the latest headlines... the us president has accused his predecessor of wiretapping his phone a month before his election. a spokesman for barack obama denies the allegations. the centre—right candidate in the french presidential election is fighting this weekend to stay in the race. he is embroiled in a corruption scandal, police have searched his homes. malaysia says the north korean ambassador must leave the country. the two nations have fallen out after the death of the strange half brother of the north korea leader. sinn fein are celebrating their best ever showing in elections to the northern ireland assembly. with all the votes counted, they have won 27 seats, one behind the pro—british democratic unionist. gerry adams described it asa unionist. gerry adams described it as a watershed election. coming up

atiopm, as a watershed election. coming up at 10pm, kate silverton has the full round—up of the news. first, our world. cambodian music plays a0 years ago, cambodia experienced a genocide of unimaginable proportions. two million people died. now a new film directed by hollywood superstar angelina jolie has won the backing of the cambodian establishment. the presence of the cambodian royal family at the movie's premiere, a stamp of approval for a film about the genocide that has never happened before, a significant acknowledgement that there needs to be more public discussion about the events of that time. i hope this doesn't bring up hatred, i hope it doesn't bring up blame,

i hope itjust brings up discussion and i hope that the people of this country are proud when they see it because they see what they survived. on the banks of the mekong river bursts of colour, the sound of laughter. this is phnom penh today, full of life, bustling, families together, young and old. seeing all this it is hard to imagine thatjust four decades ago all seemed lost, destroyed.

in 1975, the khmer rouge, a radical communist movement, took power, forcing millions from the cities into the countryside. this was their year zero, an attempt to create a walled utopia. it was easy to find yourself an enemy of angkor, as they called themselves. practising religion, showing emotions or even wearing colour could be a death sentence. in four years over two million people were killed, a quarter of the population. in 1979, weakened by infighting, the khmer rouge were driven

from power by invading troops from neighbouring vietnam. action! screaming a0 years later, a new film about those times, first they killed my father is breaking new ground. there have been films made about the genocide before, but not like this. it is funded by one of the world's biggest content distributors, netflix, for a global audience. but it's filmed entirely in cambodia with cambodian actors in the khmer language. why? because it's directed by hollywood superstar angelina jolie. she has had a deep connection with this country for almost 20 years since she first made a film here. it is where she adopted her first

child, a cambodian boy. she has even been given cambodian citizenship. i thought what story do i feel is really important to tell? i felt that this war that happened a0 years ago and what happened to these people was not properly understood and not just for the world, but for the people of the country. i felt that i wanted them to be able to reflect on it in a way that they could absorb. this film is graphic, detailed and personal. it is based on the true story of loung ung, who was five years old when the brutal rule of the khmer rouge began. she managed to survive but her mother, father and two of her siblings did not.

and in a country where almost every family suffered under the regime, the film—makers hope this will resonate and encourage people to speak more freely about their deep, personal pain. right in the centre of the capital, tuol sleng, also known as $21, was a high school that became a prison. inmates were stripped, suffocated, interrogated, beaten and electrocuted here. now it is a museum. foreign tourists from all over the world come here to learn. but you don't see many cambodians here. some of the local people i've spoken to say they don't want to be reminded of what happened here. there are thousands of pictures taken of each

prisoner as they arrived. each of them would have had families, a life and this is the only way we can now remember them. over 12,000 people are estimated to have come through these doors. only a handful left again. i think of all the photographs, it is the ones where they are smiling which make me feel most sick because we now know what happened to them. they would have had some idea of what would happen to them. it just doesn't fit what's actually going on in this place, or what went on. they just look happy. thank you, lady, thank you. it is so good to see you.

chun lei did survive s21. at 86 he is one of the last still alive. he comes back here every day to share his story with one person at a time. like so many others, he was accused of being a spy for the americans. as a mechanic he was useful to the khmer rouge and they kept him alive, just barely. he takes me to see his cell where he was known as number 22. the scars are still visible. he was lucky to survive. now he has made it his duty

to repeat his story over and over as a tribute to the thousands who didn't. thank you, thank you. he wants to make sure every single person who walks through the doors of the museum understand what happened here. rithy panh was just 11 years old when the khmer rouge swept to power. he lost his whole family. he is now arguably the country's most influential artist and produced angelina jolie's new film. the 0scar nominated film—maker says this is a country that has trouble dealing with the past. and there are so many ghosts in this country. 0n the outskirts of the capital the anonymous dead. they call them the killing fields and these mass graves exist all over the country. 0ne favourite mantra of the regime

was "to keep you is no benefit, to destroy you no loss". some victims were shot dead, others buried alive, and children were beaten to death. this is yet another mass grave where more than a hundred victims were killed, mostly women and children. and this over here it is the most unimaginable, but they had a killing tree and now there are just these colourful beads, these offerings to the victims. so what has been done to bring those responsible to justice? a un—backed court was set up in cambodia. hundreds of millions have been spent so far,

though only four officials have gone to trial, a deliberate decision to only try those at the very top of the khmer rouge. further funding for the tribunals is now in jeopardy and it is unlikely there will be any more prosecutions. but some of those who suffered say a tribunal is not the only way to heal. they say what is needed is to keep speaking up. this is the biggest film premiere this country has ever seen and the presence of a superstar like angelina jolie has brought the world's attention here. the film's screening at one of cambodia's world—famous ancient temples is a deliberate display of the approval it has at the highest level of cambodian society. the presence of the king and queen of cambodia is highly symbolic. this kind of domestic support

and backing of a film about the genocide has never happened before here in cambodia. for angelina jolie this is a passion project. this film is in a way my way of saying thank you to cambodia. because, you see, cambodia changed my life. the film is being screened in cambodia seven months before it is released internationally. schoolchildren and victims sit side—by—side, a generation who know the story all too well, and a new generation willing to hear it. so i hope this doesn't bring up hatred, i hope it doesn't bring up blame, i hope itjust brings up discussion and i hope that the people of this country are proud when they see it because they see what they have

survived and i think it sheds light on what it is to be cambodian, a lot of the beauty of love for the family. you think this nation is ready for that? i hope so. yes, i do. the hope is this film will make it easier for the country to talk about its past. some have already found the courage to do so. pratt korn lives in the countryside. his weathered face shows the hard life he has lived. the 65—year—old now sells bananas for a living. when it comes time for talking about his past, though, he is ashamed to be seen. he wants to meet us in a remote pagoda.

before he was a farmer he was a torturer at the infamous tuol sleng prison that i visited in phnom penh. what was going through your mind? so there was screaming, begging, asking you to stop? did you feel guilty?

during that time he did not consider he was guilty. and now? now he really knows. do you suffer? it has been a0 years since the events he describes

and he calls himself a victim as well. but does he think he should have been punished? pratt korn tells me the past haunts him, he feels shame every day. he says he often talks to his children about his past, but it is difficult for them to believe that their 6a—year—old father, now grandfather, could have committed the crimes he did. after the film premiere, angelina jolie has come to hear

from people who have seen the movie. she listens as one by one they speak. the old share their stories, a lifetime of emotion is released. i realise how difficult it is for them to open up. the pain is still so present, like it happened yesterday. how do you think this film will help the younger generation when you hear her speaking you see her tears and pain?

what do you feel your responsibility is? what is your reaction? well, to that question my responsibility would be to pass it on to a way longer generation and to show them what the devastation was, the struggle they have been through, the pain, in orderfor that to avoid the next one that might happen. do you think it is hard for them to open up? as a society cambodians don't like to talk about their feelings or the pain. do you think that it is difficult for them to talk to the younger people about what has happened to them? in my opinion i don't think they feel they don't want to talk. they really want to talk, they really want to reveal what they have been through, but the problem is how the listener responds to them. for many cambodians this is a first, to finally be speaking to strangers

about their private, painful memories. the classical apsara dance. each move a symbol of the past, present and future. it goes back thousands of years to angkorian era, a mixture of hindu and buddhist mythology. in the past it was only ever taught at the royal courts. but the dance almost vanished under the khmer rouge and only a few of those who knew the art survived. now it is slowly making a comeback with a new generation keen to revive the past. another thing almost

lost is being restored, all the more precious for having been saved. the many cambodians i have met and spoken to say they are slowly restoring pride in their culture and finding strength in their survival. this nation's people are clearly still haunted by the events of a0 years ago and are still looking for a way to heal. i think they will always search for answers, and need to remember. but they don't want the brutality of the past and the need to remember it to define them. hello, thank you forjoining me. we

are trying to give you a sense of what is going on in the next few days and a sense of what is likely to be going on as far at head as the forthcoming weekend. 0ver to be going on as far at head as the forthcoming weekend. over the next few days, the jet stream powers areas of low pressure towards the british isles. there is no great meander in the jet at the moment, it isa meander in the jet at the moment, it is a direct line from what is going on across eastern usa to assess in the british isles. when we get that setup, it is that time of year where we keep unsettled weather, blustery winds and spells of rain, quite significant rain. the first man effects bash manifests across the south of england on sunday, it is on

the move so it gradually drives towards the midlands and east anglia and the south—east with blustery showers behind. 50 or 60 mile an hour gusts. it is a much improved picture across scotland, northern ireland and the north of england. some sunshine and persistent rain largely saved for the shetland isles. as that system drifts away, it makes room for another one, the first part of monday, a glancing blow into the south—west corner but in its own rights that will be another spell of rather wet and windy fair, monday elsewhere and in between sort of day, not an awful lot going on, dry weather, brightness and the bulk of the showers across the northern and north—western parts of scotland and northern ireland. the isobars start a ridge from monday into tuesday, more settled conditions, much of it comes overnight, a chilly night, and

we look towards the atlantic to see the next spell of pretty wet weather piling into wards northern ireland, and eventually the western fringes of scotla nd and eventually the western fringes of scotland and wales with the best of scotland and wales with the best of the weather to be found through tuesday towards the east. the fronts come to get you here. at least the frontal systems clear away for the most pa rt frontal systems clear away for the most part in the north sea and the english channel although it is a close run thing, still a lot of cloud on wednesday. further north, low— pressure cloud on wednesday. further north, low—pressure not i million cloud on wednesday. further north, low—pressure noti million mild away. strong winds across scotland, gale force winds and blustery day elsewhere. the latter stages of next week, some uncertainty about the overall message but we suspect as i intimated, the jet stream will fire low— pressure intimated, the jet stream will fire low—pressure close by to north—western quarter of the british isles with high pressure trying to hang on in the south—west. as far

ahead as next weekend, this could be the scenario, low close by to denmark, high pressure in the south leaving us with a north or north westerly flow, never a warm direction at this time of year. we could have low—pressure close by to the english channel with high—pressure north suggesting an east or north—easterly magellan, never a warm direction and that is a nuance oi’ never a warm direction and that is a nuance or subtlety but it means whichever model wins, it will turn colder, a windy week and often really quite unsettled. bye—bye.