02/05/2012 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Kirsty Lang. The Chinese

activist who sought santuary at the American Embassy in Beijing speaks

out. Chen Guangcheng says he only left because the Chinese

authorities threatened to beat his wife to death if the he didn't. An

echo of last year's Arab Spring as more than 20 demonstrators in care

owe are killed in front of the Ministry of Defence. We saw four

people come in with head injuries. They died instantly and three other

injuries were also very critical. They died on their way here.

France's presidential candidates prepare for a live TV debate. Can

Nicolas Sarkozy better his opponent, Francois Hollande, and turn his

campaign around? Also coming up in the programme. From the United

Nations, how the lives of nearly a million premature babies could be

saved across the world. The way we live now. Why the Bauhaus movement

set up nearly a century ago is The extraordinary story of one of

China's most prominent dissidents took a sinister twist today. After

Tempers flares. This was one of Beijing's biggest hospitals this

afternoon. Chinese security agents desperate to keep one of the

country's best-known human rights activists hidden from us. At the

end of the corridor, in a wheelchair, we caught him. Chen

Guangcheng, his leg injured in a dramatic escape to the US Embassy

last week. The sill wets are his wife and two children, long held

captive by Chinese security, today reunited with him. We see Chen

Guangcheng inside and his wife. She told the BBC she was fine, her two

children are there. Her husband is having a checkup. We are being

moved out of the hospital. blind lawyer became an icon after

he exposed how thousands of women had undergone forced abortions. For

several years he was held under house arrest. He escaped last week,

even though he had nearly 100 guards watching him. His overriding

desire was to ensure his family could live fear -- free from the

harassment and beatings they had endured. His escape has embarrassed

the Chinese leaders. Chinese state television today said America's

actions amounted to unacceptable ininterference in China's affairs

and they demanded a authority. The US said there won't be one. Hillary

Clinton is in Beijing for talks on a host of Major issues. Chen

Guangcheng said US officials told him China was threatening to beat

his family to death if he didn't leave the embassy. Chen Guangcheng

said the threat to his family was the reason he quit the embassy.

TRANSLATION: If I didn't leave Chinese authorities were going to

put my family in danger. I need help now. Tonight, Chen Guangcheng

and his family are in the hospital under guard with no US diplomats

protecting them, afraid once more for his own safety much he says he

wants to leave China. I'm joined now by Robert Kuhn, advisor to the

Chinese government, chairman of The Kuhn Foundation and author of, How

China's Leaders Think. What do you make of this allegation by Mr Chen

that he was threatened, his wife was threatened unless he left the

embassy? First of all, we have a confused situation. It's helpful to

begin with the background. This is a very embarrassing situation for

China in the run-up to the change of leadership, the 18th party

congress and in light of all the recent scandal with the firing and

all the allegations. We have the bad timing from China's point of

view of the strategic and economic dialogue with Hillary Clinton and

Timothy good nighter in in China. The second situation we have to

consider is that the fact that we have such a confused situation

often is normal. We really don't know the status. Mr Chen actually

with the ambassador called the Washington Post on the way to the

hospital in a positive mood. Now, we hear the report from the

Associated Press that you just reported. We don't know the status.

The fact that the government is put out on the official media that

demanding an apology and being very indignant, this could be quite

normal because, in these types of situations, it is proper diplomacy

for each side to present their own view. Hillary Clinton has talked

about that America will be in touch with him. That everything has been

assured. I want to ask you about that. The story was that Hillary

Clinton said, don't worry, we will make sure we follow his progress,

welfare visits to the family? Will the Chinese authorise authorities

really allow America to monitor a Chinese citizen like that? Well,

look, the world is different today because of the internet and

everybody having immediate access to information. The Chinese

leadership will have one objective, to make this story go away as

quickly as possible without dramatically losing face,

particularly with its own people. They have to find a way to make

that happen. Normally, the way it happens is that both sides are

allowed to describe the same situation in what seems to be

radically different terms. That seems to be happening. Hillary

Clinton statements were very clear and the Chinese government, when

they are saying they demand an apology, that is also clear. If you

read it carefully, they do not contradict. My best guess is that

this has been a negotiated and carefully designed programme that

both sides have greed to, in terms of the United States leadership and

Chinese leadership. The question is Mr Chen himself is in an emotional

state. He may be making different comments at different times. That

is clearly the case today. We have to wait on that. My suspicion is

that the Americans and Chinese have worked this out very carefully.

Thank you very much. In Cairo, at least 20 people have been killed

while holding a demonstration outside the Egyptian Ministry of

Defence. In the early hours of this morning, an unknown group of

attackers set upon the protesters using rocks, clubs and shotguns.

The demonstrators were complaining about the exclusion of a hard line

Islamist candidate from the Presidental election, which is

being held in three weeks' time. Here is Jon Leyne. Political

violence is back on the streets of Cairo, just three weeks before the

Egyptian presidential elections. Mostly the weapons are sticks and

stones and firebombs, there is the sound of gunfire somewhere in the

background. Demonstrators who were protesting about the exclusion of

their candidate from the election say they were attacked unprovoked

just before dawn. The people who are here are peaceful protesters.

They don't do anything. They stay here, sleeping here, that is it.

There are some people could come from the other side attacking them.

The people protesting here don't do anything. Just defence. Since then

the exchanges have continued throughout the morning with a rise

in casualty tolls. Many victims are taken to an emergency field

hospital. That has been struggling to cope.

TRANSLATION: We saw four people come in with head injuries. They

died instantly. Three other injuries were also very critical.

They died on their way here. This is where the confrontation broke

out in the early hours of the morning. The demonstrators say

people came in from the surrounding area and attacked them at this

crossroads. Prot tersors have set up these barricades to protect

their protest. It's beginning to feel a bit like ta rear square

during the revolution last year. They used some people to kill us.

They give them money, food and weapons to kill us. I think that

they are wishing us to attack them so they say that we are not the

victims, but we are the attackers. With the protest continuing two

presidential candidates have suspended their campaign. More

demonstrators are arriving here all the time. I'm joined now from Cairo

by the Egyptian journalist, Shahira Amin, who witnessed the

demonstrations today. Do you have any theories about who these

attackers might of been? No-one is really sure who they are. They are

unknown assailants, but they are well armed. They were carrying

batons, some of them, teargas canisters, mol to have cocktails

and live munitions. There are suspicions they may be security

officers in plain clothes otherwise how would they of got the teargas.

You were watching it, was it well organised? Very well organised. The

security forces have stood by and let this happen. It looks like they

are implicated in what's taking place. You were watching security

forces standing there watching people being killed? Absolutely.

They've done very little to stop the clashes. They just let this

happen. It started off as a peaceful protest. It's turned into

a blood bath, a full fledged massacre, really. Say it is members,

plain clothesed members of the security forces, what would their

intention be? Why would they want it to happen? There are all sorts

of theories flying around. There are suspicions that the military

council would like to postpone the Presidental election. They called a

meeting today with political parties, but seven political

parties boycotted the meeting in protest at the events. Some of them

think that the military council was going to tell them that they want

to postpone the Presidental election and, of course, this will

set off another wave of unrest, if it happens. So, in other words, the

idea is to cause maximum chaos so the military council can say, we

can't Holdsworth an election right now? These are the suspicions, yes,

but not confirmed. Thank you very much. The other news. Aung San Suu

Kyi has taken up her seat in Burma's Parliament, a month after

she and her party enjoyed sweeping success in by-elections. The

ceremony is the first time that the Nobel Laureate has held public

office. She also said it didn't "bother" her to sit in the same

chamber as the military leadership despite her long incarceration at

their hands. Syrian government forces have clashed with army

defectors in the country's north, further inflaming an area near the

Turkish border where rebel fighters have tried to seize territory.

Syrian human rights group says 20 military personnel and two rebel

fighters were killed in the fighting in Aleppo and Damascus.

The UN Security Council has threatened Sudan and South Sudan

with sanctions if the former civil war foes don't stop an escalating

conflict. The UN also wants the two countries to resume talks within a

fortnight on a string of disputes over oil revenues and border

demarcation. A British coroner says an intelligence worker, whose naked

body was found inside a padlocked but his death might never be

explained. Gareth Williams worked as a code breaker for the British

intelligence agency, MI6. His body was discovered in a sports bag in

the bath at his London flat in 2010. Two British tourists in Australia

have been find $1,000 after breaking into a theme park where

they swam with dolphins and then stole a penguin. The penguin was

later rescued and returned to the marine park unharmed. The two

candidates in the French presidential election will meet

face-to-face for a live TV debate. Nicolas Sarkozy, the current

President, wanted three, his socialist challenger Francois

Hollande greed to just one. The debate is widely seen as Mr

Sarkozy's last chance to regain the initiative after losing to Mr

Hollande in the first round of voting last months? Have they

arrived yet? No. Mr Hollande looks very relaxed. Nicolas Sarkozy the

under dog trailing behind in the polls looking edgey and aggressive.

Again, how the French public perceive him. Style is very much as

important as content. The French will want to hear about the economy,

about rising unemployment, they also want to see which man better

fits the role of the French It is thought that Nicolas Sarkozy

is a better TV performer. That is what he believes, and that is why

he said,, and face the full three debates, because he believes that

he can flatten his opponent. He has said that he is going to

atomisation. There is going to be a lot of progress of talks. But

Francois Hollande should not be underestimated. He has lost a lot

of weight, after being mocked for that. Since the first round of the

election, he has been getting down to the nitty-gritty of his policies,

and he is coming good across as presidential and a man with a sense

of humour. Nicolas Sarkozy could meet his match tonight. They have

seen each other before it televised debate in the 1990s, but 20 million

French people or more are expected to tune in tonight to see them

face-off, one against the other. The economy is the top issue, but

they will also discuss international affairs, and the

welfare state. People will be looking at the style. It has been

compared to a heavyweight boxing match. We have heard every detail

of the debate before the debate, how high they are sitting up, the

fact that each one of them will have their own air-conditioning

unit, and how the lighting has been adjusted to make sure that Francois

Hollande's pulled patch will not shine too much. The French know

everything about the debate, now they want to know what the men have

to say. Every year, 15 million babies

around the world are born prematurely, and 1.1 million will

die. According to a report just released by the United Nations. The

report reveals the disparities between high and low income

countries in strategies for cutting the number of deaths globally.

A pregnant woman being examined in India, the country with the

greatest number of premature births each year, over 3.5 million. Next,

China. Between them, they account for nearly a third. When the size

of the population is taken into account, the highest rate of

premature births is in Malawi, 18 out of every 100 births. The number

of pre-term births across the world is increasing. In many low income

countries, the reasons for the increase include infections,

malaria, HIV and high adolescent pregnancy rates. In high-income

countries, it is linked to the number of older women having babies,

the increased use of fertility drugs, begin to multiple

pregnancies, and in some countries, medically unnecessary inductions

and Caesarean deliveries before full term. It is the differences in

survival rates that the author has focused on to prevent a premature

birth continuing to be an unrecognised killer. The premature

baby unit in a hospital in New Jersey. The USA ranks among the top

countries for premature births. It is higher for black Americans than

white. Less than 10% of extremely early 80s will bite in the first

few weeks of life in the USA and other high-income countries are --

extremely early babies will die. There is a dramatic survival cap.

The so-called kangaroo care being practised here in Malawi, where the

baby is held skin to skin on the mother's chest, could help to save

at least three-quarters of premature babies in the developing

world. Antenatal steroids and antibiotics are other inexpensive,

proven ways to reduce the risks that surround premature births.

Risks, the report says, too long overlooked and neglected.

Joining the now, the author of the report. -- joining me. If there are

these easy, relatively cheap methods of saving premature babies,

or why are more not saved like that? That is a good question. This

report is the first time to highlight this problem of deaths.

Your introduction said 1.1 million babies dying from pre-term birth,

this is the second leading cause of child death, six times as many as

HIV and double as malaria. It is the first time this has been

highlighted as a problem on the global agenda. The report puts out

the fact that we really can do something different. Kangaroo care

was invented 20 years ago in Colombia, because of overcrowded

incubators, but it is only just starting to be taken up in these

countries. The belief that focus and attention could really see that

change over the next year in a dramatic way, to save a lot of

lives. It comes down to education and information, which is easier if

you are dealing with hospitals and clinics but more difficult getting

to the mother's who have babies at home? Even in hospitals and clinics,

in Ghana, they have had a fantastic increase in births that have moved

into facilities, 75%, but often, four or five babies per cot, and

they have only just started kangaroo care. I think the whole

issue of what can be done, taking four babies out of incubators and

attaching them to their mother, skin to skin, it not only reduces

deaths compared to being in an incubator, but there are fewer

infections, the baby feeds better, the temperature control is better.

It also saves nursing time, reduces costs, and it empowers women.

anything be done to stop babies being born early? That is one of

the duality is of the report. There are many things that can be done

now to save lives that have not been done. In terms of the

Prevention side, as your introduction highlighted, 65

countries that we have data for, all but three have had an increase

in the rate of pre-term birth. In low income countries, there are

definitely things we can do better, family planning might be the most

cost-effective way, reducing adolescent pregnancies and those

women who have berths to quickly and too close together. But in

high-income countries, the increase is not fully understood. This is

the critical area for more research, The chances are that the design of

the phone in your pocket, the chair you are sitting on and the building

you work in were influenced by a German school of art and design

that opened nearly 100 years ago. The clean lines and modernist

aesthetic first created by the Bauhaus School has influenced

everyone from Steve Jobs to Ikea. A major new exhibition of Bauhaus has

It was a marriage of form and function, art and technology, no

wonder Steve Jobs loved it. Power has was fault in the wake of World

War One in Weimar Germany, as a laboratory for new ideas --

powerhouse was formed. It was about bringing together fine art like

these teapots with craft, to create a modern, Utopian society. It was

about producing high end design for manufacture in the mass market,

which included Toys, such as these puppets. Play, according to ban has,

unleash creativity. It was a group of people working together, and

artists were raising families there. Other artists make toys, sometimes

for their children, but other times for manufacture, and also, the idea

of playing at and making do and influencing creative ideas in

children went into the classroom. It is striking how contemporary all

of this furniture looks. Look at this chair. The artist got the idea

from looking at his bicycle frame. Unfortunately, he was ahead of his

time, because manufacturers found his design ideas quite difficult to

implement, but imagine how radical that looked in 1925. The roll-call

of Teachers also included the likes of Kandinsky. Michael Craig Martin

would be responsible for fostering the score of young British artists

in their 80s and 90s, which included Damien Hirst. -- in the

80s and 90s. There was a time when people tried to think of everything

again, we think the world from the most basic principles. It is the

first school that attempts to look at the idea of creativity, that you

do not just teach people things, you teach them how to think, how to

the cuttings, how to be inventive. -- have to look at things. It was

closed down by the Nazis in 1933, its founders were denounced as

Communists. The teachers emigrated to, taking with them the aesthetic

and thus ensuring its survival to The main news.

It the prominent Chinese dissident Chen quandong -- Chen Guangcheng

says the Chinese authorities threatened to beat his wife to

death if he did not leave the American embassy.

From the, Kirsty Lang, goodbye to start -- from May, Kirsty Lang,

start -- from May, Kirsty Lang, We had varying amounts of sunshine

through the day, but for most, it was dry. For England and Wales,

tomorrow, more rain in the forecast. It will move north. We are starting

to see a weather front to come down to was the northern and western

Isles. The weather front is becoming more active across the

south. Into tomorrow morning, it is cloudy and wet in the southern

areas. Some sunshine up north, but it stays very cloudy along the

north-east coast of England. It stays cloudy, grey and damp across

many southern counties of England. Later in the afternoon, we might

see a glimmer of brightness along the south coast, but for North

Devon and Cornwall, we keep a lot of the cloud. It is a cloudy day

across much of Wales. Heavy rain for the afternoon in the north.

Northern Ireland stays dry and bright and warm. It is this area

across Northern Ireland, south-west Scotland, where we see the highest