:00:10. > :00:14.This is BBC World News Today with me, Tim Willcox. Is Syria's
:00:14. > :00:17.leadership really ready to talk? As President Assad tours areas in Homs,
:00:17. > :00:24.until recently the heart of the rebellion, his government says it
:00:24. > :00:27.accepts the Kofi Annan peace plan. The Syrian government has now
:00:27. > :00:31.written to the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan accepting his six point
:00:31. > :00:38.plan. Mr Annan has written to President Assad urging the Syrian
:00:38. > :00:40.government to put its commitments into immediate effect.
:00:40. > :00:44.The disputed oil rich border between South Sudan and its
:00:44. > :00:49.northern neighbour sees fierce clashes once again.
:00:49. > :00:52.Biology's new frontier - making DNA from scratch to change the world.
:00:52. > :00:55.We look at the revolutionary steps taking place in science.
:00:55. > :00:58.Also coming up in the programme: Following in his predecessor's
:00:58. > :01:01.footsteps - Pope and president set to meet in Havana, but many
:01:01. > :01:11.Catholic Cubans question what role the church should be playing in the
:01:11. > :01:25.
:01:25. > :01:35.And recognising a rock god and pop history in a quiet London side
:01:35. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :01:46.Hello and welcome. After a year of bloodshed in Syria that the UN
:01:46. > :01:48.thinks has now claimed as many as 9,000 lives, Kofi Annan's
:01:48. > :01:54.announcement that Damascus has accepted his peace plan may be
:01:54. > :01:56.treated with scepticism by many. His comments coincided with
:01:56. > :02:06.President Assad making a rare foray into Homs, the former heartland of
:02:06. > :02:15.
:02:15. > :02:21.the rebellion, and a meeting of the The Syrian President a-share our
:02:22. > :02:26.asset apparently visiting the Baba Amr and area of Homs. This, for the
:02:26. > :02:35.first time since military forces besieged the area, killing hundreds
:02:35. > :02:40.and forcing rebel fighters to withdraw. But elsewhere in Homs,
:02:40. > :02:44.the battle appears far from over. This video, which has not been
:02:44. > :02:50.independently verified, allegedly showing a neighbourhood still been
:02:50. > :02:56.shelled by government forces. Here and across many parts of Syria,
:02:56. > :03:02.people continue to die every day. But now at least beat efforts of
:03:02. > :03:06.veteran diplomats Kofi Annan seemed to be working. He secured the
:03:06. > :03:12.support of the Chinese as well as the Russians for his peace plan.
:03:12. > :03:22.And today he also announced that the Syrian government itself had
:03:22. > :03:26.agreed to his initiative. I have received a response from the Syrian
:03:26. > :03:36.government and will be making it public today. This is positive.
:03:36. > :03:59.
:03:59. > :04:05.end the bloodshed of the past year, At a meeting in Turkey today,
:04:05. > :04:08.Syrian opposition activists were sceptical about the government
:04:08. > :04:15.fulfilling their side. We are very cautious when we see that the
:04:15. > :04:17.regime is accepting anything. We want to see that implemented on the
:04:17. > :04:24.ground and compliance by the regime is something that we need to see
:04:24. > :04:30.happen. This, the reason many are so cautious about the deal. Yet
:04:30. > :04:34.another badly injured child been brought to a field hospital in Homs.
:04:34. > :04:44.According to the latest figures from the UN, more than 9,000 people
:04:44. > :04:47.
:04:47. > :04:54.have been killed so far, most of them civilians. Syrian opposition
:04:54. > :05:00.groups have held two days of talks. Let us join our correspondent there.
:05:00. > :05:06.There was a walkout from a well known Syrian dissident. How United
:05:06. > :05:10.are they? It is as desperate as Syria is. When the council was
:05:10. > :05:15.established six months ago, it was supposed to be an umbrella group.
:05:15. > :05:22.It has never been as coherent as the transitional government in
:05:22. > :05:32.Libya. They are disagreeing about everything. There has been a
:05:32. > :05:36.
:05:36. > :05:40.walkout as well by a Kurdish group. They are a significant part of the
:05:40. > :05:46.population and one their efforts to be recognised. There are a lot of
:05:46. > :05:51.people here there. There are delegates from every possible
:05:51. > :05:57.ideological background. They are talking and at least a green on
:05:57. > :06:03.their goals. They also agree that they do not believe for one moment
:06:03. > :06:10.that President Assad can meet the Kofi Annan plan. I asked them if
:06:10. > :06:15.they were willing to speak to President Assad and they said we
:06:15. > :06:20.probably won't get there. They do not believe he will take his strips
:06:20. > :06:24.off the street. For all that, the fact that President Assad has
:06:24. > :06:29.accepted the plan does cause some difficulties. They are talking
:06:29. > :06:33.about getting more international support and now they have to shift
:06:33. > :06:38.diplomacy which will be hard for some of them. Where do we stand now
:06:39. > :06:45.regarding a potential buffer zone within Syria along the border with
:06:45. > :06:49.Turkey? It is not going to happen yet. It has been talked about by
:06:49. > :06:54.Turkish politicians, immensely frustrated by the bloodshed in
:06:54. > :07:00.Syria. There is nothing they can do. The buffer zone is there as an
:07:00. > :07:10.option only if there is a massive influx of Syrians. It is not going
:07:10. > :07:11.
:07:11. > :07:14.to happen yet and the fact is that Kofi Annan's plan shifts the focus.
:07:14. > :07:21.The Russians and Chinese support it and the international community
:07:21. > :07:25.cannot agree on any other action. I think people need to give diplomacy
:07:25. > :07:30.a chance and for the opposition that mean sitting back and
:07:30. > :07:34.accepting the bloodshed they have gone through. The bitter pill is
:07:34. > :07:41.joining the diplomatic process that does not guarantee President Assad
:07:41. > :07:44.it will leave power at the end of Rafik Abdessalem is Tunisia's
:07:44. > :07:52.Foreign Minister. I asked him how optimistic the world should be
:07:52. > :07:58.about the pledge from Damascus. Personally, I am pessimistic, but
:07:58. > :08:04.let us hope things going the right direction. It all depends on the
:08:04. > :08:13.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He needs to listen to the demands
:08:13. > :08:23.of his people. If he does listen to the demands for more democracy,
:08:23. > :08:25.
:08:25. > :08:28.freedom, things might go up in the right direction. To ask for a
:08:28. > :08:34.system to be changed that has been in place for many years will be
:08:34. > :08:39.difficult. The Syrian opposition is not united. How much of a factor
:08:39. > :08:46.will that be? Will they be greeted even sit down to direct talks?
:08:46. > :08:56.this is one of the difficulties of the Syrian crisis. There is a
:08:56. > :08:57.
:08:57. > :09:02.political polarisation. If we have a common voice that comes from the
:09:02. > :09:06.Syrian opposition, the balance of power what will be in favour of the
:09:06. > :09:11.political change. Let us hope that the Syrian opposition overcome this
:09:11. > :09:14.internal division. You have been in post for three months. The
:09:14. > :09:18.international community is welcoming you, but if he were asked
:09:18. > :09:22.about the situation in Syria, what would your advice be to the
:09:22. > :09:28.international community about what to do with that situation? I think
:09:28. > :09:34.to support the legitimate demands of the Syrian people, to have peace
:09:34. > :09:39.for political change, not to move towards any militarisation of the
:09:39. > :09:42.conflict. There was a militarisation of the conflict in
:09:42. > :09:48.Libya and that was the deciding factor. Do you still said that is
:09:48. > :09:56.the wrong direction to go as far as there is concern? Yes. The main
:09:56. > :10:03.problem in Syria is the Bashar al- Assad regime. The situation in
:10:03. > :10:13.Libya was different. In Syria we have a religious and sectarian
:10:13. > :10:14.
:10:14. > :10:22.division. The Assads had been power for 40 years. Come the end of their
:10:22. > :10:30.regime, what problems will be encountered? It depends on the
:10:30. > :10:40.movement of the political parties in Syria. If they can control the
:10:40. > :10:45.
:10:45. > :10:49.situation, help the country come back to normality of, -- normality,
:10:49. > :10:58.it would be a good thing. It in the immediate short-term, you are not
:10:59. > :11:01.optimistic of a quick solution? Unfortunately, I am not.
:11:01. > :11:03.Now a look at some of the day's other news.
:11:04. > :11:06.President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged TV networks not to broadcast
:11:06. > :11:09.violent videos filmed by the Mohamed Merah during his fatal
:11:09. > :11:14.attacks in Toulouse. A USB stick containing the footage was sent to
:11:14. > :11:17.Al Jazeera. They have decided not to broadcast the images. The
:11:17. > :11:19.families of the victims have also called for the footage not to be
:11:19. > :11:22.shown. World leaders have vowed to take
:11:22. > :11:25.strong action against nuclear terrorism at the end of a summit in
:11:26. > :11:28.South Korea. The 53 leaders said the threat was one of the most
:11:28. > :11:31.challenging facing the world today. The summit comes at a time of
:11:31. > :11:41.growing international concern over the nuclear programmes of both Iran
:11:41. > :11:42.
:11:42. > :11:45.and North Korea. The operators of an oil platform
:11:45. > :11:49.off the coast of Scotland say it could take at least six months for
:11:49. > :11:52.them to stop a gas leak there. The oil company Total says its looking
:11:52. > :11:54.at several options to try to stem the leak at the Elgin platform,
:11:54. > :11:57.including drilling a relief well. There's now a three kilometre
:11:57. > :11:59.exclusion zone around the rig, with over 300 workers evacuated.
:11:59. > :12:02.Fighting on the disputed oil-rich border region between South Sudan
:12:02. > :12:05.and Sudan has continued for a second day. The South says clashes
:12:05. > :12:08.have taken place on the ground while its northern neighbour has
:12:08. > :12:11.bombed its positions. The clashes appear to be centred on disputed
:12:11. > :12:14.towns close to the border. Authorities in Khartoum say a visit
:12:14. > :12:24.to the South by Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir has been cancelled,
:12:24. > :12:28.
:12:28. > :12:34.but could be re-scheduled if lower One official from an well company
:12:34. > :12:41.said a bomb landed within the oilfields near one of his team
:12:41. > :12:51.sites. That claim has been denied. Secondly, salsa band's military
:12:51. > :12:53.
:12:53. > :12:56.spokesman says there is fighting going on on the ground there are a
:12:56. > :13:01.major oil field. I have not been able to confirm that, but it is
:13:01. > :13:11.clear the situation between these two countries are deteriorating.
:13:11. > :13:12.
:13:12. > :13:18.Both except there were clashes along the disputed border on Monday.
:13:18. > :13:23.Sudanese officials Arnaud saying that the President will travel, but
:13:23. > :13:29.if political and military progress is made the summit could be pushed
:13:29. > :13:34.back to a later date. At the moment, things are looking pretty bleak.
:13:34. > :13:37.Gill Lusk is editor of Africa confidential. It looks like the
:13:37. > :13:42.most serious confrontation since independence. What do mecca the
:13:42. > :13:46.timing? It does look serious. The timing, this war has been building
:13:47. > :13:53.up for some time. The fighting did not just been -- begin yesterday
:13:53. > :13:56.morning, although that is when the Sudan army bombed into the oil
:13:56. > :14:04.fields in southern Sudan. Do you think there is some power play
:14:04. > :14:11.going on in Khartoum itself and that the Shia is under pressure?
:14:11. > :14:16.The it is about power, but more broadly it is about the sudden
:14:16. > :14:19.government. They are saying they are not going to be pushed around.
:14:19. > :14:25.This is the feeling you get in southern Sudan and in the north, it
:14:25. > :14:29.is about the Government trying to hold on to power work because they
:14:29. > :14:35.are a deeply unpopular government and as well as the war with the
:14:35. > :14:40.south, there is a war against Northern armed opposition. That is
:14:40. > :14:45.what most of the fighting has been about recently. Obviously, this is
:14:45. > :14:50.an area that is oil-rich. But countries depend on each other in
:14:50. > :14:57.terms of pipe mines, or production and the economy. Is it all about
:14:57. > :15:01.whale, or are there many other factors? Many other factors. It is
:15:01. > :15:04.about power. Khartoum is trying to divert attention from its own
:15:04. > :15:11.problems in the north and it is doing this by having a war with the
:15:11. > :15:17.South. It has always used to war as a political weapon since it took
:15:17. > :15:21.power. In the south it is about asserting their sovereignty. Both
:15:21. > :15:27.countries accuse each other of supporting armed militia. What
:15:28. > :15:32.evidence is there to support that? There is plenty of evidence that
:15:32. > :15:39.Khartoum was supporting it militia. They have used proxy forces for
:15:39. > :15:43.many years. The sudden government is supporting the northern rebels,
:15:43. > :15:53.yes, but that tends a hide the fact that it is really an internal more
:15:53. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :16:00.than problem here going on. The Some say it could be the spark that
:16:00. > :16:03.ignites the next industrial revolution. Others say it is
:16:03. > :16:09.meddling with nature. Either way, it is one of Britain's research
:16:09. > :16:14.priorities. It involves producing artificial DNA to make things such
:16:14. > :16:19.as medicines, fuels and materials. Imagine the power to design new
:16:19. > :16:22.forms of life, to dream up new versions of the genes inside every
:16:22. > :16:28.living thing on earth and create organisms that have never before
:16:28. > :16:32.existed. That is what is happening here in this lab in Imperial
:16:32. > :16:38.College in London. The researchers are not just studying life, the are
:16:38. > :16:46.reshaping it. This is synthetic biology's. It is an emerging
:16:46. > :16:50.science which could transform the industry and medicine and science.
:16:50. > :16:54.It is clear that these techniques can be applied across a wide range
:16:54. > :17:01.of different fields, from health care through due energy and
:17:01. > :17:06.agriculture. What is synthetic biology? The starting point is
:17:06. > :17:11.something that has been around for years, genetic modification. There
:17:11. > :17:16.is the bundle of genes inside the cell. The modified them by splicing
:17:16. > :17:22.in DNA from another organism. What they're doing now goes much further.
:17:22. > :17:29.It relies on the fact that DNA is a coat for life, made up of just four
:17:29. > :17:36.basic building-blocks represented here by these four letters. As with
:17:36. > :17:42.any Engineering progress, these components have to be re- Eddie --
:17:42. > :17:46.rearranged to design new genes. The scientists take these for building
:17:46. > :17:52.clock's -- these for building blocks to create their own version
:17:52. > :17:56.of synthetic, man-made DNA. The final stages the most extraordinary.
:17:56. > :18:00.They take a cell with all of its own original DNA stripped out and
:18:00. > :18:06.insert the synthetic DNA, getting the organism to do whatever they
:18:06. > :18:10.want, taking control of nature. What can this do? The fight against
:18:10. > :18:16.malaria, carried by mosquitoes, will see a vaccine made with
:18:16. > :18:23.synthetic biology later this year. Algae with synthetic genes could
:18:23. > :18:27.make fuel. We could be driving with the stuff in years ahead. New crops
:18:27. > :18:33.may cope with drought and disease to feed a world of 7 billion. It is
:18:33. > :18:38.one of countless ideas. We are here today to announce the first
:18:38. > :18:43.synthetic cell. Two years ago, an American scientist announced the
:18:44. > :18:49.first living thing with synthetic DNA. Are we ready for such a
:18:49. > :18:53.fundamental step? These advances are exciting but terrifying. The
:18:53. > :18:58.offer the possibility of creating new life forms that will deal with
:18:58. > :19:04.many of the world's greatest problems, but it will create life
:19:04. > :19:10.forms in the human immune system and the world - or -- in that the
:19:10. > :19:14.human immune system and the world which we have not experienced.
:19:14. > :19:20.There are more worried about this new research. Scientists say they
:19:20. > :19:23.are doing everything safely. It we are working within the design phase
:19:24. > :19:28.about how we can develop kill switches, little method and --
:19:28. > :19:31.little mechanisms whereby the organism would kill itself. These
:19:31. > :19:37.would ensure that the organism will not interfere with the natural
:19:37. > :19:41.world. We do not one that to happen. A it was only 60 years ago that
:19:41. > :19:44.scientists discovered how genes work as the court for life. Now,
:19:44. > :19:54.they're taking charge. We're on the brink of a new Europe and the
:19:54. > :19:58.public debate about it has only just begun. -- and U E Rush.
:19:59. > :20:02.Pope Benedict has arrived in the Cuban capital of Havana. He is due
:20:02. > :20:08.to meet the President later. Earlier, he prayed for detained
:20:08. > :20:15.Cubans during a visit to them country's most important Catholic
:20:15. > :20:21.shrine, Our Lady of Charity in the east of Cuba. He urged students to
:20:21. > :20:25.build anew and open society during a mass in the eastern city of
:20:25. > :20:30.Santiago de Cuba. Cuba was officially atheist until 1992.
:20:30. > :20:34.Since then, the Catholic Church has been slowly reviving the state.
:20:34. > :20:43.Some accuse it of focusing so much and that that it is failing to
:20:43. > :20:48.speak out on Schumann right. -- on human rights. For four decades, a
:20:48. > :20:52.vast statue of Christ towered over atheist Cuba. It was not removed
:20:52. > :20:57.during the revolution, but this is a secular country now. The Catholic
:20:57. > :21:02.Church is busy reasserting itself. This is a Breakfast Club for
:21:02. > :21:06.schoolchildren and a poor neighbourhood of Havana. But is one
:21:06. > :21:11.of dozens of church project in a country where so much is controlled
:21:11. > :21:17.by the state. We are not trying to compete with the government, Oscar
:21:17. > :21:22.tells me. We're just here to help. There are other signs of a church
:21:22. > :21:26.revival. I went to visit a smart new seminary just outside Havana as
:21:27. > :21:33.the first church building permitted in Cuba since the revolution, when
:21:33. > :21:38.religious schools were taken over and many priests fled. Now, 52
:21:38. > :21:42.young men are preparing for the priesthood here. They're trying to
:21:42. > :21:47.cut Cubas dependence on clergy from abroad. When the seminary was
:21:47. > :21:51.inaugurated in 2010, President Castro was invited to the ceremony.
:21:51. > :21:55.It was a powerful symbol of the new relationship between the Catholic
:21:55. > :22:00.Church and his communist state. There are some who wonder whether
:22:00. > :22:05.the churches using that relationship as it should. Every
:22:05. > :22:09.Sunday, after Mass, the ladies in white march in a silent protest for
:22:09. > :22:13.human rights. It began when their husbands were imprisoned for their
:22:13. > :22:18.political views. The men were released in 2010, after Cuba's
:22:18. > :22:23.Cardinal intervened. The women are still marching. Last week, dozens
:22:23. > :22:27.were detained by police. Tudor says they are paid by America to
:22:27. > :22:35.undermine the revolution. The women say detention and harassment of
:22:36. > :22:42.dissidence is a rising. -- is rising. The government told us,
:22:42. > :22:47.you're not allowed to go to Mass with the Pope. The Catholic Church
:22:47. > :22:53.has at social doctrine to which protects the marginalised and the
:22:53. > :22:55.suffering, but the cardinal a silent about the atrocities the --
:22:55. > :23:02.the adduces the picture the Government is committed against the
:23:02. > :23:10.people. Quiet diplomacy has brought result in the past and allowed
:23:10. > :23:18.social work like this to continue. The Church will not be our flag of
:23:18. > :23:22.justice. No. Our role is a different one. We're not here for
:23:22. > :23:28.defending human rights, we are here to preach the gospel of Jesus
:23:28. > :23:33.Christ, that will be clear. right to worship is free, at least.
:23:34. > :23:38.He can be Catholic and Communist in Cuba. The result is a stronger
:23:38. > :23:46.church, growing slowly, but after so many years of being barely
:23:46. > :23:49.tolerated, it is still cautious that it is not entirely secure.
:23:49. > :23:54.If you know London, you will be familiar with the blue plaques that
:23:54. > :23:58.tell you about special historical significance of things around you.
:23:58. > :24:06.A different kind of plaque has been unveiled today, marking the site
:24:06. > :24:12.for one of Rock's iconic images was taken. 40 years ago, David Bowie
:24:12. > :24:15.appeared on television looking like this. For some, it really did board
:24:15. > :24:18.their minds. They are bomb was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and
:24:18. > :24:23.the Spiders From Mars, and for one young fan, this image was a turning
:24:23. > :24:32.point. Today, Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet is back in the place where
:24:32. > :24:38.that photograph was taken. Where exactly is this? A it is right here.
:24:38. > :24:43.The sign was up there? I think what made Ziggy Stardust will protest --
:24:43. > :24:48.supported at the time was that it was coming out of a London much
:24:48. > :24:53.darker and more impoverished than the recession we are suffering now.
:24:53. > :24:57.As a working-class child, Ziggy Stardust offered an escape from
:24:57. > :25:02.their every day which was quite grand an exciting and certainly out
:25:02. > :25:07.reached my parents. 40 years on, it looks different around here. Very
:25:07. > :25:12.shrubbery in the way, the rubbish is gone, and that lamp is very
:25:13. > :25:18.different made a place was a the Stardust -- very definitely the
:25:18. > :25:25.place was at the Stardust first appeared. Watching on were two
:25:25. > :25:33.members of the original band. In 1972, Woody, the drummer, looked a
:25:33. > :25:39.bit different. It took a bit of coaxing to get them into the outfit.
:25:39. > :25:48.He said, someone has to wear pink. He said, you have to be a man to
:25:48. > :25:54.wear pink! I went, OK, then. Even the man on the stage is entering
:25:54. > :25:59.into the spirits. By what may not look like the grim backstreet on
:25:59. > :26:03.the cover, it is part of rock history. The police were David
:26:03. > :26:10.Bowie stepped out one wintry January evening, and it -- and
:26:11. > :26:19.Ziggy Stardust came to earth. You have got to be a man to wear pink!
:26:19. > :26:21.David Bowie has such power, doesn't he? A spokesman for Kofi Annan says
:26:22. > :26:27.Syria has accepted his six-point plan for ending violence in the
:26:27. > :26:33.country. It calls for a un monitored end to the fighting and
:26:33. > :26:38.improved humanitarian access. The US State Department says it would
:26:38. > :26:45.be an important step if backed up with action. Here is President
:26:45. > :26:49.Assad and visiting the former rebel stronghold in in the city. He said
:26:49. > :26:59.a better city would rise from the destruction. Next, the weather.
:26:59. > :27:04.
:27:04. > :27:08.It has been another day of record- breaking temperatures across
:27:08. > :27:14.Scotland, but after all of that warmth, it turns quite chilly
:27:14. > :27:19.tomorrow morning. Things will warm- up as we see the return of the
:27:19. > :27:25.sunshine, doing it all over it again tomorrow. It is keeping
:27:25. > :27:30.things dry. We have high levels of pollen. It will cloud over across
:27:30. > :27:40.northern Scotland with some hazy sunshine. Elsewhere, no is lit up
:27:40. > :27:41.
:27:41. > :27:51.with sunny skies. It will be higher temperatures in the south-east
:27:51. > :27:51.
:27:51. > :27:58.corner. It will be cooler on the coast. We have lost at risk wind.
:27:58. > :28:05.We could see temperatures rising. In Wales, it will be fine and dry
:28:05. > :28:11.with more sunshine in the afternoon. It may be cooler in the north coast