:00:07. > :00:10.This is BBC World News Today with me, Kasia Madera. An exclusive
:00:11. > :00:14.report inside Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, much of it now a ghost town
:00:15. > :00:32.after months of bombardment by the Assad regime. The focus of
:00:33. > :00:38.residents: in the last few minutes, there have been two bombs strikes in
:00:39. > :00:51.this neighbourhood. Emergency services have just arrived. This man
:00:52. > :00:54.- head of Russia's oil giant Rosneft - is among individuals hit by new US
:00:55. > :00:57.sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. And as pro-Russian
:00:58. > :01:00.militants tighten their grip on towns in eastern Ukraine, the mayor
:01:01. > :01:04.of Kharkiv is shot and critically injured. Also coming up... Anguish
:01:05. > :01:07.in Egypt as a judge recommends the death penalty for almost 700
:01:08. > :01:11.supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, including its leader.
:01:12. > :01:13.And winds that sounded like a freight train - tornadoes sweep
:01:14. > :01:36.parts of the US, leaving 16 dead. Hello and welcome. We begin in
:01:37. > :01:39.Syria, where thousands of people are reported to have been killed or
:01:40. > :01:44.maimed in a campaign of aerial bombardment in the north this year.
:01:45. > :01:46.The pressure group Human Rights Watch accuses President Assad's
:01:47. > :01:49.forces of terrorising Aleppo, with what it calls an "indiscriminate and
:01:50. > :01:53.unlawful air war against civilians" - in particular through the use of
:01:54. > :02:01.crude barrel bombs, thrown over the side of helicopters. A BBC team has
:02:02. > :02:03.had rare access into Aleppo. Correspondent Ian Pannell and
:02:04. > :02:06.cameraman Darren Conway spent four days there - the only western
:02:07. > :02:12.broadcasters to have visited the rebel-held city since last year.
:02:13. > :02:15.They have now crossed the border to Turkey. You may find parts of their
:02:16. > :02:29.report upsetting. Engulfed by darkness and fear, the
:02:30. > :02:32.heart of Syria's biggest city. But life has become so dangerous that
:02:33. > :02:40.drivers must turn off their lights to avoid attack from above. And even
:02:41. > :02:45.in the dead of night, the war grinds on. The government insists it is
:02:46. > :02:51.protecting people, targeting terrorists based in residential
:02:52. > :02:57.areas. But often, it is civilians who are hit. Everyone keeps an eye
:02:58. > :03:04.on the sky, looking for helicopters armed with barrel bombs that are
:03:05. > :03:08.tossed to the ground. They are indiscriminate and devastating.
:03:09. > :03:17.Whenever they land, it is the civil defence force that comes to the
:03:18. > :03:36.rescue. Their job is as grim as it is dangerous. Rushing in, sometimes
:03:37. > :03:47.under fire, to free the injured and recover the dead. Barrel bombs are
:03:48. > :03:56.believed to have killed hundreds of people in Aleppo this year, maiming
:03:57. > :04:00.many more. This video from the Aleppo media centre is
:04:01. > :04:08.extraordinary. The defence force desperately claw at debris. A young
:04:09. > :04:15.boy has been buried. His limbs are freed. It is not clear if he is
:04:16. > :04:24.alive. Suddenly, there is movement. And this nine-year-old is rescued.
:04:25. > :04:34.This was Syria's economic heartland. Today, it is a decrepit shell of its
:04:35. > :04:42.former self. The bombardment rarely stops, and the emergency team head
:04:43. > :04:45.out again. TRANSLATION: We are doing this because our people need help
:04:46. > :04:49.and rescuing, someone to land them a hand. Of course I will not leave
:04:50. > :04:54.this job, I merely want to save civilians. Driving through a maze of
:04:55. > :05:00.streets, residents shout directions to the bomb site. Unaware, the team
:05:01. > :05:15.head straight into a front line position. And a government sniper
:05:16. > :05:26.takes aim. This is perhaps the most dangerous job in one of the world's
:05:27. > :05:30.most dangerous cities. We were in Aleppo when the fighting started.
:05:31. > :05:34.Today, much of this vast, ancient city has been ravaged by a
:05:35. > :05:37.relentless civil war. Whole districts lie almost abandoned,
:05:38. > :05:41.scarred by a war that has displaced 40% of the population and killed
:05:42. > :05:45.what is thought to be more than 150,000. In the last few minutes,
:05:46. > :06:04.there have been two bomb strikes in this residential neighbourhood. Much
:06:05. > :06:07.of it has been abandoned. At the moment, the emergency services have
:06:08. > :06:11.just arrived. The men from the civil defence force have gone into this
:06:12. > :06:20.area to see if there are any civilians who have been injured or
:06:21. > :06:23.even worse, killed. A barrel bomb has landed on this small street.
:06:24. > :06:29.Killing a four-year-old boy and injuring others. There were no
:06:30. > :06:37.fighters here, just residents, cowering from a helicopter.
:06:38. > :06:41.TRANSLATION: We heard the first blast, and I asked my husband to go
:06:42. > :06:45.and get the kids off the street, and suddenly, it hit us. It was like
:06:46. > :06:53.someone picked me up and threw me inside. Do you have anywhere to go?
:06:54. > :07:02.I have nowhere to go, I just want my husband back and nothing else. Tens
:07:03. > :07:07.of thousands have fled Aleppo this year. Most live in makeshift camps,
:07:08. > :07:11.huddled near the border. There are no signs of an end to this war, and
:07:12. > :07:14.Syrians feel shunned by what they see as the indifference of the
:07:15. > :07:17.outside world. Defenceless in the face of incessant attacks, and with
:07:18. > :07:31.little hope of either respite or relief.
:07:32. > :07:41.Our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is with
:07:42. > :07:46.me. Some really difficult images here and we asked the question, when
:07:47. > :07:53.will this end? What is your assessment? Most Syrians would say
:07:54. > :07:59.to you, they never expected this war to last so long and be so brutal. On
:08:00. > :08:04.both sides, many are saying that an unjust peace is better than an
:08:05. > :08:11.unjust war, but there is no sign that the war is ending. In Aleppo,
:08:12. > :08:16.the war is an ten surviving and in Damascus last week, there were
:08:17. > :08:24.warnings there were more and better weapons going in. The government is
:08:25. > :08:31.fortifying its positions and sending in more weapons. In many other parts
:08:32. > :08:34.of the country, the war is intensifying, although there are a
:08:35. > :08:43.large part, including around Damascus where the government has
:08:44. > :08:48.recaptured areas, so much so, that President Assad recently spoke of
:08:49. > :08:54.the turning point in the war. It may be too early, but the government
:08:55. > :09:01.feels it is consolidating its hold in some parts of the country. He
:09:02. > :09:09.seems more confident, he has even announced he will be standing in the
:09:10. > :09:13.presidential elections. Even the most ardent supporters of the
:09:14. > :09:17.government would not say they are winning. Everyone acknowledges the
:09:18. > :09:22.high price the country has paid for this conflict, but they are
:09:23. > :09:29.confident enough to send the message of holding a presidential election
:09:30. > :09:34.on June the 3rd. President Assad is seeking a third term and there is no
:09:35. > :09:38.doubt he will win. Many will say this is not a legitimate exercise,
:09:39. > :09:50.but his supporters will say it is legitimate. Syrians are paying the
:09:51. > :09:54.price, 150,000 are believed killed, 40% of the population displaced.
:09:55. > :10:02.When they come back, they will come back to devastated cities. We know
:10:03. > :10:06.the figures are increasing on a daily basis. People are dying every
:10:07. > :10:13.day in Syria. We don't have figures on those who are wounded and
:10:14. > :10:18.traumatised, like the children in the report. They have delivered
:10:19. > :10:22.either with the injuries or the traumatic situations they have been
:10:23. > :10:27.in for the rest of their lives. The whole country is traumatised by the
:10:28. > :10:33.war, even in areas like Damascus which looked normal on the surface.
:10:34. > :10:36.Everyone has been affected, everyone has a story. Everyone has lost
:10:37. > :10:44.someone or fears they will lose someone. In Aleppo, we have seen the
:10:45. > :10:48.government increasing its use of weapons like the barrel bombs, which
:10:49. > :10:55.are indiscriminate and extremely powerful.
:10:56. > :10:58.Now to the continuing tension in Ukriane. The United States has given
:10:59. > :11:02.details of further economic sanctions against Russia. The White
:11:03. > :11:05.House has accused Moscow of failing to uphold an international agreement
:11:06. > :11:09.aimed at resolving the crisis in Ukraine. The announcement comes
:11:10. > :11:13.after the mayor of Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine, was shot and
:11:14. > :11:17.critically wounded. Our world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan
:11:18. > :11:21.reports. A warm spring day in Sloviansk - it
:11:22. > :11:26.looks so peaceful, but this town in eastern Ukraine is on the front line
:11:27. > :11:31.of a deepening battle. Pro-Russian separatists are entrenched in the
:11:32. > :11:33.city's administration building. Already termed prisoners of war by
:11:34. > :11:40.Russian TV, seven international monitors are being held hostage in
:11:41. > :11:43.Sloviansk. One was earlier released on health grounds, but the
:11:44. > :11:50.Ukrainians in their group have disappeared. The US and EU has now
:11:51. > :11:56.announced new sanctions against some influential Russians. There is a
:11:57. > :11:59.path here to resolve this, but Russia has not yet chosen to move
:12:00. > :12:02.forward and these sanctions represent the next stage in a
:12:03. > :12:11.calibrated effort to change Russia's behaviour. Russia is already paying
:12:12. > :12:14.a serious price for its actions, and the longer it breaches the
:12:15. > :12:17.independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, the heavier the price it
:12:18. > :12:19.will pay, undermining its own influence in its neighbourhood,
:12:20. > :12:21.steadily disconnecting Russia from the international community and
:12:22. > :12:28.damaging Russia's own prosperity and security over the long-term.
:12:29. > :12:34.Frustration is also building inside Ukraine among supporters of the Kiev
:12:35. > :12:48.government. This was Kharkiv in the East over the weekend. Now unknown
:12:49. > :12:51.gunmen have shot and critically wounded the mayor of Kharkiv,
:12:52. > :12:54.Hennadiy Kernes. Once pro-Russian, he has become largely loyal to Kiev.
:12:55. > :12:57.In Donetsk, the local TV station was seized by separatists and is now
:12:58. > :13:04.once again showing Russian programmes. They had been blocked by
:13:05. > :13:08.Kiev. The rebels appear unstoppable. Armed gunmen have taken over the
:13:09. > :13:11.town hall and police headquarters of another city, Kostiantynivka. Each
:13:12. > :13:15.day, their grip on eastern Ukraine strengthens and worries grow of a
:13:16. > :13:21.full-scale Russian incursion. Four RAF Typhoon aircraft were deployed
:13:22. > :13:24.today to Lithuania. They will boost NATO patrols, with the aim to
:13:25. > :13:31.reassure anxious allies at a time of rising tension with Russia. Emily
:13:32. > :13:35.Buchanan, BBC News. Let's take a look at some of the
:13:36. > :13:41.seven Russian individuals the US has imposed sanctions on. Igor Sechin,
:13:42. > :13:43.head of state oil company Rosneft. He's been described as Vladimir
:13:44. > :13:59.Putin's Lieutenant and was Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian
:14:00. > :14:02.Federation from 2008 until 2012. Alexei Pushkov, a member of
:14:03. > :14:04.parliament and chair of the international affairs committee of
:14:05. > :14:07.the Russian parliament's lower house. The current Russian Deputy
:14:08. > :14:10.Prime Minister, Dmitry Kozak. And Sergei Chemezov, another Putin ally
:14:11. > :14:23.- who's Chief Executive of the state-owned holding firm Rostec. In
:14:24. > :14:26.a moment we'll hear from David Stern in Kiev. But first let's hear from
:14:27. > :14:35.our correspondent in Washington, Barbara Plett-Usher. It looks like
:14:36. > :14:51.this latest set of sanctions is closing in on the inner circle of
:14:52. > :14:55.Vladimir Putin's allies. So the calculation seems to be that by
:14:56. > :15:00.targeting those close to President Putin, they will put direct pressure
:15:01. > :15:04.on him and possibly that will help create a change of course. So far,
:15:05. > :15:10.the response from Russia has not indicated that. Officials have
:15:11. > :15:15.responded, raging from anger to dismissal, saying the more pressures
:15:16. > :15:20.you put on Russia, the more the elite will consolidate. There is the
:15:21. > :15:26.question of how much pressure this will bring to bear. The head of the
:15:27. > :15:30.main Russian oil company there, his assets have been frozen, but the
:15:31. > :15:35.company has not. So it is business as usual so far as traders are
:15:36. > :15:38.concerned with the oil company. President Obama did acknowledge that
:15:39. > :15:42.he couldn't say for sure this new round of sanctions would have any
:15:43. > :15:46.affect. The previous ones haven't. What American officials argue is
:15:47. > :15:51.they are making a calibrated effort to put the squeeze on the economy
:15:52. > :15:56.and they have tougher measures up their sleeves if this doesn't work.
:15:57. > :16:03.This was shortly after the mayor was shot.
:16:04. > :16:11.He drped his support in -- dropped his support in favour of a united
:16:12. > :16:17.Ukraine. It is too simplistic to say he just supports Kiev. That is
:16:18. > :16:21.right. He came out with statements against the former President. He has
:16:22. > :16:28.said he's for a united Ukraine. He is a controversial and very complex
:16:29. > :16:34.person. This also adds to the uncertainty or the lack of clarity
:16:35. > :16:39.about what exactly happened in Kharkiv today. Any attempt to shoot
:16:40. > :16:44.a top political figure and he is a very important political figure. He
:16:45. > :16:49.is the Mayor of the largest city in the east. That adds to the chaos in
:16:50. > :16:53.the east. It also adds to the up certainty of what is going on.
:16:54. > :16:57.Nobody knows what the motive was and why he was targeted.
:16:58. > :17:04.And David, just very briefly, what is the latest on the OSCE observers?
:17:05. > :17:09.Well, at the moment there's been no change. Of course we've seen one of
:17:10. > :17:15.the observers released, apparently for health reasons. The seven
:17:16. > :17:19.military observers from OSCE countries and their five Ukrainian
:17:20. > :17:24.escorts are still in custody. Apparently the talks are on going.
:17:25. > :17:31.The pro-Russian separatists are holding them. It is not clear what
:17:32. > :17:35.it will take to get them released. Both of you, thank you very much. We
:17:36. > :17:40.will continue to monitor all of that for you. Now, let's move on. An
:17:41. > :17:45.Egyptian court has recommended the death penalty for almost 700 alleged
:17:46. > :17:49.Islamists, including the lead ore the banned Muslim Brotherhood,
:17:50. > :17:54.Mohammed Badie. They were convicted over riots last August. The court
:17:55. > :17:57.confirmed death sentences for 37 other, whose trial on similar
:17:58. > :18:05.charges were widely condemned internationally. The verdicts can be
:18:06. > :18:11.appealed. From outside the court in Minya we have this report. Anxious
:18:12. > :18:16.outside the -- anguish outside the court. Several women overcome by
:18:17. > :18:24.shock, after the judge recommended the death penalty for almost 700
:18:25. > :18:29.men. It is a devastating verdict. My son has done nothing this mother
:18:30. > :18:36.said. He and others were convicted in a mass trial, which finished in
:18:37. > :18:43.hours. This woman asked God to take revenge on the security forces. They
:18:44. > :18:48.remained impassive. For relatives, there was a double
:18:49. > :18:58.blow. The court upheld 37 death sentences passed last month.
:18:59. > :19:01.There are extraordinary scenes here. Some of the relatives have been
:19:02. > :19:07.collapsing just heard the verdict. It is what they have been dreading:
:19:08. > :19:13.They were hoping the death sentences against their loved ones would be
:19:14. > :19:17.lifted. Instead almost 40 men have been
:19:18. > :19:20.convicted to hang. They were convicted of taking part in riots
:19:21. > :19:25.last August, in which a riot officer was killed. The violence was ignited
:19:26. > :19:32.when the security forces in Cairo killed hundreds of supporters of the
:19:33. > :19:36.ousted President, Mohamed Morsi. This man was convicted of rioting,
:19:37. > :19:41.although he can't even walk. He relies on a wheelchair because of
:19:42. > :19:47.polio. His death sentence was commuted today, like almost 500
:19:48. > :19:51.others, but he got life in jail. His wife says their three young sons
:19:52. > :19:58.keep asking when daddy is coming home.
:19:59. > :20:03.Our life is pointless without him, she says. Since he's been gone, the
:20:04. > :20:09.children don't want to do anything, not even play. Back at the court, a
:20:10. > :20:13.father cries out to God for help. The international community will be
:20:14. > :20:15.watching closely. Critics may wonder just where Egypt
:20:16. > :20:28.is heading. Let's discuss these death sentences
:20:29. > :20:37.with Dr H.A. Hellyer, an associate associate fellow of the US project
:20:38. > :20:49.on the Islamic world at Brookings. He joins us from Cairo. 683 death
:20:50. > :20:54.verdicts are preliminary. You they will be upheld? I don't it very wuch
:20:55. > :20:57.much. They will be -- very much. They will be sent to the office.
:20:58. > :21:02.Following that the court has to issue a verdict. It is very unlikely
:21:03. > :21:11.they will uphold 683. Even if they do, the court then has to go to the
:21:12. > :21:17.next court. Keeping in mind most of these cases involve people who are
:21:18. > :21:22.not actually there. Any of them that which show up are then given the
:21:23. > :21:27.opportunity for a retrial. And at the Court of Appeal, if it gets that
:21:28. > :21:30.far, one suspects and most legal experts in the country seem to
:21:31. > :21:35.agree, the sentences will not be upheld. We saw in the other case,
:21:36. > :21:40.because it is very complicated, but there were two cases. We saw 37
:21:41. > :21:45.death sentences in the other case. They were upheld. I mean, this is a
:21:46. > :21:49.legal point. Upheld implies they were sent to appeal and then the
:21:50. > :21:55.appeal released it as such. This is not the case. The decisions were
:21:56. > :21:59.sent to the office. The confidential opinion was given, which has not
:22:00. > :22:07.been released and the court itself then issued a verdict. Now that
:22:08. > :22:11.verdict is going off to the court and after that it is able to go to
:22:12. > :22:15.the Court of Appeal. Here also lies another legal issue under the new
:22:16. > :22:20.constitution, passed this year, even this particular verdict actually
:22:21. > :22:24.could be sent to the Court of Appeal directly before going to the next
:22:25. > :22:28.court. So, yes, I am not saying this is a very, very troubling verdict,
:22:29. > :22:32.but it does mean that there are a number of different ways that,
:22:33. > :22:38.legally speaking, even under this judicial system, the sentences could
:22:39. > :22:41.and are likely to be overturned. Realistically do these people have
:22:42. > :22:46.access to lawyers? Do they have the kind of clarity in this process?
:22:47. > :22:52.Will they be able to go through this process, difficult legal process and
:22:53. > :22:56.I am sorry, briefly, if you could? I actually don't think it will get to
:22:57. > :22:59.the point where they need to have serious legal representation in
:23:00. > :23:04.order to have their sentences rejected. The judicial system itself
:23:05. > :23:09.is going to take it to the court and I think it is likely to dismiss
:23:10. > :23:16.these sort of sentences. Keeping in mind that the cases you are speaking
:23:17. > :23:22.of today, even the 36, they found their sentences to be death
:23:23. > :23:25.sentences, this was only after a few hour hours of evidence being given
:23:26. > :23:29.and entire court proceedings being done in a couple of hours or so. I
:23:30. > :23:34.find it unlikely that will go through. Dr H.A. Hellyer, thank you
:23:35. > :23:39.for talking us through that complicated situation. Thank you for
:23:40. > :23:43.clarifying it. Thank you. Now other news for you and starting off with
:23:44. > :23:48.Iraq's parliamentary election, early voting has been marred by a string
:23:49. > :23:52.of bombings that targeting polling stations. At least 21 people, mainly
:23:53. > :23:58.security personnel were killed. Security forces, as well as hospital
:23:59. > :24:03.and prison staff have been voting to help the main day of voting go as
:24:04. > :24:09.smoothly as it can on Wednesday. The air operation to find the missing
:24:10. > :24:15.debris from the missing air Malaysiian plane has been called
:24:16. > :24:19.off. The underwater search area has been widen and could take eight
:24:20. > :24:29.months to scour thoroughly. After seven years no confirmed debris from
:24:30. > :24:32.the plane has been found. Now, a powerful tornado in the United
:24:33. > :24:36.States has carved a path of destruction in the state of
:24:37. > :24:44.Arkansas. At least 14 people are known to have died. Ed. The tornado
:24:45. > :24:50.was several produced by a powerful storm system. Cars, trucks and
:24:51. > :24:57.18-wheel lorries were left shed shredded in itself -- shredded in
:24:58. > :25:08.its path. You can see from this why they call
:25:09. > :25:13.them", twisters." ." Barrelling across the horizon, tearing up
:25:14. > :25:17.everything in its path. This is what happened after a twister touched
:25:18. > :25:23.down near the town of Little Rock, Arkansas. Cutting across an
:25:24. > :25:28.interstate free way, to create a path of devastation, 80 miles long.
:25:29. > :25:33.Rescue workers have been going house-to-house in their search for
:25:34. > :25:38.survivors. This three-year-old girl was found
:25:39. > :25:41.100 feet from her home with a badly damaged hip.
:25:42. > :25:48.Several other children didn't make it out alive, after the tornado
:25:49. > :25:52.crushed cars and reduced homes and businesses to match wood. No sirens
:25:53. > :25:57.or anything went off there. I felt the house shake a bit and I heard
:25:58. > :26:01.wind like you would not believe. I got up off my chair and looked out
:26:02. > :26:06.the front window there and saw the twister and all this devastation
:26:07. > :26:10.here coming up. No warning for some because the tornado struck with such
:26:11. > :26:17.speed and such force that it wiped out the early warn sirens in one
:26:18. > :26:25.Oklahoma town. In Arkansas, a school set to open in August was aamong the
:26:26. > :26:32.building -- among the building ruined. More storms are expected in
:26:33. > :26:39.the Gulf Coast and the mid-West in the next few hours and the tornado
:26:40. > :26:44.season has only just begun. Lots more, as always on our website.
:26:45. > :26:50.From me and the team on World News Today, thank you very much for
:26:51. > :27:01.Hello there. Monday was noticeable for two things. One the intensity of
:27:02. > :27:09.the showers across the southern British Isles, two, the fact it got
:27:10. > :27:12.to 22 Celsius in abbey more, taking it the warmest day so far. On
:27:13. > :27:18.Tuesday things may improve for many of us. It may take some time. Low
:27:19. > :27:19.pressure close by in the Atlantic. We are keeping that unsettled