hello. i'm david eades with bbc world news. our top stories. another deadly attack in northeast nigeria. this follows two bombings on tuesday in the city of jos which killed more than 100. china and russia agree a huge gas contract in shanghai after a decade of talks on the multibillion dollar deal. the head of the thai army has held talks with political leaders following his imposition of martial law. find out how it's possible to ride the waves when you're miles from sea.

hello. thanks very much for being with us. as rescue workers recover at least 118 bodies after bombings in the nigerian city of jos, there is news now of another deadly attack, this time in the northeast of the country. it's the village of alagarno. it's a village that was raised to the ground. 17 people at least have been killed there. all coming just a day after those two blasts in the city of jos. now, the blast happened about 20 minutes apart from each other. the first was at the terminus market there. then the university of jos teaching hospital. there are fears there may be more bodies still buried under the rubble. as for who did it, well, boko haram, of course, were responsible for the kidnapping of the schoolgirls.

they are the main suspects for these latest attacks. although we've had no word for them at this stage. will ross reports. >> reporter: this area was packed with people. many of the victims were traders selling from the market stalls and their customers. the aim was clearly to kill as many people as possible. just minutes after the first blast, the second bomb was detonated as victims were being taken to the nearby hospital. body parts were strewn across the area. there was panic as the emergency services tried to help the dozens of injured. many had open wounds, fractures and burns. >> i saw the explosion. there was pieces. we run. we left there. >> reporter: although it's not known who carried out the attacks, the islam extremist group knows boko haram has

targeted jos city before bombing churches in what was then seen as an effort to foment religious violence. middle nigeria has been the scene of frequent outbreaks of violence. they're often described as religious clashes but they're in fact competition for land, resousr resources and political power. the twin bombings follow blasts in the capital abuja. the islamist extremists are still holding more than 200 schoolgirls they abducted over five weeks ago. at a recent summit, several western countries pledged to help the nigerian government find the girls. >> it's operating clearly as an al qaeda organization. can best be described as al qaeda in west and central africa. and work together to make sure that we rout out these terrorists. >> reporter: but the violence appears to be out of control with frequent bombings and

incessant attacks in the northeast. where large areas appear virtually off limits to the nigerian military. will ross, bbc news, abuja. >> seeing the pictures from jos which are dreadful enough, can you just fill us in a little bit more on alagarno and what we understand has happened there? >> well, it was an attack that we understand was done by suspected members of the islamic militant group boko haram. they razed down the whole town. when we spoke at that time they were burying their dead. this is a town in northeastern nigeria close to the town chibok where over 200 girls were taken away, kidnapped by members of boko haram over a month ago.

>> it just creates a sense of almost helplessness from the point of view of the government and military to do anything about boko haram at the moment. >> well, i think this is the -- i mean, the view of many nigerians. i think they've been outraged with -- among many nigerians here that the government is unable to curb the violence that is perpetrated by boko haram. if you look at what has been happening, this campaign of bombings taken place, previously here in abuja, the capital of nigeria, on monday. yesterday the twin blasts in jos. a massive blast according to someone who described it as a catastrophe. over 118 people were killed. according to aid workers looking into the rubbles of the building, they expect to find some more people dead. >> of course, this in a city which -- okay, it's not been free from trouble. but the last couple of years have been relatively quiet, haven't they?

>> it has been quiet for a while, jos. jos is well known for violence between ethnic groups and between muslims and christians. because it is actually a dividing line between the predominant muslim north and then the predominant christian south. and jos, because of the struggles there, because of struggles about land, about resources and about politics has been a center or a hub for violence in middle part of nigeria. actually this bombing now has shattered the bid that the -- peace the city has seen over the past few months. whenever something like this happens in jos, attacks follow. people are calling on people. they do understand this is not the fault of residents in the town. even though there's no group

that has claimed this attack, all fingers are pointing to the militant islamic group boko haram. >> seems the case, doesn't it. mansur, thank you very much indeed. the latest from abuja. a crisis meeting between leaders of rival political groups in thailand aimed at resolving the country's long running crisis has come to an end, inconclusively, we're told. the head of the army called the meeting. this is after the declaration of martial law on tuesday. and he has called for another meeting for thursday. let's get the details, as far as there is some, from the bbc jonah fisher. he's at the talks venue. that's the army club in bangkok. inconclusive, jonah, you were saying earlier. that's no surprise. but do we have any more detail? >> reporter: yes. we just had a briefing by the army. perhaps understandably, because they called this meeting. they're keen to put a positive spin on it. we were told the meeting had taken place in a very friendly

atmosphere. and that the army had stressed to all sides that their aim in declaring martial law was to bring peace, normalcy and happiness back to thailand and that the different political parties and different factions who were invited here have been given homework to go back and consult with their own constituencies and then return tomorrow. we're expecting talks to convene again here at the army club at 1:30 tomorrow. once again, they will try to come up with some sort of road map, some sort of process, if you like, to try and bridge the pretty crippling political divide here in thailand. >> the prime minister, jonah, was not present as i understand. how important is it, or not, indeed, that he would be taking part in these talks? >> reporter: well, it's not entirely clear what the status of the acting prime minister is at the moment. yes, he didn't attend the talks. he was invited, almost a last-minute invitation.

instead of coming himself he chose to stay at the commerce ministry and sent four other members of the government to come here and be present for the talks. over the last 24 hours or so, it's been far from clear whether the government still have any influence as to what exactly is happening here in thailand or whether the army are controlling just about everything. for now, the army, it's in their interest to say that the government is still in place. this is not a coup. but whether the government actually has any power, any leverage in terms of what's actually happening at the moment, that's very unclear at the moment. >> jonah, thanks very much indeed. the very latest there from jonah fisher. other news for you now. we'll start in france. the train operator there has discovered rather embarrassingly 2,000 new trains it's ordered, costing more than $20 billion, are simply too wide for many of the platforms in their regional stations. it's a blunder which has already cost the operator around $70

million. there is construction work under way now for hundreds more platforms around the country. the operator of japan's crippled fukushima nuclear plant has started running a ground water bypass system. it's all about trying to reduce the volume of contaminated water flowing into the sea. the plan is meant to stop a daily flow of unpolluted ground water from going under the damaged plant and mixing with radioactive water. egypt ousted president hosni mubarak has been given a jail sentence of three years for embezzlement. his sons have been sentenced to four years each. prosecutors say they stole millions of dollars of public funds. it was money earmarked for the masons of presidential palaces. let's catch up with our correspondent outside the court in cairo. were they able to say where the money went?

>> reporter: well, yes. prosecutors outlined a very detailed case. they had about 200 cases of documents as they say that more than 125 million egyptian pounds, or about $17 million, were sent by the former president hosni mubarak and his family. basically at their whim. they were used to decorate, furnish and expand their own private property empire. that included a lavish palace here in cairo where they live. also a village on the red sea and the family farm. prosecutors say whenever they wanted to acquire anything via furniture, be it installing a new jacuzzi or installing an elevator, in one case even building a new wing on the property, they simply used the private -- the public funds for that purpose. fake receipts were supplied to estates and construction companies and they paid the bill. we had a good look at hosni

mubarak when he came to court today. he was wearing a dark suit. he looked quite somber, but alert. he didn't betray any emotion. his sons were on either side of him. of course, this embezzlement was a family affair. he got the three-year sentence. the sons were sentenced to four years each. his lawyer told us after the verdict that he expected the former president would now be moved from the military hospital where he has been held since last august to prison. he said he would have to begin his prison term before they could start an appeal. of course, this isn't his only legal case. he's also been retried for complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolution. as you may have been able to hear, there has been a very small number, a small number, but a vocal group of mubarak supporters. i would say less than half a dozen. and they've been protesting outside the court. >> orla, thank you very much,

indeed. we've got some news that's coming in the last few minutes really. russia and china have signed a long-awaited gas supply agreement. it's a big deal. we have no details about the actual cost of it. but unofficially it's put up more than $400 billion. let's just analyze that a bit. aaron's with me now. long awaited, certainly. >> yep. >> even more importantly politically now, perhaps, than it would have been six months, a year ago. a big deal. >> it is a big deal. 38 billion cubic meters of gas every single year. you say it's been a long time coming. a decade. this has been in the making for a decade. there's always been sticking points about the price. obviously they've come to an agreement. very important, as you say, very important for russia, to be frank, russia, many will say, has all its economic eggs in one basket. that is energy, basically. they've got a lot of it and it needs buyers. china now -- it's interesting. this would come from the eastern

part of russia. a different gas field to the one that supplies western europe with its gas. they've got to build a new eastern pipeline as well. that's going to take obviously some time. it does mean in some ways, i guess, russia doesn't need to be so dependent on europeans buying its gas. we're in a period of time, as you know, david, right, with the tensions with ukraine and, of course, the subsequent tensions between russia and the rest of europe, many european countries have been trying basically to become less reliant on buying russian gas. it's an interesting scenario at the moment. >> part of it is business is business. the other part, of course, huge strategic importance as well. if you make an alliance with china on this sort of scale. >> china and russia, you know, for russia china is its largest trading partner. i think last year, i was looking at some of the numbers, they've been trading -- i think it's about $90 billion in 2013. so it's all about, yes, closer ties and trading ties, economic ties between russia and china.

but it's interesting because, you know, we've been obviously focused on this -- off the back, again, of the tensions between europe and -- certainly western europe and russia. looking at these individual stories within europe about ways that these countries, european countries, can wean themselves off, if you will, of russian gas. remember, a third of europe's gas basically comes from russia. so as europe tries to wean its way off, it makes you wonder now if russia will sort of go, you know, don't buy our gas. that's not a problem. we've got china. a $400 billion -- >> there's always going to be a market for the energy, isn't there? >> that's a thing. >> they realize they can turn another direction. >> that's very true. >> it's also a reality western europe knows it cannot depend in the way it used to think it could on a short flow of that energy. >> they're worried, if you will, the tensions still, we've seen in the past where russia has turned off the taps over spats

with ukraine, for example. turned off the taps with ukraine and then that has that knock on effect to the rest of europe. a very interesting story. look, the details are still coming out. it's going to be interesting to get an official value. as you mentioned unofficially $400 billion. it's a chunk of change. more details are emerging. i' tweet me. i'll tweet you. @bbcaaron. more on this story and the rest of business on "gmt" in just under an hour's time. >> i can say @bbcdavideads. that's my twitter handle. your remarks, views, on that gas story. stay with us. coming up on bbc world news in a moment, we're going to show you how you can ride the waves up to three meters high, and you can be nowhere near the sea. announ] some come here to build something smarter. ♪ some come here to build something stronger.

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you're watching bbc world news with me, david eades. the latest headlines. twin bombings hit the nigerian city of jos, killing more than 100 people. another 17 people have been killed today in another attack in the northeast. china and russia agree a huge gas contract in shanghai after a decade of talks on what is a multibillion dollar deal. eu countries have promised more assistance to bosnia and serbia as the work of clearing up after the weekend's devastating floods goes on. authorities are warning there is a serious threat of disease. it comes from thousands of rotting animal carcasses in rivers and fields. about a quarter of bosnia's 4 million people are without clean water. both the countries are observing a period of national mourning as more than 40 people died in those floods. officials in pakistan say 32

militants have been killed after fighter jets bombed suspected militant positions in the north of the country close to the border with afghanistan. the authorities say miran shah say important commanders in the insurgency have been among those killed. just a day to go now before the european elections. the former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi has been talking about a variety of things. the parties, his relationship with angela merkel, his fears for the eu. berlusconi is carrying out community service at the moment after being convicted of tax fraud. he told the bbc that the euro could collapse unless there is a radical shakeup. >> translator: we need to radically change the situation in europe. for example, the fact that the

uk is not in the eurozone and we are is a complete disaster. we need radical changes, otherwise the economic situation will force us and other european countries to abandon the euro and go back to our national currencies. the european central bank is supposed to fight inflation. and it needs to become a central bank like the federal reserve. like the bank of england or the bank of japan. what does it need to do? firstly, it needs to guarantee the debts of the euro countries. secondly, to print money when needed for those countries that cannot pay their debts. >> do you have a particular problem with angela merkel? is it true you called her an [ bleep ]?

>> translator: no. i have never had any problems with angela merkel. in 20 years of politics, i have never insulted anyone. and this has been made up by someone who wanted to turn angela against me. i was not an easy person to deal with. and i was quite tough. i had the courage to oppose some of the proposals made by merkel and sarkozy. >> it's unfortunate, isn't it, that as far as so much of the rest of the world is concerned, the reputation you have is all about your private life. it's about corruption and unpaid taxes and bunga bunga parties. i mean, what do you think about that?

>> translator: the bunga bunga accusations were the most amazing things. ridiculous. they manipulated the reality. luckily, i am a strong person and i was able to take it. i want to go down in history as the father of a country. and my legacy a conservative central right government. >> that's italy's former prime minister, silvio berlusconi talking to bbc's jeremy paxman. how about three-meter high waves in the middle of the mountains? it sounds a bit unlikely, doesn't it? thanks to new technology britain's first artificial surfing is due to open in north wales. the waves can be created at the touch of a button. the bbc has been given exclusive access to the prototype being

developed in spain. here's claire marshall. >> reporter: riding the energy of the ocean takes exceptional skill. every surfer has to learn somewhere. so could it be here? on an industrial wasteland in the welsh mountains? >> we've now got permission to break up the concrete. >> reporter: that's the plan now being put into action. work has just started on an inland surf lake. it'll be the first in britain and the first of its type in the world. >> the wave will go in this direction towards the mountains. the machinery turns around. comes back in the following direction. all 300 meters. waves on top. you book your hour online. turn up. get in. >> reporter: they're using revolutionary technology. >> welcome to the prototype. >> reporter: professional surfs

a -- surfers are having a go. the engineering is unique and secret. it's taken a decade to develop. an underwater foil operates like a snowplow, pushing the waves up and out. >> with the shape, we are able to create perfect waves. >> reporter: every time? >> every time. >> reporter: for as long as you like? >> yes. we have a power run of 150 meters. we can build as long as we want. >> reporter: this could even make surfing an olympic sport. you're watching the coach of the british team. >> it's actually coming from the uk. we get inconsistent waves. pretty much it's the time to be able to come and surf a wave every minute. yeah. it's going to be a huge benefit. not just to uk surfers but kind of anybody who wants to improve their surfing anywhere in the world. >> reporter: purists may say the natural soul of surfing is lost by riding a fake wave. but it's fun. and isn't that what it's all about? claire marshall, bbc news,

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i'm david eades with bbc world news. our top stories. twin bombings hit the nigerian city of jos, killing more than 100 people. and 17 more have been killed today in another attack in the northeast of the country. egypt's ousted president hosni mubarak is sentenced to three years in jail for stealing public funds. too wide to ride. france spends billions on 2,000 new trains that don't fit the platforms. ♪

of course, we would bring you a copyright row over the led zeppelin classic "stairway to heaven." hello. thanks very much for joining us. the bodies of at least 118 people have now been recovered from the sites of twin bombings in the central nigerian city of jos. there's been another deadly attack today in the northeastern city of alagarno right up there in the top corner in borno state. 17 people reported dead there. that coming after the two blasts in jos. those blasts coming about 20 minute apart near the city's terminus market and the university of jos teaching hospital.

just to show you exactly where those are. so not very far apart. the fears are that more bodies may still be buried under rubble. boko haram, who were responsible, of course, for kidnapping the schoolgirls from the northeast of the country, remain the main suspects for these latest attacks as well. >> reporter: this area was packed with people. many of the victims were traders selling from the market stalls and their customers. the aim was clearly to kill as many people as possible. just minutes after the first blast, the second bomb was detonated as victims were being taken to the nearby hospital. body parts were skrtrewn across the area. there was panic as the emergency services tried to help the dozens of injured. many had open wounds, fractures and burns. >> i went to get something. then i saw the explosion. there were pieces. they were cutters. the cutters was taking them out. we saw the explosion.

we run. we left there. >> reporter: although it's not known who carried out the attack, the islamist extremist group known as boko haram has targeted jos city before, bombing churches in what was then seen as an effort to foment religious virus. for over a decade the middle belt of nigeria has been the scene of frequent outbreaks of violence. they're often described as religious clashes. but they're in fact rooted in competition for land, resources and political power. the twin bombings followed blasts in the capital abuja as well as a northern city. the islamist extremists are still holding more than 200 schoolgirls they abducted over five weeks ago. at a recent summit, several western countries pledged to help the nigerian government find the girls. >> it's operating clearly as an al qaeda organization. can best be described as al qaeda in west and central africa. we'll work together to make sure

that we rout out these terrorists. >> reporter: but the violence appears to be out of control with frequent bombings and in s incessant attacks in the northeast. where large areas appear virtually off limits to the nigerian military. will ross, bbc news, nigeria. >> mansur, we'll talk about jos in just a moment if we can. let's start with alagarno. how big a place is this? how devastating is the attack? >> well, the attack is devastating because according to a resident, all the houses in that town were razed to the ground. the militants went in last night. it took them over four hours. they burnt down almost everything that is standing in the town. he told us that people fled into the surrounding bushes as they killed 17 people in the town.

they also took -- out of the town and went away with them. they burnt down some of the food stalls which were left which they couldn't carry. >> we understand the attack after attack up in the northeastern corner there, that is boko haram's stronghold territory. jos is a different picture, isn't it? this is right in the heart of the country. has been relatively peaceful, i understand, for the last couple of years? >> yeah, indeed, jos is a different place. it's not in the geopolitical northeastern part of nigeria. it's in the middle belt of nigeria. boko haram for some time has been confined to northeastern nigeria even though they were able in the past to actually come out of the northeast and attack other places like abuja. and now jos. jos has relative peace for some time now. but the twin bombing yesterday has shattered that relative peace. because this is a massive

bombing that has taken place in the town. according to aid agencies, according to the national emergency management agency here in nigeria, 118 people were killed. of course, others were injured. officials were saying they do expect other dead bodies out of the rubbles of the buildings that went down. yesterday they said -- emergency services worked through the night in order to douse the buildings that were on fire because of the bombings that took place yesterday. >> we're running the line that the president, president goodluck jonathan is condemning these latest attacks. but is there any indication that the military is becoming any more responsive or any more successful in dealing with boko haram? >> well, i think, unfortunately, i mean, the military are not doing -- i mean, according to many nigerians here, i think the military are not doing very well in trying to contain the violence.

because if you look at what has happened in northeastern nigeria, the abduction of over 200 girls and still there's no news about the threat that is continuing. even though the president is saying the threat is continuing. yesterday according to him, he gave an order in order to increase the number of troops around the area. but now other places have been affected. on monday carno was attacked. now jos was attacked. everybody is asking the question, where is the next place that's going to be attacked? >> understandably. mansur liman, thanks very much, indeed. russia as signed a long awaited deal to supply china with gas after years of negotiations. no pricing details emerging just yet, but correspondents reckon it's going to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars over the next three decades. the news comes on the second day of a visit to china by president putin. the head of the thai army has been holding talks with the key players in the country's political crisis following tuesday's declaration of martial

law. the outcome of the talks has been described as inconclusive. and the army chief has called for another meeting of thailand's political leaders to take place on thursday. officials in pakistan say 32 militants have been killed after fighter jets bombed suspected militant positions in the north of the country close to the border with afghanistan. senior officials in miran shah say the targets were militant hideouts in the tribal region of north waziristan. they say important commanders in the unsurgeonsy were among those killed. meanwhile india's prime minister elect narendra modi has invited his pakistani counterpart, nawaz sharif, to his inauguration ceremony. mr. sharif was one of several regional heads of government who've been asked to attend the event which takes place next monday. it's thought to be the first such invitation to be offered to a pakistani prime minister. so far there's been no official response from islamabad.

egypt's ousted president hosni mubarak has been given a sentence of three years for embezzlement. his sons have also been sentenced to four years. prosecutors say they stole millions of dollars of public funds. funds earmarked for the maintenance of presidential palaces. with me now is editor of bbc arabic. mohammed, what are they saying the money was actually spent on? >> this case -- a couple of periods between 2003 and 2011. what happened is that hosni mubarak and his sons were using public funds to, you know, refurbish private residences. in cairo and other cities in egypt. and they were doing this at will. actually, the judge today, when he issued his verdict, he had some very harsh words to mubarak and his sons, telling him that instead of protecting public interests, which you were

supposed to do, you set yourself free and your sons without impunity, stealing public money as you would. >> for someone who was only ousted effectively, what, three years ago, not very long ago at all, things have changed very fast in egypt, i think it's fair to say, haven't they, and gone a long way. is there really that much interest as resonance about an issue like this now? >> well, there is interest. but you have to keep in mind that we have another president who's being tried which is mohamed morsi, ousted last year. he's also accused of embezzlement and killing protesters and espionage, some serious charges. so between these two presidential trials and all what's happening on the streets and elections that are coming up in a week's time, i think egyptians have a lot to digest. >> because outside the court there were literally a handful of people making protests. i think they were actually mubarak supporters. but it suggests that on a day

today, people are just getting on with life now. >> when the trial of mubarak started, to ouster him in 2011, there were hundreds of people. there was clashes between families of the people who were killed in the uprising that overthrew him. and bit by bit the attendance or interest of people actually going to courthouse has waned. mohamed, thanks very much, indeed. the french train operator has discovered that hundreds of its new trains ordered at huge expense are just too wide for many of the station platforms in the regions. it's an embarrassing blunder which has already cost the rail operator around $70 million. that's likely to rise, though. construction work has begun on altering hundreds of platforms. our paris correspondent, christian frazier, joins me now. if this was the 1st of april

we'd all know this was a joke. >> yes. very red faces in france today. they ordered hundreds of new trains for the region to try and get people back on to the trains. they're more comfortable. they're more spacious. the problem was that the rail operator had given them measurements for the gap between the platforms which pertain to stations that were built 30 years ago. unfortunately, in the provinces, there are a lot of train stations that are a lot older than that. apparently these new trains that were built by austin and bombardia from canada are only about ten centimeters bigger on each side. miles of platform now have to be adjusted to get these trains in. there are all sorts of questions being asked about the disruption and also, of course, who's going to pay for it. >> i was just going to ask you, who carries the can for this? is there a political repercussion here? >> well, the regions are saying

they're not going to pay for the work that will be have to be done at it stations up at the country. the rail operator, they have said, yes, okay. we did realize a bit too late. under european union rules we do need to modernize these stations anyway. we factored this into our long-term plan. i think the issue is, actually, that the tgv, the main rail network, has been much admired around the world. they've spent a lot of money on it over the years. so getting up and down france and from the big cities across the country, that's pretty straightforward. they've not spent very much money on the regional platforms and regional network. now they're really paying the cost of that. so i think in a way, rfs are right. yes, the platforms do need adjusting. perhaps they didn't bank on adjusting them all at the same time. >> a real ouch. christian, thanks very much, indeed. thanks for being with us here on bbc world news.

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you're watching bbc world news with me, david eades. the latest headlines. twin bombings hit the nigerian city of jos. more than 100 people are killed. there's also been another deadly attack in alagarno. it's a town in the northeast of the country. egypt's ousted president hosni mubarak is sentenced to three years in jail for stealing public funds. with just a day to go before the european elections, the former italian prime minister still vee owe berlusconi have been talking about his fears for the eu itself. he's been talking about a few

other things as well like those bunga bunga parties and his working relationship with the german chancellor angela merkel. mr. berlusconi is carrying community service at the moment after being convicted of tax fraud. he's been speaking to the bbc's jeremy paxman, not at least expressing his fears that the euro could collapse without a radical shakeup. >> translator: we need to radically change the situation in europe. for example, the fact that the uk is not in the eurozone and we are is a complete disaster. szings we need radical changes, otherwise the economic situation will force us and other european countries to abandon the euro and go back to our national currencies. the european central bank is supposed to fight inflation. and it needs to become a central bank like the federal reserve. like the bank of england or the bank of japan.

what does it need to do? firstly, it needs to guarantee the debts of the euro countries. secondly, to print money when needed for those countries that cannot pay their debts. >> do you have a particular problem with angela merkel? is it true you called her an [ bleep ]? >> translator: no. i have never had any problems with angela merkel. in 20 years of politics, i have never insulted anyone. and this has been made up by someone who wanted to turn angela against me. i was not an easy person to deal with. and i was quite tough. i had the courage to oppose some of the proposals made by merkel

and sarkozy. >> it's unfortunate, isn't it, that as far as so much of the rest of the world is concerned, the reputation you have is all about your private life. it's about corruption and unpaid taxes and bunga bunga parties. i mean, what do you think about that? >> translator: the bunga bunga accusations were the most amazing things. ridiculous. they manipulated the reality. luckily, i am a strong person and i was able to take it. i want to go down in history as the father of a country. and my legacy a conservative central right government. to protect the people from a

potential -- >> that's italy's former prime minister, silvio berlusconi you heard him talk about a potential dictator grillo. he's referring to the comedian turned politician. he leads an anti-establishment group known as the five-star movement in italy. it became a force in the country the last general election. took 25% of the vote, in fact. allen johnson has more from rome. >> reporter: meet italy's angry brigade. citizen activists of the five-star movement. their election campaign song rages at an unfair europe. accusing it of helping the rich while it demands sacrifices from the poor. the movement's guiding star, pepe grillo. a comedian turned furious politician. he rails at the eu's waste and bureaucracy. the movement's view of europe echoes its view of italy.

where it has mps in parliament. and sometimes they resort to -- a five-star invasion of the government's benches. the movement sees the entire political establishment as deeply corrupt and failing. here in rome and in brussels. the citizen activists have focused furious attention on all that's wrong with this country's ruling class. >> there is frustration and anger. because of how the system has been -- to this. that's why we have anger and any kind of feelings. but we want to drive these feelings in a positive way. >> reporter: the activists have succeeded in shaking up italy's political system. the weaknesses have also been exposed. critics accuse its leadership of

having an authoritarian streak. they point to the fact that dissidents within the movement's ranks have been booted out. and some argue that the citizen activists are good at pointing out problems, but less good at coming up with solutions. >> they seem to be concentrated on destroying the president and attacking whatever is proposed rather than really sitting down and presenting an organic, articulated agenda on how to move forward. >> reporter: but the movement is riding a wave of anti-europe feeling here. and brussels needs to brace itself for the coming of some italian-styled people power. bbc news, rome. this is tara, the cat. you may remember tara, the hero who saved her family's little boy when he was being attacked by a dog in california. well, tara has now, of course, become a bit of a celebrity in her hometown of bakersfield.

she's been appearing on tv. even starring at sporting events. peter similmons has more. >> reporter: an unexpected honor for an unlikely hero. tara the cat. the newest celebrity in a california town of bakersfield, making a guest appearance at her local minor league baseball team to throw out the first pitch. for her family, it's all been a bit of a whirl. >> she has her own place at the couch. her own spot on the bed. we're having a great time with it all. it's really amazing. >> reporter: this, of course, is what made tara famous. security camera footage of her fighting off a dog which was attacking jeremy, her 4-year-old owner. it's become an internet sensation with more than 25 million people viewing it since it was posted online. so to the pitch. tara was allowed to use some specially made cat friendly equipment. or, if you like, a ball on a string. but still failed to impress. instead, it fell to jeremy. showing his cat savior how it should be done not once, but

twice. jeremy's parents say he's suffering no ill effects from the dog attack. they also say they're having to get used to being media celebrities. all courtesy of their cat. peter simmons, bbc news. now, the rock band led zeppelin is in a legal battle over its famous 1971 song "stairway to heaven." there been allegations the opening to the song is based on another tune by another band. they say he should be given a writing credit on the song which appeared on the album. first let's have a listen to what the argument is all about. here's a snatch of led zeppelin's "stairway to heaven." ♪ >> thought you might have recognized that. here is randy california. ♪

>> and here is our entertainment reporter. natalie, you can't help but notice that there is -- there is a case to answer here, one would think. >> yes. i think these cases do come up quite a lot. but this goes back to the late 1960s. randy california was a harrisburg band called spirits. an instrumental track they recorded in 1968. >> and it was published. >> yeah. "stairway to heaven" came out in 1971. the lines get blurred a bit here because led zeppelin actually opened up for the band spirit on their first tour of north america in 1968 and 1969. they would have been aware of this track. and, yeah, it's an argument that's been around for quite a long time, really. >> yeah. randy must have been aware of this for many, many years. so why jump up and down now?

>> yes. well, it's interesting, too, because randy himself actually died in 1997. so this is a case that's being brought by people representing him and some of the family members of the band spirit. the timing is interesting because on one hand you could argue because "stairway to heaven" has become such a rock classic, that they want to give the respect, perhaps, to where this riff originated. but also led zeppelin are remastering and reissuing their entire back catalog. so starting next month the first three albums are coming out. after that we will get "led zeppelin iv" which is where "stairway to heaven" came from. a lot of money to be made. it's estimated "stairway to heaven" has made nearly $600 million since its release in 1971. the royalties from that is a significant chunk. we don't know exactly how much the royalties break down. it's usually about 10% of the

sales of the track come down to royalties. that then gets split between various people. when you're talking about large sums of money it's nothing to be sniffed at. >> that's true, natalie. probably worth fighting for. thanks very much, indeed. thank you for joining us here on bbc world news. ♪ rejoice... for you have entered the promised land of accomodation. ♪ booking.com booking.yeah!

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