29/09/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Rajesh Mirchandani.

For a fourth day, tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators

And the stand off is causing concern in Beijing as well - this is one

of the biggest protests China's government has faced in decades.

Already, the celebratory fireworks have been cancelled here and now

Beijing has to look at this instead. Just miles from Baghdad -

the Islamic State group's advance through Iraq is halted close to

the capital. After six months' political

deadlock, Ashraf Ghani is sworn in as Afghanistan's new president -

the country's first democratic And the Ryder Cup is over

for another year - but all the talk is on what's

happened off the green, and whether it was acceptable for a US golfer to

implicitly criticise his captain. In Hong Kong, tens of thousands of

pro-democracy protesters have been blocking major areas for a fourth

day, shutting down the business These are pictures of the scene

from Monday night. The crowds on the streets have been

a mix of students and supporters of the Occupy Central pro-democracy

movement. Because Beijing said Hong Kong

residents could have elections to choose their local leader in 2017 -

but only from a centrally approved China took back control of the

territory from the British in 1997. Since then it's been "one country,

two systems". The protests have been mostly

peaceful - but they grew on Monday, as some 3,000 people blocked

a major road in Mongkok To the east of the city centre,

in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, up to 10,000 people

have been on the streets on Monday. Overnight, authorities used tear gas

to disperse protesters Police pulled back on Monday

and they say they've used But a total of 41 people have been

injured in the past three days. Thousands of activists also occupied

the area around Hong Kong's financial district, and seem set to

remain there again tonight. The government has said it is

resolute in opposing Our China editor Carrie Gracie

reports. The financial system did not

collapse and there was no chaos. So much for the dire warnings

from the Hong Kong government There were no buses

but no-one wanted to leave anyway. After last night's tear gas, they

passed their time preparing remedies All ages and backgrounds,

even one billionaire. If we can't be touched

by these young kids, But there are voices

warning that protest is illegal We need to work within

the framework of our constitution. There is no point

in stirring up confrontation between As night fell, the crowd swelled,

sending Beijing a message - that they're a post-colonial generation

who won't put up with exchanging one So they want rid

of a leader answerable to Beijing and free elections for a new one,

accountable to Hong Kong instead. I hope, finally,

we can give more pressure and get This Wednesday, the 1st of October,

is the most important date It's the anniversary

of the Communist Revolution. Already, the celebratory fireworks

have been cancelled here and now 1.3 billion Chinese citizens must

not be allowed to look, though. On the mainland,

there's tight censorship And the longer Hong Kong's defiance

goes on, the more humiliating and dangerous

it feels to China's leadership. He was the editor of the

South China Morning Post at the time of the handover of Hong Kong, and

the author of seven books on China. If anybody knows what's going on,

you do. What is Beijing's strategy? On Monday, we saw that the protests

were bigger but more peaceful. A correspondent Waldouck a carnival

atmosphere, and police pulled back. What does Beijing hope will happen?

It must be said that Hong Kong is normally a very peaceful, very

orderly place indeed, which makes these scenes the more extraordinary

and striking. It's really because, I think, 17 years after the handover,

on both the Beijing side and the pro-democracy side, you have the

sharpening of attitudes which has been very apparent this year.

Beijing issued a White Paper earlier in the year basically saying, "we

will do what we want and Hong Kong had better behave itself and we will

only allow patriotically to sue love the country to run for chief

executive, judges should be patriotically, " and so on. That is

Beijing asserting itself. On the other hand, a generation of

pro-democracy politicians who are new in Hong Kong who, after

handover, came into fruition after the reforms of the last governor,

Chris Patten. They've been out run now by them or article people, the

Occupy Central and the students. -- by the more radical people. Hong

Kong think the two system part of it is more important but Beijing can't

just let this go on, can they? Yet they can't crack down to harshly

because Hong Kong as a free press and it would be all over it. Yes,

Hong Kong is different in that way but what you say is absolutely

right. At the time of the handover, everybody was very happy with one

country, two systems. That means that Hong Kong system would degree

with a hide -- would continue a high degree of autonomy. What people

forget about is that Beijing would not in Beijing, one country came

first, and the preservation of the Chinese nation became a very

important element in the policy of the new leader Xi Jinping, who is a

strong leader, asserting himself in western China with a lot of unrest,

and he is clearly going to do the same in Hong Kong. That does mean

ongoing confrontation. The White House has said it supports universal

suffrage in Hong Kong and the aspirations of the Hong Kong people

but apart from words, I'm not sure what other countries can do. Where

is this heading? What looms large as the shadow of Tiananmen Square. Of

course. I don't think we're moving towards that at the moment, partly

because of the nature of Hong Kong. There is a silent majority in Hong

Kong who normally don't like unrest or disturbance. On the other hand,

they don't might be feeling that Big Brother is looking over their

shoulder and this is a very sensitive issue so I think other

countries will not wish to get involved in it. But Xi Jinping has

got a new quandary on his plate which, in a sense, he's brought on

himself. Thanks very much for coming in and speaking with us.

Let's cast our attentions to Iraq. Iraqi ground forces,

backed by air strikes, appear to have halted the advance of

jihadi extremists - but only five miles west of Baghdad, according to

local sources the BBC spoke to. The so-called Islamic State control

large swathes of Anbar province, including - crucially - the city

of Falluja, which they captured From there, the jihadis have

launched attacks towards Baghdad - and there have been pockets

of fighting along its outskirts. The latest clashes,

which lasted two days, were along the road between Falluja and

Baghdad near Amariyat al Falluja. Our chief international

correspondent Lyse Doucet sent this report from the area -

some parts you may find upsetting. Actually, Lyse Doucet joins us live

from Baghdad. Reports reach Baghdad every day of lashes. Large swathes

of the area have been under the control of the so-called Islamic

State fighters, including control of the key city of Fallujah. We are

told that there are battles taking place in the past few days, as you

mentioned, around a strategic town near Fallujah. They had to call in

Iraqi strikes because the tribal fighters and the Iraqi army weren't

able to hold back the IS fighters who were tracking from 20

directions. Those kind of battles are taking place in neighbouring and

bar. We went to see what is called the protective belt on the edge of

Baghdad to see how the defences of Baghdad were holding up.

Heading to the last defences between Baghdad and so-called

In recent weeks, the IS attacked this route

We're travelling with two powerful sheikhs.

Their task - to rally the tribes and help stop

There have been heavy battles right here, Sheikh Ali tells me.

"Our brothers were here," he says, pointing to the gunmen.

Don't be fooled by their relaxed pose.

The frontline lies along that horizon.

Beyond that, just 16 miles away, IS is in charge.

This is the border between us and IS.

They threaten the Baghdad protective belt.

We need air support from civilised countries like the US and Britain.

When fighters of the so-called Islamic State moved

at lightning speed across northern Iraq in June, and took

the second city of Mosul, it set off alarm bells in many capitals,

including Baghdad, with fear that they could also move in here.

And now, after more than six weeks of air strikes, the people

Islamic State fighters are about five miles away.

Iraqi soldiers like this young man are on front lines near Baghdad.

This is the first interview by a survivor.

TRANSLATION: We heard the IS fighters.

Bodies were falling on top of me, hiding me.

There was blood everywhere, then my mobile started to ring.

One of the IS answered it and said, "this is the mobile of your coward

We have shot and beheaded the cowards".

The IS have a tradition after they shoot people.

They cut their heads off to show how many they have killed.

They started to cut but the call came from the bridge,

Iraq faces an unprecedented crisis, this prominent MP tells me.

The Iraqi state is facing, for the first time, an existential threat.

This existential threat is that there's somebody else claiming

Did you fear they could make into Baghdad?

They are 26km from where we're sitting now.

Even Western and Iraqi air strikes haven't helped these fighters

What happens if the jihadi is make it into Baghdad? We have to be aware

that there is, in addition to the tribal fighters we were travelling

with, Iraqi army soldiers posted all around Baghdad and there are also

powerful Shi'ite macrame Lish is. They have launched a major

recruitment drive. -- Shi'ite militias. Everywhere you move, you

are stopped by checkpoints, by army police, by some of the Shi'ite

militias. Inside Baghdad, there is an extensive security network so I

think the IS forces -- if the IS forces came closer, they would be

pushed back but it's a question of whether there are weak points all

around Baghdad that they would be able to penetrate. That is the great

concern because so many of the reports we're getting from the front

lines, like that young man you heard from their... He was very bitter

about his treatment by his Iraqi officers. He didn't have food or

water for days and hadn't been paid his salary so it underlines that

this is an Iraqi army which is not fit for the kind of fighting that

they must do now if they are to save not just Baghdad but the rest of

their country. Always great to talk to you. Thank you very much.

Afghanistan has had its first ever democratic handover of power,

with Ashraf Ghani being sworn in as the country's new president.

He replaces Hamid Karzai, who led the country for 12 years.

It's been a struggle to get here - months of bitter argument

Now President Ghani will head a government of national unity with

Abdullah Abdullah - the runner-up and his main rival.

I'm joined now by a former State Department Senior Adviser who

worked on Afghanistan, Vali Nasr. He's now Dean of the

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

How significant is this moment for the Afghan people? It is very

important, it is the first transition from one president to

another, and even though the elections are fraught with

problems, also, Afghanistan came close to a major political crisis

and the fact that we are having an agreement between these two

contenders in a national unity government and the swearing in today

is very important, in terms of stability in that country. Is it

going to lead to stability? There has been such huge disarray over the

election. There was widespread selection method amid suspicion of

fraud which caused a total recount and both sides pulled out of the

recount, so can they abide by this balance of power and work together?

In reality, neither one is a legitimate president of Afghanistan

because we don't have formal numbers and both sides have accused the

other of rigging the elections. The elections are now tainted. What we

believe is the two of them put together is legitimate, and the two

of them put together, whichever way you counted, probably account for

the majority of votes. This will work as long as there is no

disagreement and as they begin to rule over the country, it is likely

they will disagree on things such as reconciliation with the Taliban, the

pace of reform, anti-corruption, and when that happens, there has to be

mechanism for crisis management, otherwise this unity government

could fall apart. But for now, we have averted a crisis in having at

least the swearing in happening. But is it enough now to have this

democratic handover of power and a democratic government? Without the

institutions of democracy, a strong, free press, an independent

judiciary and a strong civil society, those are the things that

make democracy flourish? This is not about democracy, it is about a

legitimate government. The key is that according to the Afghan

constitution, there had to be a transfer of power from an outgoing

president to an incoming president based on a boat, and I think that

was the key issue. It is not a functioning democracy -- based on a

vote. It is still at war with a Taliban insurgency and we shouldn't

be asking too much of it. The key issue is Afghanistan could have been

in a major crisis had it not been for this unity pact and the key for

the international committee is how do we keep this unity moving

forward? We don't want to take our eyes off Afghanistan and see an

internal crisis that could be dipped towards where, for instance, Iraq is

today. Very interesting, thank you for your time.

Now a look at some of the day?s other news:

A new study has found that more than 3,000 migrants have died

trying to cross the Mediterranean since January.

In the most comprehensive research into refugee deaths to date,

the International Organisation for Migration says Europe's

by far the most dangerous destination for illegal migrants.

The continent is the destination of three-quarters

46 Belgians have gone on trial charged with belonging to

a jihadi organisation alleged to have recruited fighters for Syria.

Prosecutors described Sharia-For-Belgium

as a well structured terrorist group that brainwashed young people

The group's alleged leader was one of eight suspects to appear

The others are thought to be in Syria,

Spain's government has asked the country's constitutional court

to declare Catalonia's planned independence referendum illegal.

The head of the north-eastern Spanish region

signed a decree on Saturday calling for a vote on the 9th of November.

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans joined a protest in Barcelona

earlier this month, calling for a vote.

At least 36 people are thought to have been killed after

a Japanese volcano erupted without warning at the weekend.

The search for survivors had been suspended

because of the growing danger from toxic gas.

The eruption at Mount Ontake is the first deadly volcanic eruption

in the country for more than 20 years.

Day three since this mountain suddenly exploded into life,

it continues to spew a thick column of smoke and ash into the sky.

On Sunday, soldiers had climbed up here to rescue survivors.

Today, they began the task of recovering the dead.

We watched as this helicopter repeatedly headed back

into the ash cloud to collect the bodies.

By the end of the day, at least 12 had been brought down,

but many more remain stuck close to the crater, unable to be recovered.

Even down here, four miles away from the summit,

there is a strong, pungent smell of sulphur and you can feel this fine,

The fact that this eruption is still going on is making the recovery

In Tokyo, Japan's prime minister was still calling it a rescue operation.

TRANSLATION: We will keep doing our best to rescue people

and we will be cautious and on alert for further eruptions.

Why there was no warning of Saturday's eruption

Hundreds of hikers were caught on the volcano.

This video shot by one hiker shows the horrifying moment

the massive ash cloud rolls down and envelops him.

The rock was falling like hail stones.

We covered our faces with anything we could find.

We couldn't breathe or even open our eyes.

Despite the Prime Minister's commitment to keep searching,

it now seems all but impossible that anybody else could have

Now when something at work doesn't go to plan, is it acceptable

Well, that's what happened in the world of golf.

After Europe retained the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles this weekend, American

veteran Phil Mickelson openly questioned the methods of his

captain Tom Watson and praised the former captain - Paul Azinger -

who previously led the team to success.

There were two things that allowed us to play our best,

One was he got everybody invested in the process.

He got everybody invested in who they were going to play with,

who the picks were going to be, who was going to be in their pod.

He had a great game plan for us, you know, how we were going to go

about doing this, how we were going to go about playing,

what we were going to do if so and so is playing well,

And those two things helped us bring out our best golf.

Let's get more on this from our sports team. Tulsen Tollett joins

me. It wasn't exactly what Phil

Mickelson said, it is what he didn't say. He was praising the previous

captain, is that the same as having a dig at the current captain, Tom

Watson? I think you are certainly having a dig, there was no doubt

about that. Phil Mickelson is or was very calculated with what he says.

If you cast your mind back before the Ryder Cup, he mentioned the

situation between Graeme McDowell's management company and Rory

McIlory's former management company, which one on the same, and saying

the Americans don't litigate against each tiller, and he knew what he was

doing what actions it would bring about -- against each other. But

another thing here, sports people are Bland and do not give anything

away and as soon as someone says something interesting, we say, why

do they say that? So you can see why sportspeople at times don't say what

they feel but on this occasion, he gave Tom Watson both barrels and he

knew exactly what he was saying and Tom Watson will not be there for the

next Ryder Cup in 2016. we have the phrase "take one for the team". But

it doesn't matter, it, because Tom Watson will not be there for 2016.

Speak ill of Phil Mickelson doesn't have a great record, he has lost

eight of the games he was involved in. I think one of the most

interesting things that will come out of this, Tom Watson will make

his final appearance next year in the open, and what will happen if he

is paired with Phil Mickelson in the second round, that could be very

interesting indeed. we will be talking to you about that! Thank you

very much indeed. Actor George Clooney and his bride,

human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, have legalised their marriage

in a civil ceremony in Venice. At the weekend,

a host of famous guests celebrated the couple's nuptials

at a lavish wedding reception. As they arrived by boat to formalise

their marriage in a civil ceremony, they were followed by a small

flotilla of photographers eager to They married at a reportedly

lavish party on Saturday night. Today's ceremony, at Venice's City

Hall, was a civil service officially It was presided over by former Rome

mayor and close friend of Clooney, Clooney is one of Hollywood's

biggest figures and Saturday's celebration was attended

by stars including actors Matt Damon Amal Alamuddin is

a successful human rights lawyer who has represented figures including

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Their weekend wedding celebrations

have attracted huge interest from tourists in Rome and

from journalists and photographers Today, the couple spent around ten

minutes inside the City Hall before leaving as they arrived -

by boat. They are now expected to set off

on their honeymoon. Another way to sell this story is

globally renowned human rights lawyer marries actor who got his

break on The Golden Girls. I just thought I was silent. You can follow

me on Twitter. Thank you for joining us.

September 2014 may well be one of the driest on record but we finished

the month with a West-East split, the driest of