17/10/2013 World News Today

This is BBC World News today, with me Zeinab Badawi.

After the budget deal in the US to prevent a massive debt default, we

ask what has been the cost to Washington's standing on the world

stage? Hundreds of thousands return to work

after a temporary agreement in Congress ends the partial government

shutdown. We look at the losers after President Obama says there

were no winners. These last few weeks have inflicted completely

unnecessary damage on our economy. Pupil power in France. Hundreds of

school students take to the streets, amid growing anger at the

deportation of a Roma teenager, snatched by the authorities in front

of her classmates. Three months after Egypt's army

ousted President Morsi, we speak to the deputy head of the committee

charged with helping rewrite the country's constitution.

And dream jobs or the only jobs for these girls in the future? We

examine why females in China are prevented from some university

courses and careers. Hello and welcome. The US budget

battle may be over for now and, although President Obama did not

have to conceder very much to his Republican opponents, he said today

that there were no winners from the tussle between Democrats and

Republicans. Hundreds of thousands of government employees have headed

back to work today after the cross-party deal last night ended

the partial government shutdown and raised the US debt ceiling. Mr Obama

speaking at the White House earlier today, warned that the US economic

recovery had been undermined and that the American people are fed up

with the politicians in Washington. Understand that how business is done

in this town has to change. Because, we have all got a lot of work to do

on behalf of the American people, including the hard work of retaining

the trust. Our system of self government does not function without

it. Without it, the gunmen cannot operate. All others need to stop

focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and talking heads on radio,

the professional activist who profit from conflict, but listen to the

majority of the American people In Washington now is the economist

and blogger Edward Harrison, the founder of the economic news

website, Credit Writedowns. So, the President says there was not any

winners ballot a lot of losers. Economic, I'm talking about

companies having a lot of trouble in the States economy. Yes, LX like we

will see a loss of about 0.5 or 0.6% gross domestic product in this

quarter because of the partial shutdown. We are looking at a huge

amount of lost income to the private sector. In this scheme of things,

that is manageable, because we are looking at plus .2% growth in the

United States. So it could come down to .2%. But if this had gone on any

longer, the damage would have been a lot greater. There is still a risk,

because investors may not see the US dollar is the safe haven it once

was? I do not think the dead enemy, but in terms of absolute note

political risk, there are no other pretenders to the throne as aware,

of save assets or collateral. You can look at places like China or in

Europe as being equivalent size in terms of the economy, but all of

those areas have the own difficulties and their own problems.

The United States dollar remains a strong currency. The will probably

not be ramifications in that respect. How much damage has this

done? It was that potential default on United States security which

would of had worldwide implications. I think it has done a

lot of damage to the United States in terms of its been able to promote

its agenda abroad. In British terms, it would be the equivalent of the

Labour Party forcing through legislation which would force the

Government to partly shutdown. People round the world do not

understand that the United States has gone through this. It is

self-inflicted and as a result, we are looking at the likes of the NASA

spying scandal and the situation in Syria, there were a lot of places

via the United States where the actor on the world stage and the

combination of this will diminish the United States as a power and

people will probably look for a more multi-polar world view in future.

Thousands of high school students have taken to the streets in Paris

protesting against the deportation of a 15-year-old Roma girl. Leonarda

Dibrani was detained by police in front of her classmates and sent

back to her native Kosovo, along with her parents and five siblings.

Her case has triggered an angry backlash among her supporters. The

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls has drawn the fiercest

criticism. At home, but not that Leonarda Dibrani would consider this

her home. The family entered France illegally in 2009 and since then had

been living in Paris, with French becoming her first language. This

summer, the final asylum appeal was denied. Last week, on a school

outing, she was dragged off by the authorities and sent back on a plane

to Kosovo. It was terrible. My friends thought I had committed the

big claim. I started crying. In Kosovo, there is no school for her.

The story has starred bitter recriminations in France. Today

thousands of students blockaded the schools as they took to the streets.

I was born in Russia and I am living in France and that is a situation

which worries me a lot. It could be one of us. The interior Minister is

seen as one of the more popular figures in the socialist government,

but many and party will approve of the action. Many people in the party

are angered because it prides itself on human rights. He is currently on

a visit to a French island, but said the majority of those illegal

immigrants should go back to the likes of Romania and Kosovo. He

said, when there is no longer any reason for a person to be on our

soil, the law applies. There have been calls for the President to

intervene. There has been worries that this has been a high-handed

action by police and officials. The family will be able to return within

48 hours if there's any problems with the expulsion order.

It is three months since Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was removed

from power and a caretaker President put in charge until new elections

can be held next year. The upheaval has left the Islamists, who were

swept away from power by the head of the army, General Abdul Fatah Al

Sissi, feeling very disgruntled There are regular protests held by

supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood around Egypt, who are still calling

for the reinstatement of the President. Meanwhile, the new

authorities have begun a new process they claim will restore Egypt back

to the path of a more inclusive democracy.

With me here in the studio are two influential voices inside Egypt

today. Lawyer Mona Zulficar is vice-president of the 50-member body

known as the G50, which is drawing up a new constitution for Egypt and

we also have Mohammed Shaker, the chairman of the Egyptian Council for

Foreign Affairs. He is a former diplomat, who previously served as

Egypt's ambassador in London. Thank you both for joining me this

evening. Mohammed Shaker, how can Egpyt say

it is committed to a democratic path when a democratically-elected

President and his party have been writtren out of the picture? Now,

everyone wants to be involved in the making of this Constitution. The

making of this, where she is vice chairman, every Egyptian wants to be

on this committee to draft the constitution, but certainly, it will

be debated by the public later on. It will be put to the people, who

will have the chance to comment on it. It is the will of the Egyptian

people. Mona Zulficar, you are part of the

body drawing up a new constitution for Egypt, to be voted for in

December, but a referendum was held at the end of last year and 64%

approved that constitution. But they attack the judiciary, the

attack the media. President Morsi Made decisions with no other

thought, the was no democracy about it. ?

Mona, only one member of your 5 is an Islamist and the Islamic

Brotherhood is not represented. How can the organisation have

legitimacy? There are people who support them who are willing

different hats. They well invited but declined. We have five or six or

seven, more than 10% of the people, who are sympathetic. I think it is

representative. The one is completely controlling it. It has

all walks of life in it. You will surely have to find an accommodation

with the Muslim Brotherhood. They were the clear winners in these

democratic elections. Definitely, they will have a role to play in the

future. I do not believe that we have democracy in Egypt presented

otherwise. But it is too soon for people to digest what is going on

and I think, at one point, they will have to be accommodated. Otherwise,

what is the worry of fear being a insurgency. Clearly, it is not

something Egypt can afford. No, they have been suspended, they put any

ban for the former regime. They stopped them exercising their

political rights. We are not doing that. We are writing a constitution

which will respect the rule of law and equal rights for all people in

Egypt. If the Muslim Brotherhood stood in an election in any guise,

the would-be elected fairly and squarely as the winner? Yes, but I

do not think the would do that. I think they lost the majority of the

people because of the failure to stick with the constitution. Now,

64% did vote for them, admittedly in a low turnout and they have been

thrown out. This Constitution did not respect the equal rights of all

citizens. It was a major cornerstone of the polarisation and division of

the Egyptian people. It provided the source of perpetual conflict and

because it was not based on the modern rules of respecting basic

human rights and freedoms for all. This Constitution itself was

surrounded by sympathisers President Morsi of. You have seen the military

back controlling the streets in Egypt. You threw out the former

regime because it was essentially an army supported government. Now, we

no longer have the Government President Morsi of. Surely, the army

are right back in the picture now? Yes, because people wanted that

Egypt is comfortable with going back to military rule? They may accept it

for the meantime. It saved Egypt from catastrophe. I think people

behaved the instructions of the people who went down and signed 22

million petitions authenticated signatures saying we want Emily

elections, we do not accept this to continue. Number two, we went down

under streets and we asked the army to intervene in the bed. It is not

now them and the driver seat. We have an entered common and we will

write a constitution and the role have elections and have a new

government. Thank you both for joining me.

Britain has agreed to let Chinese companies buy up some of its nuclear

power plants. They will be able to finance, build and operate the

facilities and even own a majority stake. George Osborne says it means

that the UK Government will not need to finance expensive projects

directly. It's the biggest nuclear power plant of its kind in the

world. Under construction at Taishan in southern China. Now, an almost

identical one is likely to be built in the UK. George Osborne's host

today was stressing the reactor s safety features. Against air crash.

The so there are... S safety procedures. Like Britain, China

needs to build more power stations. The safety is built into everything,

an earthquake or tsunami. You are prepared for that. Unlike Britain,

China is already racing ahead almost 30 nuclear plants in the pipeline.

Today the Chancellor said he would welcome Chinese involvement in

Britain's nuclear reactors. What is in this for George Osborne is money,

cash Britain urgently needs to fund the building of a new generation of

power stations. There are concerns that what bringing Chinese state

companies may mean for future safety and security in Britain's critical

national infrastructure. The new reactors at Taishan are European

designs, a French firm working with a Chinese partner. The same team

should get the first UK contract. We will make sure the British rules on

safety are applied. Chinese investment in British nuclear power

means British taxpayers' money can be used, instead of building these

things, for building schools and hospitals. In the long-term, British

families get lower and more stable energy bills. This is where the new

reactors will be built, replacing old ones at Hinkley Point in

Somerset. The bills may not be lower. The Government will guarantee

the operators a set price for their power, perhaps double today's cost

of electricity. It's extremely unlikely this is is a good deal for

consumers. The Government is guaranteeing EDF the operator a

price over the next three or four decades of ?100 a megawatt hour If

the price of Lek thrills itty is below that the consumer will make up

the difference. Currently it's significantly below that. No other

western nation has turned to China to satisfy its need for energy.

Communist-led, but with deep pockets, China could in future be

running UK nuclear plants. Some will find that deeply uncomfortable.

Others, like the Chancellor, see opportunity. The day's other news in

brief. In Australia, strong winds and unseasonably warm weather are

fanning dozens of wildfires across the state of New South Wales. So far

at least 30 homes have been destroyed on the outskirts of

Sydney. Scientists from the world health organisation have for the

first time identified air pollution as a leading environmental cause of

cancer. Their research suggests it was responsible for more than

200,000 deaths from lung cancer around the world in 2010. That means

air pollution is more likely than passive smoking to give you cancer.

It is being blamed for an increased risk of bladder cancer. Earlier this

week, we brought you the story on the street artist Banksy who

secretly sold his original art, worth thousands of pounds, for just

$60 at a stall in New York. Now a Lebanese charity, the Association to

Save Tyre, is offering people the chance to pick up an original

Picasso for 100 euros. You heard directly. The drawing is worth 1

million and it's called Man with Opera Hat. The charity is hoping

that plenty of people will want to buy a raffle ticket in the hope that

they will strike lucky. Let us talk more about this, here in the studio

with me is Maha Chalabi from the International Association to Save

Tyre and she is one of the organisers of this Picasso raffle.

Have you had a big response to this raffle so far? Yes, we have. We are

have very happy about it, especially here in London. The we are selling

very, very well. We hope that it will continue. You know Tyre is

giving so much to humanity and the historical period. Tyre is expecting

that people come to help her now. You are trying to raise money for

Tyre which is of course is in southern Lebanon it's an ancient

metropolis. You are trying to raise money to do what with the money We

have projects for employment for women and disables. In Tyre this

will be a village for handy craft. Tyre was known by its handy craft.

We want to revive all the old handy craft. We have another project also

with a consortium of universities in Beirut itself. These two projects

are done for employment, helping especiallilet new generation and

women. These are the projects you wish to finance. As you have been

speaking we have been looking at beautiful pictures of Tyre. You

bought the Picasso work in New York from a gallery? Yes. It has been

totally confirmed by Picasso's family as being an original. Yes.

Are you nervous you won't get your money back, maybe? No, we have

already the price of the Picasso, we have it already back. We want to

make the money to make the project. This is the most important thing.

Whose idea was this to raise money for your charity in this way? It's

my daughter and myself. We put together this idea because people

are feddup with dinners and gala dinners and difficult now period not

allowing fundraising easily. It s the era of the internet we thought

by internet we can reach the most bigger number. It's open to

everybody in the world? To everybody in the world. They have to go to a

site. Can I make my cheque out for you now? Please. Did you... I

didn't, I don't want to gain it If I gain it, it's much problem. I keep

it for others. It's a good opportunity for anybody. To get peal

for 100 euros. Thank you very much for talking to us about that

campaign there. Throughout October we are running a special series on

the challenges faced by women in the 21st century. Next Friday, 100

inspiring women will gather for a unique global event here at the

BBC's London headquarters. In our report today we look at education in

China. This year, the country welcomed its first female astronaut.

Many women in China have to keep their aspirations firmly on the

ground. There are still jobs and university courses which are for

many only. Child's play with an eye on the future. At the I Have A Dream

theme park in Beijing these visitors can try out careers. Girls dress up

as flight attendants and learn to serve meals. Many boys choose to

work as security guards. In these imagery world, the children and

their parents stick to ridgied gender types. In China the idea that

girls can't or shouldn't do the same jobs as men is put op on them early.

Students fight to get into this mining engineering course in China's

eastern Jiangsu province. They are almost guaranteed well-paid jobs

after graduation. This programme has one clear entrance requirement, men

only. China's labour law suggests mining work is unsuitable for women.

We ask women to refrain from applying to our major. This school

is not alone. Out of respect for women's safety, it says. China's

education ministry has banned girls from studying a variety of subjects

from across China. Some jobs are really unsuitable for women. If they

force their way into these jobs they will waste energy that can be

better used elsewhere. A small but fiesty network of students and

lawyers is fighting the restrictions. Shaving their heads in

a rare public protest in Guandong province last year. It was blatant

discrimination. No-one has stood up to these universities before and

told them these policies were wrong. The activists are also battling

unofficial gernd quotas at many Chinese universities that favour

boys. Schools don't want their courses to be dominated by girls.

They regularly lower admission standards for boys and leaving girls

with higher marks out of luck. Girls can move beyond the beauty saloon to

try dozens of jobs. These girls might soon have the support and the

drive to do it. Some of the challenges faced there by women in

China. That is it from World News Today, next the weather. Goodbye.