eastern side of England, long spells of sunshine
:27:39. > :27:43.into the afternoon. Not particularly warm. Six Celsius in
:27:43. > :27:47.London, near the January average. More of a breeze across south-west
:27:47. > :27:51.London -- across south-west England and Wales, just drifting some cloud
:27:51. > :27:55.through. Keeping temperatures higher, seven or eight Celsius.
:27:55. > :27:59.Across mid-Wales, temperatures stay below freezing. The Northern
:27:59. > :28:03.Ireland, not a bad day, the cloud will break up to allow spells of
:28:03. > :28:08.sunshine through but the breeze will make it feel chilly, coming in
:28:08. > :28:10.from the south-east. Six Celsius. Cloud across western Scotland and
:28:10. > :28:14.across the higher ground temperatures remaining below