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tv   Outside Source  BBC News  April 13, 2017 9:00pm-9:31pm BST

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hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. donald trump accused bashar al—assad of using chemical weapons — and called him a butcher. today — syria's president responded. their west, mainly the united states, is hand in glove with the terrorists, they fabricated the entire story. this means the governments of america, russia and syria all have completely different explanations of what happened last week. we'll go through what we can say with any certainty. this is america's most powerful non—nuclear bomb being tested in 2003. today they used it for the first time ever — in afghanistan. a european court has ruled there were serious failings in russia's handling of the beslan school siege in 200a. over 300 people died. we'll hear russia's response. we'll hear from our correspondent in istanbul ahead of the turkish referendum on sunday. if the vote is yes, president erdogan will become a lot more powerful. if you have points you want to pick
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up if you have points you want to pick up on you can contact us on social media. 0n on every edition of outside source we pull together all the elements of all the most relevant stories. 0ne of our reporters has been speaking about —— bashar al—assad has been talking about the alleged chemical weapons attack. stage one, the propaganda, stage
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two, the military attack, that is what we believe is happening. 0nly 48 hours between the play and the attacks, no investigation, no concrete evidence about anything. the only thing was allegations and propaganda and then a strike. mr assad thinks the attack was fabricated to justify us military action. multiple sources suggest over 80 people died. independent tests on some victims show the presence of a nerve—agent such as sarin. it's also important to note that this new syrian claim contradicts this russian account of what happened. according to the objective data of the russian airspace control, syrian aviation struck a large terrorist warehouse that housed a warehouse making bombs, with toxic substances.
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bbc arabic‘s presenter is rasha qandeel. she watched the full interview and told me what she thought. it puts bashar al—assad between russia and the united states. that puts a limit to what trump will go for it in the next attack, if anything will happen in air strikes. if it is not a chemical attack it is above the line, anything below that is in the eyes of bashar al—assad permitted and can be talked about. it puts them in between russia and the united states, three different versions of what happened. he did not offer evidence to back up his claims. no, he did not, but he considers that the two countries that carried on the tests are not
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independent part of the story. he considers turkey carrying on the tests, saying there were traces of sarin on the victims, he is saying it is not an independent test and analysis. i want to show the viewers another clip from that interview. bashar al—assad talked about the broader issue of whether syria has chemical weapons. we give broader issue of whether syria has chemicalweapons. we give up broader issue of whether syria has chemical weapons. we give up our arsenal three years ago. even if we have then we would not use them. we have then we would not use them. we have never used our chemical arsenal in our history. he made a deal with the russians to hand over his chemical arsenal, presumably that is monitored at the time? there was no way that this could be monitored the way that this could be monitored the way it should have been monitored, but rex tillerson was quite sharp
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and criticising russia in failing to monitor the attack, or the dismantling of syrian arsenal when it comes to chemical weapons. from 2015 until today there are several allegations of chemical attacks. 0n the ground there is no concrete evidence that this arsenal was dismantled at all. the interview todayis dismantled at all. the interview today is putting russia in a very critical position in front of the international community, especially after russia vetoed the un security council resolution if you days ago. this is the most powerful non—nuclear bomb that the usa has. this was huge interest to my
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collea g u es this was huge interest to my colleagues in the bbc newsroom and afghanistan. let us just reiterate what is being said. this is america's most powerful non—nuclear bomb and it has just been used for the first time in a conflict. you can see the province where it was dropped on the afghanistan. also, this picture is the one that the us defence department has supplied to illustrate what the weapon is like. let us bring in a bbc correspondent. thank you for being with us. lots of people will be watching and wondering why have the americans decided to use the snow? there is two reasons. one is the level of frustration with the fact
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that this is a conflict that has bogged down in america for 15 years. there are still 9000 american forces bear, a lot of nato forces there as well. they are ostensibly there to help train afghan local forces, but they are suffering heavy losses and are unable to hold territory that they take from the taliban and other insurgents. the reason that this bomb was used in this particular place is because this is where so—called islamic state, or an offshoot of islamic state, is said to be entrenched, in this vast complex of caves and tunnels, which link the afghan border to pakistan. they are apparently able to move with impunity from place to place and escape being detected or contained by allied forces on the ground. this bomb was dropped because the shock wave apparently is so because the shock wave apparently is so huge that it can actually penetrate the ground and kill anybody inside those tunnels. their
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commander of us forces in afghanistan said that it was the right munition to use in this case. was wasn't him who made the decision 01’ was wasn't him who made the decision or would that have gone all the way to the white house? this is a very good question. we simply do not know the answer. the white house itself, spokesman sean spicer, batted away that question, said ask the pentagon, donald trump was asked directly if you moments ago, he said, we know what has happened, i have given my commanders sweeping authority, that is why we are doing well, but not answering the question, did you authorise the use of this weapon or not? there is a certain amount of evasiveness coming from the white house at the moment and we are not really sure why. we will be talking later in the programme as well. 13 years ago, 330 people died in the beslan school siege.
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today a european court found that russia mishandled the crisis. russia rejects the ruling. more on that in a moment. first let's look again at what happened. beslan is a town in the south west of russia. it's not far from the chechen border. these are pictures from september 2004. chechen rebels took more than 1,000 people hostage at the school. they wanted russian troops to pull out of chechnya. three days later russian security forces stormed the school. by the time the operation was finished, about was finished, over 330 people were dead. many of them children. this is one woman who was taken hostage with her two daughters, one of whom died. translation: at the beginning,
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i was telling my children and the other kids, don't worry, the authorities will save us. the children started asking, haven't they decided yet? i said, no, it is difficult because they need to rescue us so no one dies. when i came around after the blast, one daughter was sitting by my side. i started to shout, liza, liza. she was lying behind me. she was not moving. when i touched her, ifound there was a hole in her head. i called but she did not get up. i saw her wound but i did not realise that no one could have survived that. all the attackers were killed except one man. he was sentenced to life in prison. now a russian inquiry into the siege is still ongoing.
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but it's already found officials acted in a lawful manner. and police officers were either given amnesty or acquitted. that prompted hundreds of survivors and relatives of victims to take a case to the european court of human rights. here's the court posting online that it had found serious failings in the russian authorities‘ response. it also awarded more than $3 million in compensation. here's the lawyer who brought the case giving her reaction. the victims will be relieved and pleased that they have been vindicated. it is a strong judgment. russia failed to undertake an effective investigation. the government has been ordered by the court ina government has been ordered by the court in a rather unusual step to reinvestigate, particularly into the
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use of force, which is the thing that the applicants were most concerned about, because that was what caused the deaths. the bbc‘s sarah rainsford has the latest from moscow. i asked the president was man —— i asked the president's sportsmen what he thought of the ruling, he said it was not acceptable. —— spokesperson. they said they would appeal the ruling, they said the ruling of the court did not match the evidence that was presented by the russian government. ina government. in a while we will hear from a correspondent in north korea amid speculation the country could be preparing for another nuclear test. the education secretary justine greening has defended plans to push ahead with new grammar schools
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in england — saying she wants to create schools that are "truly open to all". in a speech this morning, she said she wanted grammar schools to serve more children from disadvantaged backgrounds. selection in new 21st—century state grammar schools will add to the options available to young people to make them —— to help them make the most of their talents. i don't accept the arguments from those who critique clamorous and selection while simultaneously ignoring those pa rents. while simultaneously ignoring those parents. on the one hand they call for new grammar schools, on the other hand they have nothing to say about the ones that we do have. they are not listening to the choices of pa rents are not listening to the choices of parents when we know how oversubscribed grammars are. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom.
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syria's president assad says reports of a chemical attack by his forces last week are 100% fabrication and there was no order to carry out any attack. two women charged with assassinating the half—brother of north korea's leader, have appeared in court in malaysia. the two suspects are accused of smearing a deadly toxin onto the face of kim jong—nam. they have said they thought they were taking part in a tv prank. bbc world service reports that heavy rain and strong winds have reached the east of new zealand's north island. the country has been hit by the worst storm in nearly 50 years. more than eight thousand homes are without power and fallen trees and landslips have blocked roads. citigroup, wells fargo and jp morgan
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are three of the biggest banks — and they've just delivered results for the first three months of the year. profits are up by a whopping 17% at citi and by the same amount atjpmorgan which made nearly $6 and a half billion dollars profit. it's because their trading floors are getting busier as samira hussain explai two things that are doing well for the banks, one is the rise in interest rates, resulting in the fa ct interest rates, resulting in the fact that we are seeing more money coming in from lending, the other is trading, the trading desks are doing really well. the stock market has been trading at all—time highs.
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banking stocks particularly happy doing extremely well. we now know that the passenger who was dragged off a united flight on sunday suffered concussion, a serious broken nose, sinus damage and two broken front teeth. his name is dr david dao. and today the family gave a press conference. this is their lawyer. just treat us with respect, make us feel that you care. i must say i don't believe it's limited to the airline industry. ithink don't believe it's limited to the airline industry. i think corporate america needs to understand that we all want to be treated in the same manner, with the same respect, the same dignity, that they would treat their own family members. if they do
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that, wouldn't it be great? will there be a lawsuit? yes, probably. very, very probably. dr dao's daughter also spoke. it has been a difficult time for all of us, particularly for my father, and we are grateful for your support. what happened to my dad should never have happened to any human being, regardless of the circumstance. we were horrified and shocked and sickened to learn what had happened to him and to see what had happened to him. surely a certainty there will be
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legal action? we can expect legal action. the lawyer is already hosting a press conference with the daughter of the person involved, the person removed from the plane, david dao. the question is what happens on the other side? will united airlines get support either publicly or privately from other airlines because what is at stake is this policy that we have seen banks airlines about overbooking, and whether if somebody has a ticket, they can essentially be ticked off a plane. this is the business question that concerns the airline industry. of course they are also facing not just airline industry. of course they are also facing notjust potential lawyers, but potential federal scrutiny. there is a congressional lawmakers know talking about this question of over again. it was interesting to hear the lawyer brother that much further out toissues lawyer brother that much further out to issues of how corporate america behaves, all from that one incident ona behaves, all from that one incident on a plane. i am guessing some people would push back at that and
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analysis. at the moment if you think about who is in the white house as well, you have got a businessman, so it will be interesting to see, given how pro—business the current administration seems to be, whether or not that flies. but public sentiment was certainly stirred by this incident, so much so that it had a knock—on effect on united's share price. the question is, going forward , share price. the question is, going forward, doesn't have any wider significance? that is harder to prove that on the case of overbooking it will be a scrutiny that the airline industry as a whole does not want to address because for them, and sold seats, seats that are left e m pty, them, and sold seats, seats that are left empty, cost them money. three days to go until turkey's referendum on expanding the president's powers. recep tayyip erdogan‘s keen. he'd gain the power to appoint ministers, to prepare the budget, choose the majority of seniorjudges and to enact certain laws by decree.
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and for good measure he'd able to announce a state of emergency and dismiss parliament. our correspondent said it was difficult to find any promotion of a no vote. i have been talking to him, i wanted to know if this was evidence there is a far greater infrastructure behind the yes campaign. it certainly does. the yes campaign, the erdogan campaign, overwhelmingly dominates. the billboards, posters, airwaves. and it is in vast swathes of the country that you will struggle to find no posters. that is more serious for no campaigners, some of whom have been attacked, set
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upon by angry mobs, they have had their posters removed by police. there is clearly an attempt by the yes campaign, the government campaign, to drown out the alternative, but what is quite extraordinary when you speak to those surveying, it is impossible to call thus, it polarises this country. one side of the country reviews president erdogan with a depth of devotion that i have never seen depth of devotion that i have never seen for another democratic leader. the other side of the country believes he has ruined what is left of turkish democracy, they see him as authoritarian, locking up dissenters and journalists, and moving away from a secular constitution. the fact that this is becoming referendum on president erdogan is why it is so polarised down the middle. this may already be over, decided by
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the turkish diaspora who voted last sunday? that vote has increased this time since the last time turkey voted, which was the general election in 2015. there has been a bigger increase in parts of europe like germany and holland. that is where it is thought there are more erdogan supporters. they are older immigrants that were guest workers who went over in the 19605 in 19705 from turkey and they are more focal in support of erdogan. if that thought is higher that would suggest a higher vote for president erdogan and the pressure for the no campaign is trying to get people to come out in in turkey because if there was a high turnout in turkey, that could benefit the no campaign, according to surveys. there is normally a high turnout, 80—85%, if it is higher, it's making people who absolutely
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wa nt to it's making people who absolutely want to stop erdogan in his tracks. it'll be a fascinating race on sunday and we will continue to watch this year and across bbc world news and the bbc channel. if you are online i advise you to go and read mark's comprehensive article on that referendum. you can find that on the news app and the website. na5a has revealed it's discovered an underground ocean on one of saturn's moon5. the bbc‘s science editor david shukman has the story. a spacecraft sailing around the rings of saturn. this is animation. but this is a genuine photograph. one of countless stunning images gathered over the past 13 years of the mission, sites
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that are totally new to the human eye. more surprising either moons around saturn, more than 60 of them, but this one, covered in ice, is the most astonishing, because beneath its cracked surface we know know there is an ocean, and blasting out of it are greatjets of water, containing exactly the kind of chemicals that are needed for life. the reason it is so exciting as it is no thought of as one of the places in the solar system where life might be able to form. we have got water, heat, organic material, and deaf people want to go back. saturn, with its rings, is perhaps the most striking of planets. —— and because of that people want to go back. the spacecraft stands nearly seven metres tall. it set out in 1997,
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arriving at saturn in 2004, it has been studying the planet ever since. now comes the most spectacular stage of all as the spacecraft orbits inside the famous rings. we know know they are made of pieces of ice and rock, ranging from tiny specks, to lump the size of houses, and flying this course will give as unprecedented use of the rings, and of saturn itself. —— view the mac. jeremy bowen has arrived on set in the newsroom. if you have any questions on about the interview with president assad or his recent trip to iraq, you can contact him. we will talk to him in a few minutes. just before the top of the hour
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there will be a detailed look at the uk forecast, but know a look at stories around the world. in the south pacific, cyclone cook took down power lines and trees in new caledonia, and then journeying towards new zealand, loses its energy supply, but still an intense area of low pressure with tropical moisture, which enhances the rainfall. it came ashore with gusts of wind, 90—100 mph, easing down as it went towards wellington, christchurch, eventually it will move away towards the east of new zealand. more rainfall coming in from the west. the rain is the big problem of the next few days. 50—100 millimetres of rain for many. some prisons will get more, up to 300 millilitres is possible for some, and flooding is likely. in the bay of bengal, a cluster of thunderstorms which is possibly
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developing into a tropical cyclone. it may take a few days. some rain in association with that. heavy showers in sri lanka. forthe association with that. heavy showers in sri lanka. for the bulk of india it is fine, dry and hot. upper 305 or low 405 in the west. temperatures in the 405. to the east of the philippines, this cluster of thunderstorms also shows potential to develop into a tropical law, a tropical depression, that is tripping to the south of the philippines, winds have been picking up, rains could be quite heavy. japan, should be bright and breezy.
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low 205 in hong kong where it should be fine and dry. s, heavy showers. particularly wet in some parts of ecuador, colombia, peru. back in europe it looks pretty good. much of the iberian and into, france, italy, while further north, cloud and outbreaks of rain, that will affect their land. towards kyiv there will be rain at times, in the south that should be a good deal of sunshine. towards our shores, cloud and belize and rain edging its way ever southwards. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. jeremy bowen is right beside me and
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we will talk to him in a moment. let's look through some of the main stories here in the bbc newsroom. we start in syria, where syria's president has responded to american accusations that he used chemical weapons to attack his own citizens. the united states is hand in glove with the terrorists, they fabricated the whole story. this means we now have three completely different explanations — one american, one russian and one syrian — for how an attack that killed over 80 people came about. our correspondent is inside north korea, amid speculation the country could be preparing for its sixth nuclear test.
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