08/07/2011 GMT with George Alagiah

No stone left unturned - David Cameron announces two inquiries

into the phone hacking a scandal as the political pressure mounts. The

press, the police and politicians all face months of scrutiny. Is

there is a watershed moment for Britain's political culture? There

are two choices. You can downplayed and deny that the problem is deeper,

or you can accept the seriousness of the situation and deal with it.

Welcome to GMT. I'm Stephen Sackur. Also in the programme: Desperate,

facing starvation. British aid agencies launched an appeal to help

the 10 million people now at risk of famine in East Africa.

And on the brink of nationhood: South Sudan is just hours from

independence, but will the good will on the new Sudanese frontier

It is 9:30pm in Sydney, 7:30am in New York City and half past noon in

London, where Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has

announced two investigations into what he called the disgusting phone

hacking scandal which has sent shockwaves through the country's

political culture. Mr Cameron pledged not just to get to the

truth of what happened at the Rupert Murdoch and News of the

World, but also to clean up the culture and ethics of the press.

Within minutes of the Prime Minister's words, police confirmed

the arrest of Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the

World who was hired by Mr Cameron to be his communications chief.

James Kelly has this report. Last night, it was one former News

of the World editor in the spotlight, with multiple calls for

her resignation. Today, it is another, Andy Coulson, who left the

paper after the first phone hacking scandal and went on to be director

of communications at Number 10. resigned from the News of the World

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

second chance, and no one has ever raised serious concerns about how

he did his job for me. But the second chance didn't work out, and

he had to resign all over again. The decision to hire him was mine

and mine alone, and I take full responsibility for it. The Prime

Minister gave a news conference to announce the details have not one

but two independent inquiries into the behaviour of the media. A full

public inquiry led by a judge will start after the police

investigation into alleged phone hacking and payments to officers is

complete. Another inquiry into the future of the press will start as

early as this summer. Under the watch of Labour leaders and

conservative leaders, politicians and the press have spent time

courting support not confronting the problems. It is on my watch

that the music has stopped, and I am saying loud and clear that

things have got to change. Yesterday, after days of damaging

revelations and the withdrawal by one big company after another

advertising, News International executives reached a decision to

close the News of the World. This company has been a great investor

in journalism, a great investor in media in general, and is something

that we believe very strongly in. And clearly, certain activities did

not live up to those standards, and that is a matter of great regret,

for me personally and for the company. The allegations have also

called into question the ongoing stake -- takeover of BSkyB by

Rupert Murdoch's firm. The leader of the opposition says that needs

fresh scrutiny. The notion that today, next week, in September,

this will be waved through on the basis of assurances from executives

at News Corporation frankly does not meet the test of public consent.

I just think there is no doubt about that. But the Prime Minister

stuck to his guns when asked about the future of the bid, saying the

Culture Secretary had to follow legal guidelines in assessing the

deal. For the hundreds a staff that News of the World, what happens to

their job now is equally unclear. Let's get another perspective on

all of this. We are joined by Bruce Orwall, the London bureau chief for

the Wall Street Journal which, like the News of the World, is owned by

News Corporation. Let's start with David Cameron. You obviously

watching his performance. Does he look like a prime minister who is

confident that he is on top of this scandal? I think he looks like a

prime minister who feels like he has a lot of issues to address with

this scandal. He of course, No. 1, has hired from the tabloid

newspaper that is as question here -- that is at question here his top

communications director, so that will hang over him. He also is

friendly with at the top news executive of News Corp in the UK,

Rebekah Brooks, who was under a lot of pressure to resign. That is two

issues that he has to deal with. His answer is to call for this

reboot of the whole made a political police culture here. He

is going to continue to face questions about all of this as long

as Andy Coulson is going through the legal process and Rebekah

Brooks as the top executive of News International. I notice you homed

in there on the question of Rebekah Brooks. Do you believe that Rupert

Murdoch very soon his gate take a decision that he will have to let

Rebekah Brooks go? Everything we know about that indicate to the

contrary. Rebekah Brooks is one of the people who is described by some

as being more family than family to Rupert. She is not related to him,

but she is like a very close family member, and she has been for years.

Does that equation change now that the Prime Minister has pushed her a

bit down the gangplank? It could be harder to resist, but so far the

indication that we have had is that they want to keep her. How rattled

you think is Murdoch, his family and people closest to him? I can't

say for sure how Rupert himself is dealing with it. It is obviously a

convulsive and distracting strategy that is leaching out into other

business operations. It is complicating and possibly delaying

their attempt to acquire BSkyB fully. It is tarnishing the

reputation of the country's news operations in the UK in a way that

is unflattering. And now it is reverberating be on the UK. Those

are not good things. That is why they took a decisive action

yesterday to just simply close the News of the World. Whether that is

enough to contain the damage, I think this scandal will roll on

regardless. I suspect that is true. We tend to you because you have an

outside perspective on this. What do you think it says about

Britain's political culture that a Prime Minister like David Cameron

can have such a close personal relationship with a senior news

executive like Rebekah Brooks? That Cameron clearly has been friendly

with the Murdoch organisation, as indeed Tony Blair was before him.

Do think there is something rotten at the heart of the political media

culture in Britain? Media and political and business elite always

have social relationships in any culture and society. But would it

work the same way in the United States? Is it conceivable President

Obama could have the sort of relationships? I couldn't see

President Obama hiring a top spokesperson from a tabloid

newspaper that runs the kind of stories that the News of the World

has done. The political, media, entertainment classes are all knit

together here in a much closer way than they are in the US. All those

centres are in one place in London. Everyone socialises with everyone

else. We are out of time, but very briefly, do think that they can be

on stitched? That is what Karen seemed to be pointing to today. --

Cameron. I think you can try to, but I think there are some deeply

rooted practices in the media culture here, and they think it

would be very difficult to unwind them in the long run. Bruce all,

Let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines

around the world today. Thousands of people are protesting across

Egypt at the perceived slow pace of change since the revolution five

months ago. Activists say the military regime has been reluctant

to prosecute the police involved in the deaths of protesters, and that

whilst Hosni Mubarak is no longer in power, his officials are still

in charge of the institutions. Syria has accused the United States

and interfering in its affairs after the US ambassador to the

country travelled to the flashpoint city of Hama. The visit by Robert

Ford was proof of US involvement in protests, they said. The US State

Department said the visit was to show solidarity with protesters.

Pakistan has responded angrily to comments by America's highest-

ranking military officer that it sanctioned the killing of a

Pakistani journalist in May. The Pakistani government spokesperson

described the allegation by admiral Mike Mullen as extremely

irresponsible. A terrible mass migration is under

way in East Africa. Thousands of people have abandoned their homes

in the hope of reaching refugee camps offering food and water. The

region is enduring its worst drought in 60 years. More than 10

million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have been affected,

and medical staff in the camps are struggling to cope. Britain's

Disasters Emergency Committee has launched a fund-raising appeal to

help, and there have been speaking to its chief executive, Brendan

Gormley, about precisely what needs to be done.

What we have as thousands of destitute people on the move,

moving into Ethiopia and Kenya. The charities that make up the DEC are

there, that is the good news. What they desperately want to do is

rampart their life-saving work. And to do that, they need extra cash.

We are asking the British public if they will dig deep yet again.

you have a figure in mind? What is needed? No, we are grateful for

anything that people will give. People are seeing awful pictures on

their screens, and we are there to make it easy for them to give. We

will ensure that money at between the charities, and to make sure

that the different things, clean water, food, is being delivered.

One of the problems I see on my television screen is that many of

the people in the worst affected areas are in Somalia. It is

terribly difficult to actually reach many of these people.

good news is that many of our charities have been working in

Somalia quietly for years. They have local staff and community

groups that they work with. And on top of that, the ruling elite have

opened up the frontiers. They say that they trust the charities. They

say, if you are only here to help our people, you are welcome. One of

those awful bottlenecks, as you know there has been a chronic

conflict the 20 years in Somalia, which has really sapped all have

the energy and resources away from the pastoral people who live there.

We know that some of the camps, in Kenya in particular, a terribly

overcrowded. Cams designed for 90,000 people already have hundreds

of thousands. Is one of the intentions, if you get more

resources, to build new camps? is not really the answer. The real

answer would be to help people get back. They know how to eke a living

in some of the most difficult environments in the world. With

water, with restocking, they can live there. If they are stuck in

camps, where not productive and they cannot look after themselves.

Clearly we have got to do life saving stuff now, and the camps

have got to be in good order, but what we desperately want is to

reach out to people before they get sucked into the camps, get their

basics going again, getting some seeds and tools, and restock.

Brendan Gormley there. Still to come on GMT, the final countdown.

But the US space shuttle is ready for his final mission - if the

First, let's get all the business news. Aaron Heslehurst is here. All

the talk today is about the Murdoch media empire.

Absolutely. At the end of the day, this is a numbers game. Sales of

the News of the World and its sister newspaper, the son, $1

billion, but it is a mere outpost in the entire Murdoch global

corporation, because News Corps had sales last year of $33 billion.

That didn't come from newspapers, it came from television. The Fox

network, $15 billion. That is why Murdoch is so keen to get full

control of BSkyB. But since the hacking scandal, a lot of members

of the public and now asking if News Corps would be a fit and

proper air owner for BSkyB. But that doesn't really impact on

the question of whether or not News Corp can take over BSkyB. That is a

question that has almost now been resolved. We have the solution

offered by News Corporation and BSkyB to hive-off Sky News and

address the issues that have been raised in that context. So now,

reverse engineering the process actually doesn't seem to work in

law. You can't go back and That is interesting. He was telling

me you would have to set up a whole new set of laws in Parliament.

were going to talk about it gloomy US jobs figures, but not today?

Optimism! We're going to see some solid cracking numbers from the US

in terms of how many new jobs were created in the month of June. This

off the back of some dismal numbers in May, only a few 1,000. Today we

are expecting something like 140 to 160,000 jobs. I asked why we were

expecting such a big jump. I think it is down to the energy costs this

year and also the Japanese earthquake, so we lot of

manufacturers shut down operations. Gasoline prices and energy costs

have fallen and the Japanese supply issues are unravelling as well.

This would be good news. The US recovery has always been seen as a

bit of a jobless recovery. It has been a big problem for the Obama

administration. Let's take a look at the markets, because they have

been focused pretty much on this story, because yesterday we also

had some cracking numbers from the US. We do want to hear what you

think. The best way to get in touch is through our website. You can see

recent interviews and we have are links to Facebook and Twitter there.

This is GMT from BBC World news. The headlines, the British Prime

Minister David Cameron has said there will be a full judge LED

inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal that has led to the closure

of the best selling Sunday newspaper, the News of the World.

A group of UK aid agencies is launching a joint appeal aimed at

helping 10 million people hit by the drought on the Horn of Africa.

The Republic of South Sudan is about to become the world's newest

nation. The people of southern Sudan have voted overwhelmingly to

declare independence from the North in a referendum last January. With

hours to go, southerners living in the North are reported to be

leaving in huge numbers. Zeinab Badawi has been to meet some of

those who have lost their jobs and Going out, not so much with a loud

bang as with a loud beat. The officers' club in Khartoum. An

emotional farewell. 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 we feel some sadness to

lose 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. I am going to take my freedom. They have been taking my

freedom up to now but now I am going to take it. I am very, very

grateful. There are about 20,000 southern Sudanese in the national

army. That is about 10%. Behind me, the Air Force, in front, the

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

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

Sudan's forces. They face an uncertain future in the south. Some

will choose to remain in the North. Another person forced it to give up

a much-loved job is Agnes Lukudu. Wonderful to see you. Lovely to see

you. If she is one of the most prominent Southern leaders in the

North, an adviser to President Bashir, and she considers him a

friend. You are Agnes Lukudu. You are ahead of the ruling National

Congress Party in the South, in the southern sector? Yes. But you are

going to be out of a job? Yes, this is the Presidential decree. It says,

I, President Bashir, have decreed on this particular day that the

following people. Their work -- will be stopping their work on 9th

July. And the following people include me. As the world waits to

see if the southern Sudanese can turn a concept into a viable,

thriving nation, not all, even tough of soldiers, can remain

clear-I'd about the future. That was Zeinab Badawi reporting

from Khartoum, but let's made a journey to Juba, the town that was

soon be the new capital of South Sudan. -- that will soon be.

This is the countdown clock and there you have it. Welcome to

Africa's youngest nation. It is counting down the hours and minutes

to the independence of South Sudan. The streets are fairly quiet and

that is because the roads have been closed off. You need special passes

to move around and there is a heightened security prisons. Not

surprising, given how many foreign dignitaries will be coming into

this town, which has never received as many visitors before. At this

time, the South is facing rebellion in many parts of the country.

There's also fear about the North- south border, so it is being born

as a new nation but at a time when there are new worries about what

will happen with his new independence and whether this

country will be stable and secure. -- this new independence. A few

people are blowing up balloons here and we understand that at midnight,

the church bells will ring out across the country, so preparations

are underway. A few soldiers are in the shade taking a break from the

hot Juba sun. But despite the challenges facing this country, the

expectations of the people here are sky-high.

That was our reporter in what will be the world's newest capital.

Talking about hours from now, that packhorse of the space age, the

space shuttle, is due to take off on its final mission. A vast crowd

is expected in Florida, Cape Canaveral, but they may remain

thwarted as the weather remains touch and go. We can go to Laura

Trevelyan de the space part. She is there live. What is it like? It is

not that promising. There is a patch of blue, but is it good

enough? This well before Atlantis to leave on its final journey.

Behind me, hundreds of people spend the night camped out. It is, people

hope, a defining and historic moment.

The last ever Shuttle, set for its last ever mission. The launch of

that land is marks the end of an era of space exploration. --

Atlantis. The first shuttle, Columbia, was launched in 1981. It

was supposed to be the start off a new era of regular, cheap space

exploration. The idea was that there would be launches once, maybe

even twice a week. That did not happen. Costs soared and there were

design problems. In 1986, the shuttle Challenger exploded on

launch. The entire crew, including a school teacher, was killed. And

the design flaws persisted. Columbia, Houston, check. There was

no answered. Columbia had exploded as it re-entered the Earth's

atmosphere in 2003. But the Shuttle also had its golden years.

Discovery put the Hubble space telescope into orbit in 1990,

opening the eyes of the world to the wonders of the universe. And

the fleet of shuttles helped build the International Space Station. It

that was not enough, though. With the loss of 14 lives and two

spacecraft, NASA decided the shuttle fleet would be mothballed

once the International Space Station was finished. So what do

the space enthusiasts may Cobbett? I am joined by two now. You we here

overnight sleeping in a chair. Why is is so important for you to be

here? We came down last time when they launched Atlantis and it is an

amazing spectacle. This is the last one so we could not miss it. It is

nearly 40 years since there was a man on the moon and America has led

the way in space exploration. Do you fill America might be slipping

behind? Absolutely not. It is not slipping behind but it is a

worldwide venture. The International Space Station is a

worldwide project so I think that speaks for itself. How do you feel

about this final mission? Is it a bittersweet moment? Is it clear

what at NASA are going to do next? I am sure they have a full schedule

of a flight launches but we are getting out of the man-space flight

business for the time being and hopefully we will get back to it

soon. Do you feel may be space has become a bit mundane and that is

why politicians are not so keen to give it funding? I think for the

younger generation, it might be mundane because they grew up with

it, but there's millions of us here from all nations. So enthusiasm is

alive and well here on the Florida coast.

We are coming to the end of GMT. A reminder of our main story, police

have arrested Andy Coulson, the former editor of News of the World

and former adviser to David Cameron. David Cameron has announced a