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>> at least 300 people are killed in a stampede at a festival in cambodia. despite protests, the prime minister of ireland says he will not step trapped underground in new zealand. very warm welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs and around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- which is safer for children? kabul or new york?

hip-rom rap to religion -- hop star who has discovered his jewish heritage. >> at least 300 cambodians, many of them women, have died in a stampede at a festival. many more have been injured. it is one of the most important celebrations of the year but something caused the crowd to panic and that became a widespread stampede. as people tried to flee across a bridge in the capital, hundreds of people were trampled or fell into the water. >> relatives desperate for news. cambodia's medical services overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the disaster. the victims were festival goers, crashed at the end of three days of annual celebrations when

thousands of people come in from the provinces for phnom penh's biggest party. photographers there to capture the festivities found themselves in the midst of a catastrophic crash. it is not clear exactly what caused the stampede. what is clear is that most of the dead are women. it's an island that runs through the middle of the capital. many were trampled underfoot or suffocated. others drowned, falling off a bridge as they tried to flee. >> it was a celebration and people were being joyful and it went to screams of hysteria, basically. >> of the prime minister has ordered an investigation, calling it the biggest tragedy the country has suffered since the murderous regime of pol pot.

>> the prime minister ohio -- of ireland has resisted public and political pressure and refused to resign even a part of his coalition has withdrawn its support. as the turmoil from the country's financial crisis intensified, he's said he will call an early general election. his government has finally request a multi-billion international bailout. brian cowen says the most important thing is passing next year's budget. >> [unintelligible] at the gates of a ireland's parliament, public anger spilled over as demonstrators tried to [unintelligible] 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.

ireland's need for a multi- billion the euro rescue package has become more than an economic crisis. the irish government is on the verge of collapse. the junior partner in the two- party coalition announced this afternoon was pulling out. >> we have now reached a point where the irish people need political uncertainty to take him beyond the coming two months. we believe it is time to fix a date for a general election in the second half of january, 2011. >> rumors swept dublin that the irish prime minister would resign. but tonight, he refused to go. he said he would not call an election until he was allowed to pass a budget. he made it clear he was still in charge. >> nobody has pushed me into anything. what i'm simply saying is we are focused on an issue of great national importance and the biggest statement of confidence

that can be given by this country at this time is to pass this budget. this is the context in which we're having discussions. >> the irish government is still negotiating how much money it's going to need from the international monetary fund and the european union. ireland is set to receive a direct loan from its closest neighbor, the u.k. but in return, ireland has two -- has to produce radical cost- cutting budget. 15 billion euros must be saved by 2013. 20,000 public sector jobs are expected to be cut and taxes are expected to rise. welfare payments will be reduced and the minimum wage is likely to go down. the irish government is set to pay the political price for running out of money. a general election is now inevitable. according to opinion polls, a change of government is almost

certain. what ever happens, ireland's political crisis is likely to be resolved long before its economic crisis. that will take years rather than months. >> some more top story this hour -- severe flash flooding has almost completely submerged the historic old town of the croatian city of dubrovnik. power supplies and transport has been interrupted. children have been told to stay home and not risk going to school for fear of landslides. a light-hearted remarks by japanese minister has cost him his job. the justice minister has resigned after joking with his supporters that his job was easy. the opposition said it was an insult to the legislature. a south korean immigrant has found -- has been found guilty of murdering chandra levy nine years ago. the death attracted attention

nine years ago when she was romantically linked to gary condit. in china, 29 miners trapped by a flood since sunday have been rescued. experts say pumps at the mind in sichuan province trained 4000 cubic the of water to make the rescue mission possible. but in new zealand, where 29 miners trapped underground, emergency teams have reported a setback. a remote-controlled robot has failed to work. it was sent down the shaft to prepare for a rescue mission. experts are warning that some of the 29 miners may already be dead. a combination of rockfalls, fire, and dangerous gas trapped the minors on the south island on friday. >> a new bracket -- a new day brings fresh coat of a positive breakthrough in the search for the missing miners.

for their families, the wait is agonizing. for four days, they have prayed for any signs of life deep underground, but so far there has only been silence. among the missing are two britons, a 25-year-old from st. andrews who is due to marry his new zealand fiancee next month. his colleague is 40 and from perth and migrated here two years ago to start a new life. a potentially catastrophic combination of toxic gas and searing heat has prevented rescue teams from searching for their colleagues. a police superintendent lee charges realistic about the prospect of finding the men alive. >> it's a very serious situation and the longer it goes on, hope fades and we have to be realistic. >> it is a draft mind, a deep tunnel drilled into the hillside. the trapped men are thought to be more than 2 kilometers inside.

there are ventilation shafts providing fresh air and emergency supplies of oxygen are dotted throughout the seam. officials are calling a 160 meter hole into the body of the mine to assess the quality of air and at lower listening devices. more pictures have been released of some of the 29 miners. their ages are between 17 and 62. the youngest was on his first ever shift underground when the explosion tore through the coal mine on friday. in the last hour, i remote- control military robot sent in to access tunnel has broken down. officials say it could be another five hours before the hole into the mine is complete. authorities in new zealand say the delicate and dangerous rescue mission cannot be rushed. officials say they remain optimistic demand will be found alive, but they concede they're planning for the worse.

>> the international court has been presented with its most high-profile defendants since its work began eight years ago. the former vice president of the democratic republic of congo has pleaded not guilty to war crimes. he faces charges for what his smallish allegedly did in the neighboring central african republic. we have this report from the hague. >> from the outset of the trial, prosecutors have tried to show that the command responsibility of this man was paramount and he used rape as a weapon of war. the chief prosecutor told the court that unspeakable crimes had been committed by his forces when they entered the central african republic nearly eight years ago to help the president put down a coup attempt.

[unintelligible] >> these were crimes of humiliation directed against women but also directed against men with authority. >> he has pleaded not guilty, but the prosecution said a commander who allowed his troops to act in the way described was more dangerous than a single ripest. he said he had given his forces licence to attack civilians. soon after these events allegedly occurred, he became a vice president in the democratic republic of congo. he later stood unsuccessfully for the presidency. but by 2008, he was in exile in brussels where he was arrested

and then handed over to the international criminal court. more than 700 victims are being allowed to take part in the process to try him. several hundred more have asked to do so. a legal representative for the victims say they are -- said they were still traumatized and this was a way to break the silence and give them a voice. >> much more coming up. stay with us if you can. the british government voices its concern that the bbc finds homophobic lessons and anti- semitic lessons being taught to muslim children. first, 10 men from the somali have gone on trial in germany, accused of piracy. they are charged with boarding a container ship in april. dutch troops recaptured the ship after an exchange of gunfire. we have this report from berlin.

>> normally, pirates don't come this close to the law. but in april, a dutch anti- piracy control happened to be near a container ship that had been snatched off the coast of somalia. the dutch marines boarded the vessel and confronted the pirates. this is a soldier's eye view as he faces man he knows to be armed. the camera is on the military helmets. the soldier moves his head from side to side, searching for danger. the crew of the ship locked themselves in a safe room when the ship was attacked. seven months on, the men arrested are standing trial in hamburg. it was a german vessel because of the alleged pirates were handed over to german authorities. this is the first piracy trial in hamburg for more than 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 ships that have been taken. but catching more pirates right- handed and putting them in court might be a better deterrent. it's just that hardly ever happens. >> that story and footage is just one the chickens the online. to watch the news unfold, go to our web site. we also have more on the stampede in cambodia that has killed at least 300 people. all that and more on our web site. the latest headlines this hour on a "bbc world news." in cambodia, at least 330 people have been killed in a stampede at a water festival in the

capital. amid political and public outrage, the irish prime minister has refused to step down but will call a general election in january. now, the capital of afghanistan is probably less dangerous for children than london or new york. that is the startling claim from the top civilian envoy from nato in afghanistan. he says children in afghanistan go about their lives in safety, despite the fighting with taliban. some aid groups describe afghanistan as the worst place in the world to be a child. >> images of the conflict between the insurgent forces and nato and the afghan government allies can leave the impression a poll of afghanistan is caught up in relentless violence. the un says the number of afghan civilians killed or injured rose in the first six months of this

year, with child calyces -- child casualties up 55%. against that background, nato's top civilian representative has caused surprise and concern. >> here in kabul and other big cities, children are probably safer than it would be in london or new york. most children can go about their lives in safety. it's a very family oriented society, so it is like a city of villages. >> rommel was their reaction from glass go. the comments were called misleading. >> i don't think the comparison with new york, glasgow or london was helpful. children in afghanistan are vulnerable. a thousands died last year alone. 858 died from preventable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia. >> he concedes his point was not well put, but he wants to explain how uneven balances across afghanistan. he said half the insurgent

violence take -- takes place in 10 of the 365 districts. in those places, children are often the victims. but in cities like kabul, where things have improved, he says the total levels of violence are comparable to what many western children would experience. he has sparked a debate but he does not want it to be a distraction from the policy. he says that is the biggest challenge of all. >> a bbc investigation has uncovered evidence that some bid -- some british muslim schools are using textbooks with anti- semitic and homophobic content. the schools teach children as young as six. >> dotted across the country is a network of more than 40 saudi should students, schools and clubs teaching muslim children

at the age of 89 evenings and weekends. we wanted to find out what they were being taught, so we sent a young saudi researcher undercover into the london school. he asked for and obtained the books, part of the saudi national curriculum for teaching 12 and 13 year-old. >> we obtained all 12 years of the saudi curriculum, including diagrams of the punishment for thieves -- one hand chopped off for a first offense. a foot for the second. saudi officials say these are passages from the koran which have been taken out of their historical context. but this expert on the koran says the way the text is presented as open to interpretation. >> to present told us it seems

to be here, it is part of the teaching of islam -- it is not wise. in the wrong hands, it is ammunition for anti-semitism. the saudi embassy insisted to us they have no connection to the network of part-time saudi schools. a director of the network told us quite the opposite and said the saudi cultural bureau, which is part of the embassy, has authority over them. ministers say offensive material will not be tolerated. >> we cannot have anti-semitic material of any kind being used in english schools. >> the school inspector is considering whether to introduce an inspection system for part- time schools. >> the youngest son of the burmese pro-democracy leader has been granted a visa to burma to visit his mother for the first time in 10 years.

he is expected in rank in a tuesday morning. he has been repeatedly denied permission to enter the country. the tibetans have welcomed the release of aung sang suu kyii >> is a positive sign and good. hopefully she can work without restriction. that is my hope. i am sure the military leaders also should, i think they should

carry this principle, compassion. >> there is another nobel prize laureate still in jail. do you see any hope for his release in china? >> [unintelligible] all the chinese communist hard- liners are still quite stubborn. all the world has changed. chinese students now study in foreign countries. economically, there linked with the outside world. it's a new reality.

fortunately, the prime minister is expressing the necessity for political change and he expresses western-style democracy. so, year by year, stronger and stronger. >> a little sports news -- the scottish football association is in turmoil. the referees are going on strike. the referees decided to walk out because of what they say are constant attacks on their integrity. officials say they are sympathetic but have plans to bring in foreign referees if the strike as a hat. among the multitude of orthodox jewish man praying at the western wall wall, one of them stands out. he was born in central america

to an african-american mother and rose to become one of the biggest hip-hop artists in the united states. shyne, as most people know him, served nine years for firearms offenses. we talked to him in jerusalem. >> dressed in black outfit of an ultra-orthodox jew, he cuts a cold figure walking through jerusalem's old city. but it is not about style, it is about connecting with the jewish roots he says have always been there. better known to millions of rap fans as shyne, the sunglasses and bling are all that is left of the man that used to be. born in billy's, he grew up in brooklyn where his talent as a rapper were nurtured by puff

daddy. just as has music career was taken off, he was sentenced to 10 years as -- in part of a nightclub shooting. >> am i going to jail for 10 years to come out and do what? and by coming out to show kids that i would not wish prison on my worst enemy. you've been slipping birders in mcdonnell's and going behind that wall. >> he's not the first prisoner to undergo an epiphany in prison, but he says he has always felt a strong connection to judaism and this journey to jerusalem is the real deal. >> i could be anywhere i want. i spend my money to come here and i fly my jet to come here. why would i want to -- why don't

i just continue being who i am and make life easy? >> he has not given up his music. far from it. with two new albums out next year, he is according to one magazine, last real rapper alive, albeit with a new focus in his life. >> just briefly, before we leave you, a reminder of our main news -- about 330 cambodians, many of them women, have died in a stampede at an annual three-day festival. hundreds more have been injured. you will find much more any time you want it on line. you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. you can see what is coming up on facebook as well.

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