:00:00. > :00:00.This is BBC World News Today, with me, Philippa Thomas.
:00:07. > :00:09.President Obama marks 25 years since the fall of communism
:00:10. > :00:23.in Poland by condemning Russia's 'dark tactics' in Ukraine.
:00:24. > :00:27.25 years on from Tiananmen Square, we look at how the protests -
:00:28. > :00:30.and the crackdown - are viewed by young Chinese today.
:00:31. > :00:36.Venice feels the pressure of a new political scandal - is the
:00:37. > :00:43.And the prestigious Bailey's prize for fiction is moments from
:00:44. > :00:57.being announced - we'll bring you breaking news from the ceremony.
:00:58. > :01:08.Today's top level diplomatic summit was supposed to be the G8 in Sochi.
:01:09. > :01:11.Instead it's the G7 in Brussels - with President Putin out
:01:12. > :01:14.in the cold, following his annexation of Crimea.
:01:15. > :01:17.It's the crisis in Ukraine which is expected to dominate these
:01:18. > :01:21.discussions - after President Obama's speech in Warsaw earlier
:01:22. > :01:25.today, marking 25 years of Polish democracy, and warning against what
:01:26. > :01:32.he called Russia's dark tactics to destabilise a democratic Ukraine.
:01:33. > :01:36.But are the seven leaders meeting here
:01:37. > :01:39.tonight agreed on how to deal with Russia and the Russian president?
:01:40. > :01:43.A place and a moment rich with symbolism,
:01:44. > :01:48.the Polish capital where 25 years ago the citizens of the old Eastern
:01:49. > :01:54.America's president, among foreign leaders marking the anniversary.
:01:55. > :02:00.For the history-loving Barack Obama, this was a chance to celebrate,
:02:01. > :02:04.but also to draw parallels with today and Ukraine.
:02:05. > :02:09.The days of empire and spheres of influence are over.
:02:10. > :02:14.Bigger nations must not be allowed to bully the small or impose their
:02:15. > :02:18.will at the barrel of a gun or with masked men taking over buildings.
:02:19. > :02:21.And the stroke of a pen can never legitimise
:02:22. > :02:26.the theft of a neighbour's land, so we will not accept Russia's
:02:27. > :02:30.occupation of Crimea, or its violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.
:02:31. > :02:33.Our three nations will stand united so that further Russian provocations
:02:34. > :02:38.will only mean more isolation for Russia.
:02:39. > :02:42.Earlier, a first meeting between Mr Obama and Ukraine's newly
:02:43. > :02:49.elected president - Washington promising greater assistance.
:02:50. > :02:52.The United States has already stepped up in a number of ways -
:02:53. > :02:56.we're supplementing the assistance the IMF is providing with $1 billion
:02:57. > :03:01.in additional loan guarantees and we have discussed additional steps that
:03:02. > :03:06.we might take to help during this reform and transition process.
:03:07. > :03:09.With the Americans pushing for a meeting between Mr Poroshenko
:03:10. > :03:12.and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's new leader
:03:13. > :03:19.We are ready to present a plan for a peaceful relation
:03:20. > :03:26.We think that the next several days will be very
:03:27. > :03:32.important, crucial, for history from the Ukrainian perspective.
:03:33. > :03:35.In eastern Ukraine, the fighting continues.
:03:36. > :03:38.At a border guard camp in Luhansk, pro-Russian rebels helped themselves
:03:39. > :03:42.to guns and ammunition after government forces decided to leave.
:03:43. > :03:47.Elsewhere, the government is still on the offensive.
:03:48. > :03:52.Plenty for President Obama and his colleagues to discuss
:03:53. > :03:58.This week of diplomacy now reaching a critical phase.
:03:59. > :04:02.This gathering was of us to be hosted by Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
:04:03. > :04:05.Now world leaders must agree with what they will say, separately or
:04:06. > :04:08.together, when they bump into the Russian leader at D-Day
:04:09. > :04:31.We will take you to Brussels just now. We will go to James Robbins
:04:32. > :04:47.just now. What is your view on whether the leaders will agree on
:04:48. > :04:54.how to deal with the Russians? Russia excluded from this meeting.
:04:55. > :05:03.Prez-mac is what into the building in the last minute or so. They are
:05:04. > :05:12.going into a working dinner. They have voted. They are going to be
:05:13. > :05:17.discussing what Russia needs to do and what signal they want to send to
:05:18. > :05:22.Vladimir Putin. As a minimum, of course, they want him to pool more
:05:23. > :05:26.forces back from the border with Ukraine. They also want Russia to
:05:27. > :05:33.stop, as they also want Russia to stop, as these with eastern Ukraine,
:05:34. > :05:38.encouraging separatism is, as well as they hope to persuade the Russian
:05:39. > :05:44.president to get involved in dialogue with the Ukrainian
:05:45. > :05:51.president. What is really interesting is that as soon as this
:05:52. > :05:55.meeting in Brussels is over sometime tomorrow afternoon, several readers
:05:56. > :05:59.are heading out to France for the commemorations of the D-Day landings
:06:00. > :06:07.in 1944. The first person to see President Putin will be David
:06:08. > :06:11.Cameron. He will have a one-to-one meeting with ladder near Britain and
:06:12. > :06:21.Paris and will convey a strong message from this meeting for
:06:22. > :06:27.President Putin two digests. Dash-mac Vladimir Putin.
:06:28. > :06:30.Well just hours before the G7 was set to get under
:06:31. > :06:33.way Germany announced it is to investigate allegations that the US
:06:34. > :06:34.government bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone.
:06:35. > :06:36.Ms Merkel publicly requested an explanation of
:06:37. > :06:40.the alleged spying by the National Security Agency when this news broke
:06:41. > :06:44.To shed a little light into why this is only just being
:06:45. > :06:48.investigated, I'm joined by the German journalist Imke Henkel.
:06:49. > :07:04.Seven months on. It is a technical process. One prosecutor said he will
:07:05. > :07:11.start an enquiry. It is very much a traditional process. It is not a
:07:12. > :07:18.government process. She has been hesitant at the beginning to show
:07:19. > :07:35.any reaction to the news that her phone calls were hacked or worse by
:07:36. > :07:43.Don. Dash-mac spied upon. Then she slowly became more stern and her
:07:44. > :07:48.reaction. Recently the government thought, the interior minister has
:07:49. > :07:53.been to the United States. Although he has been someone who was in the
:07:54. > :07:57.beginning quite strict and said this is outrageous and we cannot have our
:07:58. > :08:10.friend spying on us, he has now said, he has said... It is not in
:08:11. > :08:18.their interests. Do you think this enquiry might change intelligence
:08:19. > :08:24.cooperation between them? I do not think so. Anglo-American would be
:08:25. > :08:28.interested with getting closer cooperation with United States.
:08:29. > :08:49.Dash-mac Angela Merkel. Germany is not included, France and
:08:50. > :08:53.Belgium is. They would like to move closer to that, yes. Today we have
:08:54. > :08:59.been talking about the G7, of course. It is awkward timing even if
:09:00. > :09:05.it wasn't meant to be announced today. It is a parallel process. It
:09:06. > :09:13.is an independent authority that does it. There was no pressure from
:09:14. > :09:25.the government. There will be a debate within the authority. We will
:09:26. > :10:16.have to watch and see what they come up with and how the German public
:10:17. > :10:20.response. In Hong Kong there have been demonstrations. We wondered
:10:21. > :10:29.what the young generation of Chinese think about an event that
:10:30. > :10:31.This crowd weren't even born 25 years ago.
:10:32. > :10:33.Different flags, different slogans, different lives.
:10:34. > :10:36.This generation of students at a Beijing music festival,
:10:37. > :10:41.not trying to be the conscience of China or to change the world.
:10:42. > :10:52.Just enjoying what freedoms they do have.
:10:53. > :10:57.Life goals for these friends, buy a house and buy a car and get married.
:10:58. > :11:01.It is an open secret they tell me but
:11:02. > :11:04.they're too busy looking for a job to be thinking about those things.
:11:05. > :11:07.But the picture of aspiration doesn't include everyone.
:11:08. > :11:10.Protests and riots a daily reality for those
:11:11. > :11:14.with no stake - exploited workers, neighbours to polluting factories,
:11:15. > :11:22.This is a much richer country than in 1989, but also more unequal,
:11:23. > :11:29.more corrupt and much less likely to trust its government.
:11:30. > :11:32.So how to keep the post-Tiananmen generation in line?
:11:33. > :11:37.Beijing is marching them towards a middle-class future.
:11:38. > :11:41.Outsiders often marvel at China's achievements over the past 25 years
:11:42. > :11:45.but no one here takes their urban lifestyle for granted.
:11:46. > :11:49.Life's a daily struggle - for education, health care,
:11:50. > :11:53.for an apartment, for a job and even for the means for actually...
:11:54. > :12:04.Even for the means to actually get that job.
:12:05. > :12:08.These young people are trying to grow a different China.
:12:09. > :12:12.On the Righteous Path Farm, the message is harmony with the planet.
:12:13. > :12:14.They say their movement is growing as others
:12:15. > :12:21.Radical, idealistic, but they now to steer clear of politics.
:12:22. > :12:26.There will be no repeat of the Tiananmen generation.
:12:27. > :12:30.They wanted freedom, democracy, equality.
:12:31. > :12:33.But their method was rebellion and criticism and getting out
:12:34. > :12:39.Our attitude is positive, we are building a better society,
:12:40. > :12:45.25 years on from Tiananmen, this is a generation
:12:46. > :12:53.But it doesn't always want the government's song book it is given.
:12:54. > :12:57.They want to voice their own China dream and I find it hard to imagine
:12:58. > :13:01.that 25 years from now, they'll still be putting up with the
:13:02. > :13:34.For many of them who do not know what happened 25 years ago, it is
:13:35. > :13:40.hard for them to find any relevance. Their parents would not tear to
:13:41. > :13:44.share their experience or their views with their children. I think
:13:45. > :13:48.it is difficult for many of them, unless they come out of the
:13:49. > :13:53.country, and perhaps they will have the access to the information. Then
:13:54. > :13:57.they might think about it. For the parents, they do not want to raise
:13:58. > :14:03.personal consciousness which might lead to their children being
:14:04. > :14:15.punished. Although it is 25 years ago, the Tiananmen incident is still
:14:16. > :14:23.a big incident in China. So you can imagine how much fear those parents
:14:24. > :14:28.may have for sharing their experience with their children. It
:14:29. > :14:33.has been very hard to talk about this online in China, have you seen
:14:34. > :14:37.any evidence of references is creeping into social media?
:14:38. > :14:45.Actually, my colleagues and I have been following a Chinese social
:14:46. > :14:51.media platform, a Twitter equivalent in China. We found some changes
:14:52. > :14:58.throughout the day. Some terms were totally banned in the morning. But
:14:59. > :15:05.now, just a moment ago before coming to the programme, we found terms
:15:06. > :15:13.like today tonight... Is this June the 5th? That is right. Some other
:15:14. > :15:20.key terms are still banned on social media regarding June the 4th. While
:15:21. > :15:23.it may not be in the mind of a 20 something now, she finds hard to
:15:24. > :15:29.believe that 20 years on that things. These thing -- so repressed.
:15:30. > :15:37.For many people in China, they cannot believe what happened 25
:15:38. > :15:43.years ago. They may not believe such little change has taken place in
:15:44. > :15:49.China over the last 25 years in terms of politics. I think they
:15:50. > :15:54.appreciate the economy -- economic achievement done by the government.
:15:55. > :15:59.But at the same time they are increasing the voice for the
:16:00. > :16:05.government to bring in democracy. Finally, it has been interesting to
:16:06. > :16:08.watch and Hong Kong, where there is one country and two systems, there
:16:09. > :16:12.is more freedom, there have been thousands of people out there. It
:16:13. > :16:18.happens every year, it is very big tonight. In Chinese culture, any
:16:19. > :16:26.anniversary involving the number five or ten is significant. I think
:16:27. > :16:32.that is the reason why we see more. Of course another reason is there
:16:33. > :16:35.are more people in Hong Kong who realise that Hong Kong needs to
:16:36. > :16:38.fight for their own democracy if they could survive in the future.
:16:39. > :16:43.Thank you very much Raymond Li. The Taliban have released
:16:44. > :16:46.a video showing the moment when they The footage shows Sergeant Bergdahl
:16:47. > :16:50.wearing Afghan clothing and being searched,
:16:51. > :16:52.before he boards a helicopter. He was returned to the Americans
:16:53. > :16:55.in exchange for five Taliban The prisoner swap has caused
:16:56. > :16:59.controversy in the US. Our North America Editor,
:17:00. > :17:08.Mark Mardell reports. Inside this truck
:17:09. > :17:11.on the remote Afghan/Pakistan border, a man who has been held
:17:12. > :17:16.captive for five years. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl blinks
:17:17. > :17:19.repeatedly, perhaps unused to sunlight, perhaps close to tears.
:17:20. > :17:22.Certainly overwhelmed by the prospect of freedom.
:17:23. > :17:27.He is told, don't come back to Afghanistan,
:17:28. > :17:28.next time you will be killed. Something reinforced in English
:17:29. > :17:39.on the 17 minute home video. They spot the helicopter.
:17:40. > :17:41.US forces ask them to light a flare but they only have
:17:42. > :17:56.a white flag and they are jubilant. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl looks tense.
:17:57. > :18:01.For 13 years, US special forces have been trying to kill each other but
:18:02. > :18:07.on this day, a quick greeting, brief handshake and a pat down to check he
:18:08. > :18:11.is unarmed and not carrying a bomb. The commentary says the US soldiers
:18:12. > :18:15.were nervous and in a hurry. He gets another search before he
:18:16. > :18:18.is allowed in the helicopter. Then finally off to freedom
:18:19. > :18:24.but some claim the President has handed the enemy a propaganda coup.
:18:25. > :18:28.The Taliban are using this victory narrative that they have now to
:18:29. > :18:32.strengthen the recruiting, strengthen the position because they
:18:33. > :18:35.are looking at a major military offensive this summer to dent the
:18:36. > :18:41.confidence of the Afghan forces with the goal to
:18:42. > :18:45.kick over Afghanistan in 2017/2018. The release
:18:46. > :18:49.of this gloating video will only add to the storm surrounding the swap
:18:50. > :19:03.but the President seems unrepentant, arguing this is the way wars end.
:19:04. > :19:06.a ceremony that is always rich with pomp and pageantry.
:19:07. > :19:10.It was the last Queen's Speech before the next general election,
:19:11. > :19:14.The speech outlined the government's programme until then.
:19:15. > :19:20.The 63rd state opening the speech.
:19:21. > :19:21.The 63rd state opening is over and the household cavalry
:19:22. > :19:25.have galloped back and the is over and the household cavalry
:19:26. > :19:29.returned in gilded carriage and so what are we left with?
:19:30. > :19:30.returned in gilded carriage and We are left with the start
:19:31. > :19:34.of what promises to be a truly fascinating, potentially
:19:35. > :19:37.historic year in British politics. First up
:19:38. > :19:41.in September is the referendum on whether Scotland should remain a
:19:42. > :19:44.part of the United Kingdom or not. If they chose to leave, that would
:19:45. > :19:48.be the biggest shakeup in Britain's constitution in 300 years.
:19:49. > :19:51.In a year from now, we have the general election to decide possibly
:19:52. > :19:59.a very different kind of government from the one we currently have.
:20:00. > :20:04.With the Queen's Speech, we have a flavour
:20:05. > :20:06.of what that campaign is going to be about with the Conservatives
:20:07. > :20:09.and Liberal Democrats saying we have made progress on Britain's
:20:10. > :20:12.mountain of debt and deficit. Stick with us,
:20:13. > :20:16.we are on the right track. The Labour Party response saying
:20:17. > :20:21.this is not a government that knows what it's
:20:22. > :20:24.doing or knows how to manage the problems of modern Britain.
:20:25. > :20:27.The Queen has set it up nicely. It is highly nonpolitical
:20:28. > :20:28.from her point of view but no doubt the year ahead,
:20:29. > :20:36.plenty of potential excitement. In Italy, the Mayor of Venice is
:20:37. > :20:39.among 35 officials arrested on suspicion of embezzling money
:20:40. > :20:41.meant for the city's multi-billion They're alleged to have taken
:20:42. > :20:54.the equivalent The project WAS due to be completed
:20:55. > :21:06.this year Venice at its magnificent best but
:21:07. > :21:09.this beautiful city is in trouble. It's gradually sunk deep
:21:10. > :21:11.into the mud and now floods come much more frequently.
:21:12. > :21:14.High tides drown the ancient piazzas.
:21:15. > :21:17.But there is a plan to save Venice from the sea.
:21:18. > :21:21.Flood barriers are being built in the lagoon at a vast cost and the
:21:22. > :21:27.city's mayor blessedthe project when it was tested for the first time.
:21:28. > :21:30.TRANSLATION: It is an emotional moment
:21:31. > :21:35.and will change the vision we have of the city and its lagoon.
:21:36. > :21:40.But the mayor himself has now been arrested, accused of corruption
:21:41. > :21:44.in connection with the scheme. More than 30 people have been
:21:45. > :21:48.detained altogether and 100 more have been investigated.
:21:49. > :21:52.Police suspect funds were siphoned off from this colossal seven
:21:53. > :21:56.billion-dollar project and that millions were paid
:21:57. > :21:59.in bribes to politicians, accountants and businessmen.
:22:00. > :22:03.This crucially important project aimed at preserving
:22:04. > :22:19.the splendours of Venice is now immersed in a major scandal.
:22:20. > :22:22.In the last few minutes the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction
:22:23. > :22:27.The ?30,000 prize is awarded to any woman writing
:22:28. > :22:30.in english whatever her nationality, age or subject matter.
:22:31. > :22:35.With me is Claire Shanahan. She's head
:22:36. > :22:46.of arts with the reading charity Booktrust, which manages the Prize.
:22:47. > :22:53.A book called a girl is a half formed thing has one. It is her
:22:54. > :23:01.first novel and a fantastic accomplishment. It is a coming of
:23:02. > :23:08.age story, innovative set in rural Ireland and quite innovative and
:23:09. > :23:12.original. It is really a stream of consciousness where we are inside
:23:13. > :23:19.the girl's head and she describes things as they happen to her. The
:23:20. > :23:29.language is played with. Punctuation is a bit misplaced, ideas are half
:23:30. > :23:32.formed, sentences are fragmented. It is perhaps a challenging read for
:23:33. > :23:40.some readers but incredibly rewarding. There we have it. The
:23:41. > :23:46.fact that she has won this prize brings her more attention. It is her
:23:47. > :23:50.first novel so she will be getting used to fame. There is an
:23:51. > :23:54.interesting story. She wrote this book in six months which is quite a
:23:55. > :23:58.short period of time to write a novel but it took her ten years to
:23:59. > :24:04.get it published. She has been plugging away with it and it was a
:24:05. > :24:09.very small independent press based in Norwich who eventually took it
:24:10. > :24:13.on. It was only their second book that they published. This is about
:24:14. > :24:19.the power of the small publishers. You sometimes hear them being
:24:20. > :24:24.swallowed up by the juggernauts. For the writer, her perseverance and for
:24:25. > :24:28.the publisher, it is fantastic to have this claim. The book has
:24:29. > :24:34.already been celebrated quite widely. It has found success with
:24:35. > :24:38.two other prizes and is on a number of other short lists. Good things
:24:39. > :24:43.are in store for her. I should mention one of the names that didn't
:24:44. > :24:53.make it, Donna Tart, the American juggernaut. Not to get it, that is a
:24:54. > :25:02.statement. The Goldfinch was tipped as the favourite. This prize has a
:25:03. > :25:11.history of not rewarding the favourite. It has already won before
:25:12. > :25:15.and it is an incredible accomplishment in itself. It is 800
:25:16. > :25:21.pages so maybe challenging in a different way from regions. Both
:25:22. > :25:26.books and also -- all six books on the short list of a rich experience,
:25:27. > :25:31.something different. There has been a worry that the Man Booker Prize
:25:32. > :25:42.going global might mean American domination. It is a global list and
:25:43. > :25:47.global attraction. Regardless of where writers are based and where
:25:48. > :25:54.they are from, a lot of writers tend to write international fiction. We
:25:55. > :25:58.live in a global world. We are a UK-based charity and promote reading
:25:59. > :26:04.from all around the world. For us, the power of a book for an
:26:05. > :26:07.individual reader is what is important and that personal
:26:08. > :26:17.collection. It is thrilling when it is a first novel. There were three
:26:18. > :26:27.debut novelists on this list so you did have more established names up
:26:28. > :26:31.against the new people. That is what they really can achieve, they can
:26:32. > :26:33.bring writers to the reader's attention. Thank you for coming in
:26:34. > :26:37.to talk about the box. Don't forget you can get
:26:38. > :26:40.in touch with me and some But for now, from me and the rest
:26:41. > :27:01.of the team goodbye. Hello. It has been a cloudy day for
:27:02. > :27:06.much of the country. Much of the rain will move northwards but by
:27:07. > :27:11.tomorrow things will improve across much of England and Wales with the
:27:12. > :27:18.sunshine coming out. It will feel warmer also. We starts Thursday on a
:27:19. > :27:19.cool note across the south-west. That's brighter