tv BBC World News PBS August 26, 2010 6:00pm-6:30pm PDT
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>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is 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 has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news."
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>> asked the taliban threatens to target foreign relief workers helping flood victims, we joined up one bank of the -- joined one of the relief drops. >> the crew tried to drop as much as they can as fast as they can. >> the united nations condemns mass rape in the congo. guilty, but not in jail, a former pop star infected that a former lover with hiv. 8000 expelled so far. and france presses on with supporting the roma as opposition grows. messages of love, food, and anti
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depressants for chiles's trapped miners. hello to you. four weeks before the monsoon floods and began wreaking havoc in cap -- pakistan. millions are still in need of help. there is intelligence that says that the taliban is planning attacks on foreign aid workers. there is at the threat of more damage and danger. she reports from there. >> it is holding for now. this is the last line of defense for one of pakistan's main cities.
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it is home to about 2 million people. as the flood waters keep moving, so does the pakistan air force. we joined them today on the first relief flight. tombolo, the relentless waters closing in on more villages -- down below, the relentless water is closing in on more villages. there is a chance of escape for this lone boy. the crew signalled, offering a way out. he climbed down carefully, but he refused to be taken from the waters. like many, he is risking his life to stay close to home. we found -- we keep finding
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more groups of people stranded in the water. the crew trying to drop as much as they can adds -- as fast as they can. these bags are waterproof and contain a high energy biscuits that do not have to be cooked. beckham for locals to evacuate. people here are bound to their land and their livestock and will live or die with them. further to the south, and new victims of the flood. they wait in quiet desperation by the side of the road. she was born here. his mother told us how she gave birth. it was not -- there was no doctor. he developed a fever. where can i take him? my daughter is sick, too.
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i am worried for them both. people here have always lived from hand to mouth. what little food they have is running out fast and the water is still rising around them. back up in the air, a moment's rest. the crew expects to be flying relief missions for months to come. for them and the nation, a test of endurance. >> taliban fighters have killed eight afghan police in the northern city. the police were attacked before dawn as they slept in their headquarters. militants have been increasingly active in the north of afghanistan and against police throughout the country. there was a plot to explode a bomb in ottawa. they were part of a group linked
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to insurgents in afghanistan. they believe an attack was imminent. a health ministry in nigeria warned that the whole country is at risk for colorado. it has killed more than 300 -- for cholera. it has killed more than 350 people in the past few months. members of the un stated their outrage of the rapes of hundreds of women and children in the democratic republic of the congo. question why forces station near the town did not respond. they called for the immediate cease of sexual violence against civilians. the anger and frustration produced a particularly strong condemnation. >> i think there was a
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particular outrage. the council has dealt with this before. rape is an endemic problem in the congo. is used by the rebels. the council has tried to improve methods of protecting civilians. this is a particularly brutal attack. peacekeepers did not hear about it until 10 days after it happened. there was some frustration at the level of the attacks and the response. all possible steps to prevent the recurrence of this atrocity, they said that the government should bring the perpetrators to justice and should fight the impunity that allows these rebels to keep doing this. there was a lively discussion about the role of the un peacekeepers. why they had not heard about this incident.
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why they had failed to respond in a way that they thought that they should have. >> any light shed on how that might have happened? >> un officials said that the peacekeepers did have general information about rebel movements in the area, but nothing that indicated that these kinds of rapes or going on or any kind of attacks were going on. they do get reports of rebel activity. this was quite close to the base. why did the peacekeepers not go out to do more to check on what was going on? there was a question about the lack of communications. the soldiers drove through this area twice in recent weeks. the villagers did not tell them what happened. one council member suggested that they do not talk to the locals enough on a regular basis.
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there is an acceptance that these peacekeepers do face a particularly difficult task. there are a few that are supposed to patrol a few hundred square kilometers. the logistics' are difficult. officials admitted that things did not go as they should have done. the secretary general sent an envoy to the region. >> there have been demonstrations throughout south africa on the eighth day of industrial action by public- sector workers. they. an 8.6% -- they want an 8.6% pay rise and the government is offering seven%. >> of the commercial half of johannesburg has been brought to a standstill. very little work is getting done
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today. tens of thousands of workers and other civil servants take to the streets. they pushed for the government to meet their wage demands. there have been concerns that the police service would also be striking alongside these workers. in the past 24 hours, a court injunction has prevented that strike from going ahead. the soldiers have been deployed. we have seen their lot of soldiers running hospitals and doing cleaning work alongside the remaining doctors. in the past 24 hours, the unions representing those soldiers say they do not want to be used as substitute labor. the soldiers may go on strike,
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too. >> very much on the spot in johannesburg. a german singer has been given a two year suspended sentence for causing grievous bodily harm by infecting a former lover with hiv. she had unprotected sex with three people while keeping the virus a secret. >> nadja benaissa admitted to having unprotected sex with a number of men without warning them that she was hiv positive. today, she escaped jail. she looked nervous when the verdict was read. she was clearly relieved. she was convicted of inflicting bodily harm for inflicting a former lover with hiv. she was given a suspended sentence and 300 hours of community service. the judge said that nadja benaissa had intentionally and
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carelessly confected a former partner with hiv. she had never told him about her condition. the singer broke down in tears as she told the court about her past. she was a drug addict and became pregnant at 16. shortly after, she found that she was hiv-positive. >> she has greater thanups and downs for approximately 11 years. being in public, it is not so easy for someone who is in public. >> this trial has been highly controversial here in germany. critics say that nadja benaissa was the victim of a witch hunt. some of her victims were in court. they felt very angry and disappointed that all of the details of her private life had
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been exposed. nadja benaissa shot to fame with the pop group no angels, which became germany's most successful girl band. after going through the ordeal of the trial, it is not clear whether she will be back on stage. >> still to come, we take a look at the surprising world of syria's soap operas. first, it is quite a list. spies, a german invasion plans, a nobel prize winner, and links to james bond. they all were released from the national archives today. there was a a a law that every german must render service to that every juror
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must render service to the fatherland during time of war. >> at the battle of britain was raging in the sky. on the ground in france, khalid in durban -- a leading german troops were preparing for the invasion of england. one soldier had been training to be part of the shock troops. plant wearing it british uniforms and -- land wearing british uniforms and prepare the larger invasions. this man was put under surveillance by mi5 under suspicion that he might have passed on nuclear secrets to communists during the war. he was innocent. another man under suspicion was a playwright. he was suspected as a marxist.
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he did visit the soviet union, but there was no evidence that he was a spy. he went on to help write a script for a james bond film. a former target of mi5 doing his part to cement the reputation of british spies. this shows just how much feared there was in world war ii of spies everywhere stealing secrets. >> and just one main headline on "bbc world news" this hour. the taliban plans to attack relief workers in pakistan. getting to delay aid t those most in need. the southern province of pakistan is in of -- in danger
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of flooding. many towns have been evaluated and the authorities are struggling to hold the water's back. our correspondent reports from your the town. >> this is exactly what people did not want to happen. this is a breach in one bank of the -- in one of the defense of walls around the town. the water is flooding through. this was pretty much a muddy field a few hours ago. now it is filling up with water. it is all heading to the town in the distance. this is what they're trying to avoid. they are building another defensive line. the army is trying to build the very last line of defense. this battle has been going on for days. they have been trying to make sure that watters could not get
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through and and and eight more towns. the houses are just over here. that is where the town starts. there is nowhere for people to hide. nearly a month after the floods began, there are still people fighting as their houses are going under water. >> we will bring you some more of the main news. it is reported that kim jong il is on a rare visit to china. these pictures are believed to show his motorcade. the south korean media says that he is being accompanied by his youngest son who is why believed to be his political heir. chinese officials do not confirm a visit like this until his return to pyongyang. he has only been japan'as prime minister since june, but he is
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already being challenged by a member of his party. if he succeeds, he will also take over as prime minister. amnesty international says that five of its activists were arrested at a concert by u2 on wednesday. they were carrying banners and handing out leaflets. all five were released without charge. they left their homes in search of a better life in western europe. france has shown the roma people that they are not welcome there. a thousand have been expelled so far this year. the move is proving controversial. sarkozy says that it well cut crime. there is increasing opposition within his own party. >> police arrived before dawn to dismantle an illegal roma
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camp. they were escorted to vans to await deportation. police took nearly 300 roma to the airport. they were each given 300 euros. the french insist that they're leaving voluntarily. the roma say they're being expelled. they expect a police raid. they are living without running water. the government has linked them to crimes. they say that it is unfair to punish entire group. >> we do not steal. what sarkozy says is not true. >> president sarkozy's office says that the living standards in these camps are profoundly shocking with children exploited for begging.
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police have already visited this illegal camp twice. some of the 200 people living here high during the hours of darkness, fearing that they will be put on planes back to romania. there has been growing criticism of the deportations. some are in france for medical treatment. >> my child and i are set. the treatments are very expensive. in romania, we cannot be looked after. it would be difficult to survive. >> even in his own party, president sarkozy's policy has been under attack. >> they put women on one side and men on the other. they threaten to separate children from their parents. >> the minister denied that the policy is racist. >> and i find it unacceptable, preposterous. i have not heard one of
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acquisition from any government involved. >> the french government says that the freedom to travel within the european union cannot be used to transfer social problems from one country to another. the people in camps believe that life is better in places like france than back home. >> a judge in chile has frozen almost $2 million in assets belonging to the mining company west miners trapped underground. one of the companies -- one of theit family's plans to sue company. >> food and drinks and anti- depressant are all going down. the men have requested toothbrushes and cold beer. they now know that rescue may
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not come for months. >> we told them that it could take somewhere around three months. the end of november is a likely date. i am afraid it is going to be a long wait. wait for the miner s' relatives that have been waiting at camp hope. there is concern about the men trapped in hell. their bunker is beneath the collapse mineshaft. they are connected to the outside world by one porthole for supplies and another for communication. although they have lost weight, they have been the site -- recommended to start an exercise regime. they will have to fit in an escape tunnel about the size of a bicycle wheel.
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their strength and discipline has given them the status of national heroes. one already was a hero in his younger days. he was an international footballer in the 1980's. we also sent him a card. saying how much we loved him. another of another trapminers -- trapped miners has received a picture of elvis. it says that, hang in there, you are going to be more famous than elvis. >> in the middle east, ramadan is the most popular time to launch dramas. syrian soaps have been particularly popular. their hard-hitting story lines have also been a source of
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controversy. >> cannon shots rang out around damascus signaling the ending of the fast. people are having their first meal of the day. ramadan is associated with prayer and fasting. it is a -- is also a time for watching tv. syria is challenging the dominance of egypt for soaps. the drum was up are known for exposing religious -- and the dramas are known for exposing religious and political taboos. >> this year, we have two dramas that talk about people with special needs.
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we did not talk about that before. >> syrian soaps are popular because they reflect the lives of ordinary people. the mainstream media finds difficult to touch poverty, corruption, extremism. between poor and rich, weekend powerful, religious and secular. they feel that a new soap has gone too far. it crit -- it has criticized the extremist muslims and raise the issue of homosexuality. >> time to speak frankly about all of our problems and all of society's problems. >> this appears to be shared by the viewing public. >> they talked about the modern times. it is a nice thing. >> i like them because there has to be something new to the
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society and the community. even bank that is negative, it has a positive -- if it is negative, it has a positive idea. some of the plots may be racy. they hold a mirror up to society, asking people what kind of world they want to live in? >> researchers on an expedition in borneo found a new and tiny species of frog. males of these species grow to just 1 centimeter in length. they came across this amphibian back in 2004, but to protect the species, they have only now revealed deep discovery for the first time. you will find that story and much more of the international news on bbc.com/news.
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