08/05/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas.

A dramatic development in the battle for a Syrian city sees tunnels dug

under historic sites to stage a huge explosion.

As the massive bomb blast rips through the Syrian city of Aleppo -

a hotel and several other buildings are flattened.

Nigeria's missing schoolgirls - the president says their abduction could

mark a turning point in the fight against Islamic extremism.

Also coming up: With most of the votes in, the ANC appears to have

won a decisive victory in South Africa's general election. I am

Zeinab Badawi at the results centre in Pretoria. With 83% of electoral

districts declared, the ANC has 63% of the vote. I will be talking to

the justice minister. Are electrical devices making birds

lose their way? We find out why they've been ruffling the feathers

of migratory birds. Hello and welcome. Another dramatic

episode in Syria's bloody civil war after yesterday's mass retreat of

rebel fighters from the city of Homs. Today rebels set off a large

explosion in the northern city of Aleppo which has destroyed a hotel

and several other buildings. A group called the Islamic Front has claimed

responsibility for the attack. The blast in the city's government-held

area struck the Carlton hotel in the Old City, next to Aleppo's medieval

citadel. Opposition activists said that Government troops were based

there and that a number had been killed. Mike Wooldridge reports.

The massive blast sending a huge column of debris and dust into the

air. The Carlton Hotel in Aleppo's Old City, which was being used as a

base by Government forces, destroyed. And other buildings

damaged. The rebel Islamic Front was responsible for the blast. The

British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the

violence, said fighters had placed explosives in a tunnel underneath

the hotel. The rebel offensive in 2012 in Aleppo, left the Carlton and

other nearby hotels on the front line of the conflict. Next to the

city's medieval citadel, this was an area much frequented by tourists

before the war. After the expulsion, soldiers searching for any

survivors. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that there

were wounded as well as dead among the troops who had been occupying

the building. Today's huge blast, a blow to the Assad regime in the

North, as here in the central city of Homs, Government troops are

regaining control, after a cease-fire by the rebels.

With me is Edgard Jallad, the TV News Editor for BBC Arabic. You were

just telling the you have got a hold of some video that shows the

preparations for this attack. Yes. It should the lead up to the

operation and is about 20 minutes of video footage. It includes an

interview with a man who is one of the leaders of this Islamic Front

group. He was describing the work that led up to this explosion. He

said that the work took two and a half months of working day and

night. We can see them pulling out the

rubble from underneath the building. He said there were 40 tonnes of

explosives planted underneath. He also said that the tunnel is 75

metres long. It led to this checkpoint or base used by the

regular army. He promised that you should expect us to appear in

Damascus, perhaps at the presidential palace, to arrest the

president. Apart from the damage that has been

done, this is a propaganda coup? Bexactly. It is a new tactic. We

have not witnessed anything like this before. It is an operation

which shows that the rebels are following different tactics and

imposing new rules on the Government. It is not limited to the

surface, but now we need to consider underground activity.

We were talking about the retreat of rebel fighters from the city of is.

You could say, the rebels appear to have scored a significant coup, but

that would be to simplify too much, wouldn't it?

Yes. These are different groups in different conditions. Yesterday, it

was portrayed as a victory for the Government. But these rebels left

this area to fight in another area. So, they are leaving but to go and

fight elsewhere. This was announced even by the Syrian Council leaders.

They said: Do not think these rebels are going home, they are going to

fight. So, these are two different things.

Good to talk to you. Thank you. There's been an earthquake in

Mexico. The epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude quake was on the pacific

coast. The nearest town was Tecpan which is just north of Acapulco. The

tremor was felt in Mexico City, several hundred kilometres away. A

number of office buildings were temporarily evacuated, but so far

there have been no reports of any serious damage or injuries in the

Mexican capital. The Nigerian President, Goodluck

Jonathan, has said terrorism is the greatest threat facing his country.

The president has been talking to the BBC - claiming that with

international help, he'll be able to bring terrorism to an end and find

the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by Islamist

militants. Our world affairs editor John Simpson reports from the

capital Abuja. Gradually, and even now with a

surprising degree of slowness, the Nigerian authorities are starting to

deal with a crime that has shocked the world. At Chibok, the missing

girls' relatives are still in shock but at least the Government is

making an effort. In the capital, Abuja, one of the

daily protest gatherings is taking place. Quietly, peacefully but with

real determination, the organisers of the Bring Back Our Girls movement

are keeping up the pressure. It's the sustained advocacy and

effort by everybody around the world, the way everyone has said

that this is not acceptable - ignoring an abduction of over 200

girls - I think, that is primarily the pressure making the Nigerian

Government rethink the fact they ignored this issue initially.

In fact, until just a few days ago, no real effort seemed to be being

made at all. It was only earlier this week that a reward was offered

for information about the girls' whereabouts. Now though, the whole

situation seems to be changing. Today should have been a memorable

one for Nigeria. At this hotel in Abuja, the World Economic Forum is

taking place. Instead, everyone even here was thinking about the missing

girls. The forum started with a minute's silence for them. Has

President Goodluck Jonathan been too preoccupied with economics to pay

sufficient attention to the crime? When he spoke to the BBC, he showed

he was clearly taking the problem a lot more seriously.

I believe with the assistance and investment we are making now, we are

able to bring terror to an end in Nigeria.

For days now, relatives of the missing girls have been revisiting

the school they were taken from. If so many girls hadn't been kidnapped,

maybe it would not have stirred up this worldwide response.

Pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine have said they plan to push

ahead with votes on independence this weekend. The Russian President,

Vladimir Putin, yesterday called for the vote to be postponed. But one

separatist leader has said the rebels are sticking to their plans

because they represent the will of pro-Russian Ukrainians. The

Government in Kiev meanwhile says any such poll will be illegal. On

the streets here in Donetsk, the regional capital, there are already

unofficial advertisements for the referendum. It is being portrayed as

a vote to save the region from fascism. At a packed news conference

in the city, the separatist rebels appeared before the world's media to

make their crucial announcement. And it was that all the leaders at the

self-declared people to Donetsk that the referendum should go ahead as

planned. They have decided to ignore President Putin's call for a delay

in the boat. By holding this referendum on Sunday, the fear is

that this will exacerbate tensions and potentially lead to a full-blown

civil war in Ukraine. I asked the man responsible for organising the

referendum what he thought would happen now. He denied that a vote in

favour of independence for this region would lead to civil war.

Because, he said, there was already a civil War in Eastern Ukraine.

Government forces have deployed in large numbers in this region. To try

to push the pro-Russian separatists out of their strongholds. This

operation may well intensify now he for the rebels can hold their fault

to break away from Ukraine, potentially becoming part of Russia.

Meanwhile in Russia President Vladimir Putin has overseen military

exercises including the test launch of several ballistic missiles. Mr

Putin said the exercises simulated a retaliatory nuclear strike in

response to an enemy attack, and that Russia's nuclear defence

capabilities remained on constant alert. He said the military drills

were planned in November, making no mention of tensions over Ukraine.

Joining me from Brussels is an analyst at the European Policy

Centre. Thank you for joining us. It had been thought that President

Putin was executing a masterly strategy, stirring up tensions in

Eastern Ukraine, to strike back against the pro-Westerners in Kiev.

But how do you think the situation looks today?

Nothing much will really change. It is very difficult to guess President

Putin's calculations and thoughts, but in practice not much has

changed. On the ground in Ukraine, what has changed is the position of

the member States of the European Union. As a result of President

Putin's speech. This change and apparent U-turn has eased Drescher

on Russia. Russia looked like a constructive actor and one that does

not control the separatist forces. And we also see negotiations in

Brussels with member States talking about changing the legal framework

regarding sanctions. They have included the possibility to add

companies, but only from Crimea and not Russia. Part of these changes

are due to the speech given by President Putin yesterday.

Could the rebels be a spontaneous local or regional uprising, as they

have always claimed? They are clearly involved in local

grievances in that part of Ukraine, so that plays a major role in this.

We have seen evidence that Russian agents at present there and at

organising themselves. This is not difficult to believe, just months

ago we had one region of Ukraine having its own separatists,

spontaneously. They were supported by Russia.

Briefly, how much of this is just an economic story? The impact of

sanctions hitting those close to President Putin?

Sanctions to play a role in the calculation is being made in the

Kremlin. Again, in practice, nothing much has changed and President Putin

knows that. He knows that the situation on the ground will not

change if he gives a speech saying he does not want the referendum to

take place. It changes the position of the EU member States. And maybe

it changes the position of the United dates. President -- United

States. President Putin... Thank you for joining us. One of the

world's biggest banks, Barclays, has announced that it's cutting 19,000

jobs worldwide over the next three years. The biggest cutbacks are in

the investment banking division. Barclays will also set up a so

called "bad bank" where it will park some of its riskiest investments,

including some commodities and emerging markets products.

Venezuelan security forces have broken up four protest camps in the

capital Caracas and rounded up hundreds of student activists in an

early morning raid. The students set up the tented camps more than a

month ago as part of protests against President Nicolas Maduro.

The authorities said they'd seized drugs and weapons and accused the

students of using the camps to stage violent protests in other parts of

the city, but one of the student leaders denied this. Oscar

Pistorius' defence team continued to present a picture of a man who was

heartbroken after he killed his girlfriend in what he says was a

tragic accident. On day 28 of the murder trial, the defence called a

social worker and probation officer who visited Pistorius in a police

cell a day after he fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp, to testify. The

social worker said she observed an emotionally devastated Pistorius.

South Africa's governing African National Congress has taken a

commanding lead in the country's national elections. With more than

two thirds of the votes counted, the ANC has 63%, giving them a strong

mandate to try to tackle South Africa's many economic challenges.

Zeinab Badawi reports from the National Results Centre in Pretoria.

Thank you. Well just a few minutes ago you can't see him, but president

Jacob Zuma arrived at the result sceptre. So quite a lot of people

around here. -- results centre. 83% of districts have declared. So you

can say with confidence that the picture is going to remain by and

large as it is. Were still waiting for the two most populist provinces

in South Africa to declare. One has Johannesburg and Pretoria there. So

the big us -- figures could adjust. I'm joined by the justice minister

in the ANC Government. 63%. You could say respectable, but it is

lower than the last election and the election before that. You're seeing

your vote diminish? No, if you take into account under the presidency of

Nelson Mandela we had 62%. So it is not diminishing. If you look at the

actual numbers of people who have voted for the ANC you realise that

the number is even larger than in the previous elections. I don't want

to get too pointy heady about it. 62% is right in 1994, but the

political landscape was different, because the Zulu vote went to the

Freedom Party and that has changed. Having said that, the last three

elections after that, you're seeing your vote diminish. That would

suggest that you're doing something wrong? No f you look at 2009, even

the percentage was about 65%, but in actual numbers of people in 2009

there were a million more people who voted for the ANC than in other

previous election. In real numbers the ANC is growing. If you look at

the membership and supporters when Mandela was president, we had

150,000 members. Now we have 1.2 million South Africans who are

card-carrying members. What about the economic freedom fighters in

Johannesburg, they're eroding your vote. You have got just over 50% so

far in the count. That is the reflection of our democracy. We

don't have a system of winner takes all. Our system is based on

proportional representation and those members are former members of

the ANC who for one reason or the other have left the ANC. Jobs, a big

thing in your fifth term, will that be it? Indeed. Our vision national

development plan, the topic in town is jobs, fighting unemployment,

fighting poverty and fighting in quality in our country. So that we

grow this economy to create the jobs that we require. Thank you. There

you have an idea of what a fifth term of an ANC going is going to

focus on. Back to you. Thank you. There's a new weapon in the war

against Colombia's rebels and drug traffickers. The authorities there

have begun deploying British-made combat hovercraft in one of the most

troubled provinces to deal with country's rebel insurgency. Even

though talks have taken place between the Colombian government and

the main rebel group, the FARC, about ending rebel involvement in

the drugs trade, there's no ceasefire in place and the fighting

goes on. Frank Gardner has been to the remote Amazon settlement of

Puerto Leguizamo, with the Colombian navy as it tries to tackle the

traffickers. Deep in the jungle of Columbia there is something new on

the river. They're fast, heavily armed and can reach places ordinary

boats can't get to. These British-built hover craft have been

been brought from Southampton and the Columbian navy hopes it will

give them an advantage in chasing drug smugglers and insurgents in the

heart of the world's cocaine industry. We watched them practice a

river-borne assault. They are operating where the Jungles is --

where the jungle is held by the FARC movement. Both sides have committed

human rights abuses. TRANSLATION: They will change the whole dynamics

of war with FARC. Until now, we have only been able to operate for half

of the year. From October to January we can't move, because the river

levels drop so far, our boats hit the rocks. But these hover craft

don't need high water and we can cut off the rebel supply lines. Peace

talks are under way, but there is no deal. We should expect as we have

seen in the past that some crimes and some criminal gangs might pop

up, may appear in some areas, trying to keep the kind of business. The

new hover craft are unlike will I to stop that happening. But they may

just hasten the end of Latin America's longest-running

insurgency. Radio stations could be causing migratory birds such as

robins to lose their way - that's according to a new study. Low

frequency waves produced by equipment such as AM radio signals

apparently interfere with the animals' internal compass.

Scientists believe the effects are strongest when the birds fly over

urban areas. And the report says the birds are forced to switch to their

backup navigational systems, using the sun and stars instead. Joining

me from Essen in Germany is Professor Henrik Mouritsen. He's the

lead researcher from the University of Oldenburg. Thank you for joining

us, tell us more about your discovery. What are the worst

culprits from the birds' point of view? Well basically it is radio

frequency noise in a frequency... I think you're breaking up a bit. We

will continue. Those... Comes... Basically... I think we are going to

have to leave that. I'm so sorry to leave you there. But we are having

problems with the line. So we will just move on and leave you wondering

about the Robins and they're migration. - and their migration.

The space scientist Colin Pillinger - who's best known for leading a

mission to try to land a British spacecraft on Mars - has died at the

age of 70. He began his career with NASA, before becoming the driving

force behind the Beagle 2 mission. The Royal Astronomical Society said

he wasn't afraid to challenge the establishment and get things done.

Our Science Editor David Shukman looks back now at his life. With his

trade mark whiskers and a sharp eye for publicity, Colin Pillinger was

no ordinary scientist. Who else would wheel a replica of his space

craft in a shopping trolley. To say I was part of a mission that went to

Mars and even if it found life on Mars, that would be even more

phenomenal. Against all the odds, using humour and determination,

Colin Pillinger raised the money for the mission. He started his career

studying moon rocks. The launch was flawless, but harder would be

achieving a landing on Mars. The tiny craft was named Beagle Two

after the ship that carried Charles Darwin. The risks were high, but it

was about British daring. We are only the country that would send a

man to climb the highest mountain in a tweed suit. So I have all the

confidence. Alex James of Blur, one of many stars enthused by Colin

Pillinger. I joined him on a visit to the radio telescope. He was a

very passionate man. He listened to a degree, but he was keen to get his

point of view across as well. And with that came a certain I would say

glint in his eye. Sadly, the mission to Mars failed. You could see the

agony on Colin Pillinger's face. But his technology live on in other

space craft. He will be remembered as a pioneer and as someone who

brought home the excitement of space exploration. The life of Colin

Pillinger. Now some extraordinary images from a television show in

Jordan. Nothing out of the ordinary it seeps, just two -- seem, just two

guests debating. The presenter tried to moderate with little success.

They're talking about the crisis in Syria and they have a difference of

opinion and ended up picking up huge parts of set, before having to be

torn apart by staff. I am glad to say guests here do tend to be more

restrained and our sets are more rigid. Now our main news: A huge

bomb has destroyed a hotel in Aleppo that was being used as a base by

Government forces. Thank you for being us with here on Word News

Today. It was a wet day across much of the

country. The showery rain continues tonight. By dawn another crop