:00:13. > :00:18.This is BBC World News Today. An explosion rips through a Kenyan
:00:18. > :00:23.slum in Nairobi. At least 120 people are killed after a leaking
:00:23. > :00:28.fuel pipeline bursts into flames. The death toll is likely to rise.
:00:28. > :00:30.The most radical reform of British banking in a generation. Will they
:00:31. > :00:34.stave off another crisis and protect the taxpayer from footing
:00:34. > :00:40.the bill? Meanwhile, shares in major French
:00:40. > :00:45.banks plummet over concerns they are over-exposed to Greek debt.
:00:45. > :00:55.Slavery in the UK. Police discover 24 people held in filthy and
:00:55. > :00:56.
:00:57. > :01:02.cramped conditions, working many years for next to nothing. Next me
:01:02. > :01:05.try this Again. SPEAKS RUSSIAN. As David Cameron tries to dazzle
:01:05. > :01:15.his hosts in Moscow with a bit of Russian, how important are language
:01:15. > :01:17.
:01:17. > :01:20.skills in modern diplomacy? Hello and welcome. Today life for
:01:20. > :01:25.some of the poorest people in Nairobi became more wretched, after
:01:25. > :01:29.a fuel pipeline exploded in a densely populated slum. Dozens are
:01:29. > :01:33.being treated in hospital for severe burns. Around 120 were
:01:33. > :01:36.killed, leaving many families bereaved. Witnesses said people had
:01:36. > :01:40.been collecting fuel as it leaked from the pipeline into nearby open
:01:40. > :01:50.sewers, before it exploded. Our world affairs correspondent reports
:01:50. > :01:50.
:01:50. > :01:56.from Nairobi. After the explosion of fuel that leaked from the
:01:56. > :02:05.pipeline, people in flames leaped into the river. The fires and
:02:05. > :02:10.reached to the river itself. They had been built up to the pipeline,
:02:10. > :02:16.the homes, and many were engulfed. All that was left was wreckage of
:02:16. > :02:22.corrugated iron sheds and scattered possessions. It began when word got
:02:23. > :02:28.around there was a leak, and people set out to scoop up what was
:02:28. > :02:34.leaking. Many were taken to hospital. This person said she
:02:34. > :02:44.heard a big blast and she saw people on fire. All around me were
:02:44. > :02:58.
:02:58. > :03:06.people on fire. The Prime Minister visited. This is a terrible tragedy.
:03:06. > :03:14.It is unimaginable that so many people can lose their lives. It is
:03:14. > :03:19.terrible. Terrible. Terrible. the rescue work continued, there
:03:19. > :03:22.were echoes of a similar tragedy two years ago when fire broke out
:03:23. > :03:32.when they were scooping up fuel from an overturned tanker in
:03:32. > :03:42.western Kenya. We can get the latest in Nairobi.
:03:42. > :03:42.
:03:42. > :03:47.Can you give us an update? authorities confirmed at least 80
:03:47. > :03:57.people were confirmed dead and they have been taken to the city
:03:57. > :03:58.
:03:58. > :04:03.mortuary. They expect that number to rise. I was at the slum. I saw
:04:03. > :04:10.officials assessing bodies that had been killed. Can you tell us more
:04:10. > :04:17.about the slump? It is in the industrial district of Nairobi. It
:04:17. > :04:25.is one acre in size. It is densely populated. Most of their housing is
:04:25. > :04:33.made from corrugated iron. It is a low income area. It is not too far
:04:33. > :04:35.from the oil refinery, which is where the spill had come from.
:04:35. > :04:41.The most radical and comprehensive overhaul of the British Banking
:04:41. > :04:45.system in decades is on the cards. High street banking will be
:04:45. > :04:47.ringfenced from more risky investment operations. The
:04:47. > :04:50.government hopes the proposals, which should come into effect over
:04:50. > :04:59.the next eight years means tax payers are never again asked to
:04:59. > :05:05.spend tens of billions to pay for bankers' mistakes. Our Business
:05:05. > :05:11.Editor reports. The mighty banks, such as Royal
:05:11. > :05:19.Bank of Scotland, perhaps facing their biggest shake-up because of
:05:19. > :05:24.this economics professor. Sir John Vickers. Status quo is not an
:05:24. > :05:30.option. Things have to change. what are the reforms? The most
:05:30. > :05:35.important is the creation of a ring fence to protect parts of banks
:05:35. > :05:41.that provide vital services to individuals and small businesses.
:05:41. > :05:44.Retail banking would be protected if more speculative global
:05:44. > :05:47.investment banking parts found themselves in bother. A former
:05:47. > :05:54.Royal Bank of Scotland chairman said his old bank should not be
:05:54. > :06:00.anxious. The separation of investment banking from what I call
:06:00. > :06:06.commercial banking, that is more than retail, could be for the good
:06:06. > :06:11.of the bank. Because of recurring financial crisis witnessed over
:06:11. > :06:14.many centuries, the banks would have more rainy-day money and
:06:14. > :06:19.borrow from those who could afford to lose in bad times to make
:06:19. > :06:29.themselves more resilient. Around me is evidence of the boom in
:06:29. > :06:32.banking and finance and that is over 20 years. Between the City and
:06:33. > :06:38.Canary Wharf. The commission believes much of that boom was
:06:38. > :06:46.poisonous. Camber poison be extracted without harming the
:06:46. > :06:50.patient -- can it be extracted? The great banking crisis of 2007, saw
:06:50. > :06:57.massive costs heaped on taxpayers and the worst recession for eight
:06:57. > :07:03.years for which the UK and much of the West has not been recovered --
:07:03. > :07:11.eight years. Billions has been spent and hundreds of jobs have
:07:11. > :07:16.been lost. This asks the questions and provides the answers.
:07:16. > :07:20.commission says the costs will be �1 billion per year for the British
:07:20. > :07:24.economy and estimates the annual cost of banking crises of �40
:07:24. > :07:30.billion per year. If the reforms work, they would represent value
:07:30. > :07:36.for money. The chief executive of a bank said the reforms are a
:07:36. > :07:41.disaster. What does a member of the commission think of that? It is
:07:41. > :07:46.neither a disaster for any British bank, and it is not a disaster for
:07:46. > :07:54.the British public. His is not just about making banks safer, it is
:07:54. > :08:00.about promoting. Things like more competition on a high street.
:08:00. > :08:05.Easier switching. This is what the government should introduce. A new
:08:05. > :08:08.industry, not growing so much, perhaps, but possibly more stable
:08:08. > :08:11.and less dangerous. Meanwhile, there've been sharp
:08:11. > :08:15.falls across European stock markets as fears again gather strength
:08:15. > :08:18.about the possibility of a default in Greece. French banks have been
:08:18. > :08:24.hit particularly hard. There are concerns their credit rating might
:08:24. > :08:27.be downgraded because of their exposure to Greek debt. Societe
:08:27. > :08:37.Generale sought to calm fears by announcing plans to sell off assets
:08:37. > :08:44.to raise capital. From Paris, Christian Fraser reports.
:08:44. > :08:48.If Greece is the epicentre of the crisis, it sent shock waves to
:08:48. > :08:54.every corner of Europe. It cannot be felt more acutely than in Paris.
:08:54. > :08:58.Today, shares in French banks tumbled. Concerns grew about their
:08:58. > :09:04.exposure to government debt in Greece, Spain and Italy and the
:09:04. > :09:09.threat of a damn great in its Credit Agricole rating. --
:09:09. > :09:13.downgrade. Markets are pricing in the need for government in --
:09:13. > :09:18.intervention. Whether that is a capital injection, it is premature
:09:18. > :09:25.speculation, said the finance minister.
:09:25. > :09:30.TRANSLATION: There is no emergency for the banks. They have plenty of
:09:30. > :09:34.means of response. They will provide liquidity. The European
:09:34. > :09:40.Central Bank said there are 5 billion euros potentially available
:09:40. > :09:50.for banks. The French banks hold billions of Euros of Greek bonds.
:09:50. > :09:53.
:09:53. > :09:59.Investors fear those assets could be devalued. American banks have
:09:59. > :10:07.begun to draw back on their loans. Societe Generale was forced to
:10:07. > :10:12.respond. They announced cuts of 4 billion euros. Enough to cope with
:10:12. > :10:17.reality if funding becomes more scarce. We have to recognise how
:10:17. > :10:21.much money we have spent and how much more we we may still have to
:10:21. > :10:27.put into the banking system. The question is how much this will cost
:10:27. > :10:31.European banks. The head of the European Central Bank gave
:10:31. > :10:37.assurances they could provide European banks with short-term
:10:37. > :10:44.lending. If French banks are downgraded, it may underscored that
:10:44. > :10:54.despite two bail-out packages, European governments are limited in
:10:54. > :11:03.their ability to defend banking. We can talk more about this. We are
:11:04. > :11:10.joined by a banking expert. If the French banks are in trouble, how
:11:11. > :11:18.serious could the crisis be? anything dramatic happened, it
:11:18. > :11:23.would not be a picnic. The question is anything dramatic will happen.
:11:23. > :11:29.This is a rumour that they might have a downgraded Credit rating. In
:11:30. > :11:34.France, there is suspicion day are over exposed to Greek debt. The
:11:34. > :11:40.French government says everything is all right. They would, wouldn't
:11:40. > :11:45.they? The French banks are over- exposed. To some degree. The
:11:45. > :11:54.question is, what is the real chance of that blubbing up? If it
:11:55. > :12:01.does, how badly? Can the French government do it -- blowing up. I
:12:01. > :12:05.do not think it could happen. I suspect there are people in the
:12:05. > :12:09.market who would quite like to see French bank shares go and there
:12:09. > :12:14.were and would like to see that. There are speculators on the market.
:12:14. > :12:20.Many people on the market get a profit if the share goes down as
:12:20. > :12:27.well as up. They bet on shares going down. You think speculators
:12:27. > :12:30.are driving the panic? Absolutely. There is evidence from a number of
:12:30. > :12:34.places in certain situations since the financial crisis that
:12:34. > :12:41.speculators have gone into the market and that that shares would
:12:41. > :12:46.go down. If they do, they win the bet and make money. And the French
:12:46. > :12:51.government calming the fears, will they succeed? Hopefully. One danger
:12:51. > :12:57.we have with modern systems, is that contagion spreads like
:12:57. > :13:07.wildfire. And about the British bank reforms? They are dramatic.
:13:07. > :13:08.
:13:08. > :13:13.Are they going to work? In terms of the UK, they make the banks in the
:13:13. > :13:17.UK for less likely for any contagion to spread. In terms of
:13:17. > :13:22.making the global banking system safer, they do not add that much to
:13:22. > :13:29.the bigger picture. That is what they should be doing with the G20
:13:30. > :13:34.behind it. For the global meltdown, it is a global solution. If our
:13:34. > :13:40.part of it is safe and the rest blows up, our part goes with it.
:13:40. > :13:45.Banking is a global business and you need global solutions.
:13:45. > :13:48.We can look at some of the other main developments. Staying with
:13:48. > :13:53.France, the European Commission will help the French authorities
:13:53. > :13:59.monitor the impact of a fatal explosion at a nuclear plant. One
:13:59. > :14:05.person was killed and four injured when a first exploded at the site
:14:05. > :14:09.near Nimes. The French authorities say there is no radioactive leak.
:14:09. > :14:13.French police have interviewed the former IMF chief Dominic Strauss-
:14:13. > :14:20.Kahn as part of an investigation into a complaint filed by a
:14:20. > :14:27.journalist who alleges he tried to rape her. Tristane Banon says he
:14:27. > :14:32.assaulted her in 2003. Last month, a US prosecutor dropped attempt --
:14:32. > :14:37.attempted rape charges after saying the alleged victim was unreliable.
:14:37. > :14:41.He denied charges in both cases. Musicians welcomed a decision by
:14:41. > :14:46.the European Union to extend copyright for recorded music. The
:14:46. > :14:56.decision follows a campaign by people such as Cliff Richard who
:14:56. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:02.faced a loss of revenue in later In South Africa, a court has ruled
:15:02. > :15:11.that a song calling for white farmers to be shocked at
:15:11. > :15:15.constitutes hate speech. The song was performed by a Julius Malema, a
:15:15. > :15:20.youth leader of the African National Congress. Defiant to the
:15:20. > :15:27.end, this was Julius Malema, at the weekend, singing a sanitised
:15:27. > :15:32.version of the controversial struggle song. But today in court
:15:32. > :15:37.the maverick politician was nowhere to be seen, just a handful of
:15:37. > :15:42.supporters amassed outside as the judge delivered the damning ruling.
:15:42. > :15:49.The song amounted to hate speech and was banned out right.
:15:49. > :15:55.This is not really a victory for those who oppose Julius Malema, it
:15:55. > :16:00.is a victory for those in those communities. There ruling party may
:16:00. > :16:06.have it on his shoes with Julius Malema, but on liberation songs it
:16:06. > :16:12.has closed ranks. Senior figures within the party
:16:12. > :16:17.testified that the refrain captured its country's history.
:16:17. > :16:20.Our appeal will continue, we are journeying on, we will defend the
:16:20. > :16:24.heritage of the African National Congress.
:16:24. > :16:28.Not long ago, Julius Malema seemed invincible and now seems like a
:16:28. > :16:32.broken man. Though his supporters outside court are trying to put a
:16:32. > :16:41.brave face on -- put a brave face on things, the second hearing
:16:41. > :16:51.tomorrow could mark the end of Julius Malema's political career.
:16:51. > :16:55.Julius Malema's supporters clashed with police one month ago.
:16:55. > :17:05.By if found guilty of bringing the party into disrepute, Julius Malema
:17:05. > :17:09.could be expelled from the African It is six months since the massive
:17:09. > :17:14.earthquake and tsunami that hit north-eastern Japan. Almost 16,000
:17:14. > :17:19.people are known to have died, nearly 5,000 more still missing.
:17:19. > :17:22.There are now fears the worst hit town may never recover. Our
:17:22. > :17:27.correspondent, Damian Grammaticas, who reported from Japan in the
:17:27. > :17:32.aftermath of the disaster, has been back to the visit one of the
:17:32. > :17:36.affected areas. The water, you would think for a
:17:36. > :17:41.tsunami survivor, would be terrifying.
:17:41. > :17:45.Six months ago, Chihiro was swallowed by the waves. She saw
:17:45. > :17:49.more than half of her swimming team swept away, but today she is back
:17:49. > :17:55.in training and says it holds no fear.
:17:55. > :18:00.By Japan's earthquake unleashed the tsunami, Chihiro's team were
:18:00. > :18:05.swimming near the seashore. This is news footage of that day.
:18:05. > :18:10.Underneath the water, their town of Rikuzentakata lies submerged. This
:18:10. > :18:15.building is where they were trapped. The after the disaster, her teacher
:18:15. > :18:18.showed us how it Chihiro survived. The mark on the wall shows the tiny
:18:19. > :18:23.space where she found she could breathe.
:18:23. > :18:27.Offered team-mates, seven died. Chihiro had been gripping one
:18:27. > :18:35.friend's hand, trying to pull her to safety. The water tore them
:18:35. > :18:40.apart. TRANSLATION: When I am alone, I
:18:40. > :18:46.cannot help thinking about my friend who died. I really long to
:18:46. > :18:51.see them again. Chihiro's town, so badly damaged,
:18:51. > :18:57.is trying to move on, too. There is a massive effort to shift and sift
:18:57. > :19:01.the wreckage. We now is that -- we now know 1,500 people died when
:19:01. > :19:05.Rikuzentakata was washed away. 2,000 more have since packed their
:19:05. > :19:10.bags and left, their homes and livelihoods gone. Getting on with
:19:10. > :19:13.the job of rebuilding is the urgent priority for the survivors here in
:19:13. > :19:18.Rikuzentakata. They have even started drawing up plans. They
:19:18. > :19:22.feared nothing is done, people will leave this town and it will slowly
:19:22. > :19:27.wither and die. The plan is to be built the town's sea walls, but
:19:27. > :19:33.make them 15 metres high. Japan's Government promised a huge
:19:34. > :19:39.emergency budget for reconstruction, but nothing has happened. Ranks of
:19:39. > :19:44.prefabricated huts have been put up to house more than 2,000 families,
:19:44. > :19:48.including cows's. Her father has lost his or oyster fishing business,
:19:48. > :19:55.and her grandfather is one of 200 people from the Town presumed dead
:19:55. > :19:59.but often no trace has been found. A TRANSLATION: At what do I think
:19:59. > :20:03.about the Government? Not much. Our politicians have been fighting over
:20:04. > :20:09.who should be Prime Minister. This is not the time for that. We have
:20:09. > :20:14.come to expect nothing from them. Chihiro's school was destroyed, so
:20:14. > :20:21.every morning she travels one hour of the coast to a temporary one. Or
:20:21. > :20:24.she wants is a new school and a new home in Rikuzentakata. -- all she
:20:24. > :20:27.wants. In the meantime, it is a swimming, she says, that teacher
:20:27. > :20:31.from dwelling on the memories of the tsunami.
:20:31. > :20:41.TRANSLATION: When I am swimming, I do not have to think about anything,
:20:41. > :20:43.
:20:44. > :20:47.I just empty my mind. That is why I Damian Grammaticas with the
:20:47. > :20:50.aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
:20:50. > :20:55.Four people in Britain have been charged with slavery offences
:20:55. > :20:59.relating to four people found at a travellers' site. The men are all
:20:59. > :21:04.from the same family of travellers and were charged with conspiracy to
:21:04. > :21:07.holding a person in servitude and conspiring to hold them in forced
:21:07. > :21:10.labour. David Cameron has been visiting
:21:10. > :21:15.Russia today along with leading British business leaders. He said
:21:15. > :21:20.he wanted to consolidate British political and commercial links with
:21:20. > :21:25.Russia. When Mr Cameron tried to impress his hosts with a few words
:21:25. > :21:29.in Russian, the Foreign Office announced today it is reinvesting
:21:29. > :21:32.in building the language skills of British diplomats. Our
:21:33. > :21:36.correspondent looks at language, politics and diplomacy in the
:21:36. > :21:41.modern world. A lot has changed since David
:21:41. > :21:44.Cameron first visited Russia 26 years ago. Then, he was on a gap
:21:44. > :21:50.year between school and university. Now, as British Prime Minister, he
:21:50. > :22:00.was just asking to practise Russian. Today I want to make their case
:22:00. > :22:00.
:22:00. > :22:05.that... Are SPEAKS RUSSIAN... Together, we are stronger.
:22:05. > :22:09.OK, it was not perfect, but just a little phrase, especially in a
:22:09. > :22:17.language as difficult as Russian, can go a long way. After all, he
:22:17. > :22:26.has to keep up with his polyglot deputy, who speaks five languages.
:22:26. > :22:33.SPEAKS GERMAN. Do the famous German air is very
:22:33. > :22:37.refreshing, says Nick Clegg. Also, Tony Blair had the French
:22:37. > :22:42.language. SPEAKS FRENCH.
:22:42. > :22:47.Or did he? One diplomat recalls cent meeting his one-time
:22:47. > :22:51.counterpart whose policies he was said to envy. When he switched into
:22:51. > :22:56.friends, Mr Blair was said to have translated his thoughts too
:22:56. > :23:02.literally, sane, I lust after you in many different positions. --
:23:02. > :23:07.seeing, I lost after you. The US politicians exercise their
:23:07. > :23:16.skills with mixed degrees of success. Who in Ireland can forget
:23:16. > :23:19.Barack Obama's visit in May when he showed off Gaelic? Hillary Clinton
:23:19. > :23:25.delved into the Russian dictionary to try to rebuild relations with
:23:25. > :23:30.Moscow. She arrived in Geneva clasping a symbolic but in with a
:23:30. > :23:34.Russian word written on it. We worked hard to get the right
:23:34. > :23:41.Russian word, did we get it? you got it wrong.
:23:41. > :23:44.Unfortunately, there would have chosen meant, overcharged.
:23:44. > :23:51.- Mike there were but they chose meant overcharged.
:23:51. > :23:57.We are joined by Professor David Bellos from Princeton University
:23:57. > :24:01.who has just written a book called Is That A Fish In Your Ear?. This
:24:01. > :24:08.idea of reviving language skills for British diplomats, are they
:24:08. > :24:11.needed? Everyone wants to speak English, do they really need it? It
:24:11. > :24:13.be yes, because if they are the only people who only speak English,
:24:13. > :24:17.they are going to be missing a great deal.
:24:17. > :24:25.But they must rely on their translators before they can even
:24:25. > :24:31.read the morning paper headlines, the at a disadvantage.
:24:31. > :24:37.Do they not talk to other politicians who speak English?
:24:37. > :24:44.Yes, of course English is a planetary language nowadays, it has
:24:44. > :24:46.been in increasing quantities for several decades, but that does not
:24:46. > :24:52.mean that non-native English speakers do not speak other
:24:52. > :24:57.languages, often more than one. That does not mean that interesting
:24:57. > :25:04.and important conversations do not go on in Chinese and in French,
:25:04. > :25:09.German, Japanese and Arabic. Not to eat and be able to get on board at
:25:09. > :25:12.a passive level in this sort of thing going on is not an advantage
:25:12. > :25:17.for a diplomat or for anyone else who needs to have some
:25:17. > :25:22.understanding of another culture. Does a little go a long way? We saw
:25:22. > :25:25.a David Cameron trying to impress Russia with a few words? Good
:25:25. > :25:29.people like it when the unit -- when you make an effort, or do you
:25:29. > :25:33.have to become proficient to gain the benefits you are talking about?
:25:33. > :25:38.That is variable according to who is doing it and what the other
:25:38. > :25:40.society is like. I can only give a few anecdotes on this, but
:25:40. > :25:46.certainly in Hungary so few foreigners speak Hungarian that
:25:46. > :25:50.even trying a few words they are over the moon that you are trying.
:25:50. > :25:54.In France, the French have a very much more self-confident view of
:25:54. > :25:59.their language. Just the fireplace or? There are
:25:59. > :26:07.those who say Nicolas Sarkozy would have a much greater global impact
:26:07. > :26:12.if he communicated in English sometimes when talking about Libya.
:26:12. > :26:16.The French, of course, speak a language which, for many centuries,
:26:16. > :26:20.was the global language and the language of culture, and that they
:26:20. > :26:24.wish to hang on to it, at least for themselves. We must not forget,
:26:24. > :26:27.French is spoken not as a native nine with -- native language but as
:26:27. > :26:34.a language of culture and communication in many parts of the
:26:34. > :26:37.world, especially in the Middle East and Africa. It is part of the
:26:37. > :26:42.global conversation. Thank you very much indeed for
:26:42. > :26:52.talking to us. That is all for the programme, but Next is is the
:26:52. > :27:02.weather. Formatted from me, Zeinab Badawi, goodbye. -- from me, Zeinab
:27:02. > :27:04.
:27:04. > :27:08.The we have had a windy day and where every you have been, very
:27:09. > :27:13.dusty conditions, particularly across the North and areas of the
:27:13. > :27:18.UK. We still have an amber warning in force from the Met Office for
:27:18. > :27:26.the strength of the winds. All centred around this an area of low
:27:26. > :27:30.pressure across southern -- across Scotland. For Tuesday, another
:27:31. > :27:37.windy day, perhaps not as windy as today. In the north, further heavy
:27:37. > :27:41.rain, in Scotland further south it is showers. In Northern England to
:27:41. > :27:46.the east, some strong gusts starting to develop. Through the
:27:46. > :27:53.southernmost counties of England, it is hit-and-miss with the showers.
:27:53. > :27:56.They will come through with some brisk westerly winds. Or the south-
:27:57. > :28:04.west England and Wales Country gusty conditions where you are
:28:04. > :28:11.exposed. There is a chance through the Irish Sea we could have more
:28:11. > :28:14.destruction to the ferries. Across areas of Northern Ireland, Wendy