:00:00. > :00:00.This is BBC World News Today with me Philippa Thomas.
:00:07. > :00:09.We're just hours from finding out who will meet Germany in the
:00:10. > :00:15.In Brazil, fans are still reeling after the
:00:16. > :00:31.host nation's humiliating 7-1 defeat at the hands of the German team.
:00:32. > :00:34.It was a devastating night for the hosts. The second semifinal is about
:00:35. > :00:38.to kick off. At least 41 people have been killed
:00:39. > :00:42.in Gaza as Israel and Palestinian militants fire missiles and rockets
:00:43. > :00:44.at each other for another day. Mobile devices in hand luggage
:00:45. > :00:47.will have to be charged or And we'll be asking what makes
:00:48. > :00:59.a good national anthem - as Switzerland decides theirs isn't
:01:00. > :01:16.good enough. They're calling it the disgrace
:01:17. > :01:21.of all disgraces. The people of Brazil are still
:01:22. > :01:24.in shock over their humiliating exit from the World Cup
:01:25. > :01:29.at the hands of the German team. And in just a few hours time we'll
:01:30. > :01:33.know who Germany is to meet in Sunday's World Cup final - as
:01:34. > :01:35.the other semi-final pits Argentina You can see the Dutch team training
:01:36. > :01:44.here - the big question for their match is whether star
:01:45. > :01:47.striker Robin Van Persie will be joining them on the pitch, as he's
:01:48. > :01:52.been struggling with a stomach bug. But can it be as dramatic
:01:53. > :01:58.as Tuesday's game in which Germany knocked out hosts Brazil with that
:01:59. > :02:01.massive 7-1 win? It's probably no surprise that
:02:02. > :02:02.swiftly became the most discussed football match
:02:03. > :02:07.EVER on social media-there were 35.6 And provoking headlines like "Shame,
:02:08. > :02:15.sadness, humiliation" on newspapers My colleague Peter Okwoche is in Rio
:02:16. > :02:25.for more on that reaction. Peter, the home fans must have woken
:02:26. > :02:40.up with the most awful hangover? The coach has just had a press
:02:41. > :02:45.conference and they ask about his future after that humiliating
:02:46. > :02:49.defeat. He did not eat much about it and said there was still one match
:02:50. > :02:59.left to be played, the third-place match. After that they will sit down
:03:00. > :03:05.and look ahead to their future. That is what the coach said. But
:03:06. > :03:17.basically this is a nation in shock. Numbed. You mentioned how crazy
:03:18. > :03:24.social media went during the game. People sending messages furiously. I
:03:25. > :03:35.just gave up after 35 minutes, I could not keep up! That is what it
:03:36. > :03:42.was like last night. Later this evening, the second semifinal. It is
:03:43. > :03:51.between Holland and Argentina. My colleague looks ahead to that.
:03:52. > :03:56.It was a historic humiliation. They night that will haunt the country
:03:57. > :04:02.for generations. Brazil is defined by its football team so losing in
:04:03. > :04:08.this manner was more than a defeat, it left the nation in shock. The
:04:09. > :04:13.Germany team ran riot, Brazil with some were blown away. Every goal
:04:14. > :04:18.leaving another dent in the national pride.
:04:19. > :04:26.I will be remembered for this, the worst defeat in Brazilian history.
:04:27. > :04:33.The postmortem began this morning. Life goes on but memories will leave
:04:34. > :04:38.a scar. Part of what makes this nation special has been washed away.
:04:39. > :04:41.It was meant to be the ultimate showcase for a country presenting an
:04:42. > :04:50.image of a Morgan and confident football nation. After that game,
:04:51. > :04:53.many are now wondering if the most expensive World Cup ever was really
:04:54. > :04:59.worth it, and wondering where to go from here. For generations, children
:05:00. > :05:05.like this have grown up and dreamt of playing for the best team in the
:05:06. > :05:12.world. Not any more. The game was a very sad, this boy told me. Another
:05:13. > :05:17.said that he was so upset he cried himself to sleep.
:05:18. > :05:24.Brazil need to train more. Concentrate more.
:05:25. > :05:28.One of the legendary World Cup team of 1970s inspired a generation told
:05:29. > :05:38.me that the decline of the current team was down to players chasing
:05:39. > :05:49.lucrative contracts in Europe. They need to stay here? Yes, yes.
:05:50. > :05:58.Something has been lost? It is the money, money, money.
:05:59. > :06:03.Despite the result it remains a country in love with the sport.
:06:04. > :06:12.Brazil got hurt last night, picking itself could take years. -- picking
:06:13. > :06:19.itself up. The question now is whether we will
:06:20. > :06:23.get a spectacle matching last night. But at the end of the semifinal we
:06:24. > :06:29.will at least know who is facing Germany in the final.
:06:30. > :06:54.Surely it cannot be another game like we watched last night!
:06:55. > :06:57.As we've been hearing, we'll find out in just a few hours who will
:06:58. > :07:02.Now going into the tournament, the expectations of the Dutch
:07:03. > :07:07.So the Netherlands' remarkable unbeaten run has been met with
:07:08. > :07:10.Much of the team's unexpected success is being attributed to the
:07:11. > :07:38.The Dutch reject opposition claims that the substitute goalkeeper did
:07:39. > :07:45.anything wrong with his techniques prior to the penalty shoot out. The
:07:46. > :07:50.team appear to have adopted a win at all costs mentality and are
:07:51. > :07:55.surpassing expectations. Prior to the competition only 5% in Holland
:07:56. > :08:18.thought they could make the final. Many attribute this to the Louis van
:08:19. > :08:25.health factor -- van Gaal factor. As a coach he is a disciplinarian and
:08:26. > :08:29.an astute tactician. His philosophy has enabled the
:08:30. > :08:35.players to show that they believe in themselves. Everybody can win at
:08:36. > :08:41.this stage of the tournament. It depends on the team spirit, dealing
:08:42. > :08:48.with mistakes, you win with the referee, all kinds of distractions.
:08:49. > :08:53.The team who handles that best will win the cup.
:08:54. > :08:57.Some former Holland internationals have been critical of the approach,
:08:58. > :09:02.others see the manager as a revolutionary.
:09:03. > :09:11.We want to play good football and win. The main difference between
:09:12. > :09:22.what we did in the past and what we are doing now, she wants to win. --
:09:23. > :09:31.he. The Dutch have courage, and van Gaal
:09:32. > :09:36.in their corner. Well we can speak to Anna Holligan
:09:37. > :09:38.now - she's with fans at a bar in The
:09:39. > :09:49.Hague - Anna, what are they saying? They believe that they can win this
:09:50. > :09:55.after expectations were at an all-time low. Argentina are the
:09:56. > :10:01.favourites but that has not dented the faith of these supporters.
:10:02. > :10:07.Although Argentina have magical players nobody should underestimate
:10:08. > :10:15.the Dutch strikeforce. One of the fastest in the competition. Going
:10:16. > :10:20.into the game, both Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie are expected to
:10:21. > :10:28.start. The last time these two sides met it was a 0-0 result. Holland
:10:29. > :10:34.have never won the trophy before. And Argentina have never lost a
:10:35. > :10:39.semifinal. Less than two hours to go. This place will soon be filled
:10:40. > :10:43.with orange. We will speak to you later on.
:10:44. > :10:46.And don't forget there is all the world cup action and analysis
:10:47. > :10:49.on our website - including a piece by our South
:10:50. > :10:51.American football expert in Rio, Tim Vickery, on the lessons Brazil
:10:52. > :10:57.You can also join the discussion on Twitter -
:10:58. > :11:08.Israel has vowed to "further intensify attacks on the militant
:11:09. > :11:13.group Hamas", which it says has fired at least 75 rockets today.
:11:14. > :11:18.Israel has so far attacked 550 sites in Gaza, where at least 41 people
:11:19. > :11:23.have been killed since the Israeli military began operations on
:11:24. > :11:28.Tuesday. Hamas says Israel must stop its blockade of Gaza and release
:11:29. > :11:33.prisoners. But Israel says it wants to eliminate the threat of rocket
:11:34. > :11:37.attacks from Gaza for good. Tensions rose last week when the bodies of
:11:38. > :11:41.three young Israelis were discovered in the occupied West Bank and a
:11:42. > :11:44.Palestinian teenager was murdered in Jerusalem. We have two reports
:11:45. > :11:47.tonight. In a moment, James Reynolds in Sderot on the Israeli side. But
:11:48. > :12:02.first Yolande Knell has spent the day in Gaza.
:12:03. > :12:18.The full impact of an Israeli air strike. The family lived here were
:12:19. > :12:24.given a 15 minute warning. Some militants have been killed at home.
:12:25. > :12:33.The civilian death toll is rising. It is the third war against Gazza
:12:34. > :12:43.since 2008. They target the civilians and they are in the eye of
:12:44. > :13:04.the storm. But Israel is being targeted also and high -- Hamas run
:13:05. > :13:14.television showed this clip of rockets. They can reach far away
:13:15. > :13:19.cities they have never been reaching before. But this evening, conditions
:13:20. > :13:31.laid down for a cease fire. Israel must stop occupying Palestinian land
:13:32. > :13:35.said the Hamas leader. Israel is unlikely to agree and continued with
:13:36. > :13:41.air strikes whilst the speech was being made.
:13:42. > :14:03.Rocket science interrupts an Israeli wedding. -- sirens. Everybody runs
:14:04. > :14:14.for cover and Israel fires this defence system, but it does not stop
:14:15. > :14:23.everything. From this hill, the Gaza Strip is just a few miles away. We
:14:24. > :14:31.are right on the border of the free world and the terrorist world. We
:14:32. > :14:36.will win. From the Hayes, we can make out
:14:37. > :14:42.white smoke. Militants in the Gaza Strip have just fired a rocket.
:14:43. > :14:49.Seconds later, smoke in a field. We go to have a look. Israel was very
:14:50. > :14:58.lucky with this rocket striking a field. It shows that Palestinian
:14:59. > :15:04.militants can continue to hit Israel despite all of the Israeli air
:15:05. > :15:19.strikes. In Tel Aviv, the police cleared debris.
:15:20. > :15:23.Nearly a week after new security measures were introduced at UK
:15:24. > :15:25.airports, the advice to passengers is changing again.
:15:26. > :15:28.Now any passengers flying in and out of the UK - not just those flying to
:15:29. > :15:32.the United States - could face checks to see if electronic devices
:15:33. > :15:40.in their hand luggage like mobile phones and laptops are charged.
:15:41. > :15:49.The summer getaway is nearly here with new advice for passengers. What
:15:50. > :15:52.ever gadget you have, make sure it is charged and switched on before
:15:53. > :16:02.you fly. It seems not everyone has got a message. Do you why you have
:16:03. > :16:06.got to do that? Turn it on? If it is not fully charged, you cannot fly.
:16:07. > :16:10.The advice is, it just has to be switched on. They should make it a
:16:11. > :16:19.more clear. It is safe travel we want. Stuff that needs to be charged
:16:20. > :16:21.anyway, why bring it not charged? This new advice does not just cover
:16:22. > :16:27.mobile phones, includes portable music players, laptops and anything
:16:28. > :16:33.that has electrical and has a removable battery. The chances are
:16:34. > :16:37.you won't have your device checked, but government advice is clear,
:16:38. > :16:41.whether you are flying to make sure it is charged because anyone on any
:16:42. > :16:47.flight may be asked to prove it turns on. What happens if it won't?
:16:48. > :16:52.Passengers could charge it on the spot or leave it at the airport. It
:16:53. > :16:56.can be posted to your home address and some airlines say some
:16:57. > :16:59.passengers could rebook their flights. It all means potential for
:17:00. > :17:07.disruption, but at Liverpool airport, so far, so good. No queues
:17:08. > :17:11.as we would have expected at this time of the day. Hopefully it will
:17:12. > :17:17.stay that way and will not impact passengers. What if the terror
:17:18. > :17:23.threat changes. The summer peak is not here yet when millions will want
:17:24. > :17:27.to travel. The worst case it will be something we saw in 2006 where we
:17:28. > :17:37.saw huge chaos in the airports because of the liquid ban and so on.
:17:38. > :17:41.But that is the worst case scenario. To stop that happening, and advice
:17:42. > :17:44.to passengers - charge your device and there will be no delays.
:17:45. > :17:47.Ukraine's future has been the subject of calls today between
:17:48. > :17:50.its new president Petro Poroshenko and Germany's Angela Merkel and the
:17:51. > :17:56.Ukraine wants more international money to help rebuild infrastructure
:17:57. > :18:01.The focus of that fighting was for months the town of Sloviansk, home
:18:02. > :18:07.It's just been brought back under the Ukrainian government's control,
:18:08. > :18:26.The road to Sloviansk, is a reminder there is a war now in Europe.
:18:27. > :18:39.Pro-Russian new militants had called this town their fortress, but under
:18:40. > :18:41.heavy fire they have forced to retreat. In town, the Ukrainian flag
:18:42. > :18:43.is back. Separatist symbols are being scraped away, but a collective
:18:44. > :18:44.trauma will take longer to raise. After weeks of fighting there is
:18:45. > :18:49.widespread damage. Many accuse the Ukrainian army of indiscriminate
:18:50. > :18:53.shelling. This lady tells me how she came under fire and heard explosions
:18:54. > :18:57.nearby. I don't know who were shooting, she says, but my nerves
:18:58. > :19:02.could not take this any more. This was the most feared Golding in
:19:03. > :19:07.Sloviansk, when the insurgents were in control. Their headquarters and
:19:08. > :19:12.prison. They took hostages and locked them in the cellar. Some of
:19:13. > :19:16.their prisoners are still missing. These are the conditions the
:19:17. > :19:22.prisoners were held in underground. Some of them were here under -- for
:19:23. > :19:26.three months. The food was basic, the masterpieces were filthy and the
:19:27. > :19:35.washing facilities was just a plastic apple on the wall. After
:19:36. > :19:40.retaking Sloviansk, the Ukrainian army feels it has the momentum to
:19:41. > :19:45.crush the insurgency. We saw this large convoy of weaponry heading
:19:46. > :19:50.south. The militants are trying to slow the advance by lowing of
:19:51. > :19:55.bridges. Many of the fighters have retreated to the regional capital,
:19:56. > :20:02.Don yet scared. There are more pro-Russian insurgency than before.
:20:03. > :20:06.There is no sign of any police, they are the ones patrolling the city. We
:20:07. > :20:11.will fight to the end, he says. We don't recognise the Kiev
:20:12. > :20:17.government, they came to power in a coup. Fearing violence here, many of
:20:18. > :20:23.the shops have shot and cleared their shelves. It may not look like
:20:24. > :20:28.it, but this is a car showroom. People are leaving Don yet scared.
:20:29. > :20:32.This lady, her son and her mother have tickets for the Moscow train,
:20:33. > :20:40.but they have nowhere to stay and no plan for the future. We are going to
:20:41. > :20:47.nowhere with nothing. I don't know what we will have tomorrow. We
:20:48. > :20:50.simply want to leave, that is all. The baby was born in Don yet. She
:20:51. > :20:53.does not want to leave her home town or her country, but this war she
:20:54. > :21:02.says, has left her no choice. We've heard many a national anthem,
:21:03. > :21:04.especially in the past few weeks. And if you, like me have been
:21:05. > :21:07.watching the World Cup, perhaps you haven't heard enough of your
:21:08. > :21:10.national anthem. It turns out though that the Swiss have heard enough of
:21:11. > :21:14.theirs. And so there's a competition underway to write a new one. See
:21:15. > :21:19.what you think of their old national anthem, which many think is frankly
:21:20. > :21:47.That wasn't the full anthem of course but it does give you a
:21:48. > :21:50.flavour of the mood it sets. With me is the journalist Alex Marshall
:21:51. > :21:53.who's writing a book about national anthems.
:21:54. > :22:06.You have listened to hundreds of them? Far too many. What are we
:22:07. > :22:15.looking for when people choose anthems? An anthem should, the most
:22:16. > :22:20.successful are the quickest, you think of the French and the
:22:21. > :22:25.Americans. Think of the ones in Latin America. Switzerland has
:22:26. > :22:31.realised its anthem is too slow and it is too obsessed with God and the
:22:32. > :22:38.weather to make anyone excited. The strange thing is, they want a new
:22:39. > :22:44.anthem that is about Swiss values, diversity, respect for nature,
:22:45. > :22:51.sustainable development. Personally, it seems very hard to write an
:22:52. > :23:03.exciting song about such subjects. Let's remind our viewers of the
:23:04. > :23:08.American national anthem. That is where everybody stands up
:23:09. > :23:16.with hand on heart and makes them feel patriotic. That is an obvious
:23:17. > :23:22.one. What is your favourite? Watching this World Cup, the wombat
:23:23. > :23:27.has stood out for me is Uruguay. Probably be only one back could
:23:28. > :23:34.stand up as a piece of classical music. It is like a mini opera and
:23:35. > :23:41.the fact it was written by a failed opera composer, says it all. It has
:23:42. > :23:48.crescendos, quiet passages of music, it is fantastic. There is
:23:49. > :23:53.some orchestral vigour going through it. So that is what you have been
:23:54. > :23:58.reminded of watching the World Cup. We did not hear very much of the UK
:23:59. > :24:04.in the World Cup, what do you think of the British national anthem? We
:24:05. > :24:08.can hear even less of it. If anyone should take an example from
:24:09. > :24:14.Switzerland is the British. God Save The Queen, I know it is well-known
:24:15. > :24:18.around the world, but it is slow and how that can incite any full dollars
:24:19. > :24:27.into playing well, I don't know. Which probably explains the poor
:24:28. > :24:31.performance in the World Cup. I suppose that is an issue as well
:24:32. > :24:38.because many of the anthems have been with us for so long, and trying
:24:39. > :24:46.to reinvent a modern anthem? There is a danger of overfamiliarity and
:24:47. > :24:53.there is a danger of novelty. Bosnia tried to write a new anthem after
:24:54. > :24:58.the war. But non-Abhi ethnic groups in the country can agree on the
:24:59. > :25:01.words. So they have this wordless tune which nobody can stand there
:25:02. > :25:07.with their hands on their heart to because they just all look confused.
:25:08. > :25:22.There is a danger of trying to reinvent things as well. But some of
:25:23. > :25:27.the best are the oldest. The French anthem is one everybody knows. You
:25:28. > :25:31.can go anywhere in the world and people know it means France. The
:25:32. > :25:39.people who wrote it should be celebrated. For a piece of classical
:25:40. > :25:43.music, it is almost as strong as a pop song. It has got to be very
:25:44. > :25:51.memorable and catchy. But it also has that sense of importance and
:25:52. > :25:56.grandeur about it. Congratulations to Switzerland for trying it. The
:25:57. > :26:02.200 people who have entered the competition, the best of luck. How
:26:03. > :26:06.are they going to choose? They will spend the next year working through
:26:07. > :26:13.different entries to work out which is the best. They have four
:26:14. > :26:16.languages in Sweetland, so they have got to try and make everyone's
:26:17. > :26:20.entries at work in those four languages. They have to check it has
:26:21. > :26:28.the right elliptical values and it is almost impossible. It is almost
:26:29. > :26:33.designing an anthem by committee. Yes, and that is a recipe for
:26:34. > :26:41.disaster. The ones who have chosen an anthem by committee are the worst
:26:42. > :26:50.songs. Alex, it has been a pleasure talking to you.
:26:51. > :26:58.Thanks for being with us. You have been watching World News Today.