08/01/2014 World News Today


08/01/2014

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 08/01/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas. The UN warns of

:00:00.:00:10.

a humanitarian disaster in the making in the Central African

:00:11.:00:14.

Republic. Almost half of the population of the capital has fled

:00:15.:00:17.

in fear of the sectarian violence between Muslim and Christian

:00:18.:00:26.

militias. There are barely enough international troops to secure this

:00:27.:00:29.

place. There are certainly not enough to stop the blood-letting in

:00:30.:00:35.

the capital or countryside beyond. Too hot to play? The Secretary

:00:36.:00:39.

General of FIFA says 2022 World Cup in Qatar should not be played in the

:00:40.:00:49.

summer. It is so cold in the United States that Hell has frozen over,

:00:50.:00:57.

Held, Mitch Ugen. And the film award season in full swing. The space

:00:58.:01:00.

drama Gravity leads this year's BAFTA nominations.

:01:01.:01:12.

Hello and welcome. We begin with a special BBC report from inside the

:01:13.:01:17.

Central African Republic, where the United Nations Children's Fund is

:01:18.:01:21.

warning of a humanitarian disaster. There've been reports of widespread

:01:22.:01:24.

atrocities by both sides, in the conflict between Muslim and

:01:25.:01:27.

Christian communities, and masses of people have fled the fighting. This

:01:28.:01:34.

week, aid agencies have been getting food to some of the one million

:01:35.:01:37.

people who've been driven from their homes. The violence is thought to

:01:38.:01:43.

have claimed at least 1,000 lives in the last month alone. Our

:01:44.:01:45.

correspondent Paul Wood and cameraman Fred Scott have reached

:01:46.:01:48.

the capital Bangui and sent us this report.

:01:49.:01:56.

Dramatic evidence of how the crisis in the Central African Republic is

:01:57.:02:05.

deepening. In one month this camp has grown to perhaps 1000 people to

:02:06.:02:10.

100,000. They press right up against the airport runway, hoping the

:02:11.:02:13.

French troops there will provide a measure of safety. Almost half the

:02:14.:02:17.

capital of Bangui has fled. These are Christians will stop they told

:02:18.:02:24.

us that Muslim secular militia have gone house-to-house, killing the

:02:25.:02:29.

young men. Ellen's son was shot dead in front of her, she tells me. Her

:02:30.:02:34.

second son was killed with a machete this morning. They'd gone to their

:02:35.:02:38.

house to get their belongings. Many people had similar stories. The calm

:02:39.:02:45.

here is deceptive. Last week there was sniping from the perimeter of

:02:46.:02:48.

the camp which killed three children, including a six-month-old

:02:49.:02:53.

baby girl. There are barely enough international troops to secure this

:02:54.:02:57.

place. There are certainly not enough to stop the blood-letting in

:02:58.:03:02.

the capital or countryside beyond. There is a threat of cholera,

:03:03.:03:06.

typhoid and, among children, measles. But people are still too

:03:07.:03:13.

terrified to go home. We are not confident yet. It can be the calm

:03:14.:03:16.

before the storm, nobody really knows. People are saying to me, if I

:03:17.:03:20.

have to choose between living in these conditions and my life, I

:03:21.:03:26.

choose my life. The mainly Muslim militia, accused by Christians of

:03:27.:03:31.

mass murder. They say they are defending their communities from

:03:32.:03:36.

Christian vigilantes. Aid workers say the violence is increasingly

:03:37.:03:40.

neighbour against neighbour. That may be the kind of killing not even

:03:41.:03:44.

the resignation of a president can stop. In neighbouring South Sudan,

:03:45.:03:49.

the fighting has also reached crisis point, and the BBC is tonight in

:03:50.:03:53.

Bentiu in the oil-rich Unity State in the north of the country, where

:03:54.:03:56.

people are grabbing their belongings and fleeing in their thousands. The

:03:57.:04:00.

town had been seized by rebels, but now government troops are closing

:04:01.:04:04.

in. Alastair Leithead is live for us in Bentiu. Tell us what you've

:04:05.:04:15.

witnessed. Just that, many, many people with all the possessions they

:04:16.:04:19.

can carry. Children carrying younger children, walking down the road

:04:20.:04:25.

here, along the dusty tracks. Just outside this UN compound where I am

:04:26.:04:31.

is actually between the city and where the government troops will be

:04:32.:04:35.

advancing from. They started the day 40 kilometres or more away. They

:04:36.:04:42.

were 25 kilometres away some hours ago. The message reached people

:04:43.:04:46.

here. They grabbed what they could and headed down the road and over

:04:47.:04:50.

the bridge, a strategic bridge, the only crossing point in about 100

:04:51.:04:54.

kilometres, where people could then get on beyond the city south if they

:04:55.:05:01.

need to. We also saw movement of the rebel forces. These are the units of

:05:02.:05:06.

the militarily who split from the government and have backed the

:05:07.:05:08.

former vice president. They were seen moving back down the road on

:05:09.:05:13.

the back of a truck. There was a tank, heavy weapons, lots of

:05:14.:05:18.

movement and uncertainty, as they move into that city, presumably

:05:19.:05:22.

waiting for the government troops to arrive. Then people are expecting

:05:23.:05:26.

them to fight. That could be quite a battle, if the government tried to

:05:27.:05:30.

move in and take over the city once again. We may have more from you

:05:31.:05:35.

tomorrow, thank you very much. It looks like the 2022 football World

:05:36.:05:39.

Cup in Qatar will not be at the usual time of June and July, but

:05:40.:05:42.

will be shifted to November, December and January, when the

:05:43.:05:45.

searing heat simmers down to more acceptable levels for the players.

:05:46.:05:49.

It's a decision that could affect football seasons across Europe and

:05:50.:05:54.

beyond. But we can't confirm the move for you yet, as our reporter

:05:55.:06:04.

Chris Mitchell explains. Since December 2010, when Qatar was

:06:05.:06:07.

awarded the right to stage the tournament, it seems everyone in

:06:08.:06:10.

world football has had their say on when the World Cup should be

:06:11.:06:15.

played. On Wednesday it was the turn FIFAgeneral secretary, Jerome

:06:16.:06:18.

Valcke. TRANSLATION: The dates for the World

:06:19.:06:25.

Cup will not be June July. To be honest, I think it will be held

:06:26.:06:29.

between the 15th of November and the 15th of January at the latest. If

:06:30.:06:35.

you play between the 15th of November and the end of December,

:06:36.:06:39.

that's the time when the weather conditions are best. When you can

:06:40.:06:42.

play in temperature is equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe,

:06:43.:06:46.

averaging 25 degrees. That would be perfect for playing football.

:06:47.:06:52.

It appears Jerome Valcke may have overstepped the mark. FIFA certainly

:06:53.:06:56.

reacted swiftly to his comments. The precise events dates are still

:06:57.:06:59.

subject to an ongoing consultation process, they said. They insist no

:07:00.:07:03.

decision will be made until after the World Cup in Brazil, which ends

:07:04.:07:09.

on July 13. What we are seeing our talks between Sheik Salman Butt

:07:10.:07:14.

Isner commission for FIFA, and the Premier League and the other

:07:15.:07:17.

big-league, the advertisers and sponsors are all getting involved in

:07:18.:07:21.

this, to see how a practical solution can be found. That will go

:07:22.:07:24.

on for some time, through to March or April this year, then they decide

:07:25.:07:29.

the international calendar, and we could -- we should hear in December

:07:30.:07:34.

on the outcome. Qatar won the bid with traditional summer dates in

:07:35.:07:37.

their proposal. But soon after that, doctors, including the chairman of

:07:38.:07:42.

FIFA's medical committee, said the risks to supporters attending the

:07:43.:07:47.

event were too great, with temperatures reaching as high as 50

:07:48.:07:50.

Celsius in June or July. FIFA's vice president said he was totally

:07:51.:07:54.

surprised at Jerome Valcke's statement, and confirmed the

:07:55.:07:58.

decision had to be taken by FIFA's executive committee. The organising

:07:59.:08:01.

committee in Qatar said regardless of the outcome of the consultation,

:08:02.:08:05.

they will be ready to host the World Cup, whatever the dates. Joining me

:08:06.:08:09.

from Southampton on the south coast of England is Mark Palios. He's a

:08:10.:08:13.

former chief executive of the English Football Association, the

:08:14.:08:17.

FA. And with me in the studio is the sports writer and broadcaster Mihir

:08:18.:08:27.

Bose. Thinking about this, Mark, if we can come to you first. What will

:08:28.:08:32.

this mean for football? A decision to move the World Cup in Qatar would

:08:33.:08:36.

have such a knock-on effect for the English Premier League, as well as

:08:37.:08:41.

many others. I would say that the impetus around to changing the

:08:42.:08:44.

timing of the World Cup, or the suggested change, from the summer to

:08:45.:08:51.

the winter months, whilst the welfare of the players was taken

:08:52.:08:56.

into account, it is one side of the argument that the Qataris would be

:08:57.:09:01.

able to put insufficient air-conditioning around stadiums and

:09:02.:09:04.

training pictures, so it wouldn't dramatically affect the players. I

:09:05.:09:08.

believe the concerns of the medical committee chairman was centred more

:09:09.:09:11.

around the fans than the players. Having said that, for players

:09:12.:09:15.

themselves, they will probably go into a World Cup, certainly for the

:09:16.:09:20.

guys who play in the European leagues, in better physical

:09:21.:09:23.

conditions, ironically, although by the end of the rest of the European

:09:24.:09:27.

season they will have been playing without a break. Whichever way it

:09:28.:09:32.

goes, it's going to be difficult for the players. Just to pick up on what

:09:33.:09:36.

makes it difficult for the players, it might mean having to rearrange

:09:37.:09:40.

English games, for example. Might players be torn between staying here

:09:41.:09:46.

and going to the World Cup? As things stand, I do believe that the

:09:47.:09:50.

Premier League have not really said how they think it will work out.

:09:51.:09:55.

Clearly, what they've been doing is negotiate the position as hard as

:09:56.:09:58.

they can for the best period for them, if it is to be moved. For

:09:59.:10:02.

example, the Premier League would favour the England players being

:10:03.:10:05.

home for Christmas, in terms of being able to play in the

:10:06.:10:08.

traditional fixtures we see in the English Premier League and the

:10:09.:10:12.

English leagues generally. In terms of the knock-on effect, I know there

:10:13.:10:16.

is concern it won't just affect one season, it will affect the season

:10:17.:10:25.

preceding the 20 two and the 2023 season, as well as the following

:10:26.:10:30.

season. If you extend it into May and June, the Premier League in

:10:31.:10:33.

2023, then you have a knock-on effect into the season after that as

:10:34.:10:37.

well. And there is the knock-on effect on the Confederations Cup,

:10:38.:10:41.

which is likely to include a lot of players who will be playing in the

:10:42.:10:46.

Premier League. No decision in football and sport can be taken in

:10:47.:10:50.

isolation, but talk to us more about the logistics behind this decision.

:10:51.:10:54.

If the decision is made to move from the summer months to November,

:10:55.:10:58.

you've got to square it with all sorts of players. You've got to

:10:59.:11:02.

square it with the stakeholders. The most important stakeholders, let's

:11:03.:11:06.

face it, and this is football as business, not the players, though

:11:07.:11:10.

they talk about it, not the supporters, it's the television

:11:11.:11:15.

companies. They pay the big-money. Football for the World Cup, for

:11:16.:11:19.

FIFA, is the only product that makes money. They need to bring in the

:11:20.:11:23.

money. What I suspect has happened today is Jerome Valcke, making this

:11:24.:11:28.

point, is he has squared the American television companies,

:11:29.:11:30.

they've done a big television deal with American television companies,

:11:31.:11:33.

for whom June and July would have been ideal. They must have said, we

:11:34.:11:38.

can move to November, December, that is why he made the statement to

:11:39.:11:42.

date. You may say this sounds cynical, modern sport is cynical.

:11:43.:11:47.

It's about business. While they talk about supporters, and you need

:11:48.:11:51.

supporters in the stadium, you don't want an empty stadium, the big money

:11:52.:11:56.

comes from the television companies. Who do you think will be most

:11:57.:11:59.

inconvenienced if this move goes ahead? The players will be

:12:00.:12:03.

inconvenienced, the supporters might also be. June and July is a

:12:04.:12:07.

traditional holiday time. They will have to rearrange things. What will

:12:08.:12:10.

happen is the whole league programmes of the Europeans, and the

:12:11.:12:15.

Europeans are the dominant force in football, they produce the most of

:12:16.:12:19.

the money and the players, how will that fit in? This might have a two

:12:20.:12:23.

you impact. Many matches will have to be moved around. Will there be

:12:24.:12:27.

the legal process going on while the World Cup is going on? As a

:12:28.:12:31.

spectacle, the World Cup needs to be on its own. When the World Cup is

:12:32.:12:36.

on, you don't want any other match is going on. This will require a lot

:12:37.:12:40.

of planning. And hence we have to stop talking about it now. Mark, do

:12:41.:12:44.

you think that even though there are eight years to go, this shift is

:12:45.:12:49.

going to happen, not least that for many footballers it would be

:12:50.:12:53.

physically impossible or just to wearing to be playing in those

:12:54.:12:58.

conditions? Adding to the factors that you just talked about,

:12:59.:13:02.

certainly the television companies are a major stakeholder. There is

:13:03.:13:06.

one other factor. The International Olympic Committee, the Winter

:13:07.:13:12.

Olympics in January 2022 was an option which would have conflicted

:13:13.:13:14.

with the Winter Olympics. That is also a big concern, moving the games

:13:15.:13:20.

to the suggested period, which I think sounds like it's going to be

:13:21.:13:27.

November, December. We speculate, but I think probably you will see

:13:28.:13:32.

that happen. You have experienced, as a professional footballer, tell

:13:33.:13:39.

us about your hottest matches? As a player for Tranmere, we played a lot

:13:40.:13:43.

of matches but not in those conditions. I played in Greece, it

:13:44.:13:48.

is very hot. The technology is there for them to ameliorate that. Certain

:13:49.:13:55.

sports in certain states are played in air-conditioned stadiums. The

:13:56.:13:58.

important thing is the fans are used to travelling to the stadiums in

:13:59.:14:02.

those conditions and back. There are what a lot of fans won't have had

:14:03.:14:06.

that experience, therefore it is difficult to conceive how they can

:14:07.:14:09.

air-conditioned the arm beyond around the stadium and when you are

:14:10.:14:14.

travelling to games. Not a done deal, but it sounds as if we're

:14:15.:14:23.

moving that way. The former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger

:14:24.:14:26.

has revealed that he is gay. The now-retired player is only the

:14:27.:14:29.

fourth footballer to have ever come out. He says he wants to promote the

:14:30.:14:32.

discussion of homosexuality among professional athletes. A massive

:14:33.:14:34.

assault promised by the Iraq government on the city of Fallujah,

:14:35.:14:37.

controlled by al-Qaeda linked militants, has yet to take place.

:14:38.:14:41.

But the most senior UN official in the country has warned of a critical

:14:42.:14:44.

humanitarian situation there, saying more than 5,000 families have fled

:14:45.:14:47.

as stocks of food, water and medicine start to run out. Here in

:14:48.:14:54.

Britain, an investigation is under way after a US military helicopter

:14:55.:14:57.

crashed on the North Norfolk coast last night, killing all four people

:14:58.:15:04.

onboard. It was taking part in a low-flying exercise when it came

:15:05.:15:07.

down in marshes near the tiny village of Cley-next-the-Sea.

:15:08.:15:20.

Weather records have been broken across America, with all 50 states

:15:21.:15:22.

experiencing sub-zero temperatures on Tuesday. The most extreme arctic

:15:23.:15:28.

blasts were said to have affected nearly 190 million people. Our

:15:29.:15:30.

correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan has been to Michigan where a town

:15:31.:15:39.

called Hell has frozen over. This is the road to hell, which

:15:40.:15:45.

again. It is treacherous at the moment. --Hell, Michigan. It is in

:15:46.:15:58.

the American midwest. It has felt some of the coldest temperatures in

:15:59.:16:05.

recent days. Around -23 degrees when we arrived. Now with the sun out it

:16:06.:16:12.

has gone up to around -11. But with the wind chill things do feel teeth

:16:13.:16:18.

chattering we cold. There is nowhere around. Hell has become a bit of a

:16:19.:16:26.

ghost town. The ice cream shop is shut today and the Halloween store

:16:27.:16:33.

is also closed. People are heeding the warnings and staying indoors

:16:34.:16:38.

until this frees subsides. -- freeze.

:16:39.:16:49.

An inquest in London into the death of a man whose shooting by police

:16:50.:16:52.

sparked riots across England has concluded that it was a lawful

:16:53.:16:56.

killing. Riots took place in cities across the country after the

:16:57.:16:58.

shooting of Mark Duggan in the summer of 2011. The inquest jury

:16:59.:17:02.

decided that Duggan did have a gun, but had thrown it away before was

:17:03.:17:06.

shot. There were chaotic scenes at the court as the decision was read

:17:07.:17:09.

out, as his family reacted with anger. For as long as it takes, God

:17:10.:17:18.

give my family strength. Also the whole of our legal team, our friends

:17:19.:17:24.

and the people we do not even know that supported us. The majority of

:17:25.:17:29.

people in this country know that Mark was executed. We are going to

:17:30.:17:34.

fight until we have no breath in our body for just this for Mark and all

:17:35.:17:44.

of those deaths in custody. No justice, no peace. Well Matt Roger

:17:45.:17:52.

explains why this case is so controversial. In the two and a half

:17:53.:17:56.

years that Mark Duggan 's family have waited this moment, they

:17:57.:17:59.

believe that they have been robbed of just this, there comment tonight.

:18:00.:18:06.

The police shooting of Mark Duggan had great social impact. What

:18:07.:18:11.

happened after that was that it prompted a protest which sparked

:18:12.:18:15.

riots in Tottenham which led to the worst unrest that had been seen in

:18:16.:18:21.

England for a generation. The jury had to consider a number of

:18:22.:18:24.

questions but it did conclude that Mark Duggan had been lawfully

:18:25.:18:28.

killed. He had been carrying a gun in the minicab on the day he was

:18:29.:18:33.

shot by police but had thrown that gun away, they believe, for police

:18:34.:18:43.

fired the fatal shot. -- before. It's the start of the film awards

:18:44.:18:46.

season and today the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA,

:18:47.:18:49.

unveiled its annual nominations. The special effects space drama Gravity,

:18:50.:18:52.

starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, leads the way. It picked up

:18:53.:18:55.

11 nominations including Best Film and British Film, Original

:18:56.:19:00.

Screenplay and Original Music. With me is the film critic Jason

:19:01.:19:08.

Solomons. This is the great choice. Gravity is spectacle but also soul.

:19:09.:19:15.

It is. It is directed by a Mexican living in the UK so it has this

:19:16.:19:20.

great Latin American, soulful heart. It is about emotions. It is a

:19:21.:19:28.

spectacular movie, a roller-coaster ride in the purest way. But it is

:19:29.:19:34.

also about being human and being connect to to the earth and what

:19:35.:19:37.

makes us human in this battle for technology. I thought it was a fine

:19:38.:19:43.

space movie in the best tradition. It is great to see it rewarded. And

:19:44.:19:51.

it is a UK film. It was made in London. It belongs to the entire

:19:52.:19:58.

world but was made in the UK. And British pride as well to do with the

:19:59.:20:06.

American story, 12 Years A Slave. You could not get more polar

:20:07.:20:09.

opposite films. How to judge which is the better I do not know. That

:20:10.:20:15.

was directed by Steve McQueen and stars of British actor. It is the

:20:16.:20:24.

story of a man being sold into slavery in Georgia in the 1840s. It

:20:25.:20:30.

is a remarkable true story. Pretty harrowing. Pretty severe but almost

:20:31.:20:40.

emotionless. Hollywood might have ramped up the violins. This is kind

:20:41.:20:46.

of severe but also a brilliant story. Dispassionately told. So it

:20:47.:20:53.

is an interesting way of telling it. But also American Hustle is a

:20:54.:20:59.

contender. That looks good, great names. Well it is probably the best

:21:00.:21:08.

fun around. All of the act does, christian bale, Amy Adams, they have

:21:09.:21:15.

been nominated in all of their categories. -- actors. It is a great

:21:16.:21:22.

fun film going back to the disco era. Lots of great music in it. Our

:21:23.:21:33.

goal last year, it tapped into an era. -- Argo. How do you decide

:21:34.:21:48.

which is better? It is really a dark horse. What does this all tell us

:21:49.:21:56.

about British film? There is a lot of it about. What does it say? I

:21:57.:22:04.

think British film is global. It does stories from all over. But

:22:05.:22:08.

where is the British talent, the stories about Britain? That is what

:22:09.:22:18.

should be rewarded in the BAFTAs. I think it is not a good thing for

:22:19.:22:22.

young talent in this country not to see themselves reflect dead at the

:22:23.:22:33.

BAFTAs. -- reflected. And the BAFTA winners will be

:22:34.:22:40.

announced on the 16th of February. Now let's take you from film to

:22:41.:22:43.

music, and another of the emerging artists on the BBC's Sound of 2014

:22:44.:22:47.

new music list. She is Banks, a 25-year-old from LA who started

:22:48.:22:51.

writing songs on a toy piano as a self-confessed broken-hearted teen.

:22:52.:22:55.

After a year on tour, she's preparing to release her debut

:22:56.:23:02.

album. We are at Notting Hill. It is a

:23:03.:23:08.

special venue for me. My first show I ever played was at this venue. My

:23:09.:23:21.

first real work trip was in London. I grew so much as a person. My mind

:23:22.:23:26.

and my heart grew all within those three weeks. It became such a

:23:27.:23:32.

milestone in my life. It made sense that my first show would be here. #

:23:33.:23:51.

Love is a waiting game. I grew up in Los Angeles. I started

:23:52.:23:57.

writing around ten years ago. I was 14 or 15. I was just going through a

:23:58.:24:06.

really dark time. And writing just made the most sense to me. Somebody

:24:07.:24:11.

gave me a keyboard and it started just naturally coming out. I have

:24:12.:24:17.

always done it just closed off in my room. Very few people heard those

:24:18.:24:20.

intimate thoughts, both dark thoughts. Just the rawest, purest

:24:21.:24:29.

thought I was having that I put in my music. So now everyone is hearing

:24:30.:24:34.

that and it is a bit scary. But it is amazing, I feel I am human and

:24:35.:24:40.

everyone is human and everyone has both feelings. -- those feelings.

:24:41.:24:59.

# This is what it feels like. I am feeling absolutely overwhelmed,

:25:00.:25:05.

in a good way, about where I am at with my music. I feel I have never

:25:06.:25:11.

been so open. I have always been open, before I was doing it, alone.

:25:12.:25:18.

But now I am opening myself up the most, the most vulnerable parts of

:25:19.:25:25.

me. That is scary but it feels so powerful. I'm just so grateful that

:25:26.:25:29.

so many people are connect to with it. I still cannot believe it!

:25:30.:25:40.

Just time to bring you up-to-date on one of the biggest stories last

:25:41.:25:44.

week. Investigators in France have shed some light on the scheme

:25:45.:25:47.

accident that left Michael Schumacher in a coma. They describe

:25:48.:25:52.

the former Formula one champion as an extremely good skier. They said

:25:53.:25:58.

footage from the camera showed he was skiing well off the piste when

:25:59.:26:02.

he crashed. Our main news tonight. The United Nations children's fund

:26:03.:26:09.

is warning of a humanitarian disaster in the making in the

:26:10.:26:12.

Central African Republic. There are reports of widespread atrocities by

:26:13.:26:16.

both sides in the conflict between Muslim and Christian communities and

:26:17.:26:18.

masses of people have fled the fighting. This week aid agencies

:26:19.:26:24.

have been getting food to some of the million people who have been

:26:25.:26:27.

driven from their homes. The violence is thought to have claimed

:26:28.:26:31.

at least a thousand lives in the last month alone. That is all from

:26:32.:26:42.

the programme. From me and the rest of the team, thank you for watching.

:26:43.:26:57.

Hello. It is fair to say that the weather is less unsettled than it

:26:58.:27:09.

was. But the rain is still in the equation. The latest system has been

:27:10.:27:11.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS