:00:15. > :00:19.This is BBC World News today with me, Zeinab Badawi. Crisis talks on
:00:19. > :00:24.Syria deliver a stern warning to the Government to implement a
:00:24. > :00:30.ceasefire or face sanctions. Despite the absence of Russia and
:00:30. > :00:36.China, Britain says progress has been made. A real determination to
:00:36. > :00:41.tighten a diplomatic and economic stranglehold on the regime. The is
:00:41. > :00:47.the Syrian government beginning to listen? The Red Cross says it is
:00:47. > :00:51.negotiating in the City of Homs to evacuate the wounded.
:00:51. > :00:56.More protests in Afghanistan and Pakistan against the burning of the
:00:56. > :01:01.Koran at a US military base in Afghanistan. Will the anger
:01:01. > :01:04.subside? The UN's nuclear watchdog says Iran
:01:04. > :01:10.is increasing its Iranian -- uranium enrichment programme. Also
:01:10. > :01:14.coming up, it is that time of year again. Hollywood's big weekend
:01:14. > :01:24.starts now. We take a look at the foreign films that might be taking
:01:24. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:28.home an Oscar. And how this South African music
:01:28. > :01:38.legend boosted school attendance by returning at 60 years of age to
:01:38. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :01:45.finish is studying. -- finish his studying.
:01:45. > :01:49.Urgent talks aimed at stopping the violence in Syria have been taking
:01:49. > :01:53.place in Tunisia. The International Conference has called on the Syrian
:01:53. > :02:02.government forces to introduce a ceasefire immediately and allow aid
:02:02. > :02:05.in or face a range of new sanctions. A official declaration is expected
:02:05. > :02:09.shortly. -- an official declaration. In the last half-hour it has been
:02:09. > :02:15.said that the Red Cross has been associating with the authorities
:02:15. > :02:20.and opposition to evacuate those of urgent need of assistance in Homs.
:02:20. > :02:26.There are reports that the evacuation has begun.
:02:26. > :02:30.Baba Amr in Homs today where Syrians are being shelled by their
:02:30. > :02:35.own government. On one street, people gather to send a message to
:02:35. > :02:43.the conference in Tunisia to intervene. "Help us, militarily or
:02:43. > :02:46.not a tall,'s says one banner. And more footage. Jubilant opposition
:02:46. > :02:55.fighters with remnants of an armoured vehicle they say they
:02:55. > :03:00.destroy it. They won the outside world to arm them. At the
:03:00. > :03:04.conference in Tunis, the array of foreign ministers opposed to
:03:04. > :03:07.President Assad is impressive yet even powerful countries like the
:03:07. > :03:12.United States have to admit that they are helpless to stop the
:03:12. > :03:17.violence. The problem is, who is not in the Conference Room. Russia
:03:17. > :03:23.and China refused to come, and without any allies of President
:03:23. > :03:30.Assad, there is no way to getting to agree to a ceasefire. Outside, a
:03:31. > :03:35.small, noisy protest of pro President Assad demonstrators
:03:35. > :03:40.briefly disrupted proceedings, a reminder that not everyone is
:03:40. > :03:42.against the Syrian President. Ever since Russia and China blocked a UN
:03:42. > :03:47.presence -- UN resolution criticising Syria, the outside
:03:47. > :03:53.world has been split. Until that changes, giving authority to do
:03:53. > :03:57.anything in Syria will be very difficult. We have now reached the
:03:57. > :04:02.point where this is clearly a criminal regime. Yes, of course,
:04:02. > :04:06.all our efforts so far, but the Security Council, trying to agree a
:04:06. > :04:12.resolution, based on the Arab League plan, involving a cessation
:04:12. > :04:16.of violence, those efforts have been frustrated by Russia and China.
:04:16. > :04:20.To tackle the violence in Syria there are no easy options. Any
:04:20. > :04:24.ceasefire would need President Assad's consent, calling for
:04:24. > :04:28.humanitarian corridor as is also tricky. They would need armed
:04:28. > :04:32.protection. On the opposition could also be dangerous. It might just
:04:32. > :04:38.make the bloodshed worse. -- arming of the opposition.
:04:38. > :04:41.Meanwhile, it is a waiting game. As far as humanitarian aid goes, all
:04:41. > :04:46.the conference can do is prepare for a future when Syria's Borders
:04:47. > :04:56.will not be closed, by stockpiling a day in neighbouring countries and
:04:57. > :04:57.
:04:57. > :05:07.keeping up the diplomatic pressure. -- stockpiling aid.
:05:07. > :05:09.
:05:09. > :05:12.A spokesman for the Syrian National Council joins us now. The SNC chief
:05:12. > :05:17.has said that the conference does not meet the aspirations of the
:05:17. > :05:21.serene people. Why? We are looking for military support for the Syrian
:05:21. > :05:26.people. We are calling for the international community to impose a
:05:26. > :05:31.safe zone and a humanitarian corridor. There is no action, there
:05:31. > :05:37.is no implementation, and there is no mechanism to put this idea on
:05:37. > :05:40.the ground. This is why the Saudi minister of foreign affairs even
:05:40. > :05:43.was upset by the outcome of the conference. This is the first time
:05:44. > :05:49.you see that the Arab League is in advance of the international
:05:49. > :05:52.community, in advance of the United States and Europe. The Arab League
:05:52. > :05:59.is appealing for the international community to intervene and help us
:05:59. > :06:03.here. You can see... If I can get some clarification from year, to
:06:03. > :06:11.intervene and help the Syrian people. What kind of intervention
:06:11. > :06:15.are you talking about? -- clarification from you. We are very
:06:15. > :06:22.clear. We need to impose a limited no-fly zone above the designated
:06:22. > :06:27.safe zone areas. At the same time, if the situation continues, the
:06:27. > :06:32.international community has the right to create a humanitarian
:06:32. > :06:41.corridor as and seek assistance for the cities in need. Light in Lech -
:06:41. > :06:45.- Homs and other areas. We need to prevent civilians by all necessary
:06:45. > :06:50.means. This is something the international community asked to
:06:50. > :06:58.respond to. Can I ask you, have you been calling at the conference for
:06:58. > :07:02.the Syrian National Council, before the opposition forces to be armed?
:07:02. > :07:07.We are calling on the international community to help and support for
:07:07. > :07:14.Free Syrian Army. The only forces on the ground to were helping the
:07:14. > :07:17.Syrians and protecting against them -- against the militia is the Free
:07:18. > :07:22.Syrian Army. But they have become the heroes of the Syrian people.
:07:22. > :07:28.This is why we have to help them and support them by arming them and
:07:28. > :07:34.helping them by communication, to help them to organise themselves to
:07:34. > :07:38.be in better shape. We see photographs coming from Baba Amr,
:07:38. > :07:43.and other areas, where we are right side and we cannot help our
:07:43. > :07:51.brothers. The only force is the Free Syrian Army and this is why we
:07:51. > :07:57.need to support them and are on them. A thank you for joining us.
:07:57. > :08:03.We are also joined by Shashank Joshi, an associate fellow at the
:08:03. > :08:11.Royal United Services Institute. On the matter of the Syrian National
:08:11. > :08:13.Council, William Hague says that it is time for them to be officially
:08:13. > :08:19.recognised as one of the main representatives of the Syrian
:08:19. > :08:24.people. Will that happen soon? think it will. There is immense
:08:24. > :08:29.fear or that the fragmentation in the opposition groups will sabotage
:08:29. > :08:33.any chance of a political transition. In a way, it legitimate
:08:33. > :08:37.its President Assad's claimed that he has done so much to advance that
:08:37. > :08:41.there is no alternative to the dictatorship. One of the urgent
:08:41. > :08:45.demands is that the SNC not only solidify is its own internal
:08:45. > :08:52.divisions but that it also settles once-and-for-all the issue of who
:08:52. > :08:57.is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The SNC has
:08:57. > :09:02.competitors. Inside Syria, there are those who think that the SNC is
:09:02. > :09:05.detached from the ground realities and any Western efforts to push the
:09:06. > :09:11.SNC above other groups as the only legitimate organisation is quite
:09:11. > :09:14.risky. Within ACAS also described the regime as a criminal one. We
:09:14. > :09:22.have also seen Hillary Clinton talking about the Syrian National
:09:23. > :09:25.Council, asking them what they stand for. -- William Hague has
:09:25. > :09:35.also described. Could you legitimately describe them with
:09:35. > :09:39.farms? There is more scepticism here. There is more scepticism
:09:39. > :09:42.about the SNC then there was about the transitional council in Libya
:09:43. > :09:46.last year. The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is dormant in the SNC
:09:46. > :09:52.and it is more or conservative and opaque than its counterpart in
:09:52. > :09:59.Egypt, for example. There is concern over Sunni fundamentalists
:09:59. > :10:03.to name be part of the general -- who may be part of the uprising.
:10:03. > :10:08.Western governments are terrified that weapons provided will end up
:10:08. > :10:12.in the arms of groups like Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Briefly, humanitarian
:10:12. > :10:17.corridors. Apparently there are talks between the Red Cross and Red
:10:17. > :10:23.Crescent, is that a sign that the regime is softening? It is a sign
:10:23. > :10:28.that it is making tactical concessions to avoid pressure.
:10:28. > :10:32.That you for talking to us. At least 12 people have been killed as
:10:32. > :10:37.anti-American protests continue in Afghanistan over the burning of
:10:37. > :10:43.Korans at a US base. That means that 80 Afghans and two American
:10:43. > :10:48.soldiers have died in four days of process. There have been anti-US
:10:48. > :10:57.demonstrations in Lahore, Karachi, the Shala and Islamabad in Pakistan.
:10:57. > :11:01.Earlier, NATO's top commander appealed for calm and restraint.
:11:01. > :11:09.As feared, protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers.
:11:09. > :11:13.Denting their fury for a 4th day in a row. -- venting their fury. In
:11:13. > :11:19.the city of Herat, religious leaders are accused of fanning the
:11:19. > :11:23.flames and directing the violence. Police fired above four at
:11:23. > :11:30.demonstrators who attacked a local Reconstruction Office, and tried to
:11:30. > :11:35.reach the US consulate. There were protests around the country. In the
:11:35. > :11:39.south-east, a NATO convoy went up in flames. That will please the
:11:39. > :11:47.Taliban, who have been exploiting the Koran controversy, urging
:11:47. > :11:52.Afghans to target NATO forces. General John Allen, NATO's taught
:11:52. > :11:57.military commander, is trying to limit the fall-out. -- top military
:11:57. > :12:00.commander. He made an emotional visit to a base where two US
:12:00. > :12:04.visitors were killed by an Afghan colleague who sided with the
:12:04. > :12:09.protesters. These other moments when you reach down inside and grip
:12:09. > :12:15.the discipline that makes you a United States soldier. And you get
:12:15. > :12:21.through the pain, and you get through the anger and you remember
:12:21. > :12:26.why we're here. We're here for our friends. We're here for our
:12:26. > :12:31.partners. We're here for the Afghan people. Among the Afghan people,
:12:31. > :12:35.and the Afghan security forces, many are demanding tougher action
:12:35. > :12:40.against the troops who burned their holy book.
:12:40. > :12:48.I asked this army commander on duty in Kabul what should happen to
:12:48. > :12:53.those responsible. The TRANSLATION: Hang them.
:12:53. > :12:58.Trouble flared in the capital, too, with protests in several districts.
:12:58. > :13:03.Security forces struggled to control their own streets. Then the
:13:03. > :13:10.police did some burning of their own, taking down a white Taliban
:13:10. > :13:16.flak and setting it alight. By nightfall, the death toll had risen
:13:16. > :13:20.to a dozen. Having asked for forgiveness, NATO say they want to
:13:20. > :13:25.move on. This has been another day of protest and another day of
:13:25. > :13:30.bloodshed. Tonight, security forces around the country remain on alert.
:13:30. > :13:37.So far, the angle on the streets has not been cooled by the
:13:37. > :13:43.apologies from senior American military officials. Or from
:13:43. > :13:46.President Obama himself. I've been talking to Martine Von
:13:46. > :13:51.Balart from the Afghanistan analyst network based in Kabul, and she
:13:51. > :13:56.told us she did not believe that the protests would gain momentum.
:13:56. > :13:59.Today was probably going to be the worst day of all because it is a
:13:59. > :14:03.Friday and it is the easiest to mobilise people, to get angry
:14:03. > :14:10.crowds together. There was violence but there was also a lot of
:14:10. > :14:16.restraint. The violence was limited to a few areas, and it actually
:14:16. > :14:21.seems like it is somehow waning. If it continues like this, it will go
:14:21. > :14:27.on for a few more days but it will probably not get much worse. NATO
:14:27. > :14:31.is appealing for calm and saying to people, let's see what the
:14:31. > :14:37.investigation yields. If anybody is found guilty of misconduct, it is
:14:37. > :14:43.highly unlikely that any punitive action will be taken against them.
:14:43. > :14:53.That is a problem. At the moment, people are letting themselves be
:14:53. > :14:54.
:14:54. > :14:59.calmed down. By their leaders, by the Milans and by the Government.
:14:59. > :15:07.People do expect punishment, because they think that some huge
:15:07. > :15:15.mistake has been made and an insult has been done. That will strut the
:15:15. > :15:21.motions, but it will probably not be as he did and will not have the
:15:21. > :15:25.same spark when it comes together. On the whole, you do not believe
:15:25. > :15:29.that this incident is really going to have a long lasting impact on
:15:29. > :15:36.military operations by foreign forces in Afghanistan, it's not
:15:36. > :15:45.going to intensify opposition to their presence? It will not be like
:15:45. > :15:49.that directly but it is very much part of a gradual decline in trust.
:15:49. > :15:53.People are really not sure why they are here and what their intentions
:15:53. > :15:56.are. People find it difficult to believe that this was unintentional.
:15:56. > :16:01.Are you surprised that after more than a decade of foreign troops in
:16:01. > :16:06.Afghanistan, that they are not better attuned to the cultural and
:16:06. > :16:10.religious sensibilities of the people there? You would have hoped
:16:10. > :16:15.it would have been better after 10 years but watching how the
:16:15. > :16:18.international community functions, I can understand how it happened.
:16:18. > :16:22.The international community has been here for 10 years but they
:16:22. > :16:27.have not accumulated the knowledge of 10 years. They seem to be
:16:27. > :16:37.learning things over and over again. Or not learning it at all. It
:16:37. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:49.The United Nations says the number of people displaced by fighting in
:16:49. > :16:53.Mali has risen by almost 120,000. The fighting started last month
:16:53. > :16:58.when it Tuareg fighters joined a group of rebels and attacked towns
:16:58. > :17:03.and army bases. Doctors treating a member of the
:17:03. > :17:07.Dutch royal family, Prince Johan Friso, say that she may never
:17:07. > :17:11.regain consciousness following a skiing accident. He suffered
:17:11. > :17:14.massive brain damage after being trapped in an avalanche last week.
:17:14. > :17:19.He is the second son of Queen Beatrix.
:17:19. > :17:21.A retired British businessman, Christopher Tappin, has been
:17:21. > :17:26.extradited to the United States following a long legal battle. He
:17:26. > :17:32.is accused of conspiring to sell missile parts to our land. He has
:17:32. > :17:42.always insisted she was the victim of an American sting operation. --
:17:42. > :17:46.
:17:46. > :17:51.And Iran has dramatically stepped up its efforts to produce higher
:17:51. > :17:55.grade uranium enriched -- enriched uranium and has denied
:17:55. > :17:59.investigators access to facilities. The conclusion will be seen
:17:59. > :18:05.inevitably by many in the West as a defined move by Tehran and could
:18:05. > :18:11.also increase alarm surrounding and an's nuclear ambitions. Joining me
:18:11. > :18:17.now as a former or arms inspector who headed the United States search
:18:17. > :18:21.for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Charles, this report says
:18:21. > :18:27.around has boosted its capacity to enrich uranium which will fuel
:18:27. > :18:31.worries it has a weapons programme in the making. This is bad news and
:18:31. > :18:36.frankly surprising because they would have thought and Iran would
:18:36. > :18:40.want to drag out the negotiations progress. What the IAEA is
:18:40. > :18:46.reporting is that is not only boosting its programme to develop
:18:46. > :18:50.enriched uranium but it has refused to answer any questions surrounding
:18:50. > :18:54.alleged Westernisation programmes, that is, activities specifically
:18:54. > :18:57.designed for weapons. By not allowing the agency access to the
:18:57. > :19:02.facilities, the greatly add to the suspicion that in fact they have
:19:02. > :19:06.taken the decision to build a nuclear weapon.
:19:07. > :19:11.The IAEA report says it has increased the number of centrifuges
:19:11. > :19:16.and is prepared to expand at uranium enrichment. It will be
:19:16. > :19:21.harder for and now it to deny that it is trying to develop nuclear
:19:21. > :19:27.weapons. That is correct. It also contributes to the problem of
:19:27. > :19:30.timing. The amount of time between when Tehran it takes an unambiguous
:19:30. > :19:35.action that shows it can build a nuclear weapon to the time where
:19:35. > :19:42.they can actually build a nuclear weapon is getting very short. It is
:19:42. > :19:45.called the breakout time. As a result of this, the Israelis and
:19:45. > :19:54.the Americans are becoming more pressurised to do something before
:19:54. > :19:58.it is too late. This news from that IAEA, is that likely to intensify
:19:58. > :20:06.calls for a tougher stand on an? From an Israeli perspective,
:20:06. > :20:13.certainly. The Israelis believe, and I would not they have
:20:13. > :20:17.experience in building clandestine nuclear weapons, but they are and
:20:17. > :20:21.have called for the United Nations to speak on this on 5th March. Are
:20:22. > :20:26.they going to allow more time to see what happens with sanctions?
:20:26. > :20:34.Apparently, the Iranians do not seem to be swayed by the sanctions
:20:34. > :20:39.so far. Thank you for talking to us.
:20:39. > :20:45.A high school in the South African township of Soweto has seen a 20%
:20:45. > :20:51.rise in attendance since a famous jazz musician return to school.
:20:51. > :20:55.Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse Plans to set his secondary school Certificate in
:20:55. > :21:05.the coming months. He hopes to encourage youngsters from deprived
:21:05. > :21:07.
:21:08. > :21:17.backgrounds not to abandon Among the biggest names in the
:21:17. > :21:20.music business, Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse. One of South Africa's
:21:20. > :21:27.proudest exports and the international jazz scene. For him
:21:27. > :21:33.even now, practises a priority, but so too is making up for lost time.
:21:33. > :21:37.Not everyone gets a welcome like this but still a novelty, he is
:21:37. > :21:41.returning to the classroom and a country where 50% of youngsters do
:21:41. > :21:47.about the school before the 18th. Many of the kids here are his
:21:47. > :21:52.neighbours. There frequently were the way -- he was lured away by
:21:52. > :22:01.jazz, at a time when education was second at -- segregated along
:22:01. > :22:11.racial lines. If they were not out of bounds, they were deliberately
:22:11. > :22:13.
:22:13. > :22:17.ensure that schools only teacher and Afrikaans.
:22:17. > :22:22.Now back and spared the uniform along with other mature students,
:22:22. > :22:26.exams are just around the corner. What has inspired this musician to
:22:26. > :22:34.return? The answer? The sight of barefoot children taking themselves
:22:34. > :22:44.to school. When I went to families of these children, I found that
:22:44. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:57.they were so impoverished it was It was just one of those
:22:57. > :23:01.experiences that I could not believe people could live like that.
:23:01. > :23:05.The children were willing to go to school and that was encouraging.
:23:05. > :23:11.you think that was an experience that made you think I am going to
:23:11. > :23:15.do something? Absolutely. This 60- year-old may be an inspiration as
:23:15. > :23:19.his school has seen a 20% increase in attendance since he arrived, but
:23:19. > :23:29.there are still 1 million youngsters and South Africa who
:23:29. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:35.have turned their backs and secondary education.
:23:35. > :23:39.Education is one of the biggest hurdles in the new South Africa.
:23:39. > :23:49.Despite a second chance for people like this, there is a younger
:23:49. > :23:53.
:23:53. > :23:57.He is a good skipper at 60! In Los Angeles, preparations are under way
:23:57. > :24:00.for Sunday night's Oscars ceremony. They principally on the English-
:24:00. > :24:06.language pictures but one category is reserved for foreign language
:24:06. > :24:11.films. A Belgian film is in the running.
:24:11. > :24:21.It is a dark crime drama setting is the backdrop of the illegal animal
:24:21. > :24:27.growth hormone crate. Israel's entry into the Foreign Language
:24:27. > :24:32.Film category comes with a Footnote. It is a tale of father and son
:24:33. > :24:36.scholars. For many foreign-language films, the nomination alone gives a
:24:36. > :24:43.tremendous publicity boost to films which may have otherwise been
:24:43. > :24:53.ignored. It creates more awareness and curiosity. It gives these were
:24:53. > :25:04.
:25:04. > :25:07.the films a chance to stand out. The Holocaust has often been
:25:07. > :25:12.nominated in the Oscars ceremony. Based on a real-life story, this
:25:12. > :25:17.film chronicles the plight of a group of Jews in World War II: to
:25:17. > :25:22.escape the Nazi is by a hiding in the sewers. Canada is up for an
:25:22. > :25:26.Oscar with the French-language film set in a Montreal classroom, which
:25:26. > :25:31.tells of an Algerian immigrant teacher whose children have been
:25:31. > :25:35.nominated -- traumatised by the suicide of his predecessor. Los
:25:35. > :25:40.Angeles is the home to the largest Iranian population in North America,
:25:40. > :25:44.more than 600,000 according to one estimate. Oscars night is turning
:25:44. > :25:50.into a very big event indeed for many in this community because for
:25:50. > :25:59.the first time in 40 years, an Iranian film is up for an Oscar. It
:25:59. > :26:05.is called a separation and it may well win. It explores the clash
:26:05. > :26:11.between social classes and the religious and non-religious -- the
:26:11. > :26:14.non-religious and conflict resolution in Tehran. An Oscar
:26:15. > :26:20.trophy would be viewed as a reward that could really help the
:26:20. > :26:28.country's besieged film-making community. I cannot make any
:26:28. > :26:35.predictions. Whatever happens to this film will make the cinematic
:26:35. > :26:42.community very happy. A separation is viewed as the dumb to beat and
:26:42. > :26:47.is seen as the favourite to win the Academy Award. -- film.
:26:47. > :26:50.Before we go, while we have been on air, the Red Cross in Syria say at
:26:50. > :27:00.first Group of seven when the people have been evacuated from
:27:00. > :27:03.
:27:03. > :27:06.Homs. That is all from us. Next, The last of our very mild air is
:27:06. > :27:10.holding on across southern areas but it will slowly get squeezed
:27:10. > :27:14.away as this cold front continues to move southwards. High pressure
:27:14. > :27:20.builds from the West keeping most of our weather fronts at bay.
:27:21. > :27:24.Saturday looks mostly nice. Some decent sunshine, particularly for
:27:24. > :27:28.central and eastern areas. First Saturday morning, cloud comes in
:27:28. > :27:31.from the south-west but we have the sunshine though it will be if
:27:31. > :27:37.chilly start to the day. Temperatures recovering in the
:27:37. > :27:42.sunshine. The winds will be lighter. Here, it is actually still feeling
:27:42. > :27:47.pretty pleasant. South-eastern areas, highs of 13 Celsius, still
:27:47. > :27:52.mild for the time of year. South- west England and parts of South
:27:52. > :27:58.Wales will see the westerly wind continuing to feed in. Misty and
:27:58. > :28:03.foggy conditions through Bristol and the Channel. Temperatures
:28:03. > :28:08.slowly climbing into a high single digits. In Northern Ireland, after
:28:08. > :28:11.a bright start, sky slowly cloud over from the West. Scotland are
:28:11. > :28:16.still win the although perhaps not this promise today but it will