08/08/2013 BBC World News

After the massive fire at Kenya's main airport, international flights

start to resume along with domestic and cargo services.

Australia's general election is under way. Rupert Murdoch versus

Kevin Rudd, depicted as a bumbling character Colonel Klink in one

paper. A quarter of a century later,

Myanmar marks 25 years since these pro-democracy protests against

military rule. And we meet the heavy hitters when

it comes to clearing out unwanted Hello. Some international flights

have resumed at East Africa's busiest airport. That is a day after

a huge fire destroyed its arrivals terminal. The Jomo Kenyatta Airport

in Nairobi handles around 16,000 passengers a day. Because of the

fire is still not clear. Engineers say the work needed to repair the

damage be huge. Questions continue to be asked about the speed and

effectiveness of the emergency response. Let's go to the BBC's

Emmanuel Igunza, who is live outside the Jomo Kenyatta Airport.

airport authorities have set up a temporary area where passengers who

will be travelling from the Jomo Kenyatta Airport will process their

papers before boarding flights. They have set up huge tents at the

domestic arrivals unit of the airport. They have also provided

amenities. Some of the flights have taken off from the Jomo Kenyatta

Airport. We have got reports from the airport authorities that a

flight has taken off to Amsterdam and also another one to Johannesburg

in South Africa. We need to know and passengers need to know how they

will be processed? They cannot get into the building for their baggage

or immigration processing. They have set up an area outside where they

will be processing the passengers. Even though there is confusion

amongst some passengers who I get to know the fate of their flights, we

spoke to a few of them who said they have been stranded for two days.

They were taken to another city, Mombasa, and then brought back to

Nairobi. Still no information as to when they will get out of Nairobi.

Some of them were going to Europe and others for holidays in Tanzania

and other parts of the country. That information has not been available

to them. Finally, the scale of damage. One senior engineer has

already reported saying that the damage is huge. In other words it

could be a couple of years before that will drink is anything like

operational again. -- that building behind you. Yes, they have given no

information as to the massive, massive damage with the building and

it will take some time before they complete the renovations. We are

expecting the Cabinet Secretary in charge of transport to give an

indication as to when the operations or repairs to the building will

start. Now to Australia. Relations between

the ruling Labour Party and press have hit a new low. One of Rupert

Murdoch's newspapers has likened the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to a

bumbling incompetent character from a well-known sitcom. This is the

Sydney daily to's front page showing Kevin Rudd as Colonel Klink, a

German officer from the World War II series. Mr Rudd has called an

election for September, just ahead of -- he's just ahead of the

opposition leader in the opinion polls.

I have a newspaper here. On the right you have Colonel Klink or

Kevin Rudd. On the left you have the Deputy Prime Minister as a Sergeant.

The German team came about because the Deputy Prime Minister was caught

having a drink in a Bavarian beer Tavern with a somewhat disgraced

Labour Party member who has been investigated on several members --

several allegations of fraud and has been paying for prostitutes. Mr

Murdoch is gunning for Kevin Rudd in this election. It is the second time

this week he has had a go at him in The Daily Telegraph. This is on day

one of the election campaign. Kick this mob out. Murdoch has clearly

chosen sides. It is now four weeks this weekend until the election.

thought, or there was clear evidence, that Rupert Murdoch and

Kevin Rudd got on with each other litter clay. Certainly, a few years

ago when Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister. You're absolutely right.

When Kevin Rudd first became Prime Minister in 2007 Mr Murdoch and his

newspapers backed Kevin Rudd. That seems to have changed. Rupert

Murdoch is very good at picking up at the public mood. There has been a

lot of discontent with the Labour Party and a lot of allegations of

scandal. A lot of internal infighting. Kevin Rudd's feud with

his long-term rival Julia Gillard, which resulted in him ousting her

just a few months ago. I think the key point is that Kevin Rudd has

really revitalised this race. A month or so ago the Labour Party was

being written off against the conservative opposition of Tony

Abbott. Now the opposition are still ahead but things are much closer.

And it is near the beginning of the election campaign in Australia.

It is 25 years since the uprising in Burma, the result was brutally

suppressed. More than 3000 protesters were killed. Now for the

first time the date has been publicly marked in Yangon. In March

has taken place to mark the anniversary. Most of those taking

part were activists from the 88 uprising, former blue to call

prisoners, students and militants of those who died. -- former political

prisoners. We will cross to our south-east Asia correspondent live

from Yangon. Those who are attending this meeting where you are at the

moment, how many of them were former political prisoners? Quite a large

number. People who actually suffered terribly at the hands of the

military. Some leaders of the 88 generation spent 19 years in prison

and were horribly tortured. The tone is both consider Cherry and

light-hearted today. It is a big day but they have been determined not to

make it too heavy. A lot of the photography exhibitions which have

never been publicly shown before the picked some of the gruesomeness of

the events, both with the mass student uprising in 1988 and the

terrible military crackdown. Right now we have a comic strip going on

and light-hearted banter. Also, a light-hearted speech. It was from a

lady who joined the uprising freely that I agree three weeks later. She

said it belonged to those students back then as they have the courage

to stand up to the military. It is a time for reflection and

commemorating those who died. And there is some discussion about what

future all these former dissidents will have in Myanmar. The former

general was in London a couple of weeks ago. I heard him say, we have

to do an awful lot very quickly. We need patience and understanding. Is

there patience and understanding where you are at the moment?

more than you would expect. These are people who have every reason to

hate the military. They have not forgotten. They have made it very

clear that they cannot forget the past but should learn from it. I

think they have understood in a way that Burma's transition has been

long and painful. But what one prisoner said to me was that he had

time to think in prison. We were getting nowhere confronting the

generals and trying to demonise them. Now we have a chance to work

with them and build something more constructive. That move has really

dominated at a meeting which could have been full of anger. There are

angry people here and has been fierce debate about the right way to

engage but there is still uncertain reform in the transition process but

broadly people here, who have every reason to hate the military, appear

to be willing to work with this government.

Two British women who had acid thrown in their faces in the East

African island of Zanzibar receiving treatment in hospital. The two

volunteer teachers were dining at a restaurant. It was an area popular

with tourists. Two men on a mopeds splashed acid at them. It is the

first time foreigners are known to have been attacked in this way on

the island, part of Tanzania. They have been flown to the mainland for

treatment. The motive for the attack is not clear.

To Egypt and the start of the Muslim festival of Eid marks the end of

Ramadan. The holiday atmosphere is anxious. It tends stand-off

continues between interim government and supporters of the deposed

President Mohamed Morsi. They are staging to massive sit ins in Cairo

which the government says it is determined to break up.

Young families and old say they will not be moved. Defying the interim

government. Even after five weeks the makeshift camp in the middle of

a Maine Road is still home to thousands demanding the

reinstatement of the ousted Muslim Brotherhood resident Mohamed Morsi.

The brotherhood called for his release from jail without success.

Talks broke down. Now the interim Egyptian government, backed by the

military, has said the camps must be disbursed. It is not clear when or

how. The last confrontation with the security forces proved Bud Luddy --

bloody. 80 protesters have been killed in just one incident. As dusk

fell at the camp protesters prepared to break their Ramadan fast, still

refusing to go home. Mohamed Morsi has to come back, our president.

This is where we have to start. He has to come back. Families are

living here, eating and sleeping, women and children. They are not

worried about what the security forces might do because they are

ready to die for their cause. The presence of children has been

criticised in a nation that is becoming more polarised. It is

increasingly against the brotherhood. They have been accused

of using children as potential martyrs. It is a good cause. I do

not mind if I die. It is for a good cause. These tensions matter in a

nation of over 80 million. There are fears this could further destabilise

and unstable region. I'm deeply concerned about the period ahead in

Egypt. This forcible dispersal of a demonstration could result in an

extremely high death toll which will create a political crisis and be

impossible to overcome. Some see this as a country on the edge of an

abyss. The interim government has promised to take steps to avoid

bloodshed and has called for the nation to unite to celebrate Eid.

Stay with us on BBC world News. Still to come: The holy month of

Ramadan is coming to an end. There is confusion over whether the

holiday -- when the holiday actually starts. Some have more reason to

celebrate than others. Five years after Russia and Georgia

went to war over the disputed region Moscow's relationship with its

neighbour remains tense. Diplomatic ties have not been re-established.

Both countries still blame each other for the conflict.

Five years on and Georgians are still counting the cost of the war

with Russia. The conflict may have lasted five days but it has left

deep scars. Newly 400 people were killed and thousands wounded. These

activists want to make sure that they and their cause are not

forgotten. The conflict erupted in August 2008. Georgia tried to retake

control of the breakaway province. Russian forces responded rapidly.

They pushed further into Georgian territory causing fears they would

take over the capital. Tens of thousands of civilians were

displaced before a cease-fire was agreed. After the war Russia

recognised the independence of South Sethi, cutting off to erratic ties

with Moscow. And the war of words continues. Act by its US allies

Georgia maintained that Russia bears full response bloody.

TRANSLATION: The inevitability of the Georgian Russian war could have

been avoided under one condition, in which Georgia became a failed state.

It would have agreed to Russia's demands not in 2008, not in 2007,

but starting from 2004, or even at the end of 2003. Russian troops

remain in control of the territory and continue to tighten the borders.

As they struggle to rebuild it remained central to the tug of war

between its neighbours. Speaking recently on TV the Russian president

continued to blame the Georgian president for the conflict.

TRANSLATION: My colleagues and I will never shake. We consider him a

While Russia continues to flex its diplomatic muscles internationally,

it is clear his neighbour is not ready to back down soon. You are

with BBC World News. The headlines: International flights have slowly

started resuming at the main airport in Nairobi after

Wednesday's devastating fire in the arrivals building. The cause of the

blaze is not yet known. Press baron Rupert Murdoch versus

prime minister Kevin Rudd in Australia, depicted by one of his

newspapers as the bumbling Colonel Klink character, just weeks ahead

of the general election in Australia. Spain's rail chiefs have

been addressing a special hearing of Parliament over the deadly high-

speed train crash two wits ago in the north-west of the country. MPs

are expected to ask the presidents of the rail infrastructure firms

and the train operator about safety since the accident near Santiago de

Compostela. 78 people were killed when their train it derailed on a

bend. It is emerge to the driver was talking on his telephone to a

male company colleague just before the accident. He remains under

investigation, but has not been formally charged. The president of

the train operator Renfe says the President is doing everything they

can. Transpac I want to tell you that Renfe works so that as soon as

possible we are able to note the causes of the accident which will

enable us to reach of the conclusions conducive to measures

which would prevent this sort of accident taking place again.

According to the directions from the Ministry of infrastructure we

have started analysis so that we never have an accident of this sort.

Guy Hedgecoe is following that parliamentary hearing in Madrid and

I asked him what the rail chiefs have been saved. It has been a wide

ranging appearance so far. They have talked very generally about

Spain's rail infrastructure and Spain's safety on his rail lines,

investments in Spanish railways, the technology that has been

installed, and both of them have insisted that Spain's railways are

essentially safe in terms of the investment they have received and

the technology they have. They talked more specifically about a

particular stretch of track leading up to where the accident took place

on 24th July in north-west Spain just outside Santiago de Compostela.

They head of the Railtrack administrators said it was checked

by experts and employees of the company as recently as April. He

said there should not be any reason therefore this accident to have

happened in terms of the state of the rail line. But he did say on an

emotional note that everybody in the industry needed to think long

and hard about how they could have prevented this accident from

happening. What about a specific issue, the pain was reportedly

doing 210 kilometres per hour on a stretch where the limit is 80

kilometres an hour? The driver confirmed he was on the telephone

to his company? That is right the investigation into the causes of

the accident has focused very much on the drive up. We have

confirmation from him he was going too fast and from the black box on

the train as well. The driver said he was speaking to a colleague on

the same train itself. It appears he got distracted. He was going too

fast. We do not know if the telephone call caused the

destruction, but it may have made things worse. But he did a slowdown

fast enough or early enough going into the tight curve. In terms of

the general reason so far it looks like a human error. What they are

trying to do today is to find out how the technology and the rail

companies can reduce the possibility of human error in the

future. In Pakistan reports say a suicide bomber has killed at least

six people. The bomb went off at the funeral of a police officer

killed earlier on Thursday. Several officials were in attendance. We

were reporting from Egypt a moment ago at the beginning of Eid. For

tens of millions of Muslims the holy month of Ramadan is at an end

and they were no longer have to fast. It is marked by three days of

celebrations called Eid. But there is confusion over when its stars.

Celebrations are already under way in Egypt, while others will have to

fast for another day. Preparations for Eid are well under way. The

Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. In Pakistan People's

around stalls offering special merchandise for the holiday season.

In Gaza these Palestinian women are busy baking traditional sweets.

TRANSLATION: We are making the cake for Eid, for our boys and girls to

be happy. It is what our grandfathers and grandmothers would

make. But it is all dependent on the site of the new crescent moon

and every year confusion surrounds went to start the new celebration.

This is how the announcement came. On Twitter it was announced he

would be -- Eid would be on Thursday in Saudi Arabia. From

South Africa at a message announcing fasting would end on

Friday. When to celebrate Eid is a complicated religious issue.

Usually Muslims celebrate with Saudi Arabia, but some countries

like Pakistan preferred to pinpoint the men themselves. In London it

has caused a split. This mosque in Regent's Park will be celebrating

on Thursday, following Saudi Arabia. But some Pakistani mosques will be

celebrating on Friday. To add to this confusion fasting is usually

30 days, but this year it has fallen a day short, so some purists

want to complete the full 30 days. People in nidus up -- celebrated

the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, one of the

first countries to start. They celebrated with their own unique

twist. It is not wrong now for the millions of Muslims around the

world before they can join in the festivities and feasting us. In

Hungary the Government has intervened in a dispute between a

mayor in a northern town and the LOCOG Roma community. The mayor has

been ordered to restore water supplies after he closed down many

roadside pumps, which the Roman rely on. More than 10,000 M1 live

in this town, they are poor and have many children and since last

Friday in the scorching heat they have been thirsty. Plans but it is

crazy age at down the water. The kids used to splash and spray a lot

of water, beat -- but we are poised to go further up. I would go but I

am unable. I cannot go and get waters so far away. Last week the

water authority implemented a decision of the town council to

shut down 27 Wells and drastically reduce water supply to 61. The

mayor says the move was designed to prevent waste. TRANSLATION: We can

only provide a drinking water service. We cannot ensure water for

washing cars or taking away large tanks were those who do not pay.

This is not an issue of Roman settlements. But if there is

wastage, others say the council should have tracked down the

culprits, not punished a whole community. Transpac there is a lot

of poverty and unemployment and people are dissatisfied. They need

a scapegoat and if that scapegoat is physically punished, they feel

satisfied. After five days of queues at water pumps and growing

political pressure, the Government intervened and told its local

representatives to restore full supply while the heatwave lasts.

But the crisis has underlined a bigger problem, how little trust

exists between the Roma minority and the wider society.

How to clear land that is overgrown with weeds, shrubs and poison Ivy?

You could use drastic pesticides or heavy machinery, or you could sent

in a team of goats. That is what is happening in Washington DC. And

unloved patch of ground, a cemetery, the final resting place for

politicians, is being cleared in an unusual way.

It is an unconventional approach to a growing problem. These hungry

visitors are reporting for duty. Their mission is to march through

vines, weeds and even poison ivy. A four-legged alternative to machines

and pesticides. We have a wooded area adjacent to the cemetery that

is full of invasive species and they are killing our trees. We

expect everything between seven feet and below it to be consumed by

the goats. The goats are penned in so they do not disturb the

tombstones. Among those resting here include J Edgar Hoover and the

vice-president who signed the declaration of independence. The