20/05/2014 World News Today

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

explosions have hit the central Nigerian city of Jos. The bombs,

concealed in a lorry and a minibus, hit a busy marketplace. Up to 46

people are reported dead. The Thai Army has imposed martial law after

months of political tension. It insists this is not a coup. As the

first person in the UK is convicted of terrorist offences in relation to

the war in Syria, police warn that anyone travelling to "fight jihad"

there is "highly likely" to be arrested on their return. And as

rock-and-roll turns 60, we will look at the song that started it all.

Hello and welcome. Two large explosions have struck a city in the

centre of Nigeria. The blasts hit a crowded marketplace in Jos, a city

that has been at the centre of ethnic and religious clashes for

years. These are some of the latest images the BBC is getting showing

the devastation in the city which lies between the country's mainly

Muslim north and mainly Christian south. Police are telling the BBC

that at least 46 people have died, many more are injured. It isn't

known who is responsible. Suspicions are likely to turn to Boko Haram who

carried out a spate of recent bombings in Nigeria. We can get the

latest for you from our correspondent Will Ross in the

Nigerian capital, Abuja, what are you hearing? Police are saying that

46 people were killed in the two bombs. They were close together

these two bomb-blasts. One close to a market, where there were many

stalls set up on a busy road. The second one, a few minutes later,

right outside the hospital where some of the victims were already

being taken. It seems the two blasts were aimed at causing a maximum

number of casualties, just as the attacks, the recent attacks on

Abuja, people will remember those attacks were on a very busy bus

park. Scenes of chaos in the area of course because it was so busy at the

time. Large crowds gathering and the emergency services struggling to get

crowds away and then get people to the hospitals. Already, religious

leaders in the area are appealing for calm and for people not to carry

out any kind of revenge attacks. Will Ross, in Abuja, thank you very

much. With me here is Peter Okwoche from the BBC's focus on Africa

programme. Peter, you are are from Jos originally. What are you

hearing? The details are quite sketchy. This only just happened.

What we do know about this market, where these explosions took place,

the biggest market in the city. A market where I shopped a few times

during my university years. There is a car park next to it, a bus park

term news next to it. Whoever planned this attack, if indeed it

was an attack, must have picked that spot because they knew at this time

of the day, that particular time of the day, there would be a lot of

people there. It's practically in the centre of Jos. Maximum impact?

Maximum impact. That is what I believe they have been aiming for.

We are not quite sure if it was an attack. Jos, there have been

tensions and attacks there too? Jos lies on the faultline of the

Christian south and the Muslim north. And Jos has really beautiful

climate. A place where a lot of people from all parts of the country

migrated to in the 60s and 70s. That is how my parents end up there. I

was born there. There have been tensions with the people of the area

and settlers from the north of the country, who they claim came to take

the land away from them and spoil their crops, and stuff like that. In

the past there have been ethnic tensions as well as religious

tensions. We are seeing what could potentially be attacks by Boko

Haram, which have happened in the past before. The finger of suspicion

has been pointed to them first given what happened in the last few weeks?

Absolutely. I think so. Simply because these explosions, these

bombs were actually placed in buses. That is the modus operandi of Boko

Haram. We have seen that in the Federal territory in recent weeks.

That is how they carry out their own attacks. We will hear eventually

that these attacks were carried out by Boko Haram. The point they are

making is, we are not just about the north-east, we may have a stronghold

there, but we can terrorise across the area? Nobody quite believed when

they hit Abuja on 14th May and did it a couple of days later. They are

telling people, we are coming for you. They have sent letters, as far

as we know, to other state capitals further south telling them that - we

can reach you if we want to. Peter Okwoche thank you for coming into

the studio. To Thailand, where the caretaker Prime Minister is pleading

with the Army to act peacefully and within the constitution following

its imposition of martial law. He has been calling for fresh elections

in August. The Army says has been calling for fresh elections

country split by deep political divisions, it's taken control to

ensure law and order, including control of many radio

ensure law and order, including stations. It has also blocked many

roads around the capital, Bangkok, in order to control the streets. The

more on the latest dramatic turn of events, this report from the BBC's

Jonah Fisher. After seven months of demonstrations on the streets of the

Thai capital, the army decided it had seen enough. In the early hours

of this morning, troops moved in. Blocking Bangkok's streets,

surrounding protest sites and occupying television stations. Army

commander Prayuth Chan-Ocha declared martial law had been introduced to

prevent bloodshed and restore stability, he said. He stopped short

of stability, he said. He stopped short

is now firmly in charge stability, he said. He stopped short

status of the elected government vague. It's not clear what forced

the army's hands, as the protests dragged on, they have become

Evermore violent and unpredictable. This week the leader of the

anti-government movement, called for a final battle in what has become a

desperate attempt to seize powers. Many of his supporters are wealthy

residents. They see politics as being hopelessly corrupted by the

former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. Two weeks ago the courts

forced Thaksin Shinawatra's sister to step down. More will depend on

how the government supporters respond to the army's move. There is

an almost eerie calm here. Many of the soldiers have returned to

barracks, on the surface, at least, this is a very discreet form of

martial law. Having decided to step in, the onus is now very much on the

Thai military to try and broker some sort of way out of Thailand's

political crisis. The other news: Bosnian officials say more than a

quarter of the population has been left without clean water after

severe flooding across many parts of former Yugoslavia. The rain has

stopped. There are fears that dead livestock could pose a health hazard

as the weather warms up. More than half a million people have been

forced out of their homes across the region. The United States says the

CIA ended the use of vaccine programmes in it is spying

operations in Pakistan in August because of concern for the safety of

health workers. Genetic material obtained through a fake door-to-door

vaccination campaign reportedly helped the CIA track down Osama bin

Laden. Pakistan is now in the grip of a polio crisis partly because

health workers and vaccine programmes have been killed by the

Pakistani Taliban. A freight train has crashed into a passenger train

just outside Moscow, killing at least six people and injuring

dozens. According to officials, carriages on the goods train

derailed and hit the passenger train on its way to Chisinau in Moldova.

The cause of the crash has not yet been established. Traffic on the

line, which also serves Kiev an Ukraine, has also been suspended. A

31-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be convicted of

terrorist offences in connection with the conflict of Syria. Father

of two, Mashudur Choudhury, was convicted of engaging in conduct in

preparation for terrorist acts after travelling to Syria to attend a

terrorist training camp. With me now is Jonathan Russell from the

counter-extremism think-tank, The Quilliam Foundation. Tell me

something about how counter-extremism think-tank, The

Quilliam Foundation. Tell the case against Choudhury was developed? Is

was develop It ed through his social media activity. This is interesting

to us. Not only because it's the first conviction of a Britton for

terrorism-related activity in relation to the Syria conflict, also

because we see again the use of the internet and the use of social media

in his radicalisation. -- Briton. Is that a common theme? Certainly. We

released a report about countering extremism online. Looking at the

state of extremism and the best ways to counter it. We see actually

online is simply a continuation of offline these days. Therefore,

radicalisation does not solely happen online, we can pick up

certain signals from online behaviour and, crucially, we can use

the internet to spread counter speech and spread counter narratives

to combat extremism and terrorism-related offences. How can

you spread that? Say the Home Office or police departments may want to

get out the message that, you know, if you go to Syria and come back

after fighting, we will arrest you. They are not credible with the kind

of young men who will go out to fight? Of course. That is why there

needs to be a combination of efforts. This conviction acts as a

stick, if you like, to act as a disincentive for people to go and

fight. The legal precedent, of course, to convict people who fight

alongside terrorist groups in countries like Syria has existed

since the 2000 and the 2006 Terrorism Act. But the efforts must

also be added to with preventative measures. What we are suggesting is

online preventative measures. We get a combination of public sector,

private-sector and third sector initiatives together to improve

effectiveness with these counter marrives. How much effective use of

social ya media do you see from Muslim elders, from those within the

community who might get listened to, it's those voices you need online

with a different narrative, doesn't it? Occasionally. We see a change,

in fact, perhaps 20 years ago the elders in the communities might have

been useful to this. We see that as a cause of the problem, rather than

a solution. We see now that third generation are the ones who are

disenfranchised with their fathers or grandfathers who perhaps are in

control of the mosques and who are the so-called community leaders.

They want to surge ahead themselves and create their own political

consciousness and solve their own identity crisis. Onto their ground?

We have to engage with young British Muslims. The overwhelming majority

going to fight in Syria are young British, 18-25-year-olds, who care

about this crisis, as much as I do. Jonathan Russell, we have to leave

it there. Thank you for coming in to talk us through that. The search has

resumed for four British sailors who have been missing in the Atlantic

since Friday. The US Coastguard confirmed it began searching again

after an online petition gathered 200,000 signatures. The yacht,

Cheeky Rafiki, was sailing back from a regret a in the Caribbean. They

got into difficulty 1,000 miles off Cape Cod. Dame Ellen MacArthur, who

twice broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the

globe, told the BBC she backed the families' push for a renewed search.

Obviously, in looking for the boat itself, they would have been looking

for the life raft. There is a slim chance they would have missed it.

There is a chance. I think that is what so many people have come

together behind, that little chance. If there is a hope, if will is a

chance, we should take that and see if we can find them one more time.

The United Nations Refugee Agency says at least 10,000 people have

been displaced from their homes in Ukraine since the crisis there

started. Most of them are ethnic Tatars who left Crimea. In the east

meanwhile, pro-Kiev drivers have been honking their horns today in

support of UEFA Cup unity calls from the powerful Ukrainian business

tycoon, Rinat Akhmetov. This is a new, very noisy strategy by those

who are against what is happening here in eastern Ukraine at the

moment. They are angry at the political separatismle they

moment. They are angry at the angry at the attempts to succeed

from Ukraine. They are angry at the groups roaming through the streets

of this region. This whole thing had been planned to be a peaceful rally

in this city, a couple of hours drive from here in Donetsk. Tens of

thousands planning to take part. It had to be called

thousands planning to take part. It march. Now we had a call by a big

steel company, the largest march. Now we had a call by a big

Donetsk, every day at 12 noon people should come out in their cars, sound

their horns and show their dissatisfaction with what is

happening. These are people who are determined to take part in the

Presidential election this determined to take part in the

Determined to be part of a united Ukraine, the other side as to what

we have seen up until now from those Ukraine, the other side as to what

proseparatist groups. They are determined to have their voices

the Russian president Vladimir Putin has been meeting his Chinese

President Putin told Chinese state media that expanding cooperation

with China is his country's diplomatic priority.

He described China as a reliable friend and Russia's

It's believed the two countries could sign a major gas deal,

although Mr Putin's spokesman says they've yet to agree a price.

The summit is meant to be all about improving security and stability

across the whole of Asia but it is one relationship in particular that

is attracting key attention. With the Russian president feeling the

cold shoulder of Western diplomacy, makes his arrival here in Shanghai

be a chance to seek the shelter of China's Warman brace? On the eve of

the summit, President Putin was quoted as saying...

This is a summit in which the body language and presentation matter. In

fact, China is investing a great deal NX system S, pretty much

shutting down Shanghai, ordering schools and businesses home for the

day. But despite the sense of warm ties, you can be sure that behind

the scenes some of the old tensions will be lurking. The Russia-China

relationship may not be as warm as it seems. With its European gas

market suddenly under threat over the problems of Ukraine there is

talk that Moscow is ready to sign an agreement to pump huge quantities of

gas to China. It was all smiles today as they signed a number of

trade pacts at no sign yet of that gas deal. Some suggest that behind

the scenes, Beijing is using Moscow's desperation for upmarket to

drive a hard price. Amidst the tight security, efforts to strengthen

regionwide security which may be harder than the public

pronouncements suggest. As Russia builds up its ties in

the East, there's been an obvious cooling of relations with the West -

notably over Ukraine - that has left many European countries very

anxious to end their reliance One much touted option is fracking -

the controversial process of fracturing rock under high

pressure to release oil and gas But opposition throughout

Europe is fierce. A survey released here in the UK

today found support So let's bring you some of the facts

of fracking with independent scientist Professor Richard Davies

of Durham University, who joins us Thank you for being with us. From

your research, why do people tend to be concerned about fracking?

Lots of people have seen evocative images of people lighting gas as it

comes out of taps in the United States. It is important to add that

they could like this gas before racking even started. But that sort

of imagery travels around really quickly and gets people concerned

that racking his cause in water contamination. Also, as we know in

the UK, there had been an earthquake in the UK of 2.3 magnitude that was

caused by fracking and that obviously gets people concerned.

When you think about the UK as a pretty friendly island. When he

compared it to the United States were fracking takes place but a

completely different scale. That's right but there are parts of

the United States that are similar to the United Kingdom. But we have

quite a compact island and the widespread open places the US has an

necessarily available here. You have travelled around Eastern

Europe. Where have you seen potential for fracking and concerned

for the public? Bulgaria and Ukraine may be

appropriate. Romania is barely on -- very early on in the process and

Ukraine are also looking at it. How important is it as a source?

It could be important but it is incredibly important also to say

that many more wells would needs to be drilled. There are rocks under

ground that are theoretical. These volumes of gas people talk about our

theoretical and until some in producers economically and with

permission of society, those numbers should be treated with caution.

How close are we to fracking being a significant source of energy in the

UK? It has been a slow process in the

UK. There are two wells in the last three years which is not a quick

development. It may take 20, up to 40 wells to see whether the rocks

really are appropriate and that they are maybe we will see more activity.

Rock Around the Clock, widely considered to be the song

that brough rock n' roll into the mainstream, turns 60 today.

To celebrate, the BBC has produced this cover version to

With me is the Radio 2 and 6 Music journalist and presenter Matt

Everitt who plays drums on latest version of Rock Around The Clock.

Yes, that's me playing the drums. It is like being asked to paint the

Mona Lisa again. It sounds all right, I think.

It is a very good thing to bring into the programme and it is

something that keeps coming back into public consciousness.

There is an enormously important song. It was the first rock 'n' roll

song to enter public consciousness. It inspired countless generations of

musicians, Elvis, Led Zeppelin, they all heard Rock Around The Clock. It

doesn't sound like anything else, even to this day. It has a swing to

it. It hasn't aged at all. Bill Haley is not your most likely

trailblazer. That's right. He didn't have the

songwriting skills of Buddy Holly or craziness of Little Richard. He was

quite chubby looking but there is something about the track and it was

captured in just two takes. It was the other side of the desk.

It wasn't even going to be be a side and it wasn't until it was used in a

film that it became the soundtrack to teenage rebellion.

Seeing it as an anthem, I do have to think about the kind of yours it

came after -- years. There had been other rock 'n'

came after -- years. singles at nothing like this. It's

just a ridiculously energetic song. The guitar solo especially is just

off the hook. He can hear traces of that in Jimi Hendrix and

off the hook. He can hear traces of capture some of the energy and some

of the virtuosity. Even though it was just knocked out which is why it

sounds so great. And British listeners can hear that

documentary on BBC Radio York two. Yes and the effects are still being

heard to this day. Yes and the effects are still being

I like that John Lennon said this is the moment it all started.

Yes, the Beatles talk very much about being inspired by that song.

But you could say the same of Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd. It is far

reaching in so many ways and doesn't matter that Bill Haley didn't write

it himself or had a few hits after that. That's where it all started

and where rock 'n' roll inspired everybody to become a musician and

try to create that garage sounding racket and energetic sound.

Hopefully we have done it justice, I hope we have. It was good to hear

from you and speak to you. Police in Nigeria say

at least 46 people have been killed in two explosions in

the central Nigerian city of Jos. A journalist counted

at least 38 bodies at It is not known who's responsible

for the blasts but the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has

carried out a spate It has been another day of contrasts

across the British Isles and looks like it will be something similar

across the course of