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tv   BBC News  BBC News  May 21, 2017 2:00am-2:31am BST

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this is bbc news. i'm lebo diseko. our top stories: in step in saudi arabia. donald trump and king salman sign multi—billion dollar trade deals in what's described as a turning point in us—arab relations. iran's president, hassan rouhani, says his re—election shows people want reform and greater engagement with the world. president trump says the first day of his visit to saudi arabia was tremendous after billions of dollars of trade deals were signed. the most significant was for arms to boost the saudi military, which the white house has called the largest single arms deal in us history. mr trump got a warm welcome from king salman, who rode with the president in his limousine and spent most of the day with him. his greeting included red carpets and some more traditional events.
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our north america editor, jon sopel, is in riyadh. with the mercury touching 100 fahrenheit, donald trump probably found the blast of desert air refreshing compared to the political hothouse that he's left behind in washington. he's hoping this first foreign trip will provide some respite from the mounting problems at home, and what a welcome his hosts laid on for him. the 81—year—old king came to greet him, red carpet for as far as the eye could see. he was even given saudi arabia's highest civilian honour, a weighty thing. a marked contrast to the almost hostile reception afforded barack obama when he was last here. wherever you go in riyadh, this is what you see — pictures of president trump and king salman with the slogan "together we prevail". a year ago, donald trump said in an interview, "i think islam hates us." from the reception he's receiving, and the warmth of it, you wouldn't guess it. the new president's tough stance
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on iran has endeared him to the saudis and other sunni nations in the region. as part of that, a massive £75 billion arms deal was signed to supply the kingdom with weapons and know—how to meet the iranian threat. and this allowed the president to talk about what he likes most, jobs. that was a tremendous day, i just want to thank everybody. tremendous investments into the united states, and our military community is very happy, and we want to thank you and saudi arabia. but hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the united states and jobs, jobs, jobs. at a news conference, the deal was welcomed by the secretary of state. this huge arms sales package reduces the burden on the united states to provide this same equipment to our own military forces and will strengthen saudi security forces for the future so that saudi arabia is more capable of carrying a greater share of the burden. less welcome news came overnight from james comey.
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the sacked fbi director has accepted an invitation to give evidence to congress in a public session, although that won't happen before this trip has concluded. according to the new york times, the president described him to the russian foreign minister as a "nutjob" whose sacking had relieved a lot of the pressure on the president — claims the white house has not denied. donald trump complained earlier this week that no politician had been treated worse or more unfairly than him. that is not something that could be said today. rendition of us anthem. though the composer of the national anthem probably could. jon sopel, bbc news, riyadh. iran's newly re—elected president, hassan rouhani, says his country will seek greater international engagement, and work towards a freer society. but the american secretary of state, rex tillerson, said the only way iran could change its relationship with the world would be by ending its support for what he called "destabilising
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forces in the region." here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. in the end, it wasn't even close. the pragmatic hassan rouhani winning comfortably. for reform—minded middle—class voters, this was a significant victory. they came out in huge numbers, determined not to let hardliners take back the presidency. iranians know their president is not a natural reformer but they are weary of conflict and, in the cities at least, eagerfor change. mr rouhani seemed to represent their best hope. today he thanked them and addressed the international community. translation: today the world is well aware that the iranians nation has chosen the path of interaction with the world. a path which is distant from extremism and violence. our nation seeks to live in peace and friendship with the world but is not ready to accept any disrespect or threat. his biggest achievement to date,
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a nuclear deal signed with world powers two years ago. today one of those involved in the diplomacy said she welcomed the president's win. i know how committed he is to continue the full implementation of the agreement but also how committed he is to engaging with the international community. but iran's regional ambitions in the middle east still complicate this difficult relationship. iran remains a big supporter of syria's president assad, in neighbouring lebanon, iran supplies and sponsors the hezbollah militia, in yemn it supports houthi rebels, and its influence over the government in iraq remains enormous. the trump administration says iran's missile programme is another threat — new sanctions are being imposed. speaking in saudi arabia, america's top diplomat delivered a warning. what i would hope is that rouhani now has a new term and that he uses
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that term to begin a process of dismantling iran's network of terrorism, dismantling the manning and the logistics and everything that they provide to these destabilising forces that exist in this region. whatever mr rouhani wants, everyone knows it is this man, iran's supreme leader, ali khamenei, who calls the shots. there's only so much his president can do. paul adams, bbc news dozens of the schoolgirls who were kidnapped from the nigerian town of chibok three years ago have been reunited with their families. the girls were released earlier this month as part of a deal between the nigerian government and the boko haram islamist militants who'd been holding them. our correspondent, alistair leithead, reports now on the emotional reunions in the nigerian capital abuja. the moment they've been waiting more than three years for, to see each other again. an emotional reunion for the newly—returned chibok girls with their parents. 82 of the missing girls
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were released two weeks ago. it was a celebratory first meeting, but this is the start of a long process. i cannot overemphasise how i feel. i'm just laughing in my heart, all the family, because of happiness and joy. assimilating them back into society after so long being held hostage in the forest by boko haram militants. the girls and their parents have gone through a lot of change since the kidnapping. and they won't be heading back home to chibok any time soon. they are under the care of the women's affairs ministry and the security services, keen to talk to them about their experiences. the bbc has been with the families in remote chibok all this week. it's taken a while to make 100% sure
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of the girls‘ identities. this was the moment parents were asked to confirm from a photo that their girls were among those released. now every parent has identified his or her daughter. the 82 chibok girls were only released after months of complicated negotiations. five boko haram commanders were exchanged for them, and the bbc was told that 2 million euros may also have been part of the deal, but that can't yet be confirmed. the government says it's doing all it can and talks are going on to try and release the 113 still being held. their medical checks are continuing, and the girls will be given psychological therapy before starting their education again, amid tight security. we weren't allowed to ask them any questions. the intense media focus on the chibok girls has at least helped many to be freed. they are just some of the thousands of other women and girls that have been abducted by boko haram. alistair leithead, bbc news, nigeria. brazil's embattled president says
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an investigation into his alleged obstruction of justice needs to be suspended. in a defiant speech, michel temer said the audio, in which he allegedly discusses the payment of hush money to a jailed politician, needed to be checked for tampering and audio edits. our correspondent in rio, julia carneiro, is following the story. there is a lot that's in play here and there are very serious allegations that have emerged as part of...well, they emerged actually from a series of testimonies that were made as part of a plea bargain by executives ofjbs — this is the big meat producer in brazil. the supreme court has authorised investigations against him and we will still have to wait to see the result of that but today president temer tried to divert attention from that. he defended himself, denying again the allegations but also cast doubt about the testimonies, saying that they are incoherent, that they were false, and also casting lots of doubt over that audio. now, this taped recording is really at the heart of the scandal because it shows president temer
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talking to the powerful ceo ofjbs, this is a man called joesley batista, and mr temer appears to be endorsing the payment of bribes to obstruct corruption investigations, so that really triggered this big scandal here. and he said that this audio had been manipulated, that it has to be verified, which is being done at the moment. lots of media outlets here have called in specialists to have a listen. there's doubt about whether its integrity can be proved or not. but mr temer is trying to hold on to that to prove his innocence. and it isjust a detail in the middle of all the allegations that have really come out from these testimonies. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. french police have charged a man with terrorism offences
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after his dna was found on the gun used to shoot dead a police officer in paris last month. the unnamed 23—year—old, was not previously known to investigators. he is the first person to be charged in connection with the shooting on the iconic champs elysees which ended with the death of the gunman, karim cheurfi thousands of opposition supporters in venezuela have gathered to mark 50 days since the current protest movement began. it was triggered by a supreme court attempt to take over power from the national assembly. police fired teargas to disperse a march in caracas. there were also clashes in the opposition stronghold of san cristobal. several hundred demonstrators, most of them men, have marched in the south african capital, pretoria, to protest at the rising levels of violence inflicted on women and children. marching behind a woman dressed symbolically in white, one of the protest organisers said it was time for men to take collective responsibility for the beatings, sexual attacks, and killings of women in south africa. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come: the sister of the duchess of cambridge gets married,
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with the young royals sharing centre stage. jeremy corbyn has restated labour's commitment to renewing trident after his shadow foreign secretary suggested the party's support for the nuclear deterrent couldn't be guaranteed. mr corbyn insisted labour's manifesto commitment to trident was unequivocal. here's our political correspondent, alex forsyth. cheering. on the campaign trail, the last thing he wanted was fresh questions about the uk's nuclear deterrent. but today he had to clarify his party's stance. it came after a senior labour figure, when asked if the party would commit to keeping the trident missile system even after a defence review, said this. well, no, of course not. if you have a review, you have to have a review. the policy is, the labour party policy is that we... i know what it is. i'm asking, could it in the future change? but overwhelmingly we need to make sure that our policy is up—to—date and meets 21st—century threats
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and no one can disagree with that, surely. jeremy corbyn has long opposed nuclear weapons, but his party's policy is to support the renewal of trident, something he had to confirm again today. the manifesto makes it very clear that the labour party has come to the decision that it's committed to trident. we're also going to look at the real security needs of this country, on other areas such as cyber security. the snp was quick to strike. trident‘s based in scotland so matters to voters here, and her party opposes it. the confusion and chaos at the heart of the labour party on trident really does illustrate the point that labour's not strong enough to stand up to the tories. but theresa may thinks her stance on security and defence will cut through with voters and, out campaigning today, wasted no time in saying so. we have seen yet again from jeremy corbyn‘s labour party today that a labour government led byjeremy corbyn would not be unequivocally committed to the trident nuclear deterrent. they would not be able to defend this country. theresa may has made so much of this
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campaign about leadership qualities. she wants to keep it that way. but now the parties have published their manifestos, there's also plenty of policy to pick over. tories out! and not everyone agrees with some tory proposals. these are labour protesters, but there are rumblings in the tory party about changes to social care. elections can lay bare divisions across the board. you are watching bbc news. our main story this hour: president trump has received an extravagant welcome during the first day of his visit to saudi arabia. he is expected to make a speech about islam on sunday. staying with that story now, and geoffrey mock is amnesty international‘s middle east specialist. he spoke to me a little earlier from duke university, in north carolina, and i asked him
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whether amnesty had heard what they wanted from president trump. no, we have not. we've heard an arms sale which we consider irresponsible and dangerous. the syrian and saudi government has a pattern of war crime, using weapons bought from the us and the uk. that makes the us complicit in these war crimes. this pattern will only continue, we're very concerned, if this sale goes through. at the same time, these crimes are leading to thousands of yemenis leaving their homes, thousands of civilian deaths, at the same time that president trump is trying to restrict yemenis from coming to the united states. so he's causing problems at both ends. he's complicit in the war crimes that are causing people
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to leave their homes, and he's complicit in preventing them from leaving the country. the uk and also previous administrations in the united states have raised this in private. they have said president obama was fairly public in his criticism of saudi arabia's human rights record. it did not do much good, did it? it did not, but we also saw an uneven message, a message that was not actually reflected in policy. year in, year out, human rights reporters echoed the concerns of amnesty international, but it never got reflected in policies. and in terms of public statements, the last time president obama went to saudi arabia, he never raised human rights issues. it was something that they tried, and would step back whenever they saw an obstacle.
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it needs a long—standing work, in cooperation with the saudis. we're not asking the us to stop talking to the saudis. we're asking them to continue, and keeping human rights on the agenda, on a long—term basis. i suppose what president trump would say is he was elected as president by the american people. he has said he puts america first, and a key issue is security in that region. an america—first policy would not make america complicit in potential war crimes. it would also not lead to further instability in a region where us taxpayers already spent billions of dollars trying to resolve human rights abuses and war crimes, and also led to the loss of thousands of american soldiers in that region.
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an american—first policy would reflect our values of individualfreedom, and the rights outlined of the universal declaration of human rights. the italian and libyan coastguard say about 5,000 migrants trying to reach europe have been rescued over the past three days. most of those trying to cross the mediterranean were taken to italy. greg dawson reports. across miles of open water, the italian coastguard looked for signs of life. suddenly, a face is spotted floating in the distance, clinging toa floating in the distance, clinging to a life vest, is eventually pulled to a life vest, is eventually pulled to safety. —— he is eventually pulled to safety. nearby, another man desperately hangs a ship's rudder. —— hangs onto a ship's rudder. come on my friend, says the
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coastguard. his ordeal might be over, but the trauma is still visible. they are just two rescues of more than 5000 which have taken place in the mediterranean since friday. these left libya in rubber dinghy is an wooden boats before being piped to safety. at a port in sicily, the chaos and danger of the crossing gives way to an orderly processing of names. europe might be doing what it can to dissuade people from crossing, but in mallarme this weekend, tens of thousands of people marched in a show of support for those arriving —— milan. translation: how does integration work? by welcoming people, and above all by creating the conditions to welcome people. more than 45,000 people have reached italy by boat from northern africa this year. that is up 30% from the same period in 2016. authorities say it is mainly down to the lawlessness in libya. italy may have helped the libyan government patrol its coastline, but
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the trafficking remains rampant. many of those votes don't make it, though. more than 250 people were killed last week alone —— boats. this might be the most popular route for migrants desperate to reach europe, but it remains the most dangerous. humberside police are continuing to hold two men under arrest over the disappearance of missing hull woman renata antczak. the 49—year—old mother—of—two has been missing for nearly a month. a number of properties are being searched. jo makel reports. police are still at two addresses in hull, the first home of the missing mother—of—two. renata antczak was last seen almost four weeks ago, taking her daughter to school. yesterday her black mercedes was taken away by officers. she was in it when she dropped her daughter off. her husband, majid mustafa, says she then returned home, before leaving on foot at 1:00pm that afternoon. the other address is six miles
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away, on emerald grove, in the west of hull. neighbours say a polish couple live here, and that a car has been removed by police. yesterday, they had also been at the dental practice where ms antczak‘s husband works. the police won't confirm whether he is one of two people arrested in connection with the disappearance. humberside police said today the two men, aged 47 and 45, are still being questioned. meanwhile, the appeals for information to help find ms antczak continue. the police say they still want to hear from anyone who can come forward and help them find her. africa's young science students have been putting their technical skills to the test at the finals of the pan—african robotics competition. more than 200 students from schools in senegal, mali and the gambia took part in a contest of engineering and electrical skills, and both boys and girls were successful at the event, in the capital, dakar. tim allman has more. at this stadium in senegal, they are thinking big. robotic creations line
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up, ready for battle — metaphorically, at least. some flying the flag. boys and girls working on the robots they created. i know a lot of people who might not have wanted to come here, but they came here, and they enjoyed it, and they loved it. i even think — i spoke to one of my friends, and they said that they want to change careers. now they want to become an engineer with robots and everything, so i think our generation is definitely the generation for it. all the competitors were aged between 11 and 19. their unique inventions faced with various tasks of mechanical dexterity. it is almost too much to bear for some of them. and this is about so much more than just simple robotics. they come out of this loving science, loving engineering, and this is our goal — how can we push these kids
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towards science, so they become future leaders in science and engineering in africa, and solve the types of problems of africa. a bold ambition, resting on the shoulders of this next generation. but the organisers say this is about changing lives and inspiring young africans to be leaders in science and technology. tim allman, bbc news. hundreds of guests and spectators gathered in englefield in berkshire on saturday for the wedding of pippa middleton, sister of the duchess of cambridge. her nephew and niece, prince george and princess charlotte, had starring roles in the ceremony, as our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. a society wedding. a chance to — well, to gawp at the guests, for one thing. interesting for some. others may feel, perhaps, a little indifferent to it all. but, of course, this was rather more than a society wedding, with celebrity guests like tennis champion roger federer, because this was a middleton family wedding. so a wedding with royal connections.
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big sister catherine arrived with two carloads of bridesmaids and page boys. among them were prince george, his hand firmly being held by his mother, and princess charlotte. they were ushered into church ready for the arrival of the bride. pippa middleton was driven to church in an open—topped car with herfather, michael. it rekindled memories of how it was six years ago, when pippa played such a memorable supporting role at catherine's wedding at westminster abbey. today, she was the one pausing at the entrance for the photographers, in a dress which fashion editors will spend pages describing. at the church door, the roles were reversed. it was kate lending the sisterly support, making sure the dress was as it should be. then, with a final pat on the shoulder, it was time for the service to begin. less than an hour later, the church bells sounded, and page boy george led the way out of church, scattering flower petals, as the new mr and mrs james matthews emerged together as man and wife. somewhere in the family group were princes william and harry.
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despite speculation in the press, harry had not brought his girlfriend, meghan markle, to the wedding. had he done so, it would have overshadowed everything, and this was a day when the focus was on this couple and their wedding. you can see more photos from the date on our website. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @lebo underscore diseko. hello, there. the minority escaped the showers during the day on saturday, but today the majority will stay dry. but just looking back, look at this picture that was sent in of the hailstorm at down district, mid—afternoon on saturday. in contrast, many did enjoy a decent sunset — this was sent in from suffolk — because the showers faded fast through saturday evening. and, although there is cloud waiting in the wings across the atlantic,
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it willjust brush up the western side of the uk through the day ahead. actually, the main influence will be high pressure so a much drier and a much brighter day. a chilly start, mind you. 3—4 degrees, probably, in the countryside, even in southern areas. so a risk of some grass frost first thing this morning, a little bit of fog, but that should clear quite quickly, and then it does look like a much drier and a much brighter day. we will really notice the difference, i think. the winds won't be as lively as they were through the day on saturday, and the may sunshine is strong at this time of year, so high uv levels. so that in itself will allow those temperatures to leap up after the chilly start. not much cloud around initially,, apart from the patchy fog and low cloud, but we will see some cloudy weather, even a little bit of patchy rain for a few hours across northern ireland, and later it will migrate into the west of scotland. and we've still got the showery airstream up across the north—east of mainland scotland and noth—east scotland.
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still the odd sharp shower around, but nothing like the intensity we had on saturday generally, and very few of those around. it brightens up in northern ireland, just the odd shower here, the odd shower perhaps for northern england and western scotland. but on the whole, with more sunshine and fewer showers, and lighter winds, it's going to feel much warmer. and temperaturs will respond, as well. 15—21, significantly higher than saturday for some. of course, it means it will turn quite chilly again through sunday night into monday morning. again, there could be a little bit of grass frost around and some fog. the main difference as e start the new week is this weather system, albeit relatively weak, it will introduce more cloud into scotland again and it clears later for northern ireland and for ebgland and wales, here we'll see the temperatures rising further on those that we'll see today. so perhaps as high as the mid—20s. and that upwards trend continues further north as well. in fact, it looks like it should be a warm and a dry start at roland garros for the french open, starting on monday, of course. and that warmth notjust across paris but also spreading northwards, with this area of high pressure.
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and that's with us, then, for much of the week. and notjust southern areas — the north will enjoy some warmer weather, as well, as temperatures start to get into the high teens for scotland and for northern ireland. so a lot of dry weather on offer through the coming week and probably some very strong may sunshine, too. so it should feel much warmer. this is bbc news. the headlines: the us president donald trump has received a red carpet welcome in saudi arabia. donald trump is now expected to make a key speech on islam sunday. on his first foreign trip as us president, president trumpwas awarded the top civilian honour in the kingdom before signing a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars, including arms sales. hassan rouhani has been re—elected president of iran. the moderate easily beat his more conservative challenger. he said iranians had chosen a path of greater engagement with the world and had rejected extremism. pippa middleton, the sister of the duchess of cambridge, has married in a traditional
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english country wedding. she married the financier james matthews. the ceremony was attended by several members of the royal family and media from all over the world.
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