Transcripts For BBCNEWS Newsday 20171220

This is bbc world news its newsday. Good morning. Its 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 8pm in washington, where donald trump can celebrate perhaps the biggest victory of his presidency so far. Well, sort of. The house of representatives has passed a Major Overhaul of the nations tax laws. It includes steep cuts for the wealthy. The senate has still to vote that could happen in the next few hours. But a last minute procedural hitch with the bills passage could mean lawmakers having to vote again on wednesday, though its not expected to change the outcome. This was the moment when the bill passed the lower house the first time round on tuesday. The wire and our 227 and the nays are 223. The yays are 227. Today this raises taxes on 86 million middle class families. Hands 83 of the tax cuts to the wealthiest 1 . Well, donald trump has welcomed the house vote on social media. He tweeted his congratulations to what he said were the great republicans who had voted to cut taxes for americans. I asked our correspondent in washington david willis to run through what the president s tax changes would mean. Cutting taxes, particularly for corporate organisations, businesses, and for the middle class who the republicans say will be better off under this legislation. Where it differs though is that the Corporate Tax cuts, which are being introduced under this bill, are permanent whereas the cuts for individuals and middle class families are temporary, they expire after ten years. And the democrats, who are very solidly against this legislation, argue that this will balloon to the National Deficit and indeed independent reviews suggest that they are correct in that assumption and it has been said that up to 1 trillion could be added to the federal deficit because of this tax bill. Talk us through what will happen next. It is very close 227 203 in the house of representatives. Its not quite made it through yet . No, it hasnt. There has been a technical glitch. It has passed, as you say, the house of representatives this afternoon, a lot of celebration there, only to go to the senate where it was found that some of the wording did not conform with requirements in the senate, because the bills have to be identical, the ones approved in the house and the ones approved ib the senate, it now has to go back to the house of representatives for another vote so that vote will take place tomorrow morning and it is likely to go to the president for signing perhaps later that same day and president trump, of course, will be very, very pleased to get his hands on this piece of legislation. Its the major legislative victory, assuming all goes well with those two votes, of his time in office thus far. Also this hour china has responded to Donald Trumps warning that the us is once again in competition with china and russia, by accusing the president of returning to a cold war mentality. Mr trump used a speech on monday to outline his National Security plan and warned against engaging with what he called untrustworthy rivals. Chinas Foreign Ministry said that was the wrong approach and called for win win co operation. Translation we urge the us to stop its strategic attempt to smear china, to abandon its cold war mentality and zero sum game or else it will be detrimental to both sides. Officials in mexico say a bus carrying tourists from a cruise ship has overturned, killing 12 people. The bus was taking 31 people from a Royal Caribbean cruise to an ancient mayan ruin. The bus company said in a statement that those on board were from the us, italy, sweden and brazil. The Team Investigating the amtrak train crash near seattle say that the brakes were automatically activated at the time of the accident rather than being applied by the engineer. Its emerged that a trainee was in the cab with the engineer at the time, but the cause of the accident has not yet been established. Three people died and dozens more were injured when the passenger train came off the rails and crashed onto an interstate route on monday morning. The saudi military says it has shot down a missile near the capital, riyadh. Houthi rebels in yemen appear to have claimed responsibility, saying they launched a missile deep into saudi arabia. The houthis are currently engaged in fighting in yemen against a saudi led coalition, which supports the yemeni government. The british and american governments have both, for the first time, accused north korea of being behind the Wannacry Ransomware attack which hit more than 300,000 computers earlier this year. Billions of dollars of damage was caused, with hospitals and banks among those affected across 150 countries. Now, a cafe just round the corner from here in londons Oxford Street claims to be able to make the worlds first selfie beverage by printing a chocolate powder portrait from a photo on top of your drink. Theyre calling it a selfi cino. But of course, unlike other selfies, this one only lasts until you start drinking it. Hundreds of fans of the late k pop star kimjong hyun have been gathering at the hospital where his body is being kept to pay tribute to their idol. Jong hyun took his own life on monday, apparently unable to cope with the demands of stardom. We should warn you, this report from our correspondent in seoul, sophie long, contains flash photography. He found fame as the lead singer of shinee, one of south koreas biggest boy bands. K pop led the so called korean wave, the spread of korean music and culture across the globe. It now has a Massive International following, one that was perhaps too much for 27 year old jonghyun. In a note to a friend, he said he felt broken from the inside, and that the life of fame was never meant for me. His death has triggered an outpouring of grief in seoul and around the world. Were always going to miss you. And im sorry that this is what you thought you needed to do. But well always love you. Well, the hospital here in seoul wherejonghyuns body is resting has been open to the public for some hours and, as you can see, hundreds and hundreds of teenage girls have come here to pay their respects. Jonghyuns death has reopened the debate in south korea, a country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world, about how Mental Health is handled. Translation i think our country has very High Expectations towards celebrities. I have family with Mental Health issues, so it hit home. And it was very personal. Hundreds of young people, who queued for hours in subzero temperatures, were sent home today. Many more will return tomorrow to pay their respects to their idol. Sophie long, bbc news, seoul. A former co worker of hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has told the bbc how she was warned about his behaviour and how she went on to warn other women that he could behave in an inappropriate manner. But Zelda Perkins says matters escalated after he sexually assaulted a colleague and she accused him of attempted rape. Mr weinstein denies all allegations of non consensual sex. The bbcs Colin Paterson has more. This is 1998, Harvey Weinstein is at the peak of his powers, hes about the release shakespeare in love, which would go on to win him an oscar the following year. Now, in september, 1998, his personal assistant in the uk, Zelda Perkins, who was then 2k, quit. Speaking to newsnight she has explained why. She said shed endured a number of years of Sexual Harassment but then came the final straw. And it came to a head for you when he sexually assaulted, attempted rape, on your colleague . Yes, we were at Venice Film Festival and he tried to rape her. And what did you do . She was extremely distressed. She was shaking, very distressed, clearly in shock. Did not want anybody to know, was absolutely terrified of the consequences, what would happen and. I spoke with her and tried to calm her for about half an hour and then i went straight downstairs to where harvey was having a business meeting on the terrace and told him he needed to come with me right away. For me to have broken into a meeting like that was very unusual and he did not question me, he got up and came with me straightaway because he knew why, why i was angry and serious as i was. You accused him of attempted rape . Yeah, yeah. And he denied it . Yes. He said nothing at all had happened and he swore on the life of his wife and children, which was his best get out of jail card that he used quite a lot. The two women secured legal representations. They were hoping to bring down Harvey Weinstein by revealing his behaviour to the walt disney company, because they owned miramax, which is Harvey Weinsteins company, but the lawyers of the two women said this wasnt a realistic option and the only option was a damages agreement. Now, this agreemant was to include the creation of procedures at miramax and therapy for mr weinstein. Its not known if these stipulations were carried out. Zelda perkins went on to sign a nondisclosure agreement and received £125,000 in payments. In the interview on newnight, she calls for britain to follow the example of a number of us states and end the practice of allowing sexual assaults to be hidden behind nondisclosure agreements. A spokesperson for Harvey Weinstein says he unequivocally denies any allegations of non consensual sex. A long version of that interview will be available on the bbc news website later today. Colin paterson. In response to these allegations, a lawyer for Harvey Weinstein says he categorically denies engaging in any non consensual conduct or alleged threatening behaviour. To myanmar now and the army says it has identified a mass grave on the edge of a village in rakhine state. The village is 48 kilometres north of state capital sittwe. The army did not say how many bodies were uncovered. 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled an offensive by the military, which the un accuses of ethnic cleansing. Also in myanmar, the wife of one of two reuters journalists arrested in the country last week has spoken to the bbc, saying she hopes he will be released but that shes worried about his current detention. Wa lone along with his colleague kyaw soe 0o were arrested for allegedly violating the countrys official secrets act. Both men had worked on reuters News Coverage of the crisis in northern rakhine state. Wa lones wife spoke to the bbc about his dedication to his profession. Translation even when we were together outside of work time, if they were urgent matters to cover, a press conference to go to or breaking news that he had to follow, he would ask me to take care of myself and went to cover those stories. He never let his personal life get in the way of his work. Hisjob is his first priority. I worry about him sometime and i suggested to him that he should work at an ngo but he does not want to disconnect with the news. He said he is a purejournalist, through and through, the wife of a detained journalist in myanmar. Youre watching newsday on the bbc. Still to come on the programme horseshoe bats, crocodile lizards and this snail eating turtle, well take a look at some of the new species which have been discovered across asia. Also on the programme 0ne, one, two, three, go. One, two, three, four, hand, two. We meet the Jane Austen Fan Club in lahore and find out why the authors books have taken on a new meaning in modern day pakistan. After eight months on the run, Saddam Hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. Saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. The signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to 3. 5 years of conflict, conflict that has claimed than 200,000 lives. Before an audience of world leaders, the president s of serbia, bosnia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. The romanian border was sealed and silent today. Romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. From sex at the white house, to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. Glad youre staying with us, on newsday on the bbc. Im rico hizon in singapore. Thanks forjoining us. Our top stories Donald Trumps tax reforms are expected to pass both houses of congress, despite a last minute hitch over some small print. China has called on the us to abandon its cold war mentality after Donald Trumps speech on National Security accused beijing of trying to erode american security. Lets take a look at some front pages from around the world we start of with the International Edition of the japan times, which says the governments Earthquake Research panel has warned of the possibility of a huge earthquake off the island of hokkaido. It reports the panel as saying a magnitude nine earthquake may be impending in the area, which could trigger a massive tsunami. The New York Times has a story from the philippines, and the controversy over a vaccine against dengue fever. The picture here is of a creek in manila where mosquitoes who spread the fever can breed. The government has suspended rollout of the vaccine amid safety fears and public anger over its use on schoolchildren. The gulf news reports on a vote expected at the Un General Assembly on a resolution rejecting Donald Trumps decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel. It illustrates the story with a photo of palestinian protestor throwing stones at Israeli Soldiers dressed in festive attire. Those are the top stories around the world. Babita, it seems a celebrity parenting problem has been sparking discussions online . Yes, rico. The mother in question is none other than the womens world number one tennis player, serena williams. Serena took to twitter to talk about teething woes of her three and a half month old baby alexis 0lympia. Serena tweeted about crying so much, she has to hold her until she goes to sleep. She adds that nothing she tries is working, and that it is breaking her heart and asks if anyone can help. That of course has sparked thousands of replies, with tips ranging from using gel, to crushing ice cubes in a cloth, to letting alexis 0lympia chew on a peg. But one mum perhaps spoke for parents everywhere when she told serena that the crisis would soon pass. Is your top is yourtop tip . Is your top tip . Sleep, my darling baby, just basically caressed the baby. It has been 13 years since my son was born, and also giving him some crushed ice and gel, so that is my advice for tennis superstar serena williams. I am slightly concerned. I am slightly concerned about the paper that you are holding, rico. Laughter. Thats right now, to the animal world. More than 100 new species were discovered by scientists in the greater mekong region last year, according to the World Wildlife fund. The river which flows from the Tibetan Plateau to the mouths of the mekong in the South China Sea is one of the most ecologically diverse in the world. But its also vulnerable to human activity, which scientists warn is threatening the habitat of many species. Among the new discoveries is this mountain horseshoe bat, found in the evergreen forests of laos and thailand. It got its name because of its distinct facial features. Scientists stumbled across this snail eating turtle in north east thailand. Shopkeepers had apparently caught it in a nearby canal. This orange, scaly reptile is a rare vietnamese crocodile lizard, hailing from the countrys northern forests. Its taken years to confirm its status as a sub species of reptile. Earlier, i spoke to the World Wildlife funds great mekong region rep, lee poston, and asked how significant these discoveries are. Over the past 20 years there have been more than 2,500 new species discovered in the greater mekong region and i think that really shows you how incredibly rich and diverse this area is and that there are many more to be discovered. What we hope is that they are discovered before they are lost to science. Quite curiously this report is called stranger spieces. What is so strange about them . I think as you can see with the horseshoe bat and several of the species, they have incredible features. The horseshoe bat would be out of place in a star wars movie and i think the crocodile lizard looks like something out ofjurassic park. So these are incredibly spectacular species. Remarkable species. There is a frog with incredible green markings on it. Theyjust have remarkable features, so they are beautiful creatures. Amazing and colourful species that have been discovered. This report documents the work of hundreds of scientists from various institutions around the world, how difficult is it to collate all of this material . Its incredibly difficult. You have to scour all of the scientific literature thats taken place during the year. The scientists are the real heroes of the forest here and of nature. They are the ones who spend months and years in nature trying to discover these new species and then once theyve discovered it they have to compare it to all of the other species around the world to discover if its a new species and the genetic analysis and look at all of the characteristics and then do peer research. But the biggest enemy of this wildlife species is the illegal trade. How do you convince governments to conserve these species and protect them . I think that we have to appeal to governments first of all for Pure National pride. Its really important to protect the species. Everything from tigers and elephants to bats and lizards. But i think its also important to do it because these species and habitat they live in is very important for the economies and the livelihoods of these countries. It is very important, the natural processes, the Ecosystem Services provided by these habitats, the rivers, the free flowing rivers, the clean forests. We need to be preserved so that they can indeed provide services and help drive the economies of these regions as well. The english writerjane austen put pen to paper two hundred years ago with tales of romance and love. Her novels continue to find new fans all around the world and for one book club in pakistan theyve now devoted themselves entirely to the authors works. Heres their story. Really . You would marry mr darcy . Ina way i am the founder of the Jane Austen Society of pakistan. It started off as a Facebook Page and it was so much fun. Hands folded in front is a very regency pose, ladies. We discuss things and analyse things and draw parallels from our own lives. We see mr collins and mr elton, we see mr wickham and willoughby. We dont really see mr darcy very much. We would love to. For lizzie, overcoming prejudice in her life was the biggest hurdle. Its very easy for us, in the commonwealth and with our postcolonial legacy, to sort of draw parallels between the regency era 200 years ago and our society here in south asia right now and its always very amusing and entertaining, but a darker side as well, the misogyny and hypocrisy and keeping up appearances. I am also married to mr bennett sometimes he may become mr collins too. We still have a lot of similarities with 200 years ago in england and thats basically, especially for women, our sphere is limited, the power we have over our lives is limited, our Financial Independence is limited. Do i need to go on more . Marriage marked. Its the same here. It is over a tea trolley. Literally. The woman is expected to pour tea as the in laws are eating and how she pours the tea and how she hands the cups and all of those things are. She has to be demure, she has to be domestic. Thats regency england, isnt it . Thats why she is so popular in pakistan. Its a comfort to read austen, i think. Thats how i would describe it. The greatest comfort to lose yourself in her works. One, two, three, four. Switch, two, three, four. And stop, two, three, four. You have been watching newsday. Stay with us. And before we go, winter has truly arrived in the far west of china. A very soft form of frost, known as rime, has formed on branches across the Xinjiang Uygur region. Thats all for now. Stay with bbc world news. Hello. 0ur quiet spell of weather continues apace across many parts of the British Isles at the moment. Thats not to say that its completely dull by any means at all. A glorious end to the day captured by a number of our weather watchers. Elsewhere, well, it was one of those. The cloud sat there, so did the fog in some locations. But there is a sign of a change of the way. Already were seeing the cloud and rain associated with this weather front moving into the north and western parts of scotland. It will continue its journey a bit further south during the course of the night. First thing on wednesday, quite a variety to temperatures. Where the cloud pops away, two degrees or so to the east. 0ut towards the west, fully exposed to the moist south westerlies coming in from the atlantic, 9 11 degrees. Here we are first thing on wednesday. Hill fog to be had if the cloud is broken overnight. The chance of the odd patch of fog. So bear that in mind. Enough about some of the cloud across the western facing hills and coasts for there to be the odd bit and pieces of rain or drizzle, especially near that weather front. To the north of that, a scattering of showers, not many of them by any means at all. Much of scotland getting away to a dry start. Its here north of the weather front that you get the best chance of seeing meaningful sunshine, and eventually that prospect extends into northern ireland, too. All the while, anywhere near that frontal system, youve got the prospect of some hill fog and a wee bit of rain and drizzle. And that goes into the north and west of wales. To the south of it, pretty leaden skies, im afraid. The odd bit of brightness perhaps. Here we are on thursday. The orientation of the front has just changed somewhat. The westerly portion, having come south, is starting to move back north. The best of the brightness therefore away from that, where you get the lowest of the temperatures, the best chance of sunshine. In the south, again, a lot of cloud, some hill fog around. Do you know what, not a great deal changes pushing into friday. Weve still got the remnants of a weather front, still clouding things up and producing the odd bit and piece of rain, especially across western and south western parts. So again get away from the remnants of those fronts out towards the east and up into the north of scotland, the lowest of the temperatures again, but at least we get to see a wee bit of sunshine. Here we are into the weekend before christmas and many will still be stuck with that relatively mild flow coming in from the atlantic. But youll notice come Christmas Eve were not a million miles away from seeing a dramatic change, with some cold and brighter weather coming in. In the run up to christmasm generally mild, rather cloudy and the chance of some rain, particularly in the north. Im Babita Sharma with bbc news. Our top story Donald Trumps overhaul of the us tax system is set to be approved by both houses of congress. It managed to get approval in the house of representatives and a vote in the senate is expected in the next few hours. Final approval will have to wait until wednesday. China has called on the us to abandon its cold war mentality after Donald Trumps speech on National Security accused beijing of trying to erode american security. And this story is trending on bbc. Com. A coffee shop in londons 0xford street claims to be able to make the worlds first selfie drink by printing a chocolate powder portrait from a photo on top of your drink. Theyre calling it a selfi cino. Thats all from me now. Stay with bbc world news. And the top story here in the uk police say theyve taken action to foil an alleged islamist terror plot that could have been carried out this christmas. Four men were arrested in Counter Terrorism raids