08/07/2011 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, with me, Zeinab Badawi and the Sudanese

capital, Khartoum, on the eve of independence for the south of the

country. What are the prospects for peace and stability for both parts

of Sudan? A new anthem foreign you nation. Tough challenges lie ahead

for South Sudan, as it is embraces independence in three hours time.

And why both as a nurse and northerners are feeling a little

apprehensive about the future, it is all too much for this sudden

soldier leaving the North. I'm Tim Willcox in London. Our other the

headlines. Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World, is

arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption as the man

who brought him into government launches a judicial inquiry.

decision to hire him was mine and mine alone. I take full

responsibility for it. revolution part two, the Egyptians

return to Tahrir Square cleaning their original demands have not

been met. The shoulders of this bailed -- space shuttle, America

will continue the dream. Into orbit off, the final launch for NASA's

Hello and welcome from Sudan, still only just the largest country in

Africa. In three hours time, when the South goes its own way, it will

move to number three. These are not celebrations you might be able to

hear some music and lights behind me, they're not celebrations for

the independence of the cells. It is a wedding going on. The mood

here in Khartoum has been fairly subdued, with most Bees pulled

expressing their sadness and regret that the south of Sudan is becoming

independent. That does not seem to be the case in the south, as Will

Ross reports from the capital there, The final march to independence. I

will never leave my land until I die, a song heard throughout the

decades of war with North Sudan. Now they have their land and south

With a little help from a mobile, people rehearse the brand new

national anthem. The way of life has not changed much for centuries.

Because of the war, South Sudan will start out as one of the

poorest nations on the planet. When we were ruled by the north, we had

no opportunities, the village chief tells me. Our children could not go

to school, but now things are going to change. We are going to see

development here. But for now, this is where the money is going. The

piece is still on shaky ground and so in the south, three times as

much money is spent on the military compared to education and health

combined. These are the soldiers of the SPLA, the army that fought for

so many years against the Khartoum government. The key question now

was so Saddam becomes a new country is can all people with guns stay

united, or will different rebel groups pop-up? -- South Sudan. Like

this group, but just last week declared war in the south. Where

clashes between tribes are common. The border area is rich in oil.

EXPLOSION. Just inside the north, President Omar Al-Bashir's

warplanes drop bombs to crush a rebellion. The fear is instead of

sharing the oil, the two countries will keep fighting for more. We are

absolutely committed to peace. Our people have really suffered for too

long, 58 years of war. It is in the interests of the North for the

South to be in peace with it, for the survival of the two states it

is essential factor we maintain two viable states and I think the

message is getting through. struggle for Southern independence

is over, the struggle for peace is just beginning.

And actually, Will Ross, luckily, joins us live from Juba. As I said,

there is a marriage going on behind me. When I talk to people here

about relations between the north and the South they express it in

those terms, saying we are having a divorce now, we really regret it.

It is a shame we didn't try harder to keep the marriage going. How are

people in the south during their neighbours in the North? -- viewing

their neighbours in the North? is very hard to hear you, but I can

tell you that people now are marching down the street behind me.

There is a party going on here. There is a feeling here are of joy

at this split with the North. Many people feel this moment has been

coming for years and with just hours to go, they feel that this

split is going to lead to a better life ahead for them. There are

people waving the South Sudan flag behind me as they walk past. The

feeling here really is that there was no effort during the last six

years for the marriage between the north and the south to work and

that is why they want to break away face stop -- they want to break

away. They feel with self governance and breaking away

completely from the north they are going to have a better chance to

move away from the terrible problems they face. OK, thanks very

much indeed. I am in Khartoum, talking to people from the north

and the south, because there are about a million southerners, we

believe, still living in Khartoum and other parts of the North.

Actually the people I have spoken to seem to have more mixed feelings

about the future. I have been testing the mood at talking to some

Going out not so much with a loud bang as allowed beat. The officers'

club in Khartoum. An emotional The Sudanese Defence Minister and

the chief of the armed forces bid goodbye to their southern

colleagues. TRANSLATION: To be honest with you on this day fruit

we feel some sadness, to ludes very good natured colleagues, who in

some cases have been with us for decades and have served loyally in

the army. They were given this colourful send off. There is

clearly joy that the South is embarking on this historic venture,

the building of a brand new nation. Iron grateful to be in separation,

I will take my freedom. Night -- I have not taken my freedom until now,

now I'll take my freedom and I am very grateful. There are about

20,000 since then suddenly -- southern Sudanese in the Sudan

National Army, about 10%. Behind me, the Air Force. In front of me, the

soldiers. This is the last time they will be wearing these uniforms

for an official occasion. Many are genuinely reluctant to be leaving

Saddam's armed forces. -- Sudan. They face an uncertain future in

the south and some of them may choose to remain in the north.

have been a soldier since 1982. I was about 19 years old. Quite a

change? To become a civilian again is going to be difficult, but

eventually every retired soldier has to become a civilian and I am

going to be one. Hello, Agnes. Another person forced to give up

the much-loved job is Agnes Lekudu. Wonderful to see. I saw you a long

time ago. She is one of the most prominent Southern leaders in the

north, an adviser to President Bashir she considers him a friend.

You are Agnes Lekudu, you are head of the ruling National Congress

Party, the NCP, in the whole of the South. In the southern sector.

You're going to be out of a job. This is your letter. This is the

presidential decree. The presidential decree as saying, I,

President Bashir, have decreed on this particular day that the

following people will stop their work as from 9th July. The

following people are... Including you. Although in theory the

southern Sudanese have that transitional period of nine months

to relocate to the south, in practice most have already packed

up their bags and gone. Though many have complained that they have

departed in haste. Most of them have homes which they have sold at

a giveaway price, because they wanted to rush. Some of them did

not have resources, enough resources to be able to support

themselves back home, so they sold homes. Children get sick and so on,

some have lost their children. Actually their children died in the

journey from Khartoum back to the south? So could the international

community have done more to help relocate the southerners? Naturally

they would say the UN has not done, the international community has not

enough to get us there, but it was a huge, huge and ever. There were

hundreds of thousands of southerners actually living in the

As the world waits to see if this doesn't have a deep -- the southern

Sudanese can turn a concept into a viable, thriving nation, not all,

even tougher old soldiers, can remain clear-eyed about the future.

Well, that was the officers' club here in Khartoum. So when the South

becomes independent in a couple of hours, they will have to redefine

their relations with the north, but the international community is also

going to have established new relations with South Sudan and the

government here in Khartoum. I have been discussing that with European

Union's Special envoy to said dam, Dame Rosalind Marsden. She knows

Sudan pretty well because she was here as British Ambassador for

several years and she told me what she thinks the EU is going to be

doing to support both parts of the country. Our main message to both

North and South is you have come a long way, now you need to go the

extra mile. To resolve these outstanding issues, so you can live

together peacefully with good neighbourly relations. You know

what President Bashir says here in Khartoum, look, when the South

voted for independence people said I would Deeo realism how, I would

not back it, yet he says he was the first to support their independence.

Does he get any carrots for that? We remain ready to step up our

political dialogue with the government of Sudan. We are also

committed in the long term to underpin two viable states, both in

the north and in the south, but first of all it is very important

that we address some of the key outstanding issues. We must not

forget Darfur, the European Union is very concerned about security

and humanitarian situation in Darfur. We have continued to press

for improved humanitarian access, but also for a comprehensive and

inclusive peace settlement for Darfur. Let's look at the prospects

for the south. What are the potential pitfalls there? There is

a huge need for development. There is a huge need for humanitarian

assistance and also the need for capacity building. So I think we

all recognise the huge nature of the challenges that will be faced

by this new state. Lots of people going back, not a great deal for

them to go back to, jobs, homes, not much infrastructure. Are they

going to get a shock of their lives? I think the positive thing

is that the international community is very strongly committed to

support the government also that Saddam, to try to deliver a peace

dividend to the population -- to South Sudan. To deliver basic

services. That is one area where the European Union will scale up

development assistance quite considerably. Money is not the

problem, is it, by some reckoning it has had as much as $9.5 billion

in oil revenues in the past five or six years. But most of that, three-

quarters of it, has gone into the pay of the army there.

government of South Sudan has had to find a way of paying and

supporting the members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. That is a

huge drain on the budget but nevertheless it is an important

responsibility. We obviously very much hope that the combination of

South Sudan's oil revenue and the development assistance it will be

resist -- it will be receiving from the international community, that

more of that can go in future to provide a peace dividend to the

population. We will be working closely with the government in

support of their priorities, to try to help them to deliver that.

That was Dame Rosalind Marsden, the EU special envoy to Sudan, talking

to me. It is worth remembering as South Sudan stands on the threshold

of becoming independent, what a long journey it has been for it.

More than five decades of war between north and south, around two

million dead, not all in the fighting but also through famine

and disease, so clearly a great deal of sad history is behind the

momentous celebrations that are going to be taking place in Juba,

the southern Sudanese capital. VIPs have been pouring in and some have

been coming in through here, Khartoum. President Bashir himself

is going to be there, his government has officially

recognised the south of Sudan as independent. We will be looking

forward to seeing what happens off course to both north and south

Sudan, but for the moment, from me, Zeinab Badawi, back to you in the

The British Prime Minister's former head of communications, Andy

Coulson, was arrested today by police investigating the

allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World newspaper. The

arrest came as David Cameron was forced to defend his decision to

hire Mr Coulson. He also confirmed there will be two inquiries into

the scandal - one led by a judge. The phone hacking scandal at the

News of the World is not going away. It embraces the press, the police

and the politicians. As he tries to fight the damage to his own

Government, David Cameron began his press conference with an admission

- but the political class could have done more to stop it. Because

party leaders were so keen to win the support of newspapers, we

turned a blind eye to the need to sort this issue, to get on top of

the bad practices to change the way newspapers are regulated. It is, if

you like, a bit like MPs' expenses, the people in power knew things

were not right, but they did not do enough, quickly enough until the

mess of the situation was revealed. But, around the time the Prime

Minister was speaking, this former editor of the News of the World was

arrested by police. Until January of this year, Andy Coulson was

David Cameron's communications gurus. He has always denied any

knowledge of the phone hacking. But now the Prime Minister is facing

growing calls to explain why he chose to hire a man who once

presided at the newspaper. resigned at the News of the World

because of the things that happened on his watch. I decided to give him

a second chance and no one raise any concerns about how he did his

chance for me. He had to resign all over again. The decision to hire

him was mine, and mine alone and I take full responsibility for it.

for the questions about the position of News International's

chief executive in the UK, Mr Cameron said this. On the case of

Rebekah Brooks, as I had said, I do not think it is right for the Prime

Minister to start picking and choosing who should run and who

shouldn't run media organisations. It has been reported she offered

her resignation over this and in this situation I would have taken

it. David Cameron has done his best to distance himself from this

scandal. But questions about his own judgments and friendships

continue, especially now some say they warned him years ago about

hiring a former News of the World editor.

Joining me now from Central London is Professor of Communication,s

Steven Barnett, from Westminster University, an expert on media

policy and regulation. A watershed moment today, not only for the

British press, but perhaps the relationship for the political

establishment as well? I would go further, I would say a watershed in

British public life. David Cameron's statement is significant,

but Ed Miliband, the opposition leader was making similar noises

about the way in which senior politicians in this country have

simply bowed down to the power of media barons. I have to say some of

us have been saying this for many years. It has happened on all sides

of the House of Commons. I think what we have seen, is actually

quite an important power shift back towards frankly, where power ought

to be long which is the elected representatives of this country

rather than in the hands of press barons. This idea of self-

regulation which the British written media is subjected to under

the PCT. It is a busted flush now it is it? The PCT is about as much

use as a chocolate teapot. I think the Prime Minister made it clear it

is useless and many people have been saying it is useless for some

time. The real question now is, what is going to take its place?

David Cameron is right to say there has to be an inquiry into the sort

of news regulatory system we might see. The real sticking point is

going to be to what extent will it be still self-regulatory? Will we

be leaving it to the print industry? To what extent will there

be some kind of statutory a backstop, maybe a version of Ofcom,

which is our communication broadcasting regulator which is set

up in statute. It is interesting, the original remit for the decision

about whether BSkyB, News International could buy the

remaining stake, Ofcom is talking about whether the individual

company is fit and proper to own a TV stations. Has that changed in

terms of the decision which will be made politically by the Culture

Secretary? Let's be clear about this, there are two separate

processes. One is the legal process and it is up to the Secretary of

State in a quiet side judicial capacity to decide whether this

takeover should go ahead or not. He has made it clear and David Cameron

has made it clear it will be kicked into the long grass until September.

Under the 2003 Communications Act, there is a stipulation the holders

of broadcasting licences must be fit and proper people. Her Ofcom

are saying they are keeping a close eye on these developments have to

see if there is any suggestion those running BSkyB, at the moment

those who have at least control of BSkyB, 39%, News Corp are fit and

proper people to hold the broadcasting licence. That is a

separate process. Turning to tabloid journalism, people have

referred to it as gung-ho journalism. When you look back, do

you see more could was achieved by that sort of journalism rather than

some of the peccadilloes and mistakes of the past few years by a

few bad apples? When it comes down to hacking phones of murdered

schoolchildren and widowed service wives, it gets beyond peccadilloes.

I agree with that, but it is a muscular journalism which other

countries do not have? At its best, you are right. We need a system

which makes absolutely certain these illegal practices are stopped,

but at the same time - there is no reason why you cannot do that and

at the same time have a system which encourages robust journalism

in the public interest. Thanks very much for joining us.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have been out on the streets again

today, protesting about the slow pace of political reform. Gathering

in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in the cities of Alexandria and Suez, they

also demanded that those responsible for killing

demonstrators be held accountable. From Cairo, Jon Leyne reports.

Once more, they flooded into Tahrir Square. It was the largest

demonstrations since crowds unseated President Mubarak five

months ago. Since then, Egyptians have become more frustrated about

the pace of change. Basic behind- the-scenes, the same old officials

are still in control of power centres like the interior ministry.

We have been promised as -- promised changes of the interior --

Ministry interior. But you days ago we have seen violence, tear gas and

rubber bullets. One banner has a caricature of Hosni Mubarak, with

the words "we will get you". But what infuriates these protesters is

the military rulers seem to be bringing Best dragging their feet

in bringing the former President and his inner circle to trial. This

hides a growing bitterness among so many Egyptians about the way things

are going and that is bad news for those trying to run this country.

That anger has already boiled over in the city of Suez, where there

were riots after a court freed on bail, policemen accused of shooting

dead a protesters. Elsewhere, the complaints are about high food

prices and lack of security. Here in Tahrir Square, the police stayed

away to avoid trouble. Protesters have about to begin a sit in. It

could be the beginning of a new and long confrontation with the

military rulers who took over from President Mubarak.

Now a look at some of the days other news. Reports from Syria say

several people have been killed during renewed anti-government

demonstrations. Protestors have again taken to the streets in

cities across the country. Reports say that the security services have

killed several protestors in the capital, Damascus. A policeman was

reportedly killed in Homs. The American and French ambassadors

visited the flashpoint city of Hama, where thousands gathered in a city

square. The Syrian authorities called the visits an incitement.

A Congolese airline has crashed in Kisangani. One report says that

there were 112 passengers on board the plane when it came down at the

airport there, the third largest city in the Democratic Republic of

Congo. A government official is quoted as saying that 40 survivors

have been pulled from the plane. The very last space shuttle flight

has blasted off from Cape Canaveral. But while they Mission to the

International Space Station marks the end of an era for America's

manned space programme. Cheers for a moment of history,

four astronauts about to fly on the final space shuttle - it is the end

of an era. At the launch pad Atlanta's, fuelled and ready, with

three hours to go the crew climb inside. The launch is on. Atlanta's

does. The shuttles have flown for 30 years, now the last count down.

The final lift off of Atlanta's. Even from three miles away it is

bright as the shuttle accelerates towards 17,000 miles an hour. An

incredible sight and any second now, here comes, you can feel this

vibration inside you. Crowds were watching an emotional sight. This

meant everything to me. I wanted to see a shuttle launch more than

anything. We have come from Virginia, and seeing that made me