04/10/2013 BBC World News

Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top story: As new pictures emerge of

the rescue of survivors of the migrant boat disaster, Italy holds a

day of national mourning. This is the scene live where in

Assisi where Pope Francis is speaking.

President Barack Obama cancels his trip to Asia as the US shutdown

continues. FIFA to announce there is no threat

to Qatar's hosting of the 2022 World Cup, but it could move that

tournament to winter. Hello and welcome. More than 100

people are known to have died but it is feared the final death toll

following the sinking of a boat carrying African migrants off the

coast of Lampedusa could be nearer to 300. These are the latest

pictures from the Italian coastguard and they show some of the lucky few

that have been rescued, but reports suggest that up to 500 people were

packed on to the boat which caught fire and then sank. 155 people might

have been rescued so far, that is the latest estimate. Many more are

still missing and the hope of finding further survivors is slim. A

national day of mourning is being held in Italy to mark what is feared

to be the worst ever Mediterranean refugee disaster. Divers are

continuing to work in the rough seas to try and find the bodies.

Working through the night, rescue workers and divers find more bodies.

The wreck of the migrant vessel lies on the cede bed less than a

kilometre from the shores of Lampedusa. Around 500 African

asylum-seekers were o board. As many as 300 could be dead.

TRANSLATION: We went underwater three times and we recovered 18

bodies, of which ten were outside the ship and eight were recovered

tonight from inside the ship. The Italian inteenior Minister said

the ship had come from Libya and began taking on water when its

motors stopped working. It is thought a few on board set fire to

motors stopped working. It is some material to try to attract the

attention of passing ships, but the fire spread to the rest of the boat.

As the rescue operations continue, locals involved in the chaotic

rescue early Thursday morning now watch on.

TRANSLATION: We were the first to save anyone. We were near the port,

TRANSLATION: We were the first to spending the night on our boat. We

heard screams and we rushed to see what was going on. Actually, they

were more like whispered cries, not screams.

TRANSLATION: Loads of them were crying. 200 people in the water is

an unbelievable sight. Many helped pull others from the water. Those

who couldn't climb aboard by themselves because they had no

strength left. Many were naked to give themselves the best chance of

staying afloat. Lampedusa is one of the main entry

points into the EU for asylum-seekers crossing from North

Africa or the eastern Mediterranean. A network of immigration charities

estimate some 17,000 migrants have died at sea trying to reach Europe

these past 20 years. You have to think of the tragedy that lies

behind this which is that these people, many of them, are likely to

have been fleeing war, fleeing persecution, fleeing human rights

abuses, so this is a tremendous tragedy of multiple layers. The

Italian government are calling on the EU border control agency Frontex

for help. They want a Marine patrol in place saying it is the border of

Europe, therefore Europe's coast. Meanwhile, Italian authorities say

they have arrested a 35-year-old Tunisian man, believed to be the

skipper. This latest disaster is one of the deadliest in recent years.

The BBC's Alan Johnston is following the story from Rome. Reading some of

the details of this and the reaction to those on the Quayside, it sounds

desperate? It is. Everything that we have heard from Lampedusa has been

appalling for more than 24 hours now. That search continuing as it

must with so many people still missing and at the centre of the

search is the sunken wreck of the migrant boat itself. Divers have

given horrific descriptions of the scene within it. They have talked of

bodies crammed into the hull and others clinging in death to the side

of the vessel. The search being hampered to an extent by the

weather. There is a bit of a swell running and you have to imagine that

all the time the wind and the currents are dispersing whatever

bodies there are in the water over a wider and wider area. So many bodies

were brought in to the little harbour on Lampedusa yesterday that

the island ran out of coffins. A ship went on a ferry and fresh

coffins have come in during the course of the morning. The only

building big enough to house those dead bodies seems to be be a hangar

at the airport. Dozens of bodies are stretched out on its floor in purple

body bags. We have been reporting tragedies like this for many years.

It's been a huge political problem. The Northern League are very

anti-immigration, Italy calling for help from the EU which never seems

to come. Is there any solution in sight at all to this? You are right,

the Italians are painfully familiar with reports of migrants dying in

the Italians are painfully familiar their waters. At the start of this

week, there were 13 deaths on a beach in Sicily. Nobody in this

country has seen anything on this scale. This is the largest migrant

disaster that the Mediterranean has ever experienced. There is a huge

feeling in this country that the rest of Europe needs to wake up and

help, that Italy can't on its own cope with the many problems that

this flow of migrants and the huge risks that these people take

present. They say that this is a problem for all of Europe, they want

Europe to contribute more in the way of money and resources, possibly

beefing up patrols in the Mediterranean that might be in a

position to spot boats that might be in trouble and to try to prevent

this sort of disaster happening again. Thank you very much.

Pope Francis has said that today is a day of tears for the victims of

the Lampedusa tragedy. It was in fact one of the first places that he

visited when took his office. These are the live pictures coming into us

from Assissi. The Pope has been on a pilgrimage. -- Assisi. The Pope has

been on a pilgrimage. Our correspondent is following his trip.

David, tell us a bit more about why he is wanting to highlight the

refugee problem? He spent a day in Lampedusa earlier this year and he

talked about what he called the globalisation of indifference, about

the plight of refugees and in Asissi today, he has been talking about the

terrible problems presented by this tragedy. -- Assisi. He said today is

a day of tears. St Francis, of course, is an emblematic figure in

the Roman Catholic Church and has special significance for Pope

Francis who took his name - he was the first-ever Pope to have taken

the name of the saint. Francis is remembered for his humility and

poverty. He is called "the poor one" so this fits in very well with Pope

Francis' vision of the Catholi Church as a church of the poor. I

think today is a day of extreme significance for him. There is a

huge crowd of pilgrims following him around. Significantly, he's

accompanied by a Group of Eight cardinals from different parts of

the world who he has appointed to advise him on a really quite

ambitious reform programme for the Vatican, so things are changing in

the Catholic Church. He's only been in office for six months. There is

certainly an atmosphere of change at in office for six months. There is

the Vatican, a change of emphasis above all. OK. Thank you very much

indeed for bringing us up-to-date on that visit.

Well, President Obama has cancelled his tour of Asia because of the

government shutdown in Washington. The Secretary of State is going to

go to the apex summit and the East Asia summit in Brunei. The White

House is blaming the Republicans for the continuing budget deadlock. Our

correspondent is in Jakarta for us. The Indonesians have said they are

incredibly disappointed. The plans that preface is presidential visit

is immense. This is not a good message to be sending? You are

right. One Minister said that he was disappointed and surprised by the

decision that the American President made not to come to the apex summit.

The official stance is that they understand the domestic issues that

the US is going through right now. Although they are disappointed, they

expect the summit in Bali to continue as normal. Most analysts

would agree. The conversations that take place between these leaders

will continue. The issue is that the US has lost a vital opportunity,

many experts say, to engage with leaders in this region. At a time

when China's growing its influence in the Asia-Pacific region. We have

had the Chinese President in Malaysia and Indonesia getting a

rare treat for a foreign leader, he managed to make a speech in the

Indonesian Parliament for the very first time. So, really, it is more

the US's loss that experts say America has lost an opportunity to

address the Asian-Pacific region at a time when China is growing its

influence here. The possibility of any personal chemistry does matter

in these summits, doesn't it? It does, indeed. President Obama has a

very good relationship with the Indonesian President. He has very

strong ties here in Indonesia. So I think in that sense, in that

respect, the Indonesians will be quite quick to forgive him.

Remember, he has postponed trips, cancelled trips to this part of the

world before, in 2010, because of domestic, political issues. Analysts

say some other Asian leaders may not be so forgiving and they will

question whether the United States has the credibility to weigh in on

international and Asian issues like the South China Sea when it doesn't

appear to be able to sort out its own domestic political problems.

Thank you very much. Stay with us. Still to come: We hear

the extraordinary story of one family who survived the Nairobi

shopping mall siege playing dead for hours before they were rescued. The

heat is on as FIFA gets to try and set up the problem of the Qatar

World Cup. India's economy is powering ahead

but vast numbers of people are still in poverty. Estimates suggest that

in large cities one person in 100 is homeless, hundreds of students and

professionals have spent a night on the streets to see what it is like

along with our correspondent. Singing songs of hope and struggle,

this is an unusual group. Homeless people welcoming those who have left

the comfort of their homes to join them. But daily life out here is far

from festive. This man has lived on a pavement outside a temple for the

last 20 years. She grew up watching three of them die of disease.

TRANSLATION: We don't feel safe on three of them die of disease.

the pavement. Just yesterday, someone hit me with a blade and ran

away with my mobile phone. I called the police. But they didn't even

register a complaint. It is rough and tough. A sheet of

cloth works as a bad and an abandoned wheelchair becomes a place

to store valuables and cash is kept with the local shopkeeper. Sometimes

there is some work that brings in money, but mostly for food and water

they depend on charity. Intrigued by these tales of

survival, curious students listen in. This man is a migrant himself

and has struggled to adapt to the demands of the big city. He never

felt any connection with the homeless, until now.

TRANSLATION: Like most educated people, I had also thought that

homeless people are dirty and uneducated. After meeting them, I

feel many of them are more intelligent than most of us. All

they lack are opportunities. The government estimates that two

million people are homeless in India cities. Others estimate that to be

as high as 30 million. It is the story of a shifting population,

fearful at night. And made much worse if you are a woman.

This is BBC World News. The latest headlines. Italy holds a national

day of mourning for up to 300 people, feared dead after a boat

packed with migrants from Africa caught fire and sank off the

Italian island of Lampedusa. Pope Francis speaks about the tragedy,

saying today is a day of tears, as he makes a pilgrimage. Nearly two

weeks after the siege at Nairobi's Westgate shopping centre, the

weeks after the siege at Nairobi's accounts of those who escaped,

still have the power to shock. Faith Wambua spent four and a half

hours playing dead with her children at her side, until they

were finally rescued by a policeman. This is their story. When the

gunfire started and there were shooting, I said they were bank

robbers. I am thinking that because Barclays is on the ground floor. I

thought it must be a normal robbery and within minutes it would be over.

Time passed and we were waiting to hear, get up, he is gone. I knew we

were actually going to die, it seemed like something worse than I

thought. Once, they came very near. And 18 was lying to metres away and

I could hear them walking. I knew this was not a regular person. They

had a conversation and called out, Martha, I did not know whether they

were talking to me but I knew I would not raise my head. I could

hear the lady answering. Five seconds later, two shots, and she

was quiet. I felt somebody touching my hand. This person was calling,

mother, are you OK? This was where I played dead. And then he came in

front of me. He said baby, baby. I I played dead. And then he came in

raised my head up. I asked him a few questions. I asked him if he

was one of the bad guys. He said no, baby, I am one of the police and I

am not with the bad guys and I am here to rescue you. Then he asked

us to look up. We saw police officers. They had guns pointed in

different directions. I knew the police were here. Never did I think

it was a terror attack, that is the last thing on my mind here. An

extraordinary story. Football's world governing body FIFA is

meeting in Zurich today to discuss whether to move the 2022 World Cup

in Qatar to the winter because of the extreme heat in the country

during the summer. Who has the power to decide? The

during the summer. decision makers of the president,

Sepp Blatter, the senior vice- president, who is from Argentina,

and the rest of the 25 member committee, including

representatives of countries all over the world. Another issue is

the right of migrant workers in the country. They are building venues

for the World Cup. There are allegations that the conditions

amount to modern-day slavery. It is a wet autumn in Zurich. The

rivals for a meeting of the top governing body in football. The

process is expected to switch the timing of the World Cup from the

searing heat of summer in the Gulf. The only important thing is the

question of what will happen. There is not expected to be a final

decision, instead the setting-up of a task force to consult on the

issues. For me it is about the players and the fans and the

experience and stop FIFA has a responsibility to make sure we get

this right. It has also become about the conditions facing migrant

workers who have transformed the Gulf state and who will be building

the venues for the Qatar World Cup. Gulf state and who will be building

Allegations that their plight amounts to slave labour has raised

the heat on FIFA. The authorities say the concerns are being

addressed. It is the Government and the people's and our assurance. To

the extent that these matters arise, we will be eradicating them and

working hard to make sure these matters are eradicated. Michel

Platini has led the charge for a winter tournament. He has also

postponed a final decision as the relative merits are debated of

November, December and January. It is not about their hosting the

tournament, but turning the gleaming vision into a reality is

proving controversial. There is a lot of anger around this

come as to why Qatar cottage in the first place, which was on the basis

they would hold it in the summer with expensive air-conditioning.

How expensive would it be to move them to the winter? Probably the

same question I asked to be gentlemen in charge of the air-

conditioning of the stadiums on the organising committee for the World

Cup. I asked him that you have promised a huge budget to have the

stadium's called down. In the meantime, you have the possibility

of these games moving to winter. I asked him if he would be sorry

about it. He said absolutely not. The plan was the technology would

be made in Qatar in the World Cup. And then it would be moved to a

developing country that would help them to use this type of technology.

But this is a small emirate. They have the resources needed for this.

Is there a sense that this is not justified? Expense that has been

put into the tournament, or do people want this to stay in Qatar,

despite the difficulties? Of course, the World Cup is just part of the

big plans that the country is aiming for. If you see the type of

project they are after, we are looking at a new big airport, which

is supposed to be the biggest airport in a bid East. If you check

the roads and streets, there are roadworks everywhere. It is about

building infrastructure for the country, apart from the World Cup.

This is the main issue. It has its own resources ready and enough to

handle any kind on big tournaments such as the World Cup. They insist

that there is no problem whether it is organised in the summer or

winter, there is no problem. What about the record of the way people

are treated? There have been complaints from people who move

from Asia to work in the Middle Eastern countries about the way

they are treated. This has been raised today as well. We have been

speaking to a prominent figure. From Nepal. He said it was not only

about the way people are treated, it is about awareness. There is a

responsibility of governments. He said the lack of awareness is a big

player in this scenario. He said they might be treated in a bad way

sometimes, but it is due to a difference of culture. In the

meantime, he said there are other problems they are facing.

Especially his workers, the second labour force in Qatar, in regards

to payment. The payment is not that high. The working conditions... He

said that with the announcement of Qatar organising the World Cup, it

has made progress. Showing seriousness in regard to this.

Thanks for that. Interesting replies. Many people will take

issue with them, but banks. An investigation is under way after a

police chase through the heart of Washington ended with a woman

driver being shot dead. Capitol Hill went into lockdown after the

woman apparently attempted to ram a security barrier near the White

House. When police finally stopped her car, they found a one year old

child, unharmed inside. Rajini Vadyaniathan has more.

There is a high-speed police chase in the capital city of America. It

began after a woman tried to drive into a barricade at the White House.

Tourists and politicians watched as a convoy of vehicles were in

pursuit of the driver. I heard four short, sharp bursts of gunfire. I

said tell me there was not just gunfire at the capital? 50 police

cars, they are coming down the street. We were on their hill on

this side. We saw a black sedan. Police cars were chasing it. They

surrounded it with guns drawn. At that Boy Cried Wolf, he backed up

into a police vehicle and sped off again. The police then to a car --

he backed up again. Congressman were put on lockdown. The

surrounding area continues to be a scene of investigation for the

police. Forensic officers spent time examining a damaged police car

outside the building. They said the -- the suspect was pronounced dead.

A child travelling with her has been taken into protective custody.

It was a lengthy pursued. Multiple vehicles were rammed. Officers were

struck. It does not appear to be an accident. Is the charge related to

the deceased? Were do not know that yet. Two officers were injured, but

not seriously. As officials continue the investigation, they

say it was an isolated matter that appears to have no connection to

terrorism. That is a look at the top

international stories. I am back on Monday. Have a good weekend.