:00:11. > :00:16.This is BBC World News Today with me, Tim Willcox. Two more western
:00:16. > :00:18.journalists are killed in Syria. The American reporter Marie Colvin
:00:18. > :00:28.and French photojournalist Remi Oshlik die after their building in
:00:28. > :00:29.
:00:29. > :00:32.Homs is shelled by government forces. This is a sad reminder of
:00:32. > :00:34.the risks journalists take to inform the world of what is
:00:34. > :00:36.happening. As Syrian forces continue to kill
:00:36. > :00:42.civilians with apparent impunity, what more should the international
:00:42. > :00:44.community be doing? Nearly 50 people are killed in
:00:44. > :00:54.Argentina after a rush-hour commuter train crashes into the
:00:54. > :00:57.
:00:57. > :01:02.buffers in Buenos Aires. A militant group loses control of a
:01:02. > :01:04.key town in Somalia. Also coming up in the programme. A
:01:04. > :01:06.resignation and a pitch for his old job?
:01:06. > :01:08.Kevin Rudd stands down as Australia's Foreign Minister, and
:01:08. > :01:10.is widely expected to launch a leadership challenge against the
:01:10. > :01:16.woman who ousted him as Prime Minister.
:01:16. > :01:26.And spotting the warning signs of a heart attack. Are the usual
:01:26. > :01:28.
:01:28. > :01:32.symptoms the same for women as well Hello and welcome. It has been
:01:32. > :01:34.another desperate day in the Syrian city of Homs with two more Western
:01:34. > :01:40.journalists and at least 20, potentially 80 others, killed in a
:01:40. > :01:42.prolonged rocket and shell attack. Award-winning Marie Colvin, a
:01:42. > :01:47.veteran American born war correspondent for the Sunday Times
:01:47. > :01:52.newspaper, and French photo journalist Remi Oshlick were killed.
:01:52. > :01:54.Two other journalists with them were injured. Their deaths
:01:54. > :01:57.highlight once again the daily slaughter in Homs, with reports
:01:57. > :02:07.that Syrian armed forces are operating a shoot-to-kill policy on
:02:07. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:27.Today, shelling of Homs. It has been like this for every day for
:02:27. > :02:35.almost three weeks. Syria's regime is trying to crush the revolution.
:02:35. > :02:39.The district of Baba Amr is holding out, but only just. Houses have
:02:39. > :02:44.been reduced to rubble. This one was the base of the few foreign
:02:44. > :02:49.journalists here. Many people died when his building was hit. Among
:02:49. > :02:53.them, Marie Colvin, one of the most respected foreign correspondents of
:02:53. > :03:01.her generation. Before she was killed, she described an attack on
:03:01. > :03:07.a city full of cold and hungry civilians. It's absolutely
:03:08. > :03:12.sickening. Today, shelling started at 6:30am. I counted 14 shells,
:03:12. > :03:19.hitting just a civilian area within 30 seconds. There is a small clinic,
:03:19. > :03:25.you cannot even really call it a clinic, it is an apartment. I
:03:25. > :03:30.watched a little baby died today. Absolutely horrific. A two-year-old,
:03:30. > :03:34.they found the shrapnel had gone into his chest. The doctor just
:03:34. > :03:40.said, I cannot do anything. His stomach kept heaving until he died.
:03:40. > :03:45.That is happening over and over. No one here can understand how the
:03:45. > :03:55.international community can let this happen. The French
:03:55. > :03:56.
:03:56. > :04:00.photographer Remi Ochlik also died. And Rami al-Sayed. President
:04:00. > :04:06.Sarkozy said the journalist's best shows that the Syrian regime should
:04:06. > :04:15.go. William Hague said it was a terrible reminder of the suffering
:04:15. > :04:19.of the Syrian people. But the bombardment of Homs is relentless.
:04:19. > :04:24.The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for a
:04:24. > :04:30.humanitarian ceasefire, all victims of this conflict. There is growing
:04:30. > :04:35.international support for this demand. There are two fighters in
:04:35. > :04:40.Homs. They have only Kalashnikovs against the military's artillery.
:04:40. > :04:44.Western governments say they will not arm the rebels, though that may
:04:44. > :04:50.change. Syria's border with Lebanon. A few refugees have made it out.
:04:50. > :04:55.Many more can be expected, as the violence escalates. The
:04:55. > :04:59.international community has often seemed paralysed over Syria. The
:04:59. > :05:09.demand for a ceasefire may attract support, but even those nations
:05:09. > :05:11.
:05:11. > :05:13.that -- may attract support, even from those nations that back Syria.
:05:13. > :05:16.Today, Britain's Prime Minister led tributes to Marie Colvin, a
:05:16. > :05:19.journalist who won numerous awards for her work. For two decades, she
:05:19. > :05:22.reported from the world's most dangerous places. From Sierra Leone
:05:22. > :05:27.to Chechnya, she drew attention to the plight of civilians caught in
:05:27. > :05:32.conflict. Fergal Keane has this report.
:05:32. > :05:36.Marie Colvin was a rare kind of correspondent. Brave under fire,
:05:36. > :05:40.but defined above all by her humanity. Among those paying
:05:40. > :05:44.tribute today was the prime minister. Members of the House will
:05:45. > :05:49.have seen reports that the talented and respected foreign correspondent
:05:49. > :05:53.of the Sunday Times, Marie Colvin, has been killed in Syria. This is a
:05:53. > :05:56.sad reminder of the risks journalists take to win from the
:05:57. > :06:01.world of what is happening, and the dreadful events in Syria. Our
:06:01. > :06:06.thoughts should be with her family and friends. Marie Colvin was an
:06:06. > :06:16.American who made her name working for the Sunday Times. A statement
:06:16. > :06:25.
:06:25. > :06:30.Marie Colvin made a specialism of reporting in the Middle-East. She
:06:30. > :06:37.covered most of the major conflicts of the last 30 years. She narrowly
:06:37. > :06:43.escaped death in 2001 insure Lanka, where she was badly wounded. -- in
:06:43. > :06:52.Sri Lanka. If you cover a war, you weigh up the risks. I lost my sight
:06:52. > :06:57.in my left eye. Without taking that risk, there was no way to go.
:06:57. > :07:02.to see. Jeremy Bowen. Mary Calvin. She was a Mollet small group last
:07:02. > :07:06.year to interview Colonel Gaddafi. Her editor recalled a singularly
:07:06. > :07:11.determined reporter. She believed she was a witness there to report
:07:11. > :07:15.things, and she believed in getting into places where no other people
:07:15. > :07:19.could go, and she would stay there and reported, and try and make a
:07:19. > :07:29.difference. Tonight, candles were lit in her memory at St Bride's,
:07:29. > :07:32.
:07:32. > :07:35.the journalist church in London. Her devotion to the human story of
:07:35. > :07:38.war. Jean-Pierre Perrin is a journalist
:07:38. > :07:42.with the French newspaper Liberation who spent five days with
:07:42. > :07:50.Marie Colvin and left Homs on Sunday. He went to Beirut, from
:07:50. > :07:57.where we can speak to him now. You both left initially, but Marie
:07:57. > :08:05.Colvin went back. Did she know the danger she was putting herself in?
:08:05. > :08:15.Of course she knew perfectly. It is not the most dangerous places in
:08:15. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:33.the world. -- it is one of the most dangerous places in the world. At
:08:33. > :08:35.
:08:35. > :08:43.one time, I felt really exhausted, and she gave me support. She told
:08:43. > :08:53.me to do my best and go on. It was very hard. The thing how would like
:08:53. > :08:55.
:08:55. > :09:05.to say also is, we had been told to leave immediately Homs. That was on
:09:05. > :09:09.
:09:09. > :09:19.Friday or Saturday. We were told to look very quickly, in the night.
:09:19. > :09:20.
:09:20. > :09:27.She was with May at the time. -- with me. She decided to come back.
:09:27. > :09:35.Did you get the sense, and have you any proof, that Syrian forces are
:09:35. > :09:44.targeting foreign media in Homs at the moment? What I can say is that
:09:44. > :09:54.the centre has been targeted several times. We can see that very
:09:54. > :09:54.
:09:54. > :10:00.easily. Part of the building has been already reached. The family
:10:00. > :10:10.that was living at the top of the centre was obliged to leave the
:10:10. > :10:13.
:10:13. > :10:23.building. This house has also been targeted by a new shell. It is a
:10:23. > :10:34.
:10:34. > :10:37.very obvious thing. Thank you very much indeed.
:10:37. > :10:44.From Cairo, we are joined by Robert Mahoney, deputy Director of
:10:44. > :10:48.Committee to Protect Journalists. What does this tell you about the
:10:48. > :10:55.risks to journalists it press centres are being deliberately
:10:55. > :10:59.targeted? It is very disturbing if that is correct. We have seen
:10:59. > :11:06.reports that the press centre abort deliberately targeted, although
:11:06. > :11:12.there has been no evidence -- the press centre was deliberately
:11:12. > :11:21.targeted. Going into a city like this was very dangerous. Marie was
:11:21. > :11:25.very courageous. On the target in, some reports are suggesting that
:11:25. > :11:29.Lebanese intelligence have intercepted radio comic -- radio
:11:29. > :11:37.communication between Syrian troops, talking about all means necessary
:11:37. > :11:47.to take out the international press. If that is the case, what should
:11:47. > :11:50.
:11:50. > :11:53.the international community be doing? If that is the case,
:11:53. > :11:56.journalists and civilians are protected under the Geneva
:11:56. > :12:01.conventions under normal international law, and should not
:12:01. > :12:05.be targeted. Therefore, that must be documented. If there is proof,
:12:05. > :12:15.it is a war crime, and if it is proven to be a crime, those who
:12:15. > :12:19.
:12:19. > :12:22.committed it must be held to account. Thank you very much.
:12:22. > :12:30.Ed Vulliamy is a journalist at the Observer who knew Marie Colvin, and
:12:30. > :12:34.he joins me now here in the studio. We all know the risks, and the
:12:34. > :12:44.risks we are prepared to take. Is as something Marie Colvin knew?
:12:44. > :12:46.
:12:46. > :12:55.This is a sickening sorrow. It is becoming horribly familiar. I knew
:12:55. > :13:05.marine well. She was at the Sunday Times and I was at the Observer. I
:13:05. > :13:10.
:13:10. > :13:17.think it was around the first time in Iraq, I met her in Iraq, and I
:13:17. > :13:27.think there is an assumption that you can plan a wall, but there are
:13:27. > :13:27.
:13:27. > :13:34.rules. They are as different from each other as can be. It reminds me
:13:34. > :13:41.a little bit of the situation in Bosnia. Journalists were targeted
:13:41. > :13:45.as well as civilians. Out their stories, his Homs to a dangerous
:13:45. > :13:52.for the international media to cover at the moment? This is a
:13:52. > :13:57.terrible dilemma. When people say, is it safe to go to Mexico to cover
:13:57. > :14:03.the drug war, though, it is not. Is it safe to go to Homs? No,
:14:03. > :14:10.absolutely not. The terrible dilemma is, their wrath financial
:14:10. > :14:20.pressures on news organisations -- there are financial pressures. We
:14:20. > :14:24.
:14:24. > :14:28.do need people with the experience, people who can look at these
:14:28. > :14:38.conflicts through different lenses. We cannot plan that experience, as
:14:38. > :14:39.
:14:39. > :14:45.we have found out today. And very briefly, lock will run out? Yes. It
:14:45. > :14:47.is all the talk. Thank you very much.
:14:47. > :14:50.Now a look at some of the day's other news.
:14:50. > :14:53.Five people are known to have been killed and dozens wounded in
:14:53. > :14:57.protests in Afghanistan over what NATO said was the inadvertent
:14:57. > :15:00.burning of copies of the Koran by its troops. Protesters chanted
:15:01. > :15:10."death to America", smashed windows and burned tyres. US officials have
:15:11. > :15:11.
:15:11. > :15:14.apologised for the incident at the Bagram military base. The judge in
:15:14. > :15:17.the trial of the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has said he
:15:17. > :15:19.will deliver his verdict on June the 2nd. The former president,
:15:19. > :15:22.along with other officials, is accused of being responsible for
:15:22. > :15:24.the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the uprising last
:15:24. > :15:27.year. Divers working on the wreck of the
:15:27. > :15:29.cruise ship the Costa Concordia off the Italian coast have found eight
:15:29. > :15:31.more bodies inside. Italian prosecutors say they have placed
:15:31. > :15:41.another seven people under investigation, in addition to the
:15:41. > :15:43.
:15:43. > :15:48.At least 49 people have been killed in a train accident in when his
:15:48. > :15:53.diaries, hundreds more were injured. Latest reports say that the train
:15:53. > :15:58.failed to stop at the barrier at the end of the platform. Dozens of
:15:58. > :16:02.people remain trapped inside. Let's get the latest from a bonus arias.
:16:02. > :16:07.What is the latest you're getting in terms of casualties and how many
:16:07. > :16:12.people are trapped? All of the people who were trapped have been
:16:12. > :16:15.taken to the safety and are in hospital now. It is believed 100
:16:15. > :16:19.people could have been trapped. To get an idea of how difficult this
:16:19. > :16:23.was, the roofs of the carriages had to be lived off -- lifted off and
:16:23. > :16:28.people had to be taken out. They were crammed into each other as the
:16:28. > :16:32.train hit the barriers. Most are in hospital, but there is be concerned
:16:33. > :16:38.by that many of them will survive because they have critical injuries.
:16:38. > :16:43.It was a packed train. Was it travelling fast? What sort of
:16:43. > :16:48.safety record does a Argentina have? I have been speaking in the
:16:48. > :16:52.last hour with safety experts and they say in general, the safety of
:16:52. > :16:57.the rails is OK. Accidents can happen, but what they are concerned
:16:57. > :17:01.about is the level of investment into the lines and carriages which
:17:01. > :17:04.is something that is being looked out by the investigation being
:17:04. > :17:08.carried out. The whole area where the accident occurred is been
:17:08. > :17:12.cordoned off by the police. There is a judge in charge of the
:17:12. > :17:17.investigation, trying to determine if the company did not have a set
:17:17. > :17:23.the -- save the investments which led to this tragic accident. Thank
:17:23. > :17:27.you very much. In Somalia, a major stronghold of
:17:27. > :17:33.the Al-Shabaab militant group has fallen without a single shot being
:17:33. > :17:38.fired to government control. They have said that they will start a
:17:38. > :17:45.guerrilla war in response to its base there. The number of troops
:17:45. > :17:49.will rise from 12,000 to just under 18,000. Somalia's Prime Minister is
:17:49. > :17:53.in London for a major international conference been hosted by Britain
:17:53. > :17:59.on Thursday. Our world affairs correspondent asked him whether Al-
:17:59. > :18:07.Shabaab, which is linked to Al- Qaeda, had simply withdrawn.
:18:08. > :18:12.They left the capital city when the Somali National Army... You mean
:18:12. > :18:18.the Ethiopians? Yes, when they were closer to the city. They left
:18:18. > :18:23.because they were unable to understand the military force that
:18:23. > :18:25.was approaching the city. There has been some talk of possible
:18:25. > :18:34.airstrikes against Al-Shabaab positions. Is there something you
:18:34. > :18:40.would be in favour of? We favour a targeted air strike against Al-
:18:41. > :18:46.Qaeda in Somalia, but we also would like to state that as a government,
:18:46. > :18:51.the safety and the security of the lives and property of Somalis is
:18:51. > :18:58.important for us. We did not welcome an air strike that could
:18:58. > :19:01.kill innocent Somalis, but we favour targeted air strikes against
:19:01. > :19:09.Al-Qaeda in Somalia. Are you not concerned about the possible
:19:09. > :19:16.military escalation of that we could be moving towards? Of course
:19:16. > :19:21.not, because Al-Qaeda in Somalia or refuse to to negotiate and sit down
:19:21. > :19:25.with the Somalis, to have a dialogue in the peace process. We
:19:25. > :19:33.believe that we cannot reach a peace through violence. At the same
:19:33. > :19:37.time, we will not allow others to use violence. Therefore this
:19:37. > :19:43.organisation has been wreaking havoc in Somalia, particularly in
:19:43. > :19:47.the south. It has to be dealt with. It is an international menace and
:19:47. > :19:50.it has to be addressed internationally and globally. That
:19:50. > :19:57.is why Vinnie the international community to help us defeat this
:19:57. > :20:01.menace. Australia's governing Labour party
:20:01. > :20:06.is in turmoil after the resignation of Kevin Wright as foreign minister.
:20:06. > :20:13.He stepped down because of attacked -- attacks on his integrity. --
:20:13. > :20:18.Kevin it right. Julia Gillard ousted him as prime minister in
:20:18. > :20:22.2010. The announcement came with some
:20:22. > :20:26.unexpected drama. In the middle of the night, there was a news
:20:26. > :20:33.conference where Kevin Rudd has been on a visit. I cannot continue
:20:33. > :20:37.to serve as a foreign minister if I do not have Julia Gillard's support.
:20:37. > :20:42.I therefore believe the only honourable thing and the only
:20:42. > :20:46.honourable course of action this for me to resign.
:20:46. > :20:51.The resignation was not a complete surprise. The speculation has been
:20:51. > :20:55.fermenting for much of Australia's summer and has been just as stormy.
:20:55. > :21:00.But why has he done it? Many say he is still angry with the Prime
:21:00. > :21:04.Minister for taking his job in two -- in June 2010 and that he wants
:21:04. > :21:08.it back. Others say he does not believe that Julia Gillard can win
:21:08. > :21:18.the next there -- election for the government. Later, she get her
:21:18. > :21:24.
:21:24. > :21:28.There is not much warmth between the Prime Minister and current
:21:28. > :21:33.bride. Both have different personal styles and backgrounds. But what
:21:33. > :21:37.this does not seem to be about is the policy differences.
:21:37. > :21:41.Kevin Wright resigning it does not necessarily mean it Kevin Raad
:21:41. > :21:45.challenging Julia Gillard. It -- if he does go for it, he has a lot of
:21:45. > :21:48.calculations to make. Does he have the numbers, what would it give the
:21:48. > :21:53.party unity, and what would Australians think of having him
:21:53. > :21:57.back as prime minister? Australia counts in many foreign
:21:57. > :22:02.arenas, from Afghanistan to the Pacific, from NATO to the World
:22:02. > :22:07.Bank. Who leads its government matters. As former prime minister,
:22:07. > :22:15.Kevin Rudd knows that. He now has to decide what he wants for himself,
:22:15. > :22:20.his party and his country. We are promised an answer by Monday.
:22:20. > :22:25.In China, Tibetans are today marking the start of their new year.
:22:25. > :22:29.The did they -- the Tibetan government has told Tibetans in the
:22:30. > :22:35.country to boycott celebrations in protest against a security
:22:35. > :22:41.crackdown. These are the pictures that China
:22:41. > :22:48.wants the world to see. Tibetans at a temple in Beijing marking the
:22:48. > :22:52.start of any year. But away from the capital, there is a mood of
:22:52. > :22:59.quiet of defiance and determination. Monks at this monastery in western
:22:59. > :23:03.China say they will not be celebrating the year in protest
:23:03. > :23:08.against the continuing crackdown. Holding a picture of the Dalai Lama,
:23:08. > :23:14.this monk is fearful of government reprisals. He does not want to be
:23:14. > :23:19.identified. TRANSLATION: We have no freedom, no religious freedom. We
:23:19. > :23:23.do not even have freedom of speech. The pressure is too great. When we
:23:23. > :23:28.protest, they opened fire. There is nothing we can do.
:23:28. > :23:33.China has launched a massive crackdown against protesters. More
:23:33. > :23:37.than 20 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in the last year.
:23:37. > :23:44.Campaign groups say hundreds of people may have been detained.
:23:44. > :23:48.China says it has tightened security as the unrest continues.
:23:48. > :23:53.TRANSLATION: Under the circumstances, the local government
:23:53. > :23:57.has tightened security measures in the Tibetan area to ensure social
:23:57. > :24:01.stability. But China does not want the world
:24:01. > :24:07.to see what is happening in its Tibetan communities. This should be
:24:07. > :24:14.a time of celebration, but instead it is a sombre affair. Many
:24:14. > :24:18.Tibetans fear of what the new year could bring.
:24:18. > :24:22.Women are suffering from heart attack may not experience the same
:24:22. > :24:26.classic chest pains that men do. That is according to a new study
:24:26. > :24:30.carried out in the United States. Researchers suggest this could can
:24:30. > :24:34.for a much higher death rate among * Women who sum up -- we suffer
:24:34. > :24:39.from heart attacks as they may not be getting the right treatment.
:24:39. > :24:42.When a heart attack strikes, time is vital. Delays can make the
:24:42. > :24:47.difference between life and death. But for women, especially young
:24:47. > :24:51.women, it could be more important. A woman under 55 here has a heart
:24:51. > :24:55.attack is more likely to die compared to a man in the same age.
:24:55. > :24:58.Part of the reason may lie in the different symptoms displayed by
:24:58. > :25:02.women according to researchers in the United States. Looking at
:25:02. > :25:07.hospital admissions, they found that there were none of the classic
:25:07. > :25:12.chest pains associated with heart attack in a 42 % of women, compared
:25:12. > :25:17.with 30 % of men. Death rates among women were higher, more than 14 %
:25:17. > :25:21.are women died compared to just over 10 % of men. BT message of
:25:21. > :25:26.this study is that while women, and especially young women, may not
:25:26. > :25:29.have heart attacks very often, when they do, they may not present just
:25:29. > :25:33.as we are taught in textbooks, which is chest pain. We have to be
:25:34. > :25:37.alert and vigilant and open-minded. This study adds to previous
:25:37. > :25:41.evidence that women sometimes do not have the same symptoms as men.
:25:41. > :25:45.The British Heart Foundation has already warned women to be aware
:25:45. > :25:50.that heart attacks can cause severe pain or nothing more than mild
:25:50. > :25:54.discomfort or headiness, but is as those symptoms can be overlooked by
:25:54. > :25:59.in experienced medical staff, particularly on a relatively rare
:25:59. > :26:05.occasion when a heart attacks strike a young woman.
:26:05. > :26:09.The headlines: It has been another desperate day in the serial. Two
:26:09. > :26:14.more Western journalists and 20 other civilians, some reports
:26:14. > :26:20.saying 80, have been killed in attacks. The award winning Marie
:26:20. > :26:24.Colvin and a veteran journalist, and a French journalist, Remi
:26:24. > :26:29.Oshlick, were killed. Two other journalists were injured in that
:26:29. > :26:33.attack. At least 49 people have been killed
:26:33. > :26:38.in a train accident in Argentina. Hundreds more have been injured.
:26:38. > :26:42.Latest reports say the train came into a busy station, failed to stop
:26:42. > :26:45.and hit a barrier at the end of the platform. The transport minister
:26:45. > :26:55.said the train's brakes appeared -- appeared to have failed.
:26:55. > :27:01.
:27:01. > :27:06.That is it. Next, the weather. Good After a wet and windy Wednesday, it
:27:06. > :27:11.is all change for Thursday as it becomes about the temperatures. An
:27:11. > :27:15.exceptionally mild day, but it will be fairly cloudy. Not a lot of
:27:15. > :27:19.sunshine around. Through the forecast, our weather front, which
:27:19. > :27:24.brought the rain on Wednesday, moves south. There is another one
:27:24. > :27:28.moving into Scotland. Many places on Thursday will have a dry day.
:27:28. > :27:31.You can see there will be a few holes in the cloud and it is where
:27:31. > :27:36.we get the breaks that there will be some brightness and the
:27:36. > :27:43.temperatures will respond. But even if you have got the cloud, it will
:27:43. > :27:48.feel quite mild. A spring-like day if you are stepping out tomorrow,
:27:48. > :27:51.breezy from the south-west, and a touch cooler around the coast. For
:27:51. > :27:56.western areas, the cloud will be much thicker. We could even see
:27:56. > :28:02.some mist around parts of Wales. 12 degrees on the coast, but East
:28:02. > :28:08.Wales, a fairly high temperatures. The Northern Ireland, around 14
:28:08. > :28:14.degrees, but more like 12 all but - - or 13. Through the Northern