:00:00. > :00:08.This is BBC World News Today with me, Karin Giannone.
:00:09. > :00:11.The headlines: A rare royal rebuttal from Buckingham Palace over alleged
:00:12. > :00:16.Claims in a newspaper that Queen Elizabeth wants Britain
:00:17. > :00:19.to leave the European Union are being strongly denied.
:00:20. > :00:21.The main route for migrants trying to reach northern Europe
:00:22. > :00:24.is effectively shut down as Macedonia closes its border with
:00:25. > :00:37.Tributes for the man who shaped the Beatles' sound from the very
:00:38. > :00:39.beginning - their producer, George Martin, who's died
:00:40. > :00:45.And a spectacular treat for sky-watchers in Indonesia -
:00:46. > :01:02.the best country in the world to witness this rare solar eclipse.
:01:03. > :01:05.We start with an official complaint from Buckingham Palace,
:01:06. > :01:08.about a report in Britain's Sun newspaper, which claimed the Queen
:01:09. > :01:12.had expressed strong doubts about the UK's place in Europe.
:01:13. > :01:15.The paper said the Queen made her opinion known to the then
:01:16. > :01:18.Deputy Prime Minister at a lunch at Windsor Castle in 2011.
:01:19. > :01:23.The BBC's royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell, reports.
:01:24. > :01:41.As many focused on the marriage and Kate Middleton, the Queen at Windsor
:01:42. > :01:45.Castle was letting rip about the European Union. That at least is the
:01:46. > :01:50.claim from an anonymous source to the Song. Alongside a front-page
:01:51. > :01:55.deadline, greenbacks breaks it, the Song claims that at a lunch at
:01:56. > :01:59.Windsor the monarch believed the EU was heading in the wrong direction.
:02:00. > :02:02.The paper says the lunch was attended by the Ven Deputy Prime
:02:03. > :02:07.Minister Nick Clegg, to whom the remarks were principally directed,
:02:08. > :02:12.and a handful of other ministers. But today Mr Clegg said he had no
:02:13. > :02:16.recollection of such a conversation. I think it's appalling that the
:02:17. > :02:22.people who want to drag the UK out of the European Union are now trying
:02:23. > :02:26.to drag the European referendum debate. As for the story in the
:02:27. > :02:34.Sunni, it's Sunni, it's nonsense, it's not true, I couldn't clearer.
:02:35. > :02:36.King Palace initially stressed the Queen's political neutrality. Later
:02:37. > :02:41.it confirmed it was making a complaint about the story to the
:02:42. > :02:51.press standards organisation. But the paper said...
:02:52. > :02:58.Might this have been the occasion at the centre of the story? The Court
:02:59. > :03:02.circular shows that in early April 2011 there was a meeting of the
:03:03. > :03:07.Privy Council at Windsor attended by Mr Clegg and Michael Gove, who was
:03:08. > :03:11.then the Education Secretary, and several other ministers. None has
:03:12. > :03:16.made any comment today. So what are we to make of this? The Queen does
:03:17. > :03:20.ask questions, she makes observations on occasions, but she
:03:21. > :03:30.doesn't take over the political positions. Her officials point to 64
:03:31. > :03:33.years of pretty pumped years neutrality. They say any idea that
:03:34. > :03:40.she would take sides in anyway in the EU referendum is simply wrong.
:03:41. > :03:44.With me is Andrew Blake, a constitutional historian at Kings
:03:45. > :03:49.College, London. What do you make of this report and furore? It engages a
:03:50. > :03:54.very important constitutional issue fundamental to the way in which
:03:55. > :03:59.British democracy and our monarchy functions. That is that the monarchy
:04:00. > :04:03.should not be seen publicly to get involved in matters of political
:04:04. > :04:07.controversy on one side or the other. The monarchy is supposed to
:04:08. > :04:11.keep out of these things. You say this is vitally important that the
:04:12. > :04:15.Queen would not be seen to have any persuasion one way or the other on
:04:16. > :04:20.this sort of matter? That's exactly it and that's why the Palace are
:04:21. > :04:23.taking this so seriously. This is such an important issue, such a
:04:24. > :04:28.divisive issue, that the monarchy cannot be seen to be siding on one
:04:29. > :04:37.side or the other, whatever the Queen may think privately. How
:04:38. > :04:40.unusual is it for Buckingham Palace to come out of this weight and rebut
:04:41. > :04:42.these comments and the report about what she may have said or may not
:04:43. > :04:45.have said? Very unusual and they have a general policy of not getting
:04:46. > :04:49.involved. It shows how seriously this is being taken. How much
:04:50. > :04:55.privacy does the Queen have two express what she feels about matters
:04:56. > :04:59.in politics and elsewhere? What is private for her? Where does the
:05:00. > :05:04.boundary like? There's a clear understanding that although the
:05:05. > :05:08.Queen doesn't become publicly involved in controversial matters,
:05:09. > :05:13.she's entitled to warn ministers, to consult and advise ministers, to
:05:14. > :05:16.have with ministers in private. She has a weekly audience with the Prime
:05:17. > :05:20.Minister in which all manner of things can come up. There's a
:05:21. > :05:23.convention around this that nobody breaks ranks and actually brings
:05:24. > :05:30.into the public domain things they are told by the Queen. In terms of
:05:31. > :05:33.talking to the public, we've had reaction to something she said about
:05:34. > :05:38.Scotland and the referendum about Scotland's remaining in the UK.
:05:39. > :05:42.What's the difference between the Queen talking to a minister or the
:05:43. > :05:45.Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the public? An important
:05:46. > :05:50.difference is also that the Queen at that time was saying this is a
:05:51. > :05:53.serious decision that needs to be taken seriously. You may attach an
:05:54. > :05:59.interpretation to that... She wanted Scotland to stay. Some people
:06:00. > :06:03.attached that, but she didn't say that, she said this should be taken
:06:04. > :06:07.seriously, which you can't argue with. If she's saying the referendum
:06:08. > :06:12.in Europe needs to be taken seriously, that's one thing. If
:06:13. > :06:17.she's expressing a view that we should perhaps leave, which I'm not
:06:18. > :06:18.saying is her view, but that's the insinuation, that's a different
:06:19. > :06:22.matter. Thank you. Elsewhere in Europe,
:06:23. > :06:25.Macedonia says it will no longer let any migrants through its
:06:26. > :06:27.border with Greece - blocking the main route for people
:06:28. > :06:29.trying to seek asylum. Tensions are high among
:06:30. > :06:31.the thousands stranded at the Greek-Macedonian border,
:06:32. > :06:33.which is now closed. Our correspondent, Christian Fraser,
:06:34. > :06:35.is at Idomeni and has walked the last mile with some
:06:36. > :06:45.of the migrants. Thousands of migrants have walked
:06:46. > :06:49.through Greece and Macedonia and on into Central Europe. But in recent
:06:50. > :06:53.weeks, many of the countries along that route have started applying
:06:54. > :06:56.tighter restrictions. The border between Greece and Macedonia has
:06:57. > :07:02.been closed and it looks as if it will stay closed. And yet still they
:07:03. > :07:07.arrive in huge numbers. So who are they and why do they come? We will
:07:08. > :07:08.walk the last mind -- mile of this journey and find out a bit more
:07:09. > :07:11.about their stories. What has life been like
:07:12. > :07:16.for Yazidis in Iraq? TRANSLATION: Absolutely difficult,
:07:17. > :07:27.there's no life there, only war. 4,500 women were raped
:07:28. > :07:47.and a lot of men were killed. Have you heard of the
:07:48. > :07:51.conditions at Idomeni? The conditions are really bad,
:07:52. > :08:07.only God can help us. TRANSLATION: It's very important
:08:08. > :08:10.to have the right documents, and even with the right documents,
:08:11. > :08:13.they're kind of useless My wife is already in Austria
:08:14. > :08:18.and I tried to go through the family reunion route, but I've been waiting
:08:19. > :08:21.for a long time so I decided to make this journey to try
:08:22. > :08:29.and join her in Austria. There's not many people to help,
:08:30. > :08:37.but that guy is holding my daughter. So God sent him to help me,
:08:38. > :08:49.he's from Syria. We're walking again,
:08:50. > :09:13.we must keep walking. We've been walking for an hour. We
:09:14. > :09:21.are in sight of the camp. These are the outskirts of the camp. You can
:09:22. > :09:25.see the Kents in the fields. There's a whole process these people have to
:09:26. > :09:30.go through. They have to register at the camp, get a number, the numbers
:09:31. > :09:35.are called to the gate one by one, in order. We've heard while we've
:09:36. > :09:38.been on the road today from the Macedonian police on the other side
:09:39. > :09:42.that they've closed the border completely. These things fluctuate
:09:43. > :09:47.and these people will hope the border might well open, but right
:09:48. > :09:49.now, it seems this might be a futile journey and they could be sitting
:09:50. > :09:51.here for days, possibly weeks. A Greek far-right MEP
:09:52. > :09:53.has been thrown out of the European Parliament
:09:54. > :09:55.after comparing the Turkish To applause, the parliament's
:09:56. > :10:09.President Martin Schultz announced the immediate expulsion
:10:10. > :10:11.of Golden Dawn MEP Eletherios Mr Schultz said his comments
:10:12. > :10:17.had "crossed red lines" The MEP gathered up his
:10:18. > :10:22.belongings and was escorted You've probably been
:10:23. > :10:33.following the story of one of London's most audacious
:10:34. > :10:35.jewellery heists last Easter. Now four of the men behind
:10:36. > :10:38.the Hatton Garden raid have been The gang got away with ?14 million
:10:39. > :10:42.in cash and jewels. The re-enforced wall,
:10:43. > :10:48.more than a metre thick, that the Hatton Garden gang bored
:10:49. > :10:53.through with a diamond-tipped drill. Once inside, they ripped open
:10:54. > :10:59.73 safe deposit boxes, stuffing the diamonds, jewels,
:11:00. > :11:01.watches, cash and gold bullion into wheelie bins
:11:02. > :11:03.for ease of transport. They made away with ?14 million
:11:04. > :11:06.worth last Easter Bank Holiday Today, most of the Hatton Garden
:11:07. > :11:14.gang learnt their punishment. 77-year-old Brian Reader was too
:11:15. > :11:18.unwell to be sentenced yesterday, but Terry Perkins was given
:11:19. > :11:22.seven years in prison, so was Kenny Collins
:11:23. > :11:24.and the fourth ringleader, Jones' friend, Carl Wood,
:11:25. > :11:30.who lost his nerve halfway But William Lincoln who helped store
:11:31. > :11:36.the loot loot got seven years. Hugh Doyle, the plumber who helped
:11:37. > :11:38.move the stolen property, Each will serve only half
:11:39. > :11:47.their sentence actually in prison. There may be people out there that
:11:48. > :11:50.feel a little bit of sympathy in relation to those that
:11:51. > :11:53.were sentenced today. However, these were all career
:11:54. > :11:55.callous criminals who had no thought in relation to the property
:11:56. > :11:58.that they actually stole ?4 million worth of stolen jewellery
:11:59. > :12:05.and cash was found by police, some buried in a North London
:12:06. > :12:07.graveyard, but ?10 million Also missing is the mysterious Basil
:12:08. > :12:13.who worked with the gang, He's now the Flying
:12:14. > :12:20.Squad's most wanted man. The gang gave few clues
:12:21. > :12:39.in their police interviews. Secretly filmed here
:12:40. > :12:43.by undercover detectives, discussing the heist in the pub,
:12:44. > :12:47.the gang had an average age of 63, so why were they still
:12:48. > :12:50.committing crime? Noel 'Razor' Smith, himself
:12:51. > :12:54.a lifetime criminal, though now reformed,
:12:55. > :12:56.knows some of the men and says they probably did it
:12:57. > :12:59.for the thrill of it. Being a professional criminal,
:13:00. > :13:06.crime can be very addictive. When you're a career
:13:07. > :13:10.criminal, that's your thing. No matter how old you get and how
:13:11. > :13:12.much money you've got, you still get a, sort of,
:13:13. > :13:16.a yearning to be on the front-line The judge today described this
:13:17. > :13:21.burglary as "unprecedented" in its ambition and the value
:13:22. > :13:25.of property stolen so the sentences are extremely high and things could
:13:26. > :13:29.get worse for the Hatton Garden gang next year they'll be asked to give
:13:30. > :13:32.the money back or spend even A Ukrainian military pilot on trial
:13:33. > :13:46.for complicity in the death of two Russian journalists has
:13:47. > :13:48.denounced her trial in a Russian Nadyia Savchenko has vowed
:13:49. > :13:51.to continue her hunger strike, now in its fifth day, until charges
:13:52. > :13:54.against her are dropped. Russian prosecutors allege
:13:55. > :13:56.she coordinated this mortar attack in eastern Ukraine, in which two
:13:57. > :13:59.Russian journalists and other Today's hearing sparked
:14:00. > :14:05.more protests outside Tom Burridge reports
:14:06. > :14:09.from Kiev in a moment, but first here's Sarah Rainsford
:14:10. > :14:13.outside the court in Donetsk. It was a fairly short session
:14:14. > :14:17.of court today in southern Russia, Nadyia Savchenko has been on hunger
:14:18. > :14:22.strike now for five days, but she managed to walk into court
:14:23. > :14:30.herself and at one point she jumped and showed her middle
:14:31. > :14:33.finger to the judge, a gesture of defiance, but also,
:14:34. > :14:36.she said, showing what she thinks She then had a translator read
:14:37. > :14:40.out a formal statement She said that Russia had no justice,
:14:41. > :14:47.that this trial is a farce We've heard from the EU
:14:48. > :14:53.and the US this week, both calling on Russia to drop
:14:54. > :14:56.the charges against Nadyia Savchenko and to return her to Ukraine,
:14:57. > :15:00.saying this is an unjust trial. Russia has said this is a criminal
:15:01. > :15:04.proceeding and that the outside world, the West, should not
:15:05. > :15:08.try to influence Russian courts. Nadyia Savchenko is
:15:09. > :15:10.a Russian military officer. She is accused of complicity
:15:11. > :15:13.in the deaths of two Russian journalists during the fighting
:15:14. > :15:16.in eastern Ukraine. Her lawyers, over the course
:15:17. > :15:19.of several months, have shown evidence that they say proves
:15:20. > :15:21.she was actually captured before She is still on hunger strike
:15:22. > :15:30.and she's vowed to stay on hunger strike until the verdict
:15:31. > :15:33.is delivered or until, But that verdict now
:15:34. > :15:38.won't come until March 21st. Her lawyers have warned that
:15:39. > :15:40.unless she is force-fed, The case of Nadyia Savchenko has
:15:41. > :15:56.become much more than just one woman's claim of innocence
:15:57. > :16:00.in a Russian courtroom. This is the Russian
:16:01. > :16:03.Embassy in central Kiev. There's paint on the walls
:16:04. > :16:07.from previous protests. Further down, you can see
:16:08. > :16:09.all the signs and the heavy police These people here today,
:16:10. > :16:15.the protestors who have come out to the Russian Embassy,
:16:16. > :16:18.and across Ukraine, see her as a symbol of defiance,
:16:19. > :16:25.a symbol of hope, in the face of what a lot of Ukrainians believe
:16:26. > :16:29.is Russian aggression. We came here today because Nadyia
:16:30. > :16:34.Savchenko is a symbol of Ukraine. She shows the Russian citizens
:16:35. > :16:39.and the Russian government that Thank God we have such a hero
:16:40. > :16:45.who can, despite all the trials, despite all the hardships
:16:46. > :16:50.she faces at the moment, she can freely express her opinion
:16:51. > :16:54.and she's not definitely broken. These people really see
:16:55. > :16:58.Nadyia Savchenko as someone who represents the fight in Ukraine
:16:59. > :17:01.for true independence, true sovereignty, from their larger
:17:02. > :17:17.neighbour, Russia. In the world of music,
:17:18. > :17:19.Sir George Martin was revered His death, at the age of 90, has
:17:20. > :17:23.been followed by countless tributes. Paul McCartney described him
:17:24. > :17:25.as the fifth Beatle, acknowledging George Martin's
:17:26. > :17:27.pivotal role in taking the Fab Four's raw talent
:17:28. > :17:29.and turning them into Over seven decades, he worked
:17:30. > :17:45.with many of the most successful George Martin was 15 years older
:17:46. > :17:50.than most of the Beatles, much more experience and had been trained as a
:17:51. > :17:53.classical musician. By 1962 when he first saw the Beatles, he already
:17:54. > :17:57.had seven years of experience and had already had numerous hit
:17:58. > :18:01.records. He really knew the pop music business in the UK and the
:18:02. > :18:06.Beatles, as talented as they were, were still very, very young. Give
:18:07. > :18:17.the black -- classical background make the difference when it combined
:18:18. > :18:19.with this war force of pop music? That background helped, but George
:18:20. > :18:21.Martin had a very good understanding of what the formulas were for
:18:22. > :18:24.putting together pop songs in that era. That's one of the most
:18:25. > :18:27.important thing is he taught the Beatles. They had the talent, but he
:18:28. > :18:30.had the ability to pull it together to something that would be
:18:31. > :18:34.immediately successful. Were they sceptical at first with what he was
:18:35. > :18:39.trying to do? A little bit. There's a story George Martin used to love
:18:40. > :18:43.to tell. If there's anything you don't like tell me. George Harrison
:18:44. > :18:48.said, I don't like your tie. They were always pushing back on anything
:18:49. > :18:54.trying to control them. But they had a very healthy respect for him. The
:18:55. > :19:00.students on your carts -- course, what part do they see him as having
:19:01. > :19:05.played? The fifth Beatle? Probably not because the Beatles have become
:19:06. > :19:09.such iconic faces, larger-than-life in many ways. George Martin was
:19:10. > :19:12.always behind-the-scenes. By the time they get to the end of the
:19:13. > :19:17.course, they know how important George Martin was to the group. As
:19:18. > :19:22.their music evolved, how did George Martin's input change? The Beatles
:19:23. > :19:26.began to change from being craftsmen, trying to repeat the same
:19:27. > :19:30.formula, to being artists, where they didn't want to repeat. They
:19:31. > :19:34.were always trying new things and somebody had to tell them how to get
:19:35. > :19:41.new effects in the studio. George Martin was in charge of that. What
:19:42. > :19:45.would he do? Backward tape affects. Being for the benefit of Mr Kite,
:19:46. > :19:50.they took a tape of the Steve Morgan, threw it into bits, threw it
:19:51. > :19:53.up in the air, take them together and created a background wash. This
:19:54. > :19:59.is the kind of thing George Martin thought up when John Lennon said he
:20:00. > :20:00.wanted to sound like the Dalai Lama singing from the mountaintop. How do
:20:01. > :20:04.you do that? Tens of thousands of people have
:20:05. > :20:07.been holding protests across France against a new labour
:20:08. > :20:09.law being brought in by The reform to the country's labour
:20:10. > :20:13.code is meant to give greater flexibility to employers,
:20:14. > :20:15.so they'll be more willing to take But opponents say it's an erosion
:20:16. > :20:19.of longstanding social rights. The biggest demonstration
:20:20. > :20:25.was in Paris and Hugh Schofield At the end of today there will be
:20:26. > :20:28.the normal numbers game to see how many people have turned up for this
:20:29. > :20:34.protest against the government's new labour law. I would say it's a
:20:35. > :20:38.pretty big turnout, but maybe not quite as much as the organisers
:20:39. > :20:45.would have liked. Maybe the bad weather has something to do with it.
:20:46. > :20:49.Most people here are young people. Students, university students, and
:20:50. > :20:54.they say they will be the first in line if this reform goes through.
:20:55. > :20:59.Just to remind you what this government reform is about, it's
:21:00. > :21:05.about a change to the labour code. The government wants to reassure
:21:06. > :21:10.business to take on more staff by removing some of the protection
:21:11. > :21:16.enjoyed by workers up to now. For examples there would be a ceiling on
:21:17. > :21:21.the amount of fines courts could impose on companies in the case of
:21:22. > :21:26.wrongful dismissal, for example. The aim is to combat the country's
:21:27. > :21:30.punishingly high unemployment, but young people are saying that when
:21:31. > :21:35.they hit the jobs market, they will be the first to suffer. They'll be
:21:36. > :21:42.condemned to a life of job insecurity. Precariousness. That's a
:21:43. > :21:44.long way from the idea of social progress which of course is so dear
:21:45. > :21:48.to the French left. A pioneering procedure for treating
:21:49. > :21:50.the leading cause of blindness has been successful in helping
:21:51. > :21:53.children in China to see. Around 20 million people worldwide
:21:54. > :21:55.are blind because of cataracts, which is the clouding
:21:56. > :21:59.of the eye's lens. It's normally treated
:22:00. > :22:01.by implanting a lens, but the new technique activates stem
:22:02. > :22:07.cells in the eye to grow a new one. It was trialled in China
:22:08. > :22:09.amongst 12 children, where the regenerated lens grew
:22:10. > :22:12.to a normal size in eight months. Our health and science reporter,
:22:13. > :22:14.James Gallagher, explains. If you imagine light comes
:22:15. > :22:17.in your eye through the pupil, the little black dot in the middle
:22:18. > :22:20.of your eye and just behind When that becomes cloudy,
:22:21. > :22:24.and it's no longer able to focus the light onto the back of the eye
:22:25. > :22:27.to allow you to see. That's why there are millions
:22:28. > :22:29.of people around the world So the best treatment at the moment
:22:30. > :22:34.is to use ultrasound to break up the lens and then you just wash it
:22:35. > :22:38.out and then you put in an implant. Now that works really
:22:39. > :22:39.well for older people. It's less successful,
:22:40. > :22:41.although still the best thing So the idea here was to try
:22:42. > :22:45.something completely different. So they go in and they remove
:22:46. > :22:50.the cataract, which is that blue bit But what they do is they leave
:22:51. > :22:54.the rest, the outside So they just take it out
:22:55. > :22:57.through a tiny little hole. The thing is, that capsule,
:22:58. > :23:01.the outer surface of the lens, is covered in these regenerative
:23:02. > :23:03.cells which would normally heal minor bits of damage,
:23:04. > :23:06.but actually if, if you keep them intact, then they can repair
:23:07. > :23:08.the entire lens when left That's what they've just
:23:09. > :23:17.done in these children. Indonesians have been treated
:23:18. > :23:19.to a rare solar eclipse - that's when the moon passes
:23:20. > :23:22.in front of the sun, Indonesia was the best country
:23:23. > :23:26.in the world to see the spectacle. People in Belitung had
:23:27. > :23:36.a particularly good view. Foreign and local tourists have
:23:37. > :23:44.flocked to this small island to catch one of the best views of the
:23:45. > :23:53.rare solar eclipse. Cheers of excitement and then silence. You can
:23:54. > :23:58.tell. The shades are different and the colours become different. Even
:23:59. > :24:11.the temperature gets a bit lower. You cannot compare it with something
:24:12. > :24:21.else. It's very special. You see the curl on the diamond. The noise of
:24:22. > :24:29.the sea comes back. It's loud. Before that it's so silent. For many
:24:30. > :24:34.in Indonesia it was deeply spiritual. Across the diverse
:24:35. > :24:41.cultures of this archipelago, there are many myths and beliefs about the
:24:42. > :24:46.solar eclipse. I'm so happy but also frightened. I have mixed feelings. I
:24:47. > :24:49.am frightened by the darkness and I'm scared. It's an omen of
:24:50. > :24:56.something bad happening in the future. Like more natural disaster.
:24:57. > :25:09.But the event has given the island economy a major boost. We already
:25:10. > :25:14.sold out since October last year. Mostly the guests are coming from
:25:15. > :25:18.outside Indonesia. In some places officials have had to find extra
:25:19. > :25:27.space for tourists on boats. People not wanting to miss it. Quite
:25:28. > :25:31.exciting and quite incredible. Once-in-a-lifetime maybe. Scientists
:25:32. > :25:39.have also flocked to Indonesia, using the event to study solar
:25:40. > :25:44.physics. The next one is in 18 months' time in North America.
:25:45. > :25:47.Buckingham Palace has complained to the British press watchdog over a
:25:48. > :25:51.newspaper story claiming Queen Elizabeth supports Britain's except
:25:52. > :25:52.from the European Union. The palace said the Queen remained politically
:25:53. > :25:56.neutral. But for now from me and the rest
:25:57. > :26:00.of the team, goodbye.