tv BBC World News PBS November 24, 2010 6:00pm-6:30pm PST
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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 financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?
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>> and now "bbc world news." new zealand mourns. five days after the first mine explosion, a second glass has left no export -- and no survivors -- wait a second blast has left no survivors. and ireland is looking at four years of further austerity. and they are protesting a plan that would raise some university fees in london. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs to our viewers in america and elsewhere around the world. i am mike embley. the journalists who have shined a light on some children in mumbai. bridget riley.
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hello. a national tragedy has unfolded in new zealand, a second explosion that has led police to say all 29 miners trapped inside since friday are now dead. most are from new zealand. others are from australia, africa, and scotland. prime minister john keyes says it could take months to recover. .-- john key says it could take months. >> hope, despair, and now grief. for five days, they prayed for a miracle.
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dangerous gases prevented rescuers from entering the mine. police say a sudden explosion shattered any hopes the man could have somehow survived deep underground. >> breaking the news to the family, they are extremely distraught. i was at the mine itself when it actually occurred. the blast was horrific, just as bad as the first blast. >> this is new zealand's worst mining accident for almost 100 years. most of the burden was shouldered by the small coastal community of greymouth, but the entire country will feel the pain. prince charles gave sympathy to the families of those who died. >> what they're having to go through. we just want them to know this during this terrible time of anguish. >> some families believe the
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emergency teams should have been sent into the mine within hours of the first explosion. >> i have lost him. i should not have to bury my son. >> last night, a church service was held to remember the dead and to comfort those left behind. phil mercer, bbc news, greymouth. >> the irish people were presented today with a grim perspective on their next four years. not only will their public services base cuts, they will face higher income tax, and anyone receiving minimum wage will see that go down. our economics editor has this report. >> today, we have come to announce a four-year plan. >> budget cuts. today, a four more years.
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>> today is about ireland putting its best foot forward, ireland's saying, "yes, this is what we are prepared to do as a government and as a people." >> the government is still looking to cut borrowing by 15 billion euros by 2014. that is just over 9% of national income. the minimum wage is going down by one euro. welfare spending will be cut by $2.80 billion, and taxes are going up, including a rise in vat from 21% to 23%. ireland has already had more budget cuts in the last two years than the british government is planning, and it has had a much deeper recession. when i was here a few months ago, i was told about the human side of the irish crisis, which he has seen as a paramedic for the fire service.
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now, he says there are more people throwing themselves in the river, in he is answering even more calls for help. >> what has happened to them in their personal life. 10 minutes as we take them to the hospital, and they are explaining exactly what happened to them. it is an insight into what is really going on in society, and it is tragic, really tragic. >> but not all of near -- ireland got this merkel was a mirage. this will be the best year for foreign investments since 2003. the big foreign multinationals are not just coming for the low corporate tax rate. they like the young, skilled work force, and they like the fact that it is a lot cheaper nothing's to the prices. they can see a path of this crisis, better than the likes of portugal and greece, if they can just get out from under that
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mountain of debt. i asked the finance minister brian lenihan if it was fair about paying that debt back. two years ago, to stand behind every penny that was loaned. >> you will get all of the options, but at the end of the day, this is a country that depends on good will. >> portugal, spain. do you think that this could now move to them? >> i think if we stabilize ireland, it may be possible. >> demonstrators took to the streets tonight, but the biggest bombs down came from the market. interest rates on ireland's government debt reached a new high, and rates went up for portugal and spain, as well. the future of a single currency looks increasingly bound up with the future of ireland.
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bbc news, in dublin. >> here in the u.k., tens of thousands of students and schoolchildren have again been demonstrating against government plans for significant increases in university tuition fees. in london, there were scuffles, and 32 arrests, with the police at whitehall, the heart of government. some attacked vehicles and held banners. >> this was the moment the protests threaten to turn ugly. the police van is stranded in the middle of whitehall. demonstrators scrambled onto the roof. there were bonfires lit in the middle of the road. but this time, the police came prepared. lined with officers with helmets and shields at the ready, they kept the crowds back from government buildings. here, they tried to stop a
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search of protesters from breaking away. the police have stop the demonstrators following the original route of the march, and now they're trying to hold them here on whitehall. at one stage, reinforcements were brought in, as scuffles broke out and fireworks were thrown. these were not official protests planned by the students but organized by word of mouth and the internet. thousands of students, school children, and others on the streets, angry and determined. >> this probably should not have happened. it should not have gotten this bad, but this is what happens when they do this to the students for so long. >> it is a massive mess-up. we are saying, look. our rights are being impeded on. ownin nick clegg's constituency, there was a large
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turnout of students at city hall, many blaming them. in another area, many came out in support of others elsewhere. many in wales sauce schoolchildren taking to the streets, where they would have to pay the fees -- saw school children taken to the streets. students in cambridge bolted over dates and even got into the senate building. -- bolted over the gates. theives may have gotten as much as 6,000 pounds in one location. tonight, the metropolitan police say 15 people have been arrested, mainly on suspicion of violent disorder and criminal damage. two officers were injured, while the ambulance service treated 11 members of the public. bbc news. >> more anger over austerity measures in portugal. a one-day strike in protest of
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planned cuts brought many services to a standstill. the government insists spending cuts and tax increases are vital to assure portugal does not become the third euro zone country to need a bailout, after greece and ireland. a court in virginia has convicted five some of the men of piracy, the first successful prosecution in the united states in over a century. they face a mandatory life sentence for attacking the uss nicholas when they mistook it for a merchant ship. but and the death toll in the capital of cambodia has risen. they think the stampede in montana was caused by a bridge -- the stampede in a month in -- in the capital of cambodia, phnom penh. north korea is accusing the south of driving the peninsula to the drink of war by reckless military provocations and by
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postponing humanitarian aid. yesterday, artillery shells from the north fell on the south korean island. there were military exercises with the u.s., and according to washington, they are demonstrating their commitment to reach stability. we have this report from the korean border. >> on the island today, they were still trying to extinguish the fire ignited by north korean shows. yesterday, these homes were full of life, now you really empty. giant hole was punched -- know your early empty -- eerily empty. though ferried back to the mainland, dozens of evacuees. they have witnessed trauma. children have been cowering in
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bomb shelters, and women have thought that this terror was a thing of the past. >> [speaking foreign language] >> "i was inside my home, and i was shaking with shock. my home was burned." many were in shock, traumatized by what happened at the island. civilians have come under north korean shellfire for the first time. the president called it unforgivable, but his options in dealing with the north are limited. the children when the shelling happens? this man said it was like hell. "i held children close to protect them from the explosion."
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north korea it says " they are pushing the sides to the brink of war. the uss george washington leaving japan for phnom penh exercises off of the korean peninsula. along the frontier, south korean troops are on high alert. the problem is taking a tough line with the rogue regime. bbc news, on the korean border. >> do stay with us if you can on "bbc world news." still to come, they want their money back. politicians pay back their generous salaries. first though, brazilian police have shot dead at least 13 more people, trying to stop a wave of violence by suspected drug traffickers. thousands of officers have been
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sent to the poorest neighborhoods of rio. they have been robbing motorists and burning cars. they have been forced out of their strongholds. >> this call are one of the latest targets in volatile rio. people have been pulled from their vehicles and then saw them go up in flames. this man had his van torched by gunmen. >> they started shooting. they saw there was no one there and torched it. >> the violence started on sunday night. shots were fired. military police were deployed. 1200 officers were reportedly called off the desk duty to patrol the streets. there have been raids and
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arrests. security officials suspected gang members are behind the violence. >> we suspect these may be coordinated attacks, though we still lack evidence. it is only suspicion. it is very likely that these are attacks coordinated by a remio gang. >> they're taking back slums, long note in the hands of gains. -- gangs. this is likely to raise questions about them holding the olympic games. bbc news. >> good to have you with us on bbc world news. the latest headlines for you. new zealand is in mourning.
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a second blast has extinguished all hopes for survivors from the explosion last friday. and ireland talks about four years of budget cuts to do with the deficit. now, the age of austerity, empty coffers. spare a thought for iraqis. it is not just europeans. the country has run out of money for charity payments and other is. a group of activists are taking them to court. gabriel gatehouse reports from baghdad. >> this man is 68 years old -- this woman is 68 years old. her husband is disabled, and she looks after him alone. there are no others to help with housekeeping. for the past three months, she has received nothing at all.
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every time she goes to the benefit office, they turn her away. >> certainly, what have the politicians been doing all of these times? they should do something for us every once in a while rather than trying to deprive us of this small amount of money. >> so what have the politicians been doing? the election in march, the political factions squabbled, and the building languished, gathering dust. until this month, mp's have met only once, and that was to authorize the payment of their own salaries. together with expenses, iraqi parliamentarians can claim over $20,000 a month. but they should not get too comfortable. there are those who feel that mp's should pay back the money
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they earned during all of those months when parliament was not sitting. now, the activists are taking their case to the iraqi courts. >> they have not really done anything to deserve to get all of this money, and for the time being, the iraqi people believe that they have abused the parliament to secure themselves to get money, to gain money rather than to provide service for the people. >> the past few months have certainly taken their toll on people in this young democracy. now that political life has restarted, the politicians are going to have to show some results if they are going to regain trust of the electorate. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news, in baghdad. >> some awards pay tribute to free-lance camera operators to risk their lives to bring pictures of a difficult and dangerous places. there was the special impact
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award that went into a story about the lives of impoverished children in mumbai. "slumdog millionaire" was parallel. >> the streets of an overcrowded mumbai. this was a city to which homeless children flock to every day. she is just seven years old and sells flowers to help feed her family, earning just a few coins per day. >> [speaking foreign language]
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called police. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> it is a difficult moment to be calling the police. but our main interests are for his welfare. we are very concerned about him. there are those kids out there. they are still there. they are the lucky ones, because we could do something for them. they touched me, and i like to
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feel the we have helped. >> that was the document of life in rome by. now, it -- life in rural mumbai. and bridget riley is having an exhibition on the eve of her 80th birthday. it will be at the national. >> bridge riley, the grand dame of british art. this is painted directly on the interior wall.
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>> this is the second of these circle drawings that i have done. and they all come down, but it is almost like one painting that i keep reviving and going on in finding a new aspect of it. it shows you ways of looking. that's what artists do. this will be your own way. you will make relationships between various parts. you will find little repetitions. it is an open composition. what colors will
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reproduce, you cannot be exactly certain until you try them out. >> bridget rile, much to her anger, had her life that became the subject of t-shirts. she fought in the courts against to work being used for design. today, she is associated with the highest of arts, in her new work at the national is in response to some of the greats hanging there, surrat, rafael montagne. so what can the experience from this? >> if it increases their pleasure, maybe they can find themselves in the process of the
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british manufacturing a much- needed shot in the arm. they remember that the items from the 1981 wedding are still highly sought. .thank you for being with us. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the 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.
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>> union bank offers unique insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> 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"
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