Skip to main content

tv   BBC News  BBC News  August 12, 2017 4:00am-4:31am BST

4:00 am
welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump keeps up the war of words on north korea. as the heated rhetoric continues, he again warns pyongyang not to target us territories. and, if anything happens to guam, there's going to be big, big trouble in north korea. kenya's re—elected president appeals for calm after being declared the winner of tuesday's disputed election. the opposition claims the vote was a charade. at least 37 people die as two trains collide in northern egypt. it is the country's worst rail crash in years. the nuclear bunker that became a cannabis factory. a british courtjails three men after police break up a major drugs ring. hello.
4:01 am
president trump has continued his tough rhetoric against north korea, saying the us military is "locked and loaded", with plans in place if pyongyang acts unwisely. speaking at his golf resort in newjersey, the us president said that if the north korean leader made any more threats he would regret it, and regret it fast. china, russia and germany have all voiced dismay at the war of words between pyongyang and washington. our first report is from nick bryant, in washington. after "fire and fury" comes "locked and loaded". not the title of some hollywood summer blockbuster, but the words of america's commander—in—chief, describing his country's state of military readiness. these are the latest pictures of 8—1 bombers stationed in guam. the motto of this squadron —
4:02 am
"fight tonight." president trump reminded people of that on his twitter feed this morning. he is deploying social media to fire off warning salvos. and again tonight, he ramped up the rhetoric even further, with this verbal broadside aimed at the north korean leader. this man will not get away with what he's doing, believe me. and if he utters one threat, in the form of an overt threat, which by the way he has been uttering for years, and his family has been uttering for years, or if he does anything with respect to guam, or anyplace else that's an american territory or an american ally, he will truly regret it, and he will regret it fast. as the government of japan deployed missile interceptors to guard
4:03 am
against north korean rockets, international leaders essentially told both sides to cool it. translation: i believe that... i'm firmly convinced that an escalation of rhetoric will not contribute to a solution of this conflict. translation: when a fight has nearly broken out, the first step away from that dangerous threshold should be taken by the side that is stronger and smarter. amidst this verbal brinkmanship, it has emerged the trump administration has been secretly talking to north korea about americans in prison there and deteriorating relations. the news came as america's defence secretary emphasised diplomacy. you can see the american effort is diplomatically led, it has diplomatic traction, it is gaining diplomatic results. and i want to stay right there, right now. the tragedy of war is well enough known. it doesn't need another characterisation, beyond the fact that it would be catastrophic. holiday—makers on guam still seem
4:04 am
unfazed that it would take just 1a minutes for a north korean missile to reach them. but, amongst the beach reading this morning, a fact sheet from the guam government, warning not to look at fireballs. president trump told reporters that he would be speaking to the chinese leader in the coming hours, but that he was still optimistic of a diplomatic solution with pyongyang. hopefully it'll all work out, 0k? nobody loves a peaceful solution better than president trump, that i can tell you. hopefully it will all work out. but this has been going on for many years. it would have been a lot easier to solve this years ago, before they were in the position they are in, but we will see what happens. we think that lots of good things could happen, and we could also
4:05 am
have a bad solution. but we think lots of good things could happen. what would be a bad solution, sir? i think you know the answer to that. when you say bad solution, are you talking about war? is the us going to go to war? i think you know the answer to that. laura bicker, our correspondent in washington, gave me the latest on president trump's comments. another day, another warning to the north korean leader. i think what you've just seen there in that press conference, with all his diplomatic staff around him, the secretary of state, the us ambassador to the un, flanking the president, i think what you're getting is a message from the white house that all of this rhetoric aimed at kimjong—un is not impulse. this is a deliberate strategy by the united states. now, you've heard some of the international reaction there, the fear of what this could turn into. perhaps — many analysts believe
4:06 am
that the theory behind this is that the unpredictability of president trump is playing into this whole strategy. it is warning kim jong—un that there will be consequences, and mightjust plant the idea in his head that donald trump means business. also, the idea is to put pressure on china. now, you heard from president trump earlier — he is going to be calling beijing and president xi within the next few hours. that's a diplomatic channel to back up his rhetoric. also, we've heard that there is another channel, a secret diplomatic back channel. donald trump didn't want to give any details. there are talks going on between a member of the north korean government and members within the united states. again, donald trump mentioned sanctions, as well, further sanctions on north korea. so, as well as this ramping up
4:07 am
of rhetoric, as well as this war of words, there is a diplomacy angle behind it. laura, how is this raising of the stakes being viewed in american, in terms of public opinion, and from opposition parties in washington? i've spoken to a number of people, both who have worked in north korea for a long time, and those who have worked within various opposition parties, ie the democrats. well, when it comes to the democrats, they are horrified. a number of senators have gotten together to say that they want donald trump to tone down his language. but there are some who've worked in the country who believe that the approaches of the previous administrations were not working, and the us have to do something, and with donald trump as a leader, acting in this way, it mayjust give the us an upper hand. it might make him think again, and more importantly, think china will put the pressure on pyongyang a little more.
4:08 am
it may force china to say, we do not want washington's hands or any us troops on our borders. it mightjust be worth china's hand in this, and some say this could be a smart strategy. but there is a fear of miscalculation. by taking this step, there is a fear that they've boxed themselves in, and as soon as north korea acts, what is the red line that they have crossed? what does washington do in response? so there is a fear that this could lead to a miscalculated military response. president trump has also been commenting on the escalating political crisis in venezuela. speaking alongside his secretary of state, rex tillerson, mr trump said he was ready to take a tough stance. we have many options for venezuela. and, by the way, i'm not going to rule out a military option. we have many options for venezuela. this is our neighbour. this is...you know, we're all over the world,
4:09 am
and we have troops all over the world, in places that are very, very far away. venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering, and they‘ re dying. we have many options for venezuela, including a possible military action if necessary. reporter: that would be a us—led military operation? we don't talk about it, but a military operation and military option is certainly something that we could pursue. and, in the past few minutes, venezuela's defence minister said that president trump's threat of military intervention was, as he put it, a crazy act. bitterly disputed presidential election. the electoral commission said he gained over a million more votes than his rival, raila odinga, whose opposition alliance has claimed tuesday's election was marred by fraud. our africa correspondent alastair leithead reports. uhuru kenyatta's supporters knew this was coming.
4:10 am
preliminary results had given their man an unassailable lead. but first, there was an electoral process to follow, and it was a lengthy one. the result from every county had to be read out, before the moment the nation had been waiting for. i wish to declare uhuru kenyatta as president—elect. after three days of holding their breaths, kenyans have now finally had confirmation that uhuru kenyatta will have a second term in office, by a considerable margin. the question now is how the opposition will react in defeat, having claimed this was rigged. would they accept this result? will they challenge it in the courts, or will they go to the streets? before the results were even released, the opposition alliance had walked out, repeating allegations the vote was rigged. i think this has been
4:11 am
an entire charade. this is a disaster. they had run a parallel counting centre, and claimed discrepancies, that the election commission computer was hacked, that the vote was fraudulent. thank you. president uhuru kenyatta stepped up to acknowledge his victory, and spoke about unity, ten years on from the terrible ethnic post—election violence. i extend the hand of partnership, knowing fully well that this country needs all of us pulling together in order for us to succeed. these were the scenes in the stronghold of the losing candidate, raila odinga, in western kenya, earlier in the day. a lengthy stand—off with police. there have already been a few clashes in the slums of nairobi. the fear is these ugly if isolated protests could spread, if the opposition decides to call its people out on the streets. tonight, kenya is still holding its breath. let's take a look at some
4:12 am
of the other stories making the news: the steel company tata has been given the go—ahead to separate its uk pension scheme from the rest of the business, which will help tens of thousands of the firm's workers. staff voted earlier this year to accept less—generous pensions in return for investment to securejobs. ajudge has dismissed a disc jockey‘s legal claim against taylor swift at a trial in colorado. the court has been weighing her allegation that david mueller had groped her during a pre—concert reception against mr mueller‘s claim that she had falsely accused him. taylor swift's assault charges against him still stand. lawyers for the football star neymar say he has agreed to pay a fine of $2.5 million to end a three—year dispute with the brazilian tax authorities. a week ago, neymar was transferred from barcelona to paris st—germain for a record $261 million. two passenger trains
4:13 am
have collided in egypt, killing at least 37 people. about 120 others were injured. the crash, just outside the northern coastal city of alexandria, involved a train coming from cairo and another from port said. pascale davies reports. many egyptian families were on their way to the coastal city alexandria. but their seaside holiday came to a sudden stop after the two trains they were travelling on collided, just outside the mediterranean city. it is believed one train crashed into the back of the other. many people have been killed, and over 120 are injured. rescue teams rushed to the scene, pulling the dead and injured from the damaged rail wagons, the wounded rushed to hospital. the accident has sparked fresh anger in the north african country. translation: i was standing
4:14 am
on my rooftop when i saw the two trains crash. they rose in the air, forming a pyramid, when they collided. i started to scream from the rooftops for people to grab some sheets and run. this is pure negligence. whose fault is this? how can so many people die? i want to know, is this negligence from the rail authorities, or is this the driver's fault? egyptians have long complained that successive governments have failed to enforce basic safeguards for the railways, leading to a string of fatal crashes. the reason for friday's accident is still unknown. egypt's transport minister has ordered an investigation into the accident, pledging to hold whoever is responsible to account. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we find outjust what it takes to make it as a child model in south africa.
quote
4:15 am
the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a hugejob of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutalformer dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. 2 billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millenium. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal. this is bbc news.
4:16 am
our main story this hour: president trump has tightened the screws on north korea warning pyongyang would "truly regret" taking any hostile action against the us. kenya's re—elected president has appealed for calm after being declared the winner of tuesday's disputed election — the opposition claims the vote was a charade. a british court has jailed three men for producing cannabis on an industrial scale at a former nuclear bunker. the underground complex produced drugs worth an estimated $2.5 million a year. the men were jailed for between five and eight years. duncan kennedy reports. hidden beneath the wooded hills of wiltshire, even today, the bunker remains a secretive, subterranean world. its old antenna and air vents
4:17 am
the only sign of its existence. but five metres below ground, this cold war sanctuary was transformed into a cannabis factory. this was where 4,000 cannabis plants were found, spread over two floors. the men behind it were martin fillery, plamen nguyen, and ross winter, who were jailed today, for admitting conspiracy to produce the drug. police say using the nuclear bunker, once owned by the ministry of defence, meant the gang could exploit its secrecy and security. this was a highly organised operation and of course the nuclear bunker provided that level of security and covertness to avoid detection. this was the bunker as it was. a secret headquarters for regional government in the event of a nuclear war.
4:18 am
150 officials could survive here for a month. this was the canteen then... ..and when the police arrived. they found everything from a big—screen tv, to a fish tank. and all with the home comforts of an underground world where the underworld could go to ground. the gang even bypassed the mains meter, ripping—off £650,000 worth of electricity. all to keep the cannabis growing and drying around the clock. in fact, they thought this facility would provide them with the perfect cover for their illegal activities. why? well, first of all you can't see it from the road. it's completely isolated. and the complex itself can be locked up. they managed to keep this place a secret for three years. it was only when the gang inadvertently opened the doors the police were able to finally get
4:19 am
in and reveal the industrial scale cannabis production line. 0ne now consigned, like its cold war setting, to history. portugal is battling a new wave of forest fires with winds frequently changing direction, complicating firefighters‘ attempts to get them under control. authorities are warning of further blazes, ahead of a weekend of warm temperatures. laura westbrook reports. again and again, planes in portugal drop their loads, to try and bring these wildfires under control. 0n the ground, firefighters are once again battling the smoke and flames, as a new spate of fires has taken hold. they say winds frequently changing direction were complicating their attempts. in this village, residents grabbed
4:20 am
garden hoses and buckets of water, to try and help exhausted firefighters. but many could only watch as their houses burned. with arsonists believed to be the cause of some of the fires, people are angry. translation: and what happens with the arsonists when we catch them? we take them to court, and then they are released. rather, we need to make them work in 40—degree heat. that is what they deserve. these latest blazes come after more than 60 people were killed injune, in fires that raged for five days. portugal usually has fires in the summer. but this year has been particularly bad, because most of the country is experiencing drought. strong winds and high temperatures are expected over the weekend, conditions that mean there is more to come. eggs from european poultry farms,
4:21 am
containing traces of insecticide, have now been found in nearly 20 countries. they've been contaminated with the pesticide fipronil, which can damage the kidney, liver and thyroid gland. the european commissioner for food safety has called for an end to countries blaming each other. here's our europe correspondent damian grammaticas. the netherlands is europe's biggest producer of eggs, but now millions of chickens here might have to be slaughtered. anya visscher‘s farm has been given the all—clear. the pest control company that fumigates her barn didn't use the banned insecticide fipronil, but the damage to her industry has been done. all the farmers trust the companies who come into your barn and do their stuff. there are many rules in the netherlands, so we are thinking it's ok. and the extent of the problem is spreading. where it started, in the netherlands, belgium,
4:22 am
germany and france, farms have had to be closed. in 11 more eu countries, fresh eggs and food made with eggs have been withdrawn from sale from the uk, ireland, poland, italy and romania. outside the eu, in switzerland, even as far afield as hong kong, there have been recalls, too. all this shows is how interconnected our industrial food chains are today. belgian authorities say first signs of a problem may have emerged as long ago as november in the netherlands. so there are difficult questions for european countries — why was nothing done sooner? the european commission has called for a meeting of member states to get to the bottom of the problem. the aim is to draw the relevant lessons, and discuss the ways to continuously improve the effectiveness of the eu system, to deal with food fraud and food safety issues. fipronil is used to kill fleas in domestic pets. it is not allowed on animals entering the food chain. the amounts discovered in eggs are not harmful to humans, but prosecutors say two
4:23 am
people have been arrested for threatening public health. translation: they mixed this forbidden product with substances that come into contact with the food chain. they did it for their own profit. they have put people's health in danger, and damaged confidence in food safety. and that confidence that what we eat is safe may take time to be repaired. at the very least, it will be months before each farm where fipronil was used can be declared safe again. around the world, child modelling agencies receive tens of thousands of applications from hopeful parents every week. but what does it take — and are there real benefits? we went to an agency injohannesburg to find out more. a lot of friends and family said he's very gorgeous, and would look good on camera. so me and my husband gave it some thought and we said, why not?
4:24 am
he's quite an energetic boy, and loves people. it's not only beauty. no, you have to have personality. many times i've turned away the pretty ones, because they are beautiful but they can't talk. and it won't help them because if they do go to auditions and they are shy, the producer will say, "next child, thank you". sometimes it is very difficult, like with the ad we did they said we must be there at 5:30am, and he was a little bit cranky ‘cause i woke him up and it was quite cold. sometimes it helps if you bring his favourite toy. so it will help him a lot to try to stay awake, play around. but as soon as it is now time it's all off, and it will be but as soon as it is nap time it's all off, and it will be a whole waste of time. the ultra—rich can come too, because they want their kids to gain confidence. whereas the other side of the parents think, ok, i'll come today and i'll retire off my child, and i often tell them
4:25 am
that is not the case. we opened up, like, a savings account for him. we willjust store it. whenever he gets paid, we just put it in that account, so that when he grows up he will see it. the world's oldest man has died in israel at the age of 113. yisrael kristal was born in poland in 1903, and survived the auschwitz death camp, where his first wife, two children and other family members were killed by the nazis. he moved to israel in 1950 and was due to celebrate his 114th birthday next month. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @duncangolestani. hello, there.
4:26 am
after a mixed, changeable, and in places very soggy week of weather, the weekend is looking a little bit different. it will be mostly dry, and there will be some spells of sunshine. having said that, quite a cloudy start for many on saturday morning, particularly across southern england and the channel islands. the odd spot of drizzle here. things brighten up through the day. across—the—board patchy cloud and sunny spells. yes, one or two showers, but they will be the exception rather than the rule. many places will stay dry. so let's take a closer look, then, at a:00pm in the afternoon, and across the south—west of england we'll see some spells of sunshine. no heatwave — 18 in plymouth, 19 in cardiff. the odd shower in the hills of wales, and into the midlands as well. mainly fine for north—west england, 18 or 19 degrees. and for northern ireland, it is a story of patchy cloud, some sunny breaks, and temperatures about 18 in belfast. similar temperature for glasgow, 16 in aberdeen, and just a couple of showers across scotland.
4:27 am
most places dry. and it is a similar for north—east england, down into east anglia and the south—east. sunny skies, patchy cloud at times. temperatures in dover, about 21 degrees. some spots could get to around 22 degrees celsius. so, on balance, it should stay dry for the world championship athletics. only the small chance of a shower, and temperatures up into the 20s. as we go on through saturday evening, this area of high pressure is building its way in from the west, with light winds and clear skies. there could be the odd mist patch and it is going to turn quite chilly, especially in the countryside. towards the north—west we could possibly get down to four degrees. if you're out early on sunday it could be cool, but sunday is looking like a cracking day, with plenty of sunshine. a little bit more cloud developing into the afternoon, but the vast majority will stay dry all day long. temperatures — 17 in glasgow, 19 in cardiff, 22 degrees in london. but, as we go into the start
4:28 am
of the new working week, things take a turn for the worse again, if you don't like wet weather, that is. this rain working its way in from the west. heavy downpours potentially. ahead of that, some warmth into the south—east, but most places fairly cool. monday night into tuesday, this frontal system responsible for the wet weather doesn't move anywhere fast. so still some wet weather to come on tuesday, most likely across north—eastern scotland. a mixture of sunshine and showers elsewhere. these showers could be heavy, possibly thundery into the south—east, and highs of 16—23 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has renewed his fierce rhetoric towards north korea, saying american military solutions are now "locked and loaded" if pyongyang chooses to act unwisely. mr trump said he hoped president kim jong—un understood the gravity of the situation. there have been reports of protests in kenya after it was announced
4:29 am
that the president, uhuru kenyatta, had been re—elected. the electoral commission says he was more than a million votes ahead of his rival, but the opposition has complained of fraud. at least 37 people have been killed in egypt in a collision involving two passenger trains. about 120 others were injured. the crash, just outside the northern coastal city of alexandria, was between a train coming from cairo and anotherfrom port said. a man who murdered his brother by setting him on fire has been sentenced to life in prison and told he must serve a minimum of 20 years. blair logan had admitted killing cameron logan at the family home
4:30 am

60 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on