Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC World News 20200722

From russia, as their report reveals the uks one of moscows top targets. The plight of south koreas moon bear, being killed the surplus can be used for medicine. And thanks and respect forJack Charlton, one of englands world cup football heroes, whose funeral hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Hello. Itll get worse before it gets better, President Trump has acknowledged, as he gave his first Coronavirus Briefing in weeks although without any member of the white house virus taskforce. Tens of thousands of new cases are being identified every day in the us. At least 140 , 000 americans have died. At the white house, mr trump urged people to wear face coverings when they could not socially distance. He has, many times previously, been reluctant to recommend masks, or wear one himself. Joining me now is our correspondent peter bowes. Peter, we will take some of the speech in just peter, we will take some of the speech injust a moment. What has been the response to this and the figures President Trump has been giving . Well, i think surprise in terms of the president s tone. This was a very different President Trump. He was much more subdued than usual. It was a different tone and a different message from the president as well, which i think has surprised people most. Especially, as you mentioned, masks, that is a subject he has been most relu cta nt to subject he has been most reluctant to at least, himself, to wear a mask or to be seen to be wearing a mask in public, and even at one stage questioning to what extent it was useful to people to wear a mask. But, as we know, the signs has developed over recent weeks and months and now the president is certainly embracing masks. In fact, this is what he had to say about them. Everybody that, when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, are not able to socially distance, weara mask, get a mask. Whether you like the mask or not they have an impact, theyll have an effect, and we need everything can get. It was curious, in many ways, peter, wasnt it, just looking at the figures, Something Like 3 million americans affected, more than 140,000 have died, tens of millions have lost their jobs, tens of millions have lost theirjobs, the only people the president expressed sympathy for was the governor of florida and Ghislaine Maxwell. Well, yes, lets talk about florida first of all, two very different subjects, of course. He did acknowledge that what he described as the sunbelt of the United States, the southern and western states, including florida, texas, arizona, here in california, are being badly affected right now. In fact, there has been a surge and the president said it will get worse before it gets better. So there was a tacit acknowledgement there, think, that we not out of the woods yet and there is still a long way to go in terms of this outbreak. The president was also very quick to champion what he sees as the successes this country has achieved in terms of the virus. Yes, acknowledging that there is still a long way to go. And he threw a few statistics out there. Listen to what he had to say. Fidelity s nationwide have fallen 75 since mid april, thats a great number fatalities. As cases and fatalities. As cases and fatalities rise in certain hard hit states, which you are looking at right now, we are surging personnel, supplies and certain therapeutic. We again have tremendous amounts of supplies. We are in very good shape and can move them quickly. It has to be said, peter, some of what the president is saying there is just not true. Well, the big issue in terms of the presents numbers, and we have had this for the past few days, he gave an interview at the weekend. Has talked about the relative rates being much lower in this country than in other countries and he was quick to make comparisons between the European Union and the talent is there and here fidelity. If you look at the Johns Hopkins university table, they have been collating data from around the world, itjust isnt the case that the United States is faring much better than other countries. So leaving that aside, i think the overall message of the president is, and this is probably the headline of the day, mike, he was more subdued, he was pulling back, and urging people, young people, to stay out of bars, telling everyone to wash their hands, that was the message of the day. I think is an acknowledgement of this president that there is a long way today to go and perhaps he has been talking to his advisers about his bowling numbers which are not looking good and bad as rival, joe biden, suggesting Many Americans disagree with the way he has handled this pandemic. Yes. Just holding it seems to bea yes. Just holding it seems to be a recognition he is being judged and will be judged be a recognition he is being judged and will bejudged on how the coronavirus pandemic is being handled. Its curious, isnt it, that none of the task force with our, doctor fauci has said, i think, he wasnt even invited. Were there. Yes. In fact it was on one of the American Television networks in the hour before this took place. One of his other advisers we were told was there but just behind other advisers we were told was there butjust behind the scenes, she was there. It looks like the present wanted to take centre stage himself. He was the present at the podium. Almost as if to say, look, the buck stops with me, i taking responsibility for this. This is how were going to move forward as a country. Again, it seems to reflect a different tone, a differing attitude and, perhaps, reflects the pressure that the administration is under. Peter, one more point, i mentioned italia, letsjust see what President Trump had to say ina see what President Trump had to say in a curious aside, because he wasnt asked about it, about Ghislaine Maxwell. I dont know. They havent really been following it too much. Just wish her well, frankly. Ive met her numerous times over the years, especially since they lived in palm beach and i guess they lived in palm beach. But i wish her well, whatever it is. I dont know the situation with prince andrew. Just dont know. Not aware of it. All kinds of eyebrows being raised about that, peter. Yeah. I should say he was asked about it. It was a question posed to him by a reporter and we do need some context there. He was asked whether he thought that Ghislaine Maxwell would turn in powerful people. That phrase was put to him and the duke of yorks name was mentioned. Former president clintons name was mentioned as well. And we just heard the response of President Trump saying he wished Ghislaine Maxwell well but he didnt know much about what was going on. All right, peter, thanks for straightening that out. Peter bowes, thank you very much for now. Here after months of delay the Uks Parliament has been able to publish its report into allegations of russian interference in British Public life. It described russian influence in the uk as the new normal and said successive governments had welcomed rich oligarchs with open arms without asking too many questions about the source of their wealth. Our security correspondent Gordon Corera has more details. The uk is one of russias top intelligence targets, todays report said, but it questions whether the country is equipped to respond. The report details russias aggressive use of spying, especially in cyberspace, stealing information. It points to its use of assassination, going after russians abroad like sergei skripal, poisoned with nerve agent in salisbury in 2018. And most significantly, it points to a long Running Campaign of political interference, meddling in events around the world. This Russian Campaign is the new normal, we were told today. But the report also says the uk has been slow to respond. It is tough on britains spies, saying they treated the task of defending the democratic system like a hot potato, with no one wanting to take charge amid competing demands like stopping terrorist attacks. But the real criticism is for the government forfailing to give the spies clear direction. And as well as not investigating recent events like the brexit referendum, the report also says there was a longer term problem of not seeing the challenge from moscow. The killing of Alexander Litvinenko in london using radioactive polonium 14 years ago was a clear indication of the danger, the committee said, but it was a warning that went unheeded, his widow told me. Do you feel that britain failed to learn the lesson of what happened to your husband in 2006 . Unfortunately, i would like to say yes. And because there was no strong reaction after that, we received salisbury. Now we are discussing about hacking attacks to try to get a vaccine from british scientists. Why has there not been a tougher line . The Committee Says russian money has been allowed to seep into public life, what it calls the london laundromat, recycling illicit cash while powerful oligarchs aid the kremlin. All of this buys moscow influence, according to one witness who gave evidence to the committee. Theres a lot of russian money sloshing around london, and it creates an enormous conflict of interest, and a conflict of interest creates political pressure. And i think the reason why things havent been done is because theres too many people who are feeding at the trough. There had been speculation that one former russian official, now a british citizen who has given more than £1 million to conservatives, might be named in the report. But he was not, and he told me there was a russian threat, but its about more than money. Its not a report about me, its a report about us, because they are really a threat, the russian threat exists, absolutely. My point is that there is a more serious threat of cyber attack. Existing laws may be out of date and new powers needed to counter russian spies and influence, the committee said. But todays report also raises questions as to whether the British State has notjust the tools, but the desire to confront moscow. Gordon corera, bbc news. Our correspondent Steve Rosenberg says moscow responded by rejecting the points raised by the committee. Moscow did, today, what moscow a lwa ys moscow did, today, what moscow always does in this kind of situation, when accused by the west, and thats to deny everything. So we heard the Russian Foreign ministry dismissed the russian reports as russophobic and fake. We heard the kremlin say, well, russells never meddled in any election in britain, america, anywhere. But i think, privately, the russians will be quite pleased with the contents of this report, because russia comes out of it looking strong. And we listen to some of the language used to describe russia, an accomplished adversary, a highly capable cyber actor, in comparison britain looks weak in face of the russia threat. So will Vladimir Putin be quaking in his boots . I dont think so. I think more likely russia will look at this report as evidence of proof that its methods are working and that means that we can expect more attempts by russia to undermine western democracies, western institutions, to sow division amongst western allies, because thats how moscow believes it can gaina thats how moscow believes it can gain a geopolitical advantage. Our correspondence Steve Rosenberg. Lets get some of the days other news. The us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has encouraged every nation to push back against the Chinese Communist Party Following talks with borisjohnson and dominic raab in london. Mr pompeo congratulated the uk for banning huawei from its 56 networks and welcomed the governments response to chinas new security law in hong kong. He also said he hoped britain and america could conclude a trade deal as soon as possible. Saudi arabias 84 year old ruler, king salman bin abdulaziz is in hospital in the capital, riyadh. State media says he is holding a virtual Cabinet Meeting from there. It also reports he is undergoing medical checks for a gall bladder infection. About a dozen people have been freed from a bus in ukraine after the countrys president complied with the hostage ta kers bizarre demand that he promote a film about animal rights. Volodymyr zelensky used social media to encourage people to watch the 2005 production, earthlings. The armed man then began to release the hostages in the city of lutsk. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come the plight of south koreas moon bears being killed so their parts can be used for medicine. Nasa can see you coming down the ladder now. One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind. A catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the worlds only supersonic airliner. It was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. But now, a decade later, its been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. Theres been a 50 decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. Seven, six, five, four. Thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. This is bbc news. The latest headlines President Trump uses his first Coronavirus Briefing in weeks to change tack and urge americans to wear masks when they cant socially distance. Lets get more on that story. Live now to washington, dc and to anita kumar, White House Correspondent and associate editor of politico. Anita kumar, good to talk to you again. What did you make of it . Well, he took a different tone. You know, the president , as you mention, he talked about wearing a mask, which is something we havent heard from him. He also said things are going to get worse before they get better, and that is something he really hasnt said. He took a very optimistic tone saying the virus will go away, so it was a very, very different tone. He was reading his prepared remarks. The briefing was shorter. He didnt talk about his democratic opponent, joe biden, he was fixed on the coronavirus. And there are question marks on his claim over testing which we cannot verify one way or the other at the moment, but the idea that fatalities there are lower than in almost anywhere else in the world is not true . He has been using a particular study, and has been confronted with other studies that show thatis with other studies that show that is not the case. I was struck by one thing he mentioned about the testing today, he seemed to signal that we have to do better with testing. So governors, state officials, local officials have been complaining testing is taking too long and they are not getting the information back quick enough. He did signal to note that has to be better and that is a very different tone than we have seen from him in the past few weeks. And anita, just holding this reefing is a signal he feels he is being judged on his handling of the pandemic and perhaps found wanting . Yes. All of the polls we have seen in recent weeks, four months now, have shown him behind joe biden in the president ial race, but more importantly his Approval Rating is dropping. If you look at the polls they say americans are not satisfied with the way he is handling the coronavirus. For the last several weeks, even the last few months, he has really moved onto other issues happening the country, even the economy are issues that have nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic. I have talked to a lot of his supporters and allies and they say he is not understanding what is this still going on in this country. People are still in their houses and still worried. Theyre urging him to get back out there and talking again. With his ratings dropping he feels vicki to bring them up again is more appearances by him and his personal brand can do the trick. Do the polesjustify that view . He has always felt that view . He has always felt that way. The polls. And the last three and a half years. There are no Campaign Events in the United States really, right 110w. The United States really, right now. Everything is virtual or online. So he hasnt been able to go out there and have his rallies and his speeches and get those messages out. His only way to do that is through these events at the white house. So those are official events, of course, but he still is getting that message out of the country. Last week he had an event at the white house that was an official event at the rose garden, but it seemed like a the rose garden, but it seemed likea campaign the rose garden, but it seemed like a campaign event, him speaking about joe like a campaign event, him speaking aboutjoe biden. This is his only way to get his m essa 9 es is his only way to get his messages out before the election, although that may change in the coming weeks. Senior analysts have been suggesting to us that it is a problem for this president. A lot of people dont feel strongly against his opponent, joe biden, where in 2016 hillary clinton, one way or another, was a very unpopular candidate. I have been hearing that over and over again. You are that over and over again. You a re exactly that over and over again. You are exactly right. People didnt like either candidate in 2016 so they had to decide between those two and maybe they disliked her a bit more. But there are people who are fine with joe but there are people who are fine withjoe biden. There is not that dislike factor. Joe biden hasnt really been campaigning very much. The president likes tojoke campaigning very much. The president likes to joke that he is sitting in his house, sitting in his basement. He has done some Virtual Events but he doesnt need to be out there right now. Everything is about donald trump and how he is handling the coronavirus and the economy in schools opening. Joe biden is going to let this bea joe biden is going to let this be a referendum on President Trump. Anita, thank you very much indeed. Sure. Thank you very much. Animal rights campaigners are asking the south korean president for help to save hundreds of the countrys caged moon bears. At least 400 bears are being kept on farms across the country. Theyre waiting to be killed for their parts, which some people use as medicine. Our seoul correspondent, laura bicker, has this report. You may find some of it upsetting. Distressed, she rocks from side to side. Shes not known life beyond these rusty bars. Over 120 moon bears are crammed in filthy cages on this farm. Some are missing limbs and fur. All are just waiting to die. Translation i started the farm to sell bear bile. Back then, the bile used to sell so well, but now no one wants to buy it. This distressing footage shows a bear being killed for its bile. Its legal in south korea, as long as the bear is over ten years old. The fluid is used for a number of Health Problems from hangovers to heart disease. But demand has collapsed and farmers have no funds to feed the bears. These ones are fed leftover doughnuts from the krispy kreme factory. Translation this farm has the most bears out of any farms in korea. So we anticipated it would be in poor condition, but its actually a lot worse than what we expected. Campaigners are pushing the government to provide a sanctuary for over 400 of koreas forgotten moon bears and close down these farms. Translation we need to stop this wrong farming culture, especially in this time of coronavirus when its important to put distance between wildlife and humans. The smell of the bear dung thats piled up underneath these cages is really overwhelming. And were told that sometimes these bears will fight one another, injure one another, and often, theyre just left to die. Moon bears are not meant to be in cages together, theyre solitary animals. This is what a happy moon bear looks like. He is a two year old in the mountains in this national park. Bear bile was once so sought after that these bears were captured and killed to near extinction. But dozens have now been reintroduced to the wild including this mother and her cubs spotted on hidden cameras. Its not possible to re wild the over 400 bears in this country, but campaigners are trying to make some of them more comfortable in the hope that one day they will have more freedom. Laura bicker, bbc news. A story we will be back to, of course. Police have seized 3000 kilos of cocaine in two separate operations in the caribbean. Seven colombians arrested, 100 and, after intercepting two boats. Central america has become a central transit point for drug cartels. The shipment was heading to mexico and the United States. Thousands of people have lined the streets of ashington in northumberland in north east england to pay tribute to the football legend Jack Charlton. A member of the England World Cup Team of 1966, he later managed the republic of Ireland National side. Our correspondent danny savage was at his funeral. To the theme soon from local hero, Jack Charltons final journey started where it all began. He was incredibly proud of his home town of ashington, so his family wanted him to have one last tour of it. This, after all, is where he and his brother bobby paraded in 1966 after winning the world cup. It was part of englands footballs finest hour. And went on to manage, too. Fast forward several decades only affection is undiminished. People here it turned out in their droves. I saw him when he was about 16. He could play football but he wasnt good at dancing. He is a big part of ashington and he is going to be missed. He worked hard, he got out of the pits as it were, and he became a professional. Is a great role model for young people. Because of coronavirus, many of them when is people. Because of coronavirus, many of them when 1s and relatives are unable to the funeral today. In normal times, it would also have seen many famous faces from the world of football, but it is hoped they will gain some comfort from the number of people who have turned out on the streets of ashington today to pay their respects. There would be a fantastic honour to the man youve one soul of the covid 19 restrictions are lifted there could be a Memorial Service that thousands of people could attend once all of the covid restrictions are lifted. In dublin, the irish was angered by in their own way. As a manager, Jack Charlton steered the republic to the world cup quarterfinals in 1990. But all of that is in a past life, as his hometown crowd and family reflected on today. There is 110w reflected on today. There is now proposals do have a statue of Jack Charlton erected in ashington, such as his legacy and stated. Danny savage, bbc news, northumberland. There is much more in all the News National and international for you any time on the bbc website and on our twitter feeds. Thats all for now. Thank you very much for watching. Hello. Well, for some of us, the skies have remained clear but overall a very cloudy picture on the way, at least for the northern half of the uk during the course of wednesday, and on top of that, weve got some patchy rain as well. And you can see where the clouds coming from, off the atlantic as it often does. Its spreading across Northern Ireland and into scotland. Eventually, it will engulf northern england, too. To the south of that, however, i think some sunshine in the morning and in fact, it will end up being a pretty decent day for the channel counties, certainly for london perhaps east anglia, too. Temperatures could get up into the mid 20s in one or two spots but for northern england, scotland, and Northern Ireland at times overcast, and there will be a little bit of rain, too. And temperatures will be mostly in the mid or the high teens. Now, this is the following night, so early hours of thursday, and you can see that cloudy theme continues. If anything, further patchy rain streams in on a south westerly breeze off the atlantic. And its going to be mild early on thursday morning, around 13, 14, 15 degrees. Now, this is thursdays weather map and quite a complicated structure of weather fronts sitting on top of the uk. That basically means a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain. And you can see dumfries and galloway, the lake district, the north west of england, certainly wales getting some rain, too. Now later in the day on thursday, it does look as though it will brighten up across parts of scotla nd and Northern Ireland and there might even be some sunshine there across the south east in the afternoon, too. That was thursday, this is friday. And on friday, we are actually in between weather systems. So, one moves away towards the east. Another one waiting in the wings here and approaching ireland during the afternoon with the bulk of the uk during the course of friday actually enjoying a pretty bright if not in places sunny day with temperatures into the low 20s. Now, heres the weekend. At this stage, it is looking unsettled. You cant miss that low pressure with weather fronts moving across the uk, quite a few splodges of blue here moving across the uk and increasing breeze as well, so a pretty unsettled start to the weekend for many of us on saturday. And those temperatures a little lower than the average for the time of the year, especially in the south of the uk. Now, there is a possibility things will brighten up at least a little bit by the time we get to sunday but on the whole, an unsettled weekend on the way. This is bbc news. The headlines in his first Coronavirus Briefing for weeks, President Trump has sought to defend his administrations handling of the pandemic and urged people to wear face masks if they cant maintain a safe social distance. He acknowledged that the outbreak is likely to get worse before it gets better. Russian attempts to interfere in the uks Domestic Affairs have been described as the new normal in a long awaited report by british lawmakers. Mps on a key house of Commons Committee describe the uk as one of russias top targets and criticised the government for badly underestimating the threat and the response it required. The us secretary of state mike pompeo has said washington wants to build a coalition of like minded allies to counter, what he called, the threat from china. He was speaking on a visit to london, where he met Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his british counterpart dominic raab