15/07/2013 BBC World News

top stories: A veteran Islamist leader is convicted of war crimes in

Bangladesh and sentenced to 90 years in jail. A dip in trade slows growth

in China to its weakest rate for 20 years. Calls for a senior Italian

politician to resign after he likened the country's first black

minister to an orangutan. And children having children, how the

teen pregnancy epidemic in South Africa is putting girls' lives at

risk. Hello and welcome. The spiritual

leader of the biggest Islamist party in Bangladesh has been found guilty

of war crimes. Ghulam Azam was convicted by a court in the capital,

Dhaka, of orchestrating mass killings during Bangladesh's war of

independence from Pakistan in 1971. Azam, who's 90 years old, is the

former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. He's been sentenced to 90

years in jail. Our correspondent Mahfuz Sadique is outside the court

house in Dhaka. He has more details of the verdict. The international

crimes tribunal has sentenced Ghulam Azam, the former chief of the

largest Islamic party here in Bangladesh, to 90 years in prison in

total for five charges that were brought by the prosecution. The

charges included planning incitement, conspiracy, as well as

murder, and the court said that it did want to give Ghulam Azam the

highest punishment, as in capital punishment, but it akin to

cognizance his age. He is 90 years old so they decided to give him

imprisonment. With me is Sabir Mustafa from the BBC's Bengali

service. If people are wondering why we are seeing this case such a long

time after the events, what is it about? These crimes took place in

1971, but the trials of the perpetrators of these crimes never

took place. Ghulam Azam was in Pakistan and took up Pakistani

identity, and continue to campaign against Bangladesh and fought

because Bangladesh have broken away and started a war of independence.

Then there was a change of power, so trial of war crimes was never on the

agenda of those who came to power. Can you explain what Ghulam Azam has

been found guilty of doing. He has been found guilty on 61 specific

cases, however the basic issue is that he was the leader of the

Jamaat-e-Islami party, which was the main political ally of the Pakistani

army, which was trying to crush Islamist movement in what was then

Pakistan. They wanted to keep both sides of Pakistan together for

religious reasons. Their rationale was that it should remain one United

Islamist country, but to do that they formed militias who carried out

a string of atrocities. There have been tremendous pressure for these

trials to start and Ghulam Azam has been the symbol of Jamaat-e-Islami

in 1971. We have already seen some violent protests in the last few

hours today. The largest opposition party have not come out in support

of Jamaat-e-Islami, but it is a well funded party with extensive

international links so they are able to rely their size and cause damage

in terms of strikes, damaging rail networks, damaging road networks and

they attack a lot of police stations, that happened back in

February, and over 100 people died in clashes between Jamaat-e-Islami

supporters and police. Jamaat-e-Islami is capable of doing

that and people are wondering if they will unleash a similar type of

violence now as well. Thank you. China has released its latest growth

figures, suggesting the Asian dragon is slowly but surely running out of

steam. 7.5% year-on-year, and for China this could mean going back to

the slowest pace of growth for two decades. This is China's economy as

you don't normally see it. Almost every shop on this street is

closed, the once booming town now empty and despondent. Space for

rent, this sign says. Just up the road, one of China's biggest

shipyards was opened here less than a decade ago. It is now in deep

trouble and it is appealing for government help. A few restaurants

remain open to cater for those who still have jobs. 20,000 people have

been laid off over the past two years. We all know that this area

likes money, this worker tells me, and of the government could help it

would be a good thing. But this town is already proof of the limits of

China's old model of growth based on an ever expanding investment. This

empty hotel stands as stark testimony to the result. Huge

overcapacity, not just in shipbuilding but other industries as

well. Future prosperity, this government's so-called China dream,

depends on rebalancing the economy to one based on consumer spending.

It is risky because policymakers know that in the short-term at least

they need a slowdown in growth, it is part the plan. It is hopeless,

there is no dream here, one of the few remaining shopkeepers tells me.

It is important to stress that China's economy is still motoring

along by Western standards, but the point is that growth rate is

slowing, Long gone are the days of double digit economy expansion.

These boarded-up businesses may be for now simply the symptoms of

particular problem in a particular industry, but they are the first

glimmer of the pain some of that slowing growth may cause. Until now,

China has depended on booming economic growth to ensure social

stability. Is it really ready to stop the big spending? What happens

at this shipyard may be a crucial test.

The Spanish prime minister is facing new calls for his resignation. A

newspaper has published text messages allegedly linking him to a

man at the centre of a secret payments scandal.

A senior Italian parliamentarian is under growing pressure to resign

after he likened the country's first black minister to an orangutan.

Roberto Calderoli, a vice president of the country's Senate, apologised

after making the remarks about Italy's new Immigration Minister,

Cecile Kyenge. He's a representative of the anti-immigrant, Northern

League Party. The BBC's Alan Johnston is following this story in

Rome. What did he actually say? you point out, this is a man who is

a member of the Northern League Party, and addressing a rally over

the weekend he knew that an attack on the new immigration minister

would go down well, given his audience. She is a woman born in the

Democratic Republic of Congo, but very much an Italian citizen, a

woman who has made her life and career here and is now an

immigration minister. Roberto Calderoli likened her features to

those of an orangutan and such was attracting illegal immigrants here,

saying that in his words she should be a minister in her own country,

obviously referring to the Congo. His remarks erupted into the

headlines over the weekend, and Roberto Calderoli very quickly found

himself under a torrent of criticism from many political quarters. He

then went into classic damage limitation mode, he made a sort of

half apology suggesting he was sorry if she had been offended, but then

under growing pressure in the evening made a personal phone call

to her in which he apologised. Surely he will have to step down.

Obviously the Northern League Party has a specific history and audience

in a way? The Minister has accepted his apology, but in a newspaper

interview today she went on to say that if he couldn't translate his

views into the proper sort of language of political debate, she

felt he probably should relinquish his position. I have to say there is

no obvious prospect of him doing that at the moment, although he is

under considerable pressure. The minister went on to say just how

much she is receiving threats and remarks over the most basic racist

kind on a daily basis. Of course we don't hear from these attacks, they

happen over the Internet, and she is receiving the most basic type of

racist criticism as her career unfolds. Thank you.

The question of race translate across many countries, and in the US

there have been protests across the country after George Zimmerman, an

Hispanic member of his local Neighbourhood Watch, was cleared of

murdering of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager. These are

the pictures from Los Angeles. Most of the demonstrations have been

peaceful, calling for justice for Trayvon Martin. The biggest protest

was in New York, where a small rally grew into a crowd of thousands. The

Justice Department says it is investigating whether a civil case

can be brought against Mr Zimmerman, who is Hispanic. In Florida itself,

the verdict is splitting public opinion.

George Zimmerman walks free, how long will this system continue to

get away with murder? Not guilty? This verdict is an outrage.

should have at least got a month -- manslaughter verdict. Fair? I don't

think so. I grew up around this town, and back when I was young

verdict like that would have happened, the whole town would have

been torn apart. The verdict is just saying we at least thought he would

get a manslaughter charge. It is racist, it is being racist. This

town has been racist since my mother and my grandmother, and it has been

like that. We were always dominated in some kind of way. It is just the

bottom line. Obviously it is very racially mixed and everybody seems

to get along pretty well. It was the only real verdict they could come

to. We have some outsiders coming in who tried to make a racial issue out

of the case, grabbing national attention, and I think they blew it

up into a lot bigger case than it probably is. I just thought he would

get at least manslaughter but it didn't turn out that way because of

the system here. I wanted something to happen, but I wasn't surprised

that he got a not guilty sentence. Until he does write about Trayvon

Martin, he will never sleep in peace. It is silly to get up in arms

about whether the guilty verdict was right or not because the witnesses

didn't have anybody who conclusively said it was Trayvon Martin or George

Zimmerman that started the attack 's though you cannot convict him as

being the attacker because he may not have been. This outrages verdict

is an open declaration of placing a target on the backs of a whole

generation. It is erroneous to think justice will be served. You cannot

take another man's life, no matter what the reason. Just some of the

views coming in, in reaction to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in

America. At least 70 people have died in a stampede stampede at a

boxing match in Indonesia's eastern most province of Papua. The chaos

apparently started after supporters of the losing boxer provoked a fight

with the rival supporters. From Jakarta, our Indonesia correspondent

Karishma Vaswani sent this report. It was meant to be a Sunday sporting

outing for the whole family but instead it turned into an horrific

tragedy. Families of the dead and injured gathered at this hospital.

Several of the victims were trampled to death under the fleeing mob.

People ran to the gate and other people were blocking the gate so

many people were crushed to death at the gate. Police say the chaos began

after supporters of the loser started throwing chairs at the

supporters of the champion. Desperate to leave, many in the

audience rushed out of the stadium. Police and soldiers were deployed to

stop the fighting. Now the focus is on the investigation and why the

stadium was so packed. Its official capacity is four 800 people but it

is thought on the day there were more than 1000 inside. Police are

questioning 13 people in connection with the case. We report from

Northern India where thousands of missing. They are presumed to have

died. The Red Cross says nearly 70,000

refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo have fled into

Uganda. There has been little aid for them, but an official camp has

been set up. These men want to go home. They say

they are hungry and would like to get food from their gardens. But the

authorities were working out whether it is safe for them to go back. Not

far from the border, I met these refugees. They told me they are not

getting enough help. We are suffering from more hunger.

Many people are suffering a lot. At least we better go back. The gardens

are there. Eventually the refugees were allowed

to back across the border, but the Army says it is watching them and

won't allow unnecessary back and forth movements. Help did come for

some. The police started moving people staying in one of the

make-shift camps at a primary school and off they went to their new

homes. The Uganda Government and aid agencies say they needed them to

move to a safer location in order to support them. Finally some relief.

The Red Cross is putting up shelters for some of the refugees. They are

simple and basic. A tent, but it is much better than sleeping out in the

open and further on from here, in the corner over there will be their

kitchen. This will be the first hot meal that some of the refugees are

eating in days. But there is disappoint

disappointment about what is on offer. One MP told me it wasn't

right forle people hadn't eaten properly for days to be served

porridge. The Red Cross says it is doing what it can. As humanitarian

agency, we have done our best and we are trying to do as you can see. All

the preparations have been done by collect collective input of

everybody including the Government. The refugees that made it here are

happy to have some kind of shelter. But the relief agencies and

Government know that there are many more to take care of.

S This is BBC World News. A Bangladeshi court has sentenced a

top Islamist to 90 years in prison for masterminding atrocities during

the 1971 war of independence. New figures show China's economic

growth continued to slow to its weakest rate since 1991.

More than 5,000 people are believed to have died in last month's

flooding in Northern India. That's many more than the authorities had

estimated. 600 people have been confirmed dead, but anyone still

missing after the monsoon rains that hit, Uttarakhand province.

We report on the official death toll from Uttarakhand.

All that remains of what was once the bustling town of Sonprayag. A

stop for thousands of hind use on a pilgrimage mg. -- Hindus on a

pilgrimage, men, women and children driven to a town less than 20

kilometres away. Look anywhere and you see how life was suddenly

destroyed. Today, there is a deathly silence. Broken only by the sound of

the river. This used to be the road. The mountains come down on it and it

is now cut off beyond this point. When the flashfloods came, it the

river waters gushed in carrying stones and boulders, devastating

towns in their path and killing thousands of people. Many are still

trying to go beyond the treacherous mountains looking for loved ones.

This man escaped the floods, but his nephew is still missing.

TRANSLATION: I saw dead bodies strewn over. Trapped in the mud and

trapped in trees and floating in the water. After all I have seen, I know

that no one could have survived. Most people were killed in

Uttarakhand. A glacial lake above the town burst and the force of the

water ravaged everything in its way. People from across the region

depended on the temple town. Most men worked there for six months

every year, leaving their families behind. This woman's husband and two

sons are missing. They were in cand cand when the floods came -- they

were in Uttarakhand were the floods came. She told me she has no hope

they will return. And she has nothing to he live for anymore. A

month since the disaster, people are trying to salvage what they can from

their destroyed lives. Still in disbelief, at how a river that gave

them life has also taken away so The American sprinter, Tyson Gay has

withdrawn from the athletics World Championships in Moscow next month.

He tested positive for a banned stimulant. The former world record

holder has failed a drugs test as have four other Jamaican athletes.

Jamaica's Asfa Powell run one of the quickest times. He failed tests for

banned substances. The small Caribbean nation has prided itself

on being clean and drug-free. Now its reputation is on the line. This

runner who won silvers at Beijing and London tested positive. The

rivalry between Jamaica and the US is fierce, but they had shock news.

The American Tyson Gay recorded the fastest time over 100 meters this

year. Impressive after coming back from injury, but his positive test

could see his preparation for the World Championships count for

nothing after they result. Sometimes when you get to that part

of your career, the second part of your career, maybe a hint of

desperation comes in and you start looking for other things. Whether he

has done it of his own vielition or someone who sent him down that path,

it is the wrong path to go down. Powell, Simpson and Gay issued

statements saying they had unintentionally taken banned

substances. South Africa has one of the highest

rates of teenage pregnancies in Africa. Pregnant girls are often

excluded from school for up to a year. The country's constitutional

court says that's discriminatory. As they prepare for adulthood, these

young people here face challenges. They have to deal with very high

levels of poverty, poor quality schooling, substance abuse and HIV

and AIDS. There is the problem of teenage pregnancy, authorities say

the problem is getting out of control. If children as young as ten

get pregnant in the sense that up to 25 children get pregnant in one

school, here we are dealing with something that is threatening to

take proportions of being month terous.

It is only the second quarter of the school calendar and authorities are

telling us up to 20 young pupils are pregnant at this school. Authorities

say to us that there is' direct link between extreme levels of poverty

and high rates of teenage pregnancies. A 14-year-old girl

battles with labour pains as a local hospital. She will will -- she will

be lucky to go back to school. Many don't. There are life threatening

difficulties associate eithered with pregnancy especially for young

bodies. Sometimes when I was sick I used to cry because I was still

young. That's why it was difficult for me.

Us teenagers don't really consider the risks of high blood pressure

because I really thought nothing of Doctors say it is therefore

surprising surprising that the high maternal rates are magified amongst

pregnant teenagers. Well, what we know is that 36% of the total

maternal deaths are teenage girls. These are poverty related issues so

lack of education, lack of antenatal care when it is needed, how it is

needed. And because schools are often

intolerant of having heavily pregnant teenagers in class, they

get excluded and loose out on education, trapping them in the

poverty cycle as young mums. A war crimes court in Bangladesh

found a veteran Islamist leader guilty of involvement in atrocities

carried during the country's war of independence with Pakistan over 40