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>> at least 300 people are killed in a stampede at a festival in cambodia. despite protests, the irish prime minister says he will not step down, and the austerity measure must go through. >> the biggest vote of confidence that can be given by this country at this time is to pass this budget. >> on trial, accused of war crimes, the former vice president of the democratic republic of congo. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers in america on pbs and elsewhere around the world. the view of a senior nato official may surprise you. to hip hop.p

a star has discovered his jewish heritage. hello to you. at least 300 from cambodia, many of them women, have died and a stampede in a festival. many had gathered for what of the most important celebrations of the year, but something caused the craft hispanic -- the crowd to panic, and many people were trampled or fell into the water. we have this report. >> relatives a desperate for news. the cambodian and medical support is overwhelmed. the victims were all festival

goers, crashed during a stampede during a festival to mark the end of the rainy season. it is not clear what started it, but what is is becoming clear is that most of the death were women, and they were caught on the river i meant that runs through the capital. many were suffocated, some falling off a bridge. >> the celebration, just people being joyful, and then there was hysteria, and then they were jumping off of the bridge, into a water cesspool, >> the prime minister has ordered an investigation, calling it the biggest tragedy that country has suffered since the murderous regime of pol pot.

bbc news. >> and that story, of course, still developing. you can get the latest on our website, bbc.com/news. we will have more on what may have caused all of this. the irish prime minister has resisted public and political pressure and has refused to resign, even though part of his coalition has withdrawn support. as the financial crisis intensified, he said he will call an early general election. there is now an international multibillion-dollar bailout. prime minister brian cowen. >> we want to facilitate the passage of these measures in the uniquely serious circumstances in which we find ourselves. the political and financial stability of the state's

warrants us no rest. >> one party has declared a decision to leave the ruling coalition, and there have been protests outside the finance ministry to demonstrate the handling of the economy, and we have this report. >> the irish crisis today. at the gates of the irish parliament, demonstrators tried to stage a sit-down protest. this may have been a political stunt, but there is genuine anger across the country, as ireland has gone from boom to bust in just three years. final details of the multibillion-dollar euro rescue package for ireland have yet to be worked out, but the shape of

the deal is already clear. >> it needs quite an amount of assistance. we will restore confidence and encourage people to bring the money back into the irish economy. >> the emergency aid is coming from the international monetary fund and the european union. the closest neighbor to ireland is also helping out. the u.k. is offering a substantial loan. but the irish will also have to make their own savings. 15 billion euros in the next four years. 20,000 public-sector jobs are expected to be cut. taxes are expected to rise. welfare payments will be reduced. even the minimum wage is likely to go down. the economic turmoil has now sparked a political issue, with the junior partner in the ruling

coalition saying that they want an election. >> we have now reached a point where the irish people need certainty to take them beyond the coming two months. we believed it is time to pick a date for a general election in the second half of january 2011. >> but the senior party in the coalition disagrees. >> as far as the government is concerned, all of our energies must be focused on passing the budget, and that is what is getting international interest, and that is what has to be done. >> ireland is the laughing stock of europe now. for the last 10 years, thinking everything was fine, and now the imf has to come in and do what the irish government has failed to do. >> ireland is in the middle of

the economic and political storm. bbc news, dublin. >> more top stories, severe flash flooding has almost submerged a town. power supplies and transport has been disrupted, and rescuers are trying to help the frightened people. some are told to stay home and not risk going to school due to fear of landslides. and a comment by a japanese minister has cost him his job, in he resigned after joking with supporters that his job was "easy." and 29 miners who have been trapped since sunday have been rescued. the drained about 4000 cubic meters of water to make the rescue mission possible. emergency workers are still trying to rescue a group of trapped miners in new zealand.

they say they are almost driven into the mine shaft, but they have cautioned that some of the men may already be dead. a combination of rockfall, dangerous gas, and other items were there. our reporter is there. >> there has been no content with the miners who have been trapped in the explosion. there was a potentially fatal combination of toxic gas and intense heat, and it has prevented rescue teams for -- from searching for the lost colleagues. the police officer in charge says progress has been made, and he is optimistic about finding the man alive. -- the men alive. >> we are still optimistic, but we have an all out plan. there is possible loss of life as a result.

>> for more than three days, relatives have been waiting and hoping, and among the missing are two from britain. when 25-year-old man from st. andrews, due to marry his fiancee. his colleague, from perth, graduated two years ago. there was a deep tunnel drilled into the hillside into the ranges in new zealand. the trapped men are thought to be more than two kilometers inside. there is fresh air, emergency supplies of oxygen are there. officials are drilling a 15- centimeter-wide bore hole. they are also preparing to send in military robot to see if it is safe for rescue teams to finally begin their search for

their missing colleagues. pictures of some of the missing miners have been released. they are aged between 17 and 62, and the youngest was on his first day as a miner what happened. >> the international criminal court has been presented with its most high-profile defendant since it began its work eight years ago. jean-pierre bemba faces charges for what was done in an african republic. we have this report from la hague. >> from the outset of this trial, the prosecutors are rying to show that bemba's responsibility was paramount and that he used rape as a weapon of war.

it is said that unspeakable crimes were committed from -- by his forces when they entered the republic to help the president put down a coup attempt. >> one of the poorest countries of the world. the massive rapes were not just sexually motivated. they were crimes of domination

women but also directed at men without authority. >> jean-pierre bemba has said he is not guilty. it is said that he gave his forces license to attack civilians. soon after these events allegedly occurred, bemba stood unsuccessfully for the presidency, but by 2008, he was in exile in brussels, where he was arrested, and then he was handed over to the international criminal court. more than 700 victims are being allowed to take part in this process to try mr. bemba, and several hundred more have asked to do so. some of the victims said they were still traumatized, and this trial was a way to break the silence and give them a voice. bbc news, in the hague. >> this is "bbc world news." stay with us if you can. anti-semitic messages being taught to muslim children.

first though, 10 men from somalia are on trial in germany, accused of piracy, a charge of bordering a container ship. they recaptured the hijacked ship after an exchange of gunfire. from berlin, our correspondent reports. >> normally, pirates do not come this close to the law, but in april, a patrol happened to be near a container ship that had just been snatched off the coast of somalia. the dutch marines boarded the vessel and confronted the pirates. eye's view.ldier's the camera is on the military helmet. the soldier moves his head from side to side, searching for danger. the crew of the ship had locked themselves in a prearranged safe room when the ship was attacked. seven months on, the men arrested are standing trial.

it was a german vessel, so the alleged pirates were handed over to the german authorities. this is the first piracy trial in the port of hamburg for 400 years, when the guilty were beheaded. now, it is a maximum 15 years in jail. most pirates get away with it. many millions in ransom are paid to free ships that have been taken. but catching more pirates red handed and putting them in court might be a better deterrent. it is just that is hardly ever happens. bbc news, berlin. >> and that story, just one, you can watch the news unfold on bbcnews.com. war on the website is also about our top story, about the 300 people killed in the stampede in cambodia.

-- more on the website. the latest headlines 41 "bbc world news" this hour. in cambodia, at least 300 people dead after a stampede in the capital of phnom penh. the irish prime minister has refused to step down, but he says he will call a general election in january. now, the afghan capital was less dangerous than london or new york, a startling claim from an envoy in afghanistan. it was told to the bbc that in afghanistan, the children go about their lives safely. another described it as the worst place in the world to be a child. >> images of the conflict between insurgent forces, nato, and afghan allies can

inevitably leave the impression that afghanistan is caught up in a momentous of violence, and the number of civilians rose, with child casualties up 55%. against that background, the comments from the top nato representative have caused surprise, and to some, concern. >> there are actually few of those bombs. the children are probably safer here than in london or new york. most children go about their lives in safety. it is a very family-oriented society. >> save the children and others have called the comments misleading. >> i do not think that is very helpful. children in afghanistan are very vulnerable. thousands died last year. many other comedy hundred 50 per day, died from things like diarrhea and pneumonia -- many

others, 850 per day, dieye. >> 10 of the 365 districts allegedly have the most violence, and children are too often the victims, but in cities like a bull, with the security is improved, and -- in cities likable -- in cities like kabul, where security is improved, the numbers are better. bbc news. >> a bbc investigation has uncovered evidence that some british moslem schools are using saudi arabia and textbooks about anti-semitic and homophobic content. it teaches children as young as 6.

this report, a warning, but does include some strong language. >> a network of more than it saudi students teaching muslim children up to the age of 18 on the evenings and weekends. we wanted to find out what they were being taught. we send a young saudi researcher undercover into the school. he asked for and obtained the books, part of the saudi national curriculum for teaching 12 and 13-year-olds. >> they also say here that the jews -- >> we obtained all 12 years of the saudi curriculum, including diagrams about the punishment of thieves, when hand chopped off for the first offense. -- one hand chopped off.

some say these have been taken out of their historical context, but this expert on the koran says that it is open to misinterpretation. >> to present in here as it is cold here, it is not wise. yes, in the wrong hands, i think it is ammunition for anti- semitism. >> they insisted to us that they have no connection to the part- time saudi schools, but the director told us the opposite. he said the cultural bureau, which is part of the embassy, has the authority. the printed material are said to not be tolerated. >> we cannot have anti-semitic material of any kind being used. >> they are considering whether to introduce an inspection system for part-time schools. bbc news.

>> the younger son of the burmese pro-democracy leader aung suu kyi last saw his member in 2000, and since then, he is repeatedly been denied permission. the dalai lama has welcomed the release of suu. they want to go further to bring freedom and democracy into the country. the dalai lama was speaking to the bbc. >> it is a very good sign. it work without restriction.

in burma, a buddhist nation, i am sure that the leaders are also brutus, and they should carry this principle -- are also buddhist. compassion. >> do you see any hope of an early release for another in china? >> some are still quite stubborn. china is much change, and it is still changing. many chinese students now study in foreign countries.

also, economically, they are linked with the outside world. it is not like the 1960's. fortunately, the prime minister, wen jiabao, he was expressing the necessity of some political change, and the also expressed western-style democracy. -- and he also expressed western-style democracy. >> the dalai lama there speaking. some sports news to bring you. the scottish football association is in turmoil. the referees are going on strike. they have decided to walk out because of what they say are constant attacks on their integrity. officials say they are

sympathetic, but they do have plans to bring in foreign referees if the strike goes ahead. among a multitude of orthodox jewish men praying at a wall stands out. he was born to a migrant mother, and he rose to be one of the s.ggest hip hop artist' he has also spent nine years in prison for possession of a firearm. it was also there that he realized his jewish roots. >> he cuts a core figure walking through the streets of the old city in jerusalem, but for him, the journey is not about style or statement. it is about connecting with jewish roots he says have always been there. are allaababans and bling

that is left of what he used to be -- the raybans. he grew up in brooklyn, where his talents as a rapper were noticed by p. diddy. he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for his part in a nightclub shooting. >> what am i doing? am i going to jail for 10 years to do what? come out and do what? am i coming out to show kids, you know what? i would not wish prison on anyone. it is better to do something else than to go behind that wall. >> he is not the only one to receive an epiphany in prison. but he says this journey to jerusalem is the real deal. >> in italy or mobil 1, i could

be anywhere i want. orin italy or more élan -- milan. what is the game? >> the 32-year-old reform bad boy has not given up his music. far from it. ♪ with two new albums out next --r, he is the last we'll real rapper still alive, according to one magazine. >> you can find more on that and more international news anytime at bbc. i am at bbc mike embley.

thanks very much for watching. thanks very much for watching.