tv BBC World News PBS November 12, 2010 2:33pm-3:00pm PST
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in the month -- in the morning. no one knows what aung san suu kyi will do when she is free. she has refused to back down on her demands for justice and democracy for the people of burma. she was released briefly in 1995, but again spoken out and was put back in detention. it could happen all over again. elections a week ago, won easily by the ruling military, have been condemned as a sham. burmese generals hope that the release of aung san suu kyi may divert attention from the recent polls audra le -- recent polls. >> [inaudible] >> the government has, again, made it clear today that they
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will not tolerate dissent. aung san suu kyi is deeply revered by her people. she is -- but many burmese, particularly the young, think her uncompromising approach will not work and maybe now it is time for a different, if less high principled way to secure freedom. >> the united nations has appealed for $164 million to attack the outbreak of cholera in haiti. and there is fear the epidemic will run out of control. in this -- in the capitol this week, infection rates have increased. a to 200,000 are a risk of contracting the disease. in new york, our correspondent has just returned from haiti. what do you make of it? >> i was there on tuesday and what i'm being told now by doctors at the clinic i was out
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on tuesday is that they are announcing seven times as many cases that i was seen -- that i was seen just three days ago. patients are overflowing the hospital. doctors are close to being overwhelmed. doctors without borders are saying they will have to treat patients on the streets soon because they just do not have the space. it has turned into a humanitarian emergency. the second in haiti in the space of a year. and what has happened to this earthquake ravaged nation is that floods have spread this waterborne disease even more widely across the country. >> given the situation you have just described, what would the money, even $164 million, do? >> it would bring in supplies like rehydration fluids. it could bring in water per vacation equipment.
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-- water purification equipment. people are having to use the streets as toilets in places where they do not have them. and without proper toilets and a source of water that is not contaminated, it is going to be difficult to stop the disease from spreading. it is spread by infected feces and infected water and infected food. unless you can give people a proper clean water supply and toilets, it is very difficult to stop it from spreading. >> i know you have very good contacts from the medics there. are they hopeful that they could stop it? >> the people i have been talking to think that the infection is going to peak sometime next week. that the're hoping is public education campaign in port-au-prince telling people about the importance of hand washing, about the importance of not cooking with water that could be contaminated, they are earthquakehat the
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survivor cans are better equipped than the slums. you do have cholera treatment centers and earthquake survivor centers. they're hoping to stop the spread of the disease. but if it spread so quickly that it outstrips the resources available to treat it, clearly, that is a problem. >> thank you very much for that. let's bring you more of the main news. briefly, the russian president has confirmed that a russian double agent help the americans break up a big surprise -- a big spy ring in june. he said he was aware of this when the scandal broke. he has called for an internal investigation and lessons to be learned. it led to the largest spy swap between the two countries since the end of the cold war. former israeli president ariel sharon has been in a coma for the past four years. he has been taken from hospital to his family home at the request of relatives.
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he suffered a stroke in 2006. medical staff describe his condition as vegetative, but stable former liberian president charles taylor, his trial has been adjourned until next february. and he is accused of backing the rebels that caused widespread atrocities. the world's major economies are still struggling to reach any substantial deal. tensions have been high at the u.s. accuses china of keeping currency artificially low to keep its exports cheaper. they did agree on new guidelines on currency and global trade. >> not so long ago there would have been eight leaders in this photo, seven of them from north america or europe. the financial crisis has changed all that. one big change america cannot
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always get its way. president obama wants other countries, especially china, to play their part in a more balanced " -- a global growth by letting their currencies strengthen against the dollar and buying more u.s. goods. the chinese move further in that direction in this meeting, but on their own terms. they're also doing it at their own pace. >> slowly, slowly, china is moving into a position of actually increasing domestic consumption, rebalancing its economy, and the g-20 is a helpful marker in that progress. i always said it would not vero, but i think is good and steady progress. >> some said the president had been weakened by a loose monetary policies and that election results. he had a simpler explanation. >> it was not any easier to talk about currency when i had just been elected and my poll numbers were at 65% then it is now.
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it was hard now -- it was hard then and it is hard now. it is because this involves the interests of countries and not all of these will be resolved easily. >> no one did expect a comprehensive agreement here. there probably was not one to be had. but the debate over currency seemed to reflect a broader shift. at the foot -- is the first g-27 that has been posted outside of the old club of -- it is the first and g-20 summit that has been hosted outside of the old club of g-eight nations. it covered a whole range of issues, economic development, and even the emerging economies, the fast-growing asian ones in begin there. -- in particular. asian economies pushed hard to get a new assault consensus on the development into the final communique.
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>> those here, the president of south korea, was explicit in what he said today. there have been complaints about the one-size-fits-all approach that has come from washington, the international monetary fund and so on. it was incredible that he said that. and there can be a different way. perhaps there is something other countries can do going forward. >> and in london, they like to say that the g-20 save the world. the seoul meeting was probably never going to cut -- to match that. it sent a powerful message that the old balance of power is gone for good. >> rolls-royce shares are on the rise on the company's announcement that it has identified a turbine components that was because of that last week's engine blowout. the british firm said it will now work with and -- with customers to replace the module
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the company admits it will cause it to miss its full year profit target, but only slightly lower than forecast. in august from a plane from the british airline bmi banks steeply on its own and failed to respond to pilot commands for several minutes. cockpit displays went blank. aviation authorities have been concerned for years about unexplained electrical glitches. 20 people were killed by thursday's truck bomb and many more were injured. it almost completely destroyed a police compound in a high- security zone. offices surrounding it remained closed today. do stay with us, if you can. still to come for you, they have provided the foundation for the rule of law on the world. now it is time to mark the magna
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carta's anniversary. >> first, for the 16th year, the asian games are under way in southern china. this is the second largest sporting event in the world after the summary olympics. there are 53 venues, 12 of them built from scratch. >> confident, creative china on display tonight. a riverside spectacular to open the asian games. where else in the world can you see a show like this? so big, ambitious, so expensive. few ordinary chinese got close, of course. security is a big concern. but they managed as they could to catch a glimpse. and of the city center, we found fans. >> of these asian games make us feel that our country is more
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powerful than other countries. >> more powerful? >> yes, more powerful. >> it is an opportunity for china's leaders to show the people how far they have come. it helps to reinforce the message that this is now a modern, prosperous nation, a giant in asia. china will win the most medals here. it is a sporting superpower. these games are a chance to test young athletes. opening night went off without a hitch. bbc news. >> i just briefly, is strike closed most of the cultural attractions on friday. it is a protest against government plans to cut nearly $400 million from the culture
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budget over three years. the latest headlines for you this hour on bbc world news. supporters from burma's pro- democracy leader aung san suu macy released soon. and $164 million is what the u.n. is calling for to fight cholera in haiti. some legal of bytes for aung san suu kyi. what do you make of this? >> you pretty much have all of the facts, just presented in your segment. we know that she is scheduled to be released from house arrest. expires under burmese law on saturday. but up to now there is only speculation as to what will happen. her domestic lawyer has not been able to speak to us in the past 48 hours.
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we have no idea if the police convoy decane to arouse on friday did, indeed, -- that came to her house on friday did, indeed, deliver a document saying she would be released or not. >> there could be conditions that she cannot accept. >> that is entirely possible. her lawyer reported that she would not accept any conditions upon her release. that could be what might happen. it is unclear what will happen. she has been at this for the last 15 of the 21 years, under house arrest. she knows this regime quite well. >> even if she is free, almost anything she says or does could see her put back in prison. >> that is absolutely right. more important, she has been freed in the last 21 -- she has been freed before in the last 21 years and nothing in the country
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has changed. in fact, things have gotten worse. even if she is free, it could be a first step on the proverbial thousand mile journey, but that is about it. there is nothing the regime is doing that to just any softening of their views or even willingness to negotiate with her. in fact, we have seen them be unwilling to bend even one iota. the most recent elections show their role in the country for the foreseeable future. >> how relevant to you feel that she is? philosophically, clearly, she is. politically, is she any more? >> i think that she is and the fact that the regime continues to detainer is probably the best evidence that she continues to be relevant. -- to detain her is probably the best evidence that she continues to be relevant. she has a popular legitimacy that the generals have craved.
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but the generals ordered that they win at least 80% of the seats in parliament themselves in this fraudulent election to match what the allies did before. she obviously remains deeply relevant and i think it is fair to say that they are scared of her. if she was turning out tens of thousands of crowds everywhere she went the last time she was released. whether or not she is in this new government is irrelevant in terms of her political relevance. >> we will see. here in britain, celebrations have begun to celebrate one of the earliest examples of the bill of rights was signed, the magna carta. >> on a jaunt -- gently soaking hillside overlooking the meadows of and need, the procession to start the 800th celebration of
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the senate -- of the ceiling of the magna carta. it was the first key document establishing the rule of law in england. and as the most senior civil judge explained to me this morning, it was a landmark moment. >> these moments in history just capture people's imaginations. it has captured people's imagination throughout the past 800 years. >> it is held in a cathedral in a storage box and kept away from bright light. >> this is the best of the four original copies of the magna carta dating from 1215 itself. it is difficult to read because of the tiny screen, but the message is clear. it is all about the rights and freedoms of the individuals.
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clauses 39 and 47 no one should be imprisoned it said by lawful judgment and -- clauses 39 and 40 say that no one should be imprisoned except by lawful judgment. king john's rebellious barons might be surprised to think that the freedom they fought for my now apply to everyone and not just the aristocracy. >> across the occupied west bank, palestinian farmers are gathering for the olive harvest. for many, this is the main source of income, especially for those prevented from working in israel. the palestinians claim their groves are being attacked by jewish settlers. they say they want to drive them off their land and climate for themselves. -- claim it for themselves. >> this should be the best time of year for these west bank
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farmers. the days are cooling off and the olives are ripe. this from ken french -- can fetch an excellent price. -- this fruit can fetch an excellent price. when they arrive in their gross to start picking, this is what many farmers found. dozens of branches deliberately broken off. no one saw who did this, but suspicion immediately falls on the nearby jewish settlers. >> when these palestinian farmers arrived here this morning, they found out that not only many of their trees had been damaged, but they also found a stable to almost every single olive tree, this. it is a page from the koran and it is a passage that talks of the israelites escaping from egypt and coming from -- coming to the promised land. >> the palestinian farmers say the message that jewish settlers are sending is clear. >> what do they want from us?
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>> on a nearby building, graffiti has been sprayed in hebrew. "arabs out" agreed to. and inside, "death to the arabs." and nearby journalists came to see the damage for himself. >> it is not the way of our community. i do not know could have done this. but this is jewish land. >> according to international law, this is not jewish land. and claims that the settlers are innocent seem to be contradicted by this video of than stealing olives from palestinian trees. -- of them stealing olives from palestinian trees. driving away from another jewish
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settlement, he found this. ross sewage from a nearby settlement pouring down to a palestinian -- raw sewage from a nearby settlement pouring down to a palestinian field, killing the olive trees. >> [unintelligible] >>, ultimately, this is not about all of trees. this is a struggle for land between palestinian farmers who have lived on it for centuries and jewish settlers who believe it has been given by god to them. >> we broke this 24 hours ago, but it is too good not to return to. maybe you should have a poke around your attic of the weekend. a brother and sister caring for their parents' suburban home in britain came across a chinese vase they thought might be good at auction. they are now better off by $17 million. the auction house is in shock.
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>> it is a beautiful, ornate. but it had been cleared out of a bungalow in northwest london. the family thought it was only worth about 800 pounds. the staff decided to have a closer look. >> when the auctioneers realize they had something rather special, they advertised it and thought, maybe it could go for more than $1 million. >> that 1 million pounds was a serious underestimate. >> of the bidding is now $17 million, ladies and gentlemen. 22 million pounds. >> it was the most amazing thing i've ever witnessed. i come to this auction house on a lot. i see things like 20 pounds, things like that.
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>> when the hammer fell, the place erupted. >> 43 million pounds, sold. [applause] >> that means the buyer has to pay another 20% premium on top of that. it is the most extraordinary price. and it really is. >> but it is ewes fit for a palace. that is when the british and french destroyed the old summer palace in beijing that led to vases leadingbasi china. -- leaving china. >> it has all of these different techniques. the only place you'll ever see them, really, is with your nose up against the glass. >> a market now fueled by
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national pride and china's super rich. >> the classical music composer henry meretski has died at the age of 76. -- henry goretzsky has died at the age of 76. the recording of his symphony of sorrowful songs about motherhood and the pain of war had become a worldwide success in the early 1990's. it sold more than 1 million copies. an exceptional figure in cosco music by a contemporary composer. -- classical music by a contemporary composer. just briefly, supporters gathering outside the home of aung san suu kyi. there are reports that she may be released. thank you for joining us. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the
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top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. ♪ >> union bank offers unique insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you?
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>> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall. >> o, that this too, too solid flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center. >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. >> it is closer than any seat in the house, no matter where you call home. >> the top of the world, and i'm there, i'm home. >> pbs -- the great american stage that fits in every living room. your support of pbs brings the arts home. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.
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