14/03/2012 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with Belgium's agony as a school skiing

trip in Switzerland ends in tragedy. In one of Europe's worst ever road

accidents, 22 children and six adults are killed after their bus

crashes in a tunnel as they head All the children have broken legs

and arms. Our teacher and monitor, they are dead.

Found guilty of raising an army of child soldiers and stealing their

childhood - Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, now faces a life

behind bars. Also coming up in the programme:

Celebrating the rock solid, special David Cameron gets a warm and

lavish welcome from President Obama as Afghanistan dominates the agenda.

We will not give up on this mission because Afghanistan must never

again be a safe haven for Al-Qaeda to launch attacks against us.

And scientists say medical research in Britain is under threat after

ferry companies and airlines bow to pressure from animal rights groups

and stop importing animals destined Hello. Belgium is in mourning after

a coach crash in Switzerland left 28 people dead, 22 of them children.

They had started the journey home from a skiing trip when their bus

smashed into the wall of a tunnel at 9:15pm last night. It happened

at Sierre. Most of the dead and injured were flown to hospitals and

the families have an agonising wait to see if there children are alive

or dead. A day of an emotional pull trauma

for the families, I imagine. -- imaginable trauma.

It is ours since this tragedy happened and instead of what should

have been the end of a happy week with children returning home to

tell their families about a wonderful skiing holiday, their

parents are here at the spot where many of their children died, many

of them injured. Eight has been a traumatic day for the families, for

the rescue workers and this small They worked through the night

freeing the survivors in cramped, traumatic conditions. Embedded in

the tunnel wall, the coach, full of 11 and 12 year old children. Those

who could have clambered from the wreckage but there were many still

trapped. Over 200 emergency workers rushed to the scene. There were 12

ambulances and eight helicopters that ferried the injured to

hospital. When we saw the first patients coming out, it was the

first horrific moment for last. You could imagine how it would look

inside the tunnel. Be full horror was written in the wreckage they

removed this morning. So violent the impact that the front third of

the coach was torn apart. 28 people died, among them, 22 children and

both drivers. This is the opposite side of the tunnel that we drove

through today. The prosecutor has ruled out any suggestion that the

driver was bleeding but the coach appears to have hit the right hand

wall before colliding with a pilaf. It is unlikely driver fatigue Bobby

to blame Mrs that school party were over an hour into their return

journey. -- is to blame. An investigation is underway. The

victims were from Flanders. Cards and flowers are being laid. When

the school gates opened, parents were still learning of the accident

and while a number have confirmation their children had

survived, those had to assume the worst. We have children here at our

school and eight children, we don't know what is happening with them.

All of the children have broken legs and arms. Our teacher and

monitor, they are dead. families flew to Switzerland aboard

a specially chartered flight. The Belgian Prime Minister, who visited

the scene this afternoon, spoke of a national tragedy. Switzerland has

some of the strictest driving regulations in Europe and this is

their worst coach accident in 30 years. Tonight, 24 people remain in

hospital. Three of them young children, still in a coma. In

Belgium, a small community is grieving and their more -- nation

mourns with them. In this community here, Switzerland

is grieving and in morning to. This part of the world, every parent

knows you send your children off for a it school week every year.

They go and come back on coaches. Today, 22 children didn't come back.

All day long where I have been standing near the tunnel, families

have been coming, laying flowers, paying their respects in this

terrible tragedy. Have all the dead been identified?

Do all the parents know the worst or are able to have some relief?

The last we heard from the Swiss authorities is the process of

identification is still going on. One policeman pointing out that

your own kids don't always have their IED in their pockets. This

may take some time. -- IED. Everybody hopes everything can be

cleared up and they can get used as soon as possible. The last we heard

was that the process of identification was still going on.

Speed has been ruled out, hasn't it? This was at the start of the

journey so it seems unlikely that driver fatigue would be the cause

of this. The police have said publicly that

they don't think speed was a factor. There were two drivers on that bus.

Both were killed. The bus had just left the ski resort. They had

rested all day. Those children had gone skiing yesterday. They set off

in the early evening. The driver had been driving for about an hour

so driver fatigue is not possible. The police are looking at whether

the driver was taken suddenly ill. A heart attack or something or

vehicle Aref. The coach is not far from where I am standing in a

police hanger. It is being examined. Thank you very much.

Some breaking news now. United States military officials in

Afghanistan say an American soldier accused of killing 16 after gang

civilians has been flown out of the country. Officials say the legal

proceedings against him will be Other stories and staying in

Afghanistan, a member of the Nato- led forces has been injured in an

incident with a vehicle at an airbase in southern Afghanistan.

The vehicle was driven on to the runway of Camp Bastion before it

burst into flames. The driver has been arrested.

Syrian troops are reported to have attacked the city of Deraa.

Intensified assaults come a day before the anniversary of the

uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

A small Tsunami hit Japan's north- eastern coastline after a strong

earthquake rocked the region. The quake struck off the island of

Hokkaido. It happened a year on from one of the worst Tsunami as in

which thousands died. Burma's media has made an election

broadcast. Aung San Suu Kyi called for media freedom and independent

judiciary. He started off as a Congolese Trade

and tribal chiefs and went on to command an RB of constricted child

soldiers in a bloody jungle war. Thomas Lange could spend the best

of his days behind bars. The criminal court has found him guilty

of forcing children as young as 11 to fight and commit atrocities. As

well as being the ICC's first verdict, it is the first

international trial focusing on the use of child soldiers.

Thomas Lubanga was brought to court in the Hague this morning to

receive the judgment. Six years after being transferred from...

This was the first trial and the only one that so far that has been

-- that has dealt with the issue of child soldiers. It is alleged that

he had used children under the age of 15 during the conflict in need

DRC a decade ago. The chamber has reached his decision unanimously.

The chamber concludes that the prosecution has proved beyond

reasonable doubt that Mr Thomas Lubanga is guilty of the crimes of

conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 years into the

F B L c and using them to participate actively in hostilities

within the meaning of articles 82 p, Severn and 25. From early September

2000 and so -- To 1002 to 13th August 2003.

It has been widely established that tells orders were an integral part

of the war. A conflict in which an estimated 4 million people died.

The prosecution have wanted him convicted in order to send a strong

message that there will be no impunity for those who recruit

children to fight. Today's verdict sets a stage for Prevention of

future crimes. It ensures full protection of children and for

countries to take steps to demobilise and reintegrate. Thomas

Lubanga will be sentenced later. It marks a coming of age for the ICC

and there are high expectations of what it can achieve.

With me is have a temper. How important is the verdict? -- Vava

Tampa. This is a man who is responsible for thousands of crimes

against humanity and using thousands of children as soldiers

through a period of five years. Even this case didn't run smoothly

despite the fact that he had been put into custody by the Congolese

authorities while so many others are still at large. It is a small

fish in a deep-sea. He was armed and trained by the Ugandans before

he became trained by the Rwandan us. Despite he his -- despite the fact

that he is brought to justice, we need to see his command and others

brought to justice. Who is protecting those people now? The

campaign has had huge coverage. Who else is at large and who is

protecting them? There is one man who is shielded by the president of

Rwanda. The second is a man who is incredibly relevant to this case

because he helped Thomas Lubang Go and they were in charge of the same

army that killed thousands of people. What is happening in terms

of the rehabilitation of those children who had their child would

rob from them? Those that have survived and committed or trust is,

how successful has the programme been in bringing them back and

rehabilitating them back into society? Unicef has done an amazing

job in helping out. You need to recognise that this is an

incredibly massive issue. It has a population of 60 million and half

of those are under the age of 16. You have millions who are under 16

and have no access to education. Why is this such an African problem

because it all stems from poverty? Congolese is a specific case. We

have had complete -- conflict since 1988. Over 5.4 million people have

died and you have a situation where the national institution doesn't

function. The President doesn't want to bring anyone to justice

because all of the top officials appointed in the army since he

became president for all wanted for Including the President of Sudan as

well? Absolutely. The ICC was the only way we could get justice.

Tampa, thank you. Kindred spirits and a rock-solid

alliance - that's how the leaders of the United States and Britain

described the relationship between their two countries today. The

sentiments were matched by the lavishness of the ceremony as

President Obama welcomed David Cameron to the White House with a

marching band and a 19-gun salute. But the serious part of the visit

came when the men sat down to talks, with recent events in Afghanistan

at the top of the agenda. Let's talk to the BBC's Katty Kay,

who's in Washington. Looking extremely glamorous, are you

dressed up for tonight's gala dinner? No, Tim, I put this on just

for you. But I have just come from a state lunch hosted by the Vice-

President for the Prime Minister and Samantha Cameron. There's a

state dinner this evening, a big black tie affair, with some 400

people at the White House. The President himself will be hosting.

I've been lucky enough to get an invite to that. It is a day of

festivities. My understanding from talks with the White House is this

is their opportunity to reciprocate for the visit that the Obamas had

on their state visit last year, when they were received by the

Queen, as well as by the British Government. They wanted to pay back

in kind, so they'velogical gone all out during the course of David

Cameron's visit here to Washington. It was interesting watching the

press conference today in the rose garden. In terms of substantive

issues and any new developments, for example on Afghanistan, there

was very little. There isn't very much news made. Part of this visit

is the Pomp and Circumstance and the pay-back for the visit the

Obamas had in London. I sat next to a White House official and he said

America want to reassure Britain that they really do appreciate

Britain's leadership on a number of issues: Afghanistan, Libya, Syria,

that the White House cares about. So this is a relationship where

there is not a huge amount of difference and not a huge amount of

news being made during this trip. Perhaps some shifting on the

timetable of bringing troops out of Afghanistan. But it is President

Obama's chance to say that the relationship is strong and not only

do we understand that the relationship is special and

sometimes White House officials will roll their eye as bit at that,

at British sensitivities over that, but on a range of issues they do

appreciate the Prime Minister's leadership. President Obama in

particular spoke quite often didn't he about the G20 in Chicago in May

as if that was the time when we were going to hear much more detail

about things. On this issue of austerity, I have had White House

officials say to me in the past, talking about Britain's economic

plan, how is that austerity things working out for you over there? And

suggesting that the White House feels that under President Obama

America has taken a much better path, not cutting too rapidly, and

they do see a difference between themselves and the economic

policies of Great Britain. But I think this is not the occasion when

you are going to hear differences. Clearly this is the occasion when

they are going to be stressing similarities. Will it be

interesting to see whether in Chicago we have much more substance

on the specifics of austerity. for the dinner tonight Richard

Branson, you, Downton Abbey... That's all the Americans are

turning up for. At one point at lunch today Lord Grantham was there

and the Americans were flocking to see him. For more interested in

meeting him than in meeting the British Prime Minister.

Bonneville goes from strength to strength. Have fun.

Some leading scientists are warning that medical research is under

threat as pressure from campaigners reduces the number of animals being

brought into the UK for testing. It's emerged that all ferry

companies and all but two airlines have stopped importing animals

destined for laboratories where researchers are testing new drugs

or medical techniques. Our science editor, David Shukman, reports. Up

and down the country animals are used to research new drugs and

treatments everything from cancer to Parkinson's. Most animals are

bred here but some are imported because they have particular

genetic traits. But campaigners have targeted the airlines that

bring them in. And most have caved in to pressure. Scientists are

worried they are not getting the animals they need. This is vital

research for the UK population, and actually for the world population,

so it is important that we solve this issue to convince the

transport companies that it is a good thing to transport animals for

research. The latest figures show that more than 3 million animals

are used in scientific research every year. Of those just over

26,000 came from outside the UK. But campaigners say that's cruel

and should stop. We have asked our supporters to say peacefully and

politely to the transport companies that they would prefer to travel

with airlines and with shipping companies that do not cause

suffering to animals. One by one the ferry companies have also

refused to carry animals for research. So the Government is now

trying to get these imports restarted. What I'm proposing is a

code of practice on the quality and standards for the transport ation

of animals, so everybody can be confident that once again we've got

the best standards in the world. And then try to get the transport

companies as a whole to agree that they will all of them be willing to

transport animals under those controlled conditions, so it is not

a matter of individual companies being singled out. Britain is a

major centre for this kind of work, but research on animals has long

been a highly sensitive issue. It's a test of will and of public

opinion. Alistair Currie is a spokesperson

for PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - and

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge is a geneticist at the National

Institute for Medical Research. Jeopardising essential medical

research which may lead to real help for people with Alzheimer's

and other serious illnesses? don't see it that way. We think we

are better off as scientist looking away from using animals. Animal

research isn't delivering. 90% of drugs that pass animal trials fail

when they come into trials with human beings. That's a massive

failure rate. Over the last decade or so we've seen animal experiments

going up but productivity going down in terms of new drugs.

this is highly regulated isn't it? In terms of animal husbandry and

vets on site, these animals are really being cared for as well as

think possibly can? Well, I don't think the issue of being cared for

makes a difference if you are talking about a mouse being

genetically engineered for research into concerns or a mime ate from

Vietnam which is given treatment which may give it seizures. Most

mice are kept in shoe boxes effectively within this country.

There is animal suffering throughout the whole chain. Robin

Lovell-Badge, couldn't computer modelling do this without the, I

presume you accept there is suffering for the animals?

Basically no, it can't. Living beings are very complicated and

sophisticated things. There are attempts to model aspects of how a

particular organ works or a particular tissue developments and

functions but these models are naive and they don't work well

enough when you are trying to understand how the whole organism

works, the physiology of an animal. What do you say to the argument

that it is cheaper to use mice, that they are easily bought and

they can be discarded quickly rather than developing computer

programmes perhaps which would be more sophisticated. Animal research

is very expensive. I would disagreement we don't do animal

research lightly. It is carefully reviewed, judged by ethical review

processes, and the Home Office. We don't do it unless it is necessary.

What about the point of suffering though, which PETA would say that

animals are suffering as a result of this. Did you accept there is

sumping felt by animals? certain types of experiment yes,

but it is a question of balance, so if the research is particularly

critical, we will accept some level of suffering. But against we try to

keep it to a minimum always. Alistair Currie m people would say

that you are a minority tolding these views and by your slightly

intimidating campaigns against these travel companies you are

holding up what the majority want to continue? I don't think the

evidence really supports that. is the evidence? Polls tend to come

and go on this, but the most recent definitive poll said about 33% of

people did not support animal experimentation. That's substantial

minority. But it's a minority. Rather more than voted for the

Conservative Party in the last election for instance. These are

people whose voices should be recognised. People feel an

instinctive disquiet and revulsion towards animal experiments. The

support of those people who do offer support is based on the asuch

thags the animals are well looked after and there is no alternative.

Neither of those things is true. Come back on those points professor.

First of all I disagree about the survey. It depends how you ask the

questions. If you ask is it acceptable to use animals in

research for important medical reasons? The vast majority will say

yes. OK. The animals are looked after extremely well. They are

looked after well in animal facilities the UK which are very

tightly regulated. Transport which is the issue which came up today,

again animals transported to the UK are looked after very carefully.

The transport companies are regulated. And, the reason why

animals are brought into this country and also exported from this

country, it is not just a one-way traffic, is because these are the

best animal models for studying human conditions that people want

to acquire. And so if you stop that transport you stop the best animal

models being used. I'm afraid we are out of time. But Professor

Robin Lovell-Badge and Alistair Currie, thank you.

A reminder of our main news: Swiss police say a bus loaded with school

children that crashed on Tuesday night, killing 28 people, slammed

into a tunnel wall head-on. The bus was taking the children home to

Belgium after a skiing holiday. 22 children and six adults were killed.

That is our sad main headline today. From me Tim Willcox and the team in

Hello there. We did eventually see sunshine across the country.

Tomorrow, a slight change in that we are steadily losing our area of

high pressure, allowing weather front into the north and the west.

With a bit more of a breeze I think we will see more sunshine fro early

on in the day. As a result some higher temperatures. It will feel

warm. The exception is towards the north and west, where we still have

thicker cloud, some patchy rain in western Scotland and parts of

Northern Ireland. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon we've got sunshine

through north-east England. Temperatures at around 13-14

degrees. This breeze from the South West, that's helping to lift the

temperatures to the South East. We could see a 17 or 18 somewhere.

Feeling spring-like. But always thicker cloud across the west of

the country. Temperatures here more like 10 or 11. It should be dry

throughout the day. Wales seeing the best of the breaks

in the east, but for west Wales it is a cloudy and cool afternoon.

Northern Ireland starting to see patchy light rain and drizzle in

the afternoon. Heaviest in the north-west corner. Wetter weather

moving into western Scotland. But for eastern Scotland Thursday