21/12/2012 BBC World News

Kenyan police say at least 39 people have been killed in what is

believed to have been politically motivated violence. With 10 days to

go, another failure to avoid the fiscal clef heightens fears of

recession. The British Government will not have to reveal whether it

aided US Strone strikes in Pakistan, following a ruling at the High

Court. Welcome to BBC World News. Also coming up - EU rules force up

the price of women's car insurance, in the name of gender equality. You

cannot keep your hat on - this Eurovision entry is told it could

be banned if the performers do not The Red Cross says at least 30

people have been killed, and dozens more wounded, in violence in

southern Kenya. Police say a village was attacked at dawn by

people with machetes and houses were set on fire. Many of the

victims are said to be from the Orma tribe, which has had frequent

clashes with Pakomo farmers over access to land and water. Our

correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse has been following developments from

Nairobi. We understand this attack happened at about 4 o'clock in the

morning. They came in brandishing spears, machetes, other sharp

objects, and they started setting fire to people's homes, and then

setting upon some of the villagers. The Red Cross tells us that five

children and five women were amongst the dead. This is a very

similar attack to some of those that took place in August and

September. Back then, the Kenyan authorities sent up a contingent of

around 1,000 fresh police recruits, but on this occasion, those people

seem to have been unable to have stopped another attack. There have

been suspicions of a political hand in all of this, with elections

coming up? That's right. There have been historic tensions between

these two people. One community is a farming community, largely, and

the others are largely cattle herders. The former have complained

that the latter are allowing their cows to trample over their crops,

as they go to the river for drinking. The thing is, this

violence is on a much larger scale than we have seen in recent years.

Coupled with that, we have had reasonably good rain in Kenya this

year. So I think some people are looking at this and thinking there

has got to be another motive behind it, with elections coming up, as

you say. Land in the Tana Delta is very valuable. Whoever is in power,

politically, has access to some potentially lucrative deals. Some

people have said they think what is going on here is effectively

gerrymandering by violence, trying to get some people off the land

before the election, so they cannot cast their ballot. American

politicians have put back until after Christmas their attempts to

avoid what is known as the fiscal clef. Proposals in the House of

Representatives have been dropped to limit tax rises for people

earning more than $1 million a year. The incremental package of spending

cuts and tax hikes will kick in automatically in the new year,

unless a compromise is reached, however. From Washington, Ben

Wright reports. Republicans and Democrats both know what is at

stake. On the 1st January, half a trillion dollars of tax rises and

spending cuts are set to kick in. It is the so-called fiscal cliff,

which could tip the country into recession. There are just days to

do a deal. But the Republican Congress and President Obama are

still far apart. Mr Obama has been negotiating with the Speaker, John

Boehner, but it is the tax question which his toughest. On Thursday,

John Boehner had to pull a vote which he had hoped would strengthen

his bargaining hand in the White House. His bill proposed raising

taxes only on people earning more than $1 million a year. But even

that was a tax rise too far for many of his fellow Republicans.

just happen to disagree that raising taxes is the right message.

The right message is cutting spending, that is what the problem

is. And this backlash is a blow to the authority of Mr Boehner in his

party. President Obama wants people earning more than $400,000 a year

to pay more tax. The White House will now be urging John Boehner to

agree on a deal which can get the support of the Democrats, too. It

will be a very short Christmas holiday for Congress and for the

President. The brinkmanship goes on. John Boehner and President Obama

are running out of time to agree a tax and spending package which can

get through Congress and pull the US back from the cliff-edge. Jamie

has been following the latest on this story. This is causing jitters,

isn't it? Yes, it is a shaky time for the stock markets in Europe and

Asia, as well as in the United States. Investors have been

unsettled by this growing political crisis in the US. They are trying

to reach that deal over spending cuts and tax increases. Without a

deal, there is a danger that the US could head into recession. A

foreign exchange strategist at Rabobank, Jane Foley, explained

that it was not just income tax which was causing the problems.

is various parts of legislation, not just one thing, it is not just

income tax hikes. That is the biggest part of it, something which

will automatically go up on the 1st January. But there are also

different kind of taxes which will go up, including welfare cuts. A

lot of welfare payments, such as emergency unemployment benefits,

are due to come out of the system also on the 1st January. But the

income tax hike was the biggest element, which is why this is the

headline number. But as we have mentioned, there are various

different types of registration here. The lack of than minds is

leading to the possibility that at least part of the fiscal cliff will

be hit on the 1st January. -- the lack of compromise. A new EU rule

on gender discrimination comes into force today. Young women drivers

will be amongst those particularly effective -- affected. They could

see their car insurance costs jumping by as much as 40 coffee. It

is enough to put you off your driving lesson. If this 17-year-old

passes her test next month, she will be faced with a sudden extra

cost, a big price rise for young women striding insurance, bringing

them in line with men, who until today have paid more because they

have far more accidents. It is not fair that females should now have

to pay more for insurance. The lady will just take her time, generally..

Because of a EU court ruling, young women's car cover is now as much as

38% more expensive. Others are also affected. Some women will pay 30%

more for life assurance, and men will suffer when they apply a

pension annuity. They could get as much as 10% less in retirement

income. Insurers say the ban on different prices for men and women

is a backwards step, because by giving women discounts, they could

encourage them to drive well. more insurance premiums can

incentivise safe driving, the better. This means there will be

less of an incentive for them to drive more safely. It is not much

southern to this young lady, that men could see a cost in the cost of

cover. For many young people, car insurance is almost impossible to

afford already. ArcelorMittal has written down the value of its

European business by $4.3 billion. Its business has suffered from a

downturn in Europe, where demand for steel has dropped by 8% this

year. And the British defence firm BAE Systems has won a contract to

supply 12 Typhoon combat jets and eight trainer jets to Oman. The

deal is worth more than $4 million. Deliveries are due to start in 2017.

Finally, shares in the maker of BlackBerry, Research in Motion,

plunged 10% in the United States today. The company admitted its

subscriber base has fallen for the first time in its history.

Investors are pinning their hopes on the launch of the BlackBerry 10

in January. That is almost the business. We just have a chance to

look at the markets, and a lot of them are down, due to worries about

what is happening in the United States. I think up until now there

has been a further bout of optimism about that debate about the

physical cliff in America, however, doubt has begun to spread. -- a

Fareham out of optimism. -- a fair amount of optimism. That's the

business news for now. Here in the UK, the High Court has rejected an

attempt by a Pakistani man to force the Government to reveal whether it

is providing intelligence for US drone strikes. The case was brought

by a person whose father was killed by a missile fired from a US drone

last year. Joining us from a studio in central London is our security

correspondent, Frank Gardner. What reasons were given for this ruling?

Simply that it was blocked. This was a case brought by the man whose

son was killed, actually, in a drone strike. He was alleging that

the UK Government, and specifically the Foreign Secretary, who is

responsible for British overseas intelligence, that the UK

Government is complicit in the murder or manslaughter of civilians

inside Pakistan, by providing what is known as location will

intelligence to the Government's listening station. In other words,

he is alleging that British intelligence is helping to pinpoint

where in Pakistan's tribal areas militants, Al-Qaeda, Taliban and

others, are, opposing this information to the CIA, who then

launched Rome strikes. This action has been blocked in the court. I

have not yet seen the reason for it. -- who are then launching drone

strikes. I don't think this issue will go away, because the drones

are a major part of the CIA's war against militants in these areas.

It is done with the connivance, I would say, of the Pakistan

government. They do not like it, it is very unpopular, but they have

not so far moved to stop it. The drones used to be launched from air

bases inside Pakistan, but as well as I know, they have closed or of

those down, and they are launched from Afghanistan. There is no

question that drone strikes have had what would be called a chilling

effect on the operations of Al- Qaeda's operations in the tribal

territories, but they have killed civilians as well. In the last

eight years, 176 children have been reported killed in these drone

strikes. They hit a compound, and let's say they kill for militants,

well, nearly always, there is a family nearby, or innocent people.

So, they are very controversial, something which the US defence, and

Britain says it is not a part of this, but this action today in the

High Court was trying to bring us tonight. Police in India say they

have arrested a fifth person in connection with the gang rape on a

bus on a young woman. The four men already in custody include the

driver. The attack took place in Delhi last weekend. The victim, a

23-year-old medical student, remains in a critical condition.

The Russian parliament has voted by a huge majority to approve

legislation which prevents Americans from adopting Russian

children. The proposal is being supported by President Putin. It is

widely seen as retaliation for a new US law which freezes the assets

of Russian citizens alleged to have violated human rights. The Libyan

government could be about to agree to open all files relating to the

Lockerbie bombing, which took place 24 years ago today. 270 people were

killed after an American 747 was dealt a blow for Scotland. The

Libyan ambassador to Britain so the government was ready to resolve the

case, although it would take at least another year before Tripoli

was able to release any information. You're watching BBC World News.

Still to come - nearly five years since a cyclone killed 140,000

people in Burma, we have a special report on one region's painful

recovery. Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, says that British

troops have paid a high price in Afghanistan, but that their efforts

have been a success. Mr Cameron is currently on a pre-Christmas visit

to UK bases in the country. Almost 4,000 British service personnel

would be with -- will be withdrawn The Prime Minister came it to tell

them that the draw down, based on the success they had had been

building up the Afghan army and police. After 11 years of conflict,

at what price? 438 dead, many more gravely injured. Has it been worth

it? It's still a difficult and dangerous place. When I sit in

Downing Street and look at where the plots that we faced in terms of

terror, where they come from, far fewer come from this part of the

world than used to be the case when we first came to Afghanistan, so we

have made real progress but it is tough and difficult. We paid a high

price. At this base, servicemen and women enjoyed the distraction of

sharing a meal and a game with the Prime Minister. The what please

them most was the idea of going home of. Their boss, who commands

more than half of British troops, insisted Afghan forces were now

ready to take their place. insurgency is still there. It has

not gone, but it does not dictate things. The Afghan security forces

are in control. The people enjoy their protection and it's

appropriate we now hand more and more of that control over to the

Afghans. Mr Cameron is getting a clear message from his commanders.

It is right to withdraw the Afghan army's growing in confidence, but

the insurgency has not gone away and could come back in the summer.

This conflict is not over yet. Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure

has been named the African player of the year, winning the award for

the second consecutive time. The 29-year-old Manchester City player

was a member of the side beaten in the 2012 Cup of Nations final by

Zambia. He also helped his club side win the English Premier League

title for the first time in 44 years beating close rivals

Manchester United on goal difference. He accepted the award

at a ceremony in the Ghananian capital, Accra, and pipped his

Ivory Coast team mate and former This is BBC World News. The

headlines. Kenyan police say at least 39 people have been killed in

what's believed to be politically- motivated violence, in an area

where rival tribes frequently clash over water and grazing rights.

Attempts to avoid America's fiscal cliff suffer another set-back.

Politicians will try again to reach a deal after Christmas. Fears are

growing that if they don't do so by the end of the month there could be

a new recession. It's more than four decades since

the end of the civil war in Nigeria which saw the army fighting to stop

the East of the country, known as Biafra, from breaking away. The war

left more than a million people dead. But even today there are

still many in the east who would like their part of the country to

secede. Will Ross reports. A colourful festive, full on the

streets complete with plenty of Nigerian father Christmases and

young helpers getting people in the mood. At the same time, in a

secluded part of the city is a far more low-key, almost secretive

event. Complaining that they are marginalised by a corrupt political

elite, these people risk arrest by calling for the Eastern Nigeria to

break away and form Biafra. There is no amount of threat and the rest

which will stop us from pursuing our freedom. We are forced into

this unholy marriage. We don't have the same culture with the

northerners. For more than 18 months, Nigeria and the breakaway

region of Biafra have been at war. This is what happened the oil rich

East to try to succeed in the Sixties. The Nigerian Ministry

defeated them and it took almost three years and this was the cost,

more than one million people died, most from famine. Today, violence

is putting a great strain on Nigeria's unity. This traditional

leader says lessons should be learned from the civil war.

whole experience should be infused into our system. What is the danger

of not doing that? It's what we are now facing. Living under the threat

of disintegration. It would seem, realistically, there's no chance of

this part of the country breaking away to form a new nation but there

is still a huge feeling of pride here. And that is fuelled by the

fact that people feel let down by successive governments of Nigeria

so there were still a desire to break away. Like in other parts of

the country, it's a struggle for the younger generation to find it

for more jobs. Even after getting an education. Their frustration is

palpable. This present government doesn't have the solution. To make

things better for the upcoming youth like us here. I would prefer

the nation's two separate. The this is a religiously and ethnically

diverse nation. It seems a healthy dose of good governance would go a

long way to improve the prospects of peace and unity.

Four and a half years ago, a cyclone swept through the Irrawaddy

Delta in Burma. 140,000 people were killed. Three million more were

left in dire need of help. But many towns were given no assistance,

after the military government blocked visas for international aid

workers, and arrested Burmese activists. Our correspondent

Jonathan Head was one of a group of journalists allowed to visit the

area recently. His report starts from the town of Bogale, near the

A Buddhist ceremony led by children in Bogale, one of the largest

townships in the Irrawaddy De. But this is a poignant sight for the

people of the town. Of the 10,000 who died here, nearly half were

children. Outside the town, the rice harvest is being taken in it.

The delta has historically been seen as the rice bowl not just for

Burma but for surrounding countries, too. Chronic neglect, though, by

successive military governments and a cyclone have left this region in

dire need. The looks can be deceiving, especially now, it's

very green and lots of rice ready, but 70% of people don't own any

land here. They are very reliant on wage labour in the farming and

fishing industries. A great deal of them live below the poverty line.

The worst-hit areas, at the mouth of the Irrawaddy De, were kept off-

limits to journalists after the cyclone. Even now, they are hard to

reach. I was among a group of journalists taken to see the

development projects funded by the EU, which the military government

permitted once the scale of the disaster became clear. The great

rivers that cut through Diss Delta lie right alongside the villages

where most of its inhabitants live at the wall of water simply surged

over here, smashing his side the houses and the people living in

them up. Even at 4 1/2 years later, they are still recovering. A simple

clay stove. But now they have been taught to improve its design so it

uses much less fuel. And they can make money selling them to other

villages. It cuts the cost of firewood, a big chunk of household

budgets here, and reduces the felling of mangrove trees which can

help to protect against cyclones. These farmers are both widowed by

the cyclone. One third of this village is population died. And it

is still proving a hard road back, even to the basic lives they had

before. I lost everything. I lost all my seeds. I had to hire

machines to work my field. We were given seeds by the government but

the quality was not always good. one of the projects funded by the

EU is trying different strains of rice to see which will produce

better crops on the salty soil. It's the kind of help other

countries have been getting for decades. Now the Burmese people

have a chance to catch up. A Swiss Christian music group

chosen to represent the country in next year's Eurovision Song Contest

has been told it may be refused permission to take part unless it

changes what it wears or changes its name. Organisers, the European

Broadcasting Union, say the Heilsarmee or Salvation Army risk

breaching their rules if they turn up at the contest in Malmo, Sweden,

wearing their traditional uniforms. The band's rock anthem You And Me

won a contest last weekend featuring five national finalists.

Well, joining me now on the line from Berne in Switzerland is Lt

Colonel Massimo Tursi. He is second in command of the Salvation Army in

central Europe. He told me they never expected the song to be so

well received. We were surprised by the success of our song. And by the

reaction of the people. So, I would say, we were surprised by the

reaction but we have received support from people in the streets

and we've had telephone calls and everybody encouraging us to go on

with his project. But will you go on wearing a different uniform

under a different name, as they have requested? We haven't had a

direct contact with the EBU. We hear they will not allow us to use

our name, Heilsarmee, the Salvation Army, and they don't want us to

where our uniform but we have not had any direct contact us, so we

will see what room there is therefore no decision. What we know

is that Swiss television supports our participation and they want to

supporters to the end. We are seeing pictures of the group. Apart

from anything else, you have a pretty unique entrant, and 94-year-

old member of the band! The that's right. He is a faithful salvation

must for many years. We want to give a picture of our reality. We

have young people. Middle-aged. Older people. He is a good

representative of the difference. There you go. The Swiss Army band

hoping to make it to next year's Eurovision Song contest final. We

used to people saying that the end of the world is nigh. Well, we can

now tell you that the end was nigh. But nothing happened because people

across the globe, including at this ruined temple in Guatemala, have

been waiting to see whether the world would end half-an-hour ago.

It seems the calculations are based on an interpretation of the Mayan

calendar, were wrong, because we're all still here. Experts explained

the Callander actually predicted the start of a new era and the