Transcripts For KQED BBC World News America 20171215

Nonstop flights are available from most major airports. More information for your vacation planning is available at aruba. Com. And now, bbc world news. Laura this is bbc world news america. Reporting from washington, i am laura trevelyan. Vladimir putin holds forth at his annual press conference, declaring claims of collusion campaign andrump russia are fabricated. The days of net neutrality, when all websites were treated the same, are over. And the most expensive embassy ever built by the u. S. A sneak peek inside the billiondollar american diplomatic compound in london. Laura welcome to our viewers on Public Television in america and around the globe. It is december, and the holidays are almost upon us. So it is time for Vladimir Putins annual end of the year news conference, the rare chance for reporters to ask the russian leader a question. Todays marathon saw him pressed on everything from olympic doping to the 2018 election bid, and the molar investigation on the Mueller Investigation into possible links between the Trump Campaign and russia, he said the allegations were invented by mr. Trumps opponents. Steve rosenberg reports. Steve it is always a spectacle, and always incredibly long. Vladimir putins endofyear press conference lasted three hours, 40 minutes. More than 1000 journalists competed to catch the president s eye and ask a question. With the kremlin leader up on Stage Holding court like a russian czar. He was asked about alleged links between Donald Trumps Campaign Team and the russian government. How could Vladimir Putin explain the amount of contacts between the 2 . This has all been invented by the people who oppose trump to delegitimize his work, president putin said. The people who do this are dealing a blow to domestic politics in their country. He spoke, too, about syria. Vladimir putin made a surprise visit there this week to congratulate Russian Troops on the military operation that kept a key ally, president assad, in power. His message was mission accomplished. Some of the Russian Troops have been returning home. Russia views the military campaign there as a success. But back in russia, critics accuse the kremlin of crushing opponents and preventing the emergence of any rival to Vladimir Putin. Today he said it wasnt his fault that russia lacked a strong united opposition. It is not up to me to form the opposition myself, president putin said, as he criticized opposition activists for making too much noise and offering no concrete ideas. This wasnt just an endofyear news conference. This was the start of an election campaign. In three months time, russians go to the polls from an Vladimir Putin wants another six years in the kremlin. If he wins and serves out his next term in full, that will mean he will have been in power in russia as president or Prime Minister for 24 years. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. Laura for more on this, i was joined a short time ago by a former u. S. Ambassador to russia. Ambassador, when the russian leader says that reports about russian collusion with the Trump Campaign were invented to question Donald Trumps legitimacy, isnt that exactly what President Trump says, too . It is, and both have been consistent in adhering to this line. Laura which is interesting, to put it mildly. Vladimir putin said today that he doubts President Trump can improve relations with russia because of political opposition. Is he right in that analysis . It is hard to know, because President Trump has fought against his own party, on the congress and elsewhere, who are in many ways very much less respectful, if i can put it that way, of president putin than he is. Although you cannot crucify or criticize an american president for having an agreement with a foreign leader. Under these mysterious circumstances, however, we have the right to ask questions about that. What is the relationship . I wish i knew. [laughter] laura when you see Vladimir Putin Holding Forth in his press conference today, do you think he is pleased with how relations have gone with the u. S. Can even though there has not been the thaw he hoped for, but the disruption is there. The disruption is there, but you and i know that that is a tactical matter. In the long run, even president putin has to worry about the longterm relationship between the United States and russia. Have the only2 Nuclear Arsenals that can destroy each other and the globe along with it. That is not trivial stuff. Although happily, nobody is threatening that, we are not back in the cold war days of the cuban missile crisis where there could be a terrible accident. Laura we know from detailed reporting in the Washington Post that President Trump has not held a single cabinetlevel discussion about allegations of russian hacking of the election. Does it surprise you . Doesnt, because in some ways we have seen the sense of what is going on. U. S. Intelligence establishment pretty firm, pretty consistent conviction, and some of the Key National Security advisers seemingly agreeing with that conviction that it is pretty hard to see how there would be anything but a debate in the cabinet that he could not wish for, would not like, and all reports indicate, not to and not consistent with his personal outlook. Laura we also learned in the Washington Post that the president does not like to hear in his daily intelligence briefing anything about allegations of russian hacking, but by not having that, what do we lose as a nation . I wish i could tell you. Im not shocked to hear it, but the notion that the president s personal desires drive what intelligence he gets is, in my view, quite shocking. The president ought to be told the truth on a regular basis, and if he throws people out, he ought to get people in who will still tell him the truth. Laura but if you look at policy, for example, on ukraine, despite flirting with change, the administration hasnt. No, they havent, and they havent changed other policies. There was the famous phone call early on where putin seemingly raised the question of whether we would keep the new start agreement, and the president after consulting with people said no. I thought that was quite a shock, and we see that a little more demonstrated in president putins press conference. Laura ambassador tom pickering, thank you for joining us. The Communications Regulator in the United States has voted to repeal rules meant to ensure a free and open internet. Net neutrality, as it is known, was introduced in the obama era. It means Internet Service providers must treat all data the same and cannot block access to content. For more on this, i was joined earlier by the bbcs business reporter. The regulators say this change is going to be good for consumers, but critics say it is the end of the open internet. What is it going to mean in practice . Reporter well, im just outside this building, the federal communications commission, which is where that vote took place, and three members of the fivemember panel voted to repeal the regulations. Essentially what happened is they lifted the rules that didnt allow Internet Service providers, so the company that brought you the web, they didnt allow you to charge different prices for different websites. In essence it could mean for a consumer that your Internet Company could say that if you wanted to access these websites at a certain price, if you want to access another set of websites, that is at a different price. It could also mean that companies could go to webbased businesses and say that if you pay us a certain amount of money, we could give your website a service at a faster speed than your rivals. This is not something we would see coming into effect tomorrow, but it is also a rule that doesnt need to be voted on by congress. However, we have had lots of protesters outside this building today, and many people say they will go to court and sue the fcc. We have to see just procedurally how this will be implemented in america. Laura and is it possible that other Internet Service providers around the world could follow what is happening here in the u. S. . Yogita well, i think there is certainly a concern, because the u. S. , the place where the internet was founded, people do look at this country for direction on what kind of policy they should adopt for internet access. Having said that, laura, the european union, for example, has regular nations to ensure net regulation which ensures net neutrality, and even a developing country like india, the Telecom Regulator there, wants to make a law that ensures that the internet is a public utility and not a luxury, and that poor people can and should have access to any kind of website that they want to have without having to pay different prices for it. Of course there is an argument to be made that people could take cues from the u. S. Here. Regulators around the world as well as internet companies. But it may not necessarily happen. Laura lets say i suddenly cannot load content from certain sites. Who is going to protect my rights . Reporter well, essentially, what happens is if you cannot load a certain website on a particular site, it could be because your Internet Service provider has slowed down access to a particular website and is speeding up access to another website. That essentially is what has happened today. Having said that, the companies that provide internet in america say they are not going to do that, that they in essence agree with the principle of net neutrality. Laura thank you so much for joining us. Lets turn now to what doctors say could be a mind blowing to the limit in the way a dangerous blood disorder is treated. People who have hemophilia lack the ability to make the blood clot can which can be fatal. The therapy uses the injection of genetically modified viruses seems to be able to repair the defect. The bbcs Health Reporter has more. Reporter walking to work it should be simple, but it was unthinkable for jake. Hemophilia a method even the impact of the feet on his pavement dust of his feet on the payment lead to bleeding the impact of his feet on the pavement led to bleeding in his joints. But no longer. It allows me when my boys grow up to be more active around them, to be able to run around the park without. With them. Bizarre hemophilia a hereditary condition that stops the blood clotting. Jake was one of 13 patients given gene therapy last year. All of them are off their hemophilia medication. This is how it works. Hemophilia a is caused by a defect in the patients dna. Scientists made a genetically modified virus that contains the healthy dna the patients are missing. When the virus infects the liver, and leaves the dna behind and gives the liver instructions for making proteins that clot the blood. Urihis is how much factor 8 produced with this how much is produced in a hemophilia patient. After the gene therapy trial, it is almost up to normal. This is huge. It is groundbreaking. The option to think about normalizing levels of patients with severe hemophilia is absolutely mind blowing. To offer people the potential of a normal life, injecting themselves with factor 8 every other day, is transformational. Reporter large studies will take place to see if gene therapy can replace these regular injections and truly transform the lives of thousands of patients. Laura very exciting developments. You are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on tonights program, special report from the democratic republic of congo, where the u. N. Says a cut in the number of peacekeepers is creating more instability. A respected charity has put a figure on the number of Rohingya Muslims who have been killed during months of violence in myanmar. Some 6700 people have lost their lives as a direct consequence of the events in rakhine state. Here is jonathan head. Jonathan the mass exodus of rohingyas fleeing to me and marked produced something previously hard to obtain in rakhine state, abundant eyewitness testimony, who speaking to journalists and human Rights Groups have painted harrowing picture. Injuries treated in hospitals on the bangladesh side of the border have offered further evidence. But until now, estimates of how many died in the violence has been either been vague or implausible. However, surveys by the charity msf last month and show an alarmingly high capital in the months after the violence again in late august. Fromnterviewed rohingyas 2500 households and found death rates after august of 213 times higher than normal. 17 of those deaths were caused by the violence mostly from gunshot wounds. Estimatese that msf were killed in the violence, more than 700 are believed to be children, either shot, burned inside their homes, or beaten to death. Adding to the other accounts of atrocities, this report will inevitably prompt calls for the Myanmar Security forces to be held to account. But it is unclear how this can happen. The countries leader, aung san suu kyi, has promised repatriation of refugees and reconstruction, but has pointedly refused to a knowledge the abuses. She is supported by much of the burmese population and by her countrys neighbor china. Laura the United Nations warns that a reduction in the number of hes keeping troops in the democratic republic of congo could lead to even more instability and loss of life. As we reported last night, nearly 1. 5 Million People have fled their homes. It began last year in the kasai region after a conflict between Government Troops and rebel fighters. Fergal keane has traveled to kasai. You may find images in his report distressing. Fergal the grass grows over, it conceals. Day by day, the truth recedes from view. But the u. N. Patrols knew where the bodies had been dumped. One of 87 known mass graves in kasai. Some bones here, the soldier says. Fragments of atrocity. The clothes of the dead. At least 3000 people have been killed shot, hacked, beaten to death. Nearly 1. 5 million displaced. The blood is speaking. Fergal the blood is speaking . Yes, the blood is speaking. This is the blood of my brothers. Even myself was almost dead. I could be killed also innocently. Fergal we met a woman who says she saw the army arriving. We protected her identity. The military were burying the bodies. We saw where they stopped and how they dug to bury the corpses. Some were as young as 12. They did not only kill the militia. They killed innocent people. Fergal across congo, small u. N. Force is struggling in the face of growing instability. In kasai, it says the targeting of civilians by all sides could amount to crimes against humanity. The violence escalated when Security Forces killed this man, a chief, after he rebelled against the government, whose president , joseph kabila, is clinging to power despite having served the 2 terms he is allowed under the law. In response, the chief followers attacked everybody and anything associated with the state, like these policemen, beheaded soon after the video was taken. Even Civil Society activists trying to register voters were attacked when rebels swept into a town. Officers destroyed, family members butchered. I have lost my daughter, who was a dressmaker. She was beheaded with her husband. Their children are orphaned, and they have remained here. I take care of them now. Fergal 350 kilometers to the south, a man showed me the ruins of his home. When the military attacked, he fled with his older child, but in the chaos, sleeping threeyearold girl was left behind and burned to death. I was afraid to be killed myself. I wanted to save my life and the life of the child who was with me. The other child was killed. I kept crying, crying always. Fergal the state fought back with pitiless violence, killing militia supporters who believe in magic charms could protect them from bullets. And turning guns on civilians who lived in rebel areas. This man told us what he witnessed. The military were taking people, killing them, throwing them into the river. People started to run away and hide. They followed them, killed them, and threw them into the river. We saw the army do this. Fergal these are not isolated accounts. We have spoken with other witnesses who saw bodies being thrown into the river. We met a 13yearold boy shot in the chest. He survived. We heard from people who saw women dragged away by the army, screaming. At this church, we met hundreds of villagers who fled violence at the hands of a progovernment militia drawn from another ethnic group. I saw people with machetes, guns, and clubs. They were beheading people, cutting arms and legs, slashing bellies. I had to climb over dead bodies to escape. I had 4 children, but could escape with only one. The other three were killed. Fergal the government denies the army committed crimes against humanity, and says it has been fighting militia terror. We are fighting the terrorist offensive from there. We see no difference between those people, boko haram, or shabab. Fergal in kasai, only one force stands between the actions of the state and the different militias. But the u. N. Is under pressure. In a country two thirds the size of western europe, there are fewer than 20,000 troops. Even this force has been cut back as america reduces peacekeeping funding. What can be achieved with so few troops . Simply, what would happen if we werent here . We want to do everything we possibly can with the resources of the United Nations to save lives and make the situation better. Fergal amid deteriorating security across congo, survivors fear fresh violence, like this mother and her 15yearold daughter, who were abducted by the same progovernment militia, separated, and taken to different farms. We had left our village in april, and we were taken as slaves on the farm the same month. It is difficult to count how many times i was raped, because it was during so many months. I did not know where my daughter was. She was released after i escaped. They told her, go now. Your mother has escaped and can get us arrested. Only then when she joined me that i discovered she had been raped, too. I have a lot of bitterness in my heart because my little girl has been defiled. She is just a kid. Fergal in kasai, where the dead are cast into rivers, into mass graves, there is no real peace to keep, only a daily effort to hold back the forces of chaos. Fergal keane, bbc news, kasai. Laura so much sadness and suffering in the drc. What cost a billion dollars to build and comes with its very own moat . The answer is the new American Embassy in london, which sits on the banks of the river thames and opens next month. The u. S. Ambassador to the u. K. Says the new embassy tells the world that the relationship between the two nations is just as special as ever. Reporter this is what a billion dollars looks like. The new u. S. Embassy in london is said to be the most expensive in the world, and almost a decade in the making. Inside, there is a garden of american desert flora. It is all designed to be airy and welcoming, not words usually associated with embassies. I think this is a country of great dignity, and it birthed the United States. This building should be not some pop icon, but certainly a building of great dignity and serenity. Reporter but this embassy is also a fortress. It even has a moat, though they would prefer we call it a pond. Some of the glass is 6 inches thick, reminder that an embassy is one of the only places where one nation intersects with another. For decades that has been here, grosvenor square. The old embassy has been sold to become a hotel. But it is a place now associated with american triumphs and tragedies. At grosvenor square, police warned to expect trouble waiting. Reporter it was where british people repeatedly protested against the vietnam war. A huge crowd waited for them at the American Embassy. Reporter where wellwishers greeted the first man on the moon. And came to pay respects after the attacks of 9 11. Now a new building will represent america. U. S. Ambassador says this building represent americas global outlook, giving form to the core Democratic Values of transparency, openness, and equality. What is not clear is whether President Trump will be at the opening next month, although he has been invited. It would be the most controversial visit by any american president , a moving in present to the ambassador. Trump is coming when he sets the date for coming. He has been invited for the state visit and has accepted, but he hasnt set a date, and for the ribboncutting of this, i am taking a look at this embassy, that will be announced when he selects the date. Reporter and of course, the new embassy will outlive this presidency and many more to come. There a special embassy reflecting a special relationship. Remember, you can find much more on all the days news on our website. I am laura trevelyan. Thanks so much for watching bbc world news america. With the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day and stay up to date with the latest headlines you can trust. Download now from selected app stores. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. Planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. You can find it here in aruba. Families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. Nonstop flights are available from most major airports. More information for your vacation planning is available at aruba. Com. Bbc world news was presented by kcet, los angeles. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc woodruff good evening, im judy woodruff. On the newshour tonight, with a few of their members threatening to vote no, republicans scramble to iron out the details of their sweeping tax overhaul and how to pay for it. Then, russias Vladimir Putin weighs in on the Ongoing Investigation of interference in the american election, and how russianamericans view the curent antirussia climate here. A lot of older russians who are trump supporters, they think that this is left fake news woodruff and, today marks five years since the tragedy at sandy hook elementary in connecticut how one parent remains dedicated to preventing gun violence. Its the only way i can think to honor dylan