:00:11. > :00:14.This is BBC World News Today with me, Tim Willcox. Having retaken
:00:14. > :00:18.Homs, reports from Syria say the army is now focusing on rebels in
:00:18. > :00:21.the northwestern city of Idlib. The fear, that Idlib could be a new
:00:21. > :00:28.Baba Amr, where the UN's humanitarian chief talks of
:00:28. > :00:31.devastation. That part of Homs is completely destroyed and I'm
:00:31. > :00:37.concerned to know what has happened to the people who lived in that
:00:38. > :00:47.part of the city. A Special Forces rescue mission in Nigeria ends in
:00:48. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :00:51.failure, with 2 hostages, an Italian and a Briton, killed.
:00:51. > :00:53.Heading our way. The largest solar storm in five years comes with
:00:53. > :00:56.warnings about threats to power supplies and navigation systems.
:00:56. > :00:59.Also coming up in the programme: living with the painful memories.
:00:59. > :01:02.As the first anniversary of the Japanese tsunami approaches, the
:01:02. > :01:07.families still trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved
:01:08. > :01:17.ones. And wowing the crowds after 60 years on the throne. The Queen's
:01:18. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:25.Jubilee tour gets underway in Hello and welcome. Reports from
:01:25. > :01:28.Syria say government tanks and troop carriers are moving on the
:01:28. > :01:32.city and province of Idlib - home to many Free Syrian Army fighters
:01:32. > :01:38.and close to the border with Turkey. There've reportedly been government
:01:38. > :01:41.warnings to civilians to leave their lands and their homes.
:01:41. > :01:44.Meanwhile the UN's humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, has been
:01:44. > :01:47.speaking about the devastation she saw during a short visit to the
:01:47. > :01:50.Syrian city of Homs and in particular the district of Baba Amr.
:01:51. > :01:55.In Cairo the UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan,
:01:55. > :01:58.says the conflict can only be resolved by a political settlement.
:01:58. > :02:03.The diplomatic pressure coincided with news of the defection of
:02:03. > :02:13.Syria's Deputy Oil Minister to the rebels. Jim Muir reports from
:02:13. > :02:20.
:02:20. > :02:30.neighbouring Lebanon. The Valerie Amos said she was devastated by the
:02:30. > :02:42.
:02:42. > :02:47.destruction she sobbed on her visit to Zawiya. -- Baba Amr. That part
:02:47. > :02:55.of Homs is completely destroyed by and I am concerned to know what has
:02:55. > :03:00.happened to dead people to live in that part of the city. The scale of
:03:00. > :03:04.the destruction impressed upon her. Much of the superficial damage has
:03:04. > :03:11.been cleared away but the underlying devastation cannot be
:03:11. > :03:17.disguised. In addition to the hundreds who died here under
:03:17. > :03:26.bombardment it is said that many more died during summary executions
:03:26. > :03:34.carried out last week. This man is the highest Government member so
:03:34. > :03:42.far to defect. He issued a four minute denunciation on YouTube.
:03:42. > :03:52.do not want to end mightier serving the crimes of this regime. I join
:03:52. > :03:56.the cause of justice knowing they will burn my house, terrorise my
:03:56. > :04:01.family and tell lies about me. The blood of the martyrs will not
:04:01. > :04:07.forgive those who continue as accomplices of the regime on the
:04:07. > :04:12.grounds that they are just employees of being orders. It is
:04:12. > :04:19.good news for the opposition. Its fighters have kept up harrying
:04:19. > :04:28.opposition forces. -- Government forces. The Government continues to
:04:28. > :04:34.use its heavy weapons against towns and villages. It is looking
:04:34. > :04:40.increasingly like civil war. That is what the special peace envoy
:04:40. > :04:46.wants to halt. Stopping off in Cairo he urged the opposition as
:04:46. > :04:51.well as the Syrian Government to co-operate for a balanced solution.
:04:51. > :04:55.His approach she believes is the only practical way. We have to be
:04:55. > :05:02.coldly realistic when we put proposals on the table to
:05:02. > :05:08.understand it can be carried through and will have the right
:05:08. > :05:13.results otherwise we raise false hopes and cause more problems.
:05:13. > :05:16.he cannot make a break through it is doubtful that anybody else can.
:05:16. > :05:18.Well, as reports from inside Syria say that army reinforcements have
:05:18. > :05:22.been sent to the northwestern province of Idlib, activists say
:05:22. > :05:30.they fear an assault similar to the one that devastated the Baba Amr
:05:30. > :05:39.neighbourhood of Homs. Nour lddin is a resident of Idlib, and we can
:05:39. > :05:49.speak to him via a webcam. What is happening around that City this
:05:49. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:11.evening? The village where gunmen were born, where a young man was
:06:11. > :06:21.killed they went to his house and other houses in the village. There
:06:21. > :06:33.
:06:33. > :06:41.was another one in the countryside. He died. That led to many people in
:06:41. > :06:47.their houses and at the market demonstrating. There is a very long
:06:47. > :06:51.delay on this site, just one last question if I may, have you seen a
:06:51. > :07:01.build up of army tanks and troop carriers and have there been
:07:01. > :07:11.
:07:11. > :07:21.warnings to people to media before the army moved end? -- move end? --
:07:21. > :07:21.
:07:21. > :07:29.move in? I am sorry, there were technical problems with that
:07:29. > :07:38.interview. The BBC's Lina Sinjab is in the Syrian capital Damascus.
:07:38. > :07:48.Strong words from the UN. His best having any impact at all on the
:07:48. > :07:56.
:07:56. > :08:01.Zairean as authorities? Yes indeed. -- Syrian as authorities. Baroness
:08:01. > :08:11.Amos said she was waiting to hear what the Syrian as authorities have
:08:11. > :08:13.
:08:13. > :08:19.to say before she takes any further action. The situation is ongoing
:08:20. > :08:23.despite the international condemnation. What about the
:08:23. > :08:29.defection of the Deputy Oil Minister, has there been any
:08:29. > :08:36.official recognition of that? has not been any statement yet from
:08:36. > :08:41.the Government about this defection. Anything which happened in the past
:08:41. > :08:49.was attributed to the Ministry of whom the Government considered
:08:50. > :08:56.traitors. There has not been any reaction from the Government about
:08:56. > :09:00.that so far. Thank you very much for joining us. A British and an
:09:00. > :09:07.Italian construction engineer have been killed in Nigeria during a
:09:07. > :09:13.failed attempt backed by special forces to rescue them. In a
:09:13. > :09:17.statement, just over an hour ago, David Cameron said Nigerian and
:09:17. > :09:22.British forces launched the rescue attempt after information that
:09:22. > :09:28.delights of the men were under increasing threat. We have a video
:09:28. > :09:34.of the men being held in captivity, it was uploaded to YouTube. David
:09:34. > :09:38.Cameron says early indications are that the men were murdered by their
:09:38. > :09:44.captors before they could be freed. It was only today that David
:09:44. > :09:49.Cameron authorised the rescue operation to go ahead. We are still
:09:49. > :09:54.waiting for many of the details to be confirmed. David Cameron gave
:09:54. > :10:02.this statement at Downing Street a short while ago. A British citizen
:10:02. > :10:06.was taken hostage in Nigeria by terrorists in May 2011. He was held
:10:07. > :10:11.left a colleague who was Italian. Since then we have been working
:10:11. > :10:15.with the Nigerian authorities to try to find them both and secured
:10:15. > :10:20.their release. The terrorists holding deep two hostages made very
:10:20. > :10:25.clear threats to take their lives including in a video which was
:10:25. > :10:30.posted on the internet. After months of not knowing where they
:10:30. > :10:35.were being held we received information about their location
:10:35. > :10:44.and a window of opportunity arose to secure their release. We were
:10:44. > :10:49.all sorts under the impression that their lives were in danger and
:10:49. > :10:54.their deaths were imminent. Today I authorised arrest you attempt to go
:10:54. > :10:59.ahead with our support but it is with great regret I have to say
:10:59. > :11:03.that both men have lost their lives. We are still awaiting confirmation
:11:03. > :11:09.of the details but the early indications are that both men were
:11:09. > :11:13.murdered by their captors before they could be rescued. Our security
:11:13. > :11:20.correspondent has been giving us a few more details about the
:11:20. > :11:24.operation and what we think went wrong. These two men were first
:11:24. > :11:29.kidnapped last here in the north- west of the country from a
:11:29. > :11:32.residential compound. There was a video a few months later and then
:11:33. > :11:37.today David Cameron made it clear there had been further concern
:11:37. > :11:42.about the threat to them and intelligence had come in a
:11:42. > :11:46.revealing their possible location. On that basis he said he had given
:11:46. > :11:52.the authorisation for an operation to go-ahead which we understand was
:11:52. > :11:56.Nigerian with operational support also from the UK. That in turn
:11:56. > :12:03.tragically has led to the death of the men tragically at the hands of
:12:03. > :12:07.their captors. Let's have a look at some of the other news now. The
:12:07. > :12:14.Greek Government says it is on its weight to a bond swap deal with
:12:14. > :12:20.investors which could help avoid their huge debts. More than 75 % of
:12:20. > :12:24.private creditors are said to have signed up. The three widows of
:12:24. > :12:34.Osama Bin Laden have been charged with illegally entering and living
:12:34. > :12:36.
:12:36. > :12:43.in Pakistan. Lisa French President says he will abandon politics if he
:12:43. > :12:47.loses the forthcoming presidential election. Nicolas Sarkozy has been
:12:47. > :12:54.criticised for competing with the National Front for right wing bolts
:12:54. > :13:03.after seeing there were too many foreigners in France. -- right-wing
:13:03. > :13:09.votes. Scientists say charged solar particles are heading towards us at
:13:09. > :13:16.more than 16 kilometres per second. The solar storms do not directly
:13:16. > :13:21.harm people but can disrupt satellites and air travel. More
:13:21. > :13:27.from Our Science Correspondent now. A storm on the surface of our son.
:13:27. > :13:32.The most intense in five years. It was triggered by gigantic solar
:13:32. > :13:37.flares earlier this week. The continued activity could soon have
:13:37. > :13:42.an effect on Earth. US Government agencies are monitoring the
:13:42. > :13:52.situation closely. We are at least able to tell you that yes, this is
:13:52. > :14:00.coming towards us, be aware, keep watching, do not get hysterical.
:14:00. > :14:06.solar tsunami is coming our way! But hysterical they got. But how
:14:06. > :14:11.worried should we be? The sun is throwing out sheets of charged
:14:11. > :14:20.particles. It often does this but the difference is that this time
:14:20. > :14:30.these sheets maybe on a collision course with the Earth. We will be
:14:30. > :14:31.
:14:31. > :14:38.protected by the Earth's magnetic field but there could be disruption
:14:38. > :14:43.to the planet's satellites which could affect computer and
:14:43. > :14:47.telecommunications systems. We are moving towards as solar maximum so
:14:47. > :14:53.we may expect these things to increase. We are already co-
:14:54. > :15:02.operating with the Americans on this. Our Prime Minister and Barack
:15:02. > :15:12.Obama signed an agreement last year. So far there are no signs of
:15:12. > :15:21.Let's talk to Ingo Mueller-Wodarg from Imperial College London. A
:15:21. > :15:29.solar tsunami, we heard. I think the worst is over, it has not hit
:15:29. > :15:37.us to Baddeley. It has fizzled by. The main problem is that the
:15:37. > :15:44.electromagnetic storm is a bubble of gas, high energy gas, hitting us
:15:44. > :15:49.in space. But we are well protected by our geomagnetic field and our
:15:49. > :15:57.atmosphere. It seems that the bubble did not hit us directly but
:15:57. > :16:01.hit us on the side. Probably the worst is over. These particles are
:16:01. > :16:07.moving at 4 million miles an hour. Will we be seeing more of these and
:16:07. > :16:12.how great is the potential threat? On ground the threat is minimal.
:16:13. > :16:20.These events have happened as long as life existed on Earth and before
:16:21. > :16:24.that. We are well protected by our magnetic field. However, what used
:16:24. > :16:30.to not be a big problem and is increasingly a problem because we
:16:30. > :16:34.rely on technology in space is that these events disrupt the magnetic
:16:34. > :16:39.fields in space and they can hit the communication between
:16:39. > :16:46.satellites which, in turn, affects signals which much of our lives
:16:46. > :16:51.depend on. And defence systems as well. Of course, and power grids.
:16:51. > :16:58.Events like this will continue to happen and they will get stronger
:16:58. > :17:08.now, with the solar cycle... Why is the sun sends -- sending off be
:17:08. > :17:09.
:17:10. > :17:14.used massive storms? -- the be used massive. This summer is a ball of
:17:14. > :17:23.gas and the magnetic field rearranges itself. -- the sun is a
:17:23. > :17:29.bald gas. It throws off these big bubbles of gas, coronal mass
:17:29. > :17:36.ejection has, and it throws them into space and they are either hid
:17:36. > :17:41.us or they don't. -- coronal mass ejections. The event is completely
:17:41. > :17:47.normal and has not changed over hundreds of thousands of years.
:17:47. > :17:52.nothing to be worried about. have to be careful nowadays. The
:17:52. > :17:58.problem nowadays is that we rely on technology that is in space. We
:17:58. > :18:07.have to be absolutely careful. Sadly, the funding into this area
:18:07. > :18:12.has gone down dramatically. Ingo Mueller-Wodarg, thank you very much.
:18:12. > :18:15.This Sunday's Japan will be remembering victims of the
:18:15. > :18:19.earthquake and tsunami that hit the east coast a year ago. 16,000
:18:19. > :18:26.people were killed when towns and city in Iwate and Miyagi
:18:26. > :18:31.prefectures were devastated. Damian Grammaticas has been to Japan's
:18:31. > :18:35.East Coast to speak to one family caught up in the disaster.
:18:35. > :18:40.Shadows on the landscape are all that is left of this place. Avoid
:18:40. > :18:45.full of memories. For Tatsuya Suzuki it is the memory of the
:18:45. > :18:51.smile his wife gave him, right here in the two-storey house, as he left
:18:51. > :18:56.for work. I wish I could go back in time, he says, go back to that date.
:18:56. > :19:02.If only I could have saved him. He is burdened by guilt that he
:19:02. > :19:06.survived and Izumi did not. As the a tsunami swept into the area, he
:19:06. > :19:15.had managed to get their two children to safe place is. Seconds
:19:15. > :19:24.later Izumi was carried away by the wave. Today, Hikaru and her little
:19:24. > :19:27.brother Hibiki are laughing again. Sometimes they cry out in their
:19:27. > :19:37.sleep. I see the sadness and a struggle to know what to say. My
:19:37. > :19:42.heart aches. The tsunami killed 1,000 of the
:19:42. > :19:49.7,000 people here. One year on the, the government is burning what
:19:49. > :19:54.little remains of the area. They aim to build this town again, but
:19:54. > :19:59.higher. For hundreds of miles along the coast it is the same story,
:19:59. > :20:04.dozens of communities starting a new. The first priority is the
:20:04. > :20:12.unfinished task of accounting for everybody. More than 3,000 are
:20:12. > :20:20.still missing. At this school, 70 children were swept away. Four have
:20:20. > :20:25.not been found. Yasukichi Takayama's mother disappeared.
:20:25. > :20:32.Nothing moves on, he says. I have been following police teams like
:20:32. > :20:36.this all year. Hikaru and Hibiki used to be so
:20:36. > :20:40.inseparable from their mother. Hikaru is doing well at his new
:20:40. > :20:44.school but their father feels trapped by the past.
:20:44. > :20:51.TRANSLATION: Even though a year has gone by, nothing has really changed.
:20:51. > :20:55.Time has stopped for me. I am still grieving. His children never one to
:20:55. > :21:03.live here again but one day, he says, he will move back. This place
:21:03. > :21:06.still feels like home. In the immediate aftermath of the
:21:06. > :21:13.tsunami there were big fears that the radiation threat posed by the
:21:13. > :21:16.Fukushima nuclear plant but one year on those fears have largely
:21:16. > :21:19.diminished. Some experts believe that the radiation did not pose a
:21:19. > :21:21.long-term risk. One of those experts is Professor Richard
:21:21. > :21:26.Garfield from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. He
:21:26. > :21:31.joins us now from New York. I was there at the time and there was
:21:31. > :21:37.real fear that people even in Tokyo about what was happening. Were
:21:37. > :21:42.those fears are exaggerated completely? Not at all. We did not
:21:42. > :21:46.know how much radiation there would have been and if it had been like
:21:46. > :21:51.Chernobyl there would have been an enormous help effect. It did not
:21:51. > :21:55.turn out that way. These were much better designed, the radiation was
:21:55. > :22:01.contained for the most part and the radiation that did escape was not
:22:01. > :22:04.that harmful and did not reach population centres. It is
:22:04. > :22:10.interesting because, because of lack of knowledge in that sense of
:22:10. > :22:15.not really knowing what might happen, that drove, not hysteria,
:22:15. > :22:21.but real mental anxiety. Is that one of the longer-lasting effects
:22:21. > :22:29.of this disaster? Fear, confusion, lack of understanding of how much
:22:29. > :22:32.radiation there is. Any place there is a radiation escape, this is a
:22:32. > :22:38.man made situation and it is something people don't control
:22:38. > :22:43.themselves. One always has a perception of greater risk when
:22:43. > :22:47.those events are external and unnatural and imposed on one. At
:22:47. > :22:50.the Japanese government compounded by not giving good information.
:22:50. > :22:54.you think people will die as a result of what happened a year ago,
:22:54. > :22:57.but not because of radiation but maybe because of mental health
:22:57. > :23:04.problems and stress and other things impacting on the daily
:23:04. > :23:09.lives? It appears that it is other health affects the and radiation
:23:09. > :23:13.which will have a long-term impact. A third of a million people were
:23:13. > :23:17.displaced and some have health problems but can't be dealt with as
:23:17. > :23:22.effectively when they don't know the physicians who are taking care
:23:22. > :23:25.of them. There are so many people who have lost family members and to
:23:25. > :23:31.have long-term mental and social impacts or stop the father in the
:23:31. > :23:35.story said, my heart aches. Thank you very much, Professor Richard
:23:35. > :23:39.Garfield. A visit to one of Britain's most
:23:39. > :23:44.ethnically diverse cities, Leicester, has marked the beginning
:23:44. > :23:47.of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour. There were enthusiastic crowds as
:23:47. > :23:51.she travelled with the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of
:23:51. > :23:56.Cambridge. This report contains flash photography.
:23:56. > :24:02.10 years ago the Golden Jubilee got off to a comparatively slow start.
:24:02. > :24:05.That was not the story today. The people of Leicester, a culturally
:24:05. > :24:09.diverse city in the heart of England, came out in their
:24:09. > :24:19.thousands to launch the Queen's died in Jubilee and to welcome her
:24:19. > :24:22.guest companion, the Duchess of Cambridge. -- diamond jubilee. It
:24:22. > :24:26.is the cultural diversity of Leicester which made it the place
:24:26. > :24:30.to start the tour. Few places better show the changes that have
:24:30. > :24:40.taken place over her rain. But Leicester could -- at Leicester
:24:40. > :24:44.Cathedral she attended a special service between various faith
:24:44. > :24:48.groups. Prayers were said for the six British soldiers killed in
:24:48. > :24:58.Afghanistan. We pray for those who died in
:24:58. > :25:04.Afghanistan yesterday from the Yorkshire and the Duke of -- and
:25:05. > :25:09.its the Duke of Lancaster's regiments. Outside the cathedral,
:25:09. > :25:13.the Queen and the Duchess said despite stood side by side to
:25:13. > :25:17.receive bouquets of flowers. The fact that the Queen invited the
:25:17. > :25:21.Duchess to join her is a public endorsement of her importance to
:25:21. > :25:28.the royal family. At times they worked as a team, the Queen taking
:25:28. > :25:30.one side of the crowd, the Duchess other -- the other. They went to a
:25:30. > :25:35.fashion show at De Montfort University. Their relationship
:25:35. > :25:39.seems to be an easy one, the younger one leaning across to chat.
:25:39. > :25:43.Them, in the city centre, the Queen hoping perhaps that the newcomer
:25:43. > :25:48.will absorb a few lessons. Bob there was something more to the
:25:48. > :25:52.Duchess's presence. It is a subtle signal that the Queen recognises
:25:52. > :25:57.the importance of bringing on somebody who will be so central to
:25:57. > :26:03.the monarchy of the future. At there was no doubt, though, who is
:26:03. > :26:09.still this court -- the star of the show. Not everybody is a monarch --
:26:09. > :26:12.monarchist but this monarch's popular as ever. She is the queen
:26:12. > :26:17.of our country and I am proud. Coming to Leicester was just
:26:17. > :26:22.fantastic. We could not have asked for much more. It was an awesome
:26:22. > :26:30.moment to celebrate it with her. The Palace's view - it was a
:26:30. > :26:33.welcome beyond their expectations. A reminder of our top news. Reports
:26:33. > :26:41.from serious say that government track -- tanks and troop carriers
:26:41. > :26:44.are moving on the province of Idlib, home to many Free Syrian Army
:26:44. > :26:47.fighters. There have been reports that they have been government
:26:48. > :26:57.warnings to civilians to leave their lands and their homes. That
:26:58. > :27:02.
:27:02. > :27:08.is all from me. Next, but whether. Hello. After a very active first
:27:08. > :27:13.half of the week it is all change. The emphasis is on for dry weather.
:27:13. > :27:18.More cloud than today tomorrow but temperatures quite high. The breeze
:27:18. > :27:26.and things are settling down, this area of high pressure. -- the
:27:26. > :27:31.reason things. Plenty of dry weather to come. This week were the
:27:31. > :27:41.front of pushing across Scotland is an exception, outbreaks of rain
:27:41. > :27:41.
:27:41. > :27:50.tomorrow. -- week weather front. Breezy, but 12, 13, possibly 14
:27:50. > :27:56.degrees. A strip of cloud across southern England, maybe a spot of
:27:56. > :27:59.rain. We will continue with thicker cloud into Wales, light rain or
:27:59. > :28:05.drizzle in the hills, also affecting parts of north-west
:28:05. > :28:10.England, and maybe brushing the north of Northern Ireland. The
:28:10. > :28:16.further south east you are, brighter skies into Belfast, for