:00:00. > :00:09.This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas.
:00:10. > :00:13.A dramatic development in the battle for a Syrian city sees tunnels dug
:00:14. > :00:21.under historic sites to stage a huge explosion.
:00:22. > :00:24.As the massive bomb blast rips through the Syrian city of Aleppo -
:00:25. > :00:26.a hotel and several other buildings are flattened.
:00:27. > :00:29.Nigeria's missing schoolgirls - the president says their abduction could
:00:30. > :00:35.mark a turning point in the fight against Islamic extremism.
:00:36. > :00:39.Also coming up: With most of the votes in, the ANC appears to have
:00:40. > :00:47.won a decisive victory in South Africa's general election. I am
:00:48. > :00:54.Zeinab Badawi at the results centre in Pretoria. With 83% of electoral
:00:55. > :00:58.districts declared, the ANC has 63% of the vote. I will be talking to
:00:59. > :01:03.the justice minister. Are electrical devices making birds
:01:04. > :01:04.lose their way? We find out why they've been ruffling the feathers
:01:05. > :01:20.of migratory birds. Hello and welcome. Another dramatic
:01:21. > :01:23.episode in Syria's bloody civil war after yesterday's mass retreat of
:01:24. > :01:30.rebel fighters from the city of Homs. Today rebels set off a large
:01:31. > :01:34.explosion in the northern city of Aleppo which has destroyed a hotel
:01:35. > :01:39.and several other buildings. A group called the Islamic Front has claimed
:01:40. > :01:42.responsibility for the attack. The blast in the city's government-held
:01:43. > :01:46.area struck the Carlton hotel in the Old City, next to Aleppo's medieval
:01:47. > :01:50.citadel. Opposition activists said that Government troops were based
:01:51. > :01:58.there and that a number had been killed. Mike Wooldridge reports.
:01:59. > :02:05.The massive blast sending a huge column of debris and dust into the
:02:06. > :02:08.air. The Carlton Hotel in Aleppo's Old City, which was being used as a
:02:09. > :02:13.base by Government forces, destroyed. And other buildings
:02:14. > :02:17.damaged. The rebel Islamic Front was responsible for the blast. The
:02:18. > :02:19.British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the
:02:20. > :02:25.violence, said fighters had placed explosives in a tunnel underneath
:02:26. > :02:29.the hotel. The rebel offensive in 2012 in Aleppo, left the Carlton and
:02:30. > :02:34.other nearby hotels on the front line of the conflict. Next to the
:02:35. > :02:41.city's medieval citadel, this was an area much frequented by tourists
:02:42. > :02:43.before the war. After the expulsion, soldiers searching for any
:02:44. > :02:47.survivors. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that there
:02:48. > :02:52.were wounded as well as dead among the troops who had been occupying
:02:53. > :02:56.the building. Today's huge blast, a blow to the Assad regime in the
:02:57. > :02:58.North, as here in the central city of Homs, Government troops are
:02:59. > :03:06.regaining control, after a cease-fire by the rebels.
:03:07. > :03:16.With me is Edgard Jallad, the TV News Editor for BBC Arabic. You were
:03:17. > :03:21.just telling the you have got a hold of some video that shows the
:03:22. > :03:25.preparations for this attack. Yes. It should the lead up to the
:03:26. > :03:30.operation and is about 20 minutes of video footage. It includes an
:03:31. > :03:37.interview with a man who is one of the leaders of this Islamic Front
:03:38. > :03:48.group. He was describing the work that led up to this explosion. He
:03:49. > :03:51.said that the work took two and a half months of working day and
:03:52. > :03:56.night. We can see them pulling out the
:03:57. > :04:00.rubble from underneath the building. He said there were 40 tonnes of
:04:01. > :04:08.explosives planted underneath. He also said that the tunnel is 75
:04:09. > :04:14.metres long. It led to this checkpoint or base used by the
:04:15. > :04:23.regular army. He promised that you should expect us to appear in
:04:24. > :04:26.Damascus, perhaps at the presidential palace, to arrest the
:04:27. > :04:33.president. Apart from the damage that has been
:04:34. > :04:36.done, this is a propaganda coup? Bexactly. It is a new tactic. We
:04:37. > :04:43.have not witnessed anything like this before. It is an operation
:04:44. > :04:47.which shows that the rebels are following different tactics and
:04:48. > :04:55.imposing new rules on the Government. It is not limited to the
:04:56. > :05:01.surface, but now we need to consider underground activity.
:05:02. > :05:07.We were talking about the retreat of rebel fighters from the city of is.
:05:08. > :05:09.You could say, the rebels appear to have scored a significant coup, but
:05:10. > :05:17.that would be to simplify too much, wouldn't it?
:05:18. > :05:20.Yes. These are different groups in different conditions. Yesterday, it
:05:21. > :05:28.was portrayed as a victory for the Government. But these rebels left
:05:29. > :05:34.this area to fight in another area. So, they are leaving but to go and
:05:35. > :05:42.fight elsewhere. This was announced even by the Syrian Council leaders.
:05:43. > :05:46.They said: Do not think these rebels are going home, they are going to
:05:47. > :05:49.fight. So, these are two different things.
:05:50. > :06:02.Good to talk to you. Thank you. There's been an earthquake in
:06:03. > :06:07.Mexico. The epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude quake was on the pacific
:06:08. > :06:10.coast. The nearest town was Tecpan which is just north of Acapulco. The
:06:11. > :06:13.tremor was felt in Mexico City, several hundred kilometres away. A
:06:14. > :06:16.number of office buildings were temporarily evacuated, but so far
:06:17. > :06:19.there have been no reports of any serious damage or injuries in the
:06:20. > :06:22.Mexican capital. The Nigerian President, Goodluck
:06:23. > :06:25.Jonathan, has said terrorism is the greatest threat facing his country.
:06:26. > :06:28.The president has been talking to the BBC - claiming that with
:06:29. > :06:31.international help, he'll be able to bring terrorism to an end and find
:06:32. > :06:34.the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by Islamist
:06:35. > :06:35.militants. Our world affairs editor John Simpson reports from the
:06:36. > :06:44.capital Abuja. Gradually, and even now with a
:06:45. > :06:47.surprising degree of slowness, the Nigerian authorities are starting to
:06:48. > :06:50.deal with a crime that has shocked the world. At Chibok, the missing
:06:51. > :06:52.girls' relatives are still in shock but at least the Government is
:06:53. > :07:02.making an effort. In the capital, Abuja, one of the
:07:03. > :07:07.daily protest gatherings is taking place. Quietly, peacefully but with
:07:08. > :07:17.real determination, the organisers of the Bring Back Our Girls movement
:07:18. > :07:19.are keeping up the pressure. It's the sustained advocacy and
:07:20. > :07:22.effort by everybody around the world, the way everyone has said
:07:23. > :07:26.that this is not acceptable - ignoring an abduction of over 200
:07:27. > :07:29.girls - I think, that is primarily the pressure making the Nigerian
:07:30. > :07:36.Government rethink the fact they ignored this issue initially.
:07:37. > :07:40.In fact, until just a few days ago, no real effort seemed to be being
:07:41. > :07:43.made at all. It was only earlier this week that a reward was offered
:07:44. > :07:48.for information about the girls' whereabouts. Now though, the whole
:07:49. > :07:56.situation seems to be changing. Today should have been a memorable
:07:57. > :08:02.one for Nigeria. At this hotel in Abuja, the World Economic Forum is
:08:03. > :08:05.taking place. Instead, everyone even here was thinking about the missing
:08:06. > :08:11.girls. The forum started with a minute's silence for them. Has
:08:12. > :08:13.President Goodluck Jonathan been too preoccupied with economics to pay
:08:14. > :08:18.sufficient attention to the crime? When he spoke to the BBC, he showed
:08:19. > :08:24.he was clearly taking the problem a lot more seriously.
:08:25. > :08:30.I believe with the assistance and investment we are making now, we are
:08:31. > :08:36.able to bring terror to an end in Nigeria.
:08:37. > :08:39.For days now, relatives of the missing girls have been revisiting
:08:40. > :08:43.the school they were taken from. If so many girls hadn't been kidnapped,
:08:44. > :08:58.maybe it would not have stirred up this worldwide response.
:08:59. > :09:02.Pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine have said they plan to push
:09:03. > :09:08.ahead with votes on independence this weekend. The Russian President,
:09:09. > :09:11.Vladimir Putin, yesterday called for the vote to be postponed. But one
:09:12. > :09:15.separatist leader has said the rebels are sticking to their plans
:09:16. > :09:17.because they represent the will of pro-Russian Ukrainians. The
:09:18. > :09:24.Government in Kiev meanwhile says any such poll will be illegal. On
:09:25. > :09:28.the streets here in Donetsk, the regional capital, there are already
:09:29. > :09:33.unofficial advertisements for the referendum. It is being portrayed as
:09:34. > :09:39.a vote to save the region from fascism. At a packed news conference
:09:40. > :09:52.in the city, the separatist rebels appeared before the world's media to
:09:53. > :09:58.make their crucial announcement. And it was that all the leaders at the
:09:59. > :10:06.self-declared people to Donetsk that the referendum should go ahead as
:10:07. > :10:12.planned. They have decided to ignore President Putin's call for a delay
:10:13. > :10:16.in the boat. By holding this referendum on Sunday, the fear is
:10:17. > :10:21.that this will exacerbate tensions and potentially lead to a full-blown
:10:22. > :10:24.civil war in Ukraine. I asked the man responsible for organising the
:10:25. > :10:34.referendum what he thought would happen now. He denied that a vote in
:10:35. > :10:39.favour of independence for this region would lead to civil war.
:10:40. > :10:45.Because, he said, there was already a civil War in Eastern Ukraine.
:10:46. > :10:51.Government forces have deployed in large numbers in this region. To try
:10:52. > :10:55.to push the pro-Russian separatists out of their strongholds. This
:10:56. > :10:59.operation may well intensify now he for the rebels can hold their fault
:11:00. > :11:07.to break away from Ukraine, potentially becoming part of Russia.
:11:08. > :11:11.Meanwhile in Russia President Vladimir Putin has overseen military
:11:12. > :11:14.exercises including the test launch of several ballistic missiles. Mr
:11:15. > :11:16.Putin said the exercises simulated a retaliatory nuclear strike in
:11:17. > :11:18.response to an enemy attack, and that Russia's nuclear defence
:11:19. > :11:22.capabilities remained on constant alert. He said the military drills
:11:23. > :11:29.were planned in November, making no mention of tensions over Ukraine.
:11:30. > :11:39.Joining me from Brussels is an analyst at the European Policy
:11:40. > :11:43.Centre. Thank you for joining us. It had been thought that President
:11:44. > :11:47.Putin was executing a masterly strategy, stirring up tensions in
:11:48. > :11:50.Eastern Ukraine, to strike back against the pro-Westerners in Kiev.
:11:51. > :11:55.But how do you think the situation looks today?
:11:56. > :12:02.Nothing much will really change. It is very difficult to guess President
:12:03. > :12:05.Putin's calculations and thoughts, but in practice not much has
:12:06. > :12:09.changed. On the ground in Ukraine, what has changed is the position of
:12:10. > :12:16.the member States of the European Union. As a result of President
:12:17. > :12:23.Putin's speech. This change and apparent U-turn has eased Drescher
:12:24. > :12:28.on Russia. Russia looked like a constructive actor and one that does
:12:29. > :12:38.not control the separatist forces. And we also see negotiations in
:12:39. > :12:47.Brussels with member States talking about changing the legal framework
:12:48. > :12:51.regarding sanctions. They have included the possibility to add
:12:52. > :12:57.companies, but only from Crimea and not Russia. Part of these changes
:12:58. > :13:03.are due to the speech given by President Putin yesterday.
:13:04. > :13:10.Could the rebels be a spontaneous local or regional uprising, as they
:13:11. > :13:20.have always claimed? They are clearly involved in local
:13:21. > :13:28.grievances in that part of Ukraine, so that plays a major role in this.
:13:29. > :13:40.We have seen evidence that Russian agents at present there and at
:13:41. > :13:46.organising themselves. This is not difficult to believe, just months
:13:47. > :13:53.ago we had one region of Ukraine having its own separatists,
:13:54. > :13:58.spontaneously. They were supported by Russia.
:13:59. > :14:02.Briefly, how much of this is just an economic story? The impact of
:14:03. > :14:10.sanctions hitting those close to President Putin?
:14:11. > :14:14.Sanctions to play a role in the calculation is being made in the
:14:15. > :14:21.Kremlin. Again, in practice, nothing much has changed and President Putin
:14:22. > :14:30.knows that. He knows that the situation on the ground will not
:14:31. > :14:34.change if he gives a speech saying he does not want the referendum to
:14:35. > :14:40.take place. It changes the position of the EU member States. And maybe
:14:41. > :14:54.it changes the position of the United dates. President -- United
:14:55. > :15:03.States. President Putin... Thank you for joining us. One of the
:15:04. > :15:05.world's biggest banks, Barclays, has announced that it's cutting 19,000
:15:06. > :15:08.jobs worldwide over the next three years. The biggest cutbacks are in
:15:09. > :15:12.the investment banking division. Barclays will also set up a so
:15:13. > :15:15.called "bad bank" where it will park some of its riskiest investments,
:15:16. > :15:18.including some commodities and emerging markets products.
:15:19. > :15:22.Venezuelan security forces have broken up four protest camps in the
:15:23. > :15:25.capital Caracas and rounded up hundreds of student activists in an
:15:26. > :15:28.early morning raid. The students set up the tented camps more than a
:15:29. > :15:31.month ago as part of protests against President Nicolas Maduro.
:15:32. > :15:34.The authorities said they'd seized drugs and weapons and accused the
:15:35. > :15:38.students of using the camps to stage violent protests in other parts of
:15:39. > :15:45.the city, but one of the student leaders denied this. Oscar
:15:46. > :15:49.Pistorius' defence team continued to present a picture of a man who was
:15:50. > :15:53.heartbroken after he killed his girlfriend in what he says was a
:15:54. > :15:56.tragic accident. On day 28 of the murder trial, the defence called a
:15:57. > :15:59.social worker and probation officer who visited Pistorius in a police
:16:00. > :16:02.cell a day after he fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp, to testify. The
:16:03. > :16:07.social worker said she observed an emotionally devastated Pistorius.
:16:08. > :16:10.South Africa's governing African National Congress has taken a
:16:11. > :16:13.commanding lead in the country's national elections. With more than
:16:14. > :16:17.two thirds of the votes counted, the ANC has 63%, giving them a strong
:16:18. > :16:27.mandate to try to tackle South Africa's many economic challenges.
:16:28. > :16:38.Zeinab Badawi reports from the National Results Centre in Pretoria.
:16:39. > :16:43.Thank you. Well just a few minutes ago you can't see him, but president
:16:44. > :16:53.Jacob Zuma arrived at the result sceptre. So quite a lot of people
:16:54. > :16:56.around here. -- results centre. 83% of districts have declared. So you
:16:57. > :17:00.can say with confidence that the picture is going to remain by and
:17:01. > :17:13.large as it is. Were still waiting for the two most populist provinces
:17:14. > :17:22.in South Africa to declare. One has Johannesburg and Pretoria there. So
:17:23. > :17:30.the big us -- figures could adjust. I'm joined by the justice minister
:17:31. > :17:34.in the ANC Government. 63%. You could say respectable, but it is
:17:35. > :17:41.lower than the last election and the election before that. You're seeing
:17:42. > :17:47.your vote diminish? No, if you take into account under the presidency of
:17:48. > :17:51.Nelson Mandela we had 62%. So it is not diminishing. If you look at the
:17:52. > :17:58.actual numbers of people who have voted for the ANC you realise that
:17:59. > :18:06.the number is even larger than in the previous elections. I don't want
:18:07. > :18:11.to get too pointy heady about it. 62% is right in 1994, but the
:18:12. > :18:19.political landscape was different, because the Zulu vote went to the
:18:20. > :18:25.Freedom Party and that has changed. Having said that, the last three
:18:26. > :18:29.elections after that, you're seeing your vote diminish. That would
:18:30. > :18:35.suggest that you're doing something wrong? No f you look at 2009, even
:18:36. > :18:40.the percentage was about 65%, but in actual numbers of people in 2009
:18:41. > :18:45.there were a million more people who voted for the ANC than in other
:18:46. > :18:50.previous election. In real numbers the ANC is growing. If you look at
:18:51. > :18:57.the membership and supporters when Mandela was president, we had
:18:58. > :19:03.150,000 members. Now we have 1.2 million South Africans who are
:19:04. > :19:09.card-carrying members. What about the economic freedom fighters in
:19:10. > :19:16.Johannesburg, they're eroding your vote. You have got just over 50% so
:19:17. > :19:20.far in the count. That is the reflection of our democracy. We
:19:21. > :19:26.don't have a system of winner takes all. Our system is based on
:19:27. > :19:30.proportional representation and those members are former members of
:19:31. > :19:37.the ANC who for one reason or the other have left the ANC. Jobs, a big
:19:38. > :19:44.thing in your fifth term, will that be it? Indeed. Our vision national
:19:45. > :19:48.development plan, the topic in town is jobs, fighting unemployment,
:19:49. > :19:52.fighting poverty and fighting in quality in our country. So that we
:19:53. > :19:59.grow this economy to create the jobs that we require. Thank you. There
:20:00. > :20:07.you have an idea of what a fifth term of an ANC going is going to
:20:08. > :20:10.focus on. Back to you. Thank you. There's a new weapon in the war
:20:11. > :20:13.against Colombia's rebels and drug traffickers. The authorities there
:20:14. > :20:16.have begun deploying British-made combat hovercraft in one of the most
:20:17. > :20:18.troubled provinces to deal with country's rebel insurgency. Even
:20:19. > :20:21.though talks have taken place between the Colombian government and
:20:22. > :20:24.the main rebel group, the FARC, about ending rebel involvement in
:20:25. > :20:28.the drugs trade, there's no ceasefire in place and the fighting
:20:29. > :20:30.goes on. Frank Gardner has been to the remote Amazon settlement of
:20:31. > :20:33.Puerto Leguizamo, with the Colombian navy as it tries to tackle the
:20:34. > :20:39.traffickers. Deep in the jungle of Columbia there is something new on
:20:40. > :20:46.the river. They're fast, heavily armed and can reach places ordinary
:20:47. > :20:50.boats can't get to. These British-built hover craft have been
:20:51. > :20:55.been brought from Southampton and the Columbian navy hopes it will
:20:56. > :20:59.give them an advantage in chasing drug smugglers and insurgents in the
:21:00. > :21:06.heart of the world's cocaine industry. We watched them practice a
:21:07. > :21:15.river-borne assault. They are operating where the Jungles is --
:21:16. > :21:22.where the jungle is held by the FARC movement. Both sides have committed
:21:23. > :21:29.human rights abuses. TRANSLATION: They will change the whole dynamics
:21:30. > :21:32.of war with FARC. Until now, we have only been able to operate for half
:21:33. > :21:37.of the year. From October to January we can't move, because the river
:21:38. > :21:44.levels drop so far, our boats hit the rocks. But these hover craft
:21:45. > :21:52.don't need high water and we can cut off the rebel supply lines. Peace
:21:53. > :21:57.talks are under way, but there is no deal. We should expect as we have
:21:58. > :22:01.seen in the past that some crimes and some criminal gangs might pop
:22:02. > :22:06.up, may appear in some areas, trying to keep the kind of business. The
:22:07. > :22:12.new hover craft are unlike will I to stop that happening. But they may
:22:13. > :22:18.just hasten the end of Latin America's longest-running
:22:19. > :22:22.insurgency. Radio stations could be causing migratory birds such as
:22:23. > :22:25.robins to lose their way - that's according to a new study. Low
:22:26. > :22:27.frequency waves produced by equipment such as AM radio signals
:22:28. > :22:32.apparently interfere with the animals' internal compass.
:22:33. > :22:36.Scientists believe the effects are strongest when the birds fly over
:22:37. > :22:39.urban areas. And the report says the birds are forced to switch to their
:22:40. > :22:47.backup navigational systems, using the sun and stars instead. Joining
:22:48. > :22:49.me from Essen in Germany is Professor Henrik Mouritsen. He's the
:22:50. > :22:57.lead researcher from the University of Oldenburg. Thank you for joining
:22:58. > :23:02.us, tell us more about your discovery. What are the worst
:23:03. > :23:10.culprits from the birds' point of view? Well basically it is radio
:23:11. > :23:22.frequency noise in a frequency... I think you're breaking up a bit. We
:23:23. > :23:26.will continue. Those... Comes... Basically... I think we are going to
:23:27. > :23:31.have to leave that. I'm so sorry to leave you there. But we are having
:23:32. > :23:36.problems with the line. So we will just move on and leave you wondering
:23:37. > :23:42.about the Robins and they're migration. - and their migration.
:23:43. > :23:46.The space scientist Colin Pillinger - who's best known for leading a
:23:47. > :23:51.mission to try to land a British spacecraft on Mars - has died at the
:23:52. > :23:54.age of 70. He began his career with NASA, before becoming the driving
:23:55. > :23:57.force behind the Beagle 2 mission. The Royal Astronomical Society said
:23:58. > :23:59.he wasn't afraid to challenge the establishment and get things done.
:24:00. > :24:06.Our Science Editor David Shukman looks back now at his life. With his
:24:07. > :24:12.trade mark whiskers and a sharp eye for publicity, Colin Pillinger was
:24:13. > :24:19.no ordinary scientist. Who else would wheel a replica of his space
:24:20. > :24:24.craft in a shopping trolley. To say I was part of a mission that went to
:24:25. > :24:29.Mars and even if it found life on Mars, that would be even more
:24:30. > :24:34.phenomenal. Against all the odds, using humour and determination,
:24:35. > :24:42.Colin Pillinger raised the money for the mission. He started his career
:24:43. > :24:46.studying moon rocks. The launch was flawless, but harder would be
:24:47. > :24:51.achieving a landing on Mars. The tiny craft was named Beagle Two
:24:52. > :24:58.after the ship that carried Charles Darwin. The risks were high, but it
:24:59. > :25:03.was about British daring. We are only the country that would send a
:25:04. > :25:09.man to climb the highest mountain in a tweed suit. So I have all the
:25:10. > :25:15.confidence. Alex James of Blur, one of many stars enthused by Colin
:25:16. > :25:22.Pillinger. I joined him on a visit to the radio telescope. He was a
:25:23. > :25:26.very passionate man. He listened to a degree, but he was keen to get his
:25:27. > :25:33.point of view across as well. And with that came a certain I would say
:25:34. > :25:38.glint in his eye. Sadly, the mission to Mars failed. You could see the
:25:39. > :25:42.agony on Colin Pillinger's face. But his technology live on in other
:25:43. > :25:47.space craft. He will be remembered as a pioneer and as someone who
:25:48. > :25:54.brought home the excitement of space exploration. The life of Colin
:25:55. > :25:58.Pillinger. Now some extraordinary images from a television show in
:25:59. > :26:04.Jordan. Nothing out of the ordinary it seeps, just two -- seem, just two
:26:05. > :26:10.guests debating. The presenter tried to moderate with little success.
:26:11. > :26:15.They're talking about the crisis in Syria and they have a difference of
:26:16. > :26:21.opinion and ended up picking up huge parts of set, before having to be
:26:22. > :26:26.torn apart by staff. I am glad to say guests here do tend to be more
:26:27. > :26:32.restrained and our sets are more rigid. Now our main news: A huge
:26:33. > :26:43.bomb has destroyed a hotel in Aleppo that was being used as a base by
:26:44. > :26:46.Government forces. Thank you for being us with here on Word News
:26:47. > :27:00.Today. It was a wet day across much of the
:27:01. > :27:01.country. The showery rain continues tonight. By dawn another crop