01/11/2013 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today, with me Zeinab Badawi.

He had a $5 million bounty on his head and was one of the world's most

wanted men. Now, the leader of the Pakistan Taliban is said to be dead.

Reports say Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike on his

home and car in north-west Pakistan. Around six also died with him and

many others were wounded. Several people have been injured

following a shooting incident at Los Angeles International Airport.

Flights in and out of the airport are suspended.

Also coming up... We hear from a survivor from the

Sahara Desert tragedy, who buried her sisters and mother and said

passing truck drivers refused to stop and help.

And forget about hammering out scripts and letters. One artist has

found a new use for the humble typewriter.

Hello and welcome. Let us take you straight to California, to Los

Angeles International airport. Several people are reported to be

injured after a shooting in terminal three. Authorities are holding a

press conference right now. We will next year from the FBI agent in

charge, who will talk a little about about the investigation. Good

afternoon. Firstly, we are working hand-in-hand with our partners, the

Los Angeles Police apartment, the airport police in respect of these

investigation. It is ongoing. We have got very few facts. We are

working with the US attorney 's office, as well, but I am not going

to talk about the victims as yet. We will bring our resources to be in

conjunction with our teams here which includes a response teams and

any other resources. At this point, we do not see any additional threats

at the airport. Thank you. The last speaker to speak to you, before I

take questions, I want to thank the officers from the Los Angeles Police

Department here, whose quick action saved many more lives today. Good

morning. I just want to reiterate what has been said and to thank the

first responders here, the airport police, the fire department, the FBI

and the Los Angeles police department. There is a natural

inclination when you hear gunfire to fully and duck and in this instance,

the people who hear them ran towards the incident to save lives. To see

the command working together here today seamlessly was awe-inspiring.

I also want to thank the public for their patients and their cooperation

and ask that that continues throughout the day. We have heard

there are two fatalities and one critical? Can you confirm that? I

cannot confirm that at this moment. This is an airport that has very

little jurisdiction. We have FBI as it is on board and the investigative

lead has been taken by the FBI. Is there any indication as to why he

was doing this? Not I am that I am aware of. Any dynamic situation we

have things unfold so rapidly, and many people come forward, there is

always some bit of chaos at times like this. People are always putting

forward the theory that there could be additional suspects. As we stand

at the moment, there is only one individual responsible for the

shooting. I want to follow up what the mere had said regarding the

officers who went on after this individual. This individual was

shooting as he went into the terminal. The officers, ADP, they

did not hesitate. They went after this individual when confronted them

in our airport. Unfortunately, it involved a shooting, but that is

what needed to be done at that time. We practice for this. Not three

weeks ago, we took every one of our officers and a couple of hundred

officers from the Los Angeles Police department and we practised an exact

scenario to that which played out today. I was talking to the officers

involved in this a few minutes ago and he said that training was

critical to how they responded to this. They are well trained

officers. All of the agency 's acumen, for there is from the Los

Angeles police department or those who work at the airport hand-in hand

with them, everyone with them came to help us get through this

particular incident and we appreciate the help. Why are you not

addressing the information I was asking about? I do not know that

information. We are trying to develop information on the suspect.

That is the responsibility of the FBI. That will be determined. If you

are asking me whether that information is clear at this point,

it is not. That is the official response. I'd using you do not know

who the shooter is? The suspect got back into the terminal, near a

burger king, and was able to get back there. I appreciate all the

questions and we will have more information shortly. You are

listening to a live press conference from Los Angeles International

airport, because there was a shooting their earlier today. One

gunman has been shot by police and taken into custody. The suspect had

been carrying a high-powered rifle. The police believe only one is

involved. The policy someplace are arriving at the airport now. In the

past few hours it has been reported that the leader of the Pakistani

Taliban was one of three people killed in a suspected US drone

strike. Intelligence officials in Pakistan

say agents sent to the site of the attack in the North Waziristan

tribal area Friday confirmed the death of militant leader Hakimullah

Mehsud. If this is confirmed, it would

represent a major blow at the heart of the Pakistan Taliban.

In a recent BBC interview, Mehsud had indicated that he was willing to

hold talks with the Pakistani authorities and, indeed, today, the

Government was planning to send a peace delegation to hold talks with

the Taliban, to try to get it to end its violence.

In a moment we talk to a former official in Waziristan. First, this

is what Mehsud told the BBC in an exclusive interview just last month.

We believe in having talks. The government has taken no serious step

two approaches. The government needs to set weathers and then we will

present our conditions. That was talking to the BBC last month.

Joining us now from Washington is Professor Akbar Ahmed, who served as

Pakistan's High Commissioner here in London and was also an official in

South Waziristan. This is a big catch for the United States? It is.

It is a very big deal. By all accounts, this man was the head of

the most deadly fire day of the Caliban and we do not want to

glamorise a massmurderer like him, but he had the skill, and I for

military skill and tactics, causing hail across Pakistan and really

causing chaos to the law and order the and has death is wonderful for

Pakistan and the United States. Of course, it may create many other

problems. What now for the Pakistan Taliban?

Hakimullah Mehsud had asked for talks with the Government there Is

this a reflection of his organisation's growing

marginalisation or may it even be a shot in the arm for the Taliban

there? He will be very quickly replaced, but the question is

whether the new man wants to continue a question of dialogue or

whether he wants to follow the path of revenge for the dead leader and

to campaign -- continually campaign of terror. What is your guests to

that big question? It does not just involve the tribal leaders, but also

Islam a bad, it involves Washington and the president of the United

States and the president of Pakistan. It was assumed that the

drone attacks would be suspended, but on his return, the Prime

Minister sought to drone strikes. The tradesmen say, who do we talk

to? Who can we trust in this campaign if we want to have dialogue

and we want peace? Above all, they must be peace and stability, that is

the priority. Will the Pakistan authorities come out against the use

of drone strikes, particularly if this images that innocent civilians

died in this? That is another good question. On the one hand, there is

no doubt that the will be released and happiness that this man has been

taken out, but there is the official position on the Domino Pakistan that

we do not want any more drone strikes, which we view as a

violation of all types of treaties. It is a delicate balance that the

gunmen of Pakistan will have do maintain. Many people in the Army

will be real weaved he is dead, but once again, Pakistani air space has

been violated. The United States also has the sure some delicacy

handling this crisis. Thank you very much for talking to his. We have got

some other breaking news. This time, from Greece. Police say two men have

been shot dead in what they say was a drive-by shooting outside the

office of the far right Golden Dawn Harty. It is not known who the

attack -- the victims where or whether it was a politically

motivated attack. We will bring you more geeky news on that as soon as

we get it. The identities not yet known. .

The German government says it wants to talk to fugitive US intelligence

contractor Edward Snowden, to find out more about the reports of the

bugging of Chancellor Angela Merkel's telephone.

This comes on the day that an MP from the German Green Party,

Hans-Christian Stroebele, has been talking about his meeting with

Edward Snowden in Moscow this week. He says Mr Snowden told him that he

is willing to help a German investigation. The German NPD

skaters see our meeting with Eduard Snowden and Moscow. He said the

fugitive seemed happy and healthy. He wants to explain how the United

States intelligence agencies broke a law. Eduard Snowden is how he may

look move from Russia to Germany. He can imagine travelling to Germany,

providing there is a guarantee he could stay the or another country

where he could be saved. He is seeking safe passage following

asylum. Eduard Snowden 's fees to stay in Russia expires next June and

if it does not be extended, he will face a problem. In BLM, the American

ambassador said as embassy is not a nest to end espionage, as it has

been labelled by some. We add in the communication business. We

communicate with other embassies around the world, back to

Washington. We have satellite dishes and received telecommunications and

other types of communication. I would not get too excited about

these articles that they are all sorts of electronics in the

embassy. Some MPs are treating Edward Snowden like a hero and the

Government says it is interested in what information he has. It is clear

that in this country, he is not public enemy number one as he may be

in parts of the United States. The Government of new share has

declared three days of mourning after 92 days were found in the

Sahara desert -- in Niger. Most of them were women and children. Their

vehicles had broken down as they were trying to cross the desert and

they died of thirst. Migrants are usually men and the authorities in

Niger say they are puzzled about what this group was doing there

Still, Northern Niger lies on a major corridor for irregular Mike

Gration -- irregular migration. The movements of this particular group

are shown on the map. They travelled north from the city of Agadez in

central Niger and headed towards Algeria, they broke down about ten

kilometres from the border. 19 of the group managed to reach the

Algerian city of Tamanrasset but were caught and sent back to Niger.

This route is often used by migrants heading towards the Mediterranean

coast cities of Algiers and Tripoli in Libya, trying to cross the sea to

Europe. One of those who survived this arduous journey has been

talking to the BBC. 14-year-old Shafa from Niger told us her

ordeal. TRANSLATION: We waited for four days in the desert with no

water before we started walking Some vehicles passed us by and we

try to stop them but nobody would stop. We sat under a tree and that

was where one of my sisters died. We buried her there. Then we continued

walking and after a day, our second sister died. And then on the third

day, my mother died. I buried all of them myself. I am living with my

aunt. I heard that only myself and a little girl and 18 men survived the

journey out of more than 100 of us. The voice that of Shafa who survived

that tragic journey across the desert. Germany has become the first

country in Europe to allow newborn babies with physical characteristics

of both sexes to be registered as neither male nor female. From today,

the parents of such children will be allowed to leave the gender bank on

birth certificates. The move is aimed at removing pressure on

parents to make quick decisions about sex assignment surgery for

newborn babies. It is thought that up to one in every 2000 people

worldwide have characteristics of both sexes. They are known as

intersex because they have a mixture of male and female chromosomes or

even genitalia which have characteristics of both genders

German passports which currently list the holder's sex as M or F will

have a third for intersex holders, X. I have been joined here in the

studio by Professor Faisal Ahmed from the University of Glasgow

conducting research into this area of medicine and also by Holly

Greenberry, the founder of Intersex UK. Holly, first of all, tell us

what you think about this move. Not just your own personal opinion but

everybody involved in your work at Intersex UK. Initially it has been a

great move to bring this to the attention of the Government. There

are some concerns over this, potentially giving a child and X

identifier could give them an unusual circumstance, there may be a

concern over children who may be identified with an X. Faisal Ahmed,

what do you think about this? Does it make sense from a medical board

of you to give doctors and parents a bit of reading space? Before they

decide whether to carry out reassignment surgery? Yes, I guess

the reassignment surgery is a small part of that. From a clinical

perspective, I think the issue has been very much that in Germany there

has been lots of pressure on the professionals as well as parents to

come up with decisions on sexual reassignment on 14 days of the

birth. These are other true deadlines and in England, Northern

Ireland, Wales, our deadline is about 42 days. That is not much

longer though, is it? That is naturally quite a long time mummy

are looking at the time needed to do tests -- that is actually quite a

long time when you look at the time needed to do tests. A period when

they are deciding for themselves what they would like as far as what

the gender should be. It is a long period and adults are not completely

sure what gender they may be so that is another issue. As they get older,

they are maybe not sure. Holly, when a child is born and then perhaps has

no surgery but doctors are forced to put down male or female, later on in

life, that person grows up and thinks they have got the wrong

gender, they cannot change their birth certificate then, can they?

Because that would amount to falsifying a public document so they

may be lumbered with a document that says female when they are really

living as a male. There are a number of conditions where that can occur

and for some people, that is the case certainly. What is important in

the UK is we recognise that what is vital is the support of parents when

a child with an intersex condition is born or as a child grows and the

condition is discovered. We have to stop medicalising it and feel that

these are irreversible changes and do them -- and put these children

through irreversible changes. There is a loss of body autonomy,

significant damage that it can create and it is irreversible.

Doctors do not know how a child will develop by inference. And parents

need that support. Professor, is the surgery irreversible? Is an IDM

medically. There are a number of conditions. We are trying to move

away from the phrase "intersex" and try to describe it as differences in

sex development and so on, to give the impression and it is an image

that there is a spectrum so there are children born who have... Boys

who have a he is and it is not in the right place -- who have male

genitalia. Or a female with an ovary and they won but perhaps more like

male genitalia. -- an ovary and a womb. The surgery itself would be

irreversible but there is a trend nowadays that there is less surgery

going on compared to what it was before but absolutely, there are

different standards of care across the country and the world and we

have to appreciate that and try to educate people. Thank you very

much, both of you. Sorry to rush you on this rather delicate matter.

Thank you very much. In a world of computers, iPods and smartphones,

the humble typewriter has found itself on the shelf but one woman

has found a new way of using those forgotten Remingtons, Olivettis and

Adlers. Keira Rathbone uses them to create artworks like those behind

me. She found inspiration after sitting behind a typewriter with a

desire to type something that found she had nothing to say. I have the

typewriter in front of me, and a desire to type but nothing to say. I

started pressing the same keys and looking at the marks to try to make

something visual. Rather than actually making words.

I started around ten years ago. I thought everybody would want to do

this. But as I noticed it was my art form and tried to contextualise it

at university, I quickly discovered nobody was doing it now. The little

figures can be just a few seconds and then something like the

Hammersmith Bridge, I would go down there and type things which would

take about two or three hours over ten or 12 sessions like that.

The last event I did was an art fair in London and for the first time, I

had an open typewriter so I was just typing anything and then I would

type the people. There is one. This skirt has got a

jazzy pattern on it and good shoes as well. It is more like the essence

of what you see rather than the detail which I enjoyed. If they

move, you just get like the arm they don't get a head. Some people

are very sentimental about them and they want to tell me about how their

dad used to repair them but for me it is just when the kids come along

and they have never seen a typewriter before. They say, "what

is it?" I think they will all outlive us,

typewriters! I do not think we will run out of them unless everybody

puts them in landfill. Keira Rathbone and her amazing

typewriter art. That is all from the programme, next the weather, no

storms in Europe I hope this weekend. Goodbye.

Strong winds will feature in the weather for some of us this weekend

as yet another