Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20180225

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for doping should not be lifted ahead of the closing ceremony at the winter olympics in south korea later on sunday. the decision means that the russian athletes, who were allowed to compete as neutrals, cannot march under their own flag. two russian athletes have failed drug tests in pyeongchang. it comes as a high level delegation from north korea has crossed into south korea to take part in the closing ceremony. a large crowd came to protest the inclusion of a controversial general, kim yong—chol. he was head of pyongyang's military department and is widely blamed for an attack eight years ago on a south korean warship that killed 46 sailors. our correspondent stephen mcdonell joins me live from seoul. stephen thank you forjoining us. it looks like olympic diplomacy has worked to a certain extent? well, you know, there is a lot of controversy going on here right now, right to the very end, these olympic games are mired, really, in geostrategic manoeuvre is. on the one hand, you have the north korean general who has arrived, co ntroversially general who has arrived, controversially arrived, a lot of people here do not think you should have even been allowed into the country because he is accused of being involved in two attacks on the south, including the alleged torpedoing of the cheonan in which 46 south korean sailors died, so we saw their protest is trying to prevent him from coming across the border and of course they took him gci’oss border and of course they took him across the different point and soon, there will be in the main stadium along with azarenka trump representing the united states and hino everyone will be intrigued to see will they be placed near one another again in the stands as we had with us vice president mike pence and the north korean leader ‘s sister with the two studiously ignoring one another will they try and space them out of it to make sure there isn't a repeat of those images going around the world, all very fascinating. with his controversial general, is it who he is on the things we have done or are south koreans generally not pleased with the proportion of that has taken place with the proportion of that has ta ken place over the with the proportion of that has taken place over the past few weeks? —— abridgement. taken place over the past few weeks? -- abridgement. no, ithink taken place over the past few weeks? -- abridgement. no, i think there is a split in the views here. a lot of people in south korea think using the chance to build dialogue with the chance to build dialogue with the north is a good thing. after all, presidentjae—in was elected on all, presidentjae—in was elected on a platform of trying to do just this. so he would take a majority of people here actually support this move. again, the south korean government would say we are not excusing north korea of its human rights abuses or we are not letting them off the hook to having nuclear weapons, we are just trying to ensure security and stability on the korean peninsula, and they think talking is at least worth trying. now of course there is the other side of the argument which is that sure, you can do that, at this particular general is accused of some pretty terrible things. i mean, the shelling of a south korean island, the torpedoing of the cheonan, so they think it is one thing for the north koreans to send any old leader but having kim yong—chol here is another question. let's talk olympics slightly, but still politics, with this band that has been maintained to the russian athlete. no marching under their own flag later on when the whole thing comes to an end? yes, well, i think the russian athlete and fans, it is kind of a win— lose in this decision because they really wanted the ban lifted in time to the closing ceremony. they wanted to be able to go into the main stadium with the russian flag as russian athlete and proudly marching like everybody else. however, the decision has been made that if there are no further doping allegations which emerge from these games and already we have had to russian athletes who failed drug test, if there are no further doping violations in future, russia will be welcomed back. for example the next games will see a russian team with a russian flag et cetera. they have decided not quite yet and probably it is because we had those two russian athletes who were caught at these games and failed those doping test. thank you very much. after days of deadlock, the un security council has unanimously voted for an immediate 30—day ceasefire across syria. it'll allow aid to reach areas including rebel—held eastern ghouta, where more than 500 civilians are said to have been killed in government air strikes in the past week. syrian rebel groups welcomed the vote, which had been delayed repeatedly by russia — an ally of the syrian government. the leaders of france and germany will speak by phone on sunday with president putin to push for the truce to take hold in the coming days. nick bryant reports. the people of eastern ghouta woke up this morning to continued aerial bombardment and the news from new york that the security council remained deadlocked and still couldn't reach agreement on how to bring about even a temporary halt to the killing. delay in syria always brings more death. at least 120 children have been killed since sunday, according to human rights activists. hospitals overwhelmed by the number of casualties have been targets of the government's bombing. on the fringes of the security council, the tensest of negotiations. but always a sense of urgency from the backers of this resolution and always the unresolved question would russia allow it to pass? i would call upon those who are in favour of the draft resolution to raise their hand. when it came to a vote, the russian ambassador held his arm aloft — not to wield a veto, but to finally agree. yet, western diplomats still attacked moscow for delaying its passage for days. as they dragged out the negotiation, the bombs from assad's fighter jets continued to fall. in the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling? while we've been arguing over commas, assad's planes have been killing more civilians in their homes and in their hospitals, imposing unbearable suffering. the russian ambassador was pessimistic about the chances of the ceasefire, saying there weren't concrete guarantees from warring parties to abide by. this resolution brings the hope, at least, that aid convoys will soon be driving through the streets and medical evacuations can finally take place. but even after the security council agreed its passage, reports came from eastern ghouta that government war planes were continuing their week—long bombardment. nick bryant, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to dr ahmad tarakji. he is the president of the syrian american medical society, a relief charity. i asked him if he was pleased the resolution has passed. i think this is a very good first step. the civilians on the ground in eastern ghouta are concerned and sceptical about the implementation of this resolution, yet i think it is a very good step because we have been calling for that all along — that the warring sides have to stop and civilians should have unlimited access to humanitarian needs and medical treatment. ok, so what are the humanitarian needs that are required by the citizens in that part of syria? i think from a supply point of view, what is required at the moment, the medical capacity of the hospitals has dropped to about 40% of its status a week ago. we're talking about pain medicine, surgical supplies — we have been asking for surgical supplies for 3.5 years and no—one has been able to or allowed to bring in any surgical supplies to eastern ghouta, pushing the hospitals to black markets. that's unacceptable. we have seen medical initiatives, as we have seen a few months ago in eastern ghouta, turned around to become a bargaining chip, and we are not going to accept that. we've received, actually, many phone calls from physicians and doctors from the united states and europe who are willing to go and monitor the evacuation, fly to provide consultation for patients, to help them, and also to monitor the hospitals to ensure that those hospitals are as transparent and civilian structures as they are, and that will be needed. that is a crucial issue because, very often, the rebels have been accused of using medical facilities as human shields, as places for them to hide. well, from our standpoint of view, we have been always offering, sharing the hospitals, providing live streaming from the hospitals. we are asking for it to be monitored on the ground to ensure that our hospitals are transparent, and we are asking how will you protect us from the air strikes? 0k. so, that has been the problem and people are saying we are going to go inside and go inside to provide that as well, to make sure that our staff are safe from attacks in syria as well. nigerian parents who fear their daughters have been abducted by boko haram jihadists have released a list of 105 names. up to now, it had not been clear how many girls were missing following monday's attack on a boarding school. president muhammadu buhari has described it as a national disaster and has promised additional troops and aircraft to help find the girls. with more from nigeria, stephanie hegarty reports. it has been a week of conflicting lines and confusing information from nigerian authorities on just how many students were taken from the girls' boarding school in dapchi town. but parents of the girls who formed an advocacy group have released a list of those still missing. there are 105 names on the list. earlier, the state government had claimed that only 51 girls were unaccounted for. later, they said 84. translation: now we have the total number of missing girls that the parents gave us as 105 that have not been found till now — 105. it is their parents that gave us the figures themselves. it is neither the government nor the school teachers that gave us this, but their parents. since the girls were taken on monday night, there's been many conflicting lines from authorities on what exactly happened. it was a full two days after the attack that they finally admitted that some girls had been taken. translation: when we went to check for those missing and present on the day that they wanted to shut down the school, i found out my daughter was amongst the missing girls when a friend gave me her belongings. herfriend confirmed to me she was among those taken away in a vehicle. yesterday, president muhammadu buhari said that the kidnapping was a national disaster and the army was doing everything to find the students. the kidnapping's been compared to the abduction of the chibok girls in 2014. over 100 of those girls are still missing. stephanie hegarty, bbc news, northern nigeria. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the national rifle association in the united states has accused the growing number of american companies that are cutting their ties with the organisation of cowardice. two us airlines — united and delta — are the latest to distance themselves from the pro—gun lobby group following last week's school shooting. colombia has extradited an ecuadorian man it accuses of being one of the region's biggest drug lords to the united states. prosecutors say washington prado alava, also known as ecuador‘s pablo escobar, has smuggled more than 250 tons of cocaine to the us. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: an ancient tomb thought to be more than 2,000 years old is uncovered in egypt. prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos's sanctuary, malacanang, the name itself symbolising one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly using a cell from another sheep. citizens are trying to come to grips with their new freedom. though there is joy and relief today, the scars are everywhere. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope, very soon for the sake of the credibility and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will, in his own words, be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. this is bbc news. let's have a look at the latest headlines: olympic officials have voted to maintain their ban on russia, but say it'll be lifted if there are no further doping cases. the un security council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a 30 day humanitarian ceasefire in syria. eight days before italy votes in a general election, thousands of italians have marched in rival demonstrations — focusing on differing views of migration. in recent years, 600,000 migrants — many from africa — have landed on the country's shores. our italy correspondent james reynolds reports from rome. these demonstrators have a simple message — we reject fascism. the fact that they feel compelled to say this more than seven decades after italy's fascist government fell says a lot about the atmosphere in this country right now. translation: our family has told us what it was like. the history of fascism is still close to us. we can't remain indifferent in front of the new fascism of 2017 and 2018. translation: above all, in this electoral campaign, hate is increasingly invading our society. and that hate has turned to violence. at the start of february, a far right campaigner drove through a central italian town, shooting at migrants from africa. the gunman ended his assaults by giving a fascist salute. italy's prime minister paolo gentiloni, here at the anti—fascism rally, has said that hate and violence will not divide his country. presidente, this has been a dangerous and angry campaign. what's your response? he prefers not to answer. the increase in migration and the response to it have changed life in italy. they've become the central issues in this election and both sides in the debate want to get out onto the streets. on saturday, anti—migration campaigners demonstrated in milan and scuffled with the police. this movement, increasing in number, is led by the far right league party. its leader, matteo salvini, has promised the mass deportation of illegal migrants. earlier in the week, in rome, i asked him why he thought migrants were so dangerous. translation: too many illegal migrants are dangerous for italy and all of europe. think of the foreign fighters that return to italy from wars in islamic regions. they are a real danger. in a week's time, italy will decide whether or not it agrees with him or with those who believe that this country still has room for new arrivals. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. in egypt, archaeologists have revealed a recently—discovered tomb, which is thought to be more than 2,000 years old. it's 200 kilometres south of cairo and contains dozens of ancient burials. it's hoped that it'll boost tourism. bill hayton reports. eight metres below ground, buried treasure, centuries old. stone coffins, carved sarcophagi, ancient statues and jewellery. this was a burial place for priests from a nearby city. it is only the beginning. i think we need at least five more missions to work. but we are going to add very soon a very new archaeological attraction in middle egypt. among the many finds were the remains of sacred animals, preserved as offerings to the afterlife. and about 1000 small statues, known as ushabti, intended to act as servants to be dead. —— for the dead. and one very special piece ofjewellery: an amulet with a message. translation: on the 31st of december, a colleague alerted me to a scarab which carried the words "happy new year" in heiroglyphics. it felt like a message to us from the afterlife. a wonderful coincidence. the government hopes to discover is like this will provide tourism in egypt. visitor numbers are rising, but they are only half what they were before the arab spring, seven years ago. on its own, this tomb is unlikely to attract many foreigners. it's in middle egypt, a long way from both the pyramids and the ancient city of luxor, and tourism facilities are poorly developed. but it's a reminder the pharaohs left plenty of other splendours behind, and in places that easier to see. bill hayton, bbc news. a debut feature from romania has won the prestigious golden bear at the berlin film festival. touch me not tells the story of an english woman coming to terms with her sexuality. also celebrating was the american wes anderson, who was named best director. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. the golden bearfor best film goes to... touch me not, by adina pintilie. you could tell from the look on their faces, they weren't expecting this. a small, low—budget film that has become a big success. open your eyes and just look at each other. touch me not is about intimacy and sex, shocking some viewers with its explicit scenes. some of the main protagonists were non—actors, including christian bayerlein, who is severely disabled. the film's director believes her work has met its moment. this comes in a very, very necessary, i think, moment, when the fear of the other is growing and there is this aggressivity all over the world. so i think it's very important that the amazing people that have been part of this project managed to have this platform to express themselves. other winners include french actor anthony bajon, who was named best actor for his role in the prayer. he plays a drug addict who tries to kick his habit with the help of religion. get outta here and don't come back. best director was wes anderson for his animated film isle of dogs, although he had to send one of his voice actors to accept on his behalf. i never thought that i would go to work as a dog and come home with a bear. laughter. much to celebrate for many, but it was the romanian film about human relations that won the night. one of bollywood's greatest leading ladies has died from a heart attack at the age of 54. sridevi kapoor — known simply as sridevi — started as a child actor and featured in more than 275 multilingual indian films. she was a rarity in bollywood filmmaking — capable of huge box office success without the support of a male hero. earlier, i spoke with bbc asian network presenters raj and pablo, who'd interviewed sridevi just about five months ago. they described what the legendary indian actress was like off screen. she was one of the most reserved, reticent bollywood stars. very shy. very private. she was very private, she was never kind of, you know, oh, i'm pushing myself, i'm like this. she was always very eloquent and very kind of grateful. very well read as well. people didn't see it but she was very kind of quiet, reserved and very intelligent. one thing i will never forget, every time we met her, at the end of every interview, she would touch her heart and say thank you, i'm fine. the other thing which always surprised us, she always about our families. she always knew my nephew, my niece, your family as well. she remembered and this is a global superstar, we were humbled. i grew up partly in nigeria and in nigeria, bollywood is huge. i'm just looking at nigerian twitter and people are talking because she was such a huge star. sridevi started off at the age of four as a child artist, she made her debut at the age of 13 as a heroine. then she made her bollywood debut with a film that flopped and then she was written off. she was one of the actresses who kind of could pave the way for people, bollywood accepted the fact that you didn't need to be with a big hero to make a big hit. if you think of the golden age of hollywood, you had marlene dietrich, greta garbo, you had people who could open box office. she was, by herself, a box office star in such a male dominated industry and society. yeah. she transcended. your heart goes out to him, what must the family be going through?

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