10/09/2012 BBC World News

The US hands over control of Bagram Prison, transferring 3000 Taliban

fighters and terrorism suspects to Army bomb disposal experts are at

the home of the British couple shot dead in the French Alps as a

potentially explosive substance is found.

Unrest spreads in South Africa as striking workers ignored calls by

Marikana bosses to return to work. Workers at the goldmine have also

downed tools. Welcome to BBC World News. Also

coming up: her it is farewell from London 2012 as the Paralympic Games

closed with a spectacular ceremony. And President Obama is literally

swept off his feet by a fan in The United States has handed over

control of a controversial prison to the Afghan government despite

the apparent disagreements between the sides on the fate of hundreds

of inmates. A major questions remain over the fate of Bagram

prison's more than 3000 inmates, including around 50 foreigners not

covered by the agreement. The Afghan government ruled out any

question of a delay to the handover, to be marked by a ceremony at what

is officially called the Parwan Detention Facility, adjacent to the

US base of Bagram north of Kabul. President Hamid Karzai has long

demanded that Afghanistan take formal control of the prison. It

has known it would have a significant bearing on long-term

Afghan-US relations. Today at the detention facility next to the US

airfield at Bagram, it was handed over at the ceremony, Afghan

officials calling it a proud day. The Americans maintained that

Bagram had played its part in securing the future of the country.

We transferred more than 3000 Afghan detainees into your custody

at an expedient rate and ensured that those who threatened the

partnership of Afghanistan and coalition forces would not return

to the battlefield. But even as the handover was taking place, there

were still disagreements over the fate of hundreds of the inmates and

over the interpretation of the memorandum of understanding between

the US and the Afghan authorities. The Americans still want to be able

to conduct their own interrogations. They don't trust the Afghan

government to hold these high-value targets because of concerns about

corruptions and detainees escaping and whether they will get adequate

guarantees that they will not face the risk of torture in the Afghan

detention facilities. demonstrates a key underlining

problem as the US and its allies increasingly handover security

control to the Afghans in the country as a whole. It is

unfortunate that after 11 years of this partnership, where we have

signed a strategic agreement with the US, we are still talking about

issues of trust. The United States needs to trust its staff and

partners. One happens now at Bagram, with its controversial history

surrounding the agreement of detainees, will be closely watched

in Afghanistan and far beyond. A third of the South African

workforce has downed tools at a gold Fields mine west of

Johannesburg in the latest Labour stoppage to hit the mining sector

of Africa's largest economy. Up to 15,000 workers are said to be

involved. This comes just under a week after a strike ended at

another part of the same mind. Let's get more from our reporter in

Johannesburg. What is going on in different parts of the country

today? On the pattern Amal -- mind belt in Marikana, the miners who

were striking for a salary increase last month have come out again to

march to demand the same salary increase. They are saying that

following the shootings that led to 34 people dying last month, it has

not resulted in a new salary. So they are still striking for the

very reason that led them to that fatal shooting protest. But in

another part of the country, a gold mine which is run by another

country, 50,000 miners have downed tools over there since the night

shift began. They are also demanding a pay hike and other wage

negotiations. That is what is going on in South Africa today.

politically difficult is this getting for the government?

Feelings are clearly very strong among the workforces. Everybody who

is anybody is involved in this platinum mine strike. The

government is involved, Labour is involved, the politicians, anyone

has been there. Other unions signed a peace accord last week to try and

defuse the tensions. The alarm in platinum mine is the third largest

platinum producer on the planet. So the peace accord was meant to try

and calm the tension so that the heightened at spirit there comes

down and the violence is taken away. But that has not happened, because

of the miners still want a salary increase of 12,500 rand per month,

which is about $1,500 a month. Aaron is here now with all the

business. Francois Hollande is under pressure. He came out with a

speech last night? He has the world on his shoulders. The French

President has come under criticism for dragging his feet on how he

turns -- plans to turn around the economy. He did a big TV interview

last night. He said "my mission is a recovery plan, and the time frame

is two years". So he says he will turn around the economy in two

years. Many are saying good luck, Mr President. He said he wants to

combat high joblessness. French unemployment is 10%. Among under

25s, it is nearly 23%. There is falling competitiveness in the

country and a serious deficit. How will he do it? He says there will

be $38 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts. He will stick to

their controversial 75% tax rate on the bridge for those who earn more

than EUR1 million. It is causing a lot of French people to buy London

property. We can speak now to the head off economic European research

at Deutsche Bank. Let's start with that quote by the French President

"my mission is a recovery plan. The time frame is two years". Can

Francois Hollande turn the economy around in two years? Have probably

not, but at least he can deliver on some crucial issues, in particular

the deficit issue, which is probably within the grasp of the

French administration to bring the deficit back in line with the

European targets. France came out with a deficit last year which will

probably end up at 4.5% this year. Next year will be a very important

goal. It has been reformed yesterday by Hollande that on

structural issues, dealing with competitiveness, he can start

reforms. But it will take time before we see the payout. The

question is what kind of competitiveness we will have by the

time he seeks re-election in five years' time. You say he can try to

tackle the deficit. I assume that is what is behind the tax increases

and government spending. But how did that go down on the ground in

France, given that EUR25 billion worth of tax cuts and another EUR10

billion in government spending cuts, how will that go down given that

they are the biggest tax hikes in France in three decades? It is a

tall order, especially in a situation where the overall tax

burden in France is already very high, one of the highest in the

OECD. It will not go down well. It is never pleasant to hear about tax

hikes. But in the short run, you have a fair body of evidence that

says that if you have to cut a deficit in times of a single

downturn, which is the situation right now, it is better to do it

via tax hikes than for via expenditure cuts. It sounds

counter-intuitive, but this is the experience of the last 30 years.

From may macro point of view, it is right to focus at least in the

first instance on taxes rather than expenditure. In political terms,

there is a cost. But from what I heard yesterday, it seems that he

would try to shield his own electoral base from the wrath of

the tax hikes. You probably know that in France, only half of French

households pay income tax at all. So if you move on income tax, you

will only hurt at the upper end of the income distribution. I would

also expect a lot of tax hikes on the business sector. This is

probably wear things will be most sensitive. Everyone is focusing on

the 75% tax. That sends a signal to successful people who want to stay

in France. But the key will be the kind of treatment that the

corporate sector gets, because in France, the corporate sector is

Oren day -- already under pressure. Let's stay with the Eurozone. The

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has a key meeting with the

nation's international lenders on Monday. Representatives from the

European Central Bank, European Commission and International

Monetary Fund are assessing whether Greece should receive another $40

billion a bail-out loans. They want Greece to save another $15 billion

from its budget in return. But the ruling coalition is struggling to

agree on those measures. The senior currency strategist at RBC capital

markets explained the to a situation that the Government finds

itself in. The problem is that the government has an agreement of

sorts. Andy Trotter have arrived and said some of these measures

will not bring some of the measures -- the savings you think they will.

So some of the measures have been questioned. EUR3.5 billion of

measures, they want further clarification on. Until those

measures are decided, they can't put it to Parliament and Greece

can't get its next batch of bail- out funds. Last week, I was

speaking to our correspondent in Athens, who was painting the very

sad human side of what is happening in Greece. Parents are fostering

kids out because they can't afford to feed them. There are pensioners

who may have to live on EUR100 a month. Surely as the head of the

Democratic Left says "Greeks have reached their limits on their

insurance with austerity measures", that is the problem, isn't it?

human cost of this crisis has been enormous increase. Many of these

measures have been horizontal. They have been imposed across the board.

Part of the reason for that was because they have to be imposed

quickly. In many places, there was not the framework to be more

targeted. If this Greek government is to survive, it will have to get

more targeted in its measures and do more on tax evasion, which is

something when not enough work has been done.

There is a sad human side going on in Greece. We talk about yields and

costs of borrowing and the economy shrinking, but there is real stuff

going on. That is it with the business.

Police searching the southern England home of the family gunned

down in the French Alps have extended the cordon around the

house and evacuated neighbouring homes. Two girls survived the

attack near Annecy in south-east France, which left their parents,

grandmother and a French cyclist dead. The four-year-old girl is

back in the UK and her seven-year- old sister has been taken out of a

medically induced coma in a French hospital. Our correspondent is

outside the family home in Claygate in Surrey. I asked him about the

latest developments. This morning, everyone was outside the property.

The police quickly moved everyone down the road. Then they said they

were building discordant. You can see the bomb disposal truck behind

me from the Royal Logistic Corps. The Army Corps have been brought in

by the police. When the police suspect there is something they are

not sure of which might be some sort of potentially dangerous

device, they call in the Royal Logistic Corps. So at the moment,

the police have said an assessment is being done of whatever this item

or items that were found in the House of our, to establish if they

are a threat. Under police have been searching that house for a few

days now? Yes, this is the third day of searching of this house. We

understand the French police were leading the investigation, so they

instructed the British police on the search. The British police are

assisting the French police. Something has been going on for the

last two days. Whether it is something that has been overlooked

or whether the search was so meticulous that they have only just

got to this dangerous item this morning, is unclear. But we do

understand that at the back of the al-Hilli home it is a big garden --

a large workshop, with that elaborate electronic locks on it

and there are large power cables going into it. I cannot surmise

about what might be inside. Saad al-Hilli did work in the satellite

industry as an engineer. He worked nearby in the town of Guildford.

Whether there is some connection to his work to what was going on in

the House and the developments this morning, I can't say at the moment.

But this is a fast-moving investigation. We have had

confirmation from France that the elderly woman who was killed was

indeed the girls' maternal grandmother. That information has

just come through. But on the ground where you are, what is the

reaction of people who have been suddenly told that they have to

leave their homes? It is twofold. This is a well-to-do part of

southern England. The houses here are big and the people would be

deemed rather middle-class. They have a very nice, sort of sleepy

lifestyle here. It is not an area where these types of things would

usually be associated with. And suddenly, they have this horrendous

tragedy taking place to a family in their road. So there is obviously

deep shock amongst everyone here. The neighbours are all out. If you

move the camera around, you can see the tremendous media interest.

Neighbours are standing in their front gardens. They say the police

are not telling them anything more than they are telling us, only that

there is a potential threat and they have been told to leave their

houses. So there was the shock of what happened last week, followed

You're watching BBC World News. A lift for President Obama as he is

lifted by a pizza shop owner. A navy SEALs has talked about the Al-

Qaeda compound in Pakistan. This is the man who took part in the

killing of a salmon -- Osama Bin Laden. His account is at odds which

says Osama Bin Laden were shot inside a room. Speaking for the

first time, he said he was shot as he put his head around a door.

guy sticks his head around a corner, he could have a gun. You do not

wait for a grenade being thrown down a hall or a suicide vest.

Navy's SEALs said they needed absolute proof. These were some of

the most important voters I had taken him my life. Make sure I do

it right with good angles. -- important photographs. You have to

clean the face to make it as identifiable as possible. The issue

was complicated because they helicopter had crashed and the

operation took longer than planned. Six hours later, President Obama

and as the success to the world. Tonight, I can report to the

American people... Have and later met privately with the team are

asking who had fired the fatal bullet. -- and later met privately.

We did not tell him who had shot him. It is not about who the one

person was. It is about a team. Pentagon is unhappy about book,

claiming it contained sensitive operation and that marketing is in

breach of a secrecy agreement. It is not clear whether the

administration is willing to take action against one of the men who

killed Osama Bin Laden. Israeli warplanes carried out a series of

air strikes against the Gaza Strip early today. Residents have talked

of scenes of destruction. The planes were targeting sites of

terrorist activity and came in reply to rocket attacks against the

South of Israel. Yesterday, Palestinian militants fired rockets

on southern Israeli towns but there were no casualties. More on the

The headlines: The US military has formally handed over control of

Bagram Prison to the Afghan authorities, though the two still

disagree about the fate of hundreds of inmates. A bomb disposal unit is

at the home of the British couple shot dead in the French Alps last

week. Experts are carrying out an assessment of what's described as a

potentially explosive substance. Red Cross officials in Kenya say at

least 32 people have been killed in fresh ethnic clashes in the

country's coastal region. An official said 300 people a tactic

in a village, burning houses. It centres on a long-running dispute

between two ethnic groups. The head of the Kenya Red Cross joins me now.

What is the latest situation and how many people have been injured

or killed? The latest figures are that they are attacking the

villages and 32 people lost their lives. 25 of them were civilians.

Others were injured. It is possible that 160 homes were burnt. People

have been displaced. They have been having medical attention. The ice

has been ongoing for weeks. -- this has been. Hope for the sense will

come and prevail. -- headphone a sense will come and prevail.

Apologies about the quality on that line. At least 17 people have been

killed and 40 others wounded in a car bomb explosion in the city of

Aleppo in northern Syria. State media says two hospitals and a

school were largely destroyed by a big car bomb near the city stadium.

This comes as the new UN envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, is beginning his

We learned about more of the explosions. A according to Syrian

state to the, the number of people killed in the bombing, more or less

in the centre of town, near to the City Stadium, has gone up to 29

killed and round about 50 wounded. They talk of people on the spot -

people screaming and very distraught - saying it was a

terrorist attack, killing their sons and family members and so on.

The Free Syrian Army has said it was responsible for this blast. In

contrast to the official account, which said it was a car bomb

involving 1000 kilograms of explosives, the FSA said it

smuggled the bombs into a building with the hope of collaborators

because the buildings are concerned are two hospitals and a school.

They said they had been taken over by troops. Two conflicting accounts.

You can see from the images, a huge distraction and a very high number

of casualties. Very similar scenes not so far away on the eastern side

of Aleppo. A very big building there was demolished by what at

this say were barrel bombs - barrels full of TNT, thrown out of

military aircraft. A lot of casualties, they named five people

who died. Others are unaccounted for and buried under the rubble.

Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of London for one

last chance to cheer run British athletes from the Olympic and

Paralympic Games. The spectacular closing ceremony last night marked

the end of an amazing summer of sport. Coldplay and an all-star

support cast brought the curtain down on the most watched and best-

attended Paralympic Games of all time. Out with a bang. The closing

ceremony of the Paralympics to the final curtain up on the 2012 Games.

The Skype over the Olympic path in the East End of London litter up in

a frenzy of fireworks. -- the sky in the east end of London. Rihanna

and Jay Z provided the music. A fitting send-off for the

Paralympians who had made the Games. As the Paralympic Games draw to a

close for another four years, organisers can rest assured they

have been the most popular Paralympics ever. 2.7 million

tickets have been sold. Already people are speaking about the

legacy. People will never think about sport in the same way again

and they were never think about disability in the same weight

either. As the athletes who had been credited with bringing

Paralympic sport to a wider audience, people like Oscar

Pistorius, the first double amputee to compete in both the Olympic and

Paralympic Games. People were able to reflect on this sport as sport

by people who had disabilities. Perceptions have changed. Time now

have to pass the baton to Brazil. The mayor of Rio accepted the flag

from the London Mayor, Boris Johnson. The countdown begins to

The end of a pizza shop in Florida surprised President Obama, and no

dent his security team, when he gave him a huge bear-hug, lifting

him off the ground. The President visited him during his campaign

tour because he had been encouraging blood donors in the

community. Another election campaign visit and another photo

opportunity. The President was not come -- prepared for his latest

encounter with the electorate in the not inconsiderable shape of

this Florida pizza shop owner. The man who runs a community blood

donation operation is a registered Republican but says he is embracing

the President's election campaign. Mr Obama said he had a big heart as

well as big pecks. You a power lifter? I got caught up in the

moment. He had me and I gave him a great big bear hug. It was crazy.