:00:00. > :00:07.This is BBC World News Today with me Philippa Thomas.
:00:08. > :00:11.With just over a week until Scotland votes on independence,
:00:12. > :00:14.pro-union politicians are doing everything they can to keep
:00:15. > :00:22.The leaders of the No campaign pledge more powers for Scotland
:00:23. > :00:25.The Yes campaign says that's a last-minute bribe.
:00:26. > :00:28.Just days after saying he didn't have a strategy, US President Barack
:00:29. > :00:32.Obama is preparing to go on offence against the Islamic State militants
:00:33. > :00:40.Also coming up, the first report into
:00:41. > :00:42.the MH17 plane crash is published and all the evidence points towards
:00:43. > :01:05.There are nine days to go before the people of Scotland decide whether to
:01:06. > :01:09.declare their independence from the rest of the United Kingdom.
:01:10. > :01:12.Scotland's First Minister, and leading nationalist,
:01:13. > :01:16.Alex Salmond says the unionists are in a state of absolute panic
:01:17. > :01:21.following recent polls suggesting that the vote is very close.
:01:22. > :01:24.The week's traditional Prime Minister's Question Time
:01:25. > :01:27.at Westminster has been cancelled as all three major party leaders
:01:28. > :01:29.announced they will head north on Wednesday to campaign to keep
:01:30. > :01:46.They are all promising the government here will look at three
:01:47. > :01:51.new powers the day after the voting if only Scotland chooses to stay.
:01:52. > :01:57.And we can join Lucy Adams and it is getting very dramatic? It certainly
:01:58. > :02:02.is and what we have seen from the three UK party leaders is a sense of
:02:03. > :02:06.high match the atmosphere has changed. The tension is really
:02:07. > :02:12.frightened. What they have said today it is, rather than their
:02:13. > :02:17.weekly clash at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, they will
:02:18. > :02:21.travel to Scotland tomorrow, and David Cameron says Scotland is his
:02:22. > :02:27.priority and we have he needs to be, the only place for him to be, and
:02:28. > :02:31.there is a sole tyre over Westminster in an act of
:02:32. > :02:35.neighbourliness and friendship and whilst they will campaign
:02:36. > :02:43.separately, the messages United, for Scotland to stay with us, but First
:02:44. > :02:49.Minister, Alex Salmond, says this is an indicator of the chaos of the
:02:50. > :02:54.better together campaign and that this marks when their campaign fell
:02:55. > :02:58.apart at the seams. We know from them that they will continue to
:02:59. > :03:03.campaign on the ground, they have a very strong grassroots campaign and
:03:04. > :03:07.that they are not planning to do anything different, but from the
:03:08. > :03:11.three Scottish leaders of the prounion parties are offering a
:03:12. > :03:16.timetable for new partners in the event of Scotland voting no. They
:03:17. > :03:20.are not seeing that they are offering any new powers for the two
:03:21. > :03:26.discussed earlier this year, but have said they will do it and it
:03:27. > :03:35.will be in place and a draft by Saint Andrews Day in October and a
:03:36. > :03:36.draft legislation by Robert Burns night in January. This from Allan
:03:37. > :03:40.Little looking at these issues. It is intended as a gesture of
:03:41. > :03:43.affection between close neighbours, but is the hoisting of the Saltire
:03:44. > :03:46.over Downing Street also a sign For Westminster has woken up late
:03:47. > :03:50.in the day to the possibility that Scotland might
:03:51. > :03:55.just vote for independence. It's brought the three party leaders
:03:56. > :03:57.together to set their difference There's a lot that
:03:58. > :04:03.the political leaders disagree about, but there's one thing we all
:04:04. > :04:06.agree about passionately and that is our United Kingdom is
:04:07. > :04:10.better off if we stay together. So tomorrow, the right place to be
:04:11. > :04:14.isn't in Westminster at Prime Minister's Questions,
:04:15. > :04:16.but in Scotland, listening to The greatest pressure is on
:04:17. > :04:22.Ed Miliband. In Liverpool today,
:04:23. > :04:25.he too flew the cross of St Andrew. The UK Labour leader has to
:04:26. > :04:28.demonstrate to increasingly sceptical Labour voters in Scotland
:04:29. > :04:31.that his party still represents And that he offers a real
:04:32. > :04:39.and credible alternative A vote for No is not a vote for no
:04:40. > :04:44.change, it is about for change, a vote for change in terms of more
:04:45. > :04:49.devolution of power, and a vote the change as far as I am concerned in
:04:50. > :04:52.the way our economy and our country works,
:04:53. > :04:54.because we have heard the call for In Edinburgh,
:04:55. > :04:59.the three Scottish party leaders appeared together to reinforce
:05:00. > :05:03.the impression of party unity. They agreed
:05:04. > :05:06.on the timetable to deliver more Their difficulty is they still don't
:05:07. > :05:10.agree The three agree on a combination
:05:11. > :05:17.of new powers over welfare, Labour want to give Holyrood
:05:18. > :05:23.the power to vary income tax The Conservatives want to go
:05:24. > :05:27.further, granting the Scottish Parliament
:05:28. > :05:30.full control over all personal The Lib Dems are the most radical,
:05:31. > :05:37.offering to devolve most tax This intervention is a risk
:05:38. > :05:44.for all three party leaders. David Cameron and Nick Clegg know
:05:45. > :05:46.they are unpopular in Scotland and that interventions by UK
:05:47. > :05:49.ministers can often make things worse here, by alienating more
:05:50. > :05:52.people than they persuade. But it's a particular risk for
:05:53. > :05:55.Ed Miliband. The polls show that Labour voters
:05:56. > :06:00.have been crossing to the Yes side in such large numbers
:06:01. > :06:03.that they have drawn level. Is standing shoulder to shoulder
:06:04. > :06:10.with an unpopular Tory prime minister the best way to do that, or
:06:11. > :06:13.will it play into the hands of the nationalists, who have argued for
:06:14. > :06:16.the last three years that there is no real difference between any
:06:17. > :06:20.of the three Westminster parties? We have the most unpopular
:06:21. > :06:23.Conservative prime minister in Scottish political history joined
:06:24. > :06:27.at the hip with the most mistrusted Labour leader of the opposition ever
:06:28. > :06:30.in Scottish politics, coming up to Scotland, Labour and Tory together,
:06:31. > :06:35.with the entire Westminster establishment in total
:06:36. > :06:40.and utter panic. If I thought they were coming by
:06:41. > :06:44.bus, I would send them their fare. Gordon Brown,
:06:45. > :06:46.who announced the timetable for transferring more powers to Scotland
:06:47. > :06:50.last night, has throughout this campaign seemed highly reluctant to
:06:51. > :06:53.appear in public with Conservative His allies say he knows the damage
:06:54. > :07:00.such displays of unity can do to Labour's reputation and its message
:07:01. > :07:06.in traditional Labour strongholds. The three leaders will not appear
:07:07. > :07:09.together tomorrow, but they are mounting in an unprecedented show
:07:10. > :07:30.of unity aimed at keeping Scotland This is a 1000 the campaign and some
:07:31. > :07:35.are questioning, as we have here, why it has taken so long for the
:07:36. > :07:43.prounion parties to wake up to the fact that Scotland could become and
:07:44. > :07:47.could vote for independence in 90s staying, the tension is rising, the
:07:48. > :07:56.atmosphere frightened, and people wondering what will happen next. --
:07:57. > :08:00.in nine days time. As to whether the message for prounion will work or
:08:01. > :08:06.backfire, we do not know and the yes campaign said they will be out
:08:07. > :08:10.showing the unity within the campaign, they have less parties and
:08:11. > :08:16.less difficulties to deal with, they will be out campaigning on this
:08:17. > :08:21.leads, as they have been doing, and we will see on September 18 who's
:08:22. > :08:24.message comes across strongest. Thank you very much.
:08:25. > :08:26.Well, the debate over Scotland is being
:08:27. > :08:28.closely followed by our European neighbours, not least by France.
:08:29. > :08:30.France and Scotland have a historical relationship going
:08:31. > :08:38.What are Scottish pipe bands doing parading in July through the middle
:08:39. > :08:47.In Aubigny-sur-Nere, they have annual festivities
:08:48. > :08:55.In the Hundred Years War, Stuarts from the Scottish royal
:08:56. > :08:59.family fought near here alongside the French, against the English.
:09:00. > :09:02.They were rewarded with a lordship and the chateau
:09:03. > :09:08.of Aubigny, which stayed Scottish for nearly 400 years.
:09:09. > :09:13.Enthusiasm for things Caledonian here extends to the culinary.
:09:14. > :09:16.This is French haggis. The bond is heartfelt.
:09:17. > :09:24.Scottish people bled for us, for French people,
:09:25. > :09:34.Whether it's the Auld Alliance and their common antipathy towards
:09:35. > :09:37.the English or whether it is just that both
:09:38. > :09:40.countries like to share a drink, there is clearly deep sympathy
:09:41. > :09:43.for the Scots, not just here in Aubigny, but right across France.
:09:44. > :09:47.As for Scottish independence, we carried out
:09:48. > :09:50.an impromptu poll with the audience, the result was clear enough.
:09:51. > :10:01.Let's speak to commentator Agnes Poirier, who's in our Paris studio.
:10:02. > :10:10.Welcome again to World News Today, high much interest do you detect in
:10:11. > :10:15.what Scotland chooses to do? It looks as if the French media and
:10:16. > :10:25.newspapers woke up this weekend, after the polls suggesting that,
:10:26. > :10:30.perhaps, the yes could win. It did not cross the French mains that it
:10:31. > :10:34.was possible. So now there is excitement and a lot of special
:10:35. > :10:40.reporters sent hurriedly to Glasgow and Edinburgh to report on the first
:10:41. > :10:45.referendum of that game. A lot of people in France and on the
:10:46. > :10:50.continent think that if yes wins on the 18th of September, it will open
:10:51. > :10:57.to the gates for many other regions perhaps within Europe and the
:10:58. > :11:03.European Union to ask the same. So it is followed with excitement and
:11:04. > :11:07.some fear, like in London. And if the vote was yes, it's better
:11:08. > :11:14.feeling in France they have had a special relationship with Scotland,
:11:15. > :11:18.perhaps more special than England? That is absolutely possible, yes,
:11:19. > :11:23.and also in some quarters in France, some people secretly hope the guests
:11:24. > :11:32.will win, because it means London will carry a lesser voice, one that
:11:33. > :11:37.carries less weight than it once did, the face of British politics
:11:38. > :11:44.will also change for ever. And on the national stage. Britain will be
:11:45. > :11:49.reduced. It will be reduced voice and it will have a lesser
:11:50. > :11:57.importance. So of course, that will make a lot of people smile. But
:11:58. > :12:01.also, I think -- make a lot of French people smile. But Britain has
:12:02. > :12:08.everything to lose and Scotland everything to win. Even if Scotland
:12:09. > :12:13.votes no, Scotland will be offered more autonomy than it has to be and
:12:14. > :12:22.devolution maximum, a term explained in French newspapers, so the eyes
:12:23. > :12:26.are very much on London and David Cameron. Just briefly, you spoke
:12:27. > :12:31.about other regions of Europe looking to this as a precedent, I
:12:32. > :12:38.suppose Spain key among those watching closely? Absolutely, and we
:12:39. > :12:44.can talk about the Basque region of Spain, and it will give them ideas
:12:45. > :12:53.to many others, even some French regions, such as Corsica, and maybe
:12:54. > :12:59.eastern Europe and in Germany, which is a federation, so let us wait
:13:00. > :13:03.until the 18th of September to open that Pandora's box. And we will
:13:04. > :13:06.speak to you after that if it is a yes vote. Thank you.
:13:07. > :13:08.US President Barack Obama will unveil
:13:09. > :13:11.his strategy to combat Islamic State militants on Wednesday.
:13:12. > :13:14.It comes just days after a new unity government was formed in Iraq.
:13:15. > :13:20.We can speak to Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow in
:13:21. > :13:26.the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute.
:13:27. > :13:34.Welcome to World News Today. Mr Obama we know has been reluctant to
:13:35. > :13:40.get involved in Syria or Iraq again, but what do you think is most likely
:13:41. > :13:43.out of the White House? I think you have to hear the president talk
:13:44. > :13:52.about the administration's approach in Iraq, concerning change of
:13:53. > :13:59.government, working with the Kurds in rolling in some moderate Sunnis
:14:00. > :14:08.into the rocky state. It is far more complicated in Syria, Islamic State
:14:09. > :14:12.running more territory. And direct US involvement will be much more
:14:13. > :14:16.prevalent in the weeks and months ahead. You have experience on the
:14:17. > :14:24.ground in Syria and do you think it has to be part of the strategy? You
:14:25. > :14:29.cannot just deal with Iraq alone. That is right and you have to deal
:14:30. > :14:35.with severe and it is not a problem you can bomb your way out of. Once
:14:36. > :14:40.you destroy the capabilities and facilities of IS, something has to
:14:41. > :14:44.fill that vacuum, the Assad regime cannot do it. It is there that
:14:45. > :14:51.President Obama is looking at backing moderate Sunni forces that
:14:52. > :14:54.will go into eastern Syria and help fill that void. I do not think it
:14:55. > :15:02.will be the same forces as proposed in the past, but those forces,
:15:03. > :15:07.combine with the overall involvement of US allies that borders earlier,
:15:08. > :15:13.that will probably be the coalition that deals with that aspect and part
:15:14. > :15:18.of Syria. I was that they need to summon it -- I was at the summit
:15:19. > :15:21.last week, when President Obama spoke about bilateral with the King
:15:22. > :15:26.of Jordan and neighbours matter most here?
:15:27. > :15:34.Yes, they bear a lot of the weight of the spill-over from the crisis.
:15:35. > :15:39.It was previously thought that the Syrian crisis could be contained,
:15:40. > :15:45.but the Isis outbreak proves that not to be correct. They have one ask
:15:46. > :15:50.Tom and that is to back moderate forces to fill up those areas of
:15:51. > :15:54.Syria that could then later negotiate or break away from the
:15:55. > :15:59.Assad regime, and that is the path Obama will be going down in the
:16:00. > :16:07.speech on Wednesday. Thank you for joining us.
:16:08. > :16:09.The first official report into the Malaysia Airlines crash
:16:10. > :16:17.Nearly two months on, there could still be passengers resting in and
:16:18. > :16:27.haven't does not mention the word missile, but it rules out just about
:16:28. > :16:33.every other option. There was no mechanical problem, no alarms going
:16:34. > :16:36.off, and the pilots did not make a mistake. So, what evidence is there
:16:37. > :16:41.that a weapon brought the plane down? The most interesting finding
:16:42. > :16:44.centres on these holes found all over the front of the aircraft near
:16:45. > :16:54.the cockpit. It says they are from a large number of high energy objects
:16:55. > :16:58.does not hit the aircraft, it explodes
:16:59. > :17:19.nearby, peppering it with small bits of metal. Investigators now believe
:17:20. > :17:22.they have retrieved of the and the bodies, especially of the crew.
:17:23. > :17:34.Still, the critical question the BUK, so who fired it? If they can
:17:35. > :17:41.If they could gain safe access to the crash site, they could work it
:17:42. > :17:45.out. Because we know the position in the sky, we could reverse engineer
:17:46. > :17:52.the flight of the missile down to the ground and work out pretty much
:17:53. > :17:55.within 200 square metre where the missile was fired from. There were
:17:56. > :18:00.ten Britons on-board MH17. Three have still not been formally
:18:01. > :18:03.identified. Liam Sweeney was heading across the world to watch Newcastle
:18:04. > :18:09.play football. His dad says answers will not bring him back. I am happy
:18:10. > :18:18.to know about the crash, that he probably died in instantly. It
:18:19. > :18:24.doesn't matter who did it because he is still dead. Able are blaming
:18:25. > :18:29.everybody else, but unfortunately we can't do anything about it, we have
:18:30. > :18:32.just got to move on. This report includes one more sobering fact.
:18:33. > :18:35.Three other large commercial airliners were flying over the same
:18:36. > :18:40.area at about the same time as flight MH17.
:18:41. > :18:43.Four people are reported to have died in the Yemeni capital Sana'a
:18:44. > :18:47.after armed police opened fire on protestors
:18:48. > :18:50.The demonstrators are from the mainly Shia Houthi group, which has
:18:51. > :19:06.been calling for more representation in the government, and
:19:07. > :19:13.We are protesting against the corrupt government
:19:14. > :19:16.because since the 2011 revolution everything is getting worse.
:19:17. > :19:20.Security, the health system, education.
:19:21. > :19:24.This government is more corrupt than the one before it.
:19:25. > :19:27.It affects me directly, the security situation in Yemen, because I work
:19:28. > :19:31.as a translator and now there are no tourists coming to Yemen.
:19:32. > :19:38.I have not worked with tourists for over a year now.
:19:39. > :19:44.The protests are being organised by the Houthis, a minority Shia group.
:19:45. > :19:47.Since they formed an armed movement 10 years ago, government forces have
:19:48. > :19:50.been fighting the group in the north of the country.
:19:51. > :19:54.But in recent weeks, Houthis have brought their protest
:19:55. > :19:57.to the capital, blocking the main road to Sana'a airport, demanding
:19:58. > :20:06.Early on Tuesday, violent clashes broke out after Yemeni police
:20:07. > :20:14.Several demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured.
:20:15. > :20:17.We are standing next to one of the checkpoints that have been placed by
:20:18. > :20:20.the government across the capital Sana'a in an attempt to control the
:20:21. > :20:25.But, in a country where almost every household owns several arms, many
:20:26. > :20:28.worry that these checkpoints can do little to contain the situation and
:20:29. > :20:37.The government accuses the Houthis of trying to help further Iran's
:20:38. > :20:40.desire to empower Shia movements in the region.
:20:41. > :20:48.This is a group supported from regional powers and it wants to
:20:49. > :20:58.Yemen narrowly avoided a descent into chaos after its Arab uprising,
:20:59. > :21:02.but the latest violence risk bringing Yemen's slow transition
:21:03. > :21:15.His first book, Chavs, looked at the demonization
:21:16. > :21:19.Now, Owen Jones is taking on the elite
:21:20. > :21:23.in his new book The Establishment - And How They Got Away With It.
:21:24. > :21:26.As he sees it, wealthy bankers, landowners, and even the police,
:21:27. > :21:30.work together to defend their interests in our democracy.
:21:31. > :21:32.Well, Owen Jones is here in our studio.
:21:33. > :21:41.You're at the top of the bestsellers list in the UK this week.
:21:42. > :21:50.So, are you talking conspiracy or collusion? It is an important point
:21:51. > :21:54.to make. I am looking at a common mentality that binds people together
:21:55. > :21:58.in power. For me, what is interesting in Britain in
:21:59. > :22:02.particular, although we see this globally as well, is people's
:22:03. > :22:06.attempts to direct their anger at the situation, the angry immigrants,
:22:07. > :22:12.unemployed people, benefit claimants. What I am trying to do is
:22:13. > :22:17.redress the balance. Is it your neighbours who are responsible for
:22:18. > :22:22.the plight of this country, or is it those with power? I think there are
:22:23. > :22:26.those mentalities which bind a establishment together, the sense of
:22:27. > :22:33.being worth it, which allows bankers to claim bonuses, or MPs to bill for
:22:34. > :22:38.expenses, but there is also this revolving door so you end up with
:22:39. > :22:44.big accountancy firms who tell their clients how to avoid the very laws
:22:45. > :22:48.they are creating. It is a cynical point of view because you are not
:22:49. > :22:53.allowing for those who tried to fight or change the reform from
:22:54. > :22:58.within. I'm not saying it is a conspiracy where people are sitting
:22:59. > :23:04.with cigars in a smoke-filled room, I am saying this is not about
:23:05. > :23:10.individual villains. I have met decent people with power, but they
:23:11. > :23:14.are trapped by the system in which they operate, and that is a system
:23:15. > :23:18.which ensures that wealth and power is concentrated in the hands of a
:23:19. > :23:22.small group of people. Do you think it is getting worse because of the
:23:23. > :23:24.global recession, but also we here in Britain that social mobility is
:23:25. > :23:32.getting less and less decade by decade. Whether you look at
:23:33. > :23:35.Parliament or the media, disproportionately people from
:23:36. > :23:39.private schools and so on, but for me it is something more systemic
:23:40. > :23:42.than that. It is the fact we live in Britain, a country which in the last
:23:43. > :23:47.five years, the top 1000 people, their wealth has doubled, whilst 1
:23:48. > :23:56.million people are dependent on food banks will stop do you think Britain
:23:57. > :24:02.is more establishment based them, for example, the United States or
:24:03. > :24:06.our European partners? In all modern countries are powerful interests
:24:07. > :24:10.find ways of protecting themselves from the democracy. In a British
:24:11. > :24:13.context, this is how they get away with it. But unaccountable power is
:24:14. > :24:18.a problem all over the world. My message to people is, rather than
:24:19. > :24:22.accepting a society where wealth is concentrated in a small group of
:24:23. > :24:25.people, maybe people should start holding those in power to account,
:24:26. > :24:31.instead of turning on each other, and find a better look way of
:24:32. > :24:35.organising a more just and equal society.
:24:36. > :24:38.It may be the most important literary award
:24:39. > :24:40.in the English speaking world, and today the shortlist for the
:24:41. > :24:45.The ?50,000 prize is now open not only to English language novels
:24:46. > :24:47.from the UK and Commonwealth countries, but also to writers
:24:48. > :24:52.Joshua Ferris' third novel, To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, sees him one
:24:53. > :24:56.Australian Richard Flanagan has been shortlisted for his World War Two
:24:57. > :24:58.tale, The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
:24:59. > :25:00.We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is the other American
:25:01. > :25:03.entry on this year's shortlist, written by Karen Joy Fowler.
:25:04. > :25:05.The 2010 winner Howard Jacobson has made the shortlist with his work,
:25:06. > :25:08.and J Neel Mukherjee has been shortlisted with his second novel,
:25:09. > :25:13.And, it's the third time British author
:25:14. > :25:25.Ali Smith has been shortlisted, this time with How to be Both.
:25:26. > :25:27.The manager of the former Formula One motor racing champion
:25:28. > :25:30.Michael Schumacher says he has left hospital in Switzerland to continue
:25:31. > :25:33.He's been undergoing treatment after suffering a serious head injury
:25:34. > :25:37.The hospital in Lausanne when Michael Schumacher had been
:25:38. > :25:42.In a surprise announcement, the manager of
:25:43. > :25:45.the seven-time Formula One champion said he has been moved to his home
:25:46. > :25:48.on the shores of Lake Geneva, where he is to continue his recovery.
:25:49. > :25:50.The 45-year-old suffered a serious head injury in December whilst
:25:51. > :25:58.Immediately afterwards, he underwent two operations to remove blood clots
:25:59. > :26:01.on his brain, before being placed in a medically induced coma.
:26:02. > :26:04.He was brought round in June, and since then has been receiving
:26:05. > :26:07.treatment at a centre which specialises in recovery of severely
:26:08. > :26:17.His manager gave no details about his current commission,
:26:18. > :26:21.saying only that progress has been made, but she says there is still
:26:22. > :26:29.Despite this, Schumacher's many fans will hope that his being allowed
:26:30. > :26:49.home is another small but encouraging sign of his improvement.
:26:50. > :27:03.Hello. The settled September sunshine is set to continue over the
:27:04. > :27:08.next few days, but with clear skies through the night, one or two areas
:27:09. > :27:09.could see temperatures into the low single figures, so a call